Shortly after the previous blog post on Tep Wireless, the company made several attempts to contact me, even asked for my phone number so they could call me to resolve the problem ASAP (when in fact nobody seems to ever be around their hotline/help desk during my desperate international call attempts.)
So i think it is my responsibility to blog about the follow-up after the incident, since you guys played a part in this too!!
Here’s the last few email exchanges made.
I told them no, i’d prefer email conversations.
And then they replied in attempt to explain what actually happened.
I was furious.
My reply:
Seriously, at this point i wasn’t even concern about whether they are seriously gonna pay me back or not.
I was more determined to bump my blog post up to Google search top page so that everyone could know about this.
They replied and pretended that *i* have misunderstood their meaning of a “full refund”.
The international bank transfer had some problem, but i gave them my Paypal account, and soon enough they refunded me to my Paypal account fully. All of my money.
And 1.91 pound extra. I don’t know what’s that for. I can only assume it’s for me to buy some xanax.
Obviously they read my blog post, and they also left a comment, as below:
I was quite surprised by their move, as they didn’t even seem to care one single bit when i warned them earlier that i was gonna tell the public about it if i still don’t get a reply.
Anyway, i gave them credit for that. My initial thought was that they were gonna refund me and threaten/beg me to take down my blog post . (If that happens, i was gonna promise them i will take down my post immediately, and then never do. THAT, is how you break a promise, y’all. The Tep Wireless way.) So yea that was quite unexpected, and for a very very brief moment i felt a little bad about the blog post.
HOWEVER.
I felt more saddened than anything else.
If i was just a normal person with no powerful social media channels to vent my frustration, i would, i’m 100000% sure, never ever get my money back.
Conclusion:
I only got my money back because i became nasty.
(and with all my supportive readers turned into nasty badassess too.)
That was sad.
And what a joke! I write positive reviews for a living. And this is the first ever time in my life i received money from writing scandalous shitty stuff about a company. I am not proud of this and i must remind myself never to misuse the power of my blog for gains like this, even though this was what belonged to me in the first place.
It was against all policies i wished to adopt, which is to be nice to everyone, and in return people will be nice to you. Obviously being too nice and meek gets you nowhere.
Imagine how many helpless customers there are out there who had the same (or worse) experience as me, but never ever did get their deserved compensation back just because they didn’t have a voice as big as this?
Therefore this blog post will remain here. And those whose problems are still unresolved, you can leave a comment here. I hope Tep Wireless sincerely look into any single issue raised by all other customers and give them what they deserve.
Until every single Tep Wireless customer is satisfied and happy, this blog post remains in the internet.
Consider this a lesson.
Be nice to your customer from the start. Not when they turn into a monster after you pissed them all over.
That’s all.
Lastly, i want to thank all of you who gave me support, and honestly without all your help i still wouldn’t be hearing anything from them at all. So THANK YOU.
You are powerful! :)) (Y)
they deserve it!! as you said, if you don’t have a powerful social media channel, confirm you won’t get a penny back. *respect* 🙂
Well done to you from all the super friendly support team at Vivente Connect, the customer is king and always will be! You naughty people at Tep!
Kudos Cheesie. Now we know that everyone deserves a good customer service!!!!!! 😀
Herrow cheesie, im glad to see you have finally get your refunds. It is quite sad that sometimes we need to be nasty to get things done but we cant help it. nnAnyhow, do you plan to link this blogpost to your previous tep blogpost? At least people should know what happened in the end for future reference (and maybe get 50% off cuz im sure there are some cheapos like me in the world who travels)
Honestly i think it is absolutely shameless that they are turning this into an opportunity even by offering 50% off! Give it to us readers free, and we will THINK about it. The experience is so terrible, who knows what is going to happen even taking up a 50% off! Shameful still!
Yeap!!! Was linked in the first sentence 🙂
You are too kind Cheesie! but still wanna thank you for the awesome blogpost, yea you are right nobody deserve such shitty treatment =(
Remind me never to mess with you again, these posts being a good reminder haha. Anyway, they had it coming!
Ouch TEP, but seriously, you might be used to messing up with other’s life.. or wifi… but now you’ve got the wrong lady. Karma’s reporting for duty! nnCheesie: Aww, I’m so cheesiefied! Way to go!!! Hats for you <3
Heeeeh very quick response from them. Your blog post is like 1000000x the voice of an individual. Well done, Cheesie. You can start making a new blog section: Help me, Cheesie. Or something like that. Just kidding. >:DnnThese companies… it’s an arduous task to investigate each and every customer of who blogs/etc so they should just make double effort to give their best service to everyone.
You should never anger Cheesie & her fans ^^ You really taught them a lesson 😀
This is exactly why i love to read your blog! Your closing statement on this post just shows how much a good and honest person you are and i love that about you, because it is something i myself try to strive for. I hate negativity and especially hate when someone else pushes me to the point where i must become “ugly” to be heard or taken seriously.nnIt sucks that it had to get to this point but in a way you helped be a voice for many who may have chosen this company and then wound up in the same situation as you! So i think in the end, it will have done more good than harm! <3
Hi cheesie, I guess you’re partly right in the sense that you probably only got your refund as a result of your blog. But the good thing is these days with most companies having Facebook, twitter etc it makes it possible for everyone else to vent their frustration as well. The audience might not be as big but I guess it will work as well. Or if all else fails, be persistent. I had a horrible experience once with customer service trying to get a refund as well. I literally sent dozens of emails before I managed to get my refund and it took me months. If I was not as persistent as I was I’m pretty sure I would never have gotten my refund.
hilarious how they only responded after u posted about them. seriously dodgy company
Glad I’m on your blog everyday reading otherwise I wouldn’t know the awful customer service this company have. Me and my boyfriend won’t be going to try it out for our travel. Seems like they are also using it as an opportunity to get more customer from your blog to use their company.
i guess their wake up call was too much to take from facebook trying to close their account that they started to act sane. I just hope this blog post will help the others to get what they deserved too. I guess we do have to be nasty at some point in life ..
no, you’re right. if you’re not as popular as you are, or didn’t blog it, nothing would have happened.
Hi Cheesie, nnThey might thought they were dealing with a rage teen maybe because of your email add /lols. But a big Bravo to you for telling us this. I really appreciate it..though I still wont take up their 50% discount, can’t let my cells die for being piss off!
Hi Cheesie, understandably you feel bad, but really, THANK YOU for doing this. I’m not a consumer of Tep wireless but I can only imagine how many more desperate people have gone through the same.nIt is clear as day how Tep Wireless simply deleted “negative” feedback on facebook -which could be the only legit way of getting help from them for international customers. We all saw what happened and their response. It is a PR failure to delete “unsightly” things on fb because they forgot we all are watching. So, thank you again for providing a platform and precedence for all the other helpless non-popular people who would’ve absolutely NO way of getting their money back (or a response, even).
perhaps some might be happy as a cheesie fan because you “won the fight” making you feel guilty as if you “abused” your given power but I want to let you know the value of your actions – Muted customers can leverage upon your page/precedence where Tep Wireless is now wary (at least I hope so are you, Tep?) about doing an upright business.
LIKE!
Love the post u write about them. Nowadays not many people dared to challenge companies.
Glad that you get the refund back..but im quite curious to know whether their FB page has been terminated as well, until they are so desperate to solve this matter quickly
No, Tep Wireless, I do not want 50% off your dodgy ass services. Sorry.
I worked In hotel line b4. Only louder guest get what they want. I really kind of sad, management ppl only action when guest make a big fuss. I really understand u. 人善被人欺 . 禮尚往來 行不通 reality . *sigh* nk
Hi Cheesie,nI know it seems as though this is just a negative experience, but the positive is that you and everyone taught this company a lesson about caring about their customers. Not everybody has enough reach with their voice, so using yours to stand up and in doing so standing up for others is being nice to people because you are fixing a problem. Be proud of that.
You should NEVER take down either of these blog posts! (I just read them both together, haha) And this is not misusing your blog, this is simply USING IT PROPERLY. You have the right to let your readers know when you have a bad experience with a company, not only when you have good experiences.
Phewww… glad that they have finally refunded and sad that most times in life we only get a response when we are ‘being nasty’ :(n(and definitely agree the fact that if you are less powerful blogger – I think it won’t work)nKeep both the posts up!
Worst business conduct from them. As a business woman, I don’t ignore my customers problem. Yes, keep the blog up so people could make reference from it. Glad you got your refund back. I feel sorry for the other people that had similar problems, but never got what they deserve back. Every single negative comment from users were deleted on their facebook. Good business doesn’t do that to their customers. How long is that business going to last if they just scam people out of their pocket.
Way to go , cheesie! Many people wouldnt have the guts to publicy talk about a company the way you did. So, thumbs up for you^^ Just know that we fans will be supporting you! 😀 its funny how you added some humor and sarcasm into that email reply 😀
Will u recommend ur readers to use their service with the 50% discount then?
awesome! 😀
Glad that you got back your refund! You are such a motivator – you taught us to fight for what we deserve and persist until the very end. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! 🙂
Lesson learned: MUST always look for reviews online before ordering any services or items. Be a smart consumer.nnReviews like yours will definitely help a lot of wary consumers.
Wow…you must have some guts to post something nasty like this…..and make it beautiful in some way.nSo glad I read this… totally felt satisfied afterwards to compensate for all the countless @()#%#*)% bad customer service ever experienced. I’ve also had a recent exp. and had to go all, “I feel very disappointed” and voice opinion. I think it’s good to let people know that you feel pissed and for good reason. …but holy eff… so satisfied after reading this.. good for you for standing up for yourself. Very inspiring.
Forgot to mention this totally reminds me of the taxi exp. u had… (which is one of my fav posts by you that i’ve read)… so this is also quite cool……….. but also wanted to say… even if they didn’t give your money back if you were just a normal person without social media power…. it would still be equally good for you to stand up for yourself… if they didn’t chose to refund you.. then that’s their own fault… only reflects poorly on them. so in any case.. it’s a win win… on your part. lucky you :)n
Beautifully written! Thanks for sharing your story!
I went to report them as well, can’t be happier that finally they paid the money back! nIt’s ridiculous that they tried to win your readers’ hearts by offering discount with the code and so on. Better not to risk time n effort for this company, ever. nYou are right, if similar case happens to us, ordinary ppl, our money simply gone with the wind n they won’t give a damn
I agree Cheesie. Please don’t accept their offers as these offers are just enticements for you to write better reviews for them in the future. Would they have given the same treatment if you’re not someone famous online? Kudos to you for warning your readers about unscrupulous companies like them.
Hi Cheesie!nI agree too! These companies/sellers will only refund you if you pack enough power behind your threats. I faced a similar (less pricey) issue with a company where they promised a service but cancelled last minute and subsequently forgot to refund me. After some threats hey agreed to to refund me for my purchase of their services but did not forget to insult me back. nGlad you got your money back! Also loved your stand on not misusing your fame! I’m sure some bloggers could learn much from you!nnCan’t wait for your next post! 🙂
I hope they sent that refund as a gift payment! After all that mess I wouldn’t even trust that refund until the grace period to file a claim has fully expired. :/ Good thing you at least -got- it back though, finally. That is absolutely ridiculous..
Sigh…. you are so lucky to have so many fans backing you up.. I made an online purchase few weeks ago and the company completely denied that they received my payment even after I showed them the bank statement. Stupid asshole…..
🙂
Another little person still waiting for a refund had to start a blog to get them to respond to me. Would love it if your cheeserland fans could help.nnotsmiling.com
My situation is the EXACT same as yours….only I rented from them the first week of June and the device stopped working. I have been asking and asking for my refund and there is either no response or they are slow to get back to me. They are making an excuse that there was logistical issues back in June and they are back logged with getting refunds out. This is not my problem and I was one of the first to rent in June so I should already have my full refund. Like you, if this is not resolved, I will begin a blog, reach to the news media, and basically anyone else. TEP, don’t underestimate the power of social media! This is Paul Grant by the way…I am still waiting for my refund!
I hope those cells in your body – the ones that you say turned rotten and withered away – have been replaced by sparkling new cells which will most likely be tougher than the ones that rotted so that the next time you use TEP those new cells will be well able to stand the inevitable strain.
Haha! Thanks but there won’t be a next time fortunately.
I have the same issue with Virgin Mobile! They keep charging me for calls I never I answered that went to my voicemail. I’m supposed to have unlimited data, but now they slow down the internet from 4G to 2g after using 1.5 GB of data.
Hi there – very interesting blog post and I must admit to having had similar issues with Tep before. A few years ago when I first used them, they were very good. Now? Er, not quite so. I gave up trying to get a refund on one of my rentals a couple of years back, and waved goodbye to the cost of a good few international calls while in Germany trying to solve a problem. I started getting all of the passwords for the dongle before I even left the UK as I knew I was going to have problems and at least if I called them before I left I didn’t have to pay roaming call charges! Out of interest, I just had a look at the code that they’ve offered your readers. It still works – for 20% off the rental rather than the 50% that they mentioned. Yet more broken promises?
I wish I found this review earlier. I rented a wifi device from them last year (which is really just last month) and encountered a similar situation as you. No data at all for the 3 days and when I emailed them, they just conveniently replied that there was a network outage which is why I couldn’t connect.
I told them I want a refund, no way in hell am I going to pay for services that I did not get??? That was in end November. They stopped replying me since 11 December despite several emails to them.
It’s not a lot of money, about S$50 but I don’t think it’s right to collect money and not provide the service. It’s not my fault that there was a network outage? I posted reviews on their website but I doubt they’d publish it. 🙁
Tep Wireless is no longer honouring their CheesieFan discount code, despite the fact that they promised that it would work at “any time in the future”. This is outrageous!