Cogeco Complaint and Rant Thread

[FrankTurbo]

been waiting 9 years for cogeco to give me high speed internet,
I even closed my cable account. OTA better anyway.

[zoolou]

I contacted Cogeco in regards to Oasis replacing HD Net...asked if i could preview the channel which they said no to....Dont know how they can figure Oasis is comparable to HDNet.....I suggested moving Hi-Fi over instead since they seem to carry concerts...but nope

[jeffaustin90]

So I received my letter in the mail about my area going digital and me needing a free adapter box, so I call up Cogeco and they tell me I don't qualify for one? The woman gave me a standard bull respsonse of having something to do with me being a new client as of September, but that didn't really make any sense. She offered me a regular SD box for half price for one year ($2 a month) but I just told her no and hung up.

Next day I decide to call back to find out exactly why I didn't qualify. The male rep I got told me there was no reason why I shouldn't qualify, and proceeded to set me up with a free adapter box mailed to my house within one week. Even he said that a lot of the reps aren't properly trained in this adapter business, and I agreed with him.

So if you ever feel like you're getting screwed or getting the run-around from a rep, just keep calling back until you get a competent person on the phone with you.

[DeViLzzz]

Cogeco I love my pvr/dvr/cable box in that it lets me record shows but honestly I can't get the most out of it if you continue to switch the channel that the program is on and make it different from the listing on your on screen channel guide. I am sick and tired of seeing sporting events switched from one channel to another at the last minute. If you say NJ vs Bos is going to be on channel 455 can you please keep it there ? I don't appreciate setting it up to record a certain game and then find out I have recorded a game listing menu or another game I didn't want. Seriously a pvr/dvr/cable box is cool in that you can set up a schedule for recording but when the cable service provider is switching the programming to different channels at the last second and I have gone on vacation or gone out to the store for 2 or 3 hours or have gone out for dinner I am screwed. Pvr/dvr/cable box is supposed to provide convenience and not this.

This is a big issue btw for people that love sports and have the premium sports pack at $31 per month. Whether it be the OHL or the NHL they constantly move the games all over the place to different channels not keeping them on what originally was stated.

[DeViLzzz]

What is the point of digital cable and high def channels if Cogeco won't troubleshoot/tech support people who are using HDMI hookups ? High definition programming .... high definition connection .... don't they match ? What is the problem here ? Seriously don't overcharge for cable if you haven't worked out all the problems on your end and can't keep up with technology that tv companies bring out. I honestly think that since they don't want to fully support their product then we should be seeing price decreases on content.

[CamDAB]

It could be argued that if they didn't want to support HDMI, they shouldn't have provided any equipment with it... By including HDMI on newer gear, they've inadvertently created more work for themselves explaining the fact that they don't support it. Kinda working at cross-purposes here...

Component connections go the distance for them as their gear tops out at 1080i, same as component. And those VERY LONG component cables usually supplied tell me that component is obviously cheaper from a hardware standpoint to a great degree. It just puts a lot of unnecessary coiled wire behind the HT and makes a huge mess.

They are making progress, but definitely not keeping pace with demand of VOD access and now the internet is showing signs of severe strain.

And it's sad when various neighbours phone us (we're POTS) who are on Cogeco phone and they bubble and dropout during conversations... Usually in the evening...

Not good. They were leaders in quality when things were analogue. But analogue is fast becoming a fading memory.

More infrastructure work is definitely needed if they want to remain a viable choice.

Cameron

[bbailey861]

I agree with your last statement. Cogeco needs to make some investments. That may also allow them to increase their HD selection which at present, is lacking. It would also improve their on demand services as well. I often get the 'try again in 5 minutes' display which indicates to me the system must be loaded down pretty heavily.

[PC21]

In an e-mail I received from Cogeco corporate office, digital migration will be completed in all areas by mid-2012. I am advised at that time, the 23 HD channels for the SSP will be utilized as intended. SSP channels get moved around based on how they are received from Rogers. Cogeco lacks control in this area.

[DeViLzzz]

Cogeco once again mentions on their schedule on the tv that they have the Jets vs Devils in HD on a channel and it is not showing up. Of course they also continue to have games on the wrong channels too. Seriously smarten the heck up Cogeco.

[bbailey861]

Originally Posted by PC21

In an e-mail I received from Cogeco corporate office, digital migration will be completed in all areas by mid-2012. I am advised at that time, the 23 HD channels for the SSP will be utilized as intended. SSP channels get moved around based on how they are received from Rogers. Cogeco lacks control in this area.

If this were the case - and if, in the end, this is going to result in the addition of many more HD channels (I don't know if this is the case because frankly, I don't understand what this migration and SSP thing all is), don't you think that it would be in the interest of Cogeco to come out with a press release saying something like "By mid 2012 or shortly after Cogeco will have made significant technological upgrades which is going to vastly improve your HD offerings"? That would seem to me to make good business sense - and would shut people like me up for a spell. I sent Cogeco another email yesterday listing all the HD channels I would like to see added. I expect their canned response by weeks end.

[PC21]

I had to press the corporate office to consult with the marketing department in order to determine when Cogeco would utilize the full 23 HD Super Sports Pack (SSP) that they added to the line-up in May 2010 (press release - http://www.cogeco.ca/export/sites/co...hannels_on.pdf). I am curious as to what areas have not had digital migration completed. Belleville area is done.

[Grayed Cogopoly]

It's part of the financial manipulation/income maximization scheme they are using....

I got bumped up to turbo 14 when they changed over their packages.

Then the silliness began:
I missed one bill, which got lost in mail, then was a few days late with the next bill, since I knew I was gonna call to challenge them on increasing my rates without my approval, then, before i had the chance they cut my line one evening.

Is that ridiculous or what? I had been customer for 10-13 years, at times paying them 150$ a month, and hardly ever been late or delinquent then I owe them +/-130 and they chop me???????

I guess they needed to either keep those guys I see idling their cogeco vans all day long at the tim horton's busy. Or maybe they are cleaning up their "books" for sale of the company?

It might also be possible that I was just a lower valued customer since I had canceled tv service a year earlier (they don't seem to bother disconnecting the analogue tv service for some reason, maybe to prevent Bell from getting more revenue) and also had recently started checking and maximizing my Download limit but being careful not to go over.

The most offensive part is when i shlep over to the cogeco mall store to pay my bill, not only do they not accept cash payments, I can't discussing billing issues with the clerk....I have to call!!!! That was kinda the reason I got chopped in the first place..for being reluctant to call billing and go through phone hell!!

At least she informs me that we will be reconnected within 24h, which was a pleasant surprise, when I asked if I should bring the modem to the mall or to the company storefront.....Anyways, some may have guessed it, we never got reconnected!!!! Complete bozos!!!!

[Grayed Cogopoly]

..That's the end of it really. Got to get started on that blog about "10 reasons to say No to Cogeco". It's kind of a blessing anyways. I have rediscovered my awe for the uncompromising quality of free HD with surround sound with a 30-140$ worth of antenna gear! oMG!
plus wife has shows basically PVRd for free on internet via many sites. (post on how to use a Modify Headers plugin for Firefox to watch ABC to follow, promise).

In closing, if you are considering cancelling TV service; sitting on the fence kinda 'cause who realy watches much of it anyways, cancel. Save some bucks. There's a good chance they won't even touch your analogue and you HAVE to give antenna HD at try to believe it.

Oh, and honestly, I wasn't too surprised when they tried that unethical negative-option billing on me, they have a long history of that kind of sh*t, just don't be too surprised when they reconfigure their billed rates for TURBO 14 to "make the packages more logical" again! One dollar you say??? hmmm
me thinks they gonna know which clients whine about it and which don't.
See they have CSR databases that track weird things like this.
Just realize : You don't have to put up with it like a lemming.

Oh lurker, I doubt you are getting extra speed or Dl for free, they'll tell people almost anything to convert them to phone subscriber in my experience; It's an important metric for them.

[DeViLzzz]

I was told that on the phone Cogeco was getting many calls from the Sarnia area in regards to problems with internet and tv service over the last week. I was told there was no work being done in the area now but that upgrades had been done a month ago and this may be fallout from that. I already had problems with the tv signal twice this week in regards to watching NBA Super Sports Pack (choppy sound n video for an entire 4th quarter which is all I viewed of the game) and now today my download Mbps is at 3 to 5 Mbps and has been poor for 12 hours now. What are others experiencing in Sarnia and surrounding areas ? I was told my extended wait on the phone was due to much of what others were complaining about and I want to hear other experiences.


Update:

for the last 2 hrs I have had proper 14 Mbps speeds or so .... hopefully the problem will not arise again and hopefully whatever issues there are in the Sarnia area will be resolved soon

[DeViLzzz]

http://www.speedtest.net/results.php...3a44c299&ria=0