justinb01981
join:2007-11-13
| Speakeasy woes
This is a (long) account of my recent woes with SE:
I was with speakeasy on a 3.0/768 (95$/month) package for 7 months before we moved. We were between homes for 2 months in between, and speakeasy would not put the account on hold, and I couldn't cancel early without the 300$ fee. We move into our home, and they have me sign a new contract for another year so that I don't have to pay the 150$ installation fee. I wasn't happy about this, but they say theres nothing they can do to waive that fee. They carry my old speeds over to the new contract. A week later when I actually get around to trying out my DSL, I notice that at night the modem frequently loses sync, sometimes as often as every few minutes. After calling support, I find out that my line is a bit on the noisy side, and after dialing the speed down to 2mbps the line is more stable. I'm told I have to call back during the week to get someone who can have the line tested. My estimated distance from the co is 11090 feet, and the tech tells me that 10000ft is the maximum to get 3.0mbps. I was pretty angry about sales setting me up with a new contract at 3.0mbps when they knew that the line was unlikely to be able to achieve it. I have 25 days to cancel without the 300$ fee from the time the line goes in, but when I asked them to push that date out until the line is tested and I decide what to do, they say they can't do it. The next package down is 1.5/768, and it's only 10$ less, 85$ a month. So rather than take that option, I'm probably just going to switch over to sonic.net, and pay about 40$ less for the same speed and hope for the best.
I had heard very good things for years about speakeasy from friends, and I was happy with them for awhile, but they are just way too expensive for what you get. Other ISP's will move you without all the fees, but not speakeasy. The whole experience was a real letdown. I know I'm just griping here, but I hope that my experience will help others avoid the mistakes I made. I'm probably going to have to pay the 300$ because of my original contract, but at a savings of 40$ a month, I'll recoup that in 8 months. Take a look at all your options before you choose. |
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KoolMoe
Aw Man
Premium
join:2001-02-14
Annapolis, MD
clubs:
 ·Speakeasy
| If you signed a new contact, then the old contact should no longer apply. With the new contract, you have 25 days to cancel. Since SE won't extend that time, cancel now.
So in other words, IMO, you should not be on the hook for the $300 because that old contact is over and you're on a new one.
Your lines to the new house, unfortunately, are 'too long' and too noisy, and unless you want to move down to the slower package, just cancel now and avoid the hassles.
I hope Sonic can do better, but they will likely be just as limited by your line's distance and quality. |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Speakeasy
| said by KoolMoe  :I hope Sonic can do better, but they will likely be just as limited by your line's distance and quality. Correct - likely Sonic will use the exact same line with all of the same issues. |
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justinb01981
join:2007-11-13
| reply to justinb01981
Yeah, I know. I'm at the mercy of the copper. But I'm sure as heck not giving my business back to comcast. I was hoping for some price cut since I was cutting my bandwidth in half dropping to 1.5/512, but it was just 10$ cheaper, which got me looking at sonic.net. 50$ a month compared to SE's 85$ and 8 static IP's instead of 1. All of my experiences with SE support has just left me feeling like their residential customers are not very important to them. Probably the most knowledgeable people in the business, though. |
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justinb01981
join:2007-11-13 | reply to justinb01981
Got around to canceling, and they still stuck it to me for the 300$ cancellation on the previous line since I didn't keep this new one. Bummer. |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | I don't know that I would have given in - I think I would have sent a registered letter to SE outlining the old contract was done and this was a new one and within the 25 day policy.
Or I would have taken up the line - manager to manager... |
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AndyMin
@telekenex.com
| Looks like this is in their TOS:
»www.speakeasy.net/tos/#disconnection
If you move or disconnect a specific circuit during an active service term and reorder that Speakeasy broadband service within 60 days (90 days for circuits with initial order placement dates before August 5, 2005), Speakeasy will credit the charged Processing Fee or Disconnection Fee to your account upon notification of Activation. The Processing Fee or Disconnection Fee will not be refunded if the new installation is unsuccessful, or the line is cancelled within the 25 day Trial Period. |
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