Kabelanschluss hat nie funktioniert

[Falkvinge]

Sehr geehrte Vodafone Kabel,

mein Anschluss funktioniert nicht. Es hat nie funktioniert. Der Rest dieser Text wird auf Englisch sein; bitte weiterleiten an jemanden, der es lesen kann.

[this was a mail, until every single address I tried bounced saying the mailbox wasn't monitored. So even though I tried sending this in private, my only recourse left is posting it here.]

First, it is a real hassle that Vodafone's helpline doesn't accept EU phone numbers that don't start with +49. EU roaming is a thing these days. There's no reason for me to have a +49 telephone numbers, especially as all German operators xxx compared to most of the rest of Europe.

Regardless, I have tried calling a number of times (from a clunky German phone I don't like using) but keep getting forwarded between different people who say I'm in the wrong department, and after an hour or so, my patience and/or energy with this for the day runs out. (I have a business to run as well.)

Therefore, please understand that I'm not interested in calling any helpline any further and being sent between departments after waiting for 15 minutes at every new department. I just want my problem solved, and calling apparently doesn't solve it.

I have customer number xxx. It is a new cable connection, one supposed to have a static public IPv4 address, and it has never been online. I have followed all instructions. I have obviously tried turning it off and on again. The cable modem stops its connection progress at "searching for downstream frequency", never finding one. The power LED double-flashes green in intervals.

The attached pictures show how things are connected and the MAC address of the cable modem.

Please do whatever you need to do to make this connection come online as I'm paying it to be.

Cheers,
Rick

Edit:  Strange initial format of text, insult towards employees and personal details removed.

[Der Ritter]

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@Falkvinge@  schrieb:

It is a new cable connection, one supposed to have a static public IPv4 address (...)

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Just to make sure:  You have booked a cable business tariff including the IPv4-option.  Is that correct?

[Falkvinge]

That appears correct, yes. I have the connection as a Freiberufler, and I need a static IPv4 for my servers (mail, web, and a few other services). I also have the 50 Mbit/s upload option.

[Falkvinge]

As a comment for other people reading this thread, regarding the edits made above: my customer number has been redacted, but there was never an insult toward individual employees. That would have been unprofessional of me, even if I'm frustrated. There was a factual, objective comparison between German operators (as businesses) and operators elsewhere in the EU, justifying why I don't have a +49 telephone number and don't plan on getting one.

It is not a secret that Germany is ranked 5th last with fiber rollout in the OECD, lagging far behind countries like Mexico, Chile, and Colombia, and that the same price that gives me 50 Mbit/s upload speed in the center of Berlin gives me 10,000 Mbit/s (10 Gbit/s) unmetered upload speed in a neighboring country like Sweden.

OECD link to these statistics: http://www.oecd.org/sti/broadband/broadband-statistics/

Cheers,

Rick

[Der Ritter]

How about you simply named the ordered tariff precisely instead of hinting at it only?

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@Falkvinge@  schrieb:

(...) but there was never an insult toward individual employees. That would have been unprofessional of me, even if I'm frustrated.

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Claiming that there was no insult towards individual employees is correct.  You insulted them as a whole group of people/businesses instead.  Which does not make it any better or more factual/professional.

And just to let you know:  Having a German phone number (+49...) does not permit me to call any local 0800-toll-free number e.g. in France, the UK or in the US.  There is a reason for that as well, however you don't seem to get that.  Pity.

[Falkvinge]

We will have to disagree on whether it is unprofessional or not to refer to OECD statistics.

> How about you simply named the ordered tariff precisely instead of hinting at it only?

I was assuming that a connection problem in Layer 1 or Layer 2 was quite independent of the tariff, (edited-) and that you could trivially look it up anyway using my quoted (now redacted) customer number.

> And just to let you know:  Having a German phone number (+49...) does not permit me to call any local 0800-toll-free number e.g. in France, the UK or in the US.  There is a reason for that as well, however you don't seem to get that.  Pity.

Correct, which is why businesses always also list a number callable from abroad, along with options in English, which Vodafone doesn't (nor, unfortunately, list a simple support email address so this could be dealt with privately). I just want **a** number I can call, I don't care about what it costs me.

[Falkvinge]

Has this issue been sent to some sort of technical department to solve the problem, or is it just a thread on a forum?

Cheers,

Rick

[Der Ritter]

The forum is neither a technical helpdesk nor a 24/7 customer "hotline".

Just be patient until a moderator has the time to stop by and possibly have a look at the issue.  Thanks.

[Falkvinge]

> Just be patient until a moderator has the time to stop by and possibly have a look at the issue.  Thanks.

Thank you. I just didn't know what to expect, which is why I asked; I have no problems waiting a little if this means the issue might get resolved.

MfG und ein schönes Wochenende,

Rick

[Manu · Accepted solution]

Hi Rick,

I have taken your customer number from your thread and could have a look at your box. It is not online and has never been.

I'm supposing there's a signal problem or the lines are out of order. I'll send a technician to check it out on site.

The colleagues call you on your deposited mobile phone number. Is it possible for you to make an appointment in German? Since I don't know to what extent the technicians can do this in English.

Best Regards, Manu