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DawsonvilleG
join:2010-08-01
Dawsonville, GA

1 recommendation

DawsonvilleG

Member

How to fight to get what you are paying for

All,
Let me first say it is unfortunate someone has to spend their free time typing up a post like this. Just as it is unfortunate others have to spend their free time reading this. That said, if you are here, you are here for one reason only. You are not getting the speeds you are paying for from Windstream. That said, this post is just tips on what I have learned in my struggle. Some of the tips are items I have learned from others in the forum. Therefore, I do not take all the credit. I am very grateful to all the others who helped me and shared with me.

This post is information only and contains no guarantee. If you use any of the information in this post and do not get an expected result, you are on your own. This is not my job. Im trying to keep my job by getting myself fixed. I guarantee nothing as a result of what you do with this post. In fact, things could get worse for you. If so, I am not responsible. That said, lets proceed...

Document
-------------------
This is the most important thing I have learned in this struggle. On a consistent basis, you need to document your speeds during periods of slowness. Make sure you take screenshots of your speed tests. Some of the more common speed test sites are:
»www.speedtest.net/
»speakeasy.net/speedtest/
»testmy.net/ - You can do averages over time without Java with this one.
»speedtest.windstream.net/

You also need to document all of your communication with Windstream.

A suggestion is document those in your posts so that you have a good timeline.

Create your own post in the DSLReports Windstream forum
---------------------------------------------------------
Go here: »Windstream.
Personally, I recommend using your city and state in the name of the post.
Make sure you document how much speed you are paying for versus what your latest speed test is showing. You dont have to do it all the time. You get the point.

Making Contact with Windstream
--------------------------------------------------
Support
Always get the name of the person you spoke with
Never settle for We are working on it type responses. Ask them what specifically they are working on. Even if you dont understand it, ask what they plan to do and document that.
If you are not happy with the response, demand to speak with a supervisor. Dont forget to document who that person is as well.
You cannot do nothing. You need to show good faith. So if you are just starting out, work with them. Let support help you. You might get lucky!
Demand a proper (mathematically correct) refund for your loss in speed.

Local office
Though it may not be possible, I suggest you stop by your local WS office. If you can, make sure the potential customers in the room hear you asking about getting what you are paying for. If they suggest using support, show them a few pages of your documentation and say you have been working with support and they cannot fix it. Chances are, he/she will be more inclined to help you if they see a potential customer listening to you. You might get lucky. The manager of the store might be so fed up, he/she may give you additional detail about your area you did not know.
Dont forget to demand credit/refund for not getting the speed you are paying for.

Executives
So nothing has worked so far and you are now ready to contact WS upper management. Just remember, he/she may not be technical. And he/she will most likely not respond to you. Chances are, you will get forwarded to Executive Customer Relations. If so, make sure he/she understands you will send another letter to all the executives if you feel he/she from the Executive Customer Relations Team is just trying to shut you up. And that my friend, is usually the object of his/her conversation with you. Just because you have made it higher up the chain does not mean you are any closer to getting fixed. These folks will also make you promises and give you dates as to when you will be fixed. Get all the details. Ask specifics like: What day of what month will I be fixed for good? Do I need to say document all this? By now you should be mad enough that you will not have a problem documenting. Also tell him/her that everything you are doing and everything they are saying/promising is being documented for all to read on DSLReports. Tell them is he/she misses a date with you, you will contact them the very next day and you will post that for all to read. He/she needs to hear you will not stop. If they believe this, you will get more communication from them.
When you send an email or letter, please remember to be professional. Calling them names, etc. will not get you far.
Be concise in your email/letter. Let them know right away you have not been getting what you are paying for quite some time and you have that thoroughly documented. Tell them you expect them to return a solution. Tell them all communication with them will be posted in your post for all to see and paste the link in your communication so they can see you mean what you say. Make the subject line similar your post. Tell them you are not getting what you are paying for.

Here is how to contact WS upper management:
Board of Directors: »abea-43pvyw.client.share ··· oard.cfm
WS Executives: »news.windstream.com/executives/
In most cases, you can determine their email addresses by using this format: firstname.lastname@windstream.com

Be patient. This should not be a problem by now because you are now past rage and on to just trying to get what you are paying for. It may take a week to get a response. As I said above, it will most likely come from someone in the Executive Customer Relations team.
Dont forget to document and paste in your post to keep a good timeline.

At some point, make sure to ask them why they are selling the speeds you cannot get to new customers in your area. Most likely, they will not respond. If they do not, ask them again in one email just with that question and demand an answer. Record that along with their response or lack of response. You will need to include this in all of your complaints. This is a huge red flag to an outside office who might look into this.

Taking your fight outside of Windstream
------------------------------------------
File a complaint with the FCC:

»www.fcc.gov/complaints - Choose Broadband Service and VOIP

File a complaint with the BBB:

»www.bbb.org/arkansas/bus ··· omplaint

File a complaint with your states consumer protection division:

Go to Google and search on your state name + consumer protection
Here are some of the ones I could find:

Georgia - »consumer.georgia.gov/con ··· omplaint
Arkansas - »www.ag.arkansas.gov/cons ··· nts.html
South Carolina - »www.consumer.sc.gov/Page ··· ult.aspx
Ohio - »www.ohioattorneygeneral. ··· int.aspx
Florida - »www.stateofflorida.com/P ··· tabid=57
Texas - »www.oag.state.tx.us/cons ··· ts.shtml
North Carolina - »www.ncdoj.gov/getdoc/fdb ··· int.aspx

Make sure all of your complaints are very detailed. Give them the link to your post on DSL reports so they can see the history. This gives you HUGE credibility. Make sure you mention you are not getting what you are paying for. Also make sure they can read the response to your question as to why WS is still signing up new subscribers with the speeds they cannot provide to existing customers such as yourself.

Be prepared to wait up to a month or longer to get a response. You can call some of these agencies to get an update.

Do what a smart, unhappy customer did in Georgia. Create a Facebook group called (Your state) Windstream Problems. Find other users in the DSL reports Windstream forum and ask them to join.

Post a new topic into the DSL reports forum with the name of your Facebook group asking others to join. If you have to, keep your forum invite post near the top of the DSL reports forum for a little while so others in your state will have a chance to see it and read it so they can join your Facebook group.

Send the invite to all your Facebook friends and ask them to share it on their pages.

Provide links in your new Facebook group to help the new comers. Items like the links for filing complaints are helpful. Tell everyone in your forum you are adding them in hopes they will join the fight and be active. Tell them you expect them to actively participate. Its ok to let each person rant a little. For some, this may be their first chance to post and find others who feel the same way. Make sure all understand you need more from them beside just the rant though.
Dont be afraid to delegate and ask all to do something. In addition, ask them to respond when they have completed the assignment. This will give you an idea who your stronger (or more vocal) fighters are. And it lets you know, you are not alone.

Making contact with the media
--------------------------------------------
Look up all the TV stations that serve your area with newscasts. Collect the email addresses for each of their investigative news teams and/or reporters.

About your email:

Remember, he/she has a job to do. They need to know you have something they want: A great story with many people affected. They do not need or want all the technical details. If he/she does, he/she will ask you for them later. Your job in your initial email to get the media to respond to you is to be concise and get them to want to speak with you more.

Do not beg them or ask them to rescue you from the evil empire or anything of the sort. That show weakness.

They need to know you can communicate without being too drama-filled (Jerry Springer like) and you have something they all want. Tell them in your email that you have plenty of documentation to support what you say. Tell them you have filed complaints with several agencies. Tell them you and many others are being ripped off by not getting what you are paying for. Do not tell them they are your last hope.

Tell them you are emailing all of them at once as you know they have competition and you want to determine who will best represent you. (That is usually the person hungriest for the story.)

Tell them the first person to contact you back saying they will do the story will get exclusive access to you. They need to know they can get this story out ahead of all of their competition.

Tell them this story is so attractive, a major news station in Atlanta (CBS46) has already run this story. Tell them they now have a chance to get the story out in your area. This lets them know they can leverage what has been done already as it might make it easier for them. (Of course no one could have done it better then Jeff Chirico in my opinion.)

Give them the links to the story in Atlanta so they can see: (These are in order.)

»www.cbsatlanta.com/story ··· rural-ga
»www.cbsatlanta.com/story ··· te-house
»www.cbsatlanta.com/story ··· t-speeds

Dont forget to contact your local media such as the newspaper. Many in your community may read about your plight and realize they have the same problem. Make sure the reports includes the link to your DSLReports post and the name of your Facebook group.

If you get someone who agrees to run your story, make sure you do not leave them hanging. These people work with very demanding, tight deadlines. If they ask you for something, do it. If they ask you to send them some information, send it right away. Give them your cell phone number. Tell them they can contact you ANY time. Your delay can cause them to miss their deadline which may be the END of your story. Accept that he/she will ultimately decide what they include and or what they edit. Make suggestions, not demands. Make sure to thank them for all they are doing.

If someone agrees to run your story, DO NOT TELL ANYONE ELSE ABOUT IT. You do not want to give this away early and risk losing effectiveness. Keep it to yourself and only inform others when the reporter tell you it is okay to do so.

Stay in the know
--------------------------
Keep your post(s) up to date

Go to Google News and do searches with the name of your sate and the word Windstream. For example, a Google news search for articles that reference Windstream and Georgia can be found here:
»www.google.com/search?hl ··· WitGtmOY

Read Stop the Cap at: »stopthecap.com/
You will find some helpful information on this site
Ex. All Windstream articles are here: »stopthecap.com/category/ ··· cations/

Read Community Broadband Networks at: »muninetworks.org/
Ex. All Windstream articles can be found here: »www.muninetworks.org/tax ··· term/474

Dont quit
------------------------
Do not relent. If you are in a rural area that is not being served by any of Windstreams competition, you have no choice but to fight. That is your best hope of getting fixed. Unless something changes soon, WS has no motivation to fix you if they have no competition.

Make sure you fight any new proposed bills in your state to eliminate competition from Windstream. Especially if the bill will eliminate competition from Municipality backed internet services. For some of you like North Carolina, its too late. Some laws are already in place. If WS had the courage to try to eliminate competition in states like Georgia and North Carolina, you can bet they will try the same in your state. Even if they lose, assume they will try again the next year. Companies like this plan these things years out in hopes to get further each time until they get a win.

Even if the media runs your story, do not quit. You are not fixed until you are fixed. Got it?

Suggestions?
------------------------
Feel free to add any items you have done to get results in your fight.
borisbadenov
join:2005-12-05
Barbourville, KY

borisbadenov

Member

Excellent well written well thought out Post
djacks01
join:2009-01-22
Milledgeville, GA

djacks01 to DawsonvilleG

Member

to DawsonvilleG
Thanks so much for taking time to post this! Excellent post.
mrgilbert
join:2011-03-28

mrgilbert to DawsonvilleG

Member

to DawsonvilleG
Great post. Even though I live in NC, I really appreciate all the work you've done in Georgia as I'm sure it will benefit all of us by bringing attention to Windstream's poor service. Jeff Chirico did an excellent job with his reporting. Thank You.
DawsonvilleG
join:2010-08-01
Dawsonville, GA

DawsonvilleG

Member

Thanks. I agree. Jeff was awesome. I encourage you to take the a stand for your state. You can do some of the things I have done and make a very big impact there. If you need to chat about it, PM me.
said by mrgilbert:

Great post. Even though I live in NC, I really appreciate all the work you've done in Georgia as I'm sure it will benefit all of us by bringing attention to Windstream's poor service. Jeff Chirico did an excellent job with his reporting. Thank You.

wowgirl22
join:2011-12-30
Cornelia, GA

wowgirl22 to DawsonvilleG

Member

to DawsonvilleG
Thank you DawsonvilleG. Well written post and I will be working on this. Hope other states start doing it too.
Bashlin
join:2011-06-20
Douglas, GA

Bashlin to DawsonvilleG

Member

to DawsonvilleG
we are thankful to have you with us in this battle dawsonville !!
DawsonvilleG
join:2010-08-01
Dawsonville, GA

DawsonvilleG

Member

said by Bashlin:

we are thankful to have you with us in this battle dawsonville !!

Thanks Bud. Glad to have you fighting with us too. I wonder if anyone else finds this information useful?
iammike2400
join:2005-06-28
Dawsonville, GA

iammike2400 to DawsonvilleG

Member

to DawsonvilleG
DawsonvilleG your post is well thought out. However I believe your efforts are to be futile. I too live in the Dawsonville area and as you, I have been experiencing extremely slow downstream speeds. After much hard ache of informing Windstream about the problem and searching for a resolution to the problem I was finally given a formal response from Larrisa in the Windstream Direct forum. This is what she wrote:

"We apologize about the delay. We have been informed that no projects have been approved yet for this year for your equipment. There are other projects approved for other pieces of equipment in that area that may help to improve your service. We could potentially have something approved later in the year or even in 2014.

Windstream acknowledges Dawsonville customers have been experiencing high speed internet issues. This is a result of the tremendous growth in Internet usage over the past few years as well as the challenging economics of serving rural and remote areas with broadband. Windstream has committed to an already in progress upgrade plan that will benefit some of Windstream’s customers. Unfortunately, upgrades for your equipment may not happen until 2014. Until upgrades are completed your service may not improve.

If you find this unacceptable, you may want to explore alternate service options such as Internet via satellite. For example, Dish Net through Dish Network is a service that may be available to his/her and bundled with your Windstream billing account. You may call us for more information regarding this product.

We regret the inconvenience of this situation. Windstream appreciates your business. Please feel free to contact us if you should have any additional questions or concerns."

DawsonvilleG, in my opinion you should focus your efforts on getting the Dawson GA county a different telecommunication provider. Complaining to Windstream is useless since they don't care about delivering their products as advertised. Having the sole telecommunication provider of the area changed to another company is possible. If you look at a map of the communication providers of GA you'll notice there is an area around Big Canoe that is AT&T and then surrounding this area is Windstream.

I would be more than happy to support you in a campaign to change the Dawsonville/ Dawson county service provider.
DawsonvilleG
join:2010-08-01
Dawsonville, GA

1 edit

DawsonvilleG

Member

said by iammike2400:

DawsonvilleG your post is well thought out. However I believe your efforts are to be futile. I too live in the Dawsonville area and as you, I have been experiencing extremely slow downstream speeds. After much hard ache of informing Windstream about the problem and searching for a resolution to the problem I was finally given a formal response from Larrisa in the Windstream Direct forum. This is what she wrote:

"We apologize about the delay. We have been informed that no projects have been approved yet for this year for your equipment. There are other projects approved for other pieces of equipment in that area that may help to improve your service. We could potentially have something approved later in the year or even in 2014.

Windstream acknowledges Dawsonville customers have been experiencing high speed internet issues. This is a result of the tremendous growth in Internet usage over the past few years as well as the challenging economics of serving rural and remote areas with broadband. Windstream has committed to an already in progress upgrade plan that will benefit some of Windstream’s customers. Unfortunately, upgrades for your equipment may not happen until 2014. Until upgrades are completed your service may not improve.

If you find this unacceptable, you may want to explore alternate service options such as Internet via satellite. For example, Dish Net through Dish Network is a service that may be available to his/her and bundled with your Windstream billing account. You may call us for more information regarding this product.

We regret the inconvenience of this situation. Windstream appreciates your business. Please feel free to contact us if you should have any additional questions or concerns."

DawsonvilleG, in my opinion you should focus your efforts on getting the Dawson GA county a different telecommunication provider. Complaining to Windstream is useless since they don't care about delivering their products as advertised. Having the sole telecommunication provider of the area changed to another company is possible. If you look at a map of the communication providers of GA you'll notice there is an area around Big Canoe that is AT&T and then surrounding this area is Windstream.

I would be more than happy to support you in a campaign to change the Dawsonville/ Dawson county service provider.

Mike,

Thanks for responding. The letter you received is a canned letter many are receiving. I would have to respectfully disagree with you Bud. My efforts have not been futile. I have made some accomplishment. Before I go further with that, let me ask you...

Have you filed a report with the FCC, BBB, and Georgia Consumer Protection as I stated above? If not, I encourage you to do so. Especially the last one as they are actively looking at what is going on. Just because you got that letter from Larissa does not mean my efforts are defeated. Nor should it mean yours are. Though you might not be getting what you want right now, that does not mean you joining in this fight is futile. You see, it's no longer just "my efforts" as you stated above. Many are joining with us in this fight. And we need you to join with us. Please go to "Georgia Windstream Problems" on Facebook and join if you have not already.

Additionally, I am working on other options. Did you see the fight I put up about that bill? That was not futile at all. We won that battle! And we needed to win that battle to improve our chances of getting other options in Dawsonville and in Georgia. Join with us in everything we are doing. We need numbers (which we have been increasing) and we need you. Some have thought the reports Jeff Chirico did for us were the height of our battle. And that is what Windstream would like us to think too. But they were not. We are not done. There is more to come.

Let me know if/when you have filed that complaint with the Governor's office of Consumer Protection. Make sure you tell them you are not getting what you are paying for. Also add some evidence of your speeds and include the letter WS sent you above so they can see WS has told you that you are essentially stuck for a while. One last thing, make sure to pint out in your letter to them that the problem is not caused by "tremendous growth" as WS said. Nor is it caused by "economics" as they said.

The real problem here is that WS took approximately $180 million tax dollars in the stimulus to improve rural broadband capabilities. Or that was their excuse for needing the money. However, they chose to use a large portion of those dollars to beef up cell tower capability and other items on the business side of the house instead. (This is similar to the banks taking all that money and using it for swallowing up their competition instead of for the purposes it was given to them.) The "tremendous growth" they speak of is the fact that they continue to add subscribers to an already slowed system that only slows it down more. In the real world, most ISP's keep enough funding aside to be able to repair broken equipment quickly and/or add additional equipment when additional capacity is needed. WS has chosen not to do that. While their CEO says they have no real reason to spend more on rural broadband. Meanwhile, back in the real world of networking, the companies I work with are ready for this type of growth. And if they are not, they certainly do not add additional customers to bog it down further. That's because many suppliers are under Service Level Agreements to provide a certain level of capability. WS has decided that folks like you and me living in the sticks obviously do not matter that much.

Well I say, you matter. And so does everyone else affected like we are. I did not knock down their doors begging for 12Mbps. They offered it to me. I did not beg them to bring broadband to my house. They brought it to me. And even though I (and you) choose to live a beautiful part of rural north Georgia, I do not deserve to be treated as less important. Nor do the other folks.

Enough for now... Please join with us. Send that complaint to consumer protection. Join our FB group. We are NOT done. We are NOT giving up. We need you in every aspect of this fight.

Thanks.

-- Are you reading this WS? Our numbers are growing. News about how you are treating us is spreading around the country. Either get us fixed, or keep stalling us and see what happens. Telling us to get DISH net and add that to our WS bill is simply inexcusable for a problem you guys have caused. Nor are we dumb enough to entertain you guys getting any of those proceeds by letting you bill it to us. You may think we are not important. But we are not stupid. We demand to get what we have been paying for. Though we know we pay for "up to" 12Mbps (or whatever the subscriber chose)... there is a difference between a good faith effort and a greedy one. You guys have crossed that line.
iammike2400
join:2005-06-28
Dawsonville, GA

iammike2400

Member

Dawsonville G,

I did see that the HB282 Bill failed to be put into place and I commend you on your role in the actions to stop that bill from passing.

If you really want to put up a fight against Windstream then I suggest hitting them where it hurts. Open up the local phone market and increase competition.

I've already contacted the governors office of consumer protection and the Georgia public service commission. I shall follow your advice and file a grievance with the Better Business Bureau and the FCC. I refuse to join FB though sorry.

millej23
@windstream.net

millej23 to DawsonvilleG

Anon

to DawsonvilleG
I was just searching google for windstream issues/complaints I found this site.

Great post I must say, I am also an unhappy WS customer in North Georgia...not by choice, but they are the only option out here in the mountains.

I agree with everything you have said here, right now they are charging me 62+ dollars(my current bill) for less than 1mbps of service.

When I set this up, they said I would have 6mbps no problem, then it went down to 3mbps. Then when the tech came out to install, he said "LOL" it will be 1.5 at the peak....i'm off a side street in the mountains.

Well I've tried contacting them to no resolve, like you said, they basically don't give a sh*t, and paying 60+ for 1mpbs is absolutely ridiculous.

So I am going to follow your advice and file a complaint to the FCC and BBB, we'll see what that does....

I've also put in requests to TDS, ETC to service the area in the future.

Has anyone had luck in getting their area "upgraded" in their area, or having their bill reduced to reflect that speed?

Thanks!
DawsonvilleG
join:2010-08-01
Dawsonville, GA

DawsonvilleG

Member

Milliej23,

Please join our facebook group. Search for "Georgia Windstream Problems". We have information there you will find useful. Also, please consider joining DSL reports and create an account. This website has been invaluable.

millej23
@windstream.net

millej23

Anon

Great I have added the group!
DawsonvilleG
join:2010-08-01
Dawsonville, GA

DawsonvilleG

Member

Bump

MADasHELL2
join:2013-01-04
Alto, GA

MADasHELL2 to DawsonvilleG

Member

to DawsonvilleG
Awesome post! Thanks for that, DawsonvilleG

Just filed my complaint about Windsuck DSL with the Governor's Office of Consumer Protection.
DawsonvilleG
join:2010-08-01
Dawsonville, GA

DawsonvilleG

Member

Thanks MADasHELL! Keep up the pressure!
System

to DawsonvilleG

Anon

to DawsonvilleG
This topic has been un-stickied by tmpchaos See Profile

BrokenNet
@windstream.net

BrokenNet to DawsonvilleG

Anon

to DawsonvilleG

Re: How to fight to get what you are paying for

Jut more false hope. Look at the posting dates, these problems have existed for nearly a decade. A decade of people 'calling executives'; 'filing complaints with authorities'; etc.

The Very best you can hope for is a temporary fix, that'll just send you back to months or years of waiting, and paying for a service you do not receive.

Its a shame this is one of the last legal monopolies.
nOv1c3
join:2006-11-08
Whitney, TX

nOv1c3 to DawsonvilleG

Member

to DawsonvilleG
Been with this isp for 8 years , Its been a rocky road
My latest issue has been ongoing for almost a year

Look at that almost 30% packet lost on my first hop

»/pingt ··· /3102841

First they said (We ran health checks on the elements your connection travels through and found no over utilization)

They finally admitted that (We finally got word from an engineer that found elements that are being upgraded that will help your latency issues) They didn't say what hardware they are upgrading though,

Estimated time of repair End of December

I have seen this countless times with this Company , Don't seem they ever plan ahead , They let things get so bad before they fix the issues

Last couple years they installed all new Dslam and fed them all with Fiber and bumped everyone's speeds up but i guess they never thought of upgrading the servers rooms to handle all that extra bandwidth
DawsonvilleG
join:2010-08-01
Dawsonville, GA

DawsonvilleG

Member

Hi Folks,

I have an update of another program you might want to try. I'm not telling anyone what to do so please don't shoot the messenger. This comes from a friend of mine in Dawsonville, GA named Mike. He has been participating in this project for a while now. The best thing I can see about it is that it allows you to maintain a very detailed history about your connection and ISP. It's called SamKnows. It is a a free broadband measurement service for consumers. Here is the information from Mike:

SamKnows remains a free resource for consumers and volunteers. Their goal is to embed their software suite into internet enabled devices to build the most accurate picture of global broadband performance. The SamKnows Project, funded in part by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is currently working with consumers, governments and manufacturers globally to achieve this.

The data are objectively collected realtime from volunteers using many of the ISP's in the US and worldwide. Volunteers have access to the different data being collected and the data can be very valuable in network determining reliability, advertised vs actual speed and other measures that can significantly affect usability and consumer productivity.

To learn more about the project or to become a volunteer, visit SamKnows.Com.

And for those concerned about privacy, Mike told me they have no means to access or collect user browsing habits, data transmitted, and correspondence that a particular volunteer might have.
c2s
join:2008-06-13
united state

c2s to DawsonvilleG

Member

to DawsonvilleG
Best way is to fight with your pocketbook.

lackluster
@amanah.com

lackluster

Anon

Kind of hard to do when you have to have internet service and they have a monopoly.
c2s
join:2008-06-13
united state

c2s

Member

What about Satellite or tethering a cell phone? If things are even close to the horror stories some have either one of those options would be better. If Windstream starts losing major money by all those with bad service just canceling their bad service Windstream will start to care, until then they will drag their feet to even do the bare minimum even when forced by big brother. Why do more if people are still gonna pay. Looking bad doesn't really matter to companies if they are still getting paid.
kmid
Premium Member
join:2012-04-10

kmid to nOv1c3

Premium Member

to nOv1c3
Touche. You hit the nail in the head.
kmid

1 edit

kmid to lackluster

Premium Member

to lackluster
Best of luck