Complaint: PLDT Home Ultera (LTE) Plan 999 Daily Volume Allocation Imposing Monthly Volume Allocation originally SMART Bro / MyBro Canopy Unlimited Migrated to WiMAX Unlimited

This is an open letter to PLDT Home Ultera Executives: 

I will discuss first the billing letter (SOA) I received from Ms. Maria Cecilia Abad, Head, PLDT Home Ultera Customer Care; and the e-mail I sent contesting its content. Afterwards, I will narrate on the next posts my bad experiences until the last straw when I decided to finally blog. My original internet subscription was HOME Bro / SMART Bro Canopy. You may refer to my old post to have a preview why I find the said letter imposing; and a recycled vicious scheme: Complaint: SMARTBro to myBro intermittent connection and throttled speed "Fair Use Policy" etc.

SOA Page 3 of 4

December 23, 2017 SOA (Billing Statement) Receipt

Ms. Maria Cecilia Abad signed a 3^rd page of my Statement of Account (SOA). The Statement period was December 10. I received it last December 23, 2017. It imposed the enhancement from the current PLDT Home Ultera Daily Volume Allowance Capping (DVAC) shall be changed to Monthly Volume Allowance Capping (MVAC) on January 12, 2018. Her imposition was an amiss action for the committed configuration from Home Ultera Daily Volume Cap to Ultera Unlimited Volume on the condition the speed will be at 2 Mbps.

“There is a possible chance that we can provide you with unlimited volume on the condition that the speed will be at 2Mbps. However, this will take time as we have to conduct necessary configuration with our back end.” (Email dated November 9, 2017)

Going now to the amiss action, Ms. Abad still capped my Home Ultera package. The letter itself is curious when she did not indicate the speed of the monthly volume allowance capping (MVAC) yet hard-sold a Booster. Why?

Thank you for being a loyal Ultera subscriber, ________________!

We have great news on the improvements we are making on your subscription.

Starting January 12, 2018, you will be able to continuously use your total monthly data allocation (What is the speed?). Once your data allocation has been fully consumed, you may still continue to browse at a lower speed. This means you will no longer be limited to a daily 1GB data allocation and you no longer have to wait for the next day for a 1GB refresh. (When will the allocated volume replenish? Please provide exact date and time with a cut off date example)

Should you wish to continue surfing at your subscribed speed, you may avail of additional data boosters at my.pldthome.com. (Data Boosters? Sooner or later, will this turn out to be the fourth package that needs booster, i.e., no internet speed will throttle anymore as another enhancement?)

This is one of many enhancements we continue to work on to improve the service for all our Ultera subscribers. (How can this be an enhancement when there was a commitment to configure my subscription from wrong migration downgrade DVAC to Ultera with Unlimited Volume? Please refer to pldthome.com/ultera/support)

Thank you for your patronage and we look forward to give you more good news in the coming months.

Yours Truly,


Sgnd.
Maria Cecilia Abad
Head, Customer Care
Ultera

On the same note, there are also complaints and comments by other subscribers, one with a copy of letter similar to mine: PLDT ULTERA (LTE) THREAD. Please read it thoroughly.

Home Bro / SMART Bro Canopy (Unlimited Internet) to WiMAX (Unlimited)

Six (6) months after my original internet connection package (Home Bro / SMART Bro Canopy) was decommissioned, my demand to cancel my account due to their ineptness and negligence was approved. No. Let me explain. SMART zeroed-out the unpaid bills; whilst my internet subscription was migrated to Smart Bro WiMAX with no Fair Usage Policy (FUP) and volume allocation. These were their resolution after I complained to the nth time that my Canopy had slow to intermittent to no-internet connection. It turned out SMART imposed a Fair Usage Policy (FUP); wherein, the internet speed was throttled claiming to have all the subscribers share the speed provided by the base station. Under the said FUP, subscribers were also provided a volume allocation monthly; once the volume is used up, the internet speed will dwindle or throttle.

Please also refer to my old post on my original Internet subscription. It started with the HomeBro Canopy - "Complaint: SMARTBro to myBro intermittent connection and throttled speed "Fair Use Policy" etc."

WiMAX (Unlimited Data) Downgraded to PLDT Home Ultera (LTE) Daily Volume Allocation Capping (DVAC)

My WiMAX (Unlimited Data with speed up to 2Mbps) was decommissioned last March 14, 2015. PLDT migrated and downgraded it to PLDT Home Ultera (LTE) Daily Capping of 300MB with an undisclosed speed. Remember that this was their amiss action when I consistently demanded to PLDT via e-mail to commission their technician to check my WiMAX internet antenna and modem/router to ensure that the internet problem was caused none other than PLDT itself. 

• WIMAX be excluded in the FUP – WIMAX is not covered by FUP (Email dated October 14, 2013 5:02 PM)

You may refer to other complaints online: PLDT Ultera Silently Changed Its Policy. It narrated how the daily volume allocation was changed from 300MB to 1GB as of October 2015 under the Plan 999 with speed up to 3Mbps. Before, the Hotline was silent on the how low the speed will be as they call it anti-churning when the data allocation has depleted!


Now, what is more silent than the Ultera Unlimited Data (with speed up to 2Mbps) Special Project that was missed out, if not all, by some bloggers around December 2015? What were the parameters used to exclude if this was more than enhancement and yet with the same Php999.00 MSF? Who are the old subscribers enjoying this Special Project? These subscribers were not even part of the current monthly capping imposed by batch starting December 2017 as explained to me by the Hotline. Even the PLDT SSC branch were ignorant of Ultera Unlimited advertised on their official website pldthome.com/ultera/support who denied that the Hotline and Email/Online Customef Care department routed my complaint and instructions for them!

PLDT Home Ultera (LTE) Unlimited Data with Speed up to 2Mbps

PLDT Customer Care Online Team ( customercare@pldt.com ) was denying that there is an existing PLDT Home Ultera (LTE) Unlimited Volume package for existing subscribers of WiMAX and Canopy, if not, Home Bro.  Until I shown them the said package discreetly found on their website stating it, they even claimed "Home Bro has adapted the Fair Usage Policy to ensure that all subscribers will be able to utilize the service hence, all subscriptions has an allotted data volume allowance." (Email dated October 21, 2017 10:57 AM)

How about the screenshot below taken from their PLDT Home official website?

SMART Bro Canopy vs PLDT Home Ultera (LTE) Monthly Capping (Same Scheme?)

The offer Ms. Abad stated to be an enhancement for the Ultera was the same imposition on my original internet subscription Home Bro / SMART Bro (Canopy), under the FUP with monthly volume allocation. Isn't that a vicious circle scheme!

This is her amiss action to my demand to refund my MSF in full and correct my internet package as an enhancement (upgrade) to PLDT's commissioned Special Project around December 2015.

Aren't there anymore customer care online staff reading complaints coursed through PLDT's official email address: customercare@pldt.com and customercare@pldt.com.ph; and SMART's customercare@smart.com.ph? Not even an automatic reply sent to my complaints and follow-ups! 

E-mail to Ms. Maria Cecilia Abad (PLDT Customer Care - Head)

Still awaiting reply from PLDT and experiencing a runaround.



Smart Prepaid Buddy Hotline to the Smart Store at SM Supermalls

I have an upgraded SMART Prepaid Buddy SIM card to LTE. On its profile, noted there with a Service Report number was a SMART Special Accounts Officer failed to meet her promise to call me about this escalated complaint. What's going on that you won't assist your "loyal subscriber" to bring my complaint to a positive resolution? You sold my account/subscription to PLDT Inc. Tel, haven't you?


Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ielmanblog/status/953870484763901952

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