Monday, September 11, 2006

Wow! Ten days I didn't publish any blog entry?

Well, maybe I was so selfish not to blog the latest news about me lately but, rest assured that I am well and very, very happy. Many thanks to the man who made me really a special one, Randy!

Guess what? This afternoon, Randy surprised me again with two dozen bouquet of Roses, chocolates, perfumed candle, and Passion room freshener from Islandrose.net! He's sweet indeed and I love his style of surprising me...

When he logged out to sleep, I went to Bayantel with Tintin and upgraded Sky DSL Plan 2699 to NetBasic 1024 kbps Business package, with 4 free static IP address. It will cost me Php 3,300.00 a month, inclusive of taxes! Since I switched to Bayantel last month, we always experienced intermittent connection, especially this week that our modem kept dropping my connection and resets all the time. It's kind of annoying though but it's more convenient to deal with Bayantel tech support because they can reset my DSL connection instantly unlike PLDT staffs who kept promising me a technician had been dispatched yet no one is coming to visit us to check what's wrong with our DSL connection.

We didn't stayed that long in Bayantel Customer Service. We then did some grocery shopping at SM Supermarket and I got shocked with what I paid for 21 bags of groceries. The cashier, Judy Pelanog, told me that they made some price adjustments again this month. With what I heard, I remembered that Randy mentioned to me that prices of goods went up as well in their local grocery stores.

Budgetting lately had not been easy. Everything is going up and the Filipinos' quality of life had been quite difficult nowadays.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

I rushed to PLDT Business Office late this morning even Randy was still online. I had to confront anyone there for billing me PhP 6,352.97 this month while in fact, I didn't have phone line and myDSL for two weeks!

On my way downstairs, my neighbor complained too about their dead phone line for almost two weeks now. She gave me her statement of account so I can notify PLDT about it.

It was almost lunch time when I arrived at PLDT Office, Muñoz Branch. A certain Remedios Cruz attended to my complaint and after showing her my previous statements and adjustments made by another customer care clerks, I ended up paying Php 2,026.00 and a promise of two weeks rebates on my next bill. I was informed that their computer system recognizes changes only after two months and since what Adeliza Isidro made prior to my complaint thirteen days ago had not been in effect yet even I already surrendered my modem, PLDT still billed me for DSL internet for this month.

Somehow, I feel sorry for those people who kept paying and / or being billed by PLDT even though this company failed to deliver the services many of us subscribed for, kind of a simple ripoff one can hardly notice...

Anyway, since Bayantel's Sky DSL internet had been installed two weeks ago, so far we are happy that we're getting the true bandwidth speed based on 1.5 mb plan subscription. I made several bandwidth speed tests from different sites to determine differences:

2Wire Speed Meter: Your bandwidth was clocked at 2.33 Mbps

ZDNet Bandwidth Test: 1052.9 Kbps

Sky DSL Download Speed Checker: Your download speed is: 1476.28 kbps

speedtest.ph: Your current bandwidth reading is 1.13 Mbps

Bandwidth Directional Speed Test: 1221 kbps Download and 56 kbps upload

Bandwidth Speed Test: Communications 677.5 kbps and Storage 82.7 kbps

A Beltronica: (24-08-2006 07:24:08 Philippines) Download, 1085.76 kbps and Upload, 188.48 kbps

GlobeQuest Bandwidth Meter: Your current bandwidth reading is 1290.04320 kbps, which means you can download at 161.26000 KB/sec. from our servers.

When PLDT offered me an upgrade last April, their 2.2 mpbs broadband boost promo was misleading because instead of getting a faster DSL broadband speed when they upgraded my account from Plan 2500 to Xcel 3000 on May 9th this year, that's the time I had online nightmares of slow bandwidth speed ranging from zero kbps up to 4 kbps almost everyday that I gave it up this month to stop them from ripping me off.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Pacette arrived at 7 am this morning and we left to RTC to attend a hearing for Case II, for the Correction of my Birth Record.

Our case is number 9th in the court calendar. The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed its Notice of Appearance on July 27, 2006 and delegated authority to the Prosecutor's Office to represent the State in the instant case. My counsel undertook to furnish the Prosecutor a copy of the Petition within 5 days from today.

Next hearing is on October 18th at 8:30 am. As usual, I gave Atty. R her appearance fee before Pacette and I went to Smart Wireless Center and Abenson.

At Cyberzone, I went to Smart Wireless Center first and took a number then I proceeded to Abenson to claim the washing machine hose. We found out that all new washing machine does not provide any hose anymore but, they gave me a free laundry basket instead, as part of their washing machine promo.

We then went back to Smart Wireless Center and I complained about the annoying experience we had in Hong Kong when incoming calls and text messages failed to get through my mobile. Text messages had been sent a day later and identical messages were sent repeatedly in different times. When I verified how much international roaming calls and text have I spent for the entire Hong Kong trip, the Php 5000 I paid in advance had all been consumed!

When Ate Neth picked up her Chinese slimming tea last night, she told me that even Smart's local SMS were received and sent late since we were in Hong Kong, cited her experience with her text message to mama as an example.

Anyway, am upset that the correction of my birth record is causing us so much time and money. I was wondering how many more months will I have to wait to get favorable result...

Meanwhile, Randy made it to San Diego minus his luggage at past 3 in the afternoon my time. PAL flight to SFO had been delayed and unable to release his luggage. United Airlines will deliver his luggage tomorrow.

Unfortunately, we're not able to recite the rosary before he left to work because his rosary and prayer book were inside his luggage. Also, he's still suffering from severe pain on his left lower rib, which he got when he lifted one of our luggages out of the bus service in Hong kong airport.

Get well soon, Randy!

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Our phone line is dead for almost a week now and DSL is very unstable!

Besides, it looks like my ISP, PLDT myDSL, will never be true when it comes to providing me the service I subscribed for, currently, bandwidth speed should be up to 2 mbps, but, I was getting only this one:

Many PLDT myDSL subscribers had probably been cheated of their true bandwidth speed. My plan is currently at myDSL XCEL, with a promised of up to 2 mbps, and I was billed monthly for Php 2,545.00 for this kind of service. However, I was provided way below the dialup bandwidth speed. If PLDT will only charge us based on our actual bandwidth figures, I would probably be paying less than Php 500 a month!

Below this result was (as of 8:31 am 30 July 2006): "Your IP Address Is : 58.69.7.XXX. You may download up to 4.08 Kilobytes per Second from PLDT Play."

Who wants this kind of bandwidth speed these days? Anyone?

Friday, July 28, 2006

This is the third day we didn't have phone line and DSL internet after series of rainshowers for couple of days. :(

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Following my telephone conversation with a certain Nanette "Candy" Mangalindan c/o PLDT HOTLINE 171 Billing Section, yesterday, she said I can pay now my latest bill in the amount of Php 5,138.38 LESS Php 1,294.85 disputed amount, that's Php 3843.53!

However, I received email from PLDT Customer Service Supervisor, Miss Doreen Agbayani <dragbayani@pldt.com.ph>, with subject line, "FW: DSL Connection - PL# XXXXXX" and mentioned the following:

1. we shall grant you a rebate equivalent to 14 days covering the dates from June 8-21, 2006 when you experienced slow speed.
2. The rebate will be credited to your account on the next billing period.
3. be advised that you still need to settle the vibe usage charges in the amount of P 1294.85 (vat inclusive) since you were able to use the service when the DSL was down.
4. we have issued a service order to cancel the Vibe Pay per Surf service on your telephone which will take effect within 3 to 5 days.

I replied a long message to Ms. Agbayani and CC it to NTC <ntc@ntc.gov.ph>, Mike Enriquez <imbestigador@gmanetwork.com>, and also to Malen Ordoñez <customers@pldt.com.ph>... signing a petition is probably imminent because of the following reasons:

1. Service denial took place between May 9th and June 9th but PLDT will give me rebates only for slow bandwidth for the period of June 8-21, 2006!
2. I received June's statement of account and current charges include Php 3,095.07 for DSL and phone line (June 07 - July 06, 2006); 1,156.12 for PLDT VIBE Pay per surf; 336.65 for NDD/IDD; plus, 550.54 for EVAT (12%). Total amount? Php 5,138.38! This is insane!
3. PLDT Vibe dial up actually cost PHP 140 a month only and at 36 kbps bandwidth speed. I subscribed for DSL unlimited broadband internet at 2048 kbps. Why charged me more at a slower bandwdth speed when there was denial of service?
4. Actual test made by Mr. Ely Cansilao happened in mid June. So, in fairness, PLDT should actually give me a full one month rebate for the month of May, when PLDT's Data Center had serious technical problems!
5. I need rebates immediately since I already paid in advanced myDSL subscription for the month of May.

I also included Bandwidth Speed Test Result as of 2300 H 26 June 2006

• GlobeQuest Bandwidth Meter: 497.21280 kbps
• Bandwidth Speed Test: 347.2 kilobits per second
• Abeltronica: 626.16 kbps
• PLDT Play Bandwidth Test Results : 1.10 Mbps (I find this result very exaggerating as I was still getting the same speed like before except that PLDT meter showed I have faster connection.)

Friday, June 23, 2006

I was shocked when I received PLDT's latest Statement of Account.

Current charges include Php 3,095.07 for DSL and phone line; 1,156.12 for PLDT VIBE Pay per surf; 336.65 for NDD/IDD; plus, 550.54 for EVAT (12%). Total amount? Php 5,138.38!

Malen Ordoñez <customers@pldt.com.ph> told me earlier this month that she would call me as soon as she gets feedback from the person in charge of the billing for their recommendaton and approval. As of this writing, she doesn't call me yet.

In my latest PLDT Bill, just now I noticed PLDT already charged me in advanced for last month's myDSL PERSONAL covering May 07 - June 06, 2006 because I have to pay for June 07 - July 06, 2006!

Whew, how come they charge me in advance for a slow DSL broadband internet? Not to mention that unhappy PLDT DSL subscribers (like me) were complaining of NOT GETTING THE CORRECT BANDWIDTH SPEED we subscribed for. In fact, my DSL EXCEL Plan had been activated last month, May 9th, for 2048 kbps! YET, my agony started the same day they activated my account, I didn't have DSL access for almost the entire month and for this reason, a rebate is urgently sought so I can pay also for this month's bill!

But, instead of seeing the deductions reflected in this month's bill, I was surprised that I was also being charged additional amount of Php 1,294.85 for VIBE dialup pay per surf internet!

Malen Ordoñez, where is my rebates please???

Sunday, June 11, 2006

A certain Malen Ordoñez for PLDT Consumer Affairs Referral called me in the afternoon and assured me for an immediate attention and appropriate action against my complaint of slow PLDT DSL bandwidth speed as well as rebate and cancellation of Vibe dialup charges. After I blah blah blah to her all my heart out, I received this email from her, as part of my complaint that I didn't receive any formal notice of scheduled maintenance of whatsoever from their tech support informing me in advance that they will cut off their DSL service while maintenace is on-going:

"Per our telecon, we wish to inform you that we have already forwarded your DSL problem to the Division in-charge for their immediate attention and appropriate action. With regards to DSL rebate and cancellation of Vibe charges, we will forward your request to the person in charge for their recommendaton and approval. We shall advise you accordingly as soon as we receive their feedback."

The copy of this mail had been CC to ntc @ ntc.gov.ph and Grace Marietta G. LERIOS GMGLERIOS @ pldt.com.ph. I sent PLDT a complaint letter on the 25th of May 2006 at 13:26:58 and CC it to ntc @ ntc.gov.ph and imbestigador @ gmanetwork.com so the proper authorities will be informed, too, what kind of inconvenience I had been paying for a service I didn't get since they claimed they upgraded my DSL account to 2 mbps on May 19th. Since they upgraded my account on that day, their Deteriorating Subscriber's Line (DSL) supplied me 4 kbps bandwidth speed enough to login to their server but unable to do browsing nor retrieve my mails.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Paul Denise is back this evening from his vacation in my elder sister's house after I convinced him that DSL broadband internet speed had been restored since yesterday morning.

Speaking of DSL, I talked with a certain Jo when I called PLDT 171 Hotline early this morning, and I asked for rebates covering the period from May 19 up to June 1. I mentioned to her my sentiments about their lousy tech support service, the poor bandwidth speed I was getting after they upgraded my account, and the corrupt DSL staffs who allegedly were selling extra accounts and passwords to subscribers of Plan 999. She was surprised with what I said but I gave her the link of pinoydsl.com and find out for herself what other DSL subscribers were talking about the PLDT company she's working for. I also asked her what bandwidth I am supposed to get if my plan has been upgraded to 2 mbps. Ever since I subscribed for their DSL service two years ago, I had been getting 500 kbps and below. Now that they upgraded my account, the agony of 4 kbps bandwidth speed everyday for two weeks gave me and Randy hard time running skype and webcam. PLDT VIBE dialup internet helped me communicate with Randy, retrieved mails, and do some Blogshares thingy but, not Neopets. Also, I told her that we had lost some important calls because I disabled calling waiting to have continuous internet connection.

Anyway, Jojo was with Paul Denise when they arrived home. He sang few videoke songs while my boys played their R.O.S.E. (Rush On Seven Episodes) game. Mama and I were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. She cooked pork adobo and I fried chicken tempura. The dinner was good and I feel better now that my son is back at home.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

I was upset when my Paul Denise wants to have two weeks vacation in Ate Neth's house after finishing his remedial class in Physics.

When I asked him why, he said he just want to spend time with his cousin, Jojo, who will leave to Saudi Arabia, along with his father, to work for a kind prince in the Palace. He packed some canned goods and clothes plus some cash. Paul Denise, like Randy, doesn't like to eat fish and mother used to cook fish and vegetables in Ate Neth's house.

Before Paul Denise left with Christine, his girl friend, I asked him again the reason why he wants to stay there in my sister's house. He said he cannot play R.O.S.E. (Rush On Seven Episodes) because we do not have DSL!

When I talked with Mama over the phone to check the condition of my son later in the evening, she told me a funny thing. She said, Jojo, in return, was bugging his mother so he can spend some days vacation here at home because he loves to do videoke before finally leaving for work... ahhhhh, kids!!!

Meanwhile, my problem with PLDT DSL continue... am still using dial up! I called PLDT 172 Hotline couple of times and reminded them that I was paying my bill on time and they do not have any reason to deny or delay the DSL service I subscribed with them. The evidence of inconvenience brought by this deteriorating subscriber line (DSL) was evident when my son, Paul Denise, left home!

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Randy and I had a great time trading in Blogshares due to uninterrupted DSL internet connections. I just wish PLDT DSL will give us now the right broadband speed based on our corresponding subscription plan although I was wondering why I haven't experienced yet the promised 2 mbps upgrade.

After Randy logged out in the afternoon, the kids, Tintin, and I attended the 5:00 o'clock afternoon mass at Our Lady of Hope Parish. Today is the Seventh Sunday of Easter, a celebration of the Ascension of the Lord and the 40th Feast Anniversary of Our Lady of Hope. Rev. Fr. Sonny Merida said the mass today. The First Reading was Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26 and Second Reading was 1 Jn 4:11-16.

When the mass ended, the kids and I went to the mall to watch X-Men but, when they started smelling the food from the different Fast Foods in the mall, we decided to eat in the Food Court located in the basement of the mall. I bought some from Bodhi Vegetarian Restaurant while the kids got their orders from Jollibee.

When we satisfied our hunger, we watched X-men, The Last Stand in Cinema 1. I never watch X-men and if kids didn't explained to me the previous stories of X-men, I will never understand what I was watching.

When the kids and I arrived home, we're disappointed that we didn't have DSL internet again.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

I logged in using dial up internet early in the morning so that Randy and I can recite the rosary online before our connections deteriorated due to more number of people coming online.

Curious what's going on with DSL subsribers, I googled PLDT DSL keyword and I found interesting links and stories. I also registered with PinoyDSL.Net this morning, a Philippine DSL Network Forum which is maintained by several DSL subsribers. The site is designed for Philippine DSL users and subscribers with the idea of helping fellow DSL users with DSL problems, questions and optimize its usage to the fullest SINCE my ISP, PLDT DSL, neglected their subscribers to provide uninterrupted broadband internet service.

Based on what other subscribers' experiences posted in the forum, accounts and passwords were sold by some PLDT DSL crews. It's alarming and made me worried that someone had been using my DSL account and password this is why my connection dropped to 4 kbps or was it the PLDT Data Center really had technical trouble with their network? Besides, I have doubts that the best skilled engineers had been deployed outside the country and the less skilled people are the ones working for local companies. Six days of no internet access means denial of service...

What's funny with the PLDT DSL ads, it says "At Rocket speeds, PLDT DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) gives you fast and reliable 'always-on' connectivity. Guess they should re-edit their site and rephrase rocket speed with zero speed. In fact, their 172 Hotline was busy all the time and I'm at lost whether to get a new DSL from Bayantel or stick with PLDT who failed to give me DSL broadband internet service for six days now? Rowela is waiting for my call so they can pick up the Application Form she sent last Monday through LBC.

Only in the Philippines this is happening... I sent a complaint through email addressed to NTC but, I was wondering whether they will consider it or just send my email to trash folder. Media is our last hope.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

My communication with Randy had been affected severely because of my ISP problem. I cannot even play in Blogshares and Neopets, too, and I had lost opportunity to gain some B$ and neopoints this evening.

PLDT DSL's hotline has been busy continually and I am at a loss on whether to get a new DSL service from Bayantel or stay with PLDT, even though they have failed to give me the service they promised for five days now. I already talked to the owner of the building. Since each unit was provided with a single phone line conduit, I will have to buy the telephone cable myself if I subscribe to another phone company, Bayantel. We already established our contact telephone number and we wouldn't give it up, just the DSL, if possible.

Meanwhile, Randy told me an alarming news before he logged out to work. He said that the Veterans Administration reported that one employee decided to take home a bunch of disks for a project he or she was working on and had them stolen in a home robbery. Randy was worried that all his personal informations, including security number, benifits, and credit card details will be stolen or sold.

And as soon as Randy logged out, my PLDT DSL broadband internet turned totally dead, and it affects nationwide subscribers now! Kids were bored and played PS2 games instead after I sang few karaoke songs.

Ah! Mother never told me there will be uneasy days like these...

Saturday, May 20, 2006

I used PLDT VIBE dialup internet early this morning to recite the rosary with Randy since we cannot talk well on SKYPE using my PLDT DSL broadband internet. Furious with interrupted chat with him, I called PLDT 171 and found out from Edna that my account has been upgraded yesterday morning up to 2 mbps EXACTLY the same time my internet agony started.

Based on my email transactions, I sent them three emails today at 8:43 AM, 12:48 PM, and 9:37 PM just to let them know I was on PLDT VIBE dialup internet because my DSL internet speed was only 4 kbps. I was sure that their Data Center made a mistake and they promised to send a technician to us tomorrow.

Ate Neth referred me to Rowela of Bayantel. Rowela said she will send me the Application Form for DSL internet. It will cost me PHP 1,999 for installation fee and PHP 3,000 monthly for both 1.5 mbps DSL internet and phone charges.

Randy was upset and had been wishing I could have the same speed of his internet as I had been complaining I couldn't do anything with the blogs' shares I held even I know someone was trying to slump its price before HTO. I cannot retrieve my emails, cannot run skype in the evening and I was wondering what's going on with PLDT DSL and how many subscribers are currently suffering like me.

Friday, April 21, 2006

I had a problem with myDSl connection and it prevented me to access my favorites sites. I sent them a complaint message.

We did breakfast and had eaten with the kids before meeting Rose and Fred to meet Riel and Save The Children staffs plus our (BlogShares) sponsored child, Sarah Alea.

Staffs of the Save The Children - Philippines Field Office.

After meeting the staffs and Riel briefed us about Save The Children. We then meet Sarah and her family who were waiting for us at McDonald's. Sarah's mother works as a fish vendor but, it is a really low paying job which is equivalent of 4 -5 dollars a day. Anyway, I learned a lot about the program by talking to some of the Save The Children workers and Sarah's family. Sarah didn't speak English so I translated the conversation to Randy.

Randy, me, and Sarah.

Sarah with her mother and sister.

We then went to a community center where they were teaching job skills with materials they have available. Randy felt really bad as this was an extremely poor area, but the folks at the center were working hard, and there were many volunteers there helping them out.

Tomorrow, we will be taking Sarah out on a shopping trip to a mall. We were thinking of school supplies but after I talked with Sarah, I guess we will be going to do grocery shopping instead, as Sarah prefers grocery items and rice for her family. As a rule, we are not allowed to give any cash donations to Sarah or her family.

Anyway, after that it was time for the long ride home. My left knee gave me so much pain. Somehow, it is really nice to finally put a real child in place of the picture and letters.

We're excited to take her and family out for shopping tomorrow...

Friday, April 07, 2006

Guess what? I believe I deserve a refund this month from Philippine Long Distance Telepnone Company (PLDT) for giving me a dialup internet speed for ten days now with myDSL personal subscription plan, at PHP 2500 per month!

This morning, I dialed 172 myDSL HOTLINE and Lloyd answered my call but, I asked for their supervisor instead. Belle accomodated my call and asked me to test my bandwidth speed under resources link on their PLDT PLAY website and I got this result:

When I told Belle the site was timing out, she asked me instead to check my bandwidth speed using their rival company website, GLOBE and fortunately, the site was running well and had given me this result... Ouch!

This is unbelievable. I got 77.68 kbps only!?! What shocked me most was PLDT myDSL tech support and linemen were using Globe website instead of their own. I was wondering whether GLOBE knows that a big company like PLDT was using their service...

Also, last February, if I wasn't mistaken, I didn't received my February Bill and I was surprised I received a disconnection notice last March! I barely noticed that I neglected paying my bill because my mind was too busy completing requirements on the three cases I filed with RTC.

Grrrrrr... I'm so lost what I should do about this lousy service. Am I going to get a refund for paying a DSL subscription but getting a dialup speed? How about the charges when I used PLDT VIBE when their internet was completely dead on April 2nd??? I was told they were upgrading their service last week but how they will explain that my bandwidth speed kept dropping as days passed by? Someone out there from PLDT must do something with my dissatisfaction, it's kind of annoying not to get a service what I'm paying for.

My internet is toooooooooo slowwwwwwww while blogging this entry.....

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

I had been enduring for couple of days now a very poor and intermittent DSL internet connections which affected my daily online activities.

PLDT myDSL lineman came here in the afternoon and checked the brand of DSL modem assigned to my account as their main office had difficulty communicating with my modem each time I complained of poor internet connection. I found out that they didn't updated their records when they replaced the old modem assigned to us.

Anyway, I conducted this Personal test from Bandwidth Speed Test and emailed the result at 4/4/2006 9:08 PM to PLDT MyDSL Customer Care <rbgdsl_helpdesk@pldt.com.ph> :

Speed:

189.9 kilobits per second
Communications 189.9 kilobits per second
Storage 23.2 kilobytes per second
1MB file download 44.2 seconds
Subjective rating Mediocre

Info:

Date & time Tuesday, April 4, 9:06 PM
Test type IDT4 Free
Connection type ADSL
Region Asia
Data size 1024KB

I have noticed that I have also a new IP address but I was wondering, I have three IP addresses instead of one, which Randy provided to me this evening...

Monday, March 20, 2006

After ten days of bad fall in the bath room, I had been enduring another knee pain but, this time, it was more painful than what I had in September 2005. I had that previous knee injury from doing my workout while this time, it is from the fall and prolonged sitting in front of the computer!

I was feeling guilty for having an inactive lifestyle. Even if I want to do my workout, there's always a valid reason prevented me to do it, just like this time. When I was doing my workout last year, I developed some skin allergies in my thighs and my skin became sensitive from the tights I used for my workout. Now that I want to tone muscles and shape up a little bit, here comes the knee injury.

While I know lack of regular exercise and walking habits probably made my knees weaker, going out for a walk or window shopping is not my cup of tea. The Web MD's Coping With Knee Pain link Randy provided me gives me enlightenment how to deal with knee injury at home!

Meanwhile, while blogging this entry, PLDT messenger buzzed my unit and asked me to go down to get the bill. Daughter and I waved him to go up but, he shouted, "Why you didn't like to go down?"

Furious, I went downstairs limping and I whispered to him, "I have left knee injury this is why I cannot go down." Then he presented me the bill and I acknowledged the mail. He gave me my copy after tearing the attached note i signed. Puzzled, I asked what is that for and he told me it was a disconnection notice!

In my anger, I didn't know how I went upstairs. I hurriedly checked my check book but, there was no payment made last month. I remember paying some bills in cash last month to beat their due dates. And what gets to my nerve? The demand letter was delivered late too. I have to pay my telphone and DSL today or get service interruption! I have something to complain again with the owner of the building. Their maintenance boys were lazy to deliver the mails to the right unit.

Guess I have severe headache now than knee injury.... (mother never told me there will be days like this... gasp...)!

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Dealing with lawyers and staying outside most of the time caused so much inconveniences without a gadget to use to call the kids home. So, I decided to buy an affordable cellphone, N 6630. I like its size, very similar with my stolen N 3660.

Meanwhile, the pickpocket who stole my cellphone was still using my SIM number and we traced the thief roaming around Apalit, Pampanga area.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Who said that Friday, the 13th is an unlucky day and causes fear ((known as paraskevidekatriaphobia)? When I woke up this morning, I was happy to find out that water service is finally restored contrary to what I was told few days back when I called 1626!

On the lighter side, I got this e-mail from Jan Campbell:

"Eleven people were hanging on a rope under a helicopter, ten men and one woman. The rope was not strong enough to carry them all, so they decided that one had to leave, because otherwise they were all going to fall."

"They weren't able to name that person, until the woman gave a very touching speech. She said that she would voluntarily let go of the rope, because, as a woman, she was used to giving up everything for her husband and kids, or for men in general, and was used to always making sacrifices with little in return. As soon as she finished her speech, all men started clapping their hands..."

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Low water pressure is now being experienced in our area and I had been busy fetching water since yesterday afternoon filling up every container available. Starting tonight, most parts of Metro Manila will be waterless until midnight of Saturday due to replacement of MWSS Aqueduct located in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

To know schedule of water rationing in Metro Manila, call 1626 or 09187001626.

Saturday, October 29, 2005

My agony started between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm on Thursday, October 27th, when our phone line and DSL internet had been totally dead.

My son spotted downstairs that Bayantel contractor, plate no. WAV 991, was working on installation of a Bayantel phone line in Unit G of the building. Paul Denise went downstairs to notify them that we didn't have phone line and they might accidentally loosened our connection, just like what happened on June 29th this year! But, as soon as they completed their job, they ran away without fixing our disrupted phone line and DSL internet services.

Friday morning, past 7:00 a.m., I called Tel. no. 4121212 (trunk line of Bayantel) from the unit of Mr. Fernandez, who is a Bayantel subscriber. I spoke with Vangie Oliero. I informed her the inconvenience their contractor have caused us yet, she insisted that it should be PLDT, my phone line company, who to address my complaints. Disgusted, I told her it wasn't the first time it happened with us and I won't tolerate that inconvenience over and over again whenever their contractor is installing a phone line in the building. She asked for plate number of their contractor but I told my sister, who is a pioneer Bayantel subscriber, to call Vangie and tell her my complete name, address, and the plate number of their contractor.

Friday afternoon, I went to PLDT office in Cyberzone, SM North, and informed their Customer Service clerk about my discovery that PLDT phone box assigned to me was unlocked and tampered: It's name, PLDT property (plus my bldg unit) were erased! It took me about an hour telling her my blah blah experience and I requested that I will be given a new phone box which I can put a lock on it and a new phone cable to make sure my phone line wouldn't be tapped. She told me that since all linemen were out in the field already, she will make sure I will be attended to early morning of the next day. And so, Tintin and I left the office but with unexpected expenses I made bothered me. I already bought two PHP300 Smart Buddy load and spent so much calls in my mobile, paid internet access in cyber cafe, and we're forced to go out of the house just to let them know about our phone line technical problem, not to mention I talked with a lot of people asking them to do things for me and call the attention of 173 PLDT repair service and 172375 for DSL.

And finally, this morning, PLDT lineman came and we found out my phone box had been stolen/used, and my line was hanging in the air! HUH? I couldn't believe what I saw. The lineman had to repeat five times explaining to me what actually happened with my phone line. Grrrr... a Bayantel line was installed in my phone box! He then took a ladder and made a new connection using a black box which is secured with a screw. Someone has to use a ladder to tamper my phone line again! We then removed the existing Bayantel cable installed in PLDT box before detaching it off the wall. I need it as evidence and took it with me upstairs and showed it to all people who were aware that we didn't have phone line due to the recent Bayantel installation in the building.

PLDT lineman: Main phone line had been cut-off. The line connected to the box isn't yours!

I then called Vangie Oliero (Bayantel operator), and informed her about my stolen phone box! I advised her, for Bayantel's sake, to change their contractor who was stealing PLDT boxes. If they want a box, they should have told me and I will donate one, no need to cut off my phone line and DSL.

Whoever is this Bayantel subscriber who will complain of dead phone line either today or tomorrow remains to be seen but, I will be closely watching anyone who will come near our building a vehicle with adjustable ladder.

How we found out the line installed in the stolen PLDT phone box wasn't mine? PLDT lineman clipped his handy phone into the installed wires (in the box), dialed my phone number, and he told me my line was ringing!

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Half- awake, I asked daughter to enter PIN code to lock IDD access while she's turning on PC this morning. She always received invalid error messages and I decided to request from 171 to reset our old PIN number to default when all of a sudden, our telephone line was dead and so was DSL!

I paused for a moment and jumped out of bed. I yelled while running to the balcony. I was right, I saw a man checking the telephone boxes downstairs. Without thinking, I grabbed my cellphone and went downstairs. I crossed the street and took this photo. To my surprise, daughter followed me and courageously taken a close-up shot of this man in the picture. We found out later that this guy was BayanTel's lineman upon his supervisor's clarification.

After thorough arguments why our telephone went dead, the BayanTel field supervisor asked my permission to open the telephone box which was locked by PLDT lineman yesterday. Voila! He detected our telephone line was active yet my daughter was yelling from the fourth floor that our telephone line remained dead. I stared at the lineman sharply. He stood firmly he didn't touch anything.

Then, the supervisor offered to check our telephone line upstair and found out it was really dead, he went down and inspect the wire connection from the box to the building. I was watching from the balcony when daughter shouted the line was restored. Damn! The stupid lineman caused the problem. The supervisor has to use a ladder to fix the loose connection.

Glad my intuition tells me to go out and check, otherwise, I won't have DSL and telephone today. PLDT often takes 2-3 days to respond to service request... by the way, DSL is running perfectly today!

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

After wiretapping discovery this morning and old modem had been replaced, I still do not have DSL internet access since 5:00 o'clock this afternoon. I have to connect using VIBE, PLDT's dialup internet, to access the net but, my usual online activities cannot be carried out due to very slow connection.

I have been enduring these inconveniences for the last ten days now. I called 172375 but their line was either busy or dead. I already sent two emails but never receive any replies from their technical staffs. MyDSL PLDT is a big company yet they gave poor service when it comes to internet.

Gone were the days Infocom handled my technical inquiries in real time when we were still in Parañaque City.

EEKKKK! Someone wiretapped us!

Since ten days ago, I was complaining with myDSL PLDT tech support about our intermittent internet connection. From morning until late evening, we couldn't complete any file download and caused me a lot of NP loses when playing Pawkeet slots.

My agony ends today (I hope) when they sent their lineman to check the quality of my telephone line. I asked him to wait an hour until I fired my plushie workers and read some mails. And, guess what he discovered? Someone wiretapped our main telephone box and hooked another telephone wire leading to the same building where we live!

My greatest concern now is, what if they made a lot of overseas call using my telephone line? Oh! God... why there are people like them exist?

Friday, April 08, 2005

For the record, I sent PLDT Customer Support this message last night:

Subject: SLOW CONNECTION
From: Laila*
Date: 4/7/2005 9:38 PM
To: PLDT Customer Care <customercare@pldtdsl.net>

I wonder why my connection is slower than dialup the whole day today? May I know what is going on? Your Hotline 172375 was too busy to accomodate calls.

I didn't like to think we, subscribers, were denied with 24/7 Technical Support...

Please reply.

Laila*

For which I received a reply this morning:

Dear Ms. Laila*,

This acknowledges your message regarding your MyDSL connection.

First, we apologize for the inconvenience you encountered in the use of our service and for having a hard time getting through our hotline. To date, we would like to inform you that we have forwarded the problem to the concerned group. Rest assured that this will be handled accordingly and will be given attention. Our team from rbgdsl_helpdesk@pldt.com.ph will update you anytime for any feedback on the problem you elevated to us.

Thank you for bringing the matter to our attention.

Respectfully yours,

Ms. BheLLe RaNCe OrDOña

PLDT Customer Care

Monday, March 28, 2005

Each time there is DSL internet service interruption and there is no way to connect to the internet nor inform PLDT DSL technical people that I didn't have internet access by calling their busy 172375 direct line, I couldn't help but feel they were cheating all their subscribers by not providing a 24/7 Technical Assistance. Any ISPs nationwide provide Technical Support, be it post-paid or prepaid internet. Only PLDT DSL breaks this protocol. What's worst, they won't e-mail us the reason why the sudden service interruption occurred.

And I am not really happy about this. Infocom handled 24/7 Technical problems before satisfactorily. Why PLDT had taken over Infocom Technical Support and 173 was accessible only during working hours. While 172375 is now available, we couldn't get through this hotline number whenever we had internet interruption problems. Even their website was inaccessible. How can I log a complaint ticket?

Also, I feel we were deceived with a promise of improved bandwidth speed instead of reducing broadband rates. I cannot express well how disappointed I am right now.

Can you imagine how it feels like to blog using a dial-up?

Thursday, August 05, 2004

I received a call for three consecutive days now from PLDT telemarketing that they have a Mega Bundle Promo which includes caller ID, call-waiting, call-forwarding, and three-way party conference features for only PHP 99.00 a month.

These features were requested with telephone line application form I submitted earlier but, when our telephone line was installed, all we had was basic feature and no IDD/NDD either. When I asked them when my caller ID will be activated, I remember they told me to buy a telephone unit first with caller ID feature but, I told them I had two units purchased sometime in October last year. Surpringly, they want me to register the unit at their nearest PLDT branch since they said both unit was not under my name! Well, what's the difference if the telephone unit was under the name of my daughter? We bought the units last year because of their promotional offer wherein they slashed 40% OFF its original price.

Anyway, I was too busy to think about PLDT promos as my things are crowding my room. Didn't know where to place the 5 Balik Bayan boxes full of my travelling clothes, coats, and lingeries: these boxes make my room ugly.

Friday, June 04, 2004

At last, i"m blogging using myDSL internet connection. Two linemen working on the activation of my account rehabilitated PLDT cable outside the building. They said it was grounded and kind of old cable type, they have replaced it. They started working on it as early as 10 in the morning and left after an hour when they couldn't login my account and password successfully. When they came back at 4:35 in the afternoon, just then we were able to use myDSL internet connection.

Fortunately, my eldest son was online because it was his day-off today. However, my daughter was the one who typed the messages for me since I was busy sewing the lace curtain.

Now that Sweety has to complete her books before the school opening on June 14th, I'm happy that we can freely leave the house without worrying about missing anything while we're away from home...