Cogeco customer service is horrific

[ssfc72]

I have been on hold for over an hour with Cogeco customer service, to try and cancel their service and the phone call was cut off!!!!!!!

I phoned back and after being on hold for awhile, again, I got a person, who I told what had happened and I requested to speak to a supervisor.  I was put on hold again and the recording said there is a 25 minute estimated wait time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think Cogeco has become worse than Bell telephone for their business practices!!

[fox]

I had a similar experience with Cogeco when I was trying to renegotiate a better deal after my promotion expired. Waited 20 minutes to talk to the front-line agent, then another 25 to talk to someone in their retentions department. An in the end, they offered nothing better than the 12% increase I was faced with. When I threatened to walk, the agent did ask me if I wanted to cancel right there, but I hadn't shopped around yet, so I didn't. Later, when I decided to switch to Bell (yeah, I know - out of the frying pan and into the fire), Bell did the cancellation and I never had to contact Cogeco myself to do it. That might apply to whomever you decide to switch to, though I'm not sure whether the small companies can do that. Worth checking into.

[ssfc72]

Thanks for your info, Mike!

Unfortunately, I am switching to Start.ca and they do nothing, other than mailing me the modem for me to plug in, when my service with Cogeco stops.

I have to phone Cogeco myself and cancel and find out how they are going to get their modem, back. :-(

I have now attempted 3 times to get through the call waiting hell, and I am still on hold. :-(

[fox]

A real bummer, but I can tell you what will happen with their equipment once you cancel. They will send you one or two postage paid mailing labels for Canada Post. You box the stuff according to the instructions they provide with the labels, including what equipment they gave you and want back with the modem/TV receiver(s). You supply the box(es). If they send you two labels, you need to use two boxes; I know because Canada Post told me this. You'll get the registration number and can track that Cogeco received the package(s).

The one amusing thing about this process was that for some modems, there is apparently a tool you have to use to free it from the wires. I didn't need it with my modem. So I disconnected the modem and the TV stuff, included the cables that weren't in the wall and sent it all back to them. Five days later, I receive another two packages from them with labels, each having one of those tools in it to free the modem from the wires! I phoned them back; again on hold for about 25 minutes. When I told them what happened, they apologized and told me to throw out the tools and the labels. One of those "right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing" things. 

Despite the communication problems, I was quite happy with the Cogeco service for TV, phone and internet, and hated to leave them. But the costs outside of their specials are just too high. It shocks me that a company is willing to lose a TV/phone/internet customer over a $20 price increase. But Bell was the same and I'm sure they still are. If they continue to play the same way, I'll just keep shifting my service to whomever provides me with a better price.

[ssfc72]

Interesting!
I do have one of those tamper proof collars. on the Cogeco modem, so I will need them to provide the tool.

I have now tried to get through to Cogeco, 4 times to cancel with no success.
I was cut off a second time, after again being on hold for about 1 hour.

I again asked for a supervisor to speak to and they would not put a supervisor on the phone.
I told them what my phone number was, so that a supervisor would call me, but they would not  even do that.
Obviously their help phone sytstem is broken, when my calls are being cut off.

[Jason]

Geez. Sounds really frustrating. Their customer service department must be really broken today. Hope you have better luck tomorrow.

[fox]

If it were me and I continue to have the problem, I would send them a registered letter telling them you want your service cut by whatever date you have to give them advance warning to. (Two weeks?). I would also report them to CBC's marketplace and to whatever official consumer protection service we have in Ontario. (Jason would probably know.)

[ssfc72]

I phoned Cogeco customer service at 9 am, again today.
Same recorded message as yesterday that they were experiencing trouble with their phone system and that there is a 45 minute wait time. :-(
After waiting on hold for over 30 minutes I got through to the first operator. Told her of my repeated failures to get through yesterday.  She seemed to be surprised to hear that.
She said she would give me a different line to their next level.  I was again on hold for another long time but this time I did get someone to come on the line. :-)

I told the person that I was cancelling my Cogeco service and that it was to be effective June 20. No problem with this request.
I was told a mailing package, for the Cogeco modem would be sent to me, and I requested the tool, to get around the security collar on the modem coax cable.

Looking forward to getting the Start.ca service!

[dougal]

 ..as some of you know I also went thru a similar experience cancelling cogeco as ever since they 'upgraded' their billing service on april 26 their web portal has  been offline or there's 30-60 min wait times for phone calls..yes Start.ca needs you to do the service cancellation and we discussed giving them 2 weeks because of cogeco's 'issues' ..cogeco never batted an eye when i said i was leaving  ..once i asked (after waiting 2 weeks for the shipping labels) to be able to get them by email to print as well as have them shipped (kind of like wearing suspenders and a belt) and they said sure..email never happened but they did send them by mail..my concern was timing as their policy stated the equipment needed to be returned within 10 of service cancellation...the agent said 'don't worry about that , just send it and they will adjust your acct balance...so i asked for that in an email before we disconnect and nope 'I can't do that'....so yes, it's an extremely frustrating and confounding experience...so far Start .ca has been most prompt and pleasant with only one agent that seemed to have missed the 'customer service module' when being trained....hopefully it was an outlier...... following up mike's thread
https://www.ontario.ca/page/filing-consumer-complaint

[Jason]

Hey dougal,

Did you have to go without Internet service for any amount of time or was the 'disconnect' basically Cogeco removing you from their billing system but leaving the Internet service intact for Start? I was wondering if you had any downtime and if Bill will. Of course, I'm already on Start but I have been considering trying out Carrytel and thinking it's probably the same process.

[dougal]

it was a transfer of service without a techy visit...so cogeco would end their service and at some point Start put theirs online...i didn't have both hooked up at once to see if there was any overlap, went to bed at 3 with cogeco and woke up,hooked up starts modem and it was good to go....they called that day to check in with me about the transfer experience....i think your guess about carrytel would be accurate, perhaps william would give his experience with them around this .

[ssfc72]

I am now using the Start.ca ISP service.  Easy setup. I just swapped out the modems and waited a few minutes for the Start, modem lights to stop blinking and then I was connected to the internet.
My Ooma telephone service just continued to work as normal.

The Start modem is quite small. Only half the height and half the width of the Cogeco modem.
Update - I realize now, that the Cogeco modem was larger, because it had a battery backup, built in, so that the modem would still function for a short while, during a household power outage.
I may invest in a very small UPS, to keep my Start.ca modem and the Ooma box, powered during a power outage.

A speedtest.net check of my internet service gave me a 44Mbs down and 11Mbps up speed, to a Toronto server.

So Jason, you should soon see your $25 referral credit, to show up on your bill. :-)
 

[Jason]

Cool! I guess newer modems are always smaller. Did you elect to rent or buy it outright? And which model is it?

And thanks for the referral. I hope you continue to be happy with your service.

[ssfc72]

The Start.ca modem, I bought for $90. It is a Technicolor model TC4300.
I bought the modem because if I rented, I would have paid out $90, after about 1 1/2 years.  So after 1 1/2 years, I will be using the modem rent free.

[Jason]

Looks like the same modem I have though I never got around to buying it. That's definitely the way to go, though.