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 squinty4567
join:2003-02-23
Chicago, IL
|  Westband not ready for Midwest
I can't recommend Westband for anyone in IL. They might be much better on the East Coast | |
|  | westband
join:2002-06-19
Canonsburg, PA
| Re: Westband not ready for Midwest Information on this account was looked up in our records, as indicated, there was a delay in client recieving his replacement modem. This was due to a processing error on Covad's part, apparently modem was shipped to an address in Kentucky by mistake. There was one other problem noted that had to do with DirecTV being somewhat slow to relase DSL Circuits and since ADSL uses line sharing we cannot turn up a client on DSL until their previous vendor releases service.
Customer's statements above were correct with the following omissions/exaggerations:
* Several calls were made to customer to resolve this issue quickly and were either not returned or returned several days later.
* Customer was not threatned, just informed that there was a 1 year service agreement. Our information from Covad at the time indicated that the line was active. Once we realized that Covad had incorrectly shipped the modem we did not lock the customer to the term agreement (Which is clearly marked both on our website and on our DSL Reports listing).
We are sorry that this customer had a bad experience with our company, but rest assured, we are quite capable of turning up clients regardless of their location. | |
| spiralOut5
Premium
join:2002-09-05
Redmond, WA
| Great Connection, Unacceptable Customer Service My experience with Westband (in State College, PA) was a mixed bag. I had 786/786 SDSL through them for 9 months, and as far as I can tell my connection never went below the advertised speed in either direction. Which is most impressive.
However, the customer service was/is atrocious. I've dealt with a lot of utilities in my life, and they were - hands down - the worst. I requested additional IP's four times over the course of a month and each time I was told "no problem, right away." By the time I cancelled service 3 months later, I still hadn't received the additional IP’s.
Canceling was another headache because I was unexpectedly charged for an additional month. I happened to be out of town for the weekend and was not paying attention to my account balance, and the $99 direct withdrawal was enough to rack me up $120 in additional bank fees thanks to some other recurring fees that I expected to have money in my account to pay for. When I complained, I was directed to the Westband terms of service and told that I needed to give them 5 days notice before the end of my billing cycle in order to avoid an extra month's charge. I had called to schedule cancellation a few weeks earlier and I was told that I couldn't do it over the phone and that I'd have to email billing@westband.net when I wanted to cancel. Of course there was no mention of any 5-day notice period. The impression I got that was that the email would cause my service to be cancelled immediately, so I waited until I was about to move out to send it. The cancellation email I sent had no visible effect - I got no confirmation whatsoever. However, I thought nothing of it since I had followed the directions exactly. Later, after I had been charged and accrued the bank fees, I called back. I spoke with THE SAME representative and he then told me of the 5-day period, said the email had slipped through the cracks, and cancelled my account while I waited on the line. So I miraculously CAN cancel by phone now?! I felt like I had been lied to. Because I HAD been lied to!
And this leads me to the most frustrating thing about Westband. Everything is...vague. I never signed any sort of agreement, I never got a bill (direct withdrawal was the only option given to me - although I started receiving billing emails a few months after my service started when I requested them), and their web site had no information about canceling, requesting additional services, or much else for that matter. Except for the 7-page, fine print terms of service, of course. I called probably 15 times over the course of 9 months, and more often than not I spoke with an answering machine. My calls were returned zero times.
My experience with Westband can be summed up by a quote on the main page of their web site: "You will NEVER hold more than 60 seconds to speak with a representative." I called many times and either connected to a rep right away or was handed off to an answering machine. So their quote is technically true - but only because their phone system doesn't have the ability to put people on hold. Slimy. | |
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