How Not to Save Money And Time

[eunoia]

- When your DSL modem starts to die, immediately call your ISP to signal a problem.

- Your ISP will say modem failure is rare and suggest you test your modem at a friend's before having them send a tech. DO NOT DO THIS, but go out immediately to buy a new one.

- Instead of paying ridiculous retail prices, buy any of hundreds of quality second hand modems on Craigslist. Again, modem failure is rare.

- Before going out to pick it up, try to repair your modem by baking the PCB in the oven. Forget to remove the plastic on-off button and melt it, fusing your modem to "off".

- When you bring home the newly purchased modem install it and find it not working. You may confidently assume that there is something wrong with your phone lines. Call ISP again.

- Your ISP will send someone to check your phone lines, and when they turn out to be perfectly fine, will charge you $87.50 + tax for wasting their time.

- Buy a third modem and log on to the internet.

Five days later.

[fisshy]

You sure you're not in Africa?
I Understand your Pain man. Sorry about the wasted money.

[procupine14]

So incredibly annoying!

I had a problem with my ISP here in the states. I run "highspeed" cable internet here and in the 13 years that I have had this ISP (either at my parents' house when I was younger or now as there isn't any other choice around here) we have burned up one modem per year. Last year, I purchased a nice Linksys cable modem brand new and haven't had any problems since. sigh*

I guess what I'm saying is that I really feel your pain.

[Haggard]

Crap. Ouch. I know your buttpain. The story with my ISP is same. Even despite I have ethernet, and Linksys router, my ISP often likes to make me nasty surprises, and do something or even vice versa- do nothing at all, and my connection is like 80% of packets to be lost. And I have to scan, investigate the reason and problem by my own, and only then tell where exactly my problem lies, to let them think about maintenance. Often they tell me "not enough evidences", which simply drives me mad as devil. And often I have to loose connection at all, and call the service to let them know, that I really don't have connection. and I really require bloody repairs. And it is impossible to redeem the money for days I have no internet, and even when I have it, the speed is so slow and quality is so rubbish, that it can be considered as absent. The biggest problem is that I have the best possible ISP, amongst totally 3. And they have't paid a penny for burning my router.
But anyway, I know your pain. Wish you have no problems with it in future. But we all learn on own mistakes. This is inevitable. We all have to gain experience to become wiser.

[eunoia]

Originally Posted by Haggard

We all have to gain experience to become wiser.

I was an idiot, now I know better. Problem is, by the time I know everything I'll be dead!