The DSLExtreme Litany Continues

[shannon_a]

In January of this year, I signed up with DSLExtreme for my DSL service after my previous DSL provider (illegally) dumped all their customers with almost no notice.

Despite the tight deadline I searched hard for a DSL provider that sounded reliable and customer friendly. Two names kept coming up: DSLExtreme and Speakeasy.

Unfortunately, I made the wrong choice, and despite all their marketing about being a provider that really cares about DSL, broadband, and its customers, DSLExtreme has been nothing but trouble.

Here's some of the things they've done in the last 10 months:

• Lied to me about an expected time for installation (by something like 2 weeks).
  
• Then provided installation directions that required you to look up specific numbers on the Internet. The Internet that you, of course, wouldn't have access to because your DSL installation isn't yet done.
  
• Used their propriety and unforwardable web email system for important notices, like the fact that the credit card they have on file has expired.
  
• Turned off my DSL line about a week after finally sending a paper notice about late payments (e.g., so quick that even though their payment was turned right around, they shut things off before receipt).
  
• Hired offensive customer support representatives who don't bother telling you the potential fast ways to get a line back on, such as giving them a credit card.
  
• Continually refused to send bills by post in a timely manner.
  

Today they did it yet again. They started filtering outgoing port 25 for at least all of their local customers. This is what you use to send mail, and means that suddenly my outgoing email just started stacking up.

There was no notice. Not even in their crappy proprietary webmail system. (I checked.) Nor on their website. I only finally figured out what was going on by googling.

I've now registered with a little online form (which I found through Google) to be allowed to send email again from my home machine. The form helpfully told me that it'll all be active again ...

... in 24-48 hours.

Why haven't I changed away from these bastards yet? Because if I do so I might be out of DSL service again for another couple of weeks, and I really can't afford that right now.

But they're certainly never getting anything close to a recommendation from me.

Comments

[angelbob.livejournal.com]

Call SpeakEasy and see how long it'll take you to convert. I use them, and I've had only *very* occasional problems, almost always handled gracefully by customer service.

SpeakEasy absolutely and unquestionably gets a recommendation from me. I've been using them for home service for just almost a year now.

[seidl.livejournal.com]

How many voice lines do you have coming into your house? Could you do something like get a speakeasy line installed on one of the other voice lines and once its live turn off the dslextreme line? Might mean a month of overlap, but thats not TOO painful.

Of course, if you have only once voice line, this is harder to do. Its much more of a pain to get a new voice line installed, put DSL on it, then turn off the old voice line and move the number to the new line once everything is working.

[shannon_a]

Got a couple more months of contract still, but since I have 3 lines coming in, this is a real possibility, come January or February.

[catamorphism.livejournal.com]

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