*Updated Deal *
Enter in the coupon code, and get your initial starter pack of $20 credited back onto your account.
Offer only valid on the Pioneer Medium+
13, 1300, 1800 included
Entire $650, and $900 of Talk value is dedicated to Talk
6,000 Free Text - which includes national and international, SMS & MMS
2 GB Data
Monthly contract
Pretty funny what is happening. I guess I am one of the lucky ones that have been with this company for 1.5 years and had no problems..
more meaningless playing with numbers. about half the calls i pick up on LC has no voice carrying through and the other half the sound quality might as well be better if i used a plastic cup and string.
never thought i'd say this but i miss vodafone!
neg'd for the Vodafail comment lol.
ok it was tough call, but you get the idea ;D
I love LC personally, I'm on a great plan and my experience with them to date has been without fault. The shit that's gone down in here isn't on at all though. Giving customers the flick on a whim because they have genuine issues with the service that need addressing? No attempts to even reconcile the issues with them?
I can understand not wanting bad feedback clogging up a post like this on Ozbargain, it makes a company that does a good job, in my opinion, look a lot worse than they are (unhappy customers tend to make a lot more noise than happy ones). But the answer to that isn't fascism, you can't just stamp out anyone who speaks ill of your company.
You'd win a lot more customers by making a conscious effort to resolve the problems with these guys, and if after that you couldn't come to a resolution, maybe a friendly message letting the customer know it may be best for them to find another provider.
You kicked off this guy's girlfriend from the service and she hasn't done anything wrong, that's pretty disappointing I must say.
Ozbargain is legion, they never forget. I'd tread carefully because it doesn't take long for a company's rep to be destroyed when things like this happen. Anyway, hopefully I live to call/text out the week after posting this :P
That is very well said Wildesy.
The ironic thing about all this, as you can see from the cancellation email that LiveConnected sent me today (published above), is how they signed off the letter:
Kind regards,
Customer Care
Live Connected
I would like to know what ever happened to customer care?
LC are great. Girls, remember, this company is still very new, akin to a Beta stage in a development period time scale. Last year, LC's billing and IT systems were VERY bad, now in Beta stage, they are getting better. Their website in Alpha stage looked like it was made by a 14yo, now in Beta stage it looks much better, I would say at least now it is at a level a 17yo can code. LC is still learning, staff are still learning, IT research and roll out is still slower, new tech takes longer to develop and source, many software code are probably still in Alpha stage going to Beta stages now, lack of human resource available (small company) but come another 12 - 18 months, just seeing how much the company has improved from the early Alpha stage last year (when LC seemed to be operated by 1 person from their mother's basement) to where it is now, man, this value based phone company will kick some serious bum when the final version of the Company comes out of the Beta stage.
Like I said, we are still very much in Beta stage in their company cycle, don't let your mom, dad, sister or any female join LC yet, only for the nerdy types that don't mind trouble shooting billing errors themselves, making file notes, self diagnosing technical faults regarding client side hardware and software, etc, or don't mind sending detailed descriptive error issues to them for diagnosis. I can self diagnose many IT issues myself so the saving is great for me and that's the only type of target market that should join LC right now. Saying that, I have been with them from last year and have had ZERO issues, a few hardware issues that was related to the phone, but I was able to diagnose and fix the issues myself. Girl's should not join LC yet, especially if they are pretty (mean's they won't have a technical background), nerdy IT type guys who don't need phone support, constant technical help are their main testers on this Beta stage. I can't wait for the final version of LC to come out in 18 months, with the $$$ savings and easier to use website, they would destroy all. GO LC!!
"Girl's should not join LC yet, especially if they are pretty"
WOW. I think was said with no hidden irony.
If this was the 80's, I would now sit back and watch as the feminists devoured your soul, drank your blood and played with your innards (figuratively of course)
I like girls.
I agree with some of your points, but other comments are just ridiculous.
I'm one of those people (that you talk about) who don't mind taking the time to troubleshoot and find a reasonable solution but at the moment LiveConnected aren't listening. Today they gave me notice that my service will be terminated in 30 days time without any proper explanation.
Live Connected are being utterly retarded about this from a marketing point of view.
Right now, today, for the fine sum of FREE they can buy themselves out of a world of negative publicity by simply inviting you back "it was all a mistake etc"
As a long standing member here on this forum, with massive exposure, your direct impact on future sales will be significant as you poop on every future deal by simply telling your story,
Its a no-brainer!
Worst self-inflicted marketing decision I have seen in ages.
QFT
Totally agree King. This is going to become a classic "what not do do" internet marketing case study. If only that same time and energy that was spent tracking down Camelgrass and Waladare (+ex-girlfriend WTF?)to ban them was spent on reconciling their complaints it could have gone the other way.
So where is the rep?
After reading the stories above, and NOT ONE response from LC or the rep, I will be thinking twice.
had a good chance to respond to customers, and did not…
Shame LC shame….
The rep is too busy reporting adverse criticism to Customer Care aka Account Management
Disgusting customer service from LC. Anything less than a full apology or some revelation into why the users' above service are cancelled would prompt me in cancelling my service and advising all my friends to never touch their product. As a corporation, this is shameful. Grow up, learn to take critism and improve instead of crying like a 5 year old.
LiveConnected, based on your previous case history, I believe that you may not be the best service provider for me.
Yours faithfully,
Amaysim customer
I have been with LC for a few months now and have to say when things go well (stay well below your cap) then things are good and their deals are very competitive.
But when mistakes are found, like in my case meter usage errors (causing excess) then they can and will ignore you completely.
Had a problem where the GST value was incorrect in the usage meter and tried to explain and solve but was left out in the cold after a few responses (closed my case without further notice)
I was not rude or angry in my logged case. Being ignored is frustrating. Worst customer service.
looking to port my number out
Lets start a campaign about their customer service.
Will cancel my service too. Read all above posts. Vodafone is much better than Live Connected.
Now its time for LC fail!
They cant cancel anyone service without explanation
Companies should learn from their mistake and improve for future.
Not just cancel service and dismiss the case.
SHAME on LC
agree…the fact that the rep is reading this and will not address the problem is unacceptable. I would have considered switching to them before reading this.
.
I am calling out to you rep because we all know you are reading this.
You really need to come back here and fix this like a grown-up
-This issue is not going to go away and will cost your business directly in ongoing lost sales and even some defecting customers.
-This issue will haunt every Live Connected post on Ozbargain and will come back time and time again as people simply tell their stories of poor treatment.
I appeal to you to stand up and deal with these unfair dismissals
Given the overall negativity shown here towards LC and the handling of some of their customers, and to reassure other OzBargainers that are still with them….it should be important to them to put forward their side of the story and stick up for themselves.
Usage Meter
The usage meter is provided on a best efforts basis.
We (Live Connected) are not given an SLA by Optus, as to how often we will be provided with call records.
We are dependant upon these call records being received in order to "rate" them, and display them to customers.
Whilst we have made considerable improvement in the Usage Meter system, by effectively halving the time from 4 day delay on average down to 2 days on average, this may not suit some customers who need real-time information.
Usage Notifications
Usage notification emails at 80% and 90% are provided on a best efforts basis.
Similar to the Usage Meter, the usage notifications can be affected by outside factors beyond our control.
The 48 hour delay on records, could mean that by the time we send an 80% usage notification, a customer might have heavy usage which pushes them over 100% before we're able to display or to notify.
Excess Usage Management
The Excess Usage Management tool is an innovation of Live Connected.
No other post-paid mobile provider provides this tool.
Similar to the Usage Meter, this is also affected by outside factors beyond our control.
The 48 hour delay on records could mean that by the time we are aware of, and subsequently 'bar' your service, you may have within those 48 hours have incurred further excess usage.
Make of it as you will, don't want to aggravate anyone that is head over heels in love with LC, just another reminder that none of the features provided are intended to work for everybody, all the time.
Once again, pity LC wasn't more proactive in providing this info themselves.
Great, keep the negs coming guys and girls!! I really appreciate your support. I'm not doing this for myself. The fact is I wouldn't even go back to LC if they offered reconciliation and admission of their wrong-doing.
I'm doing it to help other members on OzBargain who have helped me previously on so many, many occasions. Users need to know what really is going on behind the scenes regarding LC service delivery and customer service. They need to know their mobile service may be terminated at ANY TIME, without warnng and with absolutely no explanation given.
Yes, as King Tightarse said, we know the LC rep is reading all of this. I'm afraid you've messed with the wrong group of people. This issue is not going away and will haunt your company well into the future.
Just a suggestion
Woolies prepaid cap
250 calls to any1
250 calls to optus
5gig data
$29 per recharge (but u get 10% off using the everyday rewards card)
45 day expiry
and its prepaid =D
Moved from Virgin originally, one of the cheaper options before LC.
Still looking around for decent plans….here's a few so far on Optus Network.
Woolworths Mobile Prepaid Caps
A $29 Recharge includes $500 worth of value which includes:
$250 to any network (except Pivotel) and,
$250 to any Optus or Woolworths Mobile within Australia
5GB of data
45 day expiry
Boost Prepaid Super Cap
$40
UNLTD Talk + Text
3GB Data + UNLTD Social Networking
UNLTD standard national SMS
incl 13/100/1800 numbers
30 day expiry
automatically recharge
Researching the providers this time around.
Hey guys, looks like you all been busy while I've been away….sure to be infuriating LC.
Disappointed having been kicked out of what seemed to be a decent mobile provider. I hope in the future LC provide better representation here in the future and recognize the value of advertising on OzBargain, which won't be plain sailing for them all the time.
Most importantly remember that even though they are the ONLY post paid provider that provides any excess usage protection, by their own admission, they actually don't.
Hope there is some positives for those that have visited/posted in this thread over the last couple of days.
Waiting for bank confirmation of refund that has been promised in writing, looking around for some mobile deals to replace the LiveDISconnected one so if you see any this would be as good a place as any to share with us all.
Yeah, the ex did get the boot too, another reason I'm in the poo, oh well.
So you ended up getting a promise for a full refund of excess charge? It took 2-3 days for my refund to show up in my credit card account.
Yeah, they sent an email stating a full credit would be issued. That was yesterday, nothing showing in account atm, so will most likely happen sometime next week.
They actually rang me and were not really going to issue a refund until I told them I would take it further.
Yes, they only act when you threaten to take it to the TIO.
This whole time they have been shifting the blame to you the customer for your "incompetence" in mainting control over your usage. Now, under the threat of involvment of the industry body, they are admitting responsibilty in full for their incompetence.
All this is coming at the end of this post and many people will not have seen it. Except you rep, I know YOU are reading ;)
I'd say the next new deal posted by Live Connected will be "interesting" to say the very least
I think they will want to improve on their communication before they do….I'm sure they wont get away with dropping a new deal in and then hide away.
I'd say the next deal will attract a hell of a lot of negative votes and links back to this thread.
I have always supported LC up until now.
This issue has directly changed my mind.
Hi King Tightarse. Just to let you know there is a feature where you can "revoke" your positive vote.
I'm not asking you to of course, just letting you know.
How where?
Under "votes" tab at top-right. Find your username and click on the minus symbol.
Done.
Of course…. the irony is…. the more neg votes it attracts, the less people will see it, as it disappears from the front page…
Live Connected just being ignorant and not responding. Just saw their post on facebook 3 hrs back
Improving bills
Here's what we're looking at so far: (1) Legend for indicators (2) If you're in pro rata we put up a hint box for that service explaning pro rata (3) Data Usage is displayed in MB (or KB's) just like the allowance (4) Easy form in the event of a bill error that allows us to capture more info from you and answer/fix your bill faster
Well get the basics right first. Fix customer service and billing issues. Then jump on new plans and other features.
I believe we should start sharing our stories on facebook page!
What everyone say?
LC is almost paying to destroy their own reputation. Well done folks. and you wonder why aussie businesses are dying
LC was at the top of my list of providers for when my current contract ends (in a few weeks) but not anymore. This is how you run businesses into the ground. I wonder if LC senior management are aware of what happened here. Can't expect they'd be pleased…
Was going to join LC but after reading these useful comments, I KNOW that LiveConnected is NOT the best service provider for me.
Warm regards,
Anything but LC.
Wow really surprised by the turn of this thread, we don't actively monitor the site so apologies on not responding sooner.
In case you're wondering, we were all actually in a billing workshop looking at how to update the next version of the bill.
@Camelgrass, @Waladare :
- we do not take action on people simply because of a bad thread note or posting. Seriously? Its a bit too conspiracy theorist.
- secondly we do not track IDs or anything of the sort. How would we even match customers to anonymous postings.
- if your both willing to share your customer number we can have an open public forum about each of your cases, but without that, its really a one-sided conversation
In case you're wondering, we were all actually in a billing workshop looking at how to update the next version of the bill.
LOL, no, I wasn't wondering but nice way to divert the attention. I really do hope you and ALL your staff weren't in the billing workshop ALL of this time. That must be why we had such a hard time getting any CUSTOMER CARE during this time.
if your both willing to share your customer number we can have an open public forum about each of your cases, but without that, its really a one-sided conversation
It's not one-sided at all. There is both good and bad feedback shared here from a multitude of Live Connected customers. There is no way I am sharing personal details in a public forum. I value my privacy and security and it would be irresponsible of me to do so. In any case, that is what the secure Live Connected support portal is for. If our issues were dealt with there in a proper and timely manner, there would be no need for all of this.
we do not take action on people simply because of a bad thread note or posting. Seriously? Its a bit too conspiracy theorist.
I'm the last person in the world to be sucked-in by conspiracy theories. There also seems to be significant consensus from others in this thread that this occurance is more than just merely a coincidence.
@Camelgrass - where to from here? what are you expecting us to do?
The communication I had with LiveConnected using the the self service portal, provided as the the only means of communication by LC was in my opinion a "a one-sided conversation".
Others interested in OzBargain have offered their opinions and experiences here, where a representative of LC chose to advertise a new deal. I suggest that apart from offering plan features that do not work as advertised, that LC do in fact monitor and respond here rather than making belated excuses.
"Its a bit too conspiracy theorist" Good call/Bad call? Only LC can answer that for sure eh.
Easy to suspect that 2 active participants here were exited from LC rather hastily. The account of my ex partner was coincidentally cancelled, given that the only contact (apart from using LC mobiles regarding this matter and to contact kids) is that our accounts had the wrong phones attached to our accounts, which were not changed as requested and advised of actually happening prior to this issue regarding excess usage.
Already been asked to leave LC, not sure what else needs to be said regarding the matter….just waiting for the refund and considering where to move my business to.
Once again I offer my apologies to OzBargainers for dragging my problems here, only hope it serves to reinforce the value of the site in some way. Cheers Guys.
@Waladare - don't think there's a need to apologise for sharing your views. With any company there are going to benefits and disadvantages.
Back tracking through your comments it seems like what's occurred is you've been given a cancellation notice because the features you're after - namely real-time usage - cannot be delivered on our platform.
Why wasn't it made clear on LC website that Excess Usage management should not be trusted?
The events leading up to my excess usage included the failure of my migration from the older $400/$400 to the new one. After choosing to migrate to the Pioneer Medium $400/$400 I was left on the default Pioneer Lite $145/135 and excess usage of $331.25.
Because there was no way of knowing the migration would not go through as planned, and the default migration choice was aligned to the plan price rather than the plan suited to call quota's I had to wait to the following month to change to the Pioneer Medium $400/$400 which had the same included calls as my previous plan did. This was recognized as a failure of the system and was not charged the $16 fee to changed plans.
If the migration did go through as requested in the first place then I would have been on the plan that suited my requirements and after the $20 bar me cut in then the excess usage would have still been $56.25, an amount that would have been more palatable for both LC and myself.
The plan was and still is suitable for my needs, why is it that the "beta" excess usage management tool did not not work….surely this feature would have a massive impact on LC if many customers were faced with a situation similar to mine.
Real time usage has been accepted as a limitation of the system for some time and is quite clearly pointed out. But where was I warned that the excess usage management was "Beta" and untrustworthy?
What's happened is that I was not migrated to the appropriate plan that reflected my old plan, and an advertised feature failed to prevent me from unintentionally overspending, leading to me being asked to leave LC.
Here are couple of case# with which you can feel free to go back through case numbers and investigate the events which have led to now. Also feel free to check usage and report back as to whether I am an unacceptable customer or not. Casse #00009933 & 00016665.
its heading towards increasing the monthly charge and there will be a big difference between the lowest and the middle package.. there is nothing in between. either get ripped off for over usage which cannot be determined based on their usage system which is just an estimate, not liable to be used as an bill estimate and the fact that it lags 1-2 days or pay additional for quotas that you don't use. charging higher rates as they repackage, increase prices and quotas TOGETHER. neg for that.
I have also encountered similar issues with some of the LC users. wouldn't say it will be the best advise to be with them as under whatever section in their T&C, they threatened to discontinue your service or advise customers to discontinue their service with them as they want to make a profit and being ungrateful to LC users who have supported them when they first started. Ungrateful! a 2nd neg for that, LC!
The attitude was not "kind" with regards..when anyone wants to understand about their billing, which only a fist full of people are able to read when they first started. its "jargon encrypted" bill in "english", mate~! i reckon quite a number of LC users here know what I'm talking about! The way that it is run is pretty horrifying. starting a business and throwing your earlier customers overboard after they've gained some leverage with the actual provider, Optus is an irresponsible act and unprofessional as an organization and a mobile provider. Pretty immature in their dealings! 3rd neg reason.
Advise: think before you get on their service, might get thrown off anytime for those who are thinking of changing. plenty of room for improvements, not just on web improvement! And the new users will most likely be treated as "2nd class citizen" for any questions they have as they don't mind losing a few customers due to the low fees thus the lack of explanation if customers are unhappy.
just stating my personal unbiased experience.
@ Ozbargainers - firstly we got a reputation of bringing great deals to the market and particularly in sharing our deals on OzBargain first. However pricing alone should never be the sway factor. Especially not if what you're being asked to compromise is service in order to get great pricing.
Our aim is to deliver great pricing combined with service. This means we're always looking for lower cost means of delivering service, without compromising the quality of it. Yes there will be times and occasions where we don't always get this right.
We can't respond directly to the concerns of @camelgrass and @waladare because without knowing their individual cases we cannot give accurate information and it will become simply a here's our view, and then here's another view.
If you want to try us out and make up your own judgement for yourself, we will remove the initial $20 starter pack fee.
What we'll do is credit this back onto your account, so the $20 can be taken off your bill.
All we ask in return is you share your experiences on this forum, be they negative or positive.
If this seems reasonable to you, when you order the Pioneer Medium+ , in the checkout select:
How did you hear about us: OzBargains
Coupon Code: OzB180811
We'll keep this offer open until tomorrow night - 24/08/11.
Case# provided above….interested in your response, would still consider this deal appealing. Knowing the limitations of the system enables customers to better use LC plans, didn't know all the limitations before though.
Hi thanks for sharing. Will keep this as generic as possible to maintain your privacy, whilst addressing your issue.
Background:
2 numbers were brought in on the one account.
Both the numbers were activated back in November 2010, prior to the new usage portal and excess management system being put in place.
The numbers were then swapped.
The numbers were then migrated onto different plans.
What happened
The account was split as requested, but the numbers were allocated to different accounts.
Email notifications for each of the numbers continued to go out, but was going to the wrong people.
Excess usage occurred on the service.
What's occurred since
The excess was refunded in full.
Cancellation decision
We can't maintain your service. The margin on the service is extremely negative, and we're likely to be at the same point again.
Background:
2 numbers were brought in on the SEPERATE accounts.
Mandatory plan changes notified 26/05 migration date 28/06, neither account migrated as requested. Migrated following contact with LC for this month as it was not possible to change plan during billing period.
The numbers were only swapped 11/08 when we were billed for usage on the wrong phone numbers, AFTER the first request 18/01 for change of account holder was not processed as advised.
First attempt at migration failed, migrated to plan with reduced call quota instead of requested same quota.
What happened:
Not split as requested and has nothing to do with any of this.
Excess usage did occur on one of the accounts, with the wrong numbers do to LC failure to change account holders. In no other billing period gas the usage even neared the $400/$400 allowed usage for either account.
What's occurred since:
No it has not, notified of refund 18/08 and no refund in my nominated bank account. Has it really been issued?
Cancellation decision:
"We can't maintain your service." I expect not, based on the size of the refund in question.
Please explain why migration was allowed to proceed to a plan with a lower usage allowance instead of similar/same in the first place.
Please explain why it was not just my account that has been terminated. There is another another party that has been involved for no other reason other than by association with me.
What is the justification of terminating account holders based on the failure of the LC system to prevent excessive usage.
Just as there are other customers potentially available here for LC to, there are also other providers out there that will profit from my business.
Bottom line, what are you going to achieve from having a 'Beta' excess usage feature advertised to assist customers from attracting excess usage bills. Not sure where all this is going now, how LC choose to reassure their customers here is still unknown.
Neg revoked.
edit: oh snap, cannot revoke. But you've redeemed yourself a little in my eyes :)
On another note, I am experiencing great service and reception from LiveConnected. To the Rep, keep up the good work. Your input here is appreciated. (at least by me).
Same here. Havent had any problems so far. Great value.
Well done live connected, trying to turn around whole thread by getting customers providing free starter sim and then ripping them off later on with hidden charges in your term and conditions.
One of the worst phone provider.
Company run by kids who just cancel the user service instead of providing solution.
Can be anything bills, excess charges etc.
There are lot of people whose service got disconnected for asking explanation on their bill.
Keep in mind everyone!
Haha wow making a whole new account? That's dedication!
OUCH, nothing better to do?
That's dedication!
or competition :)
Lol i'm on live connected and havnt had any problems with them. I guess i'm one of the lucky ones. And i'm coming from tpg. Same reception both calling and internet (guess since both companies are optus) but yeah, I read a lot of comments on whirlpool and a lot of the more recent ones are more positive than the older posts so i think they've improved on their service. That's why i decided to give them a go and switch out of tpg. Been very happy since.
Same here….when I logged another case referring to the case that wasn't being responded too, they came back promptly and crossed me of their xmas card list….there is no doubt that because of the discussion going on here that all hell broke loose at LC.
Someones ears must still be ringing.