I upgrade to Suddenlink's unlimited plan that promised "up to" 400 mbps.
I happily upgraded, and guess what?! My internet speed gets slower from an average of 10-12 mbps to about 5 mbps.
So I called customer service to explain. The rep agrees saying, "That is WAY too slow. Let's get a technician to come out there and see what the problem is. Oh, and BY THE WAY, if the technician comes out and the problem ends up being on your end, you will incur a charge of $60..."
"Ok," so then I ask, "What constitutes the issue being 'my fault?"'
(No response or real explanation)
"Fine, if the problem is on my end, I will be happy to pay it because the issue will be solved, and it is worth $60 to have the problem fixed. I don't care whether it's my fault or Suddenlink's.If I can get like 1/4th of the speed they are saying I could get I would be perfectly happy.
So the techs show up, and, although late, they are very nice and spend extra time to try and fix the problem. After 2 hours or work, they replace some wiring outside the home and do extensive troubleshooting. But to their frustration, the problem persists. While working, the techs call someone (who I presume to be their supervisor) to try to get some guidance. I caught the tail end of the conversation the tech was having, and he said, "yes, he has the connection, but his plan is the 400 mbps plan." And then the call abruptly
ended.... ? ....
So the tech tells me they couldn't fix the problem, and a "maintenance team" had to be called in to fix the problem. He agreed there was nothing on my end that could have caused the connection issues.
"When will they arrive? Do I need to be home?"
"No," said the tech, "The maintenance team will just show up outside the home, and they won't need to come in your home."
So I wait a couple of days...
Then, a couple of weeks...
Then a month, and no "maintenance team" ever shows. My service remains slow...
I call Suddenlink customer service back several times, and this is what happens on each phone call:
Me: "Yes, I would like to see where this 'maintenance team' is?"
Rep: "Well, on the customer service end, we cannot see where maintenance teams are scheduled. They just show when they can. Would you like for me to schedule a technician to come out?"
Me: "... uhh... a technician has already been called out. You already said you can see that in the system. Are there any notes related to what happened on that technician visit?"
Rep: "No. There's no notes left by the technician on what happened on the visit to your house."
Me: "Well... here I am telling you that the issue is not resolved. Can you reach out to the particular technician that came to my house for more information on what happened?"
Rep: "No, we do not have that contact information. Would you like for us to call a technician to come out? If the problem is on your end, you will be charged $60."
(EPIC FACEPALM)
I have several such calls trying to get some sort of answer, but to no avail. Some customer service reps do not even know "maintenance teams" even exist.
No one ever comes to fix my connection. No one ever calls me. I always have to be the one to call and try to get something done, only to get them to threaten to bring a "technician" out to charge me $60 if they so deem the connection issue to be "my fault."
So now comes the moment of truth for me to pay my bill, and.... YOU GUESSED IT!!! There is the big fat $60 "service call" charge on my bill.
I call customer service again, and I finally get them to submit a request to remove the $60 charge.
I call Suddenlink back a few days later, and they said the request for the service charge to be dropped from my bill was REJECTED, but no reason is given...So the last customer service rep I spoke to "escalated" the situation to her supervisor, and I have been promised a phone call from said supervisor. someone actually called the next day, but after explaining the whole story again, she said it was a "valid" service call, and I should have read the written terms on their website.
I have filed with the FCC and BBB. read more