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Review by Landin_CH 
UPDATED: 1.6 years ago
member for 6.8 years, 841 visits, last login: a few minutes ago
 Fredericksburg,Spotsylvania,VA
 $25 per month
 Cavalier
 "Fastest broadband ISP in my area ... bar none."
 "Takes long time to get ahold of Tech Support or Help Desk"
 "Faster than other DSL or even cable providers ... glad I have it."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Didn't have too many HSI choices. CavTel.Net advertises speeds up to fifteen megs (»www.cavtel.com/forhome/web_highspeed.php) but I actually get 4-6 megs most times. [SpeakEasy: Download Speed: 5098 kbps (637.3 KB/sec transfer rate) Upload Speed: 615 kbps (76.9 KB/sec transfer rate) History at »/testhistory/765541/b9503 and »/archive/cavte···zip=224] CavTel.Net has some packet losses en route, but can't get them to take a look at the IPs I give them as problematic hops. Doesn't affect my surfing or downloading, seems like. My CO/DCO is 7500 feet away so I should be getting more like 6-8 megs, according to some ... although Verizon tech is amazed at my 4-6 megs "since I'm not on FIOS." Anyway, besides a few line cuts by contractors or construction crews, have been up the vast majority of the time. Average pings inside CavTel.Net seems to be under 50ms compared to external times. (Don't pretend to understand their routing, though; hop selections just plain weird.) Ordered service via their web site and got the self-install kit with intro letter about a week later. I connected their Paradyne ADSL modem to my phone line, connected a spare computer and spare phone to the modem, and just waited. The modem sync'ed one overnight and I was online. After a week or so without going down, I cancelled Adelphia.Net by returning their cable modem. Recently, I switched to a Zoom ADSL modem I bought myself but it did not improve my line speeds much, although it can do wireless access and just has more options. Can't say much about their help desk/tech support, though. Long wait times, both dial-in and on-line. Best to first try everything yourself. If you need lineman to come to your house, most times local telco tech or contractor will show up - not CavTel. Bottom line is that I'm happy with what I have since »Company entry - Cavalier Telephone cites 256-960K - and the modem was included free of charge. Package cost: $68.73 - unlimited phone service (24.95), ADSL (25.00), fees and taxes.
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Update: CavTel download speed claim scaled down to "up to 8 megs" on their web, but didn't change my speeds any. Guess too many people couldn't get up that high ... Still glad I have it, though.
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Review by FireFerum
Posted: 1.8 years ago
member for 5.2 years, 8 visits, last login: 200 days ago
Lawrenceville,Gwinnett,GA
$29 per month
Cavalier
"Low price"
"Horrible Customer Service"
"Stay Away! It is not worth any low price!"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
|
I ordered Cavalier business telephone last year. It took them approximately 1 month to get service to my shop. After missing the written and confirmed scheduled Sept. 12, 2007 installation, they got service to my shop on Sept 14. I also got DSL service with them. The first two weeks of service, the DSL was horrible. After numerous calls to tech support, they finally got the line working correctly. However, I am only reviewing the telephone part here.
On October 29, 2007 after finalizing the internet problems, I asked them to port over my main phone number to their company in place of the standard assigned one. They told me it would take 30 days for the port.
On November 31 they told me they lost my request so I had to refax it. I re-faxed it. In December I called back to check on the status to make sure they received my fax. They said it went to another location to resend it. I have so far resent the fax over 7 times. Each time there is a lie telling me that they didn't get it. I even asked them to fax the application to me so I could double check the application to make sure it is the right one. They said they would fax it in half an hour. The next day I called to tell them I didn't receive any fax. They told me my line was busy but I had given them an internet based fax line so it cannot be busy. Then they told me there must have been a problem on their part. They resent the fax the next day. After sending them the fax yet once again with the authorization to port, I was supposed to get a call back from a supervisor or someone in charge. That did not happen.
In the first weeks of January, 2008 we started calling to see what happened. The result was that the fax was... lost once again. Requesting supervisor does not work. They will not call you back. We were promised a due date of January 25. Called on January 25, and guess what... the fax was once again "lost." Re-faxed to Marcus. He actually got a supervisor, Kristina to call us back on Monday, January 28 2008. Surprisingly, when she called, she used the wrong phone number that we wanted ported. She told us that the fax said a 3 in place of a 9. That's funny, considering I am looking at all the faxes and they are all 9's not 3's and all are computer typed just to avoid such mistakes.
Kristina tells us that we needed to submit the information on a company letterhead and guess what... re-fax it. The catch is that she is supposed to fax us a bunch of documentation. It's the end of the day, 4:45PM and we called. Cavalier Customer Service closes at 5PM but she's already out. Did we get a fax? NO!
So, we talked to someone else who was there... and they e-mailed a supervisor or so they told us. We'll wait until tomorrow to see if after 4 months, we can port over a phone number.
Bottom line, Cavalier is not worth the cheap price of telephone. They will lie to the customer when they make a mistake, they will not fix the mistakes, and they will just ignore any attempt to have issues fixed. They also do not take responsibility for any of their mistakes. STAY AWAY! This is the best advice. Read the other comments about this company and don't even bother with them. The service and support is absolutely horrendous.
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Review by wayne8888
UPDATED: 1.8 years ago
member for 4.1 years, 1282 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Baltimore,Baltimore City,MD
$40 per month
 about 13 days
Cavalier
"DSL Speed Getting 9mbps down and 800-900kbps up with dry-loop DSL"
"Service was but much better in 2007 than in 2005"
"Much faster than Verizon's pokey 2.8 mbps at 5000 feet; my dry loop dsl from Cavtel gives 7mbps/800kbps in prime time."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
This is my second tour with Cavalier. The first time I had traditional landline plus DSL. This time I have I have "naked" DSL and VOIP with Phonom. The first time I left Cavtel because the speeds suffered a Cable-like drop off during early evening hours. I decided to give them another chance and I'm glad I did at least as of today. I am getting between 5 and 6 mbps downstream (depending on speed test) and between 800 and 900 kbps upstream. I got these speeds even during early evening hours. This is a far cry from the up to 10mbps downstream that they mention but I am about 5000 feet away from the central office so I'm happy. I still have the $52.95 "8mbps" tier from Comcast but I rarely get much more than 5-7mbps from cable during peak usage time. Cavalier's upstream speeds beat Comcast's by a bit too (over 800kbps vs 680-700kbps). My Phonom (VOIP) service is slated to begin on the 5th but if it is good, I will switch over from Vonage. I will not drop Comcast just yet though. Cavalier's customer service is still as clueless as it was the first time around. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. I will give Cavtel DSL a month to see if it stays as good as day 1. I'm not impressed with the coordination between the Phonom side and the Cavalier side
Update: My Phonom service was not up on the expected start date. After spending a lot of time with DSL Tech support (because the Phonom support team does not work on weekends) the second tech accessed information showing that my DVC (digital voice converter) was encoded with a different static IP address than my DSL had. Which prevented me from ever getting a dialtone. This was the 4th and final goof-up by Cavalier/Phonom. I asked myself, why should I eventually pay $10 (after one year) more for month for Cavalier's inferior service than I pay for Vonage. So until Verizon FIOS arrives in Baltimore MD, I will stick with Comcast for HSI and Vonage for VOIP. If Cavalier (A.K.A. the Hooterville phone company) ever gets their act together, I would consider joining them a 3rd time..
Update October 2007
Well since Comcast is offering Blast service all around us but not in Baltimore City (because FIOS is all around us in Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Howard counties but not in Baltimore City) and FIOS maybe 2 year away inside the city limits (different local government than the county so franchise agreement in B'more county but not in B'more city). I decided to give Cavalier one more chance. This time with dry-loop (no dial tone) DSL which costs $42.00 (including $2 in fees) per month. Order went through Wednesday waiting for yet another modem (I have a modem depot at home) that they insist on sending. If they can keep a steady peak time speed of at least 5 mbps/800kbps, I will drop Comcast probably not rejoin them (when they get around to offering Blast service of 16mbps/1mbps.....since FIOS will be here by that time). My Comcast HSI of 8mbps/768 (more like 720kbps) costs me $63.72 after bundling in their cheapest TV plan ($9.66 plus fees that I don't use). Will update when service starts. Fingers are crossed!!
Wayne
It has been a bit shaky. Mainly because Cavalier mistakenly provisioned line 2 instead of line 1 in my house which is why I did not get DSL sync on line one. On the bright side the tech support team seems to be far better than in 2005 and have much more of a clue than the folks at Verizon DSL. On the super bright side, I am pulling speeds of 5.5 -7.5 mbps in prime time and up to 9mbps at the fastest. Uploads seem to be near 800 kbps. I think I will drop Comcast after all!
Wayne
Update November 19th. I was so happy with Cavalier speeds that I called to cancel Comcast HSI. I told them that I was paying $41.95 for Dry-loop DSL and the Comcast lady said that she would match that for one year. So I am now paying $41.70 for the $63.72 Comcast (it was $52.95 for speed tier of Comcast plus $9.65 for limited basic TV bundled in plus tax). What a dilemma.....I can't ignore a $22 discount for the high speed Comcast tier. But I don't want to cancel Cavalier either.
Wayne
December 1st 2007
Still happy with Cavalier standalone DSL [URL=http://www.speedtest.net][IMG]»www.speedtest.net/result/207894480.png
»www.speedtest.net/result/207947157.png
Getting near to above 9 mbps down and 800-900kbps uploads from 5000 feet from the CO. Cavalier is willing to drop the cost by $5.00 per month to $34.95 per month. I wanted them to drop it to $25 and I would keep both Comcast and Cavtel as ISPs. I will decide at the end of the month if I will keep both or drop one. It will be hard to drop Comcast after they dropped the price so drastically and is even faster than Cavtel.
Wayne
December 16,
Still trying to decide whether to stick with Cavtel or to stick with Comcast. Still getting speeds like this from Cavalier.
»/im/41947974/32544.png But even faster from Comcast (20-29mbps down and 1700kbps up with Comcast, but may be due to Powerboost rather than Blast). I guess one more month won't hurt having both. I have one Directv HR-20 connected to Comcast network and the other connected to Cavalier. Now that I can download videos on demand to the HD DVRs (HR-20s), maybe I should go with which ever one has no download limit (not Comcast) before I even consider going near their invisible bandwidth usage caps.
Wayne
Wayne
1/25/08
Speeds have dropped suddenly. from 9-10mbps to 2 mbps and uploads speed have fallen from 850-900 kbps to 600kbps. Dropping Cavtel might be easy to do after all if this continues.
1/27/08
Finally dumped Cavalier.......will stay with Comcast. After not being able to get back to the speeds that I had continuously for nearly 3 months, even after working with a very cooperative tech support (who tweaked my settings to no avail....who knows might be fault of Verizon lines). I will stick with Cable until FIOS gets to town (by then Docsis 3.0 might keep me with Comcast....who knows).
Wayne
Followup comments:  Lenagainster
join:2005-01-07
Silver Spring, MD
 ·VoicePulse
 ·DIRECTV
·magicjack.com
| drop Cavtel Read some of the horror stories about Cavtel. (Comcast has 'em as well, I'd bet.) Consider how much trouble it is to get away from Cavtel when you want to cancel. I'd suggest you take the Comcast offer for a year, maybe two, and hope that FiOS is available by then. | |
| | wayne8888
join:2005-10-16
Baltimore, MD
 ·XOHM WiMAX
 ·Cavalier Telephone
| Re: drop Cavtel I hear you.......I have cancelled Cavalier 2 times in 2005 alone. The first time due to slow night-time DSL (which has been remedied ...maybe due to network improvements needed for IPTV) and I cancelled the second time when they messed up my Phonom (VOIP with which I never got dialtone). Interestingly enough, I suddenly started getting Phonom bills (and collection threats) in 2007 like a year and a half after cancelling. It took 2 phone calls (using my Viatalk VOIP conection LOL) to straighten that out. You're right..... with upstream and downstream power boost now and hopefully blast service soon for less than $42 from Comcast, I can't drop them. I will have to drop Cavtel (even with 7mbps down and 800-900 kbps up) unless they give me this dry-loop DSL for like $25/month. Then I might keep both while waiting for FIOS or for Docsis 3.0 from Comcast.....hmmmmm.
Wayne | |
| 
Coreng
| Avoid Cavalier AT All Cost I had Cavalier for a little less than a month and only had a working internet connection for 4 hours the whole time and I also had problems with my phone line. It took almost 3 weeks just to get rid of them because of a freeze they put on your line and don't notify their customers of. I found this out after calling AT&T to see why I hadn't been switched yet. Continuous calls and hours on hold to customer care did nothing. Never got a straight answer from anyone or any follow ups with repair tickets. After finally switching back to AT&T it took me filing a complaint with the Michigan Public Service Commission to get them to stop billing for their shitty service and close my account. I would never use Cavalier again even if I was offered a years service for free. | |
| | wayne8888
join:2005-10-16
Baltimore, MD
·XOHM WiMAX
·Cavalier Telephone
| Re: Avoid Cavalier AT All Cost I have heard about those horror stories. I'm sure that they have numerous complaints filed. I have been able to quit two times since 2005 without problems. Ironically, this time I am happy with the speed and service but may have to cancel them because Comcast matched the price.
Wayne | |
| | | wayne8888
join:2005-10-16
Baltimore, MD
·XOHM WiMAX
·Cavalier Telephone
| Re: Decisions, decisions, decisions Hi......Actually, my problems with Cavalier started in in 2005 during two periods, at that time I found their peak time DSL speeds to fall off dramatically (this was early 2005). I dropped them and went to Verizon DSL (April 2005) and then to Comcast HSI in May. Later, while still with Comcast, I tried Phonom (Cavtel's VOIP ). I never even got a dial tone (amounted to standalone DSL with high off peak speeds but still relatively slow peak usage time download speeds). I dropped them again (late 2005). My ratings were very low at that time. They actually tried to charge me for undelivered Phonom service ( more than a year and a half later LOL). I increased my ratings based on my November 2007 experience with standalone DSL service. I have no doubt that others have problems with Cavalier (been there twice). My ratings are for my current experience with them. I find that their tech support is head and shoulders above the clueless folks at Verizon. I have been lucky enough not to have to deal with their less than stellar Customer Service this time around. I have not dropped them yet but I probably will in January if they don't drop my standalone DSL price to $25-$30 (mainly due to the speed, the free McAfee products and the SSL features from Comcast that allow you to use email clients like outlook, outlook express etc to send email no matter which ISP you are connected to at that moment). Cavalier is a much better value for me than Verizon DSL (being more than 3 times faster than V*) but Comcast is a better value than either for me (especially after they lowered my price to $41.70 per month for the fastest speed tier).
Wayne | |
| | wayne8888
join:2005-10-16
Baltimore, MD
·XOHM WiMAX
·Cavalier Telephone
| Hi......Actually, my problems with Cavalier started in in 2005 during two periods, at that time I found their peak time DSL speeds to fall off dramatically (this was early 2005). I dropped them and went to Verizon DSL (April 2005) and then to Comcast HSI in May. Later, while still with Comcast, I tried Phonom (Cavtel's VOIP ). I never even got a dial tone (amounted to standalone DSL with high off peak speeds but still relatively slow peak usage time download speeds). I dropped them again (late 2005). My ratings were very low at that time. They actually tried to charge me for undelivered Phonom service ( more than a year and a half later LOL). I increased my ratings based on my November 2007 experience with standalone DSL service. I have no doubt that others have problems with Cavalier (been there twice). My ratings are for my current experience with them. I find that their tech support is head and shoulders above the clueless folks at Verizon. I have been lucky enough not to have to deal with their less than stellar Customer Service this time around. I have not dropped them yet but I probably will in January if they don't drop my standalone DSL price to $25-$30 (mainly due to the speed, the free McAfee products and the SSL features from Comcast that allow you to use email clients like outlook, outlook express etc to send email no matter which ISP you are connected to at that moment). Cavalier is a much better value for me than Verizon DSL (being more than 3 times faster than V*) but Comcast is a better value than either for me (especially after they lowered my price to $41.70 per month for the fastest speed tier). I a am a few hundred feet from FIOS territory. As far a I know, there has been no negotiation between Verizon and the city of Baltimore to bring FIOS to the city. So I look across the nearby city/county line with envy!
Wayne | |
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 Review by Mellow
UPDATED: 1.8 years ago
member for 8 years, 2274 visits, last login: 2 days ago
Salisbury,Wicomico,MD
$199 per month (12 month contract)
about 90 days
Verizon
"Dependable Business Connection"
"Fearing anything goes down and having to call tech support"
"Slightly overpriced but very good service"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Update 9/8/03
2003-09-08 15:06:05 EST: 707 / 618
Your download speed : 707159 bps, or 707 kbps.
A 86.3 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 618939 bps, or 618 kbps.
Speeds are slowing down and packet loss from the CO to the dsl gateway has been in the 5-20 percent range for the past few months. I have been told they are working on it and it should be fixed. Overall its still halfway good service with good uptimes. I moved the tech support up one to 3 because of them sending a tech onsite to see the problems we were having firsthand. And I have moved them down from 4 to 3 for overall value due to the network problems I have been experiencing. Also they dropped the price by $100 bux since the last time. Reason the value didnt get put down to 2.
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I have had Cavalier's adsl for close to a year now. Within that year time period we have had maybe 3 outages lasting from an hour to 6 hours. When calling to ask why the line was down all the techs can do is give generic answers like we have network problems. My worst fear with this line is that something breaks between here and the CO and verizon has to be called in to fix it. Verizon goes out of their way to not fix problems with cavalier's problem tickets. As you can see from my 90+ day waiting time from order to getting dsl timeframe. Half was cavaliers fault for not putting in the line order and half was verzion for taking their sweet time comming out and running the new line. My rep just called me the other day to notify me that cavalier is running a special on T1's and for $200 more a month I can have one with local loop incl. Not bad $500/month for a T1 but one thing I dislike about cavalier is that they are IP stingy. They only give you 1 ip and the rest you have to pay sorely for. I cant imagine how much they want for a class c ip block. Below is my speed test for this 1.1/1.1 mbit sdsl line.
2003-01-10 10:22:20 EST: 814 / 810
Your download speed : 814630 bps, or 814 kbps.
A 99.4 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 810701 bps, or 810 kbps.
That was from wdc.speakeasy.net. Not to shabby for the slower lower eastern shore.
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1/22/2008
Cavalier service has been canceled. It is the same deal as I stated before, the service works great as long as it is up and running, the problem starts when you have to contact them to get something fixed. They blame Verizon, Verizon blames them.. And you the customer have to sort it all out and get it fixed, Cavalier could really care less if it gets fixed or not.
Followup comments: Lenagainster
join:2005-01-07
Silver Spring, MD
·VoicePulse
·DIRECTV
·magicjack.com
| Right on! Mellow said on 1/22/2008
"Cavalier service has been canceled. It is the same deal as I stated before, the service works great as long as it is up and running, the problem starts when you have to contact them to get something fixed. They blame Verizon, Verizon blames them.. And you the customer have to sort it all out and get it fixed, Cavalier could really care less if it gets fixed or not. "
Amen to that. No one could have stated it better. | |
| |
Former Cavtech
@verizon.net
| Re: Right on! said by Lenagainster :Mellow said on 1/22/2008 "Cavalier service has been canceled. It is the same deal as I stated before, the service works great as long as it is up and running, the problem starts when you have to contact them to get something fixed. They blame Verizon, Verizon blames them.. And you the customer have to sort it all out and get it fixed, Cavalier could really care less if it gets fixed or not. " Amen to that. No one could have stated it better. I am a former Cavalier Technician. As you may or may not have realized, all of the telephone lines in your state are owned by Verizon. Infact, all the telephone lines in the United States are owned by one of two companies -- Verizon or ATT (or a subsiderariy of ATT such as Bell South).
Because of that, any company who is not ATT or Verizon is not legally allowed to work on any equipment (telephone lines, pedistals, etc.).
So, before you complain -- stop and ask yourself -- is the problem really with Cavalier or the people who own the lines.
Dont know how to tell? Take your modem to the telephone box (called the Nid or Dmarc) on the back of your house.
If you have a 6 foot phone cord, plugged into the spot on your modem that says "Line", and plug it directly into the phone box on the outside of your house -- you should get a status light.
If you dont get a solid status light outside -- then it's Verizon or ATT's fault.
If you get a solid status light outside but not inside, than its the inside wiring of your house. Get your inside wiring fixed.
If you get a solid status light inside and outside -- than it could be a cavalier problem..but quite honesty, most of my calls are user error such as:
-I am using a 300 foot phone cord trying to get DSL
-I dont have the dsl phone line going directly into a phone jack
-I have my phone line plugged into phone instead of line on the modem
-I have a windows 98 machine
-I have a macintosh that i dont know how to use but I expect tech support to teach me how to use a mac
-I didnt enter in my static IP address
-My computer is full of viruses
-My network card is bad
Quite honestly, I took about 80 calls a day.
I only set up dispatch on maybe 5 calls a day.
Because 90% of the time, its not cavtel's fault.
90% of the time, it is colossal user error.
And the worst part about it is, most users are too dumb to know its their fault so they think its cavtels fault when really... the problem exists between the keyboard and chair. | |
| | | Lenagainster
join:2005-01-07
Silver Spring, MD
·VoicePulse
·DIRECTV
·magicjack.com
| Re: Right on! You can't gloss over the fact that Cavtel folks think nothing of interrupting one's phone service for days at a time while they make changes to one's service. I was without phone service for 48 hours when Cavtel attempted to up my DSL speed. They restored it in five minutes after I told them to get my phone working or I would cancel.
You can't defend all the complaints on this forum against Cavtel relative to other services. Cavtel just sucks and it's not just me saying it. My neighbor, my daughter and my son all had Cavtel and they all had horrible, horrible problems with them.
Your description of your experience with Cavtel customers is typical of what's wrong with Cavtel itself. Cavtel thinks customers are stupid and it shows in their "don't give a damn" attitude. Cavtel is a sinking ship and it won't be long before it goes under, because of the idiots who work for Cavtel and fail to realize the importance of customer service and reliability. | |
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Review by tcj103
UPDATED: 1.8 years ago
member for 1.8 years, 7 visits, last login: 1.6 years ago
Media,Delaware,PA
$64 per month
Cavalier
"Static IP address included in basic package"
"Still has to use Verizon's wires"
"Not a bad price for local phone+DSL"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I switched to Cavalier a few years ago, mainly so I didn't have to pay Verizon for poor service related to fixing the wiring down the street. Every time it rains, followed by a big temperature swing, the static on the phone line makes it almost unusable, and it affects DSL speeds as well.
So every time I'd call Verizon with the problem, I get the usual "did you unplug all phones, check this, check that..." to which I reply yes, then they say the next available agent will be out in 3 days. By then, the weather clears, they say no problem found.
So I switched to Cavalier, knowing that nothing would change, except that I wouldn't be paying Verizon for noisy wires.
An unexpected surprise was a static IP address, which allowed me to use a home-based web-cam, so I can look at my driveway when I'm away.
In the past, Cavaliers customer support has been excellent; they have called within hours of logging a tech-support request, and they've been helpful and knowledgeable. However they seem to be slipping in that department recently; when I asked a question about switching over to FIOS, and if I needed to take any action with them, I got a reply by email, basically saying "we don't know", without any other follow up or instructions on who to talk to.
Update: 1/13/08: Still no phone, spotty DSL service; today I call the "24/7"repair line, and give up after 30 minutes waiting on hold; elevator music loop needs to be longer. I also tried getting on their chat site, through my tethered cell phone connection, and after 20 minutes, I'm still waiting for two people. I give up.
I had been planning on switching over to Cavalier VOIP service, but after this customer non-support experience, will shop around. It was their's to lose, which they pretty much have.
Followup comments: Lenagainster
join:2005-01-07
Silver Spring, MD
·VoicePulse
·DIRECTV
·magicjack.com
| Run, don't walk, away from Cavhell Oh Lord!, are you in for a mess if you want to leave Cavhell for FiOS and take your number with you. You see, you can't port your number from Cavhell if you have DSL on the line, and it takes about a month from the time you tell Cavhell to cancel your DSL until they actually do it. If you are considering the Verizon triple play, just get a new phone number and when it is installed, cancel Cavhell completely. If you are not interested in TV from Verizon, get FiOS Internet, cancel your DSL as soon as FiOS is installed, try a VoIP (I highly recommend VoicePulse if available in your area) and if satisfied with VoIP, then cancel your landline with Cavhell. If you must keep your landline number, make the port from Cavhell to VoIP or Verizon a month or so after FiOS is installed and you are sure DSL is off your landline. (You will know DSL is being taken off the line by Cavhell when your phone service goes down for several days.)
My son, my daughter, a neighbor and I all ported from Cavhell to FiOS and it was a nightmare for all of us. Thank God we had cell phones for backup. | |
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 Review by semick
UPDATED: 1.8 years ago
member for 7.5 years, 135 visits, last login: 300 days ago
Cleveland,Cuyahoga,OH
$70 per month
about 29 days
Cavalier
"Price, 2-3X faster DSL than AT&T"
"Long Customer Service Queue times, poor service in Ohio"
"be prepared to fight to get your money's worth"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
|
despite the advertising in Ohio you will not get:
Remote call forwarding
Anonymous Call Rejection
Call Blocking
No Call waiting caller Id
No voicemail notification on your phone (only the stutter dial tone)
No documentation on web site for Ohio customers
7-3-07
I think I'm the first Ohio customer to post a review on here.
Our family has been using AT&T POTS and DSL and paying between 80-90 a month with caller Id, and call waiting. I really wanted the anonymous call rejection and all the other included calling features including voicemail. I was quoted dsl download speeds of 1,000 - 8,000 kbps and being about 7,000-8,000 feet from the C.O I am hopeful of better speed.
I'm currently getting 1239 / 323 (Kbps) from dslreports speed test. The Cavtel bill is supposed to be
HI-SPEED INTERNET with Unlimited Long Distance Calling, just $49.90
+ "Tax" (didn't ask about USF but I will). I think it is supposed to be about 67$.
I will post the total price on the first bill when I get it. I was told it would take about 13 days.
The cable company here in Euclid, Ohio was Adelphia, now time warner and that costs about 80 a month and would be about 120-130 I believe for cable + internet + phone.
if cavtel doesn't work out I will go to roadrunner I think.
Scott Emick
Euclid, Ohio
8-1-07
I noticed I couldn't connect to google today on at&t dsl. I picked up the phone and dialed a few wrong numbers, got a different voice on the error messages. I'm assuming cavtel finally is in! I swapped out my at&t DSL modem for the Zhone modem they sent me, plugging my 4 port wireless router into that. 30 seconds later, I am up and running again.
My first flash speed test I got 1308/477. So I have an improvement in my up speed from at&t, that is good. But I am not seeing the DSL2 speeds yet. I will remain hopeful at this point.
8-3-07
My speeds are now averaging 1200-1300 down and 600 up. Calling features are not yet working like *77, *72, *60 etc. Calling customer service average wait time is 20 minutes. I called dial tone repair and they said the switch was working, sent me to customer care (who had originally sent me to dial tone repair).
I am going to keep calling them until they get my calling features working. Also I cannot click on any of the broadband tv content on their website, it tells me I am unauthorized.
I didn't have incoming calls for the first 2 days either. There was a porting problem from AT&T. At least basic phone service is working and voicemail as well.
8-5-07
Peak speeds on DSL 1600-1700 down and 788 up now. Average is about 1.5 down and 600 up. Customer service and dial tone repair are clueless how to fix my *77, *72, and *60. These services simply do not function. Repair just asks me if I need instructions on how to use them (duh, no). And customer support cannot remove and reassign the calling services because my "order is in progress". I wonder how many days/months/years my order will be in progress. A simple matter of turning on some flags in a switch to allow me to use anonymous call blocking, call blocking, and call forwarding for Cavtel is a monumental task. In my last email to them, I simply told them to please just clip on to the damn line and test the services yourself. I have been using enhanced calling features like these for 20+ years now and don't need instructions. I am a bit disappointed in the ADSL2 speeds, but eventually I will test from the network interface and if the speeds are better, then I will run new wiring to the modem. I have given up calling customer service for now, the hold times are ludicrous.
8-13-07
Calling features (other than call waiting, three way calling, and voicemail) remain disabled. I believe that Cavalier even had AT&T come out and switch the wire pair I'm on from the C.O. to here which removed a bit of a hum but didn't do too much to improve speed I am hovering around 1.9 down and 600 up or so.
I would really like my calling features. I cannot understand why these do not work. I thought that was basic software that came with the switch. I also don't understand how Cavalier can close out trouble tickets without clipping on to my line and test if the features work, or ask me to do it. As of today, I am going to start including a link to this review and remind Cavalier that they are *spotlighted* in Broadband Reports web site.
8-14-07
Today like many days I call into customer service and she cannot find the account after I waited 45 minutes on hold. Then she hangs up on me. I cannot bear to wait in queue today again so I fire off another email asking When are my &*^% services going to work? I think I need to put in a PUC complaint and file an AG complaint to get someone there to actually help me.
8-18-07
Well it has been 4 days and several complaints later. They have established a new trouble ticket and have fixed absolutely nothing. I don't get any status updates or feedback other than "we're working on it". Yeah, and I am working on winning the lottery every day too and getting hit by lightening. In case I didn't mention it, here in Cleveland this is what I am experiencing:
working:
voicemail
call waiting
three way calling
call return (*69)
Speed Dialing (*74)
not working:
voicemail notification on phone
caller id w/call waiting
Call blocking (*60)
Anonymous Call Rejection (*77) - this one is very important, one of the reasons I switched to Cavtel
Call Forwarding (*72)
8-20-07
DSL has been down since yesterday at 2PM. Luckily I have unlimited data plan on my Alltel phone and a USB cable. I could not get through to customer service on the phone during the day, but woke up at 3am and was able to get through. Apparently they have some issue on their network because my modem connects to the DSLAM ok, but I cannot ping anything. 12 Hours down so far, I will see how long this goes on.
5AM
I couldn't sleep so I decided to change my wan port on the router to static ip and fill in the DNS. So the tech guy was wrong, the network seemed fine except maybe their DHCP server was down. But at least my internet is working again.
8-28-07
Well after 4-5 more customer service calls and about 10 emails to Cavalier, nothing has changed. The switch here in Cleveland is still not programmed for call forwarding, Call Block, Anonymous Call Rejection, Call waiting caller id (I just think they don't offer this one). I always get different answers each time and never any resolutions. The only thing that keeps me on with them is the faster DSL speed that I am getting over AT&T. I am consistently getting almost 3.0 mbps down and 700 kbps up. They screwed up my first bill and charged me the 34.95 + 25.00 for the DSL instead of 49.90, so I had to call and get a 10.05 credit. Also I was charged 2.00 for a Data Service Recovery Charge. I am not sure what this is but I will enquire.
9-21-07
I now have all my calling features except Anonymous Call Rejection, Call Blocking, and there also is no Call Waiting Caller ID or Voicemail Notification (other than the stutter dial tone). One of the original reasons I switched to Cavtel was for the Anonymous Call Rejection and this remains a sore point with me. Customer service queue times are still terrible and no IPTV yet here in Cleveland. My bill is incorrect each month, I have to call and get a credit every month because they aren't giving me the package rate. Instead I am being billed seperately for phone and DSL. My down rate remains consistant at around 3 mbps which is a great improvement over AT&T (I am 8,000 feet from the C.O.). My up rate is consistant at about 700 kbps. My overall phone bill is about the same as AT&T so I have really gained nothing for all the heartache except a little DSL speed. I did run into one friendly customer service agent who credited me for almost an entire month's bill though after he heard my story. Becuase of that, I have actually realized savings over AT&T although not the way I had envisioned doing so.
10-12-07
I just wanted to say that lately it seems like I am getting through to customer service quicker and they are handling things a little better. I have to call each month to get a 10 dollar credit because I am on the 49.90 plan and am being charged 10 dollars too much. This is because the billing software has a problem with recurring credits I am told. Beware that you can get into an infinite loop with the automatic voice response system when it asks you what your billing issues are. This could be the reason for the decreased hold times, all the customers are simply caught in that infinite loop! You have to keep hitting 0 at the right times, talking at the thing doesn't seem to help.
12-15-07
Cavalier is finally billing me correctly! It is amazing...Now I am just waiting for the IPTV in Cleveland along with anon call rejection, call block, call waiting caller id, remote call forwarding, and anything else they feel like throwing in.
Followup comments: kam1su2
join:2003-08-05
Cleveland, OH
| Cava-who?? I just moved to Ohio. I'm in East Cleveland where broadband doesn't really exist.. its more of a myth. I had a chance to go with ATT but i decided at the price I would give Cavalier a try.. so far I have had nothing but trouble. I mean huge troubles.. to much to go into details with lets just say it took 3 weeks before my DSL & my phone was actually working up 2 par... now that my DSL is on... i just pray that it stays on and doesn't randomly disconnects like its doing every 10 minutes. Can you stay extremely annoying. if i had to rate this service so far i give them a 3 out of 10... till they prove otherwise. Going to move to the West side where they have time Warner and such.. so much better over there. | |
| | Cronec216
join:2006-03-25
Cleveland, OH | Re: Cava-who?? Wow, thanks for the info. I was going to switch to them because of the 10mb dsl. I currently get my full 6016 bandwith (about 635k sec download). I'm only 1200 ft from a switching station, but don't think I'll take the chance. | |
| | |
semick
join:2002-05-12
Cleveland, OH | Re: Cava-who?? What DSL provider is that with? I don't think I can get much better here because of the line quality. I may have to replace my own internal wiring in this old house.
Scott | |
| | | | mac4geek
join:2005-08-03
Richmond, VA
| Re: Cava-who?? When Cavtel first arrived in Virginia, I was impressed with them, signed up to test DSL when it was available, talked my clients into switching, and for awhile, they were such an improvement over Bell-Atlantic that I heard no complaints. It wasn't long before all of that changed, however, and now I warn my clients to get away from "The Cave" as soon as they can. To read about my long struggle to get service restored after a storm, and then to get my account closed after that never happened, please see the Cavtel Saga:
»www.gnomesane.org/taxonomy/term/1
Entries are in reverse order chronologically. | |
| | | | Cronec216
join:2006-03-25
Cleveland, OH | That connection is with AT&T (sbc/yahoo/ameritech whatever). I really have no complaints with service. Again, I am very close to a switch. | |
|
Jzion12345
@cavtel.net
| Cavalier Sucks A$$ Well, I too switched to Cavalier phone service 2 years ago. I was with the Neighborhood by MCI, and that was expensive. Cavalier was cheaper, and provided me all the serviced I desired. I knew I would have to give up a little something to get a cheaper price, but I never imagined that I'd have to give up what I have. I got DSL from them about half a year ago to save money. It took me 3 weeks to get DSL working, even after I got the modem in the mail.
Then, Verizon acted on an old work order, and shut off my line on a Thursday. NO dialtone or DSL. WTF? How could Verizon be so stupid to close off a line of a customer that was not one of their's and hasn't been one for 5 years? WOuldn't Cavalier do something first? Plus, you'd think that Cavalier would be, "Oh...Crap. Let's get that fixed right away." No...Well, I correct myself...The first customer service person I talked to was actually repair at about midnight. He found out what the problem was and told me that it would be fixed within a few hours or by the next day. I was very happy with this response. When it wasn't working the next day, I called them up and got, "Oh...well, the work order went through today, so it should be back up by Monday." I was pissed, but I understood Monday. When it wasn't back by TUESDAY, I called again, and got someone who said, "OK...Well, it could be back by tomorrow, but I don't really want to give you a definite day. At the most, it will take 5 business days." So, 5 business days is Thursday. No dialtone on Thursday. Finally we got DSL and dialtone on Friday. THEN...On Saturday, it was gone again, but DSL was still working, but at a slower speed. I called customer service, pissed, and trying to switch to Verizon, and got, "Well, the work order won't be finalized until Thursday." I said, "OK, so what do I have to do to cancel service? I need to cancel DSL to switch over to Verizon." She said, "Well, once the work order is finalized on Thusday, you can call up and cancel." I said, "But, I have DSL now. I don't want you to finish that work order. I don't want your service. You mean I have to wait until you fix something I don't want from you anymore before I can cancel it?" She said, "I can't do anything until the work order is finalized." I said, "Can't you cancel the work order?" She said, "No. I'm trying to tell you what you have to do."
Well...I never expected to get customer service this poor. Each person said something different, and every time I called I was given a different date of completion. Cavalier sucks, and I'm going back wqith Verizon. | |
|
jnorth
@comcast.net
| Cav help. It took me a while to figure out Cavs phone system. Dont bother pushing 0, because your just waisting your time. If you get billing issues say something like: my bill is higher than promised, or why is my bill so high, or Im being billed for services that I dont have. Cav loves there automated voice system, and for us it directs us to who we need to speak to. Also a good response from us is, "I have a new credit request," and that should get you to who you need to speak with. I found nothing with hitting 0. Good luck to you, I've had nothing but success with cavtel and have no plans in switching. | |
|
gemini6844
@wideopenwest.com
| Cavalier is the worst phone company ever I had no choice since Cavalier bought the phone company I was with. Then I moved and switched business phone companies. I left Cavalier on August 28, 2007 and they are still billing me to this present day for service I do not have and they will not correct the bill. Every customer service rep says they will correct it but they do not. Every time I call I am on hold for at least 45 minutes and nothing gets resolved. I believe only an attorney can get this corrected. DO NOT SIGN UP WITH CAVALIER. YOU WILL DREAD THE DAY YOU DID. I DO. | |
|
No dial tone
@faa.gov
| Poor customer service We've lost our dial tone a number of times in the last month. Cavtel repair did not fix it despite repeated requests. Now our dial tone is out over 48 hours and they say the problem is with the line and they dispatched a verizon tech to fix it.
Re DSL cavtel advertises up to 10 MB download, we get only 1 MB. They said they don't have the higher speed equipment at the switching station we are connected to. This is dishonest advertising. I am thinking about switching back to Verizon, but they have a lot of gimmicks their marketing and pricing also. | |
| |
semick
join:2002-05-12
Cleveland, OH
 ·RoadRunner Cable
·Cavalier Telephone
| Re: Poor customer service I agree - for all they advertise I only get about 2/3 of the services but since I am getting 3 mbps down and about 600 kbps up and my only alternative here is Time Warner (gag) and no U-verse or Fios what am I gonna do....Most of the time my internet works well and I don't think I'm sharing my connection with anyone locally...since I don't know of any other Cavtel customers in Euclid, Ohio! | |
| | | |
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Review by freed42
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 1.9 years, 7 visits, last login: 1.3 years ago
Newark,New Castle,DE
$42 per month (12 month contract)
about 29 days
Cavalier
"Good value"
"Spotty customer service and followup"
"Very much worth checking out but might require patience"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Cavalier states up front that new VOIP and DSL service is established within 15-20 business days, and it basically delivered for us. Speeds seem to be in line with what is reported on this site, i.e., notably better than, say, Verizon's 768/128, which we had previously on Verizon's annual plan.
Cavtel certainly has customer support problems, but then again, very few firms are immune from these problems. As others have observed, some Cavtel employees need better training. While most of the people we dealt with seemed a bit clueless, Cavtel certainly has some clueful employees. We dealt with three--a field tech, a DSL CSR supervisor, and a customer care rep.
For now, we think Cavtel is a better value than Verizon and (especially) Comcast. We suspect that if Cavtel could automate more things involving support and provide better, more in depth documentation, it would be a smoother ride for its customers as well as Cavtel itself. But that is a problem that Cavtel management is paid to figure out.
In short, if you are prepared to wait, Cavtel is very much worth checking out.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Cavalier Telephone |
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Review by jgissendaner
Posted: 2 years ago
member for 2 years, 1 visits, last login: 2 years ago
Richmond,Henrico,VA
Contract price not specified.
Cavalier
"The services and savings you get with Cavalier are great!"
"If you want to save money switch to cavalier!"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
I Have Cavalier Telephone and high speed internet service and I love it! The quality of my phone service is great and my internet speed is really fast! The best part though is the savings that I am getting with Cavalier. I would definitely refer Cavalier to anyone that likes to save money!
Followup comments:
Doobs
@comcast.net | You are Pathetic! It's so blatantly clear you work for Cavalier. How you have any dignity or self respect by recommending them is un-unimaginable. | |
|
coreng
| Cavalier Sucks! Cavalier's service is so bad even their employees refuse their service and it's offered to them for free. | |
|
i hate cavalier
@cablespeed.com
| Cavalier has the worst support I've ever experienced I would just like to warn anyone reading this page away from ever considering cavalier internet for any kind of service. I work as a consultant and have been forced to deal with these people due to a customer of mine choosing the cheapest service he could find.
Cavalier proves the old adage true that you get what you pay for.
Their support staff are not properly trained, and after talking to 5 or 6 of them have found them all ill informed of their products and services, rude and unable to listen to instructions. Their technical services people are separated from actually talking to any customer by a thick layer of retards, and this causes monumental chances for complete fuckups that can and do happen due to improper translation by an uneducated phone worker.
BEWARE. | |
|
Mike Massey
@cox.net
| Cavalier Slamming and Billing These guys change my plan without notification when they bought TalkAmerica from 5 cents a minute to there most expensive unlimited plan! They billed my credit card for months before I caught it. Then after I switched to ATT long distance services they continued to bill my account for two months until I called the credit card company to unauthorize the diredt billing. What a bunch of SCUM rip off artists!!!!! | |
| |
Nefaron
@rr.com
| Re: Cavalier Slamming and Billing O please, If you had the Talk America 5 cent rate that means you signed up between 1999-2001 which is when they offered that. That also means, here is were your ignorance comes into play, that you elected to have online billing. Which means all of your bills went to your online account to be viewed, monthly.Any company's number one way to communicate with their customers is through their method of billing, which is the monthly form of communication.
I swear, whenever i read billing issues it is always the lazy consumer that claims they were "scammed". If you read the fucking bills they sent you which had your notices of increases in them you could have said to yourself " O, that is not gonna work for me anymore " and shopped around for another carrier. But apparently you are someone who doesn't even read their fucking paper credit card statement but every few months so how can we honestly feel you would extend the small fucking effort to actually read your online statement. Who doesn't read their bills? I can probably guess that your credit card company will be the next company to "scam" you because they didn't notify you of a change ... | |
| | | |
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Review by Phillygal
Posted: 2 years ago
member for 2 years, 0 visits, last login: 2 years ago
Richmond,Henrico,VA
$79 per month
about 15 days
Cavalier
"Great value for the money- fastest internet connection in town, and great channel linep"
"none yet- keeping my fingers crossed!"
"Up-and-coming company- I'm hoping it gets even better"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
I was going to go with Comcast, but Cavalier is a local company and my husband and I like to support local businesses. I've heard the horror stories, but luckily so far none of them have been true for us. We have TV, internet and phone, and they all work well. The guys who came to install our services were awesome, and they were fast too- everything was set up in 2 hours- and they even went into our crawlspace to install some of the lines! Overall, so far this company has been great.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Cavalier Telephone |
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Review by Lenagainster
UPDATED: 2 years ago
member for 4.8 years, 1414 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Silver Spring,Montgomery,MD
$68 per month
about 113 days
Cavalier
"Nothing good to say about Cavtel"
"Absolutely the worst company I have ever delt with"
"Stay away!"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
Update 11/2/07
I finally feel a sense of relief. I had recommended Cavtel to three others shortly after I first signed up with Cavtel and before all hell broke loose. Every one of us eventually had nightmarish problems with Cavtel and one by one, we were able to break the stranglehold that Cavtel had on our personal phone number and go elsewhere. The last of those three finally broke free today. I beg any readers who are considering Cavtel to study as many reviews of this company as possible, and read the Cavtel forum. The complaints are overwhelming.
Original review:
I had finally escaped from the grips of Cavtel (they had my phone number and I wanted to port it out) and thought I would go away quietly. But yesterday, our neighborhood was saturated with an ad in the mail for "blazing fast DSL for only $14.95 per month.." from Cavtel. I am hoping that anyone considering this company will carefully weigh this and other reviews, and save themselves a lot of grief.
The ad claims "up to 10 mbps". That means if the CO is next door, you might get that speed. The consensus on the Cavtel user forum is that if you get 3 mbps, you are lucky. Note that the $14.95 is for the first six months, then $25 per month thereafter, with a $99 early termination fee (months 2 to 12) in spite of the ad's claim of "No binding contracts". (Cavtel may claim that the "no binding contracts" refers to their phone service, but their phone service is required for DSL, so canceling their phone service would require you to cancel your DSL and face the ETF). I wanted to point out these little tidbits of dishonesty from Cavtel, because dishonesty pervades everything they do and say.
I had signed up with Cavtel a couple of years ago when 750 kbps DSL was the norm, before Verizon began offering their 700 kbps DSL for $14.95. It was a good deal at the time. In order to stay competitive, Cavtel began offering it's "blazing fast DSL, up to 10 mbps" for the same $25/month that I was paying for 750 kbps DSL. I requested to be upgraded, but was told I would have to fork over $80 for a new modem, something they were giving free to new customers. I balked, and signed up with Verizon. Before the order was completed, I called Cavtel back, told them I was switching, but said I would stay if I could be upgraded and get the modem for free. They agreed. That was at the end of November, 2005.
Nothing happened for weeks. Then I noticed that Cavtel lowered my DSL by $10 per month. Without any communication from Cavtel, I figured they were unable to upgrade my speed, so they reduced my bill. I was content. Then, towards the end of March, 2006, I lost my phone service completely and without warning. I called, was told by customer service that my DSL was being upgraded, and my phone service would be restored "in a couple of hours". After 30 hours without a dial tone, I threatened to quit, and Cavtel found a way to restore my dial tone in less than five minutes.
The following day, a Saturday, I learned that my new modem had not been sent out yet, and I would be without Internet service for at least a week. I had been using online banking, billpaying and ebills, and was concerned about missing payments. I was fed up with a company that doesn't communicate with their customers and thinks nothing of cutting off one's phone service at their whim for an indeterminate amount of time. So I signed up with Verizon FiOS (which was installed ten days later). I told Cavtel to cancel my DSL and they would not, as they claimed they could not stop an order in progress. I told them not to send me the new DSL modem, I wouldnt be using it. They sent it anyway, five days later. To this day, it sits unopened, waiting for Cavtel to demand it back.
I wanted to port my phone number, which we had for over 40 years, back to Verizon. But one cannot port a number if DSL is on the line. After a week to make sure the DSL installation was finished, I called Cavtel and requested that the DSL be removed from my line. It would take 15 to 20 business days to process that order. Unbelieveable!
A month passes and one day I notice that my dial tone is gone for four hours. No communication from Cavtel, but they must be doing something with my line. I call Verizon, select a plan and told that the switch would be made in 8 business days. As promised, the switch was made by Verizon and I wasn't without a dial tone for more than five minutes. I got an immediate call from a Verizon technician to confirm that I had been switched. My voicemail was working within an hour or so. The next day, my answering machine had a welcome message from Verizon, something unheard of with Cavtel.
It is great to be free from the worst experience I've ever had with a service company.
On the BBR Cavtel user forum, I have read about a lot of the problems that experienced users have faced. The technical jargon and acronyms they use are beyond me, and it is quite obvious that the installation and set up of this "10 mbps DSL" is not plug and play. This is definitely a company not to consider if you are not a computer whiz. And considering the pace at which technology is speeding up, isn't DSL pushing the limit at "10 mbps"? Where will you go for higher speed? If you are willing to give up your phone number, you could cancel immediately. But if you want to port your number back from Cavtel, it will take a month or more. Save yourself a lot of grief.
Followup comments:
cavalier not4 me
@cavtel.net | cavalier services bundle plan this is the worst company:poor c service,slow or now internet,every day a problem with modem,TV!crap or shit.
cavalier sucks sucks sucks,they should not be in town. | |
|
PleaseHoldFor
@comcast.net
| Not worth the time Thinking of signing up for Cavalier Telephone service. Before doing so, think of the following - 6 months of service, 6 incorrect bills, 8 phone calls to customer service, 10 hours 46 minutes total hold time, 55 minutes average hold time, 1000 assurances that the problem has been taken care of, 1 problem corrected (and that was when I cancelled service.) AT&T may cost $5 - $10 a month more, but at least I can talk to someone in a short amount of time. | |
|
Relieved
@aol.com
| Cavalier is by far one of the worst !   I have not had one positive experience with Cavalier since signing the agreement. The installation date was moved several times and delayed for a month. The sales agent said it would be no problem to cancel within 1 year but the contract said 3 years. Customer service does not care and will put us on hold for 10-20 minutes at a time. We were constantly transferred to the wrong department. All in All Cavalier is a very dishonest and unorganized business. They should be shut down by the FCC or whoever has authority over such companies. I cancelled the service and I feel relieved. My Worst Nightmare will be only a dream at last. | |
|
Jnorth
@comcast.net
| Cavtel Rocks! I was swithed from TalkAmerica to Cavtel some time back. I didnt realize that my phone bill went up about $15 a month. When I called I was on hold on some automated system for about 10 minutes. All I said was my phone bill was higher than promised, and I was instantly transfered to a customer service rep that not only lowered my bill back to the origanal price, but credited for the months back that I was overcharged. Also, I did not receive a welcome kit, but I alerted them of that and received it within 3 days. I am still very impressed with Cavtel---Much better than Verizon. | |
| | Lenagainster
join:2005-01-07
Silver Spring, MD
·VoicePulse
·DIRECTV
·magicjack.com
1 edit | Re: Cavtel Rocks! In spite of being initially overcharged, having to wait 10 minutes to get through to customer service, and having to call back for your 'welcome kit', it is enlightening that Cavtel has at least one satisfied (for the time being) customer. You will probably be content as long as you don't change anything. The trouble starts when Cavtel people get involved. | |
|
coreng
| Cavalier Sucks! cavalier is the absolute worst worst worst company I have dealt with. I had their service for less than one month and had nothing but problems. I called less than a week after I had their service to switch back to at&t but that took almost three weeks to happen because of the freeze they put on your phone line and then I had problems getting them to finally release it. So I was trapped with the worst service you can possibly imagine. The entire time I was with them I did not have internet service but maybe 4 hours. Yes that it right four hours in one month. After countless calls with tech support and customer care which I would be put on hold for an average of a half an hour I would get a different answer each time or they would subcontract a technician from at&t to fix my problem the next day. They don't even have technicians from their company in my area so they would hire at&t workers to do their job. Not only that they also rent out at&t lines. Finally to top all of this off cavalier just sent me a bill and they are still charging me for service they are no longer providing to me. At&t took over my phone line on October 25 and cavalier is still trying to charge me for the month of November. I am so disgusted with cavalier I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and next I plan to visit my local police station because what they are doing to me has to be illegal. If anyone is considering to switch to cavalier DON'T DO IT. I would not switch back to them if they a year's service for free!!!! By the way it was my husband not me who decided to switch to cavalier when I warned him not to. Now we have switched back to AT&T and are perfectly happy. Their representatives are knowledgeable and helpful and get things done. I highly recommend AT&T and will never switch again. | |
| |
Glad2bgone
@bellsouth.net
| Re: Cavalier Sucks! FYI....Until yesterday I worked for Cavalier and I totally agree with you. The company can't seem to get together for their customers which made selling the products and services next to impossible. By the way...they are alying people off and closing markets as we speak so the "customer experience" as they call it will surely be effected. | |
| | | telcomsucks
join:2007-11-08
| Re: Cavalier Sucks! you are right. i currently work ar Cavtel and they have everything back words. One thing i hate is the layoffs. You work all day and then hey your laid off. what is that? circuits are getting scheduled and nothing has been provisioned for the customer. i am worried about the future. since merging a yr a go, our 401k is still held up with the other privider. how long does it take to roll over. other markets have. i think most people that i know, which is a good % of the staff wishes they get laid off. the only good thing coming out of this company is the severance. anyone hiring out there? | |
| |
coreng
| Update:
It has been about 3 weeks since I got rid of Cavalier and they are still trying to bill me for November. At this point it is almost comical. They are now saying that At&t has to call and notify them that they have taken over my line. So I called At&t and their representative said Cavalier was notified when they requested my number and got a due date for service change but, he gave me a reference number to give Cavalier referring to the service change. I then called Cavalier again and not only spoke with their ignorant representative but their ignorant supervisor also. I informed both these morons with what At&t told me but they still insisted that At&t had to call and notify them of the service change. I also gave them the reference number that At&t had given me and they told me that they would put it in their system and send it to right department to handle this but if the numbers and dates did not match up with their system then there was a problem with the port and I would lose my dial tone. WHAT!!! Mind you I have already gotten a bill from At&t and even called the Michigan public service enforcement commission to handle my complaint and they told me that I was At&T's responsibility and not to worry about losing my dial tone. What gets me is that Cavalier rents out At&T's lines. At some point you would think that there would one competent person there that could figure this out and close out my account. All I can say is that Cavalier better sue me and take me to court where I will gladly explain myself to a judge if they want their $35 of past due charges. | |
|
wake up folks
@comcast.net
|  Has been better but could be worse
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coreng
| Re: Has been better but could be worse I have looked at reviews on this website and also with the better business bureau for cavalier and AT&T and all I can say is that I wish I would have done that before I decided to switch to cavalier. On the bbb website cavalier's branch from Palm Harbor, Fl. has had 166 complaints in the last 36 months. This may seem like a low volume of complaints but take this into consideration. AT&T's branch from San Antonio, Texas has had 1,026 complaints in the last 36 months but this company has a satisfactory record with the bbb meaning it has properly addressed manners referred by the bbb. Cavalier whom is a smaller company which is why they would have less complaints is not addressed by the bbb as having a satisfactory record and the reviews on this website are more than half negative reviews. So like I said i wish I would have read some reviews and avoided all the wasted time, money, and grief this company has cost me. I had so many issues with this company and I had their service for less than a month. I expect to have a few quirks to work out when switching companies but no internet service and a phone line not working properly the entire time with no repairs followed through is not what I bargained for. I did get one phone call from them on my cellphone saying my dsl ticket had been repaired 25 days after having their service and this was also the day AT&T had taken over my line. My headache with cavalier is still not over. I have had to contact my local public service enforcement commission because they are still trying to bill for their service after I switched back to AT&T. | |
| |
SoBad
@delios.com
| I agree that there can be bad experiences with all companies. Here's my experience with CavTel: I am a technology consultant who has been in the IT world for seven years and have dealt with at least eight different ISPs over that time. I was called in to help with a brand new client who has been trying to work with Cavalier for two years and seven months to get their Internet connection stable. This client has four 1.5Mbps T1 lines coming into the building. The longest period of time they've had stable service since signing up with Cavalier has been three weeks. The longest I've been able to see a connection has been 20 minutes. I called last Thursday and requested to be able to bypass two of the Cavalier-provided routers because they are not providing DHCP addresses. I was hoping that putting them into bridged mode might show some improvement. Customer service said they would test the lines and have an engineer call me back, which they did that evening. He said the lines were clean and that the routers they provided have DHCP turned on - in essence he said it's not their problem. The engineer told me that assigning one of our static addresses to the internal router and bypassing their equipment was an ordering issue and I would have to call back the next morning. I asked him to keep the ticket for the incident open and he said he would not do this because it was an ordering issue and that he'd already closed the ticket. I called back the next morning (Friday, 11/09/07) and waited for 81 minutes listening to a recording tell me the calls were being answered in the order received. To test this, I called on a second phone (leaving the original one connected) and I had a representative pick up within two minutes. The other line remained on hold while I was talking with customer service. The lady I spoke with gave me a ticket number, took my cell number and told me I'd be called back. I told her I could be contacted anytime day or night. I never received a call back. I called them again at 2:00 PM today (Tuesday, 11/13/07) and waited 12 minutes before having the call picked up. I was told that they had this issue documented by the ticket number I'd given them, but this was not an ordering issue and was transferred to Internet repair. I waited about 3 minutes before they picked up. The guy I talked to said he only dealt with DSL and cable and that he'd need to transfer me to the people that handle their T1 lines. I waited about two minutes before this call was picked up. The guy who answered said they only handle the East Coast area and that he'd have to transfer me to the people who handle the Midwest. He transferred me, I heard the on-hold music for about 20 seconds and was then cut off. So, I went to their website and chose to use their Internet Repair chat. I started the chat at 2:30 PM and saw that I had two people ahead of me. At about 3:10 PM the message changed to state there is one person ahead of me. It is now 4:12 PM and I am still seeing the screen telling me there is one person ahead of me. This is by far the absolute worst service I've ever seen from any ISP. I am now betting that I could remain connected to the chat and see that I have one person ahead of me tomorrow morning. The client I'm trying to help is locked into a contract with them until March, but I'm working with them to try to break this. Over the two years and seven months, the client has document 142 service calls she has placed with Cavalier. She estimates this is only half of the calls she's actually made for service to them. I don't know about everyone else, but this seems extremely poor to me. | |
| | |
SoBad
@delios.com
| Re: Has been better but could be worse Update:
I left the chat session open, but left the building at 5:00 PM. I returned this morning to find that somebody actuall did pick up the chat session. Here's the transcript of the entire session:
Logged in
There are 2 people ahead of you.
There is 1 person ahead of you.
Please wait for the next available representative to help you.
Please wait for the next available representative to help you.
You are next in line.
Travis has joined the chat
Hello
The number you should call is 877-283-3982
Travis has left.
Error: socket closed
Connection closed.
So, it took at least 2.5 hours before somebody picked up, but most likely much longer. Furthermore, the number he gave me was not a number given by any other representatives. I'm calling the number right now (7:29 AM, 11/14/07).
I got right through to a human within a minute. He's starting a trouble ticket for me and I'm being told I will be called back. We'll see. Call ended at 8:04 AM, and I was told it's most likely an ordering issue again because they're showing my client doesn't have any static addresses assigned to them, despite the belief that they'd paid for five when signing up with Cavalier (which I'll try to verify). | |
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SoBad
@delios.com
| Re: Has been better but could be worse Update:
I was told I'd be called back by 10:00 AM by Cavalier. I did not get called back, so I called again at 10:19 AM. I got right through to the same person who was working with me earlier this morning. He seems like he's really trying to help and I appreciate that, but it's not looking like he's having much luck dealing with their own internal processes. He put me on hold while attempting to contact the other people who need to be involved to get this resolved. I was on hold for 30 minutes before somebody else picked up and answered that they were with DSL repair. They had to transfer me over to the T1 people, who picked up immediately. I had to explain again what I was looking for and the lady who answered said they should have called me back within two hours of the initial report (which they had recorded as 7:46 AM). She has now escalated the request. I verified they have my cell number in the ticket and she said I should be called back soon. Again, we'll see. So now I'm wondering... just exactly how do people could think this could get much worse? I suppose the people on the phones could be rude, which they haven't been so far. So that must be the silver lining, I suppose. | |
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SoBad
@delios.com
| Re: Has been better but could be worse Update:
I received a call back from a T1 engineer at 11:58 AM. When we were talking, she mentioned that she sees one of our T1 circuits is actually down. While we were on the phone, she said there are now two T1 circuits that are actually down. She is going to work on getting these circuits back up and will call me back. It's now at the point where it's comical. It's lucky for my client that I'm not billing for my time wasted with Cavalier, as we'd have just passed the one thousand dollar mark with no forward movement on this issue. | |
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SoBad
@delios.com
| Re: Has been better but could be worse Final update:
We never actually got this issue resolved. We've spoken with a technician on-site and a sales representative who both told us to go with a different service provider because there's nothing they can do to get the answers we're all looking for within the company. I will be glad when the client has new service in place from a different ISP. The good news from all of this is we've been told they won't come after my client for breaking out of the contract early. | |
|
BobbyD
@comcast.net | All the claims of how bad they treat you is for real The frusration I've experienced with Cavalier is beyond desciption. How a company can conduct themselves like this is beyonf belief. TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THEY SUCK!!! I FEEL SORRY FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE TRAPPED BY THEM | |
| | abrody
join:2000-07-20
Silver Spring, MD
·RCN CABLE
 ·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
| Re: All the claims of how bad they treat you is for real I had my few months with Cavalier Telephone, and I was glad to get rid of them. Worse yet, when I removed service I was without phone service for 4 days. Initially advertised as 962 kbps SDSL and started out to be that, turned into a 384 SDSL. Glad it was only month to month. | |
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| Forums » comments on review of Cavalier Telephone |
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Re: Cavalier C2 Bundle
I'm using Zoom ADSL X6 modem, right past NID. Wireless throughout the house and garden and hard-wired PCs near router. Speeds still consistently 4-6 megs, spiking intermittently highter when running consecutive speed tests. My oldest is playing online games with very little loss and pings (normally) less than 50ns to his servers, 1 or 2ns to CavTel.Net gateway. Still quite happy with CavTel connectivty.
Understand others may have issues but I have not run into any (... yet?) and CS has been responsive to my chats and calls when I needed something. BTW, when I take the system down for something or another, router connects and is ready to go within a minute to two. (Takes me longer to go online with my AT&T G3 system while on the road and generally running up to 3.6megs on G3 GSM but costs $60/month.)
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