Madasafish's reward for being a loyal customer for 5 years...

Steve_Zodiac

The following is a copy of a message that I tried to send Plusnet company representative, but I received the following when I hit send:

Plusnet company representative has chosen not to receive private messages or may not be allowed to receive private messages. Therefore you may not send your message to him/her.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with Madasafish? Their Customer Service just doesn't seem to be up to the standard it was at a few years ago...

The message I tried to send to Plusnet company representative (Some details removed with XXXXXX for privacy purposes):

...in a nutshell, Madasafish want to increase my monthly subscription by £2.44 a month at the end of my current 12 month contract!!

Hello there,

I thought I would contact you directly before I make any comments on the forum for all the public to read.

I have now been with Madasafish for 5 years which, I believe, is a long time in ISP terms.

With my current 12 month contract coming to an end soon, I contacted Madasafish via your website hoping that my monthly subscription may be reduced with possibly an increase my monthly download limit (from 5GB). Other ISP's are currently offering more competitive deals (price/download limit/speed), but I certainly had no desire to leave Madasafish if I could be offered something similar.

My current monthly subscription is £6.06. This figure came from an agreed £7.30 per month minus £1 for paying by Direct Debit which made it £6.30 (£5.48 + £0.82 VAT at 15%), and then...

...following the change back to 17.5% VAT, Madasafish had some trouble in re-calculating the correct monthly payment. My monthly subscription should have been £6.44 (£5.48 + £0.96 VAT at 17.5%), but for some unknown reason, Madasafish re-calculated my monthly subscription to £6.68 (£5.69 + £0.99 VAT at 17.5%).

I raised a query with Madasafish and my monthly subscription was eventually reduced to £6.06 - after many messages to and fro. Again, Madasafish had trouble in calculating the correct figure and said it would have to be £6.06 (£5.16 + £0.90 VAT at 17.5%) a month. I didn't mind it being lower of course, but I can't understand why I couldn't have simply been charged the correct amount.

During my telephone enquiry with XXXXXX yesterday, I was told that at the end of my current 12 month contract, my subscription will actually increase by £2.44 to £7.50 a month! This is not what I expected to hear at all!! What is going on? I would have thought that continued loyalty would be rewarded, not penalised!!

Then there was the matter of Madasafish charging me in December 2009 for an extra 1GB download that I hadn't used. Eventually, after a number of messages, this was corrected and a refund was credited back to my bank account. Not a big issue, but this was something else that I could have done without.

I have been a very loyal supporter of Madasafish and have recommended you to a number of my friends who have taken subscriptions. I really don't know what's going on, Madasafish doesn't seem as good as it use to be from a Customer Support or billing point of view

I am sorry that this has been a little long-winded, but I am simply not prepared to have my monthly subscription increased after staying with Madasafish for 5 years. I do hope you can do something to correct matters

Kind regards,

Steve XXXXXX (Madasafish user name XXXXXX)

Thanks to anyone who actually bothered to read all of my lengthy post.

robt_2

Company reps do not have PM functionality enabled.

Steve_Zodiac

robt wrote: »

Company reps do not have PM functionality enabled.

Oh right, thanks.

They certainly used to have PM functionality enabled when Samara was around...

frankie

MAAF support has definitely gone downhill since the days of Samara.

I too have been with them for a number of years and have recently gone through the new palaver of renewing my contract. Whereas before it could all be done on-line, now you have to phone up and wait forever to talk to a salesperson who will ensure you're on the best contract!!

In my opinion Plusnet are going to end up closing down MAAF in order to rationalise their own organisation, THEN watch and see BT shut down Plusnet!!

By the way I thought I had a good deal at £7.31 per month (now £7.00 per month), it seems I should have tried harder to match your own deal. Well done.

Steve_Zodiac

When I spoke to Customer Service the other day, I was told that the previous MAAF representative had made a mistake when he agreed to the last 12 month contract and I should never have been £6 odd a month. They really don't appear to know what they're doing.

I was quite happy with what I was paying, but thought it was worth an enquiry to see if a saving could be made. I certainly didn't expect to be told my subscription would be going UP!

I agree frankie, MAAF CS does seem to be going to pot!

oldagetraveller

Steve_Zodiac wrote: »

I agree frankie, MAAF CS does seem to be going to pot!

Possibly, yes, but I think it could also be that they (MAAF C.S.) have less say or influence in some decisions.
I have just entered my 4th year with MAAF and when I contacted them to negotiate a new price I was referred directly to Plusnet's retentions in Sheffield.
I wish I'd known about this £6.06 at the time! However, I'm quite happy with the £7.31/month on a rolling contract that I agreed to.

espresso

Steve_Zodiac wrote: »

Oh right, thanks.

They certainly used to have PM functionality enabled when Samara was around...

You should have had the sense to leave this company when Samara did!

Steve_Zodiac

oldagetraveller wrote: »

...However, I'm quite happy with the £7.31/month on a rolling contract that I agreed to.

When my contract was agreed to almost 12 months ago at £6.30/month (when VAT was 15%), that was supposed to be an ongoing, 'rolling' contract! Hopefully MAAF won't increase your subscription - but don't hold your breath!!

Steve_Zodiac

espresso wrote: »

You should have had the sense to leave this company when Samara did!

You're right, I should have done - the writing was on the wall two years ago! I may drop a line to Which? Magazine and see what they have to say.

twhitehead

I am now with Plusnet. The BIG advantage (other than cost) is that the tech chaps I spoke to to get my broadband connected was in Sheffield and spoke with an English accent. Took 3 calls lasting almost 2 hours but 18185 so only 15p in total for technical help even I could understand.

frankie

If you're with MAAF I'm pretty certain you also get put through to Sheffield and deal with the same team as Plusnet.

I certainly got an 'English' speaking guy when I renewed contract with MAAF, but it seems you may get a 'none English' speaking person for techy faults??