NTL/UPC letter re downloading

DaveD

Got a letter off NTL today saying that broadband customers in my area (D15) have been experiencing deterioration in the service provided and that during the month of Septmber i downloaded/uploaded in excess of 295GB !!! This is against their acceptable usage guidelines (up to 250GB) and unless i stop they'll either disconnect me or charge me their Broadband extreme package of €79.99 a month.

Thing is, i only use the BB for surfing the net, never really download anything. There is no way i could get anywhere near 295GB. Have checked my router logs and can't see anything out of the ordinary.

Did anyone else get a similar letter? I found it strange that they didn't quote my account number.

robbie_998

write a complaint to them and try to sort it out,

if they say they were having problems then its most likely their fault,

295Gb is an insane amount and to be able to download that amount would take weeks to do,

theres no way 295GB is right, you'd do that amount over the space of 15 years !!!

The Docsis 1.1(Current Cable Broadband) system is unsecure, anyone could be using your MAC address and be contributing to your download amount.

But they dont want you to know that.

Contest it, if it continues request a new modem which will have a new MAC address and see if that changes things.

Moriarty

cisk wrote: »

The Docsis 1.1(Current Cable Broadband) system is unsecure, anyone could be using your MAC address and be contributing to your download amount.

But they dont want you to know that.

Contest it, if it continues request a new modem which will have a new MAC address and see if that changes things.

It's technically possible, but it's far more probable that DaveD has an unsecured - or poorly secured - wifi network, with one or a number of their neighbours leeching their connection. There's also the possibility of a virus-infected computer or router spewing out stuff 24x7 which could add to the usage further.

BostonB

DaveD wrote: »

Got a letter off NTL today saying that broadband customers in my area (D15) have been experiencing deterioration in the service provided ....

I've noticed that part anyway. But its not slow down, but constant dropping of the line for a few minutes then it reconnects fine.

J-blk

I'd definitely suspect someone might be leeching like others here have suggested - might be a good time to change all your WiFi settings, passwords, SSID (or better yet, stop broadcasting it), set up MAC filtering, etc and see what happens.

But you might still want to get on to UPC - it's not like they never screw up things like this. I remember some other thread here about someone who even got moved to the €79.99 package for no valid reason. He complained about it, they figured out it was a mistake and moved him back to his standard subscription. I wouldn't just accept what the letter says if I knew I hadn't downloaded the amount of data they claim...

DaveD

There's an e-mail address to contact them on their letter so i'll send them an e-mail and ask them to show me evidence that i've downloaded that amount. Don't fancy wasting half my day on hold trying to get through to them!

jor el

Install a web monitoring program on your computer, like DUMeter, which will let you monitor your own usage. Then, change the Wifi settings, or disable if you don't need it. Set encryption to anything but WEP, so WPA, WPA2, etc. Make the password a long string of random characters.
https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm
This website generates long random passwords, which would be good to use. Change the SSID of your router, and then stop broadcasting it too.

After that, ask UPC for a breakdown of your usage, on a daily basis, for the month in question. You'll be able to see if this was a consistent thing, or just a few days of heavy use.

Sponge Bob

Use the formal UPC complaints by email procedure which is explained here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=62409325&postcount=6

If they do not acknowledge within 2 days ( and they don't) you may set Comreg on them straight away!

whackball

I got a similar letter from them and I basically told them to take a hike. I asked them in layman terms if it was possible that someone had "hacked" into my wireless system and was using my bb to download/upload. Reply was " that is not possible", but when I mentioned that I work in IT and that it was, they quickly changed their attitude.

I them asked for a breakdown of usage and they backed down and said if it happened again they would send me another letter and move me to the €79.99 package. I use my bb for work reasons and for online play etc...but in no way does it come near their 250GB monthly allowance.

DaveD

jor el wrote: »

Install a web monitoring program on your computer, like DUMeter, which will let you monitor your own usage. Then, change the Wifi settings, or disable if you don't need it. Set encryption to anything but WEP, so WPA, WPA2, etc. Make the password a long string of random characters.
https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm
This website generates long random passwords, which would be good to use. Change the SSID of your router, and then stop broadcasting it too.

After that, ask UPC for a breakdown of your usage, on a daily basis, for the month in question. You'll be able to see if this was a consistent thing, or just a few days of heavy use.

I had the encryption set to WPA2 initially on the router (D-Link) but bought an Ipod touch. The itouch would not connect to the router with WPA2 on it, a quick google search suggested it was a common problem with my router and the Itouch and i'd need to set the encryption to WEP to be able to connect it. So its been set to WEP for the last 6 months or so.

Should i be able to see activity on my router log if someone has been using my BB? All i can see on it is my PC, Itouch and Xbox.

bennyob

My parents got one of these letters a few months ago but recieved another letter a few days later from ntl, saying that it was an error on their part.

They recieved another letter today, they are now waiting a few days for the 2nd letter to arrive.

Reamer Fanny

check your router make sure i has some kind of encryption enabled and not open also dont broadcast ssid your neighbours could be using your connection on the fly even then it would be hard to clock up 200+ gb could be an error on the providers part

jor el

DaveD wrote: »

Should i be able to see activity on my router log if someone has been using my BB? All i can see on it is my PC, Itouch and Xbox.

All depends on the router, but WEP is pretty useless. If someone has the know-how to crack that, then turning off SSID or MAC filtering will not present much of a problem to them. WPA is better, and although it's not 100% secure, it's far superior to WEP.