ACANAC…Don’t trust them and don’t sign up with them! by Liz Saunders

We moved to our condo a year and a half ago.  At that time, I took the opportunity to switch from Rogers (who I had always hated dealing with) to Distributel DSL.  Turned out that Distributel was no better (ISP-wise) but they were nicer to deal with.  So in October, out of desperation to get my VOIP phones working, I tried again…with Acanac.  They were advertising a great price and their “line” was that everyone else inflated their prices and it really wasn’t necessary.  They sounded like the Little Engine that Could.  So I took a chance.

Bad move.  I failed to read the small print which indicated that they would bill me for a year up front.  Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to pay a year up front to an untried and true source.  So, the day I signed up, I cancelled the contract (they have a 30 day no fault cancellation clause).

And then the fun began.   Rather than cancelling the order immediately, they said “oh no, we have to charge your credit card but we will refund the money within 30 days”.  Right!  When I called the credit card company to challenge the non-reimbursed charge, they wouldn’t talk to me because I’m not the primary card holder (I still haven’t managed to get hubby dearest to call them).

So I kept nagging Acanac.  On December 1st, I finally got an email from them saying they had reimbursed the money – 2.5 months later!!!  Needless to say, the credit card company has charged us interest on the outstanding amount.  I have emailed Acanac repeatedly saying that in my opinion, that interest would not have been charged except for their actions (there’s nothing else outstanding on the card) therefore I want to be reimbursed for the cost of their unauthorized loan but nope, they maintain it’s not their fault.   I’m not sure whose fault they think it is, but they were the ones that had the use of my money for 2.5 months.

At the end of this week, post surgery, I will get hubby dearest on the phone to the credit card company to challenge the charge if I have to nag him the same way I nagged Acanac.  And if Acanac thinks they are finished here, they are wrong.  I will make sure everyone I know finds out about their disgraceful behaviour and attitude.

This is the antithesis of good customer service.  Had they never charged my card or reversed the charge immediately, I might have good things to say…as I did with Advantage Car Rentals.

At the Virtual Alternative, if a customer isn’t happy, work is redone – free of charge; money is refunded – even if not really necessary; money paid in advance for work that is subsequently not done, even if it’s the customer that calls a halt to the work – is returned.

For Acanac to have held my money so long that it cost me money is unconcionable and just plain bad business.

And for the record, I ended up with Tek Savvy but that has been worse than the DSL, so I’m looking for an ISP that will work …again.

A QUICK UPDATE:  Acanac finally refunded our money on December 1st after 2.5 months of nagging and interest being charged on my credit card which they would not cover.  Shame on you Acanac!