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NBN sudden disconnection and now TPG can't seem to find my address

hankook0720
Level 3

On Tuesday 26th of May, my nbn connection started disconnecting every few minutes. Initially I thought it was my wifi router, however resetting and troubleshooting numberous of times didn't fix the issue.

On Wednesday 27th of May, contacted TPG tech support and on Thursday made an appointment for NBN Co. technician to come and fix the problem.

On Monday 1st of June, the technician came to the premises (our apartment) and couldn't find a fault on the router, modem, and fibre, so after receiving instructions from NBN control centre he when down to the communications room (in the basement) and replace the fibre port from the splitter.

Came back up to my premises and carried out further testing, however there was still no connection. He then told me that the modem's serial number installed in my apartment unit didn't match what they had on the NBN Co system ("serial mis-match"). He then said I would have to follow this up with the internet service provider.

So I called TPG tech support again and explain the situation. They then said my NBN connection was incorrectly assigned and that I have been using someone else's NBN connection. I was now very confused, so I asked if this was the case, why have they been debiting monthly payments. This is when the tech support team escalated my ticket number and referred me onto the Engineering Team. After another 30 or so minutes waiting on the phone the Engineer explained that the address on the TPG system didn't match the NBN Co.'s address for my unit. He requested for me to email a copy of my utility bill to verify the address, since there was no internet access, I when down to the cafe bought a cheap cuppa and used their wifi to send the email. The Engineer also said he would investigate further and let me know of the progress.

The next day, Tuesday 2nd of June, no progress update, so called the Engineering Team again and had to explain the situation "again", they again said they are working on it and would provide an update in 24-48 hours.

2 days later, Thursday 4th of June, still no update, so called the Engineering Team again and explained the situation again, and this time, they referred me to the Provision Team who handles this kind of matters. Again waiting for a total of over 60 minutes on a single call, spoke with the Provision Team and she requested for me to send her a photo of the modem's serial number. Went down to the cafe, bought another cheapest cuppa and used their wifi to email the photos. She also said that they could not find my address on their system (don't know if she was referring to TPG or NBN Co.) but when I did a simply search via Telstra, Optus, NBN Co.'s "check service available for your premises", I easily found the correct apartment building and unit number. But apparently TPG is having difficulty, even on the phone when speaking to the Engineer, he didn't understand why my apartment was 23-25 even after explaining it was an apartment building and that my unit was one of many within the building.

It has now been 6 days since anyone from TPG has spoken to me and over 2 weeks without internet access. Is it too much for me to expect a quick fix? I do not understand how NBN connection and phone line connection since October 2018 was infact someone else's connection. Also, why all of a sudden is the connection disconnected and the sudden mis-match?

Why can't NBN Co simply re-assign the serial of the current modem for my apartment? (if this is really the case), and why can't TPG follow this through quickly?

I've tried reaching out to NBN Co. however they do not interact directly with consumers and have been turned away. As a consumer, no internet and home phone connection, and the only point-of-contact is TPG who isn't providing much information is becoming very difficult and frustrating.

 

10 REPLIES 10
hankook0720
Level 3

Just an update, received a call-back from TPG and they have now confirmed that the address is correct. When asked exactly when the incorrect address was re-confirmed, they said it was done on 4th of June.

They are now waiting on NBN Co. to update the serial number of the modem installed on my unit. Apparently they have been working on updating the mis-match serial since 4th of June and still in progress. Not happy at all!!!

Riezl
Moderator

We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this issue is causing you, hankook0720. We can see that this has been escalated to our Provisioning Team and they are working with NBN Co. to rectify this.

 

We have made a follow up and we have advised the case manager to contact you as soon as a new update is received from NBN Co.

hankook0720
Level 3

Hi Riezl, thanks for your post.

However, I still can't figure out how I was able to use internet for 20 months without any issues, and all of sudden a Mis-Match of serial is preventing my existing connection.

I also do not understand if NBN Co and TPG can find my address, why does it take so long to reconfigure the serial number of the modem installed in my unit (if there is a mis-match)?

As per the recent update, the address was found to be correct a week ago. Does it usually take this long for reconfiguring the serial mis-match?

Shane
Moderator

Hi @hankook0720,


NTD Serila Number mismatch usually happens when NBN Co detected an active service on the same LOCID with another Retail Service Provider (RSP).

Regrettably, I wish I was the bearer of better news.I don’t have any further updates differing from what has already been communicated to you.

Your experience is important to us and we will be keeping a close eye on your case and will provide you updates when it becomes available.

 

Regards, 
 

 

Hi Riezl, thanks for your post.

However, I still can't figure out how I was able to use internet for 20 months without any issues, and all of sudden a Mis-Match of serial is preventing my existing connection.

I also do not understand if NBN Co and TPG can find my address, why does it take so long to reconfigure the serial number of the modem installed in my unit (if there is a mis-match)?

As per the recent update, the address was found to be correct a week ago. Does it usually take this long for reconfiguring the serial mis-match?

hankook0720
Level 3

TPG provision team member called this afternoon confirming the serial mis-match has been fixed and nbn should be up and running. I guess I got excited too early as when I got home to check.... no internet.

Called TPG tech support and waited again, however they said they can't seem to find what problem is causing no internet connection.

So got another ticket (# 10575132) and again have to wait for engineering team to contact me again.

This is very poor service and extremely slow, given the smooth connections from ADSL through to NBN, I have expected a more speedy and informative process but I guess TPG really do not care about the "little consumers" (individual home users).

Shane
Moderator

We're sad to know that another issue came up affecting the service not to work, we'll chased this with our Engineering Team to prioritize this case. Expect an update from one of our Engineers via SMS or Phone call once assessment is done. We apologise for any inconvenience. 

hankook0720
Level 3

It has been a true enduring and costly experience.

As of today, Tuesday 16th June, nbn connection is now re-connected and stable. TPG has finally closed the outstanding ticket (case) and has confirmed they will now look at "compensation" for the outage and costs incurred during the outage (from Tuesday 26th of May through to Monday 15th of June).

In summary, the mis-match of serial was corrected, address has been found, and yesterday the nbn technician came to replace the nbn co modem.

Even he didn't understand why after 1year and 8months of TPG nbn connection, there suddenly was a "mis-match of serial". I still haven't received any explanation of why these issues/problems has occurred.

It has been very difficult having the whole family to live without internet during the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus had to pay for 4G data during the outage period. Very disappointing.

I will keep the community informed on what TPG offers as their "compensation" for the extended service interruption, inconvenience, and unexpected costs incurred during the outage.

Shane
Moderator

We can only imagine how frustrating it has been for you. We will chase this with the relevant team related to the compensation on this case. This will be subject for approval and investigation, expect them to contact you via SMS or Phone call within 24-48hrs.

hankook0720
Level 3

Just an update of my enduring situation and the compensation result.

Today, 19th of June, I received a SMS from TPG saying that my billing for July will be adjusted for the 21 days of the outage for my internet and home phone service.

Wow, all the time wasted and frustration of chasing up the issues with TPG and NBN Co, and further expenses incurred for internet access during the outage had ALL been disregarded and no mention what so ever. I now understand why TPG is more affordable in comparison with Optus or Telstra. They charge a "slightly cheaper" monthly fee for cheap after sales service and cheap customer care.

May be I'm just picky, but if anyone else was in my situation, they would definitely agree with my upset response in regards to their problem handling procedure & process and the so called compensation.