Clearwire Service ->> Extremely Poor – User Submission by Sharad S.
June 18th, 2010 | by Admin |Dear Sir/Madam:
Like many others, I am also one of the victims of ‘Extremely Poor Connectivity and 0.3 mbps Internet Speed instead of 6.0 mbps’. Here is what I experienced:
On 5/22/10, I was told by Tod Passerini, Mgr. at ‘The Clear Store’,1233 NW Lovejoy St., Portland, OR 97209, “you would get full refund if you do not like Clearwire Internet Service within the Trial-Period of 15 days and also that ‘No Questions Asked’.” Once again, I clarified with him “Will I get 100% refund, including any activation fees or any such other charges”. He replied, ‘Yes, you would get 100% refund if you discontinue service within 15 days and modem is returned; no questions asked ‘. After such clear confirmation by Clearwire, I signed up for their service with option to buy the modem from them.
Since I live only 5 min. away from their store, I installed their software on my laptop, tried Internet Connection and informed Tod over phone within few minutes of sign-up that there seems to be connectivity problems in our area. I also told him that I had to connect 4 to 5 times in the last 30 min. and that, it took 10 or more minutes just to connect to Internet; and that, even when the connection stayed for few seconds/minutes, the speed was absurdly slow. I could not even send simple e-mail of 2-3 sentences (with or without attachments). He asked me to try it different locations within the Condominium.
At stage, I checked the connectivity/transfer speeds by SpeedTest and PingTest. After the following tests, I obtained the screen shots of
1. PingTest results
2. SpeedTest results and
3. The message prompted by the system, whenever it disconnected the Internet Connection – searching for Network.
As you notice that the speed was 0.33mbps (instead of promised 6.0mbps). I informed Tod over phone, again and told him that I would like to see him within the next 5-10 min. since I live so close to the store. He said, “OK”.
When I reached the store, he was gone for the day; leaving only Ms. Amy Keys to attend to the customers. Apparently, he was avoiding me.
I showed Amy Keys the test results’ document, explained her the sever problems of connectivity. I tested my laptop Internet Connection at their store and it worked perfect. She confirmed that the software installation is ‘without any fault’. I then sent the attached screen shot document to Tod with a copy to Amy that clearly proves my story. At that stage, Amy told me again to try the service at different times and locations for few more days, and then, if I am not satisfied, I can return their modem to get 100% refund.
Accordingly, I returned the modem after trying their service for 12 days (06/03/10) in various locations within my condominium, including our 5th floor balcony.
Now, they are refusing to refund full amount = $124.99. They refunded only partial amounts ($24.52 + $49.99). Thus, they are holding my $50.48. No Customer Service professional is giving me the reasons. Even the supervisor of Clearwire said that he is escalating my issue for further action. But, for the last more than a week, no one has provided any answers to my pending refund.
Hope, you will publish this ‘True Story’ for others to read before they commit to Clearwire WiMax service.
Thanks.
Sharad S.
