PB
Pierre B

1 reviews | Active since Mar 2019

17 May 2021, 15:17

Vodacom shapes Google Meets to <15k/s and refuses to look at my line speed that dropped from 40/20 to 10/5

I have a 40/20 FTTH line, maybe should say had cause now it has turned to a 10/5 line although I am still getting billed for a 40/20 line. I logged my first SR on 15 Feb 2021 (SR***). I was experiencing very slow Google Meets download rates. In the 2.5 months that followed I tried to explain to Vodacom's support staff what the difference is between slow line speed and slow Google Meets video conference is. After about 2.5 months I finally managed to get a Vodacom Tech to come to my house. He plugged into my router (vodacom router) and we went on a Google Meets call. He was running Win10, I was running Linux. We both experienced the exact same download rate of 10k/sec. He said he does not understand this and he wanted to test it from his house as he has a Vumatel backbone. Two days later we tested the meet and low and behold he had perfect video quality and mine was limited to 10K down. A week later I got a message the ticket was closed. I spent ages on the phone with *** trying to find out why the ticket was closed. I even asked the tech which said he does not know either as he cannot close tickets. After digging around for about 3 weeks I found out this tech **** to me and he sent a mail to Vodacom saying the problem was with my laptop and the ticket can be closed. I then later opened another ticket, and of course lost all history. Same problem, had to explain to these people the difference between line speed and slow Google Meets download. This ticket is still open and it was logged 12 May (SR***). Earlier this month my line really got slow where it turned my line from 40/20 to 10/5. I logged a ticket for the new problem just to find the ticket closed that same night. I phoned Vodacom and they simply said the ticket got closed because I already have a line speed related ticket open (Since Feb 2021, granted that was closed, thank you Tech that visited my house)

I actually have proof that Vodacom shapes my Google Meets to such a point that it is actually unusable (<15k/s). Now because I have this ticket open Vodacom refuses to look at my line and fix my current line speed and they don't come out to look at my Google Meets problem. This is the only FTTH in the estate so there is no other ISPs I can turn to.

0
Replies (5)
Vodacom
Vodacom's reply17 May 2021, 15:50
Official
 
Dear Customer, 
 
Thank you for making us aware of your complaint. 
 
Kindly be advised that a consultant will make contact with you in due course to assist with your query. 
 
***Please note*** Beware of phishing ****s. 
 
Vodacom will not contact you via Whatsapp to request your personal details 
 
Regards, 
 
Vodacom Consumer Website Team 
PB
Pierre B's update19 May 2021, 05:38
Reviewer Update
True to Vodacom form, not a single reply other than these nice little message, "We'll get back to you... You are a valued customer."
My line has now gone from 40/20 to 10/5/ to 6/5. Make no mistake, the full invoice will be in my inbox end of the month, like clock work, but don't worry delivering the service
PB
Pierre B's update21 May 2021, 07:35
Reviewer Update
Still no contact from Vodacom. Seems they are quick to reply to a new Hello Peter review with a canned response, but ignore comments and the work.
It is now 8 days since the line speed problem started.
PB
Pierre B's update24 May 2021, 10:36
Reviewer Update
Vodacom tech came in this morning. According to the tech Vodacom decided I was on a 10/6 package and brought my line speed down. It has now been rectified. What is the chances of getting a refund for a service I did not get? I asked the tech this and he said a manager will phone me. Lets see if that happens, as a manager has not called me since I logged the first ticket in Feb and I asked every week since beginning of March for a manager to call me.

PB
Pierre B's update26 May 2021, 07:46
Reviewer Update
Still waiting for the manager to phone me. Out of the 4 weeks in the month, 1.5 was at a quarter of the speed I am paying for. I guess I can write that money off.
I can prove that my uncapped, unshaped line is being shaped with Google Meets and now that I have a VPN to get around the shaping of my Google Meets, I have noticed I get shaped on that also. Well done Vodacom!