dispute tradie

[eks883]

hi,

just want some suggestions on what i should do.

basically, one of my IPs i included the internet into the lease. Tenants have complained of line drop outs and stability recently so have called the ISP and they said was internal fault.

so told my PM to get someone there to fix the line. they got someone to go there and on the invoice it says " no obvious fault found......... contact ISP because they are in charge of the cabling up to the 1st phone socket, problem lies in the line from phone socket to pit(front of the house)"

now i am pissed off because i hired the guy to fix the problem and not to point the problem back to ISP. if i wanted ISP to fix i wouldnt have called him in. worse part is they want to charge me $200 am feeling totally ripped off.

how to dispute this the right way?

 

[thatbum]

...so where is the fault with the line?

EDIT: Well more importantly, is it the ISP's responsibility or not?

 

[Doovalacky]

Sorry but if the fault is not internal you have no grounds for dispute. There is a division at the first point and any fault before that can not be legally worked on. The ISP will have to contact Telstra or whichever carrier they use to work on the street cabling.

It is not uncommon for them to say its an internal fault but testing proves it is in street cabling. I would assume the tradie disconnected all internal wiring and just tested with thw modem plugged into 1st socket which is as far as he is allowed to go.

 

[eks883]

Sorry but if the fault is not internal you have no grounds for dispute. There is a division at the first point and any fault before that can not be legally worked on. The ISP will have to contact Telstra or whichever carrier they use to work on the street cabling.

It is not uncommon for them to say its an internal fault but testing proves it is in street cabling. I would assume the tradie disconnected all internal wiring and just tested with thw modem plugged into 1st socket which is as far as he is allowed to go.

so how do we know who is right or wrong?

ISP been twice and insist no problem outside house to exchange.
guy we booked says internal is fine, rewired sockets so that only the socket with modem is active and "suspect a line fault coming into the house"

 

[Scott No Mates]

Are you paying for their phone service as well? Has the phone service been disconnected? ie bundled phone/internet or only adsl? If the phone line has been disconnected, then it isn't the ISP's fault, they are providing the service but you need a phone service for it to work.

 

[Terry_w]

hi,

just want some suggestions on what i should do.

basically, one of my IPs i included the internet into the lease. Tenants have complained of line drop outs and stability recently so have called the ISP and they said was internal fault.

so told my PM to get someone there to fix the line. they got someone to go there and on the invoice it says " no obvious fault found......... contact ISP because they are in charge of the cabling up to the 1st phone socket, problem lies in the line from phone socket to pit(front of the house)"

now i am pissed off because i hired the guy to fix the problem and not to point the problem back to ISP. if i wanted ISP to fix i wouldnt have called him in. worse part is they want to charge me $200 am feeling totally ripped off.

how to dispute this the right way?

For $200 I wouldn't worry myself. It will cost you way more in money and anguish to dispute this. You probably don't have grounds to anyway. You contracted a person to come out and fix something which he cannot find. Maybe it is the ISP that is at fault.

I would also suggest you change the terms of your lease asap to exclude the internet as this is going to cause you ongoing problems all the time.

 

[bumskins]

Have you eliminated the modem causing the drop outs? The dropouts aren't happening around times of rain are they?

 

[eks883]

Definitely not modem, just changed it few weeks ago too.

Terry you are right, not worth prolonging the dispute for 200 bucks. Am not happy but im looking past that.

 

[SamL]

This kind of thing is only going to get worse. We should be pushing ahead with FTTH. The copper network in some places is nearly 100 years old and hasn't been maintained well at all and the costs to maintain it are just going to increase. I personally don't understand the complaining from the public on cost, the original NBN (FTTH) is still less to build on a per capita basis than the original copper network, and guess where we would be now if our predecessors didn't build it, we need foresight in this country!

Sorry for going OT a bit there. I hope you can get it sorted. As a LL though I guess this shows the more responsibilities you give yourself the more headaches you can create.

 

[Tom Ipswich]

What a frustrating situation!

There's a 50/50 chance that it's your Tradesperson or the ISP technicians.

Maybe a third opinion is necessary? I would withhold payment from your original Tradesperson until the fault is found- have your Property Manager apologize and explain the situation as sympathetically as possible. If it turns out the Telco was at fault there's not much you can do- they're well protected. Otherwise you can avoid paying $200 for work that wasn't justified- though keep in mind that the Tradesperson may well argue this further, but I doubt it.

 

[willb]

What is the ISP saying the problem is. Most likely they need to disconnect and reconnect at the exchange.

Did you change the filters and phone lines when you changed the modem.

When you pickup the phone is there noise that you can hear.

Is dropping out or is it just congested.

 

[lee.omare.com.a]

$200's steep for a call out but he's likely legally entitled to it.

Get Telstra to go out and fix it. The cost maybe around $150. Cheers

 

[zimby]

How do you ensure this service is not abused?
Not a chance would I put my name on an internet bill for some-one else, even with a tenant agreement.
I'd recommend going with a single provider for phone/internet wherever possible, less people pointing fingers, may cost more but always worth it.

 

[D.T.]

Can you log into the ISP website and see connection times? I know iinet toolbox offers this. It may prove 2 things, a) the internet is not disconnecting at all and it's just the tenants computer (or imagination) or b) it's disconnecting at set times with a pattern that might correspond to something eg alarm system, microwave, scheduled services.

Also is it a house or unit? In a unit the ISP responsibility is usually only to the mdf at the front.

I'd be more inclined to believe a techie who went and tested stuff than an ISP. I think they're entitled to their fee because they went and tested it for you. You still pay your doctor for check ups when they find nothing wrong with you.

 

[Dazz]

I personally don't understand the complaining from the public on cost

.....educate yourself a bit more then, rather than stating we need foresight in this country, then choosing to ignore the massive real costs and end up standing there scratching your head....seriously.

Take comfort Sam that you are in the minority.

The majority of the adult population in this country do understand it.....or more accurately choose to understand it.

 

[D.T.]

The majority of the adult population in this country do understand it.....or more accurately choose to understand it.

Probably deserves it's own thread, but I consider myself an intelligent adult per most most's definition. Though perhaps some might not

I don't understand why government is shying away from costs of vital infrastructure. I also don't understand why govt has to market it under a fancy moniker when big business has been using fibre for years. Thirdly, I don't understand why we're ok with 3rd world countries having better infrastructure than us.

I'd rather it be done well and done once and not need a upgrade for half a century, unlike highways that go in and need to be widend shortly after. So probably not by govt, is the answer I'm looking for