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Review by trueseong 
Posted: 1.8 years ago
member for 1.8 years, 7 visits, last login: 210 days ago
 Fremont,Alameda,CA
 $17 per month
 AT&T
 "You may need to restart modem as well as routers often..."
 "It's ok if you want cheap provider."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I switched to sonic.net 6 month ago with month to month base. I recently got surprising credit card billing statement and they won't do anything about it. I'm done with sonic.net and will try finding another provider.
So, here this is what happened and I hope you don't get tricked into it.
I paid $17.95 per month for express residential plan. Since it wasn't a year contract, I was little bit worried about rate increase and was expecting to receive a mail or email (at least) stating when it happens. So, I could determine if I keep it or find another.
Well, your guess is right. I did not receive anything from them and my rate increased to $46.85. I did not even received billing statement for this month from them and I found out this from my credit card billing statement.
I don't know if this is done by intentionally or by mistake, but they got more money than I would expect to pay. So, forks out there looking for provider, watch out for this.
If you are worried about the service quality, I would say normal. Once or twice a week, I had to do power restart (I don¡¯t know what they call it, but you turnoff everything and restart modem, router and computer in order) to get my original dsl speed.
Thanks for reading this and hope you find good provider with honesty.
Followup comments:  
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| Terms I sent you an IM in response.
The month to month pricing is subject to change, with 30 days advance notice. This notice is sent to the same email address your receipts are sent to, so if you're not checking that mailbox, please look there. If you use any local anti-spam software, you may also want to check the folder where it places messages that it thinks are spam. (Sonic.net's own anti-spam systems never block our own messages) Contact billing at 707-522-1000 to talk about any questions about your billing.
Regarding the need to reset your equipment periodically, this is something we'd be happy to address for you! Our tech support's hold time averaged just 76 seconds for all of 2007, so PLEASE don't hesitate to pick up the phone and call us right now. 707-547-3400. We will check the stats on your circuit, and if it looks bad, will dispatch a repair. Or, if the stats look good, your issue may be your modem, and we've got loaners and replacements available. UPS will get either to you tomorrow if you phone in before mid-day.
Please don't let annoying technical issues languish because of an assumption that support will be difficult to reach or work with. Unlike many other services across most industries today, we make the support experience really simple.
-Dane | |
| | trueseong
join:2008-01-17
Fremont, CA
 ·LaunchNet
·SONIC.NET
| Re: Terms I've been getting monthly billing statement through same email address. They always come to my inbox.
I check this address often since this is my primary address. So, I do not think it's blocked or sent to spam folder, and I don't think I missed it or discarded in any way. | |
| | |
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs: | Re: Terms It's part of the previous month's statement, I believe it's all caps, "NOTICE:", etc. Checking our logs, I do show that we've emailed you every receipt as scheduled.
-Dane | |
| | | |
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Review by Seiuchi
Posted: 1.8 years ago
member for 1.8 years, 9 visits, last login: 55 days ago
Pleasant Hill,Contra Costa,CA
$67 per month
 about 10 days
AT&T
 "only had one outage in 2 years (ddos), never get spam in e mail"
"a little expensive it seems compaired to competition but worth it."
"I would recomend sonic to anyone. They are prompt and friendly"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I signed up 2 years ago because I was fed up with earthlink. Service calls to earthlink were slow and unhelpful and I once went with no connection for 3 months with no credit. When I left earthlink I had to pay for dsl svc I didnt use they would not give me a proration credit even tho i was a customer for multiple years and not under contract.
Sonic on the other hand has been flawless. Download and upload rates are always high. Customer svc. is prompt and very helpful. Sonic is everything earthlink neverwas and then some. I have the 6mbps down and 600 up (the enhanced pkg).
I did get a promotional contract for the first year but am on a monthly basis now which is why the price is high. The one year contract rate is much better. They shipped me the modem/ install kit quickly and I was up an running in no time. I do not know what modem they ship to new customers but back then it was a zoom modem that has worked flawless.
I never get spam in email and I have never configured anything. I always get my mail from who I expect to get mail from, and now and then i get notification if there is a questionable mail in my grey mail box and can add it to a whitelist or delete it.
If you are fed up with earthlink or another big dog I HIGHLY RECOMEND SONIC!
I am currently in the process of moving and transfering my sonic account to another line and so far problem free the transfer was all done online.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of SONIC.NET |
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Review by treyadams
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 6 years, 24 visits, last login: 1.7 years ago
Los Angeles,Los Angeles,CA
$90 per month
AT&T
"Desire to get things right--friendly service."
"Must rely on local carriers."
"Great service. Will work until it is right."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
|
UPDATE: For almost a year I had intermittent connectivity issues and had not been getting anything close to the promised speeds up or down. A technician from AT&T (The local carrier they contract through) came out to the house but found nothing wrong on "their end" when he checked.
Therein lies one of the potential challenges with SONIC. The folks at SONIC care a great deal about making sure you get great service and get things right. They provide GREAT customer service. (It starts at the top. Dane cares and his attitude trickles down.) Unfortunately, they can not control what the carriers they contract through do. You have little recourse if you get a bad technician--as was my case.
They really did want to make it right though. They had AT&T send another person out. This person from AT&T went all over the neighborhood checking connections and making sure their end was right. The result? He found the problem--a loose connection in a junction box across the street and up a pole. D/L speeds are now right in the middle of those promised and service has been spotless.
If you don't speak tech-speak, these guys are great. If you do speak the same language, they are even better. It might take a trip or two from the local carrier, but SONIC will find a way to get things right. Make sure they lean on them to get the job done right. I'll be very sad when I move and have to switch ISP's.
Followup comments:
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| Reliability troubles I'm sorry to hear you're having issues with your link. We're generally pretty good at getting loops fixed, so I'm surprised to hear you're having trouble - particularly if you've had service from others at this location which was more stable. I'm going to ask my senior support group to get in touch and look into the issue.
-Dane | |
| 
Pipi
| Scripted Replies? I don't know that Sonic.net now uses scripted replies too. My, I am surprised that they are going in that direction. | |
| | treyadams
join:2003-11-18
Los Angeles, CA | Re: Scripted Replies? Probably not....it just felt that way. At any rate, the REAL issue seems to have been the local carrier. I got a great tech today who went up poles and checked junctions until he found a loose connection. PRESTO! | |
| | |
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| Re: Scripted Replies? said by treyadams :Probably not....it just felt that way. At any rate, the REAL issue seems to have been the local carrier. I got a great tech today who went up poles and checked junctions until he found a loose connection. PRESTO! Excellent, glad to hear it!
-Dane | |
| | 
bobrk
You kids get offa my lawn
Premium
join:2000-02-02
San Jose, CA | Another sad tired anonymous Sonic basher. Don't you guys have something else to do? | |
| | | treyadams
join:2003-11-18
Los Angeles, CA | Re: Scripted Replies? Like I said, they are nice people. They just have to rely on others to get work done for them. Did you even bother to read the post or did you just want to rip on someone today? | |
| | | |
bobrk
You kids get offa my lawn
Premium
join:2000-02-02
San Jose, CA | Re: Scripted Replies? I wasn't responding to you as the message threading shows. | |
| |
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs: | said by Pipi :
I don't know that Sonic.net now uses scripted replies too. My, I am surprised that they are going in that direction.
What are you talking about??
-Dane | |
| | | |
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Review by sporatica
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 3.7 years, 14 visits, last login: 267 days ago
La Habra,Orange,CA
$20 per month (month by month)
about 10 days
AT&T
"Started with good C/S and functionality"
"SMTP went down - C/S unwilling to check their end"
"Port blocked at server and they wouldn't check it"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
|
It's been two months since I first contacted Sonic about this issue. After many hours of troubleshooting coupled with more hours on the phone with Sonic support, the problem persisted.
Tech support actually advised to uninstall XP and do a clean install. They had already convinced customer that he needed to buy and install Office 2007 Professional (which he did), they also had him uninstall his anti-virus and firewall, and install Thunderbird as an email client ... none of which were the cause of the port being blocked by the server.
The customer finally had his son, Karl Auerbach (from ICANN), come down from up-North to help diagnose the problem.
Lo and behold, once Karl advised them of who he was, tech support listened to him and unblocked the port. Of course this is after my running every imaginable SMTP diagnostic test, sharing the results with tech support, and nearly two months of frustration and unnecessary expenditures.
In summation, the problem was always on your end. Tech support assumed that the customer was at fault and was unwilling to take a few minutes of their time to run a diagnostics at your end. All the while feeling quite comfortable having the customer jump through an array of endless hoops.
One shouldn't have to have name recognition in the Information Systems industry to be listened to or taken seriously.
Followup comments:
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| 30 days notice Yup, we blew it here - you should have gotten notice via email. This was a programming oversight, and we've corrected it this last week.
I'll ask billing to extend your intro rate for an additional month, then you can let us know what you'd like to do subsequent!
-Dane | |
| | sporatica
join:2006-02-28
Long Beach, CA
·SONIC.NET
| Re: 30 days notice Thank you Dane.
I spoke with Lani the next day, and she offered to refund the difference for the month and honor the original agreement. I understand that you cannot continue promotional pricing for an indefinite period of time. I've known this from the start. All I needed was for Sonic to keep it's word with regard to advance notice of rate change.
I will update as soon as the credit is reflected on my CC.
Thank you again.
PS. I sent you my Sonic ID via email. | |
|
div222
@ucsf.edu
| Same thing here, they raised rates without warning Same thing here, they raised rates from $12.95 to $39.??. They changed prices without any warning contraire to their own rules stated in earlier email. They failed to correct their mistake, apologize or even simply explain, instead they were rude and offensive. I cancelled their service. I have no idea were positive reviews about their customer service are coming from.
And, one last thing, their internet connection sucks. | |
|
m_stuart_m
@sonic.net
| A-Trolling We Will Go.... Yeah, Sonic sucks. Mean. Rude. Arrogant. Their network backbone consists of two paper cups and a bit of string.
Not.
I have been a Sonic DSL subscriber for more than three years now. I use my connection for work as well as personal use, so we tend to notice downtime. That is, we notice it when it happens, which is exceedingly rare. In fact, the only issues that have caused either downtime or bandwidth issues have been inside wiring problems on our end of the line -- problems Sonic's support staff spent a fair amount of time helping us to resolve, even when it was clear they had no obligation to do so.
As for pricing: Anyone who thinks Sonic pulls a bait-and-switch obviously has never had the pleasure of being bent over by AT&T or Comcast. The former will nickle-and-dime you into suicidal depression, while the latter is only cheap until you want something wild and crazy -- like, say, a static IP address. Then be prepared to hand over your first-born and a kidney (or maybe your first-born's kidney) to pay for the privilege.
Mr. Troll's remarks aside, think about this: With the Phone Company and The Cable Guys coming at them FOR YEARS with cutthroat pricing and zillion-dollar ad campaigns, Sonic still chugs along and continues to build a solid regional business. If you think Sonic could not just stand up to this onslaught but actually thrive while serving crap to its customers, consider putting down the crack pipe and stepping out for some fresh air. | |
|
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| Port blocking? You wrote:
"Lo and behold, once Karl advised them of who he was, tech support listened to him and unblocked the port."
We've been in dialog via email today, and as I said there as well, I don't see any changes to the service, NOR any record that we've even had a support call! It's a dynamic IP DSL circuit, so there's no changes that CAN be made to port blocking.
Very odd. We're continuing to investigate on our side, and area awaiting further response from you.
-Dane | |
| |
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| Re: Port blocking? Okie, we figured this out. Karl wrote in to support, and the ticket wasn't tied to your account, so I had some trouble finding it.
Your IP address got blocked in a very strange way - via a null route in our mail servers themselves. Our mail administrators tell me that they'd have done this to block a spam flood, and they concede that they screwed up by not documenting the issue and assuring that it was cleaned up afterward. This is NOT how they're supposed to deal with things like this, and they are clear on this now.
Support has no visibility into the server's route table, so to them, all looked good. Some confusion with the Linksys and antivirus on the PC keep them pointed in that direction.
I'm sorry that it took us so long to figure this out. I've had billing issue a credit to your account by way of saying "sorry!".
-Dane | |
| | | |
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 Review by elvey
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 8.7 years, 649 visits, last login: 47 days ago
Alameda,Alameda,CA
$10 per month (month by month)
about 5 days
SBC
"One less thing to worry about. Fast, reliable connection. Friendly, knowledegable service. Great features."
"None. (They could get bought out that could lead to deteriorating service.)"
"Like everyone says: 'Get it!' There's a reason they've got the highest ratings."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
[Update Dec '06. Just installed another Sonic DSL account. A minute after connecting the modem, these are my speeds:
Download = 5.073 Mbps
Upload = 655.41 kbps
I've also set up a few more sonic accounts since Oct '05; they went fine.
[Update Oct '05: I've installed a few more Sonic DSL accounts, including ones at the new $15 rate, and each time, the process has been such a pleasant departure from the usual experience. If I call support, they often answer on the first ring! The pleasant shock I get when that happens is remarkable.] Oh, and with referral credit, the cost of your account can be as low as referrals get you.
Have "Enhanced - S" service; we get the advertised speed. Upgraded from an SBC T1 - the service is WAY better and the price is WAY better. I wish I could get Cable TV and cell phone service from a company like this! Heck, I wonder if they're hiring!
Initial tech info was incomplete (should include IPs, gateway, netmask, DNS resolvers to use, ...) but now they include this in their initial email (so I hear) and it's included on one of the private user pages:
»https://sonic.sonic.net/members/dsl_ip_t···ndex.php
Usefully, SMTP/POP/IMAP settings and port options are at »www.sonic.net/support/docs/quick-ref.shtml
[edit: Here's a feature list.
Most of the following is copied from a post from the guy in charge, hence the 'we':
Less than one minute average hold times to reach staff, and nice people. (I find they often answer on the first ring!) No scripted support, and no support from offshore. No organized crime affiliation.
We offer IPv6 addresses to all static IP customers (about a billion IPs!).
We provide end to end multicast IP routing to DSL customers (with the except of the Stockton LATA), and we're the only ISP peered with the BBC, delivering audio and video content over multicast.
We include user-configurable firewalling for your DSL connection - from none (for static customers hosting servers, for example) all the way up to full blocking. Your choice.
We allow static IP DSL customers to host a secure hotspot, and pay 50% of any collected day use fees, plus $0.50 any time another Sonic.net customer accesses.
We provide shell access. We've been a Linux ISP since 1994. (My license plate is "LINUX").
We offer uncapped speed Usenet access, with full binaries. We also provide free access to Supernews, in case you prefer them.
We provide VPN termination, so when you're using a hotspot or hotel connection, you can get a Sonic.net IP and a secure tunnel to a trusted network. This protects you from packet sniffing when using an untrusted or wireless network.
We do not require PPPoE, but instead provide a true bridged connection.
For static IP customers, we offer four or eight static IPs included. Additional IPs up to a full half class C are available for a one-time setup fee - no additional monthly!]
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Review by dii
Posted: 1.9 years ago
member for 1.9 years, 19 visits, last login: 1.6 years ago
Sunnyvale,Santa Clara,CA
$18 per month (12 month contract)
about 7 days
AT&T
"Quick to install, MIR processed fast"
"Poor billing and statement hard to read billing trap"
"avoid it if you can (sure you can!)"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I read some positive reviews before I signed up for sonic.net DSL. However, after a while all bad things you can imagine happened. I moved and had it transferred and then they billed me hefty price than the promotional one while the service was not even up and told me I should have told them to cancel the service while my phone line had not been up!
Finally, I managed to have them credit the automatic charges back to my account (not to my credit card) and then the problems occurred when the contract expired. I was told previously they would contact me to offer a new contract but it never happened and then the price skyrocketed to a much higher one ($18.95 to $49.95). After I called back, they offered something with one year contract $7 higher than the one for new customers. I cant understand the logics and was also told they would not refund unused portion of my advanced payment. But you had to pay for $49.95 partial of the last month because they rounded the billing from 7th to the end of month!
The only way I could be happy with them was:
1. Managed to have it installed on the 1st of the month
2. Canceled the service exactly at the end of the 12th month
3. Joined as a new customer
This was really bad experience similar to adding that of your landline phone and wireless altogether!
Avoid it! Otherwise, you will regret soon!
Followup comments:
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| Sorry it didn't work out I'm sorry that the service didn't work out for you.
Please understand that introductory rates are loss leaders - we take a loss. The hope is that you will choose to stick with our service in the long run, at a sustainable price point. It is simply not possible for us to stay in business and continue to provide the high quality of customer care and support at loss leader introductory prices.
Sonic.net is not positioned as the lowest priced Internet provider. If price is your only factor in selecting a provider, we are probably not the best fit. We provide on shore support without scripts, friendly staff, and an excellent network and features. Our hope is that any price difference is well worth the lack of aggravation that you may encounter when dealing with the phone or cable company.
-Dane | |
| |
Basperdo
@cebridge.net
| Re: Sorry it didn't work out Dan, I don't think he is whining about the price. Here is what he said,
" I moved and had it transferred and then they billed me hefty price than the promotional one while the service was not even up and told me I should have told them to cancel the service while my phone line had not been up!"
His phone line had not been up, and your firm billed him at the price that is more that the promotional price he was promised.
Please, address the issue! It has nothing to do with Sonic is more expensive than other carriers. | |
| | |
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs: | Re: Sorry it didn't work out Sorry, I didn't get that point.
This does sound odd - will the original poster please IM me their Sonic.net username here, or email, dane@corp.sonic.net? I'll need to look into the specifics of this situation.
-Dane | |
| | | | dii
join:2007-12-05
Sunnyvale, CA
·SONIC.NET
| Re: Sorry it didn't work out I was charged for Nov and Dec 2006 when there was no phone line but had solved the problem later after 4+ calls (added up to more than 2 hours) and got the credit to my account. And I was told it was for internet service because I did not call to cancel.
I called to cancel my service effective on Jan 1, 2008 and then noticed that I was charged for Jan 1 to Feb 1 2008 again! I found one similar case here from another review.
When I called to cancel my service, billing department told me that they would delete my credit card so I would not be charged again since I have paid up to Jan 1, 2008.
If you could take a look at the account and have your billing department to credit that back to my credit account, that will be great. It is more frustrating that I am still being charged for service after cancellation!
I am going to IM you my user name. | |
| | | |
ocd
@cainetworks.com
| Sonic.net 's Internet service is the best. But its billing department seems running by one slow acting girl, who does not respond quickly, and its charge is confusing in the past.
Sonic's Internet services' reliability and the best technical support worth every penny. Its accounting department needs to learn from its technical support department, or get replaced. | |
| | | |
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Review by juha_teuvonn
UPDATED: 2 years ago
member for 6.8 years, 39 visits, last login: 26 days ago
San Carlos,San Mateo,CA
$60 per month (12 month contract)
about 365 days
AT&T
"When your service is up, the speed is ok"
"The customer service could be more responsive"
"AT&T sucks, if they are your telco, you are screwed regardless of your ISP"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
|
I moved to San Carlos in September and ordered a phone line from AT&T and DSL from Sonic. For some reason AT&T decided to cancel my order without even attempting to talk to me. I get a DSL disconnection notice from Sonic (blah blah blah, we can not provide DSL if there is no phone line). I call AT&T, it takes them a day to find the old order, they are not sure why they cancelled it. They say that the service will be up in 5 days. This is not acceptable, I escalate to their manager, after 2 hours on the phone they finally commit to having it re-established by 8 pm on October 1st. They had to give me a new phone number. At least AT&T finally admitted that they screwed up and did something to mitigate that.
UPDATE: They said that they were going to do that, but they lied. They restored the phone service, but not the DSL. They refused to expedite my request for restoring DSL. Basically they said "We screwed up, disconnected your service by mistake, and we won't restore it unitl the 6th". They suck.
Now I am calling the guys at Sonic, giving them the new phone number and now they are giving me the "service will be up in a week". I am telling them everything that AT&T told me. Makes no difference. Clearly they don't care. The service will be up in 3-4 business days, and that's it. No way to expedite, escalate, whatever.
UPDATE:
Sonic worked with AT&T to get my service restored. AT&T lied to me when they promised me the service by the 1st - it never happened. Then they promised it by the 6th. Once I got Sonic involved I had my service restored by the October 2nd.
Followup comments:
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| AT&T phone line I'm sorry you've suffered this outage as a result of losing your AT&T phone line. I'm afraid we're at the mercy of their systems on this - there must be a phone line in order for an independent ISP to provide DSL service. If the phone line goes away, so does the DSL.
For this reason, we email every new customer about the importance of keeping their phone line active, as sometimes people don't realize the dependence, or fail to pay their phone bill, or disconnect it thinking the DSL will continue.
Sonic.net competes with AT&T/Yahoo, and in this case, AT&T (the phone company, not the ISP) has put you in a really bad situation. I find it frustratingly ironic that you've given us a bad review as a result of THEIR failing, and that now you seem headed over to AT&T/Yahoo as a result.
Why would you punish us for their failure - THEN switch TO them as a customer when they've caused this problem for you? It doesn't seem quite logical.
-Dane | |
| |
Biggite
@cebridge.net
| Re: AT&T phone line said by DaneJasper :I find it frustratingly ironic that you've given us a bad review as a result of THEIR failing, and that now you seem headed over to AT&T/Yahoo as a result. Why would you punish us for their failure - THEN switch TO them as a customer when they've caused this problem for you? It doesn't seem quite logical. -Dane I thought the guy paid Sonic.net ETF for the service he have never had! Am I missing something, or perhaps don't undertand the situation well? No body will like paying ETF for the service never received. This is something out of his control, and AT&T admits it that it is their faults. If I were Juha, I wouldn't pay the ETF. If all fails, I sue both AT&T and Sonic to get the ETF back. Either AT&T reimburse for the damage or Sonic to give the ETF back, I don't care, and have the Judge decides it. | |
| | |
DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| Re: AT&T phone line said by Biggite :said by DaneJasper :I find it frustratingly ironic that you've given us a bad review as a result of THEIR failing, and that now you seem headed over to AT&T/Yahoo as a result. Why would you punish us for their failure - THEN switch TO them as a customer when they've caused this problem for you? It doesn't seem quite logical. -Dane I thought the guy paid Sonic.net ETF for the service he have never had! Am I missing something, or perhaps don't undertand the situation well? No body will like paying ETF for the service never received. This is something out of his control, and AT&T admits it that it is their faults. If I were Juha, I wouldn't pay the ETF. If all fails, I sue both AT&T and Sonic to get the ETF back. Either AT&T reimburse for the damage or Sonic to give the ETF back, I don't care, and have the Judge decides it. As I understand it, it did have service for some time before his phone line was disconnected. The phone line being disconnected of course caused the DSL to go away as well, triggering an ETF. That wouldn't be applicable obviously if service was never delivered.
-Dane | |
| | |
Biggite
@cebridge.net
| I am sorry Big Dane...Juha, the OP, canceled simply because he can't wait. I agree with you that Sonic should not be penalized simply because he demanded special treatment due to AT&T's fault. If I were Sonic, I would try to speed up the process as a customer service. But, if Sonic can't do it, it shouldn't be penalized. | |
|
bobrk
You kids get offa my lawn
Premium
join:2000-02-02
San Jose, CA
·SONIC.NET
| 1.5 rating and the guy never even got service? Why does Sonic get a 1.5 rating for stuff that's outside their control? The guy was never connected to Sonic, so he has no idea how good or bad their service is. I would discount this review unless you think you are entitled to better service than any other normal people would get, in which case, you will never be satisfied.
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Iraq Coalition Deaths | bobrk | |
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Review by (hidden by request)
Posted: 2.1 years ago
(review was emailed from domain ctg.com)
Chico,Butte,CA
Contract price not specified.
"Outstanding tech support uptime and customer services"
"Having to deal with SBC"
"Great value for your money and they go the extra mile"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I have been a Sonic customer since 1998, first with Dial up and then
with DSL while living in Sonoma County. When I moved to Chico almost
two years ago I kept my email account as I saw Sonic was growing and
after talking to sales staff I learned that plans were in the works to
expand to the Chico area. During the time I had service from Sonic in
Sonoma County I experienced nothing but outstanding treatment, superb
support whenever there was an issue (usually a configuration on MY
end) and stellar uptime. The equipment never failed and as a person who
works from a home office my uptime is paramount.
Recently I had my fill of poor service from ATT (SBC) and experienced
yet another equipment failure and sub par support. I opted to take the
opportunity to move back to Sonic. The issues continued with ATT but
now I had Sonic on my side and yet again their team proved how
fantastic they are. I have actually dealt with so many of their support
staff I
am sure I am going to miss someone. John, Kim, Tristan, Brennan are
names
that I remembered to write down. Each was EXEMPLARY in their efforts
to resolve my issues, go to bat for me with ATT and COMPLETELY trouble
shoot the issues which of note, were never on Sonic's end. I am sure I
am missing someone as over the last two weeks I have talked to so many
folks at Sonic. This evening, Tristan took it in for the final push and
I am
writing this from my connection to sonic.net!! Tristan walked me
through some imaginative troubleshooting which had me out at the
telephone box with modem and flashlight in hand!! Each and every
person I dealt with at Sonic, from the sales team to what I am sure is
every
person in their support team by now, was courteous, friendly, went the
extra mile on EVERY phone call, remembered me when I had to call in
numerous times and also patient with my wife is is certainly not
technically savvy.
This is why I am an extremely loyal customer and I take every
opportunity to recommend Sonic to everyone I come in contact with.
Aside from being a stellar provider of Internet services Sonic must
be a great place to work because everyone is so professional, courteous
and
happy to serve your customers. I work in the IT industry and know how
challenging customers can be and how difficult support can be. Without
exception their team is the cream of the crop and should be soundly
commended as I know without a doubt my experience was not atypical.
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Review by jasonaiken
UPDATED: 2.1 years ago
member for 3.2 years, 3 visits, last login: 2.1 years ago
Agoura Hills,Los Angeles,CA
$62 per month (month by month)
about 3 days
AT&T
"Great connection that never goes down. Very little wait if you call."
"After 1 year intro price of $20.09, the price jumped to $62.09"
"Great DSL, but don't forget to call them after 1 year."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Love them, but I have to leave them.
I had a great year with SONIC. The connection was always on.
1.5mbps-3.0mbps Download / 384kbps-512kbps Upload
It always tested 1.5mbs, or slightly faster.
But now the price has jumped to $62.09.
ISPs like to hike the rates after the 1 year intro price, but Sonic hikes them more than most.
I now have 2 options:
Switch to another providers introductory rate (linkline) - $21.95 (I guess this would be a total of $24.09)
Commit to another year with Sonic - $32.09
Notice that if I was a new Sonic customer the price w/ 1year commitment would be $25.09
I don't want to pay $96- for the convenience of not having to switch DSL provider.
I am leaning toward LinkLine because they give you the price for month 13+ right on the price page. It is $34.95 (I guess this is a total of $37.09).
»www.linkline.com/internet_servic···_dsl.php
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Review by ben76
Posted: 2.2 years ago
member for 2.2 years, 4 visits, last login: 2.1 years ago
Fremont,Alameda,CA
$13 per month (12 month contract)
"cheap while in contract, reliable"
"lousy billing, overcharged at termination, very high renewal"
"they don't make it worthwhile to stick around after the contract's over"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
The main sticking point for this bad review was an obvious overcharge on my last bill after the termination of my services. I made the mistake of terminating 3 days before the end of the one year contract. Termination was made on 9/18, and my actual contract ended at 9/21 However, this was due to misinformation on their website. The information under member tools had always stated 9/14 as the start date of my 1 year contract, so I thought I was safe canceling on the 18th. Here were items off my last bill:
Description Unit Price Total
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Credit DSL - Prorated Express Residential 36.15cr 36.15cr
510XXXXXXX from 2007-09-18 to 2007-10-10
Credit DSL - Prorated FUSF 510XXXXXXX from 0.81cr 0.81cr
2007-09-18 to 2007-10-10
Charge DSL - Early Termination Fee 1.29 1.29
2007-09-18
Charge DSL - Prorated Intro Pricing 3.70 3.70
510XXXXXXX from 2007-09-18 to 2007-09-21
So a termination fee for an early cancel, whatever, just $1.29. That I could forgive, although I got it wrong only because of their obfuscating billing that told me my contract started on the 14th. I can't log in any more to prove it.
What wasn't right to me was the $3.70 charge they also charged for service to the end of the contract. I thought it was probably a mistake, since you can't both charge a termination fee and also force a customer to pay the remaining contract. You could reasonably do one or the other, but not both. By the way, when I canceled, they never warned me I was canceling within my contract and that I was going to get charged for this.
I sent a quick email back explaining the overcharge. However, after sending 3 other replies with customer service, they reiterated the early termination, which I was ready to let it slide despite that they had caused the confusion that led to it, but the service rep kept on ignoring my question about the $3.70 charge for the 3 days that I had no service.
The amount is not big, but I'm just annoyed by how they handled this. They were nice when I signed up, and they clearly didn't care about me when I canceled, and they seemed happy to stick you up for the last penny they could squeeze out of you where ever they could find reason to do so. New customers aware. Be careful when you sign on and remember exactly your starting date. Fortunately I was only off for 3 days, or it could be worse for you.
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