RCN Telecom Services
Reviews and Complaints

I cancelled my internet service on 5/20/23 and returned my modem and router to RCN's return center at Delmar Drive, Folcroft, PA. On 6/3/23 I received an email saying my equipment was not returned.. I went on their web site's chat feature and was told email was an error and can be ignored and that my final bill would be adjusted to reflect my cancellation. In a couple of days my bill was adjusted from $69.79 to $29.77 which I paid. That should have been the end of it. Now I have received a new bill for $30.59 which includes a $35.00 charge for the router I returned on 5/23. I do not owe this, in fact RCN owes me a refund of $4.41. I do not care about the refund but I will not pay for a router that I returned. Whatever funny business happens to the equipment at the Folcroft drop off center is RCN's security problem, not mine. I have my copy of the receipt showing I dropped off modem and router and 2 power cords. Please reverse this $35.00 charge and investigate the operation of your Folcroft drop off point. Thank you.

Saturday, Christmas eve my wifi was not working and I noticed it 7am that morning. I found it very annoying that as a customer I was told that I had to wait until Monday to get someone to service the box because no one was working over the holiday weekend. Xmas was Sunday, and anything can happen with service at anytime.

So I was left with not being able to use any electronics that was brought for the kids or myself. To have a cable company closed on the weekend is outrageous leaving their customers to sit in the dark with nothing, My service didn't come back on until December 26th at 9:30am.

I called the company on December 27, 2022 to speak with a supervisor in billing because I couldn't seem to get one any other way, I spoke with a representative and asked to speak with a supervisor. She proceeded to ask what the problem was and I explained myself and other than putting me through to a supervisor I was told that I need to understand that there was an outage, I got that, it has nothing to do with me. I still wanted to speak with a supervisor. I never got to speak to one, she continued to explain there was an outage, and the weather and that I would be credited. If a customer asked to speak with a supervisor they should be able to speak with one. Credit usually amounts to what $5.00? If I pay my bill then I expect to have service provided, how can a company give workers off the day before a holiday? If a customer asked to speak with a supervisor what's the problem? If I don't pay my bill they would cut my service no questions asked, but my service can be down and I can't ask?

I hooked up with Astound by RCN in December 2021. I never received a bill for my service so at the end of January 2022 I called them. They told me they emailed my bill. No one ever asked me if I wanted it emailed as I don't have the time to constantly pour through the junk I get. When I was with them previously (3 and 1/2 months before), I always got paper bills because I needed them to get reimbursed from my employer. So they sent me two bills that added up to over $500! I am a single senior on a fixed income and could not and cannot get up that much money at one time so now we are always past due. They send me past due notices that each month the amounts are totally different. There is no reason they should be because I have made no changes and there has been no rate increase. I have called them 4 times and each time I have asked for a supervisor. Three times I have been hung up on, with no resolution in sight and the 4th time I was requested to come in in person to get it straightened out. I went in this past Saturday, July 23. And the only answers I got were "I don't know" and "we have no acces to that". Can you help me get the reason why these bills are always different? I have asked to speak to someone who would know and was told that they can't.

RCN advertised in 2021 and beginning of 2022 that they would provide 1GIG of internet for $34.99/month with two months of free service and $250 gift card. I signed up for service on 1/18/22. The customer rep told me I would get 2nd and 5th month free and receive a gift card by e-mail from Mpell Solutions. I am getting 940 Mbps of internet as offered so I never questioned what was on my account. Apparently, they put 500 Mbps and now tell me I do not qualify. I do pay $34.99/month as in the offer and actually get 1 GIG Mbps but because they put 500 Mbps on the bill, I cannot get a gift card. I would not order service if I was aware of this trick.

Have tried to reach a supervisor several times. Was told one would call me back a week ago needless to say I still have had no response.

I am having an issue with early termination charge for a service i cancelled because I moved from Peabody to Haverhill MA. I triple checked with serveral agents if there would be a charge and was told no. So I took them at their word Now I get a bill for 445 and I am told it was because I stopped by service. I could not continue with RCN because they are not in Haverhilll I had no choice. Still waiting for someone in charge to contact me.
Told me I would be going to collections

I have been with RCN for almost 20 years. There have been numerous problems over the years but I always gave them a second chance. Here's my most recent one. I called to add phone service to my existing cable & internet package & to try & get a reduction on my monthly bill of $200.00. They quoted me $158.00. I had them confirm twice that they were only adding the phone service & not making any other changes to my account. When the tech arrived to install the phone equipment he said he was suppose to disconnect & retrieve the cable boxes from 3 of my tv's! It turns out that RCN deleted 3 cable boxes AND amy family & kids pack too! When I called to have it corrected the price went up to $180. Also, when tech came back to my house to install an HD box, he came earlier than scheduled & talked my apartment tenants into letting him into my house(said he could not wait 20 minutes until the appointment time). He then installed the HD box but left me with an old outdated remote. I contacted RCN to have him come back & give me the correct remote. I was told that was not possible & that I would have to drive across town to the RCN service center & trade it in myself. My mobility is limited & to drive & stand in line to get the correct remote is too much for me. I'm done with them.

i returned equipment to RCN both by mail and drop -off. the company still states i owe for equipment not returned. all equipment that given to me at time of installation has been returned. i only had (1) cable box, (1) tivo box and (1) internet box. and (2) remotes...all have been returned. I am still receiving invoices that I owe for equipment not returned. I gave back all equipment i originally had. Know they have sent me to collections.

RCN bait and switch my offers. Now they stripped all my services down to nothing to get me the price I should be paying at 84, but still bills me from $135-$164 per month. Says I will get credits since August 2010 for all these months and nothing happens. I'm told it's done and I should see it. I just got another AMEX bill today for $135. I emailed the corp office, I called corp and nothing. Can we get a class action suit against them?

I just completed a phone conversation with a person at RCN. Had engaged the service of RCN 02/2010 and then was laid off in March and had to terminate service. Sent them paperwork documenting that and was told by several representatives that the fee would be waived. At one point a supervisor was to call but that never occurred. Was assurred that represenatives always write correct notes after conversations with customers. Had to leave the state in April and now RCN says that the termination fee has to be paid and they were sorry I was laid off. Customer oriented is a term to them seems to mean keep on kicking a person who is down.

I recently cancelled my rcn service due to some monthly increases without any upgrade in service .I also found there internet service to work only 60% of the time.After a lengthy discussion with rcn customer service(after providing my name address and phone # 4 times and being put on hold for forty minutes I cancelled my acct. and informed rcn I would find another provider)GOOD FOR YOU...Right..WELL..
I contacted Time Warner and signed up for the 99.oo triple play with free showtime for a year included.Had the service installed on a Monday and recieved my first bill on Thursday of the same week.I was shocked to be looking at a bill for 18o.00.I had also been on the phone every night with tech support because I was not recieving my free showtime channels.I called Time Warner customer service and entered my phone # about 4x address 4x and my name.Customer service informed me of all these fees I had supposedly incurred when signing up that were not disclosed to me at the time I signed up.I asked that they remove these rediculus fees and charge me the rate agreed upon 99.00 and they refused.
I then remember hearing a Time warner commercial that stated that if youwere not satisfied with thier service for any reason you are entitled to a 30 day money back gaurantee.
I asked the customer service rep if that was true?She said she had to check with a supervisor and put me on hold for 15 minutes.She got back on the phone asked if I was still there and put me on hold for an additional 1o minutes.She then informed me that yes Time Warner does in fact have a 30 day money back gaurantee.I said I would be taking advantage of that option.
The rep then stated that my buisiness was very important to T Warner and was there anything they could do to retain my buisiness.
Yes you can remove these fraudulent charges and charge me at the rate agreed upon.Ninety nine dollars.
Time Warner declined to live up to there end of the ageement.
Within a few days I returned my equipment to the Time Warner store in the Queens center mall in New York and had all balances reduced to 0.00
I then contacted my old provider RCN cable Queens N.Y. about reconnecting my service at the old price same service with free showtime.I still had'nt returned my modem and Dvr which they refused to pick up.The costumer service rep told me it was a good thing I had'nt returned any of my equipment.Just plug it back in and connect everything as it was and any bills related to that unreturned equipment will be eliminated.
After calling tech support 3x each time having to give my name address more than once, being put on hold for more than 30 minutes i was told they would send a tech to me on the following Monday.
The tech came and reconnected my service.
I did not have free showtime channels.
I did not have all the regular channels I had before.
Three days later I recieved my first bill for 173.77
This is for cable and internet, no phone.My old bills were for 108.00
Two days later I recieved a service suspension notice...claiming I owed a balance of 44.72 so I called customer service.
Automated operator, entered phone#, gave address got connected to a rep again gave phone # and address and mothers maiden name.
I asked about our verbal agreement of the services I had with them previously(2 months ago) at the same price?Rep states there are no notes attached to my account and that I am not entitled to any price breaks as I am considered a reconnect not a new customer.I explained that when i spoke to the rep to reconnect that I was very clear that it would only happen at the old price with the same service.The rep replied THER ARE NO NOTES ATTACHED TO THE ACCT SIR...but let me see what I can do for you..please hold...20 minutes elapse...Sir I can reduce your monthly charge to 108.00 but you first have to pay the 44.73...I replied before I pay the 44.73 which I belive is a fraudulent charge I would like to know what my balance will be after I pay you the 44.73...
She told me she could not give me that information until I make the payment.I than told her I could not in good conscience make that payment unless I first Know what the remaining balance is.Back and forth we went for 10 or 15 minutes until I finally could'nt allow it to continue any further and asked that my acct be cancelled immediatly.
Rcn reply I can't do that sir...what I can do is put a stop account order on your account and it will be shut down within the next 10 buisiness days and you will be reponsible for the charges.
So let me get this straight...I want my account cancelled immediatly so that I will not be charged any further and you will not comply with my request...I hung up...I am getting a converter box.T.V is not a necessity.The frustation in dealing with these rip off artists will shorten peoples lives...ronny d

RCN offers business and residential customers a bonus for referring another business or residential customer who signs on with RCN for service. I had both a residential referral and a business one. I spent months trying to chase down my bonus credit for the residential referral.

As a small business, the credit it to be equal to one month's bill, which is significant enough. I referred another small business, who became a client. They specifically mentioned my biz to the RCN rep several times, to be sure I got the credit. I didn't. I emailed, no response. I called, and was told to fill out a referral form online, but that form is for someone you want to refer, not someone you already did.

Six months have gone by and now I finally got RCN to answer an email - their response - I"m "Not eligible' for the bonus because my account isn't in 'good standing'. It's not more than 30 days past due, it is sometimes a bit late (the cost of doing business in the present economy), but I have never failed to pay, or to call to say when payment would be made.

DON'T REFER ANYONE TO RCN! The 'referral bonus' is a joke, and frankly, a deceptive business practice!

Their internet service is horrible. It keeps dropping well below advertised speed during peek hours. I have 10 Mb/s and I often see internet dropping to 1.5 Mb/s sometimes even below 500 kb/s. Their technical support is a joke, their automated dialing system is annoying and keeps repeating options.

In regards CTV, their channel lineup is weird and some channels that other providers include in basic cable require premium package such as MTV2 or Style.

Stay away from them if you have a choice!

I requested a telephone line on July 24th 2009 but the line was never installed in my house, however, RCN started charging my credit card immediately. Whenever I called tech support to get my line installed, but they did not answer my calls, and after being on hold for more than an hour in several occasions I couldn’t wait any longer.

After 4 months of being charged for telephone service that I did not have, I contacted RCN the billing department and I got transfer and/or hung up on 6 different occasions, and my problem has not been resolved. RCN acknowledges that my line never got installed and they decided to transfer me to a local care center (in Pittsburgh) where a nice gentleman by the name of Jeremy (he did not wanted to disclose his last name) acknowledge that RCN’s billing department is making everything possible to avoid refunding money to clients.

Please do not get RCN, it will make your life hell

RCN upgraded their cable network to docsis 3 (digital) in the Allentown area.they scheduled me for a upgrade 10/15/09 so I figured ok lets see what they can do.

first thing i noticed is some sub contractor with virgina plates in a white van shows up with a couple of new converter boxes in hand.so I was alittle nervious about letting this guy in my house not being from RCN.so he did the install and couldn't get the new boxes working and said that he would have to come back with different ones so he is rescheduled to come out again in a couple of days but I have decided to go with a whole new service.

my biggest complaint after reviewing this whole RCN upgrade is my channels are all over the place and they have added channels that don't work and even in the channel guide the channels are so spread out you don't know which one works unless you select that channel.I was told by customer support that thats the way the channels are now.this is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE

1.did I ask for this upgrade? no

2.did I ask to pay 3 bucks extra per converter box per room? no

3.why are all these channels that don't work being forced down my throat? why is this upgrade being forced down my throat?

come on people we don't have to stand for this type of monopoly.did you know that now RCN has upgraded its network you will be paying more come march rate hikes?

Time to do something:

I am not a promoter for anyone or any company..my wife and I are hard working people trying to put kids through college and stay alive in this economy.so I did some checking around and research and I thought about satillite tv but their rates change after the first year and sat tv has serious cancellation and hidden fees.

so after looking at dsl sat and other options.I found that for my situation someone who is NOT ready to go to HD and just wants basic tv I have made the decision to go with service electric tv in bethlehem pa.check them out you don't need a converter box for every room and you still get cable in every room and the best part is when I'm ready to go to HD with service electric its my choice not theirs.

oh one last tid bit I'm gonna save about 60 bucks a month by switching to sectv.com bundle package.and also they have a bundle promo right now for the first 3 months 79.95 for all 3 internet phone and cable and final bill per month for all 3 is 99 bucks.do the math look at your rcn bill... goodluck

Contract: Installation of RCN high-speed internet on 06/16/2009 between the hours 5.00 to 8.00 pm
Delivery failure: The technician never showed up
Contract Dispute: Misrepresentation of facts and lack of compensation for undue disruption of normal

(A) Misrepresentation of facts

(i) RCN claims that the technician showed up and knocked on my door at 9.00 PM (which in first place is beyond the 5-8 pm window). The inconsistencies with the above statement are the following:

* I live in a doorman building and he confirms that there was no RCN technician who entered the building premise at the above-mentioned time. Hence, RCN's statement tantamounts to blatant lying and lack of acknowledgement of failure to adhere to a contract.

* When I placed the order I was also told that the technician would give me a call on my cell-phone no. (which they have taken 5 times by now). Plus there is a doorbell. In any case, this version is clearly indicates that their actions amount to a breach of contract and a misrepresentation of facts.
(ii) They rescheduled the appointment to 11.00 AM on 06/17/2009 and I was told this only when I called them at 9.15 AM on 06/17/2009. This rescheduing was unilateral in nature and was not notified.

(B) refusal to compensate me for lost work time and disruption of normal working hours.

RCN further, after misquoting facts and keeping me on the phone for around 35 mins on a work morning, refuse to show even the slightest remorse by compensating with the any of the following

(i) A shorter window for the technician - They still insist on me leaving work and wait for the technician to show up between 5 and 8

(ii) Free installation

(iii) Free service for a period of time

I refuse to believe that in a market-based economy such blatant disregard for customer's time and breach of contract should go unheeded. I would have even understood if there had been a call made to me last evening explaining the reason for the technician's inability to stand by the agreed schedule. However, there was none of the above and absolutely no compensation for the discomfort caused by their lack of professionalism.

The letter I just wrote. It will not get read or answered, like all the other letters I have written:

Hello,

This is the second message I am writing in two weeks, and the third total. None of my messages have been answered, and for this reason, among many others, I will be canceling my RCN service within a month.

I have finally been able to log into my account to pay my bills. This is the end of a process that has taken many months. At first, I wasn't able to get the new security PIN numbers, despite repeatedly calling the number suggested (which was only open during work hours, when I work, so I could never reach a person), and sending messages through this form which were never answered.

I finally took a chance and called the Tech number, even though this was not suggested anywhere on the page telling me about the new PIN number. I finally found someone who was able to give me a PIN. I set up my new account, but was not able to log in. However, the message said that it may take 24 hours to activate my account (bizarre...), so I waited.

I waited for a week, and was never able to enter my account. Every time I tried (and I always tried with the same, correct, password) it would say it couldn't log me in. I tried the "forgotten password" form several times, and answered the security questions correctly every time, and still could not log in. No helpful error message was ever given.

I finally called Tech Support again. To confirm my identity, the person on the other end asked me to give him my password(!). I did not feel comfortable giving him the password I created, but did it anyway. I have never, ever, heard of any security system where the tech people are given access to customers' passwords. In any modern web company, the passwords are encrypted and hashed, and only the hashed versions are stored on the websites. As it is, (1) random tech people have access to our passwords, (2) we are obliged to give our passwords out over the phone, and (3) anyone that hacks into your servers gets them all in plain text. Are our bank account numbers unencrypted as well? If you like, I can give you the numbers of some good courses in web security you could take if you are ever in the Boston area.

He finally "re-activated" my account. He told me it had become disactivated after I put in incorrect passwords three times. As I had only just created the password after re-registering after getting a PIN number, this is impossible. Was it counting my attempts before I received a new PIN number? Further, there was never any error message that suggested that my account needed to be re-activated -- it just said the system could not log me in.

This is the worst service I have ever had the displeasure of using. (My comments about the abysmal computer phone system were mentioned in my last message, which, if it had been read and responded to, might have alleviated this whole problem).

My inability to log in, coupled with the fact that I have stopped receiving *any* bills of any kind, paper or email, for several months (which was mentioned in my last two messages), have caused me to rack up many late payment charges. I will not bother to dispute these charges, as just waiting to find a human at the billing department would take far too long. Instead I will be canceling my account at the end of the next month, and will be recommending Comcast or Verizon to everyone I know.

I paid on my credit card the amount of $500.73 for the outstanding amount due to RCN company for cable/phone and computer services. Payment was made April 4th. When I got my credit card bill the name on the payment was to ACTION COMMUNICATIONS BEACHWOOD OH. I suspect this is the collection agency for RCN.
I am still getting dinging letters from CCS Inc. for RCN - what's with this?

I am not paying again - you need to check into this and make it go away.

Kearns, Jacklyn
Creditor RCN Company Code 61
A/C 033-[protected]
Amount on bill $487.78 plus a fee of $12.95 for paying the bill by phone which in and of itself is ridiculous!

I had internet service with RCN for sometimes, though it was never reliable and many times was not working I continue to pay them. Finally I called tech support to fix these problems. They send a technician out to check it out and I wasnt home. On the next bill a charge for $49.95 appear for the technicians visit because I wanst home. I was never informed about that charge before and when I called numerous times to have that charge reversed, not only they had a nasty and rude attitude but they kept insisting that the charge is valid and it is "understood" by most people that they're will be a charge if I'm not home to let the tech man in. If its not stated nothing is understood, they're just scumming people, they're thieves and liars and the worst service I ever had. I refuse to pay the bill even the legitimate sharges for the time I had to waist on the phone with them and I order service with ATT.

RCN is TERRIBLE. Had an appointment from 5-8 PM on the day of my move to have my service transferred. I waited 4 hours and the technician NEVER SHOWED UP - NEVER EVEN CALLED! And if you've ever tried to get through to customer service, you know it is near to impossible to reach anybody - and when you do, they are ABSOLUTELY USELESS! They have screwed up my billing - they kept charging me for premium channles after i canceled them, claiming that I never called to cancel. I had to argue with 10 people to have that remoed from my bill. And the HD cable is terrible. The sound never matches up with the picture - so that is fairly annoying to watch! Not sure what my options are - COMCAST is just as bad ! It's a shame we can't get some real competition in cable companies, then maybe they would step up service. As of now, there is NONE. Do NOT get RCN!

I cancelled my internet service because the cable internet was operating as one way only (outbound) with no inbound data so the internet could never connect. A year later I still do not have a refund for the pro-rated difference of my overpayment. A measely $14.76. The third Customer Service representative I spoke with in a year's time was very nice and professional however, when I requested the timeframe for my refund in writing he was unable to comply...he told me he was not allowed (I pressed him to even write me sticky note). So, he transferred me to a billing supervisor (Whitney ID#39108) who in a very mean and condescending way proceeded to inform me that the only way to receive something in writing in any way would be to email Customer Service and receive an email response. Whoever I spoke to before her should be promoted to her job. She sucks at it. I was not being a "bad" customer. No cursing, no yelling, no impatience...I believe you catch more flies with honey than vinegar and yet she started off the conversation like a donkey. The bottom line though, is that they try to keep your money and hope you just forget about it, they are thieves.