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2.5

This Summer, I heard the Suddenlink had started to offer cable internet (only) in our area. I was pleased when I browsed their site and found that it would be half the monthly cost of Windstream's DSL, and faster. Great!

So I called them up to make sure we could get the service. I had called a few times in previous years, and found that they only offered cable TV. This time, I was told that, well, I "wasn't in the computer." Oh. Not knowing what that meant, I didn't know what to ask and I assumed that it meant we couldn't get cable internet from them. Because, naturally, what company wouldn't take the opportunity to sign up a new customer?

I had 3 or 4 calls like that. I would hear from a neighbor that they knew so-and-so had Suddenlink internet, and I'd call. Each time, "sorry, looks like you're not in our system." What does that even *mean*? So after a few times of hanging up confused and dissatisfied, I asked several more-and-more-specific questions trying to get the rep to give me a simple yes or no answerโ€”would I be able to purchase cable internet from Suddenlink or not?

A yes, finally. I made doubly sure to ask the rep *very* specific questions about our service and what charges would be involved. I had three options: rent a modem with wi-fi for $10 a month, use a Suddenlink-issued modem without wi-fi for free (they would just take it back if we ever cancelled our service), or buy my own DOCSIS 3.0 modem/router. I chose to use the free modem, thinking I could just buy a router to provide wi-fi. No big deal. There was a promotion where we'd only pay $35/mo. for a whole year. Yes, the rep assured me, my bill would be *exactly* $35. No taxes, no fees, no nothing. Sounded good! So I had them come out and hook us up. I cancelled Windstream.

The bill was indeed $35, and the cable was indeed faster than the DSL connection we had previously. Plus, even though I was told we'd need to buy our own modem/router to get wi-fi, the modem they provided already had it! What good fortune. But after a few months, we started to notice a pattern: every evening around 6 or 7, the modem would disconnect from the cable and go into a state ofโ€ฆparalysis. It didn't automatically reconnect itself, and it wasn't frozen (we still had a LAN connection), but it needed to be reset. This happened several times a night, and after a few weeks I called Suddenlink's tech support.

Brief aside: their phone system is a special kind of stupid. You have to sit an interrogation by a robot, and then if you're calling about tech support, you also need to sit through that same robotic voice telling you how to reset your modem. Newsflash: it's 2014; we've all heard the "did you try rebooting" line. Of course I rebooted the thing. And then, after the nice slow-talking lady is done telling me how to reset it, I'm placed on hold. A few times, I've waited on hold for, literally, hours. At which point my cell phone connection was dropped and I had to call back, andโ€ฆyeah. Screw their phone support. (Pro tip: I've found their chat support is much more helpful, and much faster.)

Anyway, back to my story. I called tech support about our modem freezing up. They (again) walked me through resetting it, they checked something they called "provisioning," and said it looked like everything was fine, but the rep could see from some kind of log that we'd been having problems. We scheduled someone to come out and take a look at it. They came during the day, while I was at work, and my wife was home. She knows jack-all about these things and her eyes glaze over when people try to explain them, so whatever the tech told her didn't get relayed to me. But I could tell they'd installed a new modem, because the wi-fi name and password was different and I had to punch it in again on my devices. Cool, I thought, the modem must've been broken, and now it was fixed.

The next evening, it became clear that the modem wasn't the problem. Clear to me, at least, because this modem did the *exact* same thing the previous one had. So, repeating the last few paragraphs, I called, they sent someone, he replaced the modem, my wife tried to explain to me what he'd said, etc.

That happened four times. The fourth time, I made sure I was home, so that I could talk to the technician and try to understand why they hadn't solved our problem yet. He explained that yes, he'd put in another new modem, but really our issue wouldn't be solved until the local network (probably not the right term) was upgraded. He said they were just, in his opinion, "saturated." But, he explained, we had options: either he could come out and replace our modem with a DOCSIS 2.0 modem, and we'd get less speed but a more reliable connection, or we could simply keep the one we have until they upgraded their system. Either way, he said, the system would be upgraded in a couple of months and until that time, we'd receive a credit on our account since we weren't receiving adequate service.

I agreed to keep the modem we had, and just wait it out until they upgraded their system. A lower monthly bill would more than compensate for the mild nuisance of having to reset the modem 2โ€“3 times a night.

So, when we received our next bill, I was pleased to find outโ€ฆoh wait, no, I was *not* pleased. Our bill was HIGHER. Rather than lowering our monthly payment, they'd *added on* a charge: $10 for "WiFi@***e." I am not a stupid consumer. I know that it doesn't cost them *a thing* when my modem provides wi-fi. But I gave them the benefit of the doubt: surely there was another bill on the way which would reflect the deal we'd made with them.

The only thing that came was a past-due notice. So I fired up the ol' Oracle chat support on their site, and told them most of this story. (That's another complaint: each time I contact customer service, they don't seem to have any inkling that I've been in contact with them every few weeks, despite the fact that I provide info to verify my account at least three times each encounter.) This time, it was a billing rep, not a tech support rep, so he seemed to be much more knowledgable but much less understanding about my situation. Then again, I'm sure he gets his share of crazies trying to weasel their way out of paying the billโ€ฆI am not one of those people. I'm happy to pay what I owe; I just wanted to know why I'd been assured that my bill would be lower, and then it was higher.

He informed me that a service order had been placed November 7th, and a modem had been placed in our home which had wi-fi, which we were renting for $10 a month.

Sometimes when talking to the service people there, it's like we're speaking different languages. I don't even know where to begin asking questions, because there were so many things wrong with what he had told me. Not *incorrect,* but certainly *wrong.*

First, I had never agreed to *rent* a modem. Second, we *had* wi-fi this whole timeโ€”with three other modems of the same make and modelโ€”and were never charged a rental fee. Third, the bill was *still* not lower, as they'd said it would be, it was higher. The rep I was talking to made little effort to understand what I was saying or assure me that the problem would be resolved, instead he just parroted information from my account history and assured me that there was *no possible way* our bill could be lower than $35/mo.

Obviously, something is greatly awry over at Suddenlink. On the one hand, everyone I've talked to has been very kind. On the other hand, it seems like Suddenlink is not set up to attract *or* keep customers, and I would guess that for the customer service people, customer satisfaction is a major uphill battle. A losing one, at that.

As soon as our bill goes back up to the normal monthly rate, I will seriously consider going back to Windstream. They may be expensive, and they may provide an inferior product, but at least I don't have to call them every two or three weeks about the same problems.

TL;DR: Suddenlink doesn't seem to want your money or your affection. Their rates may be low, but they don't empower their customer service people to actually solve customers' problems. Maybe it's a case of โ€œyou get what you pay for.โ€

Reason of review: Not as described/ advertised.

Preferred solution: Stop focusing on technology. Focus on people..

Suddenlink Pros: Price, Speed, Easy setup.

Suddenlink Cons: Lack of follow through, Constant disappointment, Lack of empathy, Indifference to problem resolution, Indifference in general.

Location: Mantua, Ohio

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Tina Lxh

Hello โ€“ My nameโ€™s Kacie, and Iโ€™m with Suddenlink. Iโ€™m so sorry to hear that your experience with us has been less than exceptional.

Iโ€™d be happy to investigate this issue youโ€™re experiencing with your internet service. Please feel free to email me directly.

My email address is socialsupport-AT-suddenlink-DOT-com. Thank you, -Kacie

Danniel Sjx
reply icon Replying to comment of Tina Lxh

Hi, Kacie. Do you mean that you're *already* investigating, or that you'd like me to email you and *then* you'll investigate?

Tina Lxh
reply icon Replying to comment of Danniel Sjx

Hi Nategreen โ€“ Kacie with Suddenlink here! Iโ€™d be happy to assist you with this; however, Iโ€™ll need additional information.

Please feel free to email me directly so that I can begin investigating this for you. Thank you, -Kacie

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