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Review by Presharized 
UPDATED: 1 days ago
member for 67 days, 4 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Ottawa,ON
 $42 per month
 "Good, friendly techsupport. Don't treat you like an idiot or try and grab a buck wherever they can."
 "Dial up speed currently in the evening. Completely unusable. On the verge of switching very soon"
 "Unusable speed currently"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
Update - So it has been about 2 weeks since the below post. After calling tech support that night, Bell determined that the problem was on their end (no other details were provided). Since then the connection has been rock solid and speeds have been withing range of what I was expecting. I am glad to say that I am now very pleased with my service.
I wish I could be giving teksavvy a good review right now, I really do. I have heard nothing but great things about them, and I really do want to like them as they have tried to be nothing but helpful. Let me preface this by saying that I am a heavy bandwidth user and that was the real problem when I was subscribed to Bell. I would consistently go over my monthly bandwidth allotment and was getting charged upwards of $90 a month, but their speed was always within the range of expected results.
I switched to Teksavvy in Early to Mid August this year with high hopes. Their setup was easy and I originally used an older Speedstream modem I had kicking around... Worked okay for about the first day that I had the service, then I noticed that the speed would decrease to the point that it was unusable (about 100kb/sec). At this point I did my due diligence and took the router out of the equation, powercycled blah blah. When none of this seemed to help, I decided to call teksavvy. After some troubleshooting and once we determined that my profile was set right (800/5000), I agreed that perhaps it would be best to try a different modem. I went out and bought a brand new Speedtouch 516 (I know there are better ADSL/DSL modems out there but decided to get this one as Teksavvy sells it and therefore supports it). So brought it home, set the modem correctly and went off to the races. Everything seemed okay for the first couple of days. The speeds were still not really what I was expecting (about 3.7Mb/sec Down) but it was usable. Seemed as though we had come to at least a livable solution although I was still not overly thrilled with the speed, but hey, it's DSL and it's copper (Even though I was getting about 4.5MB/sec on average from Bell I was willing to live with the drop to not have to deal with them). So as days went on, I noticed some inconsistencies in the speed... Started getting slower and being less reliable. Speed tests started yielding about 2.5 Mb/sec results. I called back support a few times, went through the standard TS drills and it seemed that the speed would go back to a reasonable level and that would be it for a while. Well tonight enough was enough. Speeds are now consistently sitting at about 300Kb/sec down and nothing seems to make any sense. After more equipment troubleshooting, nothing seems to be wrong. No errors on the Modem, no packet loss, nothing, just crap, near dial-up speeds.
Now before anyone jumps the gun and says it's wiring or equipment, the wiring in the house was put in specifically at the time of connection with Bell (about 1 year ago) and has been tested and is fine. The modem is brand new and was working fine at first. We have tried multiple cables and all that non-sense and nothing remedies the situation. There is currently a ticket in with Bell to investigate what the issue is as their support is somewhat stumped
While with Bell, the speed was never an issue, it was the fact that they treat their customers like a nuisance and a barrier to profit. I despise them and feel close to the same about Rogers.
As I have previously mentioned, I have no issue with Teksavvy's staff, pricing or attitude towards customers... In those fields they have excelled so far, but I cannot deal with this type of service. Please Teksavvy, prove my assumptions about your company right and deliver. I know I may be having an unusual issue, but it just doesn't make sense to me, as we have had dryloop DSL here before and it was flawless in terms of performance.
==========UPDATED REVIEW==========
So it has been a while since I have last updated this review and I am again barely able to use my internet connection. I am paying for 5Mbps down and getting less than 1 in the evenings. I know this may be a throttling issue on Bell's end (no I do not DL torrents) but I am sick of this speed. I am back in dial-up days but still paying DSL prices. This is unacceptable. If you advertise 5Mbps (I know a slight deviation is acceptable) than you should be able to commit to providing it. It takes 30 seconds to render a JPEG for crying out loud!! As mentioned before, I have no doubt this has something to do with Bell being shiesty, but I do not care anymore. I am on the verge of ponying up and switching to (*shudder*) Rogers. It is sad, but Canada is truly becoming the internet ghetto. I have been told more than once now (in progression) that my ticket was escalated to the technical manager.... Where was it escalated the first time you said that? I can't be too harsh on the tech agents because I truly feel there is nothing that they can do and they have been nothing but friendly and helpful though. I am seriously running out of patience and I don't think I should have to pay for the severely degraded service I have been provided...
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of TekSavvy Solutions Inc. |
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 Review by tux
UPDATED: 7 days ago
member for 1.6 years, 166 visits, last login: a few hours ago
undisclosed location
$41 per month
"Not too many currently, if any"
"Tech Support is basic and adhoc, staff don't follow up on issues, avoid questions and aren't dedicated to getting issues fixed"
"Starting to turning into another Bell =["
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
I was a longtime Sympatico subscriber [8 years] with an unlimited plan, until their ridiculous 30/30 throttling began on my line. It took me a few months to finally commit to switching providers because; I guess you get comfortable and complacent, the known is better than the unknown type thing. Finally I had had enough and I began the quest to find a new provider. Teksavvy was highly recommended on ./ [slashdot.org] which gave weight to my decision. Throughout my search Teksavvy got great review after great review [slashdot/DSLR /canadianisp.com] there wasn't much, if anything at all negative. I was sold and called up to order their service after canceling with Sympatico.
The phone was answered immediately by Cheryl [I wrote the name down after the call; If I got it wrong I'm sorry  ] who was great; friendly, efficient and helpfully. She made a great first impression.
On the service start date, I fired it up and it was active as expected.
I had an issue with the upstream line speed and posted in the Teksavvy Direct support forum here on a Sunday. I had no expectation of a reply until sometime Monday, but to my surprise there was a response a few hours later. There was a small hiccup with getting it fixed, where I wasn't sure what was happening - which started to give me some reservation about switching. But those feelings where quickly removed by Rick who took over the situation, apologized for the mix up, and had the problem corrected in less than 24hrs from his involvement. Like Cheryl, Rick was outstanding, providing fantastic customer service that I couldn't be happier about. It wasn't that he remedied the problem so quickly that impressed me most, it was that he acknowledge the error [which he didn't make], and apologized for it without making any excuses - the fact that the speed issue was fixed so quickly was just a bonus in that regard. We all know shit happens, but when it does, how its handled is whats most important to the consumer - it was handled in my situation *perfectly*; Thanks Rick and Thanks Mike too for the additional info and assistance. Great Job Guys
I began selling up Teksavvy to co-workers and friends, even before my service start date because of all the rave reviews. My experience so far has been great, mirroring the experiences of others. I'm extremely happy I made the switch and I'm confident that I chose the best provider.
The bottom line is Teksavvy provides a great value; good service, fair price and great customer service - which is becoming scarce to find
*********
Update
*********
Since June 2009 [it's now November 2009] my line throughput has been throttled generally between 4pm and 2am Mon-Fri and Noon through 2am on the weekends. During peak hours I get less than 1 Mb/s, outside of those hours everything is fine. My line is perfect, the problem exists between the CO and Teksavvy, whether equipment or capacity. It's been a complete nightmare in trying to get this fixed in the private forums. Tech staff don't follow up when they say they'll provide an update, staff jump into the tread without reading the background, only to rehash what's already been done, they avoid answering questions, there's misinformation, and what appears to be avoidance [a few times posts were ignored for 2 days, while plenty of staff respond to other threads], and worst of all no one seems to be dedicated to see the issue through, it goes from one tech support to another. TSI should be embarrassed, I'm throughly disappointed. For a company that claims to have such great tech support, you're fooling yourself; you aren't any better than an overseas call center.
I don't have any faith that this will be resolved, so I began looking for an alternative today, if there isn't any change soon, I'll switch over to Rogers.
I hope TSI looks at my situation and implements some changes, because if they don't learn something from this mess it amounts to a lose-lose.
Followup comments:  
TSI Mike
TSI Mike
Premium
join:2007-10-09
Chatham, ON
| Speed issues First off, let me apologize for the delays and misinformation. It's definitely not right and we'll be discussing ways to make sure it doesn't happen again.
In regards to your specific problem, I've got one of the other guys double-checking for me to be sure, but it looks like the ticket we opened for you went into what's known as a pattern match, which means there's something in the area that's going on.
I do see the original ticket from October was closed stating that there was a capacity issue in the Richmond Hill area on the BAS you were connected to, so this may be an extension of that. Dave's checking into it with Bell right now and will follow up shortly with more information.
--
TSI Mike - TekSavvy Solutions Inc.
Authorized TSI employee (»TekSavvy FAQ »Official support in the forum) | |
| 
TSI Dave
Premium,VIP
join:2007-04-25
Chatham, ON
| Pattern Match Hello,
Just a quick follow up here - it does look as though there's a general issue in your area causing problems. I've updated your direct thread with more info on this.
Regards,
Dave
--
TSI Dave - TekSavvy Solutions Inc.
Authorized TSI employee ( »TekSavvy FAQ »Official support in the forum ) | |
|
tux
I worship at the House of Penguins
join:2008-03-16 |  The turning point? -Hopefully
| |
| |
TSI Mike
TSI Mike
Premium
join:2007-10-09
Chatham, ON | Re: The turning point? -Hopefully I'm certainly hoping so. I'll keep an eye on things for you and make sure you receive any updates as I get them. | |
| | | Presharized
join:2009-09-14
 ·TekSavvy Solutions..
1 edit | Re: The turning point? -Hopefully Is there also a general issue like this in the Downtown core of Ottawa?!? I have the exact same symptoms and have been experiencing them for the last month and a half. I understand that this appears to be an issue on Bell's end, and while I sympathize, it no longer cuts it. TSI offers customers a service, and if they do not have the capacity to provide such a service, there should be some form of disclaimer. I am paying for 5MB a month, and I am getting less than 1Mbps in the evening (when I actually USE the service). | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of TekSavvy Solutions Inc. |
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Review by siar
UPDATED: 77 days ago
member for 5.8 years, 23 visits, last login: 1 days ago
Winnipeg,MB
$84 per month
 about 36 days
"supposedly you can connect to some giganews server from a static ip here, but i get unauthorized msgs"
"used to flaky as hell, can't seem to do anything about it, last night couldnt use internet all evening till this morning."
"got everything working now though"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
When considering clecs, remember, that if there are issues, and they have to deal with a third party : LOOK OUT . noone will get telus to do anything for me. My plan is to order a telus phone line on the same circuit so that I can get support finally. When I need to be sure i can get online I use my phone as a modem If i couldn't do that I would have switched to another isp awhile ago.
3 different people at this company have been rude to me. One was really really bad and insulted me. The others were just cranky/rude in general which i can understand. I told the guy I was speaking with that I would write a review about the mishap i was dealing with (fee for changing account information within first days of account activation) and he made me feel like i had to kiss his ass just to get a few buck off their fee, so it only cost me like 35$ for not remembering the correct apartment number I was moving in to. That's ok though , they have to deal with telus and pay them, so i guess i understand, and sometimes my phone line starts unsyncing every few minutes for the whole night. but they fixed it, I've been online for like a super long stretch now I can't remember how happy I am to be online yah! I'm going to go check the forums some more and see if I can't get on this usenet server now.
-- everthing is all fixed now though , no more connection drops and the speed is good too
Followup comments: 
R0CKY
TSI Rocky
Premium,VIP
join:2005-05-19
Chatham, ON
1 edit | ??? Can you PM me your details as I'd like to investigate what you speak of?
PS - Where do you live? We don't service Manitoba...
tx
Rocky | |
| | yokocar
join:2008-04-12
Whitby, ON | Re: ??? I think you reviewed the wrong company...Teksavvy doesn't service MB. | |
| | |
R0CKY
TSI Rocky
Premium,VIP
join:2005-05-19
Chatham, ON | Re: ??? It is ok.... he moved... he's in AB. | |
| | | | yokocar
join:2008-04-12
Whitby, ON
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| Re: ??? said by R0CKY :It is ok.... he moved... he's in AB. Fix him up Rocky! What other CEO contacts their customer's directly.
Siar; may I suggest re-reviewing your review after Rocky's helped you out? | |
| siar
join:2004-01-09
Calgary, AB
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| the next day after i wrote this I recieved a msg from a tech I havent had any problems for a day and a bit now, and I didn't even have to talk to anyone to get it fixed  I got a message from a tech named Scott saying let him know if there is still problems, I don't know what someone did, but my connection stays on now solid and is faster than before too. I just called to leave him a message saying it's good now, anyways, Thanks much. | |
| | 
DJ R
Premium
join:2005-06-12
Brossard, QC | Re: the next day after i wrote this I recieved a msg from a tech ok well .. you're confusing me..
Least maybe you can update the rating. | |
| | IamGuru
join:2008-10-01
Windsor, ON | Please update your rating as it doesn't look good since, your problem is solved. Thanks | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of TekSavvy Solutions Inc. |
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Review by sankars74
Posted: 87 days ago
member for 6.7 years, 11 visits, last login: 5 days ago
Scarborough,ON
$29 per month
"Got connected with CS rep. within seconds (all the time)..."
"If you experience problem right away after getting connected, you better switch to Cable.."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
My DL connection went from 5MB to 1MB to 512Kbps and CO location changed from 2km to 6KM. I was told that the DL speed change was necessary to resolve the connection problem with my network (since I am 6KM away from CO). CS ignored or don't have a clue on how i was 2KM to CO earlier. What I don't understand is how come my CO location is changed from 2KM to 6KM. There is no answer from their CS on this question and he was joking that "there could be mouse in your house which might be causing issue with my network inside my house". Yep. Mouses in high rise, well maintained condo is so advanced that it knows how to change your phone line from CO which was 2K to ~6KM.
Bottom line is, if you experience connection problem right after you are connected with DSL, just quit and go back to Rogers. My experience with Teksavvy is a nightmare... I am going back to Rogers and never ever again look at DSL connection even if they give it for free..
Followup comments: 
DSL nature
@videotron.ca
| yoyo effect went from 5MB to 1MB to 512Kbps and CO location changed from 2km to 6KM. I was told that the DL speed change was necessary to resolve the connection problem
LOL that cracked me up.
Sounds to me you have one of the following that happened:
1. Severe line problem that TSI and Bell did not address, nor did anyone give a damn it seems.
2. Bell moved you off a remote and more or less told you to take a hike since your a TSI customer and TSI can't do a thing about it except take your cancellation.
or a combination of both.
That is the nature of Bell, resellers, and DSL. | |
| | 
TSI Nick
Premium
join:2007-03-08
Chatham, ON | Re: yoyo effect sankars74 if you could PM me the details I would love for a chance to look into this. | |
| | | sankars74
join:2003-03-06
Scarborough, ON
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| Re: yoyo effect TSI Nick, Thanks for the response. To tell you the truth, I am really tired of going over the "fixing" process again. I called many times asking the CS to fix the problem with my line and I know that you guys tried your best to fix it. At one time, I was told that it was fixed by reducing the upload speed (which is fine with me as I am more worried about DL than UL) without any change to Download speed (5MB) (Ticket# OID-92446). I was happy for few days before everything went down hill (profile changed without informing me about it and moved to 6km CO). I know that this is bell's doing but only the very first CS promised to escalate it with bell and the rest (2-3 - subsequent calls) never bothered to address it, literally asked me to live with the slow speed.
It seems, Bell screwed up my line and TSI either couldn't do anything about it or thought not worth fighting with Bell. | |
| | | |
TSI Nick
Premium
join:2007-03-08
Chatham, ON | Re: yoyo effect I just sent you a PM. | |
| | | |
Ruarmani
@teksavvy.com | Hi, I seem to have the same problem. It was great in the beginning, 4.5-5mbs, now it is 1-2, rarely 3-4. Could Bell really screw the whole thing? | |
| | | | |
TSI Mike
TSI Mike
Premium
join:2007-10-09
Chatham, ON | Re: yoyo effect Can you post your details over in the direct forum and we can take a look?
»/forum/teksavdirect | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of TekSavvy Solutions Inc. |
| »next review in page (previous review)
 Review by adisor19
UPDATED: 120 days ago
member for 5.1 years, 1748 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Saint-Constant,QC
$70 per month
"Tech support is the best in the industry."
"They still depend on Bell for the last mile and if the line is bad, you get what you get..Also, they're expensive now."
"Great service and support but expensive compared to simillar ISPs."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
|
UPDATE July 23 2009
After confirming that my 2 lines are now working fine with Velcom and MLPPP, i have called TekSavvy and cancelled my 2 lines with them. As usual, it was a pleasure to speak with the tech on the phone and there was no delay in processing my request. I mentioned the reason for cancelling was the 4$ extra for the MLPPP service. Unlike the time when i cancelled with Videotron, he didn't offer me any sort of retention deal, but it's not like i was expecting any.
And so ends my time with Teksavvy. I will review Velcom after a few months and let you all know how it goes.
Adi
UPDATE July 17 2009 :
I came home and noticed that my download tests are around 5MBPS instead of the USUAL 10Mbps. Intrigued, i logged on to my router as i figured that one of the modems was no longer connected. What i saw, puzzled me even more : the MLPPP status was showing me : FAILED.
I tried disconnecting and reconnecting again but the problem persisted so my next step was to check out the TekSavvy forums here on DSLR. To my surprise, i was not the only one in this situation. There were others like me.Turns out that Teksavvy started charging 4$ extra per month in order for me to use MLPPP and therefor bypass the Bell throttling.
This is unacceptable. I already pay a lot for 400GB and with the added 4$, it would be even more the unlimited business internet cable service that has no cap.
I have found out that another DSL provider called Velcom offers MLPPP AND unlimited downloads for the same amount as TekSavvy so i have ordered 2 accounts with them. As soon as they'll be active on MLPPP I'll be calling TekSavvy and cancel my 2 accounts.
That's too bad as i really liked their service and support.
-------------------- INITIAL REVIEW FOLLOWS ----------
I decided that paying 70$ to videotron for 7Mbps down and 850Kbps up was less of a value then paying the same amount to Teksavvy and using 2 lines bonded through MLPPP. So i took the plunge and ordered the service from Teksavvy. I happen to be very lucky as i'm getting full sync on both lines : 5Mbps down and 800Kbps up on each line. Bonded together i get 10Mbps down and 1.6Mbps up with a 400GB per month quota. This is more than what Videotron would offer me and what makes it especially nice is the upload speed.
Both modems ordered arrived on time and the lines were also activated on time. I had a problem with the dryloop line not syncing initially but after verifying at the demarc, the second line wasn't connected. Tech support was extremely helpful when i called and they guided me and gave me advice to fix the problem. I can honestly say i've never had such good tech support from any other ISP that i've been with. Teksavvy truly is a great ISP and i can only hope that they will start deploying their own equipment in the future in order to bypass Bell for the last mile.
Adi
Followup comments: dmbcanada
join:2009-06-01
Ingersoll, ON
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| Didn't You Get The Memo? I believe TekSavvy sent out an e-mail in regards to their MLPP service changes. If not it has been advertised on their web site and in the forum here at DSLReports.
I don't think you will have any better service with Velcom, plus they will proably get wind of Tek Savvy's charges and start doing the same.
Good Luck!  | |
| emoci
join:2007-05-29
York, ON
| The change in MLPPP was not news quote:
Intrigued, i logged on to my router as i figured that one of the modems was no longer connected. What i saw, puzzled me even more : the MLPPP status was showing me : FAILED.
I agree you may be able to find service for slightly cheaper elsewhere ($4 less to be exact).
However you should not have been puzzled or surprised about the change in MLPPP status...
The post below indicates that you new this was going to happen as early as May 8, 2009:
»Re: MLPPP Poll | |
| |
adisor19
join:2004-10-11
·Velcom
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Radioactif
 ·Videotron
·Look Communications
| Re: The change in MLPPP was not news said by emoci : quote:
Intrigued, i logged on to my router as i figured that one of the modems was no longer connected. What i saw, puzzled me even more : the MLPPP status was showing me : FAILED.
I agree you may be able to find service for slightly cheaper elsewhere ($4 less to be exact). However you should not have been puzzled or surprised about the change in MLPPP status... The post below indicates that you new this was going to happen as early as May 8, 2009: » Re: MLPPP Poll Indeed, i got wind of their plans back then. However, there was quite a bit of an uproar about it and i figured they backed down on it especially since there wasn't much mention of the change on the tekSavvy forums in the last few days before the MLPPP cutoff happened, hence my surprise to see that only 1 of my 2 DSL links was actually working.
Adi | |
| | | emoci
join:2007-05-29
York, ON
| Re: The change in MLPPP was not news said by adisor19 :said by emoci : quote:
Intrigued, i logged on to my router as i figured that one of the modems was no longer connected. What i saw, puzzled me even more : the MLPPP status was showing me : FAILED.
I agree you may be able to find service for slightly cheaper elsewhere ($4 less to be exact). However you should not have been puzzled or surprised about the change in MLPPP status... The post below indicates that you new this was going to happen as early as May 8, 2009: » Re: MLPPP Poll Indeed, i got wind of their plans back then. However, there was quite a bit of an uproar about it and i figured they backed down on it especially since there wasn't much mention of the change on the tekSavvy forums in the last few days before the MLPPP cutoff happened, hence my surprise to see that only 1 of my 2 DSL links was actually working. Adi The following was sent to all customers via email and posted on the forums...
»New offerings and exciting changes
Officially MLPPP on all other ERXs was to be turned off on July 1st. They simply provided some phase-in time ....
In any case hope everything works out with Velcom! | |
| | | |
adisor19
join:2004-10-11 | Re: The change in MLPPP was not news I don't visit the Teksavvy forums and i unfotunaty didn't read the email in question untill later on once i saw i wasn't the only one in the situation.
I will let you all know how Velcom turns out. | |
| Decius
join:2009-07-10
| Comment I'm new to Ontario and I'll tell you why I went with Tek - it's not because people are raving about it because it's the cool thing to have.
To me, customer support responsiveness is extremely crucial, and especially when you're dealing with something so variable as internet access.
If you get high latency, Bell and Rogers won't be able to help you. I dont know about the company you're going with, but when I called Tek the guy i was talking to knew what ping times were in regards to gaming, for example, and if the tech knows that he will be able to diagnose a specific issue relating to it.
In other words, I've had about a hundred and one times when I've called Rogers and asked them if something is wrong, and they almost always say nothing is wrong even though after about 2 hours or half a day or half a week, the issue just resolves itself, be it lag, slow hostname lookups, etc.
Now, I'm a very new customer to tek so I can't say they are great - however, right now I feel secure in the knowledge that if something were to slow down and I gave them a call, they wouldn't give me the run around.
To me, that's very important. But I sympathize with you switching - 4 bucks a month may not be much but the principal of it may be what's bugging you. | |
| | | 
David_T
TSI, here I am
join:2006-09-01
Oakville, ON
·Cogeco Cable
·TekSavvy Solutions..
1 edit | Unfair This doesn't make any sense. Your cost goes up $4/mo and suddenly Pre-Sales Info, Services and Value for Money goes down to 40%? I think you're being very unfair with your ratings.
And your above comment is wrong ^
Again, MLPPP has never been officially offered. It was discovered to work by a customer a while ago and TekSavvy had simply left it enabled. It was never an official service nor has it ever been advertised on the TekSavvy website.
They didn't start "[offering] it for a more expensive price", they simply hadn't been offering it at all. It has essentially been in testing this entire time. And now that they have invested a substantial amount of money into new dedicated equipment for MLPPP, they have decided to offer it as an official service (and thus, are now charging for it).
TekSavvy had made it very clear that they would soon start offering MLPPP for $4/mo. It is not their fault that you did not read their email or read the numerous announcements posted on the forums.
It makes no more sense than complaining that Microsoft will soon start charging $319 for Windows 7 when they've been offering the pre-release for Free. | |
| |
adisor19
join:2004-10-11
·Velcom
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Radioactif
·Videotron
·Look Communications
| Re: Unfair said by David_T :This doesn't make any sense. Your cost goes up $4/mo and suddenly Pre-Sales Info, Services and Value for Money goes down to 40%? I think you're being very unfair with your ratings. And your above comment is wrong ^ Again, MLPPP has never been officially offered. It was discovered to work by a customer a while ago and TekSavvy had simply left it enabled. It was never an official service nor has it ever been advertised on the TekSavvy website. They didn't start "[offering] it for a more expensive price", they simply hadn't been offering it at all. It has essentially been in testing this entire time. And now that they have invested a substantial amount of money into new dedicated equipment for MLPPP, they have decided to offer it as an official service (and thus, are now charging for it). TekSavvy had made it very clear that they would soon start offering MLPPP for $4/mo. It is not their fault that you did not read their email or read the numerous announcements posted on the forums. It makes no more sense than complaining that Microsoft will soon start charging $319 for Windows 7 when they've been offering the pre-release for Free. Not fair, you say ? Let me explain why i dropped my rating of them :
The Presales info went down because when i first called TekSavvy and signed up with their service i has specifically asked the Tech/CSR on the phone whether they offered MLPPP so that i can bond 2 lines together. His answer was a reassuring : "YES" and he proceeded to create my account. There was no warning in there that the MLPPP service will be extra in the future or that it will be discontinued in its current form ! So again, Pre-Sales info was useless to me now.
As for value for money, let me put it this way :
400GB cap = bad. Videotron offers UNLIMITED bandwidth at 7Mbps albeit with a slower upload of only 850Kbps. Other ISPs out there like Velcom also offer MLPPP service at no extra cost. So tell me, how exactly is the Value for $ supposed to be better at TekSavvy?! Yeah, good tech support only goes that far. In the end, that Money part starts getting higher and higher : first, we get slapped with a 400GB cap for the same price and then we get the added insult of 4$ for MLPPP. I'm sorry but you're either a fanboy, or $$ is simply not an issue for you.
To me a good ISP must offer : Good price, No throttling, no caps, good download speeds, good upload speeds.
Right now TekSavvy only has 3 of those things. Due to the 4$ for MLPPP, Videotron now has better pricing. And then there is also Velcom which i am currently about to test out.
All i'm saying is think twice before swallowing that 4$ extra per month and compare what's out there.
Adi | |
| | | yokocar
join:2008-04-12
Whitby, ON
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| Re: Unfair Velcom does indeed support MLPPP bonding with no cost. However, there is no technical support for it either. You're paying $4 for Teksavvy to assist you if you need it- and to help support TekSavvy's new supportable equipment.
Don't be surprised if they eventually move it to a "supported" feature and have to charge for it as well. You can keep jumping ISP's to skimp the few extra dollars here and there, but really what are you gaining? | |
| | | | | | InvalidError
join:2008-02-03
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Videotron
| Re: Unfair said by adisor19 :So tell me, how exactly is the Value for $ supposed to be better at TekSavvy?! Yeah, good tech support only goes that far. In the end, that Money part starts getting higher and higher : first, we get slapped with a 400GB cap for the same price and then we get the added insult of 4$ for MLPPP. I'm sorry but you're either a fanboy, or $$ is simply not an issue for you. Teksavvy "slapped" the 200GB cap over a year ago, long long long before charging for MLPPP came into consideration. If you signed up back when Unlimited was $30/month then OF COURSE pre-sale would have had no way of knowing MLPPP would become an extra charge.
said by adisor19 :To me a good ISP must offer : Good price, No throttling, no caps, good download speeds, good upload speeds. In the current market, you are only allowed to have three of those things.
Cheap unlimited unthrottled/uncongested high speed is only economically sustainable for as long as the subscriber base does not attempt to use disordinate amounts of bandwidth. Put enough heavy users on a network and something will have to give... that's what happened with TSI Unlimited. | |
| Decius
join:2009-07-10
| Continued So to qualify, its not really just the 4 dollars - its that competition has become more competitive while tek has not, thereby making them less attractive to you.
According to me, it is legitimate to complain if a company you are with is not being competitive.
However, I do not believe in "unlimited" caps - from the old days of hosting when you had "unlimited hits" to "unlimited downloads" with ISPs, it simply does not work. Bandwidth always gets saturated, then you get latency and packet loss. It may not happen immediately, but I fully support caps as that is reasonable.
Unlimited is actually "unlimited until everyone joins us and then we'll have to add caps because we obviously can't provide the whole world unlimited bandwidth".
But again, if you are able to find a company that is providing the same package and more for a reasonable cost, and you don't require technical assistance, then moving may make sense.
But to me it becomes more an issue where you and tek have different priorities - you seem to want bandwidth and aren't as concerned about possible packet loss, ping times and customer service. You want bandwidth, and lots of it, along with speed. Teksavvy provides enough for me, but maybe not for you.
And to me a company that provides unlimited is unlikely to be able to compete with the quality of that bandwidth as a company that provides caps, at least in the long term. For me, that is a very important issue - I don't see Tek becoming saturated anytime in the near future.
But again, if you sign up with a company that is providing all of this and unlimited, you'll probably get a good year out of them without too much hassle if it is indeed not too popular. | |
| awowogei
join:2008-09-15
Quebec, QC
1 edit | RE : Continued said by Adisor19 :
400GB cap = bad. Videotron offers UNLIMITED bandwidth at 7Mbps albeit with a slower upload of only 850Kbps. Other ISPs out there like Velcom also offer MLPPP service at no extra cost. So tell me, how exactly is the Value for $ supposed to be better at TekSavvy?! Yeah, good tech support only goes that far. In the end, that Money part starts getting higher and higher : first, we get slapped with a 400GB cap for the same price and then we get the added insult of 4$ for MLPPP. I'm sorry but you're either a fanboy, or $$ is simply not an issue for you.
With Videotron, if you want the so called unlimited bandwidth, you must pay them 91,95$/Month excluding taxes. They also don't support MLPPP. So you get 7000/800 for 100$ with Videotron instead of 10000/1600 for about 80$ with Teksavvy. What kind of mind do you have. To me, it's clear that Tek is the one who offer the best! Also, if you care so much about unlimited bandwidth, just pay the damn 20$ for it. so you'll have unlimited BW with must better speeds.
Awo | |
| |
adisor19
join:2004-10-11
·Velcom
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Radioactif
·Videotron
·Look Communications
| Re: RE : Continued said by awowogei : said by Adisor19 :
400GB cap = bad. Videotron offers UNLIMITED bandwidth at 7Mbps albeit with a slower upload of only 850Kbps. Other ISPs out there like Velcom also offer MLPPP service at no extra cost. So tell me, how exactly is the Value for $ supposed to be better at TekSavvy?! Yeah, good tech support only goes that far. In the end, that Money part starts getting higher and higher : first, we get slapped with a 400GB cap for the same price and then we get the added insult of 4$ for MLPPP. I'm sorry but you're either a fanboy, or $$ is simply not an issue for you.
With Videotron, if you want the so called unlimited bandwidth, you must pay them 91,95$/Month excluding taxes. They also don't support MLPPP. So you get 7000/800 for 100$ with Videotron instead of 10000/1600 for about 80$ with Teksavvy. What kind of mind do you have. To me, it's clear that Tek is the one who offer the best! Also, if you care so much about unlimited bandwidth, just pay the damn 20$ for it. so you'll have unlimited BW with must better speeds. Awo You need to RE READ videotron's site again. It's 70$/month for 7Mbps down and 850Kbps up and UNLIMITED, UNTHROTTLED downloads/uploads.
Please, pple if you wanna flame me, at least gets your facts straight so that i don't have to point out your ignorance for everyone to see.
Thanks,
Adi  | |
| | awowogei
join:2008-09-15
Quebec, QC
| Nope, it's you who got caught in their tricks... you'r taking in consideration that the price is 29,95/M right?
Well that's only for the first month IF and only IF you take a 12 month subscription WITH the phone and TV from Videotron.
If you just take the internet without 12 month subscription and you don't take the phone and TV, it's gonna cost, including taxes, as much as 126,37/Month...
Everything explained in the following picture!!!!
»img186.imageshack.us/img186/4859/adim.jpg
Do you still want to go with them??? | |
| | |
adisor19
join:2004-10-11
·Velcom
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Radioactif
·Videotron
·Look Communications
| Re: RE : Continued said by awowogei :Nope, it's you who got caught in their tricks... you'r taking in consideration that the price is 29,95/M right? Well that's only for the first month IF and only IF you take a 12 month subscription WITH the phone and TV from Videotron. If you just take the internet without 12 month subscription and you don't take the phone and TV, it's gonna cost, including taxes, as much as 126,37/Month... Everything explained in the following picture!!!! » img186.imageshack.us/img186/4859/adim.jpgDo you still want to go with them??? 29.95$ a month ?!?!?! WHAT ?! WoW, you still have no idea what you're talking about since your picture actually points out to the 30GB/month cap on the COSUMER side of Videotron. I'm NOT interested in 30GB caps. This is the reason why the BUSINESS side plan costs 70$/month with no caps whatsoever and with no throttling either.
Go to www.videotron.ca and select BUSINESS instead of CONSUMER and you'll see what i'm referring to. Hope this finally clears things up for you.
Adi | |
| | | |
Ahoy matey
@videotron.ca
| Re: RE : Continued Advisor19,
I usually tend to agree with you on stuff, but in this case I do think you are doing as "yokocar" said here »Re: Unfair.
he said:
"You can keep jumping ISP's to skimp the few extra dollars here and there, but really what are you gaining?"
I have to agree 100% with this.
We both know videotron can give a superior quality Connection (not service) unthrottled & unlimited for 70$. I would have went videotron business before even bothering with MLPPP, personally.
If not, TSI or Velcom would be my first choice.
But to jump from one ship to another ship then again to another ship for a savings of 4$/month is kind of ridiculous (but we have seen many worse than this jumping for a 1$ savings, So we have all seen worse).
If money was tight, you would even be bother with two lines, forget about MLPPP.
So I don't get it.
I can understand your "feelings" to the matter at hand though.
If UBB comes in and other little extra charges Bell is trying to push through at the CRTC, then I'll see you back at videotron by winter  | |
| | awowogei
join:2008-09-15
Quebec, QC | Yeah, sure, if you take the business side of videotron, it do cost 70$. Sorry for the inconvenience. I was talking about the Residential side  | |
| | |
hmm
@videotron.ca
| Re: RE : Continued said by awowogei :Yeah, sure, if you take the business side of videotron, it do cost 70$. Sorry for the inconvenience. I was talking about the Residential side FYI: Anyone can get the business package. I don't think you realize this. | |
| | | |
weee
@teksavvy.com
1 edit | Re: RE : Continued That package fine print:
This limited time offer is available to all new Internet Business customers who subscribe to Vidéotron's High-Speed Business Cable Internet service, and is conditional on a 36-month contract. The 3 free months will be distributed as follows: the 1st, 13th and 25th. Free installation applies to regular installations only. Other promotions are available, depending on the contract. Rental of the cable modem is included. Business High-Speed Internet access (cable modem): unlimited access. Dial-up access: 20 hours a month; each additional hour is billed at 1$/hour. Long distance charges may apply. The contract is non-transferable. Penalties apply for breach of contract. Available where technology permits. This offer and these rates are subject to change without prior notice. Taxes not included. Certain conditions apply.
† The client must pay annual fees to the registrar. Does not include Web site hosting services. | |
| | | | | | | | | |
hmm
@videotron.ca
| Re: RE : Continued Don't know what you're reading but their website says:
you have the choice between a:
With a 12 or 24 or 36-month subscription (who would take more than a year??). If you want no subscription it's 79.95 instead of 69.95.
ah I see the conditions say one thing, the web page says another. It's always been a minimum of a 1-year contract.
The part you are purposely ignoring and omitting in your copy & paste above is the following from their webiste:
From their website:
..."Other promotions are available, depending on the contract".
High-Speed Internet Rates
With a 12 or 24 or 36-month subscription (You have the choice) $ 69,95 /month
Without a subscription $ 79,95 /month
Also, if they pull a Bell and throttle, that's a material change and breaks the contract and there are no termination fee's. Exactly like those who were bright enough on Bell use leave Bell mid-way thorugh their contract.
So the cherry picked copy and paste you did is completely taken out of context.
MLPPP unlimited is 40 + 40 + 4$ + drl loop fee's
Or unlimited option 2 (if it lasts) 40 + 30 + 4$ + dry loop fee's
Or maybe you can get a bit off in a group rate.
Sorry, but nothing to bitch about (at least not till they throttle and how they throttle).
Till then this (in my opinion) is the best solution for those who can get it.
It's Less expensive, and their network is great (support aside).
But feel free to knock it. You only showed you didn't read what you were looking at, or cherry picked certain parts. | |
| | | | |
last one
@videotron.ca
| said by weee :
That package fine print:
This limited time offer is available to all new Internet Business customers who subscribe to Vidéotron's High-Speed Business Cable Internet service, and is conditional on a 36-month contract. The 3 free months will be distributed as follows: the 1st, 13th and 25th. Free installation applies to regular installations only. Other promotions are available, depending on the contract. Rental of the cable modem is included. Business High-Speed Internet access (cable modem): unlimited access. Dial-up access: 20 hours a month; each additional hour is billed at 1$/hour. Long distance charges may apply. The contract is non-transferable. Penalties apply for breach of contract. Available where technology permits. This offer and these rates are subject to change without prior notice. Taxes not included. Certain conditions apply.
† The client must pay annual fees to the registrar. Does not include Web site hosting services.
So in summaray, what you posted above is indeed not correct. At all for the 1 year 69$ unlimited package. | |
| | | | |
hmm
@videotron.ca
| 
Tron unlimited |
As you can see you have the choice of 1 year (not 3 like you misinterpreted) 3 is if you want the modem for free (around 100$ or something).
That's that the asterisk (*) is for and the conditions yu posted in bold are for.
You completely misread the webpage. | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Forums » comments on review of TekSavvy Solutions Inc. |
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Review by so142001
UPDATED: 143 days ago
member for 3.3 years, 60 visits, last login: 26 days ago
Mississauga,ON
$42 per month (month by month)
about 8 days
"excellent customer service, reps always are friendly most of the time, 24/7 telephone tech support"
"Terrible signal on the lines makes for 1.4 Mbps speed max yet I am paying for a 5 Mbps service."
"Dependance on bell's line's make this company vulnerable"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
I paid for a 5Mbps speed, getting only 1.4 Mbps capped speed. Teksavvy reps blame it on the terrible quality of the signal on my line, however I am 5 KM from the bell office. This makes for sever problems. They consider this a "reasonable" connection and not worth providing a refund for. The worst experience I've ever had with an internet service. I ended up paying 62 dollars for the first month (20 for activation) and I get a connection not worth beans.
[EDIT] I forgot to include a few details about the service I paid for. The service I paid for was a dry loop connection. Also I spoke with a manager and they came up with a reasonable solution. Pending future events I will be editing my review. Thanks and sorry for any inconvenience [/EDIT]
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of TekSavvy Solutions Inc. |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by phedre
UPDATED: 155 days ago
member for 1.3 years, 8 visits, last login: 112 days ago
Ottawa,ON
$55 per month
"Unlimited bandwidth, static IP, decent price"
"Misleading emails to sell more services, poor coordination, stories not kept straight."
"Depends. If everything's set up properly, you're golden. If anything goes wrong, you're screwed."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
Update as of June 18th:
I moved to Ottawa on June 2nd. I called Teksavvy to have my internet transferred over, got it all set up for June 2nd, and the sales tech informed me that I was lucky, as I was within 1KM of central. Yay right?
Apparently a tech came out on the 1st when I was unavailable, and I missed the first dispatch. Rescheduled for later in the week.
Bell tech appeared on June 5th, couldn't get my DSL working, but confirmed the dry loop was in place.
Five days later, Teksavvy realised there was a problem with my paperwork and they assured me fixing this would fix the DSL issue. It didn't.
Tech dispatched to fix issue again. He couldn't fix it, didn't know the code to enter the electrical room (this is a Bell issue). No resolution.
Fast forward to the 14th, new tech, same issue. No resolution.
17th: tech shows up and finally fixes all the technical issues. My line's fixed, and I begin using my DSL. It was SLOOOOOOOOOW. I'm getting less than 1mbps down. I call and ask if maybe my profile had been lowered, as I know Bell can do that sometimes.
I'm informed that it's not my profile, but that I am over 5KM from the nearest central and that this is the best speed I am going to get from my line. Double take at that, given I was told explicitly that I was much closer than this. I asked if anything could be done, and I was basically told "suck it up. That's as good as it gets."
Given that I'd pre-paid for a month, I asked if there was any chance of a refund. Nope. Asked if a manager could call me, got an "ok"
Manager calls, tells me that oh, yes, there MIGHT be a station closer to you, but we don't know for sure. No one knows for sure. So either the sales tech was full of shit and trying to sell me a load of crap, or the technician I spoke to earlier had no clue because he insisted there was nothing to be done for my line.
I'm told that he can open a ticket and perhaps, maybe, if I'm lucky, they might be able to get me to a closer line and get me 1.5mbps, which would be "three times faster than your current speed". I don't know what kind of math he's using where 720 goes into 1500 3x, but there you go.
So, 2 weeks of delays to get my DSL hooked up, a line of bull from the sales tech, either inadequately trained staff or out and out lying on what I can possibly get from the speed, and indifferent at best customer support.
I'm cancelling the service and ordering Rogers. It's not the best company, but anything's better than this "maybe we can do something, maybe we can't" BS I'm getting from Teksavvy.
________________________________________
I signed up for teksavvy phone & dsl service in early May, finally ridding myself of all Bell services. I got the regular home phone line with no long distance and the unlimited high speed internet plus the optional static IP address. I'm paying slightly more than I did at Bell (I had a grandfathered unlimited account at $32/month there), but figured it was worth it to divest myself of Bell and their shady practices.
Overall it's been great: good service, fast tech support, and no problems yet except for one:
The spam.
Four times, count 'em, FOUR, I've received this email message:
Thank you for choosing TekSavvy for your Home Phone needs!
Your order has been completed, but we still need to confirm some details with you.
Please call us at your earliest convenience and ask for a Customer Care Representative.
Sounds like they need to confirm account details, doesn't it? WRONG. Every single time I called in, roaming long distance on my cell phone no less (I'm often out of the country working), to find out that they were trying to sell me a long distance package, something I'd specifically said when I signed up that I did not want or need because my phone is used only for my security system.
It doesn't bother me that they want to sell more services, but it DOES bother me that they send such a misleading email and make me phone at MY expense to try and sell me something I don't need. If you're trying to sell me something, be honest and upfront about it! At least then I have the option of ignoring the email rather than spending my own money to call.
The last time this happened I was fed up and told them in no uncertain terms how unhappy I was with this practice. What'd I get out of it? Nothing. You'd think they'd at least reimburse me for the phone calls I had to make. Nope.
Edit to add: One of those four emails actually was for confirming account details.
Followup comments: | 
DJMASACRE
join:2008-05-27
Nepean, ON
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Bell Sympatico
| aw Overall it's been great: good service, fast tech support, and no problems yet except for one:¨
so why dont you give TSI a good review score and Bell the crappy score for having such bad techs. atleast TSI tried to help.
as for that spam, would it be that hard to send an email and say ¨please i do not want to receive these notifications anymore ¨..
i have never received those emails.
Your not going to like Rogers unless you dont download anything p2p. otherwise youll get fast speeds but then get flagged hard to crippling worse throttling speeds and pay out your ass.
( you know, I dont know why many reviews are all about the first installations and service setup. I mean it doesnt always go smooth, deal with it, as long as it gets set up eventually and once it is, everything works for many many months after that. then would you not call that a success ? ) .. sometimes we just have to be patient enough.
if after getting it all installed and setup, you were getting frequent disconnects, the modem they gave you blew up, you called in and they told you to fuck off, and you could never download anything more than 300kb/s ever for several months .. then i would say it is time to write a bad review ... ) =) | |
| | phedre
join:2008-06-28
Montreal, QC
·TekSavvy Solutions..
1 edit | Re: aw The "overall it's been great" was for my set up last year. The review update comes from my move experience, which has been horrible.
As for the emails, I asked to be removed from any email communication lists every time I received one. There was no excuse for anyone to send four emails, and definitely no excuse for the misleading subject. "Confirm account details" does NOT equal "sell additional services". | |
| 
drewis
Premium
join:2006-09-04
Hamilton, ON
·Cogeco Cable
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| Misunderstanding? Well, put it this way..
Bell isnt the easiest to deal with, since youre issues all stem from where BELL's CO is, where BELLS remote is, BELLS equipment.
BELL not being able to get into your electrical room.
Who told you you could get a good line + that you were 1KM from the CO?
Bell or Teksavvy?
Seems like a miscommunication to me.
Their staff took care of me and a dozen people on this forum, I have only read two comments that their service wasnt great from Teksavvy and that those issues always stemmed from BELL. | |
| |
drewis
Premium
join:2006-09-04
Hamilton, ON | Re: Misunderstanding? ^
including my issues. | |
| | phedre
join:2008-06-28
Montreal, QC | Teksavvy's sales tech told me it was 1km away, not Bell. Had I known from day 1 that it was over 5km away, I never would have gone with DSL in the first place, and I wouldn't have spent 2 weeks fighting to get the service hooked up. | |
| 
TSI ERIC
TekSavvy
Premium
join:2007-08-20
CA
| Follow up Hi phedre,
Thanks for your review. I have my team looking into what was gone wrong. I apologize for any miss information that may have been given to you. For the most part we do not have access to the location of COs, so I am very curious who told you that you would be at 1km away and that you would get good speeds.
Anyway, it is clear that I do not need any extra info as your review gave most of the details.
Again, thanks for the review and I know we will be in touch soon to resolve this issue.
Cheers | |
| |
TSI Nick
Premium
join:2007-03-08
Chatham, ON
| Re: Follow up phedre,
Can you please PM the details of your account.
I would like to look into this so I can find out what happened and where everything went wrong.
Regards,
Nick
--
TSI Nick - TekSavvy Solutions, Inc.
Authorized TSI employee (»TekSavvy FAQ »Official support in the forum ) | |
| | |
R0CKY
TSI Rocky
Premium,VIP
join:2005-05-19
Chatham, ON | Re: Follow up You guys connect yet to figure things out? | |
| | | | |
| Forums » comments on review of TekSavvy Solutions Inc. |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by (hidden by request)
Posted: 185 days ago
(review was emailed from domain gmail.com)
L8N1Z
Contract price not specified.
"Support people are very quick to call you"
"Support people can't fix my problem but keep calling anyway"
"Lots of phone calls, no DSL - someone take action!"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
I have an alarm system which is monitored by ADT. When I switched from
Cogeco to TekSavvy they sent a Bell technician to activate the phone line to
my house. I asked TekSavvy if I need to be present at the house to let the
technician in and they said no. It turns out the technician needed in and by
chance my GF was home to let him in. He activated the line and wired it to
my existing phone system, however he did it wrong and my alarm system no
longer works. I haven't even tried DSL because after looking at the wiring I
know it won't work - the DSL line and alarm line just twisted together with
the line that was ran through my window !! with no proper filters or
splitters in place. I informed TekSavy of this and they indicated that I
would need to pay for a new technician, I decided not to go this route
because Bell technicians say they are not responsible for alarm systems. So I
phoned my alarm company and they said they are not responsible for the phone
lines but they could send a technical for $90 an hour to install a $20
filter. I'm sort of stuck in the middle of three companies who won't own up
and get this fixed. I don't want to pay for technicians who only care about
half the services I need to use my phone line for as I'm pretty sure this
will waste more money and time. TekSavvy, although perfectly aware of my
situation and have offered no solution other then "find your own technician
and pay to have it fixed" have continued to call me almost daily asking why
I haven't connected DSL yet. - very annoying - either fix it or stop asking
me why it's not working.
My plan is to just wire it myself. Filters and splitters are all on eBay and
wiring diagrams are freely available on the net - $30 should do it. I don't
think that TekSavvy has sold me a complete solution here since the Bell tech they
sent only made my phone wiring worse and broke my alarm system - they were
then kind enough to tell me I'd have to pay more money to fix it - don't
think so!
If you have an alarm system be prepared for big trouble because each company
just points fingers to another company when something doesn't work.
Followup comments: 
TSI Scott
Premium,VIP
join:2007-04-25
Chatham, ON
| Please contact us. I'm sure we can find a better solution for you then that...can you post in the direct forum so we can discuss this with you?
If an error was made we'll find a way to correct it. Alternatively you can give us a call here and speak to Rick, Nick or myself. | |
| |
R0CKY
TSI Rocky
Premium,VIP
join:2005-05-19
Chatham, ON | Re: Please contact us. This now been resolved? | |
| | |
R0CKY
TSI Rocky
Premium,VIP
join:2005-05-19
Chatham, ON | Re: Please contact us. bump.... | |
|
ANONONE
@owergeneration.com
| I fail to see... ...how this is a "TekSavvy" problem. Teksavvy does not have technicians to come to your house. They sell a 'service'. DSL and Alarm systems usually don't get along nicely at the best of times and take some work by qualified techs to get them to co-exist. Do you think Bell would call you and see if you're OK? HA! | |
| koreyb
join:2005-01-08
Etobicoke, ON
 ·Primus Talkbroadband
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| inside wires Bell Techs are like the weather report... Sometimes they are good, sometimes bad.. but always unpredictable.
For a security system it will need a line filter if you are using Teksavvy's phone service with it.
Inside wiring is normally your responsibility.. This is a decision Bell made a long time ago, and it applies to all wholesale and Bell companies.
Call Teksavvy and work with them to get things corrected. | |
| 
Fireblade
join:2008-08-27
St Catharines, ON
·Cogeco Cable
·Vonage
| El Oh El Bell I believe you, I've had 2 new lines installed by Bell, when I was actually with Bell. Each new line they installed was done wrong, they also broke my phone, never ended up working after that. Where do they hire these idiots? Completely worthless, until I actually see a good one with my own eyes, I'm going to assume that every Bell technician is a complete idiot.
Even if Bell offered to fix it for free, I wouldn't let them into the house. Who knows what else they'll break and charge you for.
--
I love fish sticks. I love putting fish sticks in my mouth. | |
| | | | |
| Forums » comments on review of TekSavvy Solutions Inc. |
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Review by tsissues
Posted: 300 days ago
member for 300 days, 8 visits, last login: 279 days ago
undisclosed location
Contract price not specified.
"They have good PR"
"Don't seem to care about customer"
"I'm looking for an alternative"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
I have a brand new home, and I don't have POTS telephone service -- there has never been POTS service to this address.
I had read about TekSavvy and they seemed to have good reviews.
I called and enquired about getting DSL at the house, and was informed that it would only get 'lite' speeds, not full high-speed. As I am in a newer residential area I believed that this might be a mistake, and asked if they could confirm the speed. They said they would have to ask Bell and they would call me back. They did not.
I called a second time several days later and they had no reference for my first call. I asked the same questions, and was again told that they would have to call Bell and find out what speed was available. Again, they didn't call back.
Obviously new customers are not a priority.
I went to a Bell store, where their computer told the sales agent that 5meg service was available. No problem, no fuss. I was signed up with 5-meg service inside of 10-minute.
That's when I made my mistake. Not liking that Bell is throttling internet traffic, and seeing that TekSavvy seemed to take a pro-customer stance, I felt I would vote with my wallet, and move my business.
I cancelled Bell, and I signed up with TS which went reasonably smoothly, though I am not sure I'm on the right plan ... the name of the plan on the bill ("Personal DSL") doesn't match the names used on the web-site ("Premium" and "Unlimited"), and the price seems to be for the wrong service. This is something I have not addressed yet -- maybe I'm missing something and I will wait until I get my first real bill to see what is going on.
I had signed up with TS for my first day to be the day after Bell disconnected, but I understood I could begin to use my TS login any-time. I started using on the Bell disconnect date. Everything went very well, I needed some help getting going, and though the tech support person was a bit condescending, they did get me going. Most notably there is a number (another support person told me this was like an 'area code' for DSL) and this number was nowhere in the documentation they had sent.
The following Friday I came home and there was suddenly no service. I called for support and they concluded that it was a "PIE", but it would be 1-2 days before anyone would look at it, and then next business day before anyone would work on it. So I was without internet for the whole weekend.
Monday I came home and there was a note from a Bell technician who advised that there was DSL signal at the demarcation point. I called TS tech support and while the individual was friendly, they weren't of any help. After a lengthy conversation (30-minutes) I was no further ahead. I had the idea that perhaps the DSL signal was on the second phone line, but the TS tech support rep insisted that there was only one line hooked up. Not sure where they get that info: every house I've ever seen has four wires (2 lines) hooked up, but only one is active.
So I doctored a wire: cut it open and reversed lines 1 and 2, so that I could feed line-2 to the DSL modem. Presto! instant sync and connect. Thanks for the fine hook-up and fine bit of tech support.
So I called back, and asked to speak to the same rep and informed them of what I had found out. I requested that they get Bell to re-wire correctly: The DSL signal should come down line 1. The tech support agreed and escalated to "management" who must have agreed as they opened a ticket with Bell.
That evening I get a call back, and we have a 3-way call; tech support, bell and myself. We discuss the issue, and the Bell person tells me this is an internal wiring problem. I state that this is not an internal wiring problem, the problem is that they are sending the signal down the wires for line-2, and it should be line 1. He acknowledges and we terminate the call.
Tuesday I come home and there is a note from Bell stating that the line was tested as working, noting that there was good service and totally missing the point of which line the service had been installed on.
I call tech support and speak with the same agent who informs me he will again escalate to management as this is not acceptable.
Thursday there is another note from a Bell tech stating that there is good sync and again missing the point of which line this was on.
I call TechSavvy back, and this time after going through all this with another tech support individual ask to speak to a manager.
This person is rude and somewhat condescending. They inform me that my install went "perfectly" (my dictionary isn't so liberal with this term). They now tell me that the problem is with my internal wiring, and that if I pursue this any further there will be a charge to me. They tell me that there is no terms of service guaranteeing that the service is on line-1, and then informs me that some people expressly want or need to have their DSL on line-2. What is not detailed is how one is supposed to get this installed on line-2 since they don't have any terms of service with Bell. Then I am informed that the solution to my problem is to go and get a telephone cable that converts line-1-to-2, and that the acquisition of this cable is my problem.
So the modem and wiring they sold me is not compatible with the service they sold me. Nice.
And this rep doesn't care.
And this rep doesn't see a problem with this.
And this is supposed to be better than Bell.
The guess from this person is that Bell didn't disconnect on the disconnect date, and so when the new DSL line was added, they 'had' to add it to line-2. So Bell screws up, but I'm the one that had to pay. The reads like a scam to me. If I had not thought to try line-2 on my own (TekSavvy tech support insisted that there was only one line!) I would have ended up paying to have someone come in and "fix" the problem that they caused.
And this rep doesn't care.
And this rep doesn't see a problem with this.
And this is supposed to be better than Bell.
Followup comments: emoci
join:2007-05-29
York, ON
| just a few points Just out of curiosity:
-Am I right to assume you have Dry DSL (since you said no POTS in the house)?
-Do you have a phoneline now (from whom)?
-Are your stats and speed ok?
Personal opinion, If you've got Dry DSL, have good sync, and have now figured out that DSL was activated on the second pair and working I would not worry about it.
What I am saying is that you want to avoid having Bell involved if things are installed and working... (the more you involve them, the higher the chance of screw ups).
Also DRY Dsl usually gets activated on the second pair...
It really is not a huge deal that it is activated on the second line (although I concurr that the TSI Rep you spoke too should've recognized that this was a possibility).
If you decide to move the modem around the house, and don't want to have to open a jack everytime you switch the modems place, grab something like this »cgi.ebay.com/Lot%3D10-L1-L2-Phon···008r4809 (this is not the same as the line splitters you find in most places though, that L1/L2 marking is important)
My last suggestion: Try the Teksavvy Direct Forum here for support ... it tends to be easier when you can explain everything in writing and its there for the tech to refer back to... | |
| emoci
join:2007-05-29
York, ON | splitter PS. I have a bunch of those two line splitters...I am willing to mail one out for free if you want... | |
| |
broadcastguy
@teksavvy.com
|  2nd line trouble
Remember that Teksavvy relies on the Bell copper (and bell outside techs) for the hardware portion of the service. Like the other person commented, I have plenty of personal experience that whenever the dolts at Bell get involved in the DSL service delivery you'll be lucky if you end up with service at all. Avoid at all costs requiring bell to work on the service. (That "fee" you were warned about is a Bell maintenance fee that they would charge teksavvy and Teksavvy would be forced to pass on to you).
If it's dry DSL that you have (ie. no POTS (wireline telephone serivce) in your house), then you can simply go to the demarc point in your house (where the main phone line comes in (sometimes near the electrical panel.) open the demarc box, and swap the two wire pairs on the terminals feeding your inside wiring. WARNING: DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU HAVE WIRELINE TELEPHONE SERVICE (as you will no longer have dial tone on any of your phones in the house).
If you DO have wireline phone service, you'll have to continue your struggle with bell (via teksavvy) to have the DSL provided on your primary pair. Bell must make this change, teksavvy cannot, they can only ask Bell to do it, and as noted above, good luck getting it done right (as you have already experienced.)
A personal anecdote I can use to illustrate the low quality Bell service for DSL: last year, the DSL line card in the Bell Central office failed. It took Bell over 7 days to replace the card and restore my service. Even though the teksavvy folks had the ticket opened with bell while I was on the phone with them on day 0. (Thankfully, I was able to use the Teksavvy dial up service to access the web, which is a free service for DSL customers)
Bell does not offer the same level of service to their third party providers of DSL, since they'd prefer to have you as their customer. This is not right (from a consumer fairness standpoint), but CRTC has decided to NOT regulate internet service, and thus bell can get away with it. (They do other things as well to favour their customers over others, like no loop charge for Sympatico DSL customers, but there is for all others).
If you are unhappy with the way Bell has dropped the ball on their portion of the service, you could file a complaint with the CRTC about Bell's poor service as they are obligated to provide this service under Canada's telecommunication laws.
Good luck. Give Teksavvy the benefit of the doubt, you'll be happy with their service, and support too once you can deal with them only. | |
| | militiamen
join:2007-07-02
London, ON | Re: 2nd line trouble If you don't have POTS then why would you expect DSL to be hooked up on a certain line? | |
| | | the cerberus
join:2007-10-16
Richmond Hill, ON
2 edits | Re: 2nd line trouble said by militiamen :If you don't have POTS then why would you expect DSL to be hooked up on a certain line? My thoughts exactly. If you pay a dry loop fee, who cares what line its on. Additionally every Teksavvy support agent I have spoken to has always suggested going to the demarc and wire it directly to it, and at that point, why wouldnt you check both lines, even if it didn't work, you're not at a loss, which is why I find it hard to believe that a TSI rep said not to. This is just odd, because you seem like you are a real customer, but you are concerned and angry about something that doesnt even make sense, so you give a bad review and, on almost every aspect TSI fails?
How? You haven't even used the DSL, because reliability isn't based on the install process, it's based on what happens after, which is minimal maintenance with ample warning. Which is nice because when Rogers/Bell do maintenance, they don't tell you, its just out for no reason, you may choose to call, get routed over to Internet Tech Support and then a message will tell you from a script that, indeed a problem is being looked after.
Also, it's not a review based on whether or not Bell screwed up. Bell did and does screw up on almost every 3rd party install, and you got to wonder why. This is a review on how TSI treated you, and they seemed to care, until you became a bit unreasonable, if there really is no POTS, TSI is right and there's no problem with your setup. Although I do admit, they hardly ever call new customers back, you've got to call them back, and that's where they are lacking. Even if Bell said you could get 5Mbps, its not even always the case, they decide large areas can get 5Mbps when they install hardware but they don't check every house, so even if TSI could have told you that you can get 5mbps based on Bell's lousy system, they'd run the risk of lying. | |
| 
TSI Steve
TSI Steve
Premium,VIP
join:2007-01-12
Chatham, ON
| Information about Dry DSL Hello,
I am going to comment directly on the Dry DSL and the activation of it specifically.
You absolutely should have been informed that if switching from a dry dsl service from another provider that our dry dsl may be activated on the second pair. This happens frequently. Added to that, we should have also requested that you get the associated "Dry Loop Number" for your current dry loop from Bell so that we can perform a switch over instead of a "new" activation. (Now.. in these circumstances, you still have to pay the dry loop activation fee and so do we to Bell)
FYI All Dry Loop's have a pseudo phone number associated with them. Including the ones activated in BC/AB
Can you also please message us in the direct queue or IM me directly the details of your account and who you spoke too?
--
TSI Steve - TekSavvy Solutions Inc.
Authorized TSI employee ( »TekSavvy FAQ »Official support in the forum )
| |
| |
nifter
@teksavvy.com
| Teksavvy DSL I'm a reseller of teksavvy’s dsl service. I have had excellent service and competent customer support from their staff. The weak link with all DSL providers is "Bell". Bell is an abomination of a service provider. From routing their support calls to India to fragmenting their company into non-communicating sects, I've found that Bell's level of success is less than 30%. Take my word, Teksavvy is a good ISP. | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of TekSavvy Solutions Inc. |
| »next page (previous review)
 Review by Doctor
UPDATED: 1 year ago
member for 1.4 years, 73 visits, last login: 204 days ago
Toronto
$40 per month
about 16 days
 Bell Canada
"Prices aren't bad, service pretty good"
"Deals with Bell, No paper bills"
"A pretty good choice"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
I signed up about 6 months ago. I was a previous Rogers customer and I was tired of the throttling. I put up with it though because I was too lazy to make the switch. Because I've been such a long time customer with Rogers the bandwidth cap didn't apply to me. I was informed that finally starting in June I would no longer have unlimited usage. So between the prices, throttling, and the new cap, enough was enough and I decided to switch.
I heard these guys had a flawless reputation so I signed up. I was told it would be around 8 days until I got service. It turned out to be a little more than 2 weeks. They would blame Bell for the delay usually.
Install co-ordination is was not the best. I was told one thing it turned out to be another, I don't blame them but I won't give them a free pass either.
Connection reliability is good. I've had this service for almost 6 months, it went down a few times but only for an hour or so. I don't give them perfect in this regard because with Rogers I can't remember one time their service going down.
Tech support is good. They are very knowledgeable but I found they shift the blame too much. If they didn't have to rely on Bell they might not do this so this is hard to rate. I would have to rate it mediocre.
The service was what I expected, but it was half the speed I was getting with Rogers. The customer service reps are very nice, but I don't really like them blaming Bell all the time. If these guys didn't rely on Bell, I would of given them a perfect score in this regard.
Pre-Sales information I rate good. Before I signed up they answered all my questions and took their time with me, although I knew about throttling beforehand, they should of told me prior to my signup. This is my only complaint.
Value for money is pretty good, but they do have throttling. Their usage plans of 200GB and unlimited are pretty good, so I give them a high score. If they didn't use Bell, it would of been a perfect score.
Not really much more I can say. One of the best out there in comparison to Rogers and Bell.
Followup comments: koreyb
join:2005-01-08
Etobicoke, ON
·Primus Talkbroadband
·TekSavvy Solutions..
3 edits |  We all are starting to feel like a broken record here... BUT
There's no choice.. Pure and simple. Bell does nothing to help wholesalers either, infact does nothing more than required by the CRTC, to the time lines set by the CRTC.
The LAST MILE, is BELL and their's no avoiding it.
Teksavvy only targets Bell cause to be frank... IT IS BELL. DSL doesn't work unless BELL ensures the coppper from your house is hooked up to the DSLAM. From there, it's Teksavvy's Network..
Same goes for Cable, only it's rogers.
Rogers and Bell are for the most part the only last mile providers. There's no choice for any wholesaler to use anyone else, and both providers, do not do more than they have to when it comes to 3rd party operations.
I wish everyone who starts targeting Teksavvy and the other wholesalers would stop for a second and think about this.
With a 2 party last mile system, Bell or Rogers's response would be to any provider to threatens to leave, "GO AHEAD!" cause they know their's no choice, and both are the same.
Point fingers where they need to be pointed. In this case, it's BELL!
If you want change, you need to demand your MP and the CRTC consider forcing the sale of Bell's last mile to an independent company, so everyone is treated fair.
BTW... Throttling is nothing to do with Teksavvy... You guessed it BELL AGAIN! The CRTC will rule on this later this year, so hopefully this will all end soon.. BUT to make it CLEAR FOR EVERYONE.. TEKSAVVY IS NOT THROTTLING. | |
|
former_customer
@bell.ca
| yes but... Yes but Teksavvy leaves out the information that Bell will ultimately end up throttling the connection.
This is basically a lie of omission- you don't tell the customer the whole truth they need to make an informed decision.
There is no mention of Bell's throttling on the Teksavvy site. Why not? | |
| |
JoebobMcPhee
@teksavvy.com | Re: yes but... Is there mention of it on the Bell site then? | |
| | |
Grin
@bell.ca | Re: yes but... said by JoebobMcPhee :
Is there mention of it on the Bell site then?
Exactly! and call bell and ask them about it, anyone you talk to will have no idea what you are talking about. | |
| |
Grin
@bell.ca
| When i called today and said i was looking into there service, i mentioned that i was tired of bells throttling, the lady on the phone said right away that i would still be throttled with tek savvy.
when switching isp's from the big 2 to a smaller one, you don't just pull a name from your butt, you do some research, and the smallest tiniest least amount of research you would do will tell you that tek savvy is throttled.
when the lady said i would still have that problem i said yes, but at least i will be giving you my money not bell, and saving about 50 bucks a month over what i am paying now, sign me up. getting both home phone and dsl from them soon!
screw bell up there stupid butts.! | |
| | curyll
join:2008-12-02
London, ON
1 edit | said by former_customer :
Yes but Teksavvy leaves out the information that Bell will ultimately end up throttling the connection.
This is basically a lie of omission- you don't tell the customer the whole truth they need to make an informed decision. As you say yourself, it is Bell throttling the connection. Since every DSL provider must use Bell for last mile connections*, it follows that every single DSL provider is being throttled.
The corollary to this is that throttling is a standard part of any DSL service. Since it's a standard part of any DSL service, there isn't any decision to make in this regard, because no matter which DSL provider you go to, you're getting throttled. And yes, Bell also throttles their own retail customers.
In conclusion, there isn't any reason for Teksavvy to even mention that you'll be throttled, as it's a fact of life no matter where you go. However, I've spoken to two call centre folk that were quick to mention that they throttle when I brought it up, so they go beyond the minimum in this case.
*For more information, visit »blogs.itworldcanada.com/insights···etitors/ | |
| BigVe
join:2005-07-15
Gulliver, MI | On the other hand... Why the low ratio on Teksavvy? What you write tells me that you have a good overall service.I think you need to update your ratings | |
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