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Unfair pricing, bad service, bad customer service
Fairpoint did not tell me that I was commiting to a three year contract for service, and charged me $400 to cancel... when I called to ask for a supervisor it took 24 hours for one to call me back, and she just kept the fraudlant charges on the bill. This is an AWFUL company... they took over two months to get my internet service on... they lie, they are lazy, and they steal... better to use two dixie cups and a piece of string than Fairpoint!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Penalty 24 hours after paying bill
Fairpoint failed to send me a bill last month. Not only no bill was sent out, a bill but a 'disconnect notice' as well. If I had rec'd a disconnect notice it would have been the first bill I paid. But nothing was sent. I pay my bill every month AND on time. So they shut off service while I was away visiting family out of town, 4o minutes of calls to customer service (racking up huge charges on my cll phone bill by having to do so) later I pay a $350 phone bill only to find out service would take 24 hours to get reinstated. My daughter was due to arrive home from school. I said I need to get the issue addressed because I do not want my child arriving home from school without access to a telephone line. There wasnt even so much as a sorry for your inconvenience they just kept spewing out 'policy' companies that big just dont give a crap about its customers or the levelof service tey provide. Basically they do nothing to reinstate your service in a timely manner even if you have paid your bill in full. And they are a big company who doesnt care so none of it matters to them.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
internet service
The lines are so overloaded that everyone in this area is getting extremely slow speeds, slower than dial-up. They are well aware of the problem and keep saying it will be fixed soon but it has been months. They should be reducing the rate temporarily while it's not working but are refusing. They insist on charging for fast speed $36. a month for slower than dial up speed. They claim there's no way to adjust the bill. They've given me nothing but a run around. Terrible customer service! They are overcharging for what they're proving and there really should be a class action law suit to refund peoples money that they are ripping us off.
Yes Fairpoint Communications DSL speed is extremely poor. Especially to Monmouth ME.
Slow Monmouth speed is however not surprising. If you do some network analysis you will find that the Monmouth NOC uses DSL to communicate to the Winthrop NOC.
Simply put, there is no switch in Monmouth providing true DSL but a bunch of DSL modems in the Monmouth NOC bridging the customer DSL modems to the Winthrop NOC via DSL.
(Even more simplified explanation) If you live in Monmouth ME your DSL modem is talking to a DSL modem in the Monmouth NOC talking to the Winthrop NOC switch that generates the DSL connection.
Only reason I can think that Fairpoint would do this is because there is nothing but twisted pairs from Winthrop to Monmouth and they are to cheep to upgrade their lines.
So YES if you are paying for DSL in Monmouth Maine Fairpoint Communications is knowingly riping you off.
Additionally if you run a trace route out to anywhere in the world from Monmouth via Fairpoint DSL you will find that it typically takes 6+ hops to get out of the Fairpoint network.
You will also notice that some of the Fairpoint switches route connections back to the switches that routed connections to them. This usually indicates total incompetence on the part of the network engineers or failing port cards in the switches. Either way it means that quality of service is not a high priority at Fairpoint Communications and YES when you speak with Fairpoint you find BS is actually the highest priority.
This also indicates that the Main PUC is not doing their job otherwise they would be investigating Fairpoint Communication practices so you get burned not only by Fairpoint but your taxes are being wasted on a usless Public Uitilities Commission.
Phone service
I have had this phone number for twenty years. I have never had long distance service on this phone because I rent this property occasionally. The last bill had a long distance charge. It said it was "operator assisted". What is the point of having no long distance carrier when anyone can call the operator and make a long distance phone call? I had tried that in the past and could not due that. Bottom line is they just got rid of a customer who pays his bill on time every month. So for $3.54 cents they no longer have me for a customer. Very short sighted. NO LONG DISTANCE service means NO LONG DISTANCE CALLS! I was just about to pick a ISP for internet service in Island Pond but that is now done for me. By the way, very unprofessional for the "resolution manager" to hang up on me. Comcast her I come. I just got bundled by Fairpoint.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I just bought a new house in another town and needed to transfer service from my apartment to my new house. Two days after making the initial call for service, still no phone. I stressed the importance of needing a land line because my husband is a local police officer and is on call from 3am - 7am on the days he works. Fairpoint promised that they would not terminate phone service at our apartment until phone service at our new house was established, due to the importance of needing a land line. Needless to say they disconnected phone service at my apartment and failed to connect service at the new house, and although its been almost 48 hours since my initial call for service, they are now telling me i'll have to wait another 24 hours at the minimum for phone service. When I asked what my husband is supposed to do for his job, as a police officer, for emergency calls in the early morning, they told me he would have to walk to the closest pay phone. I live in West Wardsboro Vermont, the closest pay phone is 24 miles away! No one could tell me why or what was holding things up and in fact they were very unwilling to help. God forbid someone has an emergency and dies because Fairpoint Communications can't seem to get their head out of their ###!
Telephone Service Customer Service
Mickey Mouse operation all around...a telephone service provider that can't keep their own phones operating! We haven't had problems with our home phone service, but when I have called with an issue (billing or technical), it is nearly impossible to reach the right department, much less a person in the right department. I have been frequently cut off while on hold, sent to the wrong department after following a HUGE menu that requires several selections, and to top it off, they can't do automatic billing! Join the 21st Century, please!
1. I ordered DSL internet service 2 weeks ago. I was told to expect the modem in the mail within one week. I called Fairpoint today because I have not received it yet. After what seemed like an eternity on hold I was told that only dial up service is available at my address because "the line doesn't extend that far down the the road." I asked when they were going to tell me. The rep said they weren't...they tell the customer when they call. We need DSL to take an online class. We tried dial-up and it took waaaaaaay too long.
2. My fax line has been overcharged per minute for months. I finally figured it out and brought it to their attention. Two months later I'm still getting bills with the incorrect rate.
3. Voicemail is available on my line and it was ordered 2 months ago. Still don't have it because Fairpoint has a problem with their software. It won't accept any new service orders for my account. Yes, it is available, but no we can't have the service because they can't process the order. Why don't they walk it through their system and give us the service that is included in our "bundle."
Fairpoint Communications is the WORST utility company I have ever encountered. I am so angry and frustrated and they don't care!
I have had a dispute about my bill for over a year now when fairpoint took over. I have even sent messages to the CEO and got no where. They came up with a 472.00 bill from 2017/verizon. But could not prove to me why it existed. I have been paying my regular phone bill, but they turned off my long distance, because of the disputed balance not being paid. I entered into a payment agreement, in this agreement I was told by a representative that I would not be charged for the long distance portion of my package. But discovered they are still charging me. When I called them they said that there is a block on my account and they can not down grade my service. Therefor I am paying for long distance service that they are not providing me. I would like to know who I can contact to find out if this is legal. The PUC was completely useless in helping in this matter.
Rural VT will get high speed internet by 2999 at this rate! I can't believe the intolerable hold wait times. It's truly unacceptable; but unfortunately- I don't believe there's another option in VT. Is there?! This is a monopoly of incompetence. I have clicks on my line all the time now, occasional line drops, and after I finally get ahold of a live customer service representative, after 1/2 hr. or more on hold, I'm often hung up on in 'transferring my call to someone who can help'! Vermont needs help alright!, help in getting rid of Fairpoint! WHAT were we thinking?! I'm sure it came down to money (it always does, doesn't it?)...and this company underscores- 'cheaper is NOT better'!
Oh, and by the way, I'm STILL on hold, my SECOND attempt, after I was previously hung up on!
Fairpoint charged me for over a month after I switched to another provider. They even charged me for information calls. How could I call information when I didn't have a phone with Fairpoint? If you are in Vermont and want to get justice there is a Public Service group that can help you with conflicts with phone companies. Many States have something similar. If you happen to be in Vermont the place to file a complaint is: http://publicservice.vermont.gov/contact/complaint-form.html. I filed a complaint and Fairpoint sent me part of the money back although not all of it. I know I owe a small amount still, but not the over $300 Fairpoint is charging me. I asked them to send me my old invoices and the won't or can't. Good luck. Hope this helps.
Fairpoint communications absolutely is the worst I've ever seen:
1.) I canceled my service in March, they billed me for 39.95 for 3 months after that which totaled around $120.
2.) They acknowledge this, and instead charged my credit card for $120!
3.) They finally sent a check for $120 on 8/7/09 statement for $120, however, on Capital One...so now I'm back to them owing the original $120.
4.) I contacted them - Contact: Jean Villheora - [protected] in residential service center (said about 1 - 2 weeks this will be corrected)
5.) Contacted them 3 weeks later, still nothing - they acknowledged, and saw the issue again - they said we missed the cycle, so would have to wait until September to be issued the check
6.) I called in October, they did the same exact thing, and said November now, and apologized up and down
7.) It's November 20, 2017, and I still haven't received the $120. I have talked to 3 supervisors over the last 3 months.
Fairpoint Communications is the worst company I have ever had to deal with.
Thank you,
Greg Schneider
Bedford, NH
When I moved to South Burlington Summer of 1999 Verizon (who Fairpoint replaced) told me that my neighborhood would have DSL by end of year. I moved away Summer of 2017 and still did not have it. In fact, the availability stopped 1/4 mile away from me.
They all lie, let's face it, it costs money to provide services. They act like the money they gouge you with every month is for stuff they already gave you and they dont have the money to give you more.
Sadly, yes, when you are in an area without competition, they are in power. Are you not able to get Comcast? (they are no better, but you can get faster connections)
internet
Worst service ever... first off it doesn't work. And the rare occiasion it does the phone line has static and it knocks me off line right in the middle of credit card orders... and they are rude and unresponsive
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
i am deaf, and really depend on my e-mail. Out of service for the past 24 hours. Have a special hearing impaired phone, but does not work well on long distance calls. Called Fairpoint communications late this afternoon to tell of the problem of not being able to get or give e-mails. In trying to explain what happened. the person I was dealing with, was told of my hearing difficulties. Needed him to repeat several instructions, what he needed me to see on the computer, was not there. Told him multiple times what was on the screen. He was very upset with me raised his voice to me, and actually could not repeat at this time what he said, but it was the tone of his exasperated tone that told me all. At this point said to him that I could not do this any longer, as I did not want to deal with him Thank you fairpoint communications for having people like that on your staff. Really wants me to stay with your service. Not only you do not provide the service, but you hire people who don;t give a damn MY NAME IS jOANNE jerome @myfairpoint.net, bit that will change, so dissappointed in you, you should be ashamed
Worst ever
I've been with FairPoint Comm for 3 years now and as of this evening I have had several issues the latest and last took place when I called billing (14 June 2010) to go on the contracted price of $33.99... reg price of $35.99. I do this to save the $2.00, but this time the stupid agent put me on a tiered system with out my even knowing it. I had noticed a speed issue... I was getting 2.88Mbps download and 730Kbps upload. This evening I reset my modem and checked my speed again now I'm at 1.46Mbps down and 371Kps up. I put a call into tech support about the speed issue and was told that I now was on the tiered rate of 1.46Mbps. I told him that this could not be correct as I have had this DSL for three years and never had this type of problem. I've been on this same DSL for 3 years so I asked him to take off the restriction so I could once again get the 2.88Mbps he said they couldn't do that from tech support and I would have to get in contact with Customer Service in order to get them to change it back the way it had always been. So he refused to do the right thing and now I'm trapped into this speed all weekend long. I'll be calling the State AG's Office on Monday to file a complaint against FairPoint Communications here in Maine.
AGREED - WORST INTERNET SERVICE EVER! When we first signed up about 9 or 10 months ago - the first thing they didn't do was tell us that our house is apparently "too far from their service center" where the internet signal comes from. This is HILARIOUS, seeing that we're IN TOWN. But I guess being 3-4 miles from the service center is "too far" for high speed internet. Now - let me just tell you - lol - our speed - SLOWER than DIAL-UP! When we check our speed the last couple days we're down at like 350ish! That's RIDICULOUS! And apparently Fairpoint says there is absolutely nothing they can do to fix it. SO. Back when we first got hooked up, we made a deal with Fairpoint that I needed time to figure out how to get Comcast back, because the landlord wont let us make another hole in the house. (We use Directv and they're using the only cable wiring for the sattelite) Well, FINALLY, I just found out there is "FLAT" coaxial cable that will work for Comcast that I can just put in my window sill and close & lock the window. NOW we can switch - HALLELUIAH! :) So I called Fairpoint asking that they WAVE the $79 fee for cancelling early...they tell me no. So...I thought I would make sure I come on line here and post a really pretty little complaint about Fairpoint so that maybe it will help someone think twice before signing up for Fairpoint DSL internet.
POOR SERVICE
THEY ARE RIPPING ME OFF, first hardly no service, then I tried to call 4 or 5 times for that. then I again called several times to pay my bill they couldnt find it. Then I try to cut it off they cant find me in the system at all! NOW 6 months later they say I owe them 600 dollars, and are threatining me with putting it in collections!
HELP ME SOMEONE, they are trying to ruin my credit because they screwed up! IS THERE A SUIT OUT ON FAIRPOINT? If so I want in on it!
discusted customer Pam
if someone knows the lawyer after these folks here is my email
[protected]@yahoo.com
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
My advice to anyone: If you have a choice, more expensive or not, choose it over Fairpoint. The extra price will be worth it as you won't get the extra service Fairpoint provides: aggravation to the umteenth degree. We live in a rural community & finally got DSL internet. Yee-ha! We were so excited. Originally the internet service was good so we decided to save money and go with Vonage so I could at least dump part of Fairpoint. But, then the internet service started to be very intermittent. And it may have been from the start but didn't notice it until we were relying on it for our phone service. Fairpoint sucks. I will not sugar coat this for anyone. The service is intermittent at best. Now, I have intermittent phone service (not Vonages fault, they're the greatest). We are stuck between a rock & a hard place as we do not get cell service and if we go back to the landline we will be forced to use Fairpoint. When we call customer service they: have hung up on us, schedule service calls but don't tell us they did this then cancel them & say we weren't home (and even though we didn't know we had a service appt. we were actually home, I hate being lied to), they give us the run around & then try to sell us the bundle package. Their customer service is a joke. So, if you have a choice, DON'T choose Fairpoint.
unauthorized access to bill
Have a phone account with Fairpoint (who I also believe shares culpability) in which a parasite provider attached to our Fairpoint invoice charging us 14.95 a month. When approached they were vague about their services and difficult to deal with. Finally we get a guarantee of refund of two months and they tell us that it will also take up to two months to credit our account and are still vague about how they attached to our service in the first place. After several calls I finally got them to e-mail me confirmation of credit and that the service was actually cancelled. HOW DID THEY ATTACH TO MY ACCOUNT IN THE FIRST PLACE. Fairpoint does not take any responsibility for this BUT continued to show them in the invoice. If I am sending my payment to Fairpoint (WHICH INCLUDES THE INSTANT411INC payment) then how are they not in colusion with them? This is not only a scam but one that I found almost impossible to extradite myself from without extensive and unecessary time put into this. Some one really should look into this.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
poor service
For two years I paid $45/mo for supposedly high speed DSL service. But it was so slow it made no sense except that the problem was my computer (I'm on a Mac). I hired a Mac tech person to upgrade my computer in October 2009. It took so long to download an ugrade to Firefox that she went to CNET Bandwidth to see how fast my connection was. It was 76kbps, slightly faster than dialup. I checked it several times over the next few days and the fastest it got was 114kbps (and that was rare). Needless to say the problem wasn't my computer. I switched to Roadrunner and now have the speed I should have had for two years.
Since my DSL and phone were "bundled" I had to pick a new phone plan. The only options I was given was 300 or 1500 minute plans. No unlimited long distance, which I had as part of the bundle. Yet a friend in the neighboring town was paying less than the 300 minute plan for unlimited long distance (Fairpoint Exchange Essentials). When I tried to get that plan I was told it wasn't available to me. Apparently the plan is only available to former Verizon customers and Fairpoint hasn't been able to merge the systems yet, over a year later. So I switched to Time Warner Cable phone even though I'd rather have kept my landline.
Over the course of the two plus years I was paying for DSL that was really little faster than dialup, I actually overpaid $600.00. From the complaints I've read on this site, it's hard to believe that there isn't some kind of class action suit for consumers against this company that promised excellent service if only they would be permitted to buy out Verizon. There was quite a struggle, but eventually Fairpoint got what they wanted. And customers were left to pay the price.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I am determined to file a lawsuit against Fair point communications. I have a disability and am low income. For the past 3 years I have been trying to get them to lower my bill. Last year I finally got them to lower my bill to 59.00 a month and Internet to 39.99, so 100.00 a month is still to much. In January of this year the phone bill portion of the bill jumped 19.99 a month I had no idea. So here it is in late April and my bill is 355.99 and ready to be shut off in 10 days. I called customer service to set up a payment plan and was told that I had to pay all of the bill at once or lose phone and Internet service . I also found out that had I called in January I could have avoided the 19.99 increase which is now 100.00 extra on my bill. Though like pulling teeth I was able to ascertain that there is a program I was eligible for all along that would have given me phone service due to my limited income and disability for get this 10.00 a month. I had been seeking this type of plan all along for the past 3 years since my disability and every CSR i asked at Fair point lied and said there was no such program and the lowest I could ever get my bill was 39.99 a month . I use my land line to make an average of 5 calls a month, and I make no long distance calls at all from my land line. That is a average of 11.00 a call. Is there something wrong here.
lets boycot fairpoint.
This company is a complete and utter joke...I have had multiple service requests in with them since October and they still continue to insist there is no congestion and no issue with their service and yet when I test it almost every evening when I actually want to use my internet service at home I am getting less than 1 Mbps and paying for 7 Mbps...daytime speeds are almost always close to 7 Mbps...NO CONGESTION...are they all ###s. What can we as consumers do to make them stand up and pay attention to the service they are charging for but refusing to provide? Any guidance would be great as I am at the end of my rope and unfortunately in the State of Vermont...they appear to be untouchable and it doesn't matter how bad the service is that they provide.
This company does not have it's act together. I tried to call and cancel my service on Feb 5, and was told I can't because they are doing data conversion and their systems were down until Feb 12! Can you image a communications company with a planned system down for over a week. Honestly, I think prior to this venture, the management team for this company ran a donut shack. I'm still trying to cancel my service, that is, if I'm able to reach them during their customer service hours of M-F, 8-5! I guess I'm expected to be on hold for hours while I'm working. Can you tell...I hate this company. I'm no fan of Comcast, but they're looking pretty good right now, and I'm switching back to them if I can ever reach FairPoint.
We have been going through the same problem! It's not right that the customers are being treated this badly. The internet is as slow as dial up and customer service is terrible! I wish someone would start a class action law suit!
The average repair time for FP is 3-4 months, move on people!
Horrible company. Horrible Horrible. I tried to upgrade my internet speed and they said it was all done, But for days there was no increase in speed. Even though they kept saying all the work was done. A few days later and a bunch of calls later they agreed it wasn't working. All of a sudden there was a problem. They could not tell me what it was or when it would be fixed and we are still at that point. Luckily I have the time to call them waht do people who are tied up at work where they can't call fairpoint do. You really have to chase after them to get anything done. Very bad. And there is no number to call the main headquarters. They must be dodginga lot of phone calls from pissed off customers.
When they took over from verizon my service was intermittent to say the least, before I moved.
Now I have moved an notified them two weeks in advance of the move and now three weeks later after the move and the timeframe that I was to have internet and phone service I only have phone service & no dsl. Now five weeks after I called to do the switch., they do no tknow when I will get mydsl service and can not provide any timeframe either.
I have been disconnected from calls by rude customer service reps. and transferred to another rep when I was told they were putting me on hold to get the answer I sought. So how many times does one need to explain the situation to these people. I was transferred from tech to repairs, and the order inquiry center and back to customer service over the last five weeks with each area telling me it is the others that need to address the issus for my correct service to get working again. I have spent 25 plus hours on the phone trying to correct this delimna.
The regulatory commission should look into these problems for us customers as in some places this is all we have for internet options.
For the last four weeks I have to use a dial up ISP provider for internet service. So now I have charges for these minutes and have to pay for the services I can not get that I am being charged for. I tried to get my service disconnected and they can not do this as I am not officially in the system until the first bill is printed.
Beginning of last week I was told that I would have service in 3-5 business days and this has come and gone with no luck. They do not care or even worry if you want to leave them as a company and go somewhere else.
I was told by one rep in the beginning of march that 16000 customers have left fairpoint in Vermont alone since they took over. Businesses that moved locations do not have the basic phone services needed to conduct their business. Communications tha only took minutes prior to this now take days and weeks and possibly months to correct. So where is the justice or concern on fairpoints stand for losing possible customers after the purchase from verizon. This must be appealling to the stock holders that they are losing money and customers. Comcast is doing nicely since fairpoint has dropped the ball.
What a scam! HELP...SOS.
I've experienced many of the same problems as the other posters here.
Getting my service last Fall was difficult. They committed an install date, and then only activated the phone (no internet) on that date. They scheduled the internet a week later without notifying me. I asked them to pull it in. They didn't.
I signed up for a triple-play bundle of $99. I've never paid anywhere near that amount. Closer to $130.
My network performance is horrible/slow. Sometimes the DNS server flakes out and I have to reload a page to get there.
My phone service isn't reliable. My voice-mail is sometimes not accessible to retrieve my messages and/or my callers can't leave messages..
A few months ago, they transferred billings for my satellite account to DirecTV. My bill at DirectTv is more than Fairpoint said it would be when they were billing me. My Fairpoint phone/internet bill is $113. I called about the charges and Fairpoint said they're only overcharging me $10 (and don't know how to remove it). I'm supposed to pay $69/month plus taxes. Yeesh.
I was also affected by the Verizon to Fairpoint cutover problems. Lost my email for awhile. Fairpoint tech support couldn't help me. My bill was MIA for nearly a month, and the charges were "estimated".
Fairpoint has no ability to allow customers to view their bills online or pay them online (or get live chat support online). Their customer support model is 10 years behind everyone else.
SO I've had service issues, poor network performance, confused billing statements, and a very high bill. I really wanted to see Fairpoint succeed as a viable competitor to Comcast, but I've had enough.
I was not a very big fan of Comcast, because they frequently made accidental over charges on my bill which I had to contact them to remove. But their service was rock solid. With Fairpoint, my service is worse and the over-charges are worse. It's back to Comcast for me...
For those of us with competitive options, I see no reason to issue class action suits (except perhaps to reclaim some of the over charges). We can "vote with our feet" and use a competitor.
Posting for a colleague: she's having the same trouble that I am getting through to Fairpoint. She called three months ago to have DSL connected at her home, and it still hasn't been connected. Every time she calls, same problem: either she gets an operator that says it should have been done but wasn't, or gets hung up on.
Has filed complaint with State. To do so, go to:
http://www.maine.gov/mpuc/consumer/file_complaint.shtml
They've owed me money for 8 months
Fairpoint communications absolutely is the worst I've ever had to deal with:
1.) I canceled my service in March, they billed me for 39.95 for 3 months after that which totaled around $120.
2.) They acknowledge this, and instead charged my credit card for $120!
3.) They finally sent a check for $120 on 8/7/09 statement for $120, however, on Capital One...so now I'm back to them owing the original $120.
4.) I contacted them - Contact: Jean Villheora - [protected] in residential service center (said about 1 - 2 weeks this will be corrected)
5.) Contacted them 3 weeks later, still nothing - they acknowledged, and saw the issue again - they said we missed the cycle, so would have to wait until September to be issued the check
6.) I called in October, they did the same exact thing, and said November now, and apologized up and down
7.) It's November 20, 2009, and I still haven't received the $120. I have talked to 3 supervisors over the last 3 months.
Fairpoint Communications is the worst company I have ever had to deal with.
Thank you,
Greg Schneider
Bedford, NH
it continues:
8.) On 12/16/09, I called again, and Takira said she'll make sure it goes through for check issued on 11/5/09 - can take 4 - 6 weeks
9.) On 1/6/2010, I called again, and Catherine said it could take up to 60 days - she checked the confirmation # that was on record and verified the 11/5/09 issue date - so today it the 60th day - still no check. Catherine said she'll reissue a research request, saying it could take up to a week - she said she'd call back (should be about a week) - now they're telling me to call the following number going forward: [protected]
So we'll see... now it's almost 10 months
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Use of Collection Agency for offered credit
Original Complaint: FairPoint Communications routed unwanted callers to our cell phone and was unable to correctly route our callers. This resulted in us getting dozens of unwanted calls from people that had been incorrectly directed to call our cell phone. For the people that were trying to call us, they received a message indicating that our phone line was not currently in service. We had people wondering if we were having problems paying our phone bill. This cost us considerable amount of time, money (cell phone charges), frustration, and embarrassment. We called FairPoint on numerous occasions and they finally fixed it after several months AND we reported the problem to the Better Business Bureau and FCC. We asked for compensation for our time and expense in this matter. They offered to credit our account $168.56. We refused because it did not come close to what they have cost us. We received letters from the BBB and FCC stating that FairPoint Communications had made a "good faith effort" and "appears to address the issues raised".
New Complaint: FairPoint Communications has sent the remaining $101.00 balance to NCO Financial Systems, Inc., a collection agency. They did not credit our account a single penny for the considerable inconvenience they have given us. They did not give us any warning that this action would be taken. The last communication I received from them indicated that the $101.00 remaining balance was an "optional charge". NCO Financial Systems is threatening to damage our credit rating. After talking to Dottie Nesmith, Regulatory Compliance Manager for FairPoint Communications today, I realized that FairPoint is taking the stance that they offered the credit of $168.56, but we refused it, therefore we still owe it and they did not need to give us any warning to this affect.
Message to all potential FairPoint Communications customers: This company only responds to service requests/complaints if you make an formal complaint to the BBB and/or FCC. If you really want telephone service, then I suggest you look elsewhere. I've been very happy with our cell phone and internet service with other carriers. There are a lot of customer complaints about FairPoint Communications and they confirm that our experience with FairPoint Communications is not unique. Buyer Beware!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Fairpoint does suck
Fairpoint? You mean failpoint don't you?
Since fairpoint took over the internet service is awful. Our phone lines are sometimes so staticy we can't even use the phone. Our internet connection gets dropped randomly and our upload/download speed is awful. To download driver updates took over 1 hour, I mean come on. This is high speed? We pay for business service and get squat.
These guys must have paid off someone in augusta to be able to take over. I knew the minute I heard they were taking over that we were screwed and I was right.
Come on cable internet providers! Come to rural maine and reap the benefits of failpoints failure.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I Agree Also, I use FairPoint as well, If I try to download something, my download speed is 600+ KB! That's about the max it goes to, And uploading videos to YouTube, it takes 2+ Hours, (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcwKDUKRepHadznyClQuJfg) For my channel, but FairPoint Is the slowest internet service in the WORLD!
Fairpoint is horrible. We were scheduled to open our gas station/convenience store last month and needed to have DSL active before the register could be installed. They told us they'd be there on a Friday "between 8 and 5" so my husband took off work to wait for them. He started calling at noon and was assured each time that the tech was scheduled for our location... until after 5, when he was told no, it won't be today after all. They said the tech would be there the next day, but couldn't say when. Again, no show all day... oh, and no, they don't work Sundays, so now it will be Monday... And I needed to reschedule the installation of our $14, 000 register system because the DSL wasn't up.
Finally the tech shows up Monday afternoon (after 5 more angry phone calls by my husband). He installed the modem, but couldn't get the red internet light to turn green - which means we couldn't connect to the internet. He worked on it for a couple hours, and then when I was distracted by a visitor to the store, he called, "Got it! We're all set, " and literally bailed out the door. I went back to check, and nope, it was still red. I got right on the phone to Fairpoint, told them he bailed and to get him back to my location... only to be told he was off for the night! It was Tuesday at lunchtime before the internet was working, which delayed the opening of our business.
Here we are, three weeks later: We're up and running our new business, and suddenly smoke starts coming out from under the counter. The MAIN breaker trips and power goes out. When we're able to get the main back on, we find that the phone line has melted into a black lump at the jack! Phone lines shouldn't carry any electricity to speak of, and the electrician we call has never seen such a thing before. Fairpoint came and replaced the jack, pronounced it fine, and left. Since then, DSL has been dropping constantly. We have pay-at-the-pump at our gas pumps, and when the DSL drops, we are losing payments on gas! The pumps are rebooting, our $14, 000 register keeps rebooting. After having a register technician come check the equipment for issues, an electrician come out TWICE to make sure it's not an electrical issue in the building, and the electric company check everything outside, it's been narrowed down to a Fairpoint problem.
After Fairpoint's automated phone system hung up on him three times, Husband finally got through to a live person tonight and demanded service tomorrow (Sunday). Even though we're a business account, which means we pay more for the same product than residential, because we get "priority service, " they won't guarantee they can get a tech out tomorrow. Meanwhile, our business has been unable to process customers for four nights straight because of their issues. The Fairpoint supervisor was even able to confirm that DSL had dropped at our store at least ten times today alone, yet still wouldn't guarantee service tomorrow to get us back in business!
Time Warner Cable costs almost 50% more, and aren't a whole lot better from what I hear, but at this point, I think we may change to them anyway. Constant rebooting could damage that expensive register system, and as a start-up business, Fairpoint's issues could put us out of business. Avoid them at all costs if you can!
I 100% agree! Fair Point is a sream show. I thought Verizon was bad.Fair Point as you know bought out verizon .We have over 96 logged in hours on the phone with them, Then after being on the phone on hold for 3 hours a voice comes on and says I'm sorry we are now closed
please try again during business hours ARGGGG! And verizon kept taking the phone / internet payments out of our checking account, Fairpoint said that was fine don't worry about it. Wrong. They kept sendind us bills anyway, We had an 800 # that was paid all up to date
They shut it off with out a word and cont. to charge us and REFUSED to do anything about.
I could tell you so much more but we'd be here for some time.
really really unhappy
Kathy from maine
Charging for long distance service that they are not providing me with
I have had a dispute for over a year concerning some fictious account from 2005. I have fought with them over this issue for over a year with no progress. I recently had my long distance shut off due to non payment, although I have a dispute. I set up a payment arrangement and was told my long distance service will not be restored untill the full balance is paid. Agreed to pay 140.00 month which is double my monthly payment. The representative told me they would would remove the charges for long distance while I am not recieving the service. I recently found out that they are still charging me for the long distance charges as there is a block on my account so they can not downgrade the service, even though I am not provided with the service at this time. I called the PUC and they were useless, she was russhing me off the phone and basically did not know any laws pertaining to my complaint. So what does the PUC do for consumers? NOTHING!
In the past each time I call fairpoint to resolve this issue I am transferred all over the place and the phone calls run about 1 1/2 to 3 hours with as many as 9 representatives, with each and every one of them giving a different answer. I also can not find any information on the internet that will explain my rights. I feel that it is not legal to charge for services not being rendered. I am not in a contract for specific amount of time, so I do not believe I should be paying for long distance service I am not being provided with.
There needs to be some reform on consumer rights in this country. Fairpoint took over and I did not sign any new contract with them. I had no choice but to accept them. They are taking advantage of citizens that are struggling in this economy. Karma will get them in the end!
Upset in Berwick
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Billing
For months, we have been having issues with Fairpoint crediting our payments. We call after every payment to be assured they know it was sent via their website. Every time we have questioned them, that previous payments have not posted to our account, we were assured that it would and to "wait". Friday, they cut our phone service off, for an excess of $600.00 in delinquent billing. The same said billings that were paid and followed up with telephone calls to be sure they knew it had been posted electronically. The same billing that we were told, would post, and to "wait". It is Tuesday, and 4 faxes later, to prove our payments, half a dozen people spoken to on spotty cell phone service because of where we live, we were told they are sorry for the inconvenience, will verify the payments and return our service within 24 hours. We still do not have service. We still are waiting, and are about to make another call for another person to tell us that we have called the wrong department (after another person assures us that the next person is the correct person to talk to) There is no rights for us. We have paid our bill and we are still without service! What recourse do we have? Why are we without phone service that we have paid for and diligently followed up on, because of their ability to lose our money!? It's not our fault. We did nothing wrong. We went above and beyond the call of duty to pay our bills. We don't have to call the Electric Company to be assured they got our payment, We don't have to call anyone to be assured payment was recieved, especially when it is gone from our bank accounts ...Where is this money? I don't have it..the bank says fairpoint has it...Fairpoint is sure they don't have it!? What can we do?
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
The worst part of how Fairpoint bills customers,
The bill always is due late in the month instead of being due in the beginning of the month like pretty much every other company bills its customers!
Which already makes you late when you pay the bill for service and since they advance bill you for the next month and add the amount of next month to the current months bill as soon as you receive it since most people pay bills and/or receive money in the beginning of the month.
Which means you pretty much get billed for both months at the same time and if you only pay the current months amount off they disconnect your service for failing to pay the whole amount (Both current month and the month in advance they add to the bill ahead of time).
If your service gets disconnected for failing to pay the in advance next months charge they add to the bill cause of the end of the month billing, Good luck with getting it turned back on anytime soon (It can take 3-5 days to reconnect service even if you phone in the payment directly to Fairpoint accounting).
We are having issues with the internet going off and on. I reset the wireless box numerous times and still having problems with staying online. Can you give me the phone number to customer Tech Support so I can stop this from happening again?
The next best thing to do is contact the Better Business Beareau and your States Attorney's Office.
Gather all the information the times you called, a copy of your payment from the bank. If you can, send the information via fax to the Attorney's Office. Ask them if they would call Fair point on your behalf.
make sure that the information is correct and concise, allow them 7-10 business days to investigate this situation. Double check to be sure that the account you have is the same that fair point has.
Unfair practices, outrageous pricing, monopoly
Eastern upstate New York is another rural area that Fairpoint has established itself as a monopoly, gluttonously taking advantage of its customers who have no choice but to "choose" them for local phone and internet service. From the moment I signed up it's been nothing but a headache. Simply because of the date I signed up, I was sent a "prorated" bill - meaning they immediately charged for two months service. This amounted to about $158. No one informed me they would do this, and living on a very tight budget I couldn't afford to pay that all at once, so within the first two months I started receiving disconnect notices. Thanks to help from a friend, I eventually paid them off in full, only to receive the following month's bill of $83. When I signed up, I was assured my monthly bill would be around $74. I have a basic phone and DSL package (1.5 Mps). When I questioned this bill I was told the "introductory offer" had expired. I hadn't been told there WAS such an offer or that anything would expire, causing my monthly dues to go up so much. $83 a month for no-frills phone and internet? And I have no choice! I need phone, I need internet, but this is incredibly difficult to afford month to month. When I have called to complain about their prices, customer service has been condescending, insisting that their pricing is "competitive". Aren't monopolies supposed to be illegal? Can't the FCC or Attorney General look into this company's practices?
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
It isn't a "monopoly" the PUC creates "Terrritories" for land line companies
1. Get "lifeline" service if it is available (measured service.)
2. Get VOIP for your primary outgoing line ($15/month for 200 LD minutes and unlimited local.) I use Voicepulse, avoid Vonage at all costs!
3. If your line WAS $35 a month or more, it no longer is. You can still get incoming calls for free.
4. Check with other ISPs (COVAD often supports them, Fairpoint hates that), then ask Fairpoint about the best rate they can give you on Internet access. If they can't drop the rate, ask about your switchover to the new ISP, they will suddenly "find" a new rate or you can simply switch! I have used Speakeasy, their service is expen$ive, but incredibly good.
One thing you can get from people like Speakeasy is a "dead loop" service, no phone at all, just DSL, but that runs $60/month and VOIP is another $15, so no big win.
staticy phone linehorrid customer service!
I've had static on my landline phone no matter what phone I use whenever it rainsstorms ever since last year and I've called Fairpoint over and over about it to have them keep telling me their must be something wrong with the wiring in my apartment all the while NEVER mentioning anything about a maintenance plan that could be added to my phone bill for $5month to cover cost of any inside wiring jobs. They just kept telling me that it was MY wiring that was wrong with it even though they never came and looked and that they would bill me $100+ for coming out to check if there was nothing wrong with the outside. What a joke! Finally a couple weeks ago I was told by one of my co-workersfriends that I could get some maintenance plan, so I called Fairpoint and they go "Oh, yeah you have to have it on your account for a week before we can come fix it." Ok, so the technician come on a Sunday and went down to the basement to check the ONE wire leading from my apartment to the basement and said "There's NOTHING wrong with this wire and there's NOTHING wrong with the box on the side of the house. The problem can be anywhere from the top of the street all the way back to the next town over." So now I've had my time wasted for a year trying to get it dealt with, Fairpoint has failed to make complete notes (or in some cases any notes at all) on my account in reference to some discussions I've had, either not given me the information I've needed to get the issue taken care of or just given me WRONG info over and over. Meanwhile during any conversation I've ever had with them about it they've NEVER apologized or offered to credit me even though I've only been able to get 50% usage out of my phone every time there's rain or a storm because it takes 3-4 days for the line to clear up. But yet I consistently pay $32+ dollars a month about $13 of which is TAXES for a phone service I can only use 50% of the time! Fairpoint can kiss my ### because if they don't straighten it out soon I'll be moving to cable internet and VOIP service!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
No action
Do not believe anything they say regarding a new service, after 6 weeks of calling them to see why my DSL service was held up they gave me a lame excuse, as they did my neighbor, then another 2 weeks have gone by after they promised the service within 4 days. To find out another neighbor had similar problems just changing a business line to residential. They are all talk and absolutely no action!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Billing
I called Fairpoint as all my billing numbers are long distance to Massachusetts numbers yet coming up Kentucky, Louisiana, Charlotte etc. I called the billing number on my phone bill to inquire they told me there is a glitch and I needed to call another number [protected]. I had 2 lines on hold 2 HRS each with a recording time is important we will be with you in a moment, no one ever picked up. They are understaffed, this is the 2nd time I have had a billing issue with my line. They need to fixz it or start reimbursing people for the time it takes to get through to them. Horrible customer Service. When Verizon was in New Hmapshire everything went well service has been terrible since Fairpoint took over. To make a long story short No-one could help me and by bill is still incorrect.
The State Government should be addressing the complaints against Fairpoint Communications they need to hire people to work in New Hampshire and service the customers in New Hampshire.
They are very bad and no-one is doing anything to help the New Hampshire consumers!Bring back VERIZON
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I HAVE TRIED FOR A MONTH NOW TO CHANGE MY PHONE AND INTERNET SERVICE BACK TO COMCAST, AND FAIRPOINE WILL NOT RELEASE MY PHONE NUMBER TO COMCAST. I WILL HAVE TO TAKE ON A NEW PHONE NUMBER, IF THATS WHAT IT TAKES. PEOPLE PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM FAIRPOINT IN NH . PHONE SERVICE IS VERY BAD.
We also cannot pay on line, the account they supposedly set up for us has not worked once. We pay on the phone with an additional charge of $3.50. I paid last month's bill and they shut us off for 48 hours on the internet. When I called with the confirmation #, they said 'oh, here it is, it wasn't posted'. She said she'd have to go ask her manager about it. When she came back she told me it was 'human error', the number typed in was 683, instead of 603...'human error' or 'computer error', either was the internet still was shut off for 48 hours. This is the third time this has happened, so we went over to Comcast who now cannot "port" over our unpublished phone #. Fairpoint will not release the phone number to Comcast calling it a delinquent accout. They have had my payment for almost 30 days, I spoke with them about their "human error" 2 weeks ago, they still have not taken the money out of my account and we are DELINQUENT? Anyone have any direction on where to go with this? Our hands are tied by this stupidity, we want the same unpublished phone #. Comcast is telling us it is illegal for Fairpoint to do this. Meanwhile we have a phone number we don't want and did not request. We have paid for that unpublished number for over 4 years now and don't want to have to change everything around again. Fairpoint does not want to lose our business, but what I can't get them to understand is that they ALREADY HAVE LOST IT. I no longer want anything to do with them. The bills are paid, it's their error in not posting them and we get shut off anyway... any direction to help with this would be appreciated.
I am a NH customer and I am also trying to pay my bill online and keep getting that frustrating time out! I had to pay by phone and pay a $3.50 service charge. I have been paying them online with no problem for months and now I can't. I called tech support and they had me do this and that. It didn't help. Finally I said NO when they wanted me to reset my internet explorer.
I am a Vermont customer of Fairpoint and have had repeated issues with them. Right now, I'm getting that same "Session timeout" message mentioned above. It's frustrating, because I'm trying to pay my bill, yet no matter how many times I log on, it keeps telling me that I've timed out. Grrrrr! I hope something changes soon, as I have been very patient with them for years. I'm still waiting for them to fix their system.
Go Voip. Look into an alternative Voip system. I have two systems, both I purchased for under $300 and connect into my cable line (not through my computer). Zero dollars monthly for calls in U.S.A. and Canada. You don't have to pay a monthly fee for telephone service
What you people do not understand that is if Fairpoint did not take over Verizon that there would not be any service in that area at all because Verizon was just going to close their doors. So they took over a service that was already going to close. Which would you want no service in those areas? or a company trying at least to provide service?
I have had several phone conversations with billing, trying to figure out exactly what I owe. On at least 3 occasions, they tell me - you owe X amount. I either send in a check for the amount they tell me, or even pay right there on the phone (with a $3.50 upcharge, no less).
Lo and behold, don't the future bills come in and I have NO IDEA where they came up with the amounts they told me I owed. I seriously cannot figure out whether they have screwed up, they aren't counting checks I've sent in, or if I haven't paid enough. Seriously.
Now try and go to their torture chamber website that works like circa 1995. You log in, click View/Pay Bills - click your name/account, click SELECT and voila! Well, you have to allow the popups, hmmm ok. So one of two things happen now. Either the same damn window you started with opens - OR a popup window acts like its going to do something and then it says
Session Timeout Session is closed due to time out ! Please log in again !
Stupidest, stupidest company - unbeLIEVABLE! Governor! Dissassemble this company and start penalizing them or something! THEY ARE AWFUL!
waiting over 4 weeks for service/telephone to be connected
Hello, I have been waiting over 4 weeks now, for my phone to be activated and work correctly. Fairpoint has given me four or five numbers...and this has taken over 4 weeks and I still do not have a working phone. I work at home and need a phone. I just moved here and I don't know anyone...so it would be nice to be able to call family and friends. This company has
proven to be completely incapable of doing their job...and I have never seen such incompetence. All I wanted was basic phone service. I have spent hours on the phone with people who say they will straighten this mess out, and my phone will be working soon, and it still has not been connected properly. They give me numbers that are still in use and ring at other people's homes and businesses. All I have received so far is a bill for a service I have never received.
This is the worst company I have ever dealt with. I am wondering if I will ever get a phone from them?
This is my 5th week without a working phone. I am so frustrated with them. I didn't want a cell or trac phone, but maybe I will have to get that. I wish someone could help me...I am sorry for everyone else out there who is going through this same thing with this terrible company.
Sincerely,
Liane
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
oh i am with you! i too have been waiting for fairpoint to figure out what they are doing. i ordered my service a week before you and i still have no DSL. i work from home and depend on this- all they needed to do was transfer my service from my previous address in bath, me to the new one in brunswick me. i have spoken to 11 different people now, even supervisors who assure me they will figure it out. and NOTHING.
i have used all my cell minutes and then some-costing me money just to sit on hold for sometimes longer than 2 hours --all to no avail. the people in maine who decided that selling verzion to fairpoint was a good idea should all be relieved of their positions immediately. well, i guess if i lose my job because i cant get internet, i can go apply at fairpoint...it seems they need some intelligence over there.
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Overview of FairPoint Communications complaint handling
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FairPoint Communications Contacts
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FairPoint Communications phone numbers+1 (866) 984-2001+1 (866) 984-2001Click up if you have successfully reached FairPoint Communications by calling +1 (866) 984-2001 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached FairPoint Communications by calling +1 (866) 984-2001 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached FairPoint Communications by calling +1 (866) 984-2001 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached FairPoint Communications by calling +1 (866) 984-2001 phone numberCustomer Service
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FairPoint Communications emailswecanhelp@fairpoint.com100%Confidence score: 100%Supportpr@fairpoint.com100%Confidence score: 100%Support
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FairPoint Communications address521 East Morehead Street, Suite 500, Charlotte, North Carolina, 28202, United States
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FairPoint Communications social media
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Checked and verified by Andrew This contact information is personally checked and verified by the ComplaintsBoard representative. Learn moreJun 13, 2024
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I agree they have the worst billing and customer service and the rates are ripping people off i think they should be SHUT DOWN im about to go on strike with them ..lol