My understanding, from talking to someone who formerly worked at TPG, is that it is considered quite the joke when a customer tells customer service how long they have been a customer with TPG. So I will leave that part out.
However, my handle should tell you what you need to know about from where this post is coming. I also find it telling that 'unhappycustomer' was already taken...
But I digress. I understand that it is widely acknowledged that the modem that TPG forces its customers to use is junk. I also understand that the company that manufactures it is closely related to certain Chinese interests.
Hence, I want to use my existing modem/router, which I have only just discovered means that I will not be able to use voip for 'security reasons'. Now, after having recovered from the solid five minutes of laughter that ensued, I am stuck with a product that is not fit for purpose under the Australian Consumer Law, and I would like TPG's assurance that I can withdraw from my contract with minimal fuss.
I would also like to point out the irony of telling people that you will not allow access to the voip service for 'security reasons', despite the modem that you force people to use being closely tied to a country with an aggressive hacking program, who is known for putting security flaws into devices so that they can monitor them.
In addition to the transparent lie about 'security'—though, arguably, it is considered a security matter for the foreign interest that you appear to be serving with your policy—I note that the problems with your modem also extend to functionality. When I tried plugging your modem in—for the sole purpose of connecting my phone system (no data) to it—it shuts down my other (data) modem/router. That is an aggressively anticompetitive 'feature' to have added to your system, and exposes TPG's lie regarding voip 'security'. It is clearly a financial decision, on the part of TPG, to restrict customers to a single modem, not a security decision. Thus, it becomes impossible to argue that the product—bundled DSL and voip—is fit for purpose.
Hence, my contract with TPG is void. I would appreciate TPG's confirmation of this so that I can move to an ethical provider.
