I love how Rogers response to problems or discrepencies with regards to how they tabulate your usage. They always steer you towards monitoring tools. Like the problem is, you didn't realize you just had to stop using the service near the end the month to avoid paying double or more of your bill.
These caps were put in place under the guise of clamping down on extremely heavy internet users. They could have set caps in the low hundreds for most packages, like many ISP's do in the US, and accomplished their goals. Instead they saw dollar signs, dropped in these unreasonably low usage caps, and now everyone has to get nervous each month every time they go online that they may get gauged.
Rogers even did away with the $25 CAP on overage fees so at least customers weren't completely soaked. They could still enforce higher fees only on people that truely do use an excessive amount for a home connection.
My connection is very secure. Our habits have not changed dramatically in the 3 years we had the service. Starting in January our bills began to eclipse our 60 GB limit, we upgraded twice ending with extreme plus. (32 down 1 up) advertised.
After receiving a bill with an $80 overage fee, that's double what I pay for the entire month of service, Rogers informs me there is no way to dispute usage charges. They just direct you to those miser tools. They should market it as internet classic, a throw back to the internet of the 90s.
Now since mid September I receive night time speeds of around 1 MBPS or less every night. 2 % or less of advertised speeds, every night, going on 1 month. It's a Rogers admitted congestion issue that the CAT department has been dealing with for over 1 month. *an employee* of Rogers Office of the President is also well aware of this Rogers congestion issue.
If you live in an area with many students, like I do (North Waterloo), your are doomed to getting 5% of your advertised speeds at night. Rogers sold more bandwidth than it had to sell. Depends on how crowded your node is, and how many weeks or months it takes Rogers to add up the service calls and pinch the pennies to get you the service they advertise.
Rogers could have done all the upgrades first, then gone on an ad blitz with unlimited student plans.
They have money to advertise every commercial break on my television. They mock other Internet providers slow antiquated networks, while they can't even guarantee night time speeds better than 1 or 2 megs down every night for weeks on end with no ETA for a solution. They have the money for glossy weekly fliers in my mail box and in the hallway of my building. They have the money to advertise all these introductory teaser rates.
They don't seem to have the money to upgrade possible overloaded areas before a promotional blitz. They don't have the money to ensure that all their customers at get at least 1/4 of the speed they pay for at all times. They don't have the money to track possible congestion issues. They don't have the money to get congested nodes bisected in a timely manner.
We are piggy banks and nothing more to Rogers. If actions speak louder than words, Rogers has communicated that particular message to me loud and clear.
Where are the regulators? Where is consumer protection?
Keep calling, don't take no for an answer. If the line tests to your modem are OK, don't let them stall you with a needless service visit.
File complaints with the CCTS, CRTC, BBB and any other organization that will listen.
Write Elen Roseman, consumer advocate, writer for the Toronto Star (independant from Rogers and Bell) and ask for her help in getting the word out that Rogers can not guage its customers for fees while not providing even a small fraction of what they advertise in return.
Elen Roseman eroseman@thestar.ca
She is the one that got a response from the Rogers Office of the President for me in one day.
She has also writen an article on the growing Rogers congestion issue caused by their overselling of bandwidth.
http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1073972--roseman-rogers-has-high-speed-internet-issues
Many others are having this same slow speed issue at night. Many others are being gauged every month for legitimately using a service they pay for.
Record your experiences here:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r26301206-Extreme-Rogers-Extreme-10Mbps-has-been-VERY-slow-the-last-...
It's time we consumers tell one of Canadas biggest and worst communications companies we've had enough! We are human beings! We are customers that pay your salarie, not piggy banks!
*edited to remove employee name @RogersMichaelT
