17 June 2011

DO NOT Use CLEAR Internet Service

They are a scam! Here's my story: in February we switched ISPs and went with Clear. We were a bit skeptical at first because they were a fairly new company, but ultimately we decided to make the change for three reasons: they had an unlimited usage plan, their service was built to stream video really well, and the pricing was good.  So we buy their modem for $150 (to avoid being in contract) and signed up for their unlimited service plan at $45/mo.  It only took a few minutes to hook up the modem to our router and we were off and running. Everything worked great! There was a few days were the service seemed to be a little slow, but we attributed that to March Madness and figured there were more people using the service during the games and what not. No big deal.

So last week they sent us an email saying that during routine maintenance they found an atypical amount of usage on our account and said we were bogging down their system. They attributed this to a) viruses on our computers b) an unprotected router and/or c) constant uploading or streaming of data. They told us to check the computers, router, and to be more cautious of our usage to be sure other users weren't experiencing problems. My first reaction was oh wow, I hope someone isn't piggy backing on our router and causing the problem. If they were they'd have to be doing a massive amount of downloading and what not in order for our account to be causing other users problems. Then I was bugged. I thought we were paying for unlimited usage so even if others were on our router it shouldn't matter, right? We called them and they confirmed our unlimited plan and told us to take the above listed precautions to avoid any problems. So we looked into it and we don't have any viruses on our machines and our router is password protected. We'd done everything we could on our end and figured it would work itself out. Well Wednesday we got another email saying the same thing, only this time it said that if we don't adjust our internet usage to an appropriate level they will terminate our service. WHAT?! Adjust our usage? We have an UNLIMITED plan. And what exactly is an "appropriate" level? Here's a few screen shots of our usage since March.

Mar-Apr 255,409 MB used
Apr-May 179,682 MB used

May-June 144,408 MB
We are using much less now than we did when we first started using the service! But apparently that is soo much we are a problem to others. I find it hard to believe that one household's usage could be killing their systems. And even if that was the case and that user has an unlimited plan, it's not a user issue to fix. It's Clear's. Get more towers or better systems or whatever. Do not put some imaginary limit on the user that's paying for what they think is unlimited service! So, we did a little more research into this problem and apparently this happens to A LOT of their users. This is their scam. They get people in the door with an unlimited plan, everything is fine for a month or two, then they say you are using too much, bogging down their system and cut you off. What a joke! Luckily, we are not in contract with them. In some cases if you are in contract they penalize you for terminating it, even if they are the ones doing the terminating! UNBELIEVABLE! I hate this company! So now we must find a new ISP. Blahhh. So if anyone has some suggestions I'm open. I will not go with Comcast, their customer service is HORRID and Qwest is too expensive. Oh PS I posted this negative review using Clear's internet service. Bitches!!

4 comments:

John Pender said...

Sounds weird. They run their service off of cell phone towers, but that doesn't excuse them selling you an unlimited plan and then telling you you're using too much. Comcast does the same thing, but they've never done it to me. And I stream a lot of movies.

StuTheWise said...

I find those reports to be highly questionable. Almost 250 gigs your first month?! Either you downloaded the equivalent of 50 Blu-Ray quality movies or Clear is (either purposely or erroneously) ridiculously over-reporting your usage.

My average usage is around 30 gigs per month, and I stream Netflix movies 2-3x per week. This month my daughter decided to watch the entire first seasons of Glee and Ghost Whisperer plus about 6 full-length movies and we're at 82 gigs on the month so far.

Now Comcast's "unlimited" usage is actually limited to 250 gigs per month, but at least they tell you that up front. I've never even come close to hitting that limit, even back in my hacker days :)

If you really wanted to fight back, you could always self-monitor your bandwidth usage.

Kidakaen said...

I have clear as well and it is a nightmare!!! Even when we have four lights of service our netflix has to buffer ever 1 and a half or so. And that's without any other device in our house running on the internet! Heaven forbid you blog and watch netflix on the TV because you're clear will just crash until you turn something else off. It's the worst, we are sooooooo unhappy with them.

Jeffrey said...

Attempted to purchase Clear service online. I could not due to site problems. I called the number on the screen and talked with a customer service rep. She said there was a site issue and she could help me. I told her I wanted t order it online due to the rebate offer. She said not to worry I would still be able to get the rebate so I purchased it over the phone.
When I received the clear modem in the mail it would not connect correctly so I called in and the issue was solved with a reset of the modem. I also explained what color the lights were on the hot spot modem with no red flags from the customer service rep. It seems that I have had a problem from the beginning of my service. You tell me, how long have you been having traffic congestion at my cell tower.
I talked with supervisor and asked about the rebate to make sure I was going to qualify, as I did not save the shipping box. He said I was qualified as long as I purchased it in the rebate time period. I told him the rebate offer was not online. He said it would not be there and I would have to check back on the site in a month and it would be there. I now have checked and it is not there. Not only that but it states that I am not eligible for gift purchase. Went to clear internet chat/ rebate section and started a ticket. Waiting for response. Now I read that in order to receive the rebate that you have could take up to 60 days and that when processing the rebate you must still have service with clear.
10/16/2012 5:15 PM
Download speed 0.25 mb upload speed .04 mb
10/16/2012 5:30 PM
Called technical help line. Reset line, now Download speed 1.6 mb upload speed .087 mb

Was told that was a lot better and that it was ok now. I stopped him before he hung up. I told him I was paying for 6 mb speed and wanted it faster than 1.6. He could not get it any faster and he said he would make out a ticket to have someone look into it and fix it.

10/17/2012 5:30 PM
1.2 down 0.05 up
0.5 down .074 up
Called technical help. They could not fix problem. Traffic congestion. Could not fix.

10/18/2012
Really slow and freeze internet pages. Down 1.5 up 0.3
Called Clear tech help. Refreshed line. Now down 2.1 up .23
Will have to wait 1 hour for faster connection
I asked for supervisor. Repeatedly customer service could not find one. Well be called back when one is available.
I have not yet been contacted, October 22 2012. Still waiting.
I am not happy with this service. Would like a complete refund. Terrible rebate process. I cant believe it.

Please note: You must maintain your CLEAR service for a minimum of 31 days prior to mailing in your completed redemption form along with a copy of your paid 2nd month’s statement. You must also be an active CLEAR customer at the time your paperwork is received by our redemption department in order to be eligible for fulfillment. Thank you!
Your options: (click on the link below)

Your CLEAR order is not eligible for a gift with purchase. If you feel you are receiving this message in error, submit an inquiry via the contact us link on the webpage.

Selected contact us for a question on why not qualified for rebate,
October 19 2012. Still no response, October 22.

I am paying for 6 mb download and this is what I am getting.

Today 05:57 1285 kbps (161kB/s) 457 kbps (57.1kB/s) Share
Today 05:57 2050 kbps (256kB/s) 441 kbps (55.1kB/s) Share
Today 05:56 2166 kbps (271kB/s) 415 kbps (51.9kB/s) Share
Today 05:56 1849 kbps (231kB/s) 431 kbps (53.9kB/s) Share

Today 05:55 890 kbps (111kB/s) 312 kbps (39kB/s) Share

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