Beware DTNSpeed Net

[Herbie <technowombat@yahoo.com>]

OK here's my little DTN saga.

Condensed Version
-----------------
I opened up a browser with multiple tabs (galeon), a couple of which were 
those phpBB bulletin boards with offsite avatars. I also had a domain in 
the search path of my resolv.conf which no longer had a DNS server.

End Result - DTN suspended my connection, and refused to restore it. They 
didn't want money, or some antivirus penance, they just turned me off, 
after I'd paid the bill for the next 3 months of course.

The Saga
--------
Sep 1st - Had a voicemail from DTN complaining of strange traffic to their 
DNS server from me, they said 'we don't want to shut you down, but we may 
have to if you don't call us back'.

I checked my workstation for any errant processes, there were none, I ran 
a rootkit scan, nothing. I already had my server tunnelling DNS to a 
server other than DTN's, I set my workstation to do that too.

So I called them back, the two techs (lets call them Kevin and Darren, 
because thats their names) had left for the day. I left a message.

Sep 2 - Try and call them again, leave another message. Account still 
working but has been cut to about 50% of usual speed.

Sometime in this period the bill for the next 3 months arrives, and my 
wife pays it as normal.

Sep 8 - Email the local sales/service guy, as he's always been very 
reliable, explain the problem, he says he'll look into it.

Sep 9 - Finally get through to Kevin. Ask him for some information, he 
spools of the fact that all the hosts end in the same domain name, I 
realise thats in my search path and say so. I ask if it was a one-off 
problem or is it ongoing, he doesn't know. He decides to set up a 
conference call between myself, himself and a network engineer.

I email the local guy back letting him know the update.


Sep 20 - Still no callback, so I call again, this time leave a message for 
Darren, later that day I get a voicemail from Darren inviting me to call 
him back, I do so, and finally I have both Kevin and Darren on 
speakerphone.

I ask what the situation is.

Darren replies 'I have no interest in troubleshooting your account'.

I say 'I don't want you to troubleshoot my account, I just need to know if 
there is still a problem, and if you are going to stop throttling my 
connection.'

Darren replies 'You have violated our AUP'.

These phrases are pretty much all he says for the entire conversation, he 
does consent to send me a log, which I glance at, and say they all look 
like websites I normally visit, with the dead domain name appended to the 
end. Darren refuses to give me any way of having my account restored. Up 
until this point my account has only been slow. An hour later it is 
disconnected totally.

I call DTN Speed and talk to the on duty tech. She says, I can't turn you 
on, there's a note here you have to speak to Darren, he's gone for the 
day. I ask who Darren's supervisor is, I'm told it's the president of the 
company.

I call the local rep, who as usual is sane, but doesn't actually have any 
control over what HQ does, he rubbishs the fact that Darren's only 
superior is the president of DTN, and says he'll talk to them.

Sep 21 - When he gets back to me a day or so later, he says they are 
complaining about me abusing their DNS, I tell him I am no longer using 
their DNS and I shouldn't be causing a problem. He says he has a meeting 
(conference call I assume) with them next day and he'll bring it up.

Sep 22 - The next time he talks to me, he says they are complaining I've 
used over my bandwidth now. I comment that this is the first time this has 
been mentioned and it sounds like their trying to find reasons to keep me 
off.

Sep 23 - He says he's got someone who is going to call and explain, this 
doesn't happen.

I call another local wireless co. (Royell.Net) and ask them if I'm in 
their area, the company owner had talked to me previously (he knows where 
I live) and said they probably covered me.

Sep 27 - Royell come out, check I'm in range and install my antenna for 
free (part of setup costs) something DTN didn't do for me. I hate climbing 
the mast. They're quick efficient and have my windows box running within 
an hour or so.

I call Royell, ask them to cancel my subscription and refund my money up 
to Sep 20th.

NB I work from home as a part time administrator, so this has cost me a 
lot in manhours wasted as well as everything else. DTN has been beyond 
unprofessional. I strongly advise anyone who has an alternative, even if 
they're a little further away, to give them serious consideration. DTN 
have no qualms about leaving you high and dry with no connection, after 
having taken your money. They do have an excellent local rep, but he is 
let down by the ridiculous wait times that even he has to endure to get 
through to the head office.

I'm still waiting for an explanation, a UPS sticker to return the 
equipment and a refund for almost 3 months of service.

herbie

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