Review by HappyTech 
Posted: 1.9 years ago
member for 1.9 years, 0 visits, last login: 1.9 years ago
 Medford,Jackson,OR
 $42 per month (24 month contract)
 about 1 days
 "A sales rep came directly to my home, demonstrated service, and signed me up"
 "Contract is 19 pages and full of "We're not responsible, and we don't care!""
 "Shallow service, absurd billing practices, and very low value for your dollar."
| Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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A Clearwire rep. showed up the day I called; tested and demonstrated the equipment, and as I found everything to be satisfactory I signed up. He recommended I go for the two-year contract as it would waive the $50 setup fee. At this point I'd been on dial-up for 8 years and wireless was my only option. I needed the high speed for work, and the price seemed reasonable.
I decided to print the contract. All 19 pages of it. Apparently they don't even expect you to read the dumb thing. But I did. And I probably should have opted for the setup fee in light of the $180 headache I'm sure you're all familiar with.
My connection was consistent, and benchmarks were some of the highest. This was for the first two months. From May until cancellation in November I would frequently find my modem showing 3 to 5 bars and yet my system would be telling me that I had limited to no connection on the network. This was with and without a router and locating the modem in two different areas of the house. At first I was willing to blame the router and Clearwire was quite ready to accept that verdict, except that ultimately the router could be completely nixed and I would still have problems.
I finally got fed-up with the cost and poor quality of service. Clearwire tried to tell me that it was A.) My router, which by-the-way I had stopped using altogether months before I canceled. B.) My modem was connecting to two completely different towers, and that I also was not "within range", even though I had better signal than the local office.
So, it was off to find a better service for me... Actually for my dad, as I was moving and my dad still needed internet, whereas I did not. Switched to Embarq at a much reduced rate, and service is by far more reliable and consistently faster. Clearwire tried to convince us to degrade (how kind of them) our service to the 712 connection to match the $29.99 we'd be paying Embarq for a 1.5 connection. Fat chance. So, once my dad switched I brought the modem back to Clearwire.
Oh yeah, they still want $180. Prior to canceling my account I also closed the checking account associated with the debit card Clearwire was using to bill me for service - should they attempt to automatically take my money away from me.
When I returned the modem to the local office I gave them my current address and requested that if they should wish to bill me for the $180 I would only be able to make payments via mail and not by credit or debit. The Rep. at the office said "O.K.", handed me my cancellation receipt, and I went on my way.
December rolls around and I receive a notice from Clearwire stating that my account is in arrears for two months of past due internet service, that my connection would be blocked, and that my account would be terminated if they did not receive payment immediately. So I called them as requested to "resolve this serious matter". The Rep. I then talked to told me that he had no record of past due payment for service; rather 50 days past due payment for the lovely $180 early termination fee. He then transferred me to Customer Relations (you know, the people you call to cancel), and he explained everything to her that I had explained to him, including my request for a bill. At this point she interrupted him to ask him to re-state who he was, and to ask him if he knew that "We don't send out bills". To which he replied that he knew, and that he was only relaying what I had told him. He then left me with "The Witch". I proceeded to explain to her my situation, and that I simply could not pay them unless I received a bill stating exactly what I owed. Her response was "We just don't do that sir."
I asked if their bank does not take check deposits. I also asked why if they can send me an incorrect notice of past-due payments, they couldn't mail me a statement? Again: "We just don't do that sir."
I told her it's not my problem that they won't take a certified check. She said "It's not our problem that you can't pay with credit". She then suggested I get a prepaid debit card.
The point was not that I would not pay, it was that I was not going to let them forcibly take my money away from me without showing me in writing what I actually "owed" them. It wasn't enough that my service had been nothing more than poor (and often worse than dial-up) for 7 of the 9 months I payed them. No, that $180 was justified.
So I asked, if they turn me over to collections, would I not be able to arrange to make payments via check to the collections agency. Her response? "Yes you can"
So, rather than take payment from me directly, they would like to pay a collections agency out of that $180, just so they can refuse to take a check.
I will now be sending them certified mail requesting a statement of financial responsibility within thirty days, or it shall be shown that payment has been refused by Clearwire and my account shall be considered settled. If they refuse to acknowledge my letter altogether, I'll at least have something to show the collections agency as grievance on my behalf. Not-to-mention what I'll tell the BBB, and everyone I know, for that matter
Honestly it's not worth $180 dollars for the poor customer relations and lost business that this will result in. It'll be nice just to get a real bill from the collections agency.
This is the third time my personal credit has been threatened by an organization due to their own faulty billing system. I'm quite sick of it.
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