Posted by David Bernstein: Unhappy Experience with Speakeasy.net:: http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2006_12_31-2007_01_06.shtml#1167846526
I won't bore you with all the details, but the basics: (1) our service, though pricey ($39.95 plus per month, compared to half that much for Verizon), was much worse than our prior experiences with DSL and cable--poor download and upload speeds (we paid for only the slower speed service, but it was much slower than advertised), intermittent outages, etc. For complicated reasons, we had to keep Speakeasy service, but when we recently moved and had other options we wanted to dump it. But we were told that the company would stick to the letter of our TOS and charge the $300 fee, unless the problem we had was deemed "unfixable." A customer service rep made it clear that dissatisfaction with service, even with documented complaints to back it up, is not grounds for waiving the fee; (2) several customer service reps. would not put us in touch with their superiors--one rep promised a return call from a supervisor, which we never got, while another gave us an email address for management, but two emails were not returned; (3) at least one representation was made to us, perhaps in error, that there wouldn't be a charge for canceling the service. We relied on this representation in setting up other service in our new home, and in not arranging to transfer Speakeasy service in advance so we wouldn't have a service gap. But when we tried to cancel (we were told to call back the day we wanted service to end), and explained what we had been told, the customer service rep said something along the lines of, "just because someone you called here said something, doesn't mean it's right, we only go by the contract." In fairness, I can say one good thing about the company: when you call technical support, they answer right way, and try to be helpful. _______________________________________________ Volokh mailing list [email protected] http://lists.powerblogs.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
