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skisgirl
join:2013-03-24
USA

skisgirl

Member

Frontier Bait and Switch

I am new to posting in the forum, but I think it is worth noting, and maybe worth rallying together on the subject of Frontier Internet and how they misrepresent their service. I have flipped through many posts regarding dissatisfaction with service and have seen comments similar to what my husband and I have experienced with Frontier. We live just on the outskirts of town, barely considered rural, but for years there was no availability of Frontier broadband or even cable. Satellite was the only solution, and I won't go there. So, when Frontier approached us and promoted their Internet Broadband service, and since we still cannot get cable, we were thrilled. For the first couple years, the signal was decent. My husband has to utilize Citrix farms for his business, so having a strong signal is essential. As it is, there is a definite lag in response when typing and performing tasks, but it was far better than what was possible with Satellite. So, no complaints to begin with. Then, low and behold, the day came when we had such sluggish response that we might as well have no service at all. That prompted contact to determine what was going on. Long story short....we are located outside the range of the equipment we are connected to. That is all good and well when you have a low demand on that equipment but, as Frontier continued to sell its services, the demand grew and the signal became less and less. They knew this would occur. Why it is common sense, so anyone can figure that out. However, they were not proactive about upgrading to prevent issues. Instead, they wait until the issue occur and then the lie about these upgrades occurring. In fact, I was provided with three different explanations for our poor service before discovering the real truth. Now here's the other aspect of this. If you look online, and search a bit, you will see that Frontier has basically three levels of signal. 6, 12, and 25 mbps with "prices starting at $19.99/month. We pay $32/month for our broadband. Do we even get 6mbps? NO. The most we are able to receive, and this is emphatically confirmed by Frontier, is 1.6mbps. Yup. ONE. So, I have to ask, why are we clearly paying for more than even the base level of service? Why aren't we paying a reduced rate because Frontier knows they cannot provide the full signal for the monthly cost? Does anyone else see something fishy here? They know they can't give you even their base signal, they charge you for more than the cost of their base signal, they know you will have issues once they oversell the equipment, they don't upgrade the equipment to keep up with the demand, and they don't tell you the whole story so you can make an informed decision when signing on for service. This is a blatant misrepresentation and sale of a product. This is clearly a bait and switch where the cost is concerned. This is against the law. Does anyone feel the same way? Shouldn't we rally together and fight this?

landrover
join:2013-09-17
Martinsburg, WV

landrover

Member

The tiers you mentioned are "Up to 6 Mbps", "Up to 12 Mbps". etc It's one fee for each tier and they provision you at what your line can supposedly handle. I agree, it's awful and ridiculous.

It seems they are pretty reluctant to serve anything over 3 Mbps if they don't have to.

Also those prices are locked in contract prices. That would explain why you are paying more now.

Hank
Searching for a new Frontier
Premium Member
join:2002-05-21
Burlington, WV
ARRIS NVG443B
Ubiquiti NanoStation loco M2

Hank to skisgirl

Premium Member

to skisgirl
said by skisgirl:

This is a blatant misrepresentation and sale of a product. This is clearly a bait and switch where the cost is concerned. This is against the law. Does anyone feel the same way? Shouldn't we rally together and fight this?

I agree it is misleading, but if you read their guarantee it clearly states "up to." They have consistently oversold service and have been slow to make the necessary upgrades to support the customer base. I don't know what state or town you live in, but those of us in WV have statewide filed complaint after complaint town by town, county by county. The legislature refuses to listen. There are many reasons for that. Even our governor shelved an independent negative report. With that said Frontier has made several improvements throughout the state although slow to start and very slow to complete. I can tell you it is not the local organization that is causing the delay, they would like things completed as fast as possible and before things become a problem for the customer. It is a corporate decision. What you have experienced is not uncommon. Talk to your regional manager and your state representatives. If it also impacts your telephone service, which is doubtful, then you can complain to the FCC.
glhamden
join:2013-12-15
Lerona, WV

glhamden

Member

Hank is correct i have filed numerous complaints to the FCC Wv attorney General talked to every state rep and basically they don't care.
Sen Manchin as governor push for Frontier to basically take over in west virginia but put nothing to protect the consumer.. in 2013 frontier received 123 million in fed and state funds to address these issues. weekends and evenings 300k downloads over sold their bandwidth

I have received frontier final say on my area From Robyn Pollard denying any issues in my area and an issues have been addressed.

Here is a direct quote from Robyn Pollard
Frontier is making its best effort to provide Mr. Hamden with quality HSI service
based on the technology presently deployed at the Bent Mountain RT.
. tf Mr. Hamden is not satisfied with Frontier's traditional HSI service we also
provide HSI via DISH Network which could provide increased bandwidth.
. lf Mr. Hamden finds that neither service provided by Frontier meets his bandwidth
requirements Frontier will waive any early termination fees if he chooses to
discontinue service.
o Frontier will not continue to dispatch technicians to investigate complaints of
slow internet speed because of the cost involved and for the reasons cited above
glhamden

glhamden

Member

Also they check their service mid day when there is no load on their service its a little hard to find something wrong when you don't check it when the issues are happening. weekends and evenings.

I have changed MY DNS to the fastest avaiable in my area and it has helped some.
rogerdanielp
join:2014-04-04
Franklin, NC

rogerdanielp to skisgirl

Member

to skisgirl
Frontier is sketchy as best, but I have had some luck with them.

I live in Franklin, NC and when I first called Frontier I asked for the highest speed and gave them my address. The sales person pretended to type my address and told me I was eligible for 20mbs ( I was told my a co-worker who lives in my neighborhood to not expect anything over 3 mbs). I was pretty excited and continued with my order. Right before finalizing, the sales person said she made a mistake and actually 6 mbs was the fastest I could get but she could offer me a special rate.

Whatever I just wanted to be off the phone. Ordered it and a week later the crappy router/wifi unit arrived. Plugged it in and got a blazing 1.5 mbs. Figured maybe it took awhile to get close to my speeds so I waited a week. A week of getting 1.5 max, I called and spoke with a technician. They informed me 1.5 was the max I could get at my address. I asked why they sold me a 6 mbs package, and he said it was probably a mistake and transferred me to a customer service rep. The rep told me their 1.5 mbs price was actually $10 more a month, but they were going to let me pay 6 mbs price.

This is when I contacted the BBB and reported everything. Within 24 hrs, I had 6 mbs internet speed and it hasn't dropped below 4.5 since. I saved the Frontier corp contact person number on my phone just in case.

If you have another option for internet, get it. But where I live it is Frontier or the even worse satellite providers who charge $75 for 6 mbs with a 75 gb data cap.
skisgirl
join:2013-03-24
USA

skisgirl to glhamden

Member

to glhamden
ya know, that is so typical. frontier general manager called both us and our neighbor and told them the exact same lie about the equipment. then the tech came out, who services our area, and explained that nothing can be done until frontier adds more equipment and runs more cable, which they have no plans and will not do. he states that frontier systematically will set up service for "x" number of people in an area, but never anticipates the obvious potential for rapid growth in that area. then sells the services to the point of overloading the equipment resulting in issues. it is only then that they will acknowledge the need for additional equipment. meanwhile, the customer is locked into that contract for "up to" 7 mbps and, if they only get 1, which is our situation, they are stuck. seriously, up to is a underhanded way to mislead the public. we barely get the "up" and are fed up. when a tech tells me that if he was selling services for internet, he would never have offered it to our area, because the equipment does not reach and, in fact, several miles from us the signal is barely better and should not have been sold there, then there is something seriously wrong with their business practice and it is misrepresentation. you obviously got their "the customer is incorrect" crap and it is unfortunate that you, and many others, are among those who were completely misled.
skisgirl

skisgirl to rogerdanielp

Member

to rogerdanielp
omg...this is so familiar. yes, frontier is our only resource. satellite does not do well where we are, which is why, when we were approached by frontier, we jumped on it. yours is a prime example of frontier charging customers whatever they want and justifying it however they want. it is wonderful that you have gotten results. you are clearly one of the lucky ones.

Hank
Searching for a new Frontier
Premium Member
join:2002-05-21
Burlington, WV

Hank to skisgirl

Premium Member

to skisgirl
What state are you located in?