amuck-landowner

Zeneva - Bad experience? I want to hear about it.

Nick_A

Provider of the year (2014)
Let me first explain why I am making a post like this. I'm not here to bash. I am here to simply state the truth. I am going to stay as matter of fact as possible so that no one has any grounds to accuse me of libel or embellishing.

As many of you know, we recently added NTT to our Seattle bandwidth blend. We now have a direct account with NTT, but it started off through a reseller - Timothy Lee from Zeneva. Tim also appears to operate brands known as Bandwidth LLC and CoreXLayer. Our contract was specifically with Bandwidth LLC.

I got a great deal on the port from Tim. NTT does not allow resellers, but Tim assured me they would allow it this one time. I was later told by multiple NTT sources that reselling is strictly prohibited (no exceptions). They apparently thought RamNode was part of Zeneva, which caused delays in getting my own port after my contract with Tim was terminated.

For a while, though, the port was running very well. Tim was constantly asking me how the port was working for me. I had no reason to suspect that things were not right behind the scenes. Then, at 11:13 AM EST on January 21, 2014, my NTT line went down. Checking my router, it became clear the issue was on their end. I contacted Tim to see what was going on.

The following are the chat logs between me and him regarding the downed line. Notice the time stamps and dates. I am inserting [...] where extended time passed or where an irrelevant comment was made. I removed unrelated parts from some of this (for instance, where he tells me about how he has to sell his dedicated server business). I have screenshots of all of this for further proof. You may want to read the chat again after reading the rest of this post. There is a lot of irony to be seen in hindsight.
 

Jan. 21
[1/21/2014 6:24:00 PM] RamNode: hey
[1/21/2014 6:24:08 PM] RamNode: NTT is off...
[1/21/2014 6:24:08 PM] Zeneva Sales: Hey what's going on
[1/21/2014 6:24:14 PM] Zeneva Sales: Hmm
[1/21/2014 6:24:17 PM] Zeneva Sales: How long has it been down?
[1/21/2014 6:24:23 PM] RamNode: since 11 this morning
[1/21/2014 6:24:29 PM] Zeneva Sales: Ok, I'll put in a call and see what's going on
[1/21/2014 6:24:39 PM] Zeneva Sales: Should have never went down
[1/21/2014 6:25:31 PM] Zeneva Sales: is the circuit up or BGP down
[1/21/2014 6:26:18 PM] RamNode: [NTT IP] 2914 CONN 7h13m34s 0 0 0 6
[1/21/2014 6:26:25 PM] Zeneva Sales: ok, on the phone.
[1/21/2014 6:28:35 PM] RamNode: show int brief:
[1/21/2014 6:28:36 PM] RamNode: 3/2 Down None None None None No level0 [mac address] NTT 10G UPLINK default-port
[1/21/2014 6:36:57 PM] Zeneva Sales: ok, I got them looking into it and seeing what went down
[1/21/2014 6:37:04 PM] RamNode: Ok thanks
[1/21/2014 6:37:08 PM] Zeneva Sales: just got off the phone with NTT
[1/21/2014 6:46:29 PM] RamNode: Did they give you any notion of what might have happened?
[1/21/2014 6:46:40 PM] Zeneva Sales: No, he just said he'd look into it and give me a call .
[1/21/2014 6:46:54 PM] Zeneva Sales: he said he'd call me back in an hour or less with an ETA
[1/21/2014 6:47:19 PM] RamNode: ok
[1/21/2014 7:00:04 PM] Zeneva Sales: i jumped on it as soon as you told me it was down.
[...]
[1/21/2014 7:55:38 PM] RamNode: It's been over an hour
[1/21/2014 7:55:47 PM] Zeneva Sales: sorry, just got done eating..
[1/21/2014 7:55:55 PM] Zeneva Sales: Let me check the ticket for a followup
[1/21/2014 7:56:03 PM] RamNode: ok thanks
[1/21/2014 7:57:59 PM] Zeneva Sales: OK, nothing yet, I just responded back.
[1/21/2014 7:58:11 PM] Zeneva Sales: i'll call him back in about 10 minutes if they don't respond.
[1/21/2014 7:58:24 PM] Zeneva Sales: they may have to get someone on-site he said earlier.
[1/21/2014 7:58:35 PM] RamNode: ok thank you
[1/21/2014 7:58:38 PM] RamNode: I'll be afk for a while
[1/21/2014 7:58:45 PM] Zeneva Sales: you have my cell number
[1/21/2014 7:58:50 PM] Zeneva Sales: [redacted]
[1/21/2014 7:58:53 PM] RamNode: ok thanks
[1/21/2014 7:58:58 PM] Zeneva Sales: you can text me if you need to.
[1/21/2014 8:08:26 PM] RamNode: The status hasn't changed :[NTT IP] 2914 CONN 8h55m22s 0 0 0 6
[1/21/2014 8:08:41 PM] RamNode: And I can't ping [NTT IP] from the router
[1/21/2014 8:08:44 PM] Zeneva Sales: hmm
[1/21/2014 8:08:49 PM] Zeneva Sales: it's showing traffic is coming across the port
[1/21/2014 8:08:59 PM] Zeneva Sales: I just sent you a picture of it.
[1/21/2014 8:09:18 PM] RamNode: I see that but I can't do anything with that since the router doesn't see traffic
[1/21/2014 8:09:30 PM] Zeneva Sales: I got the engineer looking into it
[1/21/2014 8:09:37 PM] RamNode: ok thank you
[1/21/2014 8:09:39 PM] Zeneva Sales: NTT responded back
[1/21/2014 8:09:49 PM] Zeneva Sales: and are checking into it and said they saw traffic to.
[1/21/2014 8:10:10 PM] Zeneva Sales: we will figure it out.. it's odd.
[1/21/2014 8:10:37 PM] RamNode: alright thanks bbl

Jan. 22
[1/22/2014 1:04:43 PM] RamNode: Any news?
[1/22/2014 1:04:50 PM] Zeneva Sales: yes, they're there working on it
[1/22/2014 1:04:57 PM] Zeneva Sales: It's coming backup in a bit.
[1/22/2014 1:05:10 PM] RamNode: Did they give you any idea of what went wrong?
[1/22/2014 1:05:18 PM] Zeneva Sales: They will when they get it up
[1/22/2014 1:06:12 PM] Zeneva Sales: they just emailed me this morning.
[...]
[1/22/2014 1:50:59 PM] Zeneva Sales: is it backup yet?
[1/22/2014 1:51:27 PM] RamNode: No
[1/22/2014 1:53:17 PM] Zeneva Sales: On the phone now.
[1/22/2014 1:54:44 PM] Zeneva Sales: she said engineering is working on it
[1/22/2014 2:05:59 PM] RamNode: I'm struggling to understand how a company like NTT has no idea what is going on with my link suddenly going down. Surely they would have some sense of what might have gone wrong?
[1/22/2014 2:06:22 PM] Zeneva Sales: All I was told was, engineering was working on the circuit and would give me a call when they knew what was going on and what the issue with the circuit was.. and when it was coming up
[1/22/2014 2:06:29 PM] Zeneva Sales: I'm obviously keeping you as updated as I know
[1/22/2014 2:06:58 PM] Zeneva Sales: I asked for assurance it would be up today and they said, they would have it up as soon as possible.
[1/22/2014 2:07:00 PM] Zeneva Sales: and it would be toda
[1/22/2014 2:07:14 PM] Zeneva Sales: I mean if the circuit went down, obviously something is wrong on there end.
[1/22/2014 2:07:45 PM] Zeneva Sales: Its not a billing issue, We already paid the invoice.. They ACH me every month.
[1/22/2014 2:07:55 PM] RamNode: Ok
[1/22/2014 2:08:12 PM] Zeneva Sales: That was ho we got the deal to pass without a deposit was auto draft
[1/22/2014 2:09:45 PM] Zeneva Sales: I jcalled there engineering team a bit ago and one of there females answered and said they was getting it up.
[1/22/2014 2:10:17 PM] RamNode: Right, I just don't get how they have no explanation for a 24+ hour drop
[1/22/2014 2:17:03 PM] Zeneva Sales: I will get an explanation when it's up
[1/22/2014 2:17:31 PM] Zeneva Sales: also, we got your check.
[1/22/2014 2:17:34 PM] Zeneva Sales: I'll deposit it tomorrow.
[1/22/2014 2:17:55 PM] Zeneva Sales: Want make sure your circuit is backup before I do. As a courtesy to you
[1/22/2014 2:18:09 PM] RamNode: Thanks
[1/22/2014 2:18:32 PM] Zeneva Sales: no problem, not going to deposit it until it comes backup.
[1/22/2014 2:18:35 PM] Zeneva Sales: Only fair thing to do
[1/22/2014 2:19:08 PM] Zeneva Sales: I'm not an asshole lol.
[1/22/2014 2:19:31 PM] RamNode: It's just disturbing as I'm sure you can understand
[1/22/2014 2:19:38 PM] Zeneva Sales: Oh I do
[1/22/2014 2:19:43 PM] Zeneva Sales: that's why I said I won't deposit it until it's backup
[1/22/2014 2:19:49 PM] Zeneva Sales: Just trying to be respectful
[...]
[1/22/2014 3:16:53 PM] RamNode: Is someone going to be onsite soon?
[1/22/2014 3:17:02 PM] Zeneva Sales: Let me call them again and follow-up
[1/22/2014 3:17:08 PM] Zeneva Sales: I figured surely it would be up already.
[...]
[1/22/2014 3:37:14 PM] RamNode: did you call them?
[1/22/2014 3:37:24 PM] Zeneva Sales: yes, he said he's calling to find out what the hell is going on and taking so long
[1/22/2014 3:37:30 PM] Zeneva Sales: I called my account manager bitching
[1/22/2014 3:37:35 PM] Zeneva Sales: was like get this damn circuit fixed
[1/22/2014 3:37:43 PM] Zeneva Sales: he's been good bout staying on top of them
[...]
[1/22/2014 5:20:59 PM] RamNode: Have they confirmed anyone has physically checked the line yet?
[1/22/2014 5:21:17 PM] Zeneva Sales: Yes, they're trouble shooting where the line was down at.
[1/22/2014 5:21:20 PM] Zeneva Sales: I talked to them about 30 minutes ago
[1/22/2014 5:21:29 PM] Zeneva Sales: The NOC and an engineer was on-site
[1/22/2014 5:21:38 PM] Zeneva Sales: Said it shouldd come up any minute now
[1/22/2014 5:21:45 PM] RamNode: ok
[1/22/2014 5:21:45 PM] Zeneva Sales: they're replacing the line.
[1/22/2014 5:21:47 PM] Zeneva Sales: and the ends.
[1/22/2014 5:22:15 PM] Zeneva Sales: sorry, thanks for your patiences. I'll credit the bill next month.
[1/22/2014 5:22:16 PM] Zeneva Sales: for the downtime.
[1/22/2014 5:22:47 PM] RamNode: Ok thank you
[1/22/2014 5:23:04 PM] Zeneva Sales: the good thing is, at least once it' fixed we know there won't be anymore problems
[1/22/2014 5:23:09 PM] Zeneva Sales: I"m glad they straightened it out now
[1/22/2014 5:23:13 PM] Zeneva Sales: rather then 3-4 months down the line.
[1/22/2014 5:23:27 PM] Zeneva Sales: Ya know?
[...]
[1/22/2014 6:27:39 PM] Zeneva Sales: calling now to check up on it again
[1/22/2014 6:27:49 PM] Zeneva Sales: I been following up every hour.
[1/22/2014 6:28:10 PM] RamNode: This is really mystifying
[1/22/2014 6:28:15 PM] Zeneva Sales: I'm awware.
[1/22/2014 6:28:19 PM] Zeneva Sales: That's what I'm dealign with.
[1/22/2014 6:28:31 PM] Zeneva Sales: it's beginning to piss me off.
[1/22/2014 6:29:05 PM] Zeneva Sales: It's ridiculous, no one should have to take this long to get a circuit up
[1/22/2014 6:29:49 PM] RamNode: yep
[1/22/2014 6:29:59 PM] Zeneva Sales: I just called my sales guy again.
[1/22/2014 6:30:07 PM] Zeneva Sales: He said, I'm going to engage our main boss and see what's going on
[1/22/2014 6:30:17 PM] Zeneva Sales: to expedite this up
[1/22/2014 6:30:25 PM] Zeneva Sales: to get it back
[1/22/2014 6:30:46 PM] Zeneva Sales: Whatever they're doing, they need to get it done
[...]
[1/22/2014 7:33:11 PM] Zeneva Sales: OK, got some resolution to this.
[1/22/2014 7:33:32 PM] Zeneva Sales: I just got off the phone with one of the senior guys.
[1/22/2014 7:33:40 PM] RamNode: yeah?
[1/22/2014 7:34:02 PM] Zeneva Sales: Yes because, I yelled at them.
[1/22/2014 7:34:08 PM] Zeneva Sales: To find out what's going on
[1/22/2014 7:34:12 PM] Zeneva Sales: and told them I had customers demanding answers
[1/22/2014 7:34:19 PM] RamNode: well?
[1/22/2014 7:35:44 PM] Zeneva Sales: The line card is bad and they had to order another line card that is coming in first thing in the morning. Once that is in, he said he'll call me first thing in the morning and get it in and get it up.. They apologized, agreeing to issue you a credit, and assured it would be resolved.
[1/22/2014 7:35:54 PM] Zeneva Sales: They didn't have a spare in Seattle.
[1/22/2014 7:35:58 PM] Zeneva Sales: They had to ship it in from another NOC.
[1/22/2014 7:36:03 PM] Zeneva Sales: from Colorado
[1/22/2014 7:36:18 PM] RamNode: wow
[1/22/2014 7:36:36 PM] Zeneva Sales: I had it happen with XO before. It doesn't surprise me.
[1/22/2014 7:36:56 PM] Zeneva Sales: I was on the phone with Senior VP.
[1/22/2014 7:37:16 PM] Zeneva Sales: Got tired of being beat around the bush
[1/22/2014 7:37:49 PM] RamNode: Alright, hopefully they'll have it done early
[1/22/2014 7:37:52 PM] RamNode: Thank you
[1/22/2014 7:38:30 PM] Zeneva Sales: he goes it will be tomorrow i said, why don't you have line cards on-site, why haven't I gotten this earlier.
[1/22/2014 7:39:06 PM] RamNode: I'm not so frustrated about them not having another card as I am that it took them 18 hours to figure out that was the problem
[1/22/2014 7:39:17 PM] Zeneva Sales: I know.
[1/22/2014 7:39:27 PM] Zeneva Sales: Well, at least I been here keeping you updated.
[1/22/2014 7:39:39 PM] RamNode: Yep, thanks. I'm going AFK for a bit.
[1/22/2014 7:41:12 PM] Zeneva Sales: no problem.

Jan. 23
[1/23/2014 12:06:32 PM] RamNode: Any word from NTT?
[1/23/2014 12:06:38 PM] Zeneva Sales: calling now.
[1/23/2014 12:06:42 PM] Zeneva Sales: to find out whats up
[1/23/2014 12:16:17 PM] Zeneva Sales: on the phone now.
[1/23/2014 12:16:53 PM] RamNode: ok
[1/23/2014 12:21:47 PM] Zeneva Sales: ok, they're waiting on the shipment, should be in any minute now and then come up.
[1/23/2014 12:21:54 PM] RamNode: ok
[1/23/2014 12:22:00 PM] Zeneva Sales: Just talked to them.
[...]
[1/23/2014 7:09:13 PM] RamNode: Still nothing?
[1/23/2014 7:09:26 PM] Zeneva Sales: On the phone.
[1/23/2014 7:58:15 PM] Zeneva Sales: Just talked to an engineer, he said he'd give me a call with an update shortly as he had to check ith the engineer on-site.
[1/23/2014 7:58:26 PM] Zeneva Sales: they aren't billing us for the time the circuit si down
[1/23/2014 7:58:27 PM] Zeneva Sales: just an FYI
[1/23/2014 7:58:40 PM] Zeneva Sales: so your not paying while it's down
[1/23/2014 7:58:54 PM] RamNode: Ok
[...]
[1/23/2014 10:21:26 PM] RamNode: Any calls from that engineer?
[1/23/2014 10:21:48 PM] Zeneva Sales: Not yet, I will let you know in a bit.
[...]
[1/23/2014 11:25:04 PM] Zeneva Sales: I updated the ticket waiting on a response... I just emailed asking for some answers. I"ll update you when the respond, they're usually pretty quick and respond within an hour ro so.
[1/23/2014 11:25:12 PM] Zeneva Sales: We'll get it up, Not worried about that.. I'm more worried about when.
[1/23/2014 11:25:28 PM] RamNode: Ok thanks
[1/23/2014 11:25:47 PM] Zeneva Sales: all I care about is getting it up and us not being charged while it's down
[1/23/2014 11:26:02 PM] Zeneva Sales: and I already soled problem #2
[1/23/2014 11:26:05 PM] Zeneva Sales: now getting #1 resolved

Jan. 24
[12:10:40 AM] RamNode: [...] I'm heading off - hopefully NTT figures out how to install a line card tomorrow morning.
[12:10:55 AM] RamNode: My Asian clients are getting restless
[12:11:16 AM] Zeneva Sales: I know, it's nuts..
[...]
[12:14:34 AM] RamNode: Can you forward their next response to me so I can at least see what they're saying?
[12:14:42 AM] Zeneva Sales: Yes
[12:14:47 AM] Zeneva Sales: I'll forward it when I get it.
[12:14:53 AM] Zeneva Sales: I usually have been keeping you 100% in the loop
[12:15:27 AM] RamNode: I just can't fathom how the 2nd best transit provider in the world take longer than 48 hours to fix a bad line card in a popular location
At this point, there was no other conclusion to make: Tim had to be lying. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it just didn't add up. NTT is the #2 ranked carrier in the world. There was no way it would have taken them over 48 hours to fix my port. The line card was supposed to be there earlier that morning according to Tim, but there we were at midnight still scratching our heads. All the while, I'm feeding my clients misinformation on Twitter, telling them there's a hardware issue and that things will be up shortly.

So, I decided it was time to investigate beyond this line of communication. You would think if NTT were having 48 hour outages in Seattle, they would be willing to respond to a general inquiry about it, right?

Also, I should note that the bad reviews of Zeneva and Timothy Lee started popping up right around the time I signed the contract for NTT through him. I didn't see them until the deal was done. I had been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt up until this point.

My email conversation with [email protected] (my text is italic, comments with ########):

Hello,

Can you tell me if you are experiencing any hardware problems in your Seattle POP at The Westin?

Regards,

Nick


Nick,

We are not having any issues in Seattle at the moment. However, the reason that your circuit is not working is it has been suspended. You will have to talk to your CE about getting it turned back up.

[router output showing the line was administratively down, including the line "Description: BC: UA zeneva -- IGNORE -- - local wire suspended"]

Best Regards,
Erica [redacted]

########Notice, I didn't ask about my port. But since my email address was listed as part of Zeneva, they looked up the port specifically.########

Thanks Erica. Are you able to tell me why it is suspended? Also what does CE stand for?

Nick,

I am unsure why it was suspended. Also, CE stands for Customer Engineer.

Best Regards,
Erica

########Alright, suspended is clearly not a hardware related problem, but I didn't quite have the information I was looking for. Then another NOC guy responds:########


Hello Nick,

Showing this was suspended for non-payment. Please contact billing at 1-877-868-8638, opt. 2 or email at [email protected].

Best,
Casey

########Wait, what? Tim said he paid them. But maybe there was a hardware issue and then a billing mix up as well?...########

Thanks for following up with me Casey. To be clear, there was never a router line card failure that caused this port to go down?

Regards,

Nick A.


Hi Nick,

That is correct. You may also want to try the following before the generic billing queue if you wish this to be reinstated.

Crystal Toland: [redacted phone number]

Thanks,
Shawn
According to https://connect.data.com/directory/company/list/k5j1vrT1H-pvqfh1YQFG4g/ntt-america?page=3, Crystal Toland is the Credit and Collections Analyst at NTT.

So, judging by the NTT emails, there was never a line card failure or any hardware issue in the Seattle POP. My line was down for apparently significant billing reasons. But I had paid Tim on time. Logical conclusion: Tim lied, and expansively at that. How many times did he say there was an engineer on the case? Someone onsite? Hardware being overnighted? etc, etc. You can see it all for yourselves above and judge accordingly.

Anyway, I had had enough. Time to deal with Tim directly now that his lies were exposed:

Timothy Lee,

The NTT IP Transit Service rendered to RamNode LLC by Bandwidth LLC at 2001 6th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98121 has been down since 11:13 AM EST on January 21, 2014. I notified you of the service failure at 6:24 PM EST on January 21, 2014. I request that the contract governing this service be terminated without further obligation from RamNode LLC if the service is not restored by 5:00 PM EST on January 24, 2014.

Regards,

Nick A.
RamNode LLC
[email protected]
Twitter: @RamNode
Skype: RamNode
(It was of course not restored by that deadline...)

Mr Adams,
Bandwidth LLC is currently working with NTT Communications, Inc on getting this circuit resolved as quickly as possible and resolved.

We're communicating with them on the phone and are doing everything we can to get this circuit up. I will get back with you and let you know and forward any communication we have with NTT. Bandwidth LLC does require a 30-day notice for termination as outlined in the contract.

Thx

--
Timothy Lee
Zeneva LLC
President
7862 W. Irlo Bronson Hwy #348
Kissimmee, FL 34747
Phone: 407-608-5404 Ext 405
http://www.zeneva.net
(I never received those promised communications from NTT through Tim. Clearly he wasn't talking to them about a line card failure, though...)

Since the NTT IP Transit Service rendered to RamNode LLC by Bandwidth LLC at 2001 6th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98121 mentioned in my previous email has not been restored by 5:00 PM EST on January 24, 2014 after being unavailable since 11:13 AM EST on January 21, 2014, I am disconnecting the circuit and referring the matter to my attorney.

Regards,

Nick A.
RamNode LLC
[email protected]
Twitter: @RamNode
Skype: RamNode
I think around now he realizes I know more than he has told me:

Nick,
We have no need for attorneys. I'm a nice guy and don't want ruin a business relationship over a mis-sight on this part.

Sent from my iPhone
Not sure what a "mis-sight" is, but it sounds like a partial admission to wrongdoing.

Anyway, at this point I forwarded the matter to my lawyer. Tim tried to tell us that he did indeed pay NTT on time, but you can see NTT's side of the story above. Whether he paid them for something or not, my port was down due to billing issues on his end, and there was clearly no hardware issue causing days of downtime. A mutual termination of contract was recognized between RamNode and "Bandwidth LLC" after some back and forth. As I said above, I now have a direct account with NTT and the Seattle port is up and running. (We're also adding them to Atlanta shortly but that's unrelated :) ).

Again, my point here is to simply state the truth about what happened to our NTT port and about the conduct of Timothy Lee (Zeneva LLC, Bandwidth LLC, CoreXLayer). Make of it what you will.
 

trewq

Active Member
Verified Provider
I am so glad I didn't take colocation deal he offered me.


Very well formatted post @Nick_A. It's a shame you had to go though that.
 

AuroraZero

Active Member
Let me first explain why I am making a post like this. I'm not here to bash. I am here to simply state the truth. I am going to stay as matter of fact as possible so that no one has any grounds to accuse me of libel or embellishing.


As many of you know, we recently added NTT to our Seattle bandwidth blend. We now have a direct account with NTT, but it started off through a reseller - Timothy Lee from Zeneva. Tim also appears to operate brands known as Bandwidth LLC and CoreXLayer. Our contract was specifically with Bandwidth LLC.


I got a great deal on the port from Tim. NTT does not allow resellers, but Tim assured me they would allow it this one time. I was later told by multiple NTT sources that reselling is strictly prohibited (no exceptions). They apparently thought RamNode was part of Zeneva, which caused delays in getting my own port after my contract with Tim was terminated.


For a while, though, the port was running very well. Tim was constantly asking me how the port was working for me. I had no reason to suspect that things were not right behind the scenes. Then, at 11:13 AM EST on January 21, 2014, my NTT line went down. Checking my router, it became clear the issue was on their end. I contacted Tim to see what was going on.


The following are the chat logs between me and him regarding the downed line. Notice the time stamps and dates. I am inserting [...] where extended time passed or where an irrelevant comment was made. I removed unrelated parts from some of this (for instance, where he tells me about how he has to sell his dedicated server business). I have screenshots of all of this for further proof. You may want to read the chat again after reading the rest of this post. There is a lot of irony to be seen in hindsight.

At this point, there was no other conclusion to make: Tim had to be lying. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it just didn't add up. NTT is the #2 ranked carrier in the world. There was no way it would have taken them over 48 hours to fix my port. The line card was supposed to be there earlier that morning according to Tim, but there we were at midnight still scratching our heads. All the while, I'm feeding my clients misinformation on Twitter, telling them there's a hardware issue and that things will be up shortly.


So, I decided it was time to investigate beyond this line of communication. You would think if NTT were having 48 hour outages in Seattle, they would be willing to respond to a general inquiry about it, right?


Also, I should note that the bad reviews of Zeneva and Timothy Lee started popping up right around the time I signed the contract for NTT through him. I didn't see them until the deal was done. I had been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt up until this point.


My email conversation with [email protected] (my text is italic, comments with ########):

According to https://connect.data.com/directory/company/list/k5j1vrT1H-pvqfh1YQFG4g/ntt-america?page=3, Crystal Toland is the Credit and Collections Analyst at NTT.


So, judging by the NTT emails, there was never a line card failure or any hardware issue in the Seattle POP. My line was down for apparently significant billing reasons. But I had paid Tim on time. Logical conclusion: Tim lied, and expansively at that. How many times did he say there was an engineer on the case? Someone onsite? Hardware being overnighted? etc, etc. You can see it all for yourselves above and judge accordingly.


Anyway, I had had enough. Time to deal with Tim directly now that his lies were exposed:

(It was of course not restored by that deadline...)

(I never received those promised communications from NTT through Tim. Clearly he wasn't talking to them about a line card failure, though...)

I think around now he realizes I know more than he has told me:

Not sure what a "mis-sight" is, but it sounds like a partial admission to wrongdoing.


Anyway, at this point I forwarded the matter to my lawyer. Tim tried to tell us that he did indeed pay NTT on time, but you can see NTT's side of the story above. Whether he paid them for something or not, my port was down due to billing issues on his end, and there was clearly no hardware issue causing days of downtime. A mutual termination of contract was recognized between RamNode and "Bandwidth LLC" after some back and forth. As I said above, I now have a direct account with NTT and the Seattle port is up and running. (We're also adding them to Atlanta shortly but that's unrelated :) ).


Again, my point here is to simply state the truth about what happened to our NTT port and about the conduct of Timothy Lee (Zeneva LLC, Bandwidth LLC, CoreXLayer). Make of it what you will.
That is how things should be done. I am truly sorry things went this way for you Nick but you handled this in a professional way.
 

drmike

100% Tier-1 Gogent
WOW.

RamNode spoke, people listened.  

Kudos to Nick_A for bringing it and being clear and non-emotional.

How much money is RamNode due by Zeneva/Timothy Lee?
 

serverian

Well-Known Member
Verified Provider
He approached to me as well for colocation in SuperNAP in April 2013. I sensed that something was not right with him and dropped contact. I was right!
 

concerto49

New Member
Verified Provider
This is why it's best never to buy transit from a reseller except a reputable one. The savings just aren't worth it. You never know what will happen. Direct might be more expensive, but at least it's direct.
 

Francisco

Company Lube
Verified Provider
This is why it's best never to buy transit from a reseller except a reputable one. The savings just aren't worth it. You never know what will happen. Direct might be more expensive, but at least it's direct.
Same goes with datacenters.

"Yeah man we got generators on site, no sweat."

*City goes completely dark one day*

"Well, the building has them but we don't actually pay to be backed by them...."

FFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

Francisco
 
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Nick_A

Provider of the year (2014)
Thanks for clearing that up @Nick_A. To be honest, I once checked a trace to your network, and was quite concerned that I saw "corexlayer" hops in the mix for Ramnode, because of my previous experience with Zeneva. Also when I looked at the whois of the IP ranges, I was wondering how related you guys could be, as I noticed both companies had 407 area code numbers listed for abuse contact phone numbers. Anyways, it all makes sense now, thanks for explaining.
Yeah I'm from Orlando, thus the 407 number. Never met Tim in my life, nor is my business in any way, shape, or form related to his.
 

dano

New Member
Thanks for clearing that up @Nick_A. To be honest, I once checked a trace to your network, and was quite concerned that I saw "corexlayer" hops in the mix for Ramnode, because of my previous experience with Zeneva. Also when I looked at the whois of the IP ranges, I was wondering how related you guys could be, as I noticed both companies had 407 area code numbers listed for abuse contact phone numbers. Anyways, it all makes sense now, thanks for explaining.
 

DomainBop

Dormant VPSB Pathogen
I posted this on WHT so I thought I'd cross post it here because I know google loves duplicate content :p

---------begin duplicate content----

There is a Bandwidth LLC registered in Florida (and 3 other states show registrations for companies with the same name) but there is no mention of a "Tim" on the Florida incorporated Bandwidth's corporate records or web site http://www.bandwidthllc.net/about-us/consultants/

When Zeneva posted their first offer on LowEndBox the offer stated that Zeneva LLC was registered in Florida...a corporate search on the FL SOS site doesn't confirm that claim. The only "Zeneva" I could find in the US was "The Zeneva Company LLC" which was registered in Wyoming and involuntarity dissolved in 2012.

------end duplicate content-----
 

Nick_A

Provider of the year (2014)
I posted this on WHT so I thought I'd cross post it here because I know google loves duplicate content :p

---------begin duplicate content----

There is a Bandwidth LLC registered in Florida (and 3 other states show registrations for companies with the same name) but there is no mention of a "Tim" on the Florida incorporated Bandwidth's corporate records or web site http://www.bandwidthllc.net/about-us/consultants/


When Zeneva posted their first offer on LowEndBox the offer stated that Zeneva LLC was registered in Florida...a corporate search on the FL SOS site doesn't confirm that claim. The only "Zeneva" I could find in the US was "The Zeneva Company LLC" which was registered in Wyoming and involuntarity dissolved in 2012.

------end duplicate content-----
I will post my response from there here as well :)

I was also concerned about being unable to pinpoint his brands online. Everything seemed to revolve around a central Florida address, but the two brands I dealt with were not registered there:

[12/17/2013 4:09:23 PM] RamNode: Are Zeneva and Bandwidth LLC registered in Florida?


[12/17/2013 4:09:35 PM] Zeneva Sales: Zeneva is registered in Delaware.


[12/17/2013 4:10:30 PM] RamNode: How about the other one?


[12/17/2013 4:10:44 PM] Zeneva Sales: same.


[12/17/2013 4:11:21 PM] RamNode: BW has been around a lot longer I take it?


[12/17/2013 4:11:36 PM] Zeneva Sales: Nope, Zeneva has been around longer.


[12/17/2013 4:11:46 PM] Zeneva Sales: Fairly new actually.


[12/17/2013 4:11:49 PM] Zeneva Sales: BW is.


[12/17/2013 4:12:00 PM] RamNode: It says 2001 for the formation. Just confused.


[12/17/2013 4:12:36 PM] Zeneva Sales: The contracts go under Zeneva LLC cause we have established credit.


[12/17/2013 4:13:04 PM] Zeneva Sales: between customers and me cause, BW is a separate company


[12/17/2013 4:13:08 PM] Zeneva Sales: for us reselling b/w


[12/17/2013 4:13:09 PM] Zeneva Sales: for tax purposes.


[12/17/2013 4:13:43 PM] RamNode: Why does the DE website say 2001 for BW?


[12/17/2013 4:14:06 PM] Zeneva Sales: Not sure? mistake on there part maybe?


[12/17/2013 4:14:32 PM] Zeneva Sales: [image of tax ID for Bandwidth LLC, see below]


[12/17/2013 4:14:47 PM] Zeneva Sales: 7-26 is when we got the tax ID


[12/17/2013 4:15:24 PM] Zeneva Sales: but you obviously know it exist cause ,you wired money to my account under Bandwidth LLC.


[12/17/2013 4:15:29 PM] Zeneva Sales: Banks won't open accounts w/o verifying it.


[12/17/2013 4:15:46 PM] RamNode: http://gyazo.com/cad084dc0e380720d9593297b8964363 is what is throwing me off


[12/17/2013 4:16:08 PM] Zeneva Sales: no clue.. i'll have to contact them to update it.
The Tax ID image he sent me had the actual EIN, but I removed it just in case that violates any privacy issues: http://gyazo.com/ee98f460c6564370d7ea97c4fedeff18
 

DomainBop

Dormant VPSB Pathogen
[12/17/2013 4:12:36 PM] Zeneva Sales: The contracts go under Zeneva LLC cause we have established credit.
Usually when a company has established credit they'll show up on a D&B search.  The only thing D&B has for Zeneva is this:

Company Name

Address

City

State

 

 

WEST 8TH ST CORP
Also Traded as ZENEVA

20 W 8TH ST

NEW YORK

No DUNS number for Zeneva either.
 

Nick_A

Provider of the year (2014)
Thanks for posting that. I should have followed up and mentioned it here.

That's definitely the same Tim. They were saying he was 16-17 back then, and he recently told me he was 27 now. Sad.
 
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