i need advice

[bigmatt506]

hey i just moved into a new appt and there was no phone so of course i call allaint and as per there has not been a phone in that appt for over 3 years they had to come and redo some wires and service work so i got stuck with a extra 100$ plus the damme should i have to pay that i mean we are in 2007 shount evry appt be ready to accept a phone give me your opinion people becuase i called my landlord and she said she is not goin to pay it becuase phone is not a nesesaty .

[Doug James]

To say a phone is not a necessity in one's home today is to say when there is a medical emergency -- there is no need even for the number 911 to exist. A phone is absolutely necessary. For your landlord to say otherwise reflects a simple desire to keep his expenses down but, this is the wrong way to go about doing that. It is irresponsible on his part and, I daresay, verges on possible negligence.

For Aliant to charge to come and hook up a telephone, that they are going to make money from, reflects the greed of corporate Canada. Installation should be free. Customers should only have to pay for service. Ditto for cable hookups. Unfortunately, due to the continued lack of competition laws in Canada -- this is never going to happen.

[Mandi]

hey i just moved into a new appt and there was no phone so of course i call allaint and as per there has not been a phone in that appt for over 3 years they had to come and redo some wires and service work so i got stuck with a extra 100$ plus the damme should i have to pay that i mean we are in 2007 shount evry appt be ready to accept a phone give me your opinion people becuase i called my landlord and she said she is not goin to pay it becuase phone is not a nesesaty .


Funny. I had the EXACT same problem, and my land lord said the exact same thing. I called the rentalsman, and then phoned her back telling her she was paying the bill. not me. she said it was my problem. I told her it was hers, and according to the rentals man I was right :D i didn't pay a cent. Every time I hear of a bad land lord I think of her. grr.

[dan j]

To say a phone is not a necessity in one's home today is to say when there is a medical emergency -- there is no need even for the number 911 to exist. A phone is absolutely necessary. For your landlord to say otherwise reflects a simple desire to keep his expenses down but, this is the wrong way to go about doing that. It is irresponsible on his part and, I daresay, verges on possible negligence.

For Aliant to charge to come and hook up a telephone, that they are going to make money from, reflects the greed of corporate Canada. Installation should be free. Customers should only have to pay for service. Ditto for cable hookups. Unfortunately, due to the continued lack of competition laws in Canada -- this is never going to happen.

You're quite wrong about what you said here in the second paragraph. Aliant is bound to the service fees for installation and other things such as basic rates and features for landline services (competitors are not bound) through laws in Canada put in place by the CRTC to protect consumers from monopolies. However, since there is competition in many local markets...

Change is on the way,

http://www.ic.gc.ca/cmb/welcomeic.nsf/ddb0aecf65375eb685256a870050319e/85256a5d006b9720852572b400524ba5!OpenDocument

[trinity]

I had the same problem, sort of. I have 5 phone jacks in my apartment and only two of them worked, then one more quit working. ALiant told me it was my landlord's responsibility to maintain it same as electrical and plumbing, it is part of the structure. I didn't bother getting them to come, I just bought one of those portable phones with 3 handheld units and plugged it in to my remaining jack, but I bet the next tenants will not be so accomodating. I can't wait for it to be deregulated, I totally agree with them maintaining the wiring, it is THEIR service. If your cable wire broke, Rogers would not say "Its your problem", because of course you would cancel on the spot-you are paying them for a service-they used to but apparently back in the 1990s they sent every customer a notice that they were no longer responsible..this after they had been the ones to send around fancy offers to install up to 5 jacks for free in your house or apartment just a few years before, so they could charge you rental for 5 phones. I can't wait for some of their bad service to come back and bite them on the butt, the only reason I haven't switched to Rogers yet is that I thought I might be moving and figured I would do it then, but now I'm staying put. Hmmm, maybe I'll look into that, maybe Rogers will come and fix my phone jacks.. Hmm, wonder if then they would be considered "Aliant's" property then?

[paak]

I think they are only obligated to have ONE jack working...rest is your responsibility.

[dan j]

For inside wiring, you do NOT have to have Aliant complete the work. You can do it yourself, have a friend do it, or have a professional do it for you.

Comparing Rogers to Aliant in terms of the charges and different scenarios for inside wiring is not very far considering Rogers is unregulated and Aliant is for home phone service. Aliant will get fined if they provide free or reduced rate tariffed work.

maybe Rogers will come and fix my phone jacks.. Hmm, wonder if then they would be considered "Aliant's" property then?

It will still be owned by the homeowner just as SJ Energy does not own your electrical outlets in your home. This is the exact reason why Aliant can't stop Rogers or any other company from using the access in someone's home (even if Aliant had provided it free in the days when the service was free). Aliant would probably love to offer free inside wiring in order to compete but doing so would break regulations.

I think it is a much better system this way as each company CAN control what their service does to the house. After that, it is insane the amount of different things a contractor, a homeowner, a renter, or anyone else can do with the wiring in the home.

[The_Dave]

should have called rogers, free install