MaximumPC 2005 10

22 MA XIMUMPC OCTOBER 2005

word was incorrect.

I called tech support and was told that I left

my Internet connection on too many hours in one

day. The connection must be on a timer or some-

thing because after six hours, it logs me off. When I

signed up, I saw nothing on the website saying my

account would be suspended if I used it for too many

hours in one day.

Doesn’t “unlimited” use mean you can use it

as long as you want? The company now says I have

to pay this month’s charge but that my account is

automatically suspended for 7-10 days.

The tech told me there was nothing he could

do except charge me another $9.95 for a tem-

porary account until mine is unfrozen. It seems

illegal for a company to charge for unlimited

access and then limit my use without telling me. If

you could look into this and let me know what you

think, that would be great.

I am canceling this service and getting DSL when

my month is up.

—Matt

The Dog called Intergate.com and spoke with

a manager who confirmed that “unlimited”

doesn’t actually mean unlimited time online.

It only means consumers can dial the ISP an

unlimited number of times. The manager said

that because of the contract Intergate has with

its backbone provider, users who log in and

“hog” lines will be flagged and their accounts

frozen for a few days. But it shouldn’t come as a

surprise, the manager said, because it’s spelled

out in the terms and conditions of the contract.

He then referred the Dog to company execu-

tives for further clarification. Executives of the

company did not respond to the Dog’s emails

requesting clarification of the policy.

The Dog couldn’t review Intergate’s terms

and conditions without signing up for an account,

but it’s clear there’s a difference between what

consumers think is unlimited and what Intergate

thinks is unlimited. To find out if Intergate’s

salespeople inform consumers of this policy, the

Dog called the sales number for Intergate and

asked a rep what “unlimited” means. The Dog

was told it means unlimited ability to dial in, not

unlimited time. In reality, the rep told the Dog, it

works out to about 11 hours a day.

So what’s the official definition of “unlimited

access”? The Dog asked David Gower of the

Texas ISP Association if there are any national

guidelines for the term. Gower said none existed

that he was aware of, but in his opinion it means

that you can’t be connected 24/7 but you can

dial up as much as you want. Most ISPs pay an

average of $30 for each phone line or port, and

they use timers to disconnect users who are con-

nected more than a few hours.

But, he added, it’s a little unusual for an ISP

to penalize a person for being connected too

much. “I would say most [ISPs] have a limit,

but maybe not a penalizing limit. The fact that

they disabled him sounds like he doesn’t have

unlimited access.” But, Gower said, it’s really

the terms and conditions that matter for each

individual ISP.

There are a couple things you should do here,

Matt. The first is what you’re already planning

to do: take your money somewhere else. The

second is to look at your terms and conditions

to see if they do define exactly what “unlimited”

means. If not, the Dog thinks you should at least

file a complaint with your state Attorney General,

because unlimited access shouldn’t mean unlim-

ited connection attempts, it should mean unlim-

ited access.

CAN’T GET MY SOFTWARE

I bought a Pioneer DVR-A07 DVD burner from Globe

2000 Corp ( http://www.globe2000.com ). The main reason

I chose this company was for the software bundle. The

problem is that I didn’t get the bundle! I tried to contact

the company several times,

to no avail. I complained to

the Better Business Bureau

and wanted your readers

know to avoid these guys.

—Shannon Waldhauer

The Dog contacted a Globe 2000 spokesman who

insisted that Shannon was likely sending email

to the wrong address. “All he has to do is email

us and we will send him a copy. This is not a

big problem. I don’t know what email address

he’s been sending his problem too, but obvi-

ously it was not to me,” he said. The Globe 2000

spokesman promised to expedite the software to

Shannon once he was contacted. Sounds fair, but

this pattern of customer service isn’t new.

The Better Business Bureau rated the

California-based store as “unsatisfactory,” and

the Bureau’s records show a “pattern of non-

response to consumer complaints as well as a

pattern of unresolved complaints brought to its

attention by the Bureau.”

Reviews of the store are also mixed at

ResellerRatings.com, a site where consumers

can vent their spleens or jump for joy over

vendors. One consumer wrote: “You are taking

your chances if you buy from Globe2000. It’s

very hard to get them to send an RMA if you

ever need to return anything. I have emailed

them seven times, called the customer-service

number (the answering machine is full), and

even faxed the store. It’s been seven days

and I still don’t have an RMA. You might as

well throw your order in the trash if it doesn’t

work.” Another customer, however, disagreed:

“I ordered 15 copies of OEM software and two

optical mice. They had the lowest prices for

both, so I couldn’t resist ordering. Everything

went well, they even had pretty cheap ship-

ping.” Woof.

For some ISPs, “unlimited” doesn’t mean unlimited time online.

Continued from page 20

Got a bone to pick with a vendor? Been spiked by a fly-

by-night operation? Sic The Dog on them by writing

[email protected]. The Dog promises to answer as

many letters as possible, but only has four paws to work with.

watch dodogg MAXIMUM PC TAKES A BIT OUT OF BAD GEAR