Clearwire trying to collect $50 dollars even after I have paid hundreds – User Submission by Alan Bryant

I decided to try Clearwire a few months ago. Maybe I am a sucker but the idea seemed good. I originally wanted to go month to month and pay for the antenna outright however let myself be talked into signing a contract. When I got home I found the service was actually slower than dial-up… so I called and cancelled, well within the time period allowed to cancel the contract.

I was told that UPS labels would be sent to me to return the equipment. I never got the email or UPS labels in the mail however Clearwire insists they sent them. They continued to charge me even though I was not using their service. Due to other issues I was not able to address the issue until after the holidays. At that time a few months had passed during which I had been paying the bill for a service I was not using. When I got the labels I stopped payment on my credit card and sent the equipment in.

Now Clearwire is attempting to collect another $50 dollars from me. Apparently I have to pay a fee for stopping payment. Ultimately I have paid more for their service I never used than I would have paid for their cheap antenna but the company insists on trying to get some last money out of me.

My advice to anyone considering Clearwire is this;

First of all their service is “broadband” in name only, the service is slow, the antenna does not work well if you have a wireless router and is easily overwhelmed if you have several devices that connect to the Internet.
Second; The customer service at Clearwire is worse than Comcast… and that is a real achievement.
Third; Clearwire will do whatever they can to get the last penny they can out of you. They will charge ridiculous fees and insist that you pay them.
Fourth; the whole seven days to cancel the service is a lie. You have to cancel it within the seven days AND have the equipment back to them within that same time frame. So if you cancel service the same day you get the service and have the return labels sent to you there is no time left to ship back the equipment. In effect you are set up so they can charge you the monthly fee plus a fee for canceling your account.

Maybe there is someone out there in the world who actually likes the Clearwire service however all I have heard since my experience are numerous stories similar to mine. Do yourself a favor and don’t even try Clearwire. They will figure out a way to get more money out of you than it is worth.

Alan B