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 Review by jackr 
UPDATED: 1.5 years ago
member for 5.6 years, 389 visits, last login: 4 days ago
 Barrie,ON
 $19 per month (12 month contract)
 about 13 days
 Bell Canada
 "There isn't any. They're now throttled. I guess cheap is the only remotely good point."
 "Slow connection, lack of customer service, hostile company rep, lack of accountability with customer, dependant on Bell."
 "THEY SUCK.I'd save your money and try another DSL provider or a cable connection."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
Starting last year, shortly after reading a recommendation in a thread here at DSL reports, I signed onto Acanac 1 year up front contract. They do offer a 30 day money back guarantee, but really use it to try and silence customers they feel are taking away from their viral marketing and the bottom line. It's easier to buy them out, then it is to fix a problem (IMHO). I was optioned a 5 mbps connection. My real speed hovers around 1.7 mbps second. When I asked if this could be increased they offered to hook up a second line on the outer pair. Even though it's routed back to the same connection. Knowing this, they (Paul) defends this on the premise that it's the customers problem, and that they have little if any control over the speed/profile that being a stipulation of Bells.
When I asked for my profile to be examined, I went from the initial connection of 1.3 to 2 mpbs interleaved, but still suffered from grossly high ATT. Again, it's supposedly up to the customer to know EXACTLY how far they might be from the CO (Central Office). A ridiculous concept on the level of knowing how far to the meter you are from the capital city of your country. You live there you should know right?
When I've tried to get this resolved again, I was told that Acanac visa vi Paul would have a representative of Acanac directly at Bell/Sympatico and that issues like profiles, initial connection speeds and ATT plus re routing would be addressed by Bell via the rep.
It never happened.
Bottom line.
Read the reviews on Acanac. There's about a 30-40% dissatisfaction rate with the company.
Save your money. Paul is grossly hostile. He's argumentative, abusive, rude, condescending and thinks that the easy solution is "like it or take a hike".
Personally, I'm sticking it out till the end of my contract in July. It's not the money now. It's the principal. I don't like bullies, and I'm not easily cowed.
Go with Rogers or another DSL ISP (BELL?) but do read the reviews first. Checking around your neighbourhood for other peoples speed apparently isn't satisfactory as according to Acanac speed isn't a guarentee of your profile matching someone elses...even though they might be one block away.
Trouble plagues Acanac reliability- Feb 25/08
I was down again for a couple of hours this morning (Monday, Feb 25). That's 3 days in a row. There's been interrupted service, disconnects, slow speeds, and plain bad service without much word from Acanac as to the exact nature of the problems outside of a brief "we've suffered a power interruption".
Started Ended Length of Time
************************************************************************************************
02/23/2008 12:55:11 PM 02/23/2008 10:53:46 PM 9 hours, 58 minutes, 35 seconds
02/24/2008 10:42:25 AM 02/24/2008 3:06:14 PM 4 hours, 23 minutes, 49 seconds
02/24/2008 7:55:23 PM 02/24/2008 11:10:57 PM 3 hours, 15 minutes, 34 seconds
02/24/2008 7:39:26 AM 02/24/2008 10:38:39 AM 2 hours, 59 minutes, 13 seconds
02/25/2008 7:45:26 AM 02/25/2008 10:00:31 AM 2 hours, 15 minutes, 5 seconds
02/23/2008 11:20:09 PM 02/24/2008 12:44:07 AM 1 hour, 23 minutes, 58 seconds
02/23/2008 10:00:31 AM 02/23/2008 10:33:02 AM 32 minutes, 31 seconds
02/24/2008 7:29:28 AM 02/24/2008 7:37:39 AM 8 minutes, 11 seconds
02/23/2008 11:02:42 AM 02/23/2008 11:06:28 AM 3 minutes, 46 seconds
02/23/2008 10:59:48 AM 02/23/2008 11:01:02 AM 1 minute, 14 seconds
02/23/2008 11:11:08 AM 02/23/2008 11:11:37 AM 29 seconds
02/23/2008 10:00:31 AM 02/25/2008 10:00:31 AM TOTAL: 1 day, 1 hour, 2 minutes, 25 seconds
For those looking to sign up with Acanac, you should be aware that Bell has a habit of setting your profile extremely low. 2400Ul/800dl is a common setup. Read through Acanac forum and you see complaint after complaint of really slow initial connection rates. I believe they do this because very few people are aware of their actual connection speeds and rarely check.
Apr 08/ brutally slow DNS on Acanac. I'm mean dial up speed, waiting for the page to load, Error slow. For two days, and not a single word on why this is happening. Nice to be kept in the dark.
Apr 29/08. They've posted a message on the Acanac website alluding to the fact that negative reviews are cutting into their bottom line. They've asked their clients to post "good" reviews on the dsl site to drag their falling ratings up. Expect a lot of craptastic posts that are trolling. I guess that's easier then fixing the actual problems.
----Dear valued Acanac Customers,
Were asking all of our DSL clients to post a review of our service on DSLreports.com good or bad. You will not be rewarded for the post but it would be greatly appreciated.
Please give your honest opinion about our service. Acanac is one of the fastest growing and one of largest DSL providers in Ontario and Quebec and we want your opinions to be herd.
Your review can be made at »/docontrib/ISP/2744 no need to select an ISP since this is a direct link for Acanac reviews. You may however have to create a user if you are not yet a member at DSL reports.---
Followup comments:  
adisor19
join:2004-10-11 |  Paul is hostile ?!
Adi | |
| | | 
Acanac Inc
Premium
join:2007-03-05
Mississauga, ON
| reponse to comments Thank you for voicing your openion and adding to our reviews however your statements are incorrect on many levels. If you had read reviews then you would have understood how DSL works and comments would have been made differently. Furthermore you claim a 30 -40 % unsatisfactory rate when in fact our company on DSL reports alone has 86% satisfaction. The only reason it is not higher is because they are going on a 6 month rating and our company has not been here that long. You will find that over time that number will only increase. You can simply see positive vs negative. The last time i checked we only had 2 negative comments until now ( yours makes it 3 ). This of course is over the last 3-4 months. We also have 10's of thousands of clients thus 3 negative comments is well within the norm.
Sandro H.
»www.acanac.ca | |
| | | | |
Acanac Inc
Premium
join:2007-03-05
Mississauga, ON
| Re: reponse to comments Hello,
Our job is to try and get the correct information to the public. There are some clients ( such as yourself ) who have been given so much attention and yet you are unsatisfied. After all we have done for you to try and get your service working as well as we can you still write a review about how crap we are. It is unfair and your statments are false. Yet you acuse us of skewing your response.
We have been in business for over 10 years and Acanac is entering its 4th year. You may be dissapointed in year 5 when you once again have spoken too soon and incorrectly.
Sandro H.
»www.acanac.ca | |
| | |
Acanac Inc
Premium
join:2007-03-05
Mississauga, ON
1 edit | Further to your comment. You also said our sales, support, services, value, etc is subpar ( approx 20%). Yet you bought the service when the sales was horrible. That tells me that you were disshonest about your review. Really your review is simply an attack on our company and nothing more. Do you expect us to stand by and allow you to do this without a response? If you had said something like sales were ok...service was ok but you did not get the speeds you wanted.. tech support did try to help although they did't meet my needs, etc we would see you were trying to give correct information that you felt to be true but what you have done is the contratry. Anyone reading your review should see what you have done is nothing more then missused the purpose of this review section. | |
|
Acanac Inc
Premium
join:2007-03-05
Mississauga, ON
3 edits | Acanac I am not going to win this argument with you so I will just state the facts and let everyone else decide.
1. Acanac tried many times to raise your profile, but we were unsuccessful
2. Acanac went as far as installing a second Naked DSL connection at your home at no extra cost to you. You ended up with the same speeds as the first.
3. We brought up your account to the upper management of Bell
4 We even offered to pay for your first month of Sympatico. This offer still stands.
5. Acanac offered you a full refund since you were not happy with your speeds.
I am sorry that you believe I am being aggressive towards you. I am simply stating the facts. Your opinion is that we did not do enough, but from our point a view we went the extra mile.
DSL is distance dependent. We say up to 5Mbps not 5Mbps. Acanac even backs it up with a 30 day money back guarantee if your not happy with the speeds.
Best Regards,
Paul
»www.acanac.ca | |
| 
C99
@rogers.com
| I'm not a customer of Acanac and was considering purchasing their services... until I read the "customer service" responses from "Sandro H" here. Wow. The customer didn't have to make a case for the company being hostile, they made it for themselves!
Ouch. I don't know what happened here, but Acanac, I'm sorry, I definitely won't be signing up until you at least get a sense that arguing with a customer is not the definition of customer service.
Good luck with your business,
C. | |
| |
Acanac Inc
Premium
join:2007-03-05
Mississauga, ON
2 edits | Re: Acanac Hello,
Sorry that you are dissapointed with the remark. This customer has posted on different forums over the web over and over in an attemp to discredit our company. We tried our best to fulfil his needs however were not able to. It is apparent that falsefying information to divert clients from using our service thus we are responding with the same respect we have been given. If you read other reviews you will find that we are in fact very honest and friendly. We are patient and understand and listen to clients concerns however sometimes you reach a point where polite no longer works.
We hope that in the future you may reconsider. We would be happy to answer any other questions that you may have.
Sandro H.
»www.acanac.ca | |
| | | | | | |
Acanac Inc
Premium
join:2007-03-05
Mississauga, ON
4 edits | Re: Acanac "I have NEVER posted anywhere else except here at DSL reports. Paul, rain in your employee if he's such."
This is not true.
You have a few posts under the user name: tercero in Acanac's very own forums.
»community.acanac.com/acanac/sear···=results
Although to be fair I believe Sandro is confusing you with User jeanpascal. Both of you posted in the same threads.
I believe this is also the second or third time you have threated to sue us.
Here is one of them:
"You have my name, phone number and Mastercard number on file. All you have to do is refund me, send me a notice of refund and the matter is closed. In the meantime, I'd suggest you quit trying to stifle me when I express the opine that you're service is less than spectacular, or you have my promise that come the new year I'll spend the $1500 to $3000 in retainer fee's and we can settle this as a civil matter in an Ontario court room. I'm sure CTV, Rogers, The Toronto Star and others would love to read the coverage."
I stated the following:
"Jackr I have in the past already offered you a full refund. I believe my offer is still available here in these very forums. If your not satisfied with our service I would be more than happy to offer you a full refund. Not just for the remainder of your term."
»Re: Want to Leave Bell. What is a good alternative?
You accuse us of being hostile. If Acanac was the ruthless corporation you think we are we would of sued you for slander long time ago. Have you even read some of your comments.
Here is another one.
"jackr: Skip Acanac. Unless you like getting ripped off I guess."
So lets recap. You lie that we have 30-40% dissatisfaction rate. You can clearly see above that Acanac satisfaction rate is at 86%
You lie that you have NEVER posted anywhere else except here at DSL reports. Not true. You have posted in our very own forums many times under a different user name. User name: tercero
You request refunds in one post and threaten to sue if one is not issued, but then never sent me an official request. Now you no longer want to leave. "Now not it's just not about the money now. It's the principal."
Best Regards,
Paul
»www.acanac.ca
said by jackr :Whoa there chuckles. That's an out and out lie that I will be flagging for removal by the mod. I have NEVER posted anywhere else except here at DSL reports. Paul, rain in your employee if he's such. I don't mind you arguing with me, but I won't be taken as a liar by anyone. If anyone cares to search I've always used the same handle and you're more than welcome to search DSL reports for my requests to Paul. You'll quickly see that it's not quite the story they're trying to spin. Without Prejudice; Sandro H. an employee of Acanac Inc, COB as ACANAC INC of Ontario, you have precisely 24hrs to remove your remark and print a retraction accusing me of slander and defamation. If the remark is not removed by Monday, January 5th, 2008 EST, I will be calling the offices of Oatley Vigmond, Barristers and Solicitors in the city of Barrie, Ontario Canada. At that time I will ask for a review of these remarks printed on the website DSLREPORTS.COM, and will take action to protect my name and credit against these remarks. Govern yourself accordingly, Oatley, Vigmond 151 Ferris Lane Suite 200 Barrie, Ontario CANADA L4M 6C1 Phone: 705.726.9021 Fax: 705.726.2132 E-Mail: info@oatleyvigmond.com | |
| | | | | | | | Bwaanaa
join:2008-01-22
Mississauga, ON
| I have been looking for an ISP and I stumbled upon the reviews on Acanac.
From the reading the reviews I believe Acanac is providing good service. Most customers rate the service high. The responses between Jackr and Acanac shows there is a problem somewhere. But what I see from the communication is that Acanac has gone beyond an extra mile to try to resolve the problems that Jackr is facing with the ISP. I think their offer of a full refund is fair.
There is an adage that says "Customer is always right", but to what extent?
I am with Bell Sympatico using DSL which they promised of a speed of upto 5 mps, yet Iam getting less than 1. Bell hasn't resolved the problem sighting various excuses and insisting that it is UPTO 5mps and NOT 5mps. But 1 is well below 5! And I am paying 47.95 a month.
That is why I am looking for a different ISP provider. I think from everything I have read on this site that Acanac is doing a good job and I am thinking of going with them.
Thank you. | |
| sfernan
join:2005-01-10
Canada
 ·Acanac
| I have been reading about ACANAC for over a year now on dslreports and redflagdeals. I do not have any service with ACANAC yet but I am using a trial account to test them as an ISP.
What I can say is that Paul and Sandro have offered assistance in resolving any issue amicably. Their responses have been very patient and with calmness...at least the way I have read them and even in this case. They may not have the best resources to work for them but just that these guys are offering to help says a lot.
I am not a very tolerant person as well but this is how I feel about the responses from ACANAC. | |
|
almost
@wtccommunications.ca
| Acanac's 18.95/month deal looked really good until I saw this post. This customer service is HORRENDOUS. I will NOT be signing up and I will refer all others to this post.
Comments like"
"your statements are incorrect on many levels." Sandro
"After all we have done for you..." Sandro
"once again have spoken too soon and incorrectly." Sandro
"You lie..." Paul
to keep the list short (there is enough material here for a doctoral thesis.) are never appropriate.
FYI: This whole post would have blown over if you boys had written something like: I feel we tried our best and it's unfortunate you had a negative experience with our company... or even better... nothing.
Argumentative, sarcastic, accusing...
I'll be going else where. | |
| Ottawa_Art
join:2008-01-12
| I agree with Almost when he says “or even better... nothing.” in his post.
Respectfully, Paul and Sadro your focus should remain on the running of Acanac’s business to help it grow and not engage in a rant on a Blog.
I am certain you believe you have done everything within your power to assist jackr. You need to remember “you can only please some of the people some of the time, and not all the people, all the time. But, also remember; it is still your responsibility to continue to go the extra mile. Always!
At the same time, jackr has every right to voice dissatisfaction, with regard to the lack of “customer service” he “is” or “is not” receiving. I read through Acanac’s end user agreement and believe the company has provided an out for unsatisfied customers.
But, from what I read, I get the impression jackr must be a satisfied customer, since he has not opted to cancel the service and get a full refund.
Additionally, to be able to receive High Speed DSL at $18.95! This is a bargain!
No, I am not a customer. Yet! Like Almost I am kicking tires.
Currently, I am using Sympatico Lite, paying $27.72 per month. Your probably thinking, “are you crazy or what!” or maybe he is a “sucker for punishment”. Or even better, “maybe he likes giving away money”.
Actually, I began a download last night at 11:30PM; the download status right now is 98% complete 10:00 AM. And I thought time to get a new ISP. Good thing i went to bed in between.
Prior to Lite I was using Bell Hi Speed, but got tired of the price and the poor Customer Service. You just can win! So I switched several months ago. It is not the first time I checked around. And please understand I am not dissing Bell.
In the end, I thank Acanac and jackr. ; Acanac for becoming an ISP 4 years ago, for taking on the big guys and holding them accountable and to jackr for taking on Acanac. In the end, we all win.
Paul and Sadro, you should learn to pick your battles. And jackr if your not completely satisfied you should cut your losses, take the refund, take the 6 months free Sympatico service and move on.
Oh, the download is done. Thanks guys, for the interesting read. | |
| |
jackr
join:2004-03-10
Barrie, ON
 ·3 Web
·Rogers Hi-Speed
·Acanac
1 edit | Re: To choose or not to choose -- Acanac Finally, someone got it. (Ottawa_Art). Thanks. No, I'm not a satisfied customer but if I take the offer of a refund, I guess I'll be like 99% of the population that doesn't stand up to anyone when pushed. I really hate being pushed. And, I probably wouldn't be able to post an honest opinion of Acanac without skating into the defamation area if I wasn't a customer. Maybe I'm wrong, who knows.
For my part, I think I've reached the limit of arguing with Paul and his employees.. My facts are pretty much known, and my opinion is not going to change anytime soon.
I read a link from the Better Business Bureau that basically stated that Acanac has an unsatisfactory record and they were not a member. I'll let the link stand on it's own merit. »www.bbbmwo.ca/commonreport.html?bid=1133979
Again, I'll let the people who read my opinion decide how they want to spend their money. "You vote with your wallet" was someones quip.
Oh and thank you ALMOST. I worked for a company that made the billing software for most of the ISPs world wide. As a manager, if I had treated people like I've been treated, I probably would have been terminated the same day with just cause. Just...wow. | |
| | | | | | | | | | romanito
join:2008-04-25
Burlington, ON
1 edit | Re: To choose or not to choose -- Acanac jackr, what is your goal by "standing up against Acanac"?
I am actually getting suspicion that you are an Acanac employee because YOU are making them LOOK GOOD! | |
| pudgemuir
join:2007-01-02
canada | wow ....... This is the Craziest post I have ever seen, 1 question? does arcanac packt shape torrents | |
| |
jackr
join:2004-03-10
Barrie, ON | Re: LOL No. | |
| | | | | |
Acanac Inc
Premium
join:2007-03-05
Mississauga, ON | Re: LOL Acanac does not do any bandwidth shaping. We also have no limits on our downloads and uploads. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.
Best Regards,
Paul
»www.acanac.com | |
|
Bellundo
@bell.ca
| It seems with sympatico and rogers robbing everyone that the only alternative is these mom and pop second or third tier isp's. Until another alternative pops up like much cheaper and much faster satellite internet from other countries not a whole lot will change especially with Canada's communist protectionist laws. These rival things i've seen decades ago in Russia. The internet is moving backwards in Canada while the rest of thw world moves forward. My guess is satellite internet will be the wave of the future in Canada. It will be based out of say China or Taiwan and we'll pay them from this country. The speed will probably be at least 10 or 20 times faster so the lag won't seem so great. Canada and communism brought this whole thing upon itself. | |
| |
jackr
join:2004-03-10
Barrie, ON | Re: Yeah, they'll survive I'm wondering if anything will become of Hydro One's plan for it's broadband application over standard wiring. | |
| | |
Rox
@gc.ca | Re: Yeah, they'll survive It seems like Acanac did a lot more than what any other company would do. They tried to help you. Other companies wouldn't have even bothered to offer you what Acanac offered.
I'm signing up. | |
| | | |
jackr
join:2004-03-10
Barrie, ON | Re: Yeah, they'll survive Nice that you posted this anonymously.
 | |
| | | | |
MistaMike
@teksavvy.com | Has anyone seen any messages from someone where Acanac was failing because of a lack of effort on their part? (Keeping in mind that it's perfectly possible for people to fake messages at this point though.) | |
| |
Acanac Inc
Premium
join:2007-03-05
Mississauga, ON
| Re: Vendetta alternatives Users like Jackr are an asset to Acanac not a liability. This user alone is responsible for over 30 new orders over the last 9 or so months. They might think they are driving clients away, but in fact it has the reverse effect. I am sure a few wont order, but the net gain is on our side. Jacker is even a better a example because his complaints lack substance.
This user needs to realize that DSL is distance dependent. If your to far from the CO and your not happy with the speeds all you have to do is request a refund. For some reason he rather stay with us just to prove some point than request one. In the end Acanac offers these refunds because we don't ever wont the client to pay for something that is out of there control. | |
| | | | | | |
Jebus05
@rogers.com
| Re: Vendetta alternatives Holy hell son they offer you a full refund, and you are not willing to take it you must be nuts... Acanac must be one of the only internet providers that will offer a refund, (just so you know I am a rogers customer and I am no fanboy) but really you are fighting over the fact that you had a bad experience with them and are now for better words bit)(ching about it. When they are willing to give you a refund, like heck if rogers was willing to give me a refund I would be all over it but no when I go around and say hey rogers sucks ect they don't care hell I don't think I have ever seen a rogers employee ever try to fight back about how good there service is. I will give thumbs up to Acanac for even trying they could have just let you go and say hey guess what we don't care you are not getting your money back and who cares if you post online. But no they have come on here and they have posted their side of the story which to me seem like a very good deal.
I was planning on dropping rogers to go with Acanac but for a fact I know they use the same lines as bell and I used to have bell and well lets say I could never stay online for more then ten minutes with out being kicked off.
(as well just to put this out there when I left bell there was no "oh we are sorry our serviced didn't WORK and just because it didn't work we are going to tack on a $300 bill because you broke your contract")
Any ways to sum this all up really you need to just shut up take the refund be great-full you even get one and find a different provider... | |
| | | | | | | | | | 
cabana
now in pumpkin spice
Assistant
join:2000-07-07
New York, NY
Host:
AT&T Southeast
56k Lookout (Broad..
| Re: Getting tired of the trolls and vandalism Comments directed to the general audience and not meant to single out anyone in particular:
This site was founded on the FREE exchange of commentary about Broadband Services. To lock down the reviews would be counter intuitive to the mission of this site: to assist members in getting the best broadband experience possible.
ISPs should have the ability to weigh in and assist ... and other members should be able to say ... "hey I had that experience too... and this is what I did"...
As long as the follow up comments are:
a) based on service and experience
b) not a long diatribe or a one man/woman mission to either tout superior service to the exclusion of anyone else having a negative opinion, or
c)exact vengeance for perceived injustices
then comments are more than welcome.
Some feel the need to constantly manipulate the reviews. This is unfair and does not benefit anyone.
We offer a place to lay down on the floor and throw a temper tantrum or glowingly write love letters to your ISP...
HERE: »Rants, Raves, and Praise
To those that question updates in a review -- updates are welcome - as in ...
a) hey they fixed my problem
b) arrrrgh they STILL haven't fixed my problem
c) they sent me packing and now I am with ACME ISP
d) all of the above
REHASHING the same issue over and over again -- ie simply re-stating the SAME comments is not helpful.
Some members constantly manipulate scores to affect "revenge" which is not helpful to ANYONE.
Members risk losing the right to review if abuse is confirmed.
In turn, ISPS may lose the right to be listed if they are found to abusing the review queues.
The reviews are meant to be a platform for visitors to our site to leave and read honest critique ...good ...bad... or downright ugly.
The point of the Review Queue is to MAKE SERVICE BETTER FOR ALL -- NOT TO BEAT UP MEMBERS OR ISPS.
The REVIEW QUEUE is also meant to be a fair venue to pat an ISP on the back for getting it right ... and to show HONEST avenues for improvement when ISPs get it wrong.
The review queue is not meant to be a town square to host a whipping post.
We do our very best NOT to interfere with reviews other then to remove obvious slander, foul language and any issues with common decency and privacy.
To that end we ask the those that post take RESPONSIBILITY for thier actions when they post a review -- honesty is great -- pursuing one's own special agenda is not helpful.
IF there is ever any question about a comment to a follow up in a review - then contact your friendly neighborhood moderator. Simply blasting someone with personal insults is not allowed.
We understand that your BROADBAND SERVICE is crucial to daily life. And many take it personally when they are not getting the service they deserve. This site is meant to empower members to get the best service possible - to that end -- a little common sense and public manners go a long way in getting people to jump on "your" bandwagon to assist. | |
|
bobba fett
@qc.ca
| I was going to signup for acanac dsl service, but after seeing how stupid their employees are, I won't. I just read the post on this forum, and I can't believe how much time their customer service representatives are loosing over this case. This is just plain stupid. This is why they are not accepted by the BBB. | |
| |
smegmaman
@qc.ca | Re: Acanac don't look professionnal. I will sign up with teksavvy instead. At least they look much more profesionnal, and with a better customer service. | |
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