BBB and Lawsuit
March 13th, 2008 | by Tim |I have read many of complaints about Clearwire on this site. I’ve not met one person (here or anywhere) that is happy with their service. I think everyone here should focus more on discussing possible remedies. To come here with the goal of establishing Clearwire as a rip-off and a fraud is really just spinning wheels, and it may be helping Clearwire. First of all, everyone who comes to this site already knows Clearwire is a joke. Second, this site allows people to vent their frustrations, which is nice. But once they’re finished here, they may no longer have the desire to take the sort of action that will help resolve their problem.
To get things going in a different direction, I offer my own experience. I won’t bore you with what they did to me as it is likely the same thing they do to most everyone.
I submitted a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. Clearwire (surprisingly) is still a member of the BBB. How and why they try to hang on to this membership bewilders me. For such a young company, their record is shoddy. But they are responding to complaints on the BBBs website. With my complaint they agreed to waive the early termination fee and close my account.
www.bbb.org
You may have noticed that Clearwire’s early termination fee is set at an amount fairly close to other services such as cellular companies and some cable or satellite companies. This is not by accident. They have determined that there is a threshold beyond which people will seek remedies for Clearwire’s failures (i.e.. sue them.) If you set the early termination fee just below this threshold, nearly everyone will just cough up the money and walk away. The assumption this: a customer that leaves us this quickly is not likely to come back, therefore, we will separate them from as much of their hard-earned money as we possibly can (without having to go to court and prove that we are owed it.) I believe the amount has nothing to do with what costs they may or may not have associated with activating or terminating your account.
Court is expensive. Even if Clearwire wins, they lose.
When I accepted Clearwire’s response through the BBB, I was literally sitting at my desk preparing the summons for them to appear in King County small claims court. If I had found their terms unacceptable, a summons to appear, naming all six of their listed governing people would have arrived at their corporate office this week. I have the added advantage of living here in Western Washington so a court date would have been no big deal. Of course my damages were well in excess of the early termination fee. If you think about it, yours might be as well.
To sue Clearwire in King County, WA, follow this link:
http://www.metrokc.gov/kcdc/smclhome.htm
Clearwire’s corporate address is:
10210 NE Points Dr
Suite 210
Kirkland, WA 98033
The WA state DOL lists the following persons as having governing power:
Broady Hodder
Craig McCaw
Hope Cochran
Perry Satterlee
R Gerard Salemme
Steve Edmie
I hope this information can help someone.
Bryan
Puyallup, WA
21 Responses to “BBB and Lawsuit”
By Bryan on Mar 15, 2008 | Reply
I forgot to mention in my original post that did have a strong legal position should I have been required to sue.
To begin, the sales rep at the kiosk lied. I would have the challenge of proving this in court, but if that rep is still available, judges are pretty good at figuring out who’s telling the truth. It would serve us all well to record a conversation with one of these reps.
Secondly, one of the CS reps on the later told me that their TOS agreements are electronic, meaning you check a box online to indicate your desire to enter into a contract with Clearwire. This means that one of two things happened. Either the sales rep did it for me at the kiosk, or my 7 yo did it for me at home. That’s right, my 7 yo hooked up Clearwire a couple of days after I brought the box home–not me. If he was presented with a TOS agreement during this process, he most certainly agreed. At that point Clearwire entered into a contract for service with a 7 year old boy.
I really should look into parental controls.
By Bad Business on Mar 16, 2008 | Reply
clearwire truly sucks everyone should cancel service and get something else like dsl or cable. who has time to move their modem around to different areas of their house to get signal? come on people!
i’ve contacted a couple of clearwire reps before to find out that they don’t care about your service and if you decide to cancel for any reason, you will be hit with a $200 early termination fee (which is deducted straight from your bank acct or credit card, whichever you used to sign up for service. if you are dealing with them right now about a termination fee, then i suggest you call the bbb and file a formal complaint as soon as possible.
i have friends that work at clearwire and they all hate the company for which they work for. they are tortured to work over 8-10 hours a day and required to hit 12 or more sales a week or else get repamanded by their managers. this is the reason why you get such crappy internet service and speeds when they come out to install your service. the sales guys just want to make a quick regardless of your internet speeds or service.
By Hayley Britt on Apr 7, 2008 | Reply
Well, Let me make it simple for everyone who has or had a problem with this Internet server Clearchit, oops Clearwire should file a complaint with your local BBB. I am out on a mission to make sure everyone knows this company is not providing what they promise when you sign up and I don’t recall checking any box agreeing to the TOS, I didn’t sign my name to their TOS. The guy at Best Buy checked that box. This is not a good practice company to ever get involved with, they just steal your money and don’t give a hoot if you have Internet service or not. I couldn’t keep a connection long enough to even read their TOS and when you call and complain they don’t care, they will upgrade your account for more money and still you won’t receive the service they promise. My tip to unhappy Clearwire customers, file a complaint with the BBB, it’s easy and free, ask to be let out of your contract and the entire early termination fee waived. Cancel your monthly payment card they signed you up with and request a new one so they can’t get any more of your hard earned money. You don’t pay for something you’re not happy with or not getting, don’t throw your money away to them. File your complaint to your BBB don’t let Clearwire get away with this anymore! Ask for what you want and don’t let them tell you NO! Then post on every site you can find about Clearwire so others don’t make the same mistake we did!
By susan nunn on Apr 21, 2008 | Reply
Thank-you very much…I mistakenly (sic) paid for a year of CW in advance and bought their modem outright (!!!) so as not to be ‘bothered’ with monthly payments (and bc I hate Comcast…from cable TV service…)
I was searching for a class-action…but why wait! Again, Thank-You!
By Sara Findley on Apr 23, 2008 | Reply
I am willing to begin a class action suit against Clearwire. My experience w/ them is not unlike that described in other posts on this sight. Misrepresentation is still against the law. They offered their service…I took the bait…they did not deliver…and they want me to pay. In other words, they made an offer, I accepted it. They are in breach of their contract to me as they have not delivered the services they offered. This company is unthinkably inept and I feel a responsibility to mankind to help others avoid the scam. Any one interested please email me your stories and your email address.
By Laura on Apr 24, 2008 | Reply
POSSIBLE CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST CLEARWIRE - I am a former (and very dissatisfied) Clearwire customer. It’s the worst internet service and customer service I have ever encountered. I originally got it for its portability and agreed to a 2 year contract. I mean why not right … it’s portable, wireless and fast! I quickly found that the modem sat at home all the time due to my frequenting wireless cafes, restaurants and bars where I was actually able to surf the net. I was forced to relocate due to my apartment building being torn down and once I moved into my new place had speeds worse than dial-up. I contacted them, explained my situation and they told me they would send me a UPS label via email and to just ship the modem back and that was it … note: NO MENTION OF A $180 CANCELLATION FEE. To my surprise one week later, my bank account is $180 short. I work for one of the premier class action law suit firms in the country. I have contacted our investigator about starting a class action suit again Clearwire for misrepresenting their product and charging extortionate cancelation fees to those customers who cancel service due to their product not working as advertised. If you are interesting in possibly joining a class suit against them, in the following weeks please check our website for information http://www.hbsslaw.com. If the firm moves forward with this, our website would be the best place to look for information about it and join the class.
By David Snider on Apr 26, 2008 | Reply
I just canceled with them after less than a month and got stuck with a $220 cancellation fee. I figured when I signed up that this would be to recoup the cost of a modem, but they want the modem back too. ‘Course I don’t want to keep the thing anyway, but what exactly am I paying them for?
The service was crummy, but not crummy *enough* by their standards to waive my fee. What a load of crap.
If there’s legal action going on, I want to hear more.
By Holly A. on Apr 28, 2008 | Reply
I would LOVE to know about any class action lawsuit going on. Right now after over a year of service we are moving outside of their service area. We are being stuck with a $180 early termination fee. I complained to the cs representative for about 10 minutes, but she said I had agreed to those terms and conditions when I started service. No, I did not. I was handed the contract, the man who sold me the service told me it was a standard contract (and it is NOT standard to make a client continue paying for a service that’s unavailable to them), I signed and that was it. If I would have known about the early termination fee I would never have signed. I feel as if I was lied to. I will be filing a complaint with my local bbb, but I feel totally taken advantage of. I would love to be a part of any legal action.
By D Adams on May 5, 2008 | Reply
I check this site regularly to see if anything new has developed. I’m doing my Speakeasy speed test right now and… 386 kbps download speed, 175 kbps upload. This is costing me over $40 per month. And there’s over 100,000 hits on this site. Really cruddy.
By Everyman on May 15, 2008 | Reply
I have been a member of Clearwire for 1 1/2 years and for that entire time, I have had sporadic service and on several occasions I could not get a signal for at least one week.
The tecks respond as rapidly as they can and did their best to correct the problem. Within days of less the same sporatic service. I was even a shareholder for nearly one year.
I called on 05/13/2008 to cancel and was informed of a $180.00 cancellation fee. I lost all sense of rationality and “Blew my Stack.” They kept fumbling around telling me that perhaps I could get somebody to take over my contract, of which I did not remember, but why would I attempt to put my problems on somebody else.
This is the first time I have ever complained about a company like this and I want to know what the heck can we do.
I want to inflict pain on them. Not really but I am so angered I could, (I don’t know but somthing).
By Everyman on May 19, 2008 | Reply
As with the others, I was never made aware of any two-year service. Now I am subject to a $180.00 early disconnect fee. Nearly from the day I acquired the service, the signal was weak or if the wind blew or it sprinkled I would lose service. The techs have been here so often we are close friends.
I would join a class action suite.
By Sonja K on May 21, 2008 | Reply
Count me in on a Class Action Lawsuit against Clearwire. No one should have to deal with the misrepresentation and breech in contract. I had problems with connection and speed. I was being charged and paying for something I was not receiving. They do not guarantee their service and will not provide an onsite tech support person. I am sure it has to do with the fact that they are contracted independent techs and that there is no resolution. So they are not willing to go through the expensive.
They have agreed to release me from my early termination fee but I will lose any monies paid to them and my final bill for “service.”
I am reporting them to the BBB and will be happy to join a class action lawsuit for misrepresentation.
By William J Chase on May 27, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for the information. I’m also from Western Washington (Edmonds)and was very happy to see your information. Clearwire hit me with a $215.00 termination fee because I didn’t cancel their service until eight or nine days after I bought their modem. They have a seven day trial period. They had me return the modem to their office (which I have a purchase receipt for) by telling me that would cancel the termination fee. Later, I found it on my credit card. The card company investigated and sent me a letter saying the charge was removed for good, but I should destroy that card and get a new one to keep Clearwire from re-charging on the old one. The first bill I received for the new card showed the same Clearwire charge and gave me 10 days to resubmit all the details again. This process is still in action.
Thanks, Bill Chase
425-775-1813
By Everyman on May 28, 2008 | Reply
Bill,
I was so unhappy with their service that I sold the stock at a loss. It was probably a mistake but it made me feel better. I have told all of my friends about the terrible service and the rotten treatment from CLWR.
I’m now with Centurytel and I am a very happy guy.
Everyman
AKA Jerry Premo
By Mike T on Jun 1, 2008 | Reply
When I originally signed up for clearwire I signed up for the one year option. It is after all an option they provde to you the customer. This also entails that you do not change your internet speed to a lower connection speed or clearwire will start your contract year all over again. You can however raise your connection speed at any time during your contract term without penalty.
After following this policy I called to cancel my service. I was then told by customer service that I only had a 30 day window to cancel my contract. This window started at end of my one year term and because I had gone past 1 year 30 days I was locked into another year contract. I told the service rep I was unaware of such a loop hole nor was it stated to me verbally at any time nor did I see this advertised anywhere to lead me to believe I only had a 30 day window to cancel my contract. I made many calls and complained all without result. What happened to “Customer Service”. Finally after two long years I am able to cancel my policy tomorrow with out the roughly 200 dollar penalty. By the way there uplink speed is slower than any other proivder I am aware of. It is 256k so slow you cannot play online games without choppy movement during game play. I feel that the contract was misleading, intended to mislead and is a fraud towards consumers. We need to have and or inquire about a class action law suit. Has anyonew ever heard of an internet service provider or cell phone service provider, or for that matter any service provider giving you a 30 day window to cancel after full filling your contract or your locked in for another year? No of course not. I have been paying for two service providers for the last 3 months as it was cheaper to do so than cancel clearwire and suffer the so called early termination fee. I am now with qwest internet and have nothing but posotive things to say about them. Please contact me if anyone is looking into legal action. I say all customers should be provided a refund for the additional year of service, cancelation fees, or both. Thanks for the site.
By Just A Slave on Jun 3, 2008 | Reply
CLEARWIRE IS A JOKE!!!
Just to let you know, clearwire is a BIG joke!
IF YOU KNOW ANYONE THAT WORK FOR THEM,THEY WILL TELL YOU ABOUT THE LONG HOURS,CUSTOMER COMPLAINED AND ALL THE LIES!WE WAS ALWAYS TOLD TO OVER LOOK ALL CALLS & COMPLAINED FROM CUSTOMER!ONE DAY IN A MORNING MEETING IT WAS SAID BY MANAGMENT, WHO CARE ABOUT CUSTOMER COMPLAINED,THAT’S WHY WE HAVE CONTRACT AND CANCELLATION FEE!IF THEY CANT DEAL WITH THE SERVICE THEN THEY CAN PAY THE FEES! IT THE LIFE OF A SLAVE,A PERSON DEPRIVED OF PERSONAL FREEDOM AND COMPELLED TO PERFORM LABOUR OR SERVICES!THINKS FOR THIS SITE NOW SLAVE HAS VOICES TOO!!!
By Kristi G. on Jun 3, 2008 | Reply
I signed up with Clearwire in October of 06. My two year prison sentence ends there. I moved to the foothills in the Sierra Nevada’s. Clearwire cannot provide me service here. They told me “too bad” - basically and that I would have to continue making payments regardless of my move. This seems unfair that I should have to pay for a service that I cannot even get! I wrote them a letter and they kindly wrote back telling me that is what the contract stated.
Be aware before signing up with Clearwire that you’re gonna stay in the same spot for two years!
-Kristi G.
By Steve Grow on Jun 4, 2008 | Reply
I am so happy I found this site. Clearwire is a company of crooks! There, I allready feel better. I have fallen into their trap as well.
I signed up in good faith, enjoyed the service
most the time, but “(but)” when I went to cancel in good faith they tried to charge me another month of billing. Once you cancel, your not cancelled until they get their modem back. Well, little did I know that the whole world is suppose to stop for them to get their modem back at God Speed. They will get their modem I have no use for it. So pass the word.
Don’t sign up for Clearwire, unless you want to pay an additional months lease when you cancel out and return their modem. Just imagine the profits they are making by charging everyone an additional months billing when they cancel. Is this a fair business pratice? No, nothing more then CROOKED and deceptive. 30 days free trail to lure you in -
0 days to return the modem. Sign me up for the class action lawsuit.
By Everyman on Jun 11, 2008 | Reply
A Clearwire called me on Tuesday 10th of June, nearly summer, to tell me that I owe $180.00 for early disconnect. I said, “send a bill to me.” We can’t do that because we are a wireless company.” “Send an email.” “We Can’t becasue you disconnected your service.” I started to tell him to send it to my alternate address when he became a smart ass.
Of course I hung up the phone. I received a call from a reasonable adult today and they said they would settle of $80.00. So I caved in to the clowns.
I would like to get them. If anybody knows how to proceed with a suit, let’s do it.
Everyman
By Dontya Know on Jun 20, 2008 | Reply
Wow—CLEARWIRE IS SNEAKY. READ THE CONTRACT.
I WILL NEVER BE A CLEARWIRE SUCKER. Here is my sstory. One day I noticed a Clearwire truck parked in front of my house. It was there for hours. I saw a man inside using a noteboook computer. It came back at night for more hours. This went on for weeks. It had a special antenna mounted on it the moved around pointing down the street. One day, I looked it up in the phone book to see what Clearwire was—they said a wireless ISP.
Well when the truck came back I thought it was here to install service. I walked across the street and introduced myself. I wanted to learn how much the service costs. The man inside was laughing almost crying. He was reading customers email—you could see them on his computer while he was reading. he told me that thtas what the writing was—someone elses email. Well, it could have been mine he was reading! That sucks! Anyway he said that I had several emails that were using too much email and internet and he wanted to know why. I asked if it was illegal to use email on Clearwire and he said email was only supposed to be for short messages. I asked him about what happens and he said we will cut him off, but first I need to collect evidence. Well if he is using too much service why dont you just cut him off instead of reading all his private information. “Thats not the way we do it”. The man bragged that the Clearwire terms of service allowed them to do ANYTHING, including download spy ware on their comouters even if they used the comouter with another ISP. He was very proud of the ability to snoop. He laughed again and said you should read this shit people do with email! “Our TOS lets us do anything we want.” TOS means Terms Of Service. I asked him if he had Clearwire and he told me “HELL NO”.
By Christine Cox on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply
I want in on the lawsuit too. I was misled about the service and don’t remember “signing” a contract (I guess the guy who very assertively came in my home to sign me up did). The service never worked properly and they are charging me for early termination. I have now read the TOS and it is so unethically worded it should not be legally enforceable.