ComplaintsforSmithville

• Initial Complaint

  05/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I pay a monthly service fee for a landline and wifi. For the past 2 yrs, my neighbors and I have repeatedly called due to having no service. It has continually gotten worse. I had no wifi 7/10 past weekends. The service throughout the week will be available for 10 minutes then out for 10 minutes. I have spoken with ***, the night IT tech, approximately 20+ times, ****, **********************, and ****. I call approximately 4/7 days a week. They have stopped sending techs out because "they can't detect the problem". But my bill doesn't change and there are no other options for any of us in this area. The last 2 technicians that tried to address the issues stated that the telephone line in on the same side as the substation on the corner and the electric current leaches into the line. Smithville doesn't want to pay to move the line across the road so that's why the service is unpredictable. I have no idea what's wrong with our phone lines but everyone in my area is paying full price for less than half of the wifi promised, landlines that buzz loudly enough to block out words at times, and we're told that's our option. I feel if we didn't live rural, Smithville would feel differently. Its unfair to treat customers this way and monopolize the market so nothing can be done on our end. I appreciate any resolutions you have to offer. Thank you for your time.

  

  Business response

  06/09/2023

  Please find our response to Complaint ID ******** attached. 

• Initial Complaint

  01/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Smithville fiber-optic internet. I want to upgrade my internet service (speeds). They said I would have to pay for their equipment to be upgraded to be able to get better internet speeds. $300-$400. This is not right. Why should I have to pay to upgrade their equipment to get better service (speeds). The equipment is dated because I signed up when they 1st started providing fiber-optic. My current speeds are under 300 mega bytes. I'm paying to have 300 megabytes. Depending on the time of day the speeds vary, but I never get 300 megabytes that I pay for. ( I want to upgrade to 1 gigabytes speed.)

  

  Business response

  02/02/2022

  The following is Smithville's response to ******************************************* BBB Complaint ID # ********:
  
  *************************,

  
  We are sorry to hear of your complaint and want to ensure that we work together to come up with an agreeable solution and trouble resolution. Please know that your account and trouble history have been reviewed as a basis for our response. Based on the account review, it was found that you recently contacted our Technical Support team in November of 2021 to advise them of a speed issue with your connection. You mentioned that you were seeing speed tests resulting in download speeds in the 100Mbps range. During the troubleshooting process, our Technical Support team worked with you to bypass your router and plug your desktop computer directly into the data ****. Upon doing this, speed test results showed that you were then receiving speed test results in the 250Mbps-300Mbps range. These results, especially after bypassing the router, would seem to indicate that there is an issue with your personal router, and it may need to be replaced. Should you still be having speed concerns after addressing the router issue, we encourage you to continue to work with our 24/7 Technical Support team directly at ************, Option 1. They can help test your physical and wireless connections, provide information on best practices, and ensure that any unused/older devices are removed from the wireless network. 
  

  At this time, based on our testing and troubleshooting we have determined that the electronic card installed at your residence is functioning properly and providing the maximum up to speed of 300Mbps. Since the equipment is functioning as designed, any upgrade would be at your expense. Smithville is not currently in the process of replacing fully functional equipment. Should you continue to work with our Technical Support team, and they deem that the equipment has failed or reached its end-of-life cycle, it would be replaced at no cost to you.
  

  All the best,
  ****************************
  Supervisor,Customer Service

  Customer response

  02/03/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. 
  
  [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************

  My cabling has been replaced and upgraded to cat6, My router has been replaced, my computer has been replaced with a high-end current build and still wont reach the paid for speeds. I was not told I would have to replace their equipment to upgrade this service. I want to reach speeds that I pay for as a minimum not a maximum, and I don't even get that. The equipment that they used to 1st install fiber is not capable of upgrading to any speed above or currently payed for speeds. The speed currently is less than advertised and is to slow for my needs. I was never told that I could not upgrade with the equipment they chose to install. I was never told that I would have to pay for their equipment to be upgraded to get better speeds. Their equipment Is not my responsibility. It is not reaching payed for speeds, so it should be replaced anyway. I should not have to pay for their equipment to be upgraded and pay a higher price for the faster speeds. If I have to pay 3-4 hundred dollars for the equipment to be upgraded, will I get the faster speeds at my current price? I bet not. They will charge me more money for a faster speed. The equipment dose not give the payed for speed so it is faulty or breaking down. They should bear this expense not me.

  
  

  

  Business response

  04/01/2022

  **************************,

  Our last trouble report for your internet service is shown to be in January 2022. You have reported in your response that you are still having issues with your service. While there could be several reasons for this, such as age of wireless equipment on your network, the distance between your wireless devices and your wireless router, and even the construction materials used in your home, we would request that you continue to work with our Technical Support team on any service issues concerning internet speed or connectivity. As mentioned previously, when we last tested your service connection we determined that the electronic card installed at your residence is functioning properly and providing the maximum up to speed of 300Mbps. The reason for the "up to" verbiage is that this is the speed being delivered to your home via our network and through the electronic card serving your home. Once devices (such as cell phones, tablets, or smart TVs) or programs (such as anti-virus software) begin using the bandwidth, any speed test that is then run on the network will reflect a decrease in speed, as part of the speed is being used by the devices are programs/software. Since we have previously determined that the equipment is functioning as designed, any upgrade would currently be at your expense. Smithville is not currently in the process of replacing fully functional equipment. Should you continue to work with our 24/7 Technical Support team, and they deem that the equipment has failed or reached its end-of-life cycle, it would be replaced at no cost to you. As a reminder, you may reach our Tech Support team anytime at ************, Option 1, or via email at **********************************. 
  

  All the best,
  ****************************
  Supervisor,Customer Service

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩