RCN Telecom Services’s earns a 3.3-star rating from 31 reviews, showing that the majority of customers are somewhat satisfied with service.
- All
- Reviews only
- Complaints only
- Resolved
- Unresolved
- Replied by the business
- Unreplied
- With attachments
Denied Referral Credit
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 anothe 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 responst - I"m "Not eligible' for the bonus becuase 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!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Rip off
In October, RCN took over an unauthorized draft of $700 out of my bank account. The billing error was for equipment that was already returned. This has caused significant hardship for my family.
I had gotten a bill for the $700 amount before the draft, and when I called RCN I was assured that I would not be billed for it and that it showed on my account that the equipment was returned. Sure enough, a few days after the due date on the bill, there was an unauthorized draft on my bank account from RCN. I have been on the phone with customer care at RCN for hours trying to get my money back. Every time I speak with them they say it will take 4 to 6 weeks to get my money back. I have faxed them my bank statements along with their own billing statements to me (this amazes me), and still nothing.
It has been over a month and I still don't have my money. Sprint did this to me for over $700 once and I filed a suit against them. It was the only way to get my money back. It seems that RCN plays the same tactics with billing errors and doesn't care how it hurts the consumer. Of course, we know that the companies hold the money for interest and only give it back when they absolutely have to. This kind of business scam should be extremely illegal and should result huge fines for the company. It is unethical and hurts consumers.
I have filed complaints for this kind of scam with the Massachusetts attorney general, my congressman, the FTC, the FCC, and the BBB, and only the BBB got back to me. I think the FTC needs to look into this billing practice and outlaw it in the United States.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Call the FCC and they will get back to you RCN that is because they have to respond to the FCC with a resolution of the problem. Call the home office of RCN.
Rcn Corporation
196 Van Buren Street # 300
Herndon, VA [protected] map
Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV Metro Area
PUBLIC, NGS*: RCNI*
Phone:
(703) 434-820o
RCN Strong Arming Drexelbrook Residents
The Drexelbrook community management has a contract with RCN as the sole provider of cable services to the community residents (1223 individual apartments). RCN uses this monopoly to strongarm (I can't find a more suitable term) community subscribers to pay un-naturally high fees for their cable services. I had RCN installed on 12/15/2008 with an understanding from a "suave" and "chummy" sales guy (who never bothers to respond to my calls since I cannot add anymore to his target) that since mine was an annual contract installation would be free and I would get the first 3 months of HBO free of charge. When I receive my first bill I see that my charges are $231.84! Apart from charging $124.80 as "installation" fees I'm also being charged for my "free" HBO package. Since I don't have a choice of service providers (speak about the freedom of choice!) I'm being bulldozed into paying this. I've always lived by the tenet -"Silence of the good is worse than the evil of the bad". It is my trust that people out there who have a choice will read this and protest in the interest of free will and fair practice.
Worst cable company EVER
The wort company ever. We're completely held hostage to this company. Horrendous customer service, technical support and products. Their video on demand product looks like it was programmed by high school students. I've been on hold for tech support for 45 minutes for the technician to HANG UP on me. If you have a choice of providers, do NOT coose RCN.
HORRIBLE SERVICE, company is run by THEIVES
RCN is the worst cable company service I have ever had to deal with. Not only are their tech support people incompetent, they barely spoke English. I had service activated 9/21/2008 and had decent picture quality and internet service. I started to experience trouble in around 10-10-2008 where my picture went in and out and my internet stopped working. I called tech support to see if they can help and after holding for about 45 minutes I finally got to speak to an actual person. Little did I know that the person on the other end barely spoke English and sounded like she kept reading some well rehearsed reasons as to why my service is cut off. So she tells me that they are "booked up" for service calls and that the first time someone can come out is on 10/31/2008! She explained that there was someone that MAY be available on 10/15/2008 But I had to BE AT HOME FROM 8AM TO 8PM FOR THEM TO "SQUEEZE" ME IN. So I told her that I will wait for them to call me to see if someone will be available that day where they can try to "squeeze me in".
A few days later, my cable tv service went out, so once again I called back to see if someone could fix this as well. After maybe 30 minutes of "resetting" and "rebooting" I still got NO picture on my TV and they gave me the same incompetent response - No one will be available for a timeframe until 10/31/2008. So the woman on the phone pretty much told me that I would have to wait two weeks for them to come out and fix my internet AND cable. I got so annoyed with their poor response that after the woman on the phone basically did NOTHING, I told them to shut off the service after only having it for about 2 WEEKS. She tells me that she cant shut it off and that I had to be transferred. After being on hold for another 40 minutes, I speak to someone who wants to know all these various reasons as to why I am cancelling service. After avoiding the question to prevent any further discontent, I finally tell her that her company's service is GARBAGE and that their tech support is filled with incompetent people who can barely speak English.
Once the cancellation was completed I figured that I was rid of RCN but since I had already sent in the payment for the first month's bill I overpaid since I cancelled the service about 2 weeks after it was activated. These idiots send me another bill for the 2nd month when I already cancelled service.
RCN is a company full of THEIVES, I shut off service AND returned equipment on 10/14/2008 BUT I was billed until 10/18/2008 and they expect me to pay up until the 18th even though they received their equipment on the 14th (and I paid the first month's bill which was all the way up to 10/25/2008). After being on the phone for nearly 2 hrs speaking to one incompetent "supervisor" after another, they tell me that I will be receiving $6 credit back since that is what I "paid" for.
I thought I could save some money since they are cheaper than comcast but in the end it wasnt worth the savings each month having to deal with such incompetent people who lack customer service skills. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR...DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THIS AWFUL SERVICE...
Customer Service
RCN has got to have the absolute worst Customer Service (if one can even call it that) on the planet Earth bar none! I have moved a fair number of times and have never had such bad customer service from any other cable company.
First, the bills from RCN seem to be sent at random times and as of late I had not received a bill for thee months. Trying to resolve this with customer service on the telephone has become such a nightmare that now I use the e-mail service which is just about as ineffective but at least I'm not on the phone on hold for extended periods of time plus it is a bit of a paper trail. Now it seems that the account number on my paper bill and the account number I received from RCN security via e-mail are different. I am trying to at least get e-mail notification when a bill is sent so I can send in a payment regardless of receiving, or in my case not receiving, a bill. I have this set up with other services as well as electronic billing and I was able to set these up in less than several minutes. With RCN this has been going on for about a month now.
I finally got into the website and register for my account. This took about 45 minutes of diligent work to get my account number recognized. I still can't get into the e-mail account to register for e-mail notification. The RCN website is fraught with errors with page not found, circular references, etc. My favorite is in looking at bundled services.
I am collecting the e-mail responses fro RCN to my questions and reading them in retrospect they are hilarious. The people obviously don't read the customer e-mails and reply with scripted responses or total nonsense. After I collect another month of these I think I'll put them in book form and sent it to the RCN Board of Directors. Maybe a book is in the making?
I have been an RCN customer since November of 2004 at two locations.
I am extremely disappointed with the RCN Executive Resolution Team’s disregard to certified letters, e-mails and photos, regarding poor installation which caused fire hazards failure to provide proof of credits despite many requests and frequent disconnection of services without notice during my dispute.
The poor installation caused the cable to fall over the door (entrance/exit to the apartment) creating an egress problem, which drew the attention to my neighbor who advised the coop board and immediately had the apartment inspected by the building management. Furthermore, when entering or exiting the apartment the cable became loose and services were continuously disrupted, which could only be restored manually.
Despite submitting a certified letter to RCN Corporation on December 21, 2008, there was absolutely no response and forced to call customer service for an update on February 2, 2009. The customer service representative I spoke to was unaware of my complaint and notice of fire hazards..
Therefore, I faxed the original certified letter on February 2, 2009, as per fax confirmation attached. Again, RCN did not respond, thereby prompting me to call the RCN Executive Resolution Team on February 18, 2009 .
RCN dispatched technicians on (02/19/09) which had to return 02/25/09 to re-wire the cable throughout the apartment, including the removal of wiring in the kitchen, which required new plaster and paint at additional cost to hire a contractor, see contractor invoice attached.
Furthermore, on March 4, 2009, my dispute was setteled with Ms XXXXX and was supposed to receive credit of $536.98, which remains unclear because RCN has not provided details or explanation, causing much confusion and doubt if full credit has been applied to my account. I also questioned other charges via e-mail, dating from November 2008 through March 2009, totaling $295.82, which also remains unresolved.
Although, I had requested Ms XXXXX to provide proof of credits and explanation of charges many times via e-mail, she has not responded.
The disconnection of services during the dispute while requesting proof of credit and explanation of other charges, demonstrates RCN’s unethical business practices, forcing me to make payment without options to maintain communication with my associates, because I work from home.
RCN’s disconnection of all services during my dispute, caused additional personal time lost, cost to my Verizon Wireless service for over limit fees and fax service and demanding compensation reflected by schedule.
I am further exploring the possibility that RCN has been in breach of contract and will provide further details once available.
Further more numerous hours spent communicating with RCN to rtesolve issues and at no time has a letter or any communication be sent by RCN. The increase charge and mystery charges on my bill and ask for explanantion without any resolution.
A truly horrible experience and a terrible company.
The automated service is unbelievable. The message keeps saying hit one for automated information but repeatedly gets connected to a phone line, with the message that the office is closed. That is just the beginning of the problems I have experienced with RCN. I have been trying to get a letter from them about my online account for over two months now. For what ever reason, the "letter" is never reaching me. What is the best way that BBB or other such organizations can hear about their terrible service and take some action about it? Or is it that people will keep posting information online just to vent?
I just got off the phone with 3 separate representative and the last one named Dennis #5553 was the WORSE RCN customer rep. Refused to transfer me to a supervisor and kept overtalking me and brushing me off. 3 phone calls, nothing resolved! I calle d back in to cancel and I've been on hold for 20 mins already.
RCN Customer service
RCN is by far the worst cable provider I've ever dealt with. I was put on hold for an hour and still couldn't cancel my service. The friggin sales department on the other hand picks up your call in less than 20 seconds.
Don't even consider it as an option. If RCN is the only option, move somewhere else... Seriously, it's that bad!
HELLL RCN IS BAD SERIVE AND THE CUSTOMERS SERVICE IS VERY RUDE THEN I TOLD THEM I WOULD COMPLAINT TO THE GOVERNMENT THIS GUY THEN SCARE SO AFTER THEN I TALKED TO SUPERVISOR. BAD BAD BAD SERVICE DON'T GET RCN STAY OUT FROM RCN
They have NO representative in the US... Not in Billing, Tech Support or Customer Service. But (surprise) their sales representative are in the US. If you want ANYTHING done you have to yell at these people and complain enough to talk to a manager (located offshore) and they can give you SOMEWHAT accurate information about your account and why your service is not working (which is also HORRIBLE.) Most of the time if you want to get a technician out you feel like you're' pulling teeth and then when they finally put out a workorder it takes at least 3-5 days to get a guy out there. Thats a LONG time to go without cable, internet or phone.
RCN took over our building 2 years ago so we are all stuck with this lousy company. I have at least 10 friends that CAN'T STAND their customer service and would rather go without cable than deal with this headache.
DO NOT use this company. I am paying more money now to step outside of my building's contract to go with an American-based company and its TOTALLY worth it! Essentially I'm still paying for RCN (through my assessments) but I would rather pay them and not use their service than to EVER have them as my provider again.
STAY CLEAR OF RCN!
ABOMINABLE SERVICE. NO RESPECT FOR CUSTOMERS. FAILURE OF TECH TO FIX PROBLEMS-- NO PHONE FOR MORE THAN WEEK. MORE THAN FOUR HOURS SPENT ON CELL PHONE HOLDING OVER THE PAST 7 DAYS.
Rcn is the worst they are really really are unreal do not sign up with RCN save your time and pay more with another company because RCN signs you up and then gives you the run around . plus all there tech support is in the phiplines I really never have been on hold so many times and I am talking days for help and still no help
Awful customer service
I'm not sure even where to begin but just want to be sure my opinion of this absolutely awful customer service is logged onto the web somewhere. I had called in the beginning of July to request a shut off date of 7/31 because I was moving.
I came home on 7/17 to no channels above 11. Called the technical support # on my bill & was told that I had no cable because of a pending work order for termination & I needed to call billing in the morning because they may have terminated it early in error.
I called billing in the morning & was told that my acct looked fine, I'd need to call technical support. I called technical support again & spk with someone who went thru LOTS of different steps to try to correct my issue. From unplugging everything, making sure things are "tight", holding my power button for 5 seconds, waiting for it to turn on & off (which it never did) sending a signal to my box, then sending "the strongest signal" to my box which could take 15 minutes to 2 hours to work. I'd have to call back in 2 hours if it didn't' work & start the explanation process all over again. Oh & by the way, once we tried all her special tricks I ended up with no channels at all never mind only 11. She also told me that "they removed the most important part of your package. The premium channels" I explained nothing should have been removed & this was an error. She rudely came back at me stating she could put it back for a $48 activation fee. She said I'd need to speak with billing about the fee if I didn't agree but there'd be a charge. I then called billing & was told that this person did see something on my acct not the premium issue but that I was on the recent "crush list." (a list of people with analog boxes, which I did not have) She said "you were part of the crush, but shouldn't have been part of the crush, but actually haven't been crushed yet.
I'll email the team handling this." She couldn't give me a timeframe that I'd have my cable back on. Since this was 7/18 (no cable for 2 days already)and I was scheduled to move & end service on the 31st anyway, I then asked to terminate service effective immediately instead as it wasn't worth waiting to see when they could fix it. I then had to speak w/"Darla" in the termination dept who was really helpful & understanding. She said she'd "end the billing as of 7/18 & then put in a backdated adjustment for 2 days back to the 16th." She told me to return the equipment asap so there'd be no problems receiving credit. She gave me her # & I forgot to write down her extension. BIG MISTAKE! Returned everything the next day, Saturday.
Received 2 more bills after this even though I had already paid thru 7/20 before any of this even happened. I called today & was told to speak with billing. The billing rep couldn't do anything for me because I "was being billed still because there is a 10 notice required for service termination requests" so when asking for a supervisor she said she'd call her "lead billing team" After another lovely lengthy hold came back to tell me that they'll credit my acct $23 which will go back to 7/19 the date that I returned my equipment. "Leaving a balance of $23." Not understanding how I could have a balance due & was not due back $, I had to ask for a supervisor. "Only 2 were taking calls so it will be a long hold." After quite sometime then got the rudest person yet. She claimed to "not be stupid" and "when she was able to read notes that matched what I was saying she'd then be able to help me" "You've already received a lot of credit. They even credited you for your prorated month 7/28-8/20"
She kept saying there was "no call on 7/16"...I know this but she couldn't get past that to even understand the problem that existed. I asked for her supervisor's name..."we don't give that information out." After rattling off rude, attitude filled remarks and comments she then was angry enough to give in & "get another supervisor because we really aren't going to get anywhere with this." I then spk to Moe the "lead supervisor" who was helpful. He calculated what 3 days of service would be & rounded up to give me "a $5 credit onto my account bringing my balance to..." YEP! Still not understanding I've already paid thru 7/20, no service as of 7/16 & still owe $? It REALLY doesn't take a genius here!
Finally, he realized my point & took additional time to review further & came back advising that he "brought the account to zero and cleared the balance due." Mind you I still paid 4 days of service that I didn't have! Yes it adds up to be a small amount of $ but its more the principle. AND never mind the minutes used making all these calls! I spent well over 4 hours all together. Just today & the 18th's calls took over 3 hrs!
THIS IS THE WORST SERVICE I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED! I WILL PAY THE EXTRA $ & BE SWITCHING TO COMCAST.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Relevant dates:
Last day of contract for bundled service (TV+internet): June 4.
Paid bill on May 27, for bundled service covering May 5 to June 4.
I agree that RCN customer service is awful! I returned equipment (cable box) yesterday (June 2, 2011) and the agent at the payment center said, "you're missing the modem." I told her my bundled service of TV+Internet will be reaching end of contract in 2 days and I didn't wish to continue the bundle. But I signed up for a new month to month internet after my bundle contract, so I kept the modem. She condescendingly said, "you should have called us." I said, "I did (yesterday, June 1)." Then she checked her records again and said, "oh yea it's here." Just like that, no apologies for snapping at me.
Then today (June 3), I logged in to check my account and I have a bill for $91+ for bundled service from June 5 to July4. I don't want to pay the bill because this is service I do not owe (I don't even have a cable box anymore since I returned it yesterday.) The phone customer service rep said he can't cancel the bill, so I HAVE to pay the bill. I would just be credited with whatever I paid on my next bill (about $45) for the internet (June5-July 4). And I will get another credit for my next bill ($45) for July 5-Aug. 4. Why should I pay them in advance?! I'm not even sure I'd still be at my apartment in 2 months. I might even be moving by this month. Though RCN might credit me for anything I may have overpaid, I don't know how long that would take.
I told the phone rep that I don't want to ignore bills, only to find out I would be slapped with a late fee on my next bill. He said I should just pay the bill. I asked again that he do something about the situation. How ridiculous is it that RCN is asking me to pay a bill not owed? The phone rep said he'll put a note to waive the late fee on my account. We'll see about that on my internet bill by end of the month.
abbsoultley agree above the meassage simular to my subject rcn people very un profestional and very sorry say that should not be in the bussiness
Customer service? LOL! RCN does not offer that or has any idea what that is.
http://www.geocities.com/gojugin/rcn.html
Trying to call RCN is exactly that-trying. Waisted timeon the phone, then the person (from the Phillipines) can barely speak understandable English.
Recently they changed dial positions of several channels. Two of the channels had a constant schroll accross the bottom of the screen telling where the channel moved - really disrupts viewing - stating the change took place Sept 26. They FINALLY updated their home page channel line up to reflect all the changes Oct 8. The only reason I have kept cable over Satelite is because of the local weather channel and inserted local business commercials inserted into the cable channels. My 2 cents worth.
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever done. I am scheduled for new service with RCN as I type. My appointment was scheduled between 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. today (9/16/2008). It is currently 9:30 p.m. I am typing this message with one hand because I have RCN on my home and cell phone attempting to find out if the technician is still en-route or not. I have been transferred so many times that it's unbelievable. I was told that he would be here in 45 minutes. That was at 8:10 p.m. It is now 9:40 p.m. (time is ticking as I type) and I am being told that he will be here in 20 minutes. My home phone just went dead. I am going to bed. I will cuss a technician out if he shows up at my house after 10:00 p.m. to install a "Bundle Package". I am going to post this message wherever I can. We need more competition. I can't get satellite because of my location. I just got rid of Comcast. I am frustrated. Is there another option available?
Bad service
Today, the trend is to shout from the highest mountain that you are service oriented, but rarely follow through on actual service. No company epitomizes this more than RCN.
Here is my most recent (and final) experience with RCN. It contains a price hike, two service outages, and a complete disregard for the needs of the customer. See if you agree.
I received a bill that had an increase- the third in three months. I called RCN to inquire. The said the price increase was nationwide and due to �cable programming costs�. I kindly let them know I did not have their cable service, only internet (I cancelled the cable service through another bad experience over a year before). The representative had no facts to offer, only his blanket statement and left me with that.
After the rate increase, I experienced two outages in my internet service in two weeks. Now, an internet outage is not life or death, but I do work from home, manage my bills, and my family enjoys internet activity so there is some real impact to our lifestyle, for what it is worth. The first outage was due to some problem with the local equipment and they had it on file. I was never offered any consideration or rebate, but again, it is not life or death, so I did not give it much more thought at the time.
The second outage they had no explanation and told me a service technician would have to come out and replace the router. Fine, I said. He could be out six days from then, they said. I asked why it was so long and they said there were not have any appointments earlier than that for service.
I hung up and thought about this. On a hunch, I told my wife I would call back and see how quickly I could have a new service installed. The response from RCN was that they could be out the next day.
I called the only competitor and had them come out the next day to install their service. Now, I do not expect, in reality, that they are going to be any better. We only have two providers and there is no reason either one would have to offer real service in any event. I am not naïve anymore. But I was so insulted by the service provided by RCN, I made my resolve to switch then and there.
I called RCN back and told them to change the service appointment to a cancellation. �I can terminate the maintenance appointment, � the representative said�, �but Ill have to transfer you to arrange the cancellation.� So I was transferred. I saved the reader some detail here, but after being transferred, I had to repeat my state, zip, address, name, and password for the third time.
Then the cancellation representative kindly told me he was sorry for all the problems I had and offered me a free month of service. When I declined, he then told me where I could drive to drop off the equipment.
Drop off the equipment? I told him I was not driving anything anywhere. When the technician came to disconnect the service I would gladly hand the box over to him. �Well, the technicians are used just for maintenance, they can�t pick up boxes, � was the reply. I thought that was unbelievable and said, fine, send me a mailing box and Ill ship it out. �Okay, that will be $25. Or we can send someone to pick it up and that will be $50.�
I kindly told him that the box would sit here for 100 years and I will never drive it to their center. I will never pay for it to be returned. I did not know if it was in my contract, but thought that was ludicrous. He could do what he wanted. He kindly gave me the address anyway in case I changed my mind. By the way, the drop off center is in the worst neighborhood you can imagine. The last time I was there, I was almost mugged (no exaggeration).
After a rate increase, two outages, delayed maintenance, and the final insult of returning their own equipment to them, I hope RCN is not long for this world. I absolutely hate this company and I do not think �hate� is too strong a word. From top to bottom, they are the farthest thing from �service oriented� I have ever experienced.
Buyers beware!
Oh, I also forgot- since the maintenance request turned to a cancellation, they couldnt be out for another week after the original appointment, so I am sure I will be billed for that extra week of service as well.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Here's yet another story about RCN's terrible service. I couldn't make this stuff up...it's definitely comedy show material.
We have premium service with RCN, and HDTV channels. To get to another channel, one must hit the "guide" button on the remote and enter the channel number. The problem is that the "guide" button doesn't work on any HDTV channel, so to get it to work, we must manually move 100 channels, one by one to a non-HDTV channel and only then will the "guide" button work.
I watched as my wife followed the instructions of the RCN service "professional":
An attempt to get the box to reboot:
(1) Turn off the cable box manually (do not use the remote) by pressing the power button. Now, with the cable box off, press and hold the menu button (!?) No surprise that no buttons responded with the cable box off.
(2) With the cable box on, press and hold the menu button. Didn't work.
(3) and only after that did he finally correctly tell her to press and hold the power button to get a reboot, which didn't fix the problem at all.
In fact, they don't have a fix for this problem, but told us that they'd need an hour of time to disable our cable box to fix the problem(?!) They still haven't yet fixed it.
-------
Next service problem --
We want to watch boxing Saturday night on the InDemand channel. The Pay-per-view boxing match costs $49.99 on regular InDemand or $54.99 on High Definition. Both channels advertise that boxing starts at 8:30PM, but when we elect the $54.99 for High Definition we become aware that the show that we are now enabled to watch starts at 9:00PM with a "Pregame" show listed on the channel guide from 8:30PM to 9:00PM. The problem is that we're not able to watch the pre-game show at the High Definition price.
So, we call the service "professional" at RCN at 8:30PM. The service guy first tells us that there must be a problem with our converter box because the show is advertised as starting at 8:30PM. And he proceeds to give the instructions for a cable box reboot. Then, I tell the guy that the problem is not with the cable box, but rather that the cable guide shows an 8:30PM to 9:00PM time slot that we are not authorized to watch even though we paid for it and apparently are authorized to watch after 9:00PM (because the channel guide turns the time slot green when you're authorized). Well, it was very apparent to me that the service "professional" at the other end of the phone could not look at what I was looking at. He must not have had a TV in front of him(!) And he then told me that he understood the problem and had to call another department to seek an answer. Whereupon, he proceeded to put me on hold until 9:00PM when I could get access to the program. Even after 9:00PM, he never took me off hold, and so I just hung up.
The RCN outages are killing me they average once a week...since the digital upgrade and three rate increases in the last few months they have become a horrible company. Never mind calling customer service. Outsourced and the CSR's read of cue cards. Their answer for every thing is the tech has to come to your house. There is something wrong with the box outside my house and they will not send someone to fix it. You have to call them to get a credit when the cable phone and internet goes out.
I called the corporate headquarters(got a little help) have now filed with the FCC
# RCN Corporation
# 196 Van Buren St., Ste. 300,
President Plaza, Bldg. 1
# Herndon, VA 20170 Map
# Phone: [protected]
# Fax: [protected]
Now Verizon, on the other hand, they are the total opposite of RCN. Hell I could tell you some stories about bad customer service and horrible billing that would make your head spin. (SMH) I don't miss anything about that company.
Well I guess alot depends on where you live. My experience with RCN has been mostly a positive one. Actually they were the only ones who offered to come out and install Internet service at my new address with just 24hrs notice.
I couldn't find any other company to match their time deadline and we have many different internet/cable companies in our area. Also they were willing to offer me a lower price deal than any other company I called and a free month of service no installation fee (good luck getting that with Verizon).
I know they are not perfect but I have been with them since fall of 2009 and have very few complaints. In fact I have moved several times and took RCN with me and in the process I have not paid my monthly bill on time as I should have. Even so, I never felt like RCN was trying to rob me like I did when I had Verizon. They have been more than fair with me.
I did have a few service outages but they were due to Squirrels chewing on my wires. Other than that come hell or high water my RCN service has worked like a charm. Whenever I had any problems I had the same TEch come out and he was really cool and helpful and was always on time. In fact there was times when the tech arrived and was sitting in front of my house calling me asking where I was. They are as reliable as any other company.
In fact I remember taking days off from work waiting on Verizon only to be told that the tech didn't need to get in and not even receiving so much as a courtesy call from them. With RCN at least I feel like they value and respect me as a customer.
My only complaint is that aweful Automated phone system that requires you to enter your account number multiple times before you get through to a real person. Also if you are trying to pay your bill via automated phone line. FORGET IT! You are better off going to a payment center or mailing it in. Other than that honestly of all the companies I have ever had and I have had quite a few RCN has been the best for me.
Thats very true, i pay for the 10mbps and i dont even get there 60% promised rate its incredible how the get away with selling customers like us false service. for a fact you can test this your self just us there test site (pa.speedtest.rcn.net) you can change the first 2 letter for the state your in from 6:00PM ET and on for the sad trough that your just getting ripped off. and All you'll get is we will send out a tech for you first thing next day at the time that you dont really need him to be there oh and they wont send you a tech after 5:00pm ET Because they just cant.
I have to agree with all the postings on this board. RCN is an absolute diabolical company and I am sick of being in a building that only provides RCN service and not being able to use another carrier.
I have had service, billing, customer care issues with them and neither of these are easy to resolve. The reps are completely incompetent. Please check your bills because extra charges are added all the time. When I phone to get different quotes - that's exactly what I get - different quotes for the same services depending on the rep you speak to. They all like to say "oh, you were on a promotion". This is a total lie. It is just a line to deceive the fact that they are constantly ripping customers off. Why is it that one day I ring to find my basic package is $154 per month (with high definition access) and the next day I'm told I could get everything, in HD access for $139 a month! Why is it that I noticed last month my basic charge was $170.00 a month. Surely there must be a government commission that RCN is answerable to and I have every intention of pursuing this complaint. First, it should be totally illegal for anyone cable company to have a monopoly on any one building. We should all have the freedom of choosing which company we would like. I spent many years living in Europe and I have NEVER come across the kind of deceptive and incompetent practices RCN regularly exercises.
Another time I waited 3 days for a technician to show up. Each time there was a no show and everytime I called the rep on the line insisted that the technician turned up but that I was not home! It was beyond pathetic! Only after hanging on the phone on the 3rd day for nearly two hours and screaming my head off at the rep did I manage to resolve the issue. This is totally unacceptable.
I am totally dreading the onset of February when the switch to digital is made because i expect that this too will be mishandled by RCN who have already sent me a box that is supposed to be installed. Why is it that I even have to install yet another piece of equipment when I am already receiving cable coverage. I thought these extra boxes were only for those who did not have cable service.
Honestly, the company needs to be reported to a federal commission and to better business bureaus. While these forums are good for venting, they do not solve the problem that rogue outfits like RCN continue to operate as ineptly as they do and continue to rip off people.
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever done. I am scheduled for new service with RCN as I type. My appointment was scheduled between 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. today (9/16/2008). It is currently 9:30 p.m. I am typing this message with one hand because I have RCN on my home and cell phone attempting to find out if the technician is still en-route or not. I have been transferred so many times that it's unbelievable. I was told that he would be here in 45 minutes. That was at 8:10 p.m. It is now 9:40 p.m. (time is ticking as I type) and I am being told that he will be here in 20 minutes. My home phone just went dead. I am going to bed. I will cuss a technician out if he shows up at my house after 10:00 p.m. to install a "Bundle Package". I am going to post this message wherever I can. We need more competition. I can't get satellite because of my location. I just got rid of Comcast. I am frustrated. Is there another option available?
; am trying to get service with RCN. they were supposed to come out today from 5:00-8:00 pm. it is now 9:24 p.m. i am attempting to find out where the
I Moved to a new Condo, and they didn't show up when the appoint was set for not till late that evening 7:00PM.
Are you kidding me. An that only that he didn't have the equiment with him, or control and left an old box that had been out of service from another location, TV wasn't set it up. Came back the next day and still Nothing. Made a hole in the WALL mess up my new painted walls and broke a frame on the wall and scrach the floor. They promise to come back n refinish my floors. I have done it my self they call a few month later asking if the work was DONE I told them kindly ### NO. I HATE>>>>HATE.>>> THIS COMPANY...
NOTHING BUT STUPID PEOPLE WORK HERE! AN DEALING WITH THEM ITS LIKE TALKING TO A ROCK!
WORTHS SERVICE EVER! WILL NEVER EVER!
DO BIZ WITH THEM AGAIN...
BETTER YET...THEY ASK IF I CAN GIVE A POS FEEDBACK
I THOUGH I WAS GOING TO DIE! I TOLD HIM GET OUT
Horror story
I would like to express my dismay and horror at the services that I received from RCN customer service and other departments. I called to add additional telephone lines to my service. I wanted either to port a number from Verizon or use a number that I already had with RCN. It took me more then a month to do this and dozens and dozens of call to RCN. Although very polite, customer service personal was incompetent, completely non-helpful, wrong in most occasions, and distractive by disconnecting my main number that I had for 7 years with RCN.
Many times I spent as long as 4 hours on the phone with RCN being transferred from sales department to customer service to tech support to local care and back to sales dept. Often the representatives hang up or just transferred me to others so I had to start over again. Not a single time I was transferred to a supervisor after my demand. Either supervisor was unavailable or I was transferred elsewhere to a new representative to start over. Many of RCN customer service people assured me that everything is going to work in a short while but that was clearly a lie. Virtually nothing was done correctly and nobody seems to understand me.
Particularly offensive were two people from Local Care who did not respond to any of my requests and numerous calls: Michelle at extension 1167 and Bob at extension 1135. Bob originally promised a promotional deal that will lower my bill and promised an increase of $10 per every additional line. Even with third party verification RCN backed out of this deal. In stead my bill was increased by more than $200.00 per month.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
RCN has been charging me for dial-up internet service at 13.95 a month for 8 years. I only use the e-mail and run the it over Comcast and should have been paying 3.95 a month. This is outright theft year after year! I will be contacting the Attorney Generals office about this
RCN is freaking pathetic. My credit card number changed and I **cannot** get through to the billing department...or any department for that matter. I've called the two toll-free numbers (800-ringrcn and 877-rcnbill) and it hangs-up on me every time it tries to connect me to the respective department.
What a joke! They can't even get their call center working correctly so I can pay my monthly bills!
Replied
Worst service ever
Today, the trend is to shout from the highest mountain that you are 'service oriented', but rarely follow through on actual service. No company epitomizes this more than RCN.
Here is my most recent (and final) experience with RCN. It contains a price hike, two service outages, and a complete disregard for the needs of the customer. See if you agree.
I received a bill that had an increase- the third in three months. I called RCN to inquire. The said the price increase was nationwide and due to 'cable programming costs'. I kindly let them know I did not have their cable service, only internet (I cancelled the cable service through another bad experience over a year before). The representative had no facts to offer, only his blanket statement and left me with that.
After the rate increase, I experienced two outages in my internet service in two weeks. Now, an internet outage is not life or death, but I do work from home, manage my bills, and my family enjoys internet activity so there is some real impact to our lifestyle, for what it is worth. The first outage was due to some problem with the local equipment and they had it on file. I was never offered any consideration or rebate, but again, it is not life or death, so I did not give it much more thought at the time.
The second outage they had no explanation and told me a service technician would have to come out and replace the router. Fine, I said. He could be out six days from then, they said. I asked why it was so long and they said there were not have any appointments earlier than that for service.
I hung up and thought about this. On a hunch, I told my wife I would call back and see how quickly I could have a new service installed. The response from RCN was that they could be out the next day.
I called the only competitor and had them come out the next day to install their service. Now, I do not expect, in reality, that they are going to be any better. We only have two providers and there is no reason either one would have to offer real service in any event. I am not naive anymore. But I was so insulted by the service provided by RCN, I made my resolve to switch then and there.
I called RCN back and told them to change the service appointment to a cancellation. 'I can terminate the maintenance appointment,' the representative said', 'but Ill have to transfer you to arrange the cancellation.' So I was transferred. I saved the reader some detail here, but after being transferred, I had to repeat my state, zip, address, name, and password for the third time.
Then the cancellation representative kindly told me he was sorry for all the problems I had and offered me a free month of service. When I declined, he then told me where I could drive to drop off the equipment.
Drop off the equipment? I told him I was not driving anything anywhere. When the technician came to disconnect the service I would gladly hand the box over to him. 'Well, the technicians are used just for maintenance, they can't pick up boxes,' was the reply. I thought that was unbelievable and said, fine, send me a mailing box and Ill ship it out. 'Okay, that will be $25. Or we can send someone to pick it up and that will be $50.'
I kindly told him that the box would sit here for 100 years and I will never drive it to their center. I will never pay for it to be returned. I did not know if it was in my contract, but thought that was ludicrous. He could do what he wanted. He kindly gave me the address anyway in case I changed my mind. By the way, the drop off center is in the worst neighborhood you can imagine. The last time I was there, I was almost mugged (no exaggeration).
After a rate increase, two outages, delayed maintenance, and the final insult of returning their own equipment to them, I hope RCN is not long for this world. I absolutely hate this company and I do not think 'hate' is too strong a word. From top to bottom, they are the farthest thing from 'service oriented' I have ever experienced.
Buyers beware!
Oh, I also forgot- since the maintenance request turned to a cancellation, they couldn't be out for another week after the original appointment, so I am sure I will be billed for that extra week of 'service' as well.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
into this further. Thanks, MK
Advertisement was not as stated, no free month or install; no $200 credit card or follow through from Leo my sales rep.
We had RCN for less than 1 year. ON July 1, a Thursday, our on-demand went out. I called RCN. They took the call. The next day, I called again, they took the call. I called every day, July 1-5. Of course being a holiday weekend - I did not get any response on my service call July 6th. We then canceled our service on July 22nd for RCN's non-ability to provide service.
They then are billing us for 1 week of service after we canceled. We have tried calling. To no avail - No on the other end of phone can help you or resolve your problem and supervisors who can resolve the problem are not reachable! Our problem is not resolved, and we don't know how to resolve it. The bill has been sent to collection and we need to find someone at RCN who can handle our complaint and resolve it.
Returned all RCN equipment and cancelled service same day to the drop off station at Woodside Ave, Long Island City, NY> They gave me a receipt dated Nov7, 2011. However, they recorded my cancellation to Nov 15, 2011. I spoke to a representative and she claims to have resolved the problem. She gave me the last amount due which was $164.05.I sent them a check and they deposited it. Now they sent me a statement for $164.05. I called again and was told that the statement in incorrect that i only owe an additional charge for service to Nov 15. They claim i need to go to the office with my receipt to have them make the correction. They will not provide me with a telephone number for this office. So i would have to take time off of work to have them resolve this problem which is clearly their own doing. They have a very serious problem with the way they provide service to their customers.
Signed a contract for 2 years promising a certain rate. RCN decided to increase our rate after 1 year, which voided the contract, so we canceled the service. Now they want to charge us an early termination fee.
THIS COMPANY IS AWFUL!
To complain directly to RCN Headquarters
# RCN Corporation
# 196 Van Buren St., Ste. 300,
President Plaza, Bldg. 1
# Herndon, VA 20170 Map
# Phone: [protected]
# Fax: [protected]
If that gets you no where file a complaint with the FCC
I've tried calling them more than 5 times to change my service plan and each time, I have been placed on hold for more than 40 minutes...! I'm on hold again right now and I feel as if this may be fruitless. I am thinking of changing servers.
file complaints with the FCC
# RCN Corporation
# 196 Van Buren St., Ste. 300,
President Plaza, Bldg. 1
# Herndon, VA 20170 Map
# Phone: [protected]
# Fax: [protected]
call the headquarters
They are terrible alone with Comcast cable. The only two cable services that we have in Chicago. Shouldn't Congress or the Government be involved with these incompetent companies? They are a big rip-off with very poor customer services. We all need to write to the people who we voted for and demand better services and more cable/Internet options being that we live in a huge city. Why we only have terrible two?
Yes, I agree they are terrible.
You are putting your comments too lightly. What I mean by that is, I have had the wonderful experience of dealing with RCN/Erols/StarPower, and it was/still is a nightmare!
Something needs to be done with this company. For those of you that have not dealt with them, you have no idea!
RCN Telecom Services Reviews 0
If you represent RCN Telecom Services, take charge of your business profile by claiming it and stay informed about any new reviews or complaints submitted.
Overview of RCN Telecom Services complaint handling
-
RCN Telecom Services Contacts
-
RCN Telecom Services phone numbers+1 (800) 746-4726+1 (800) 746-4726Click up if you have successfully reached RCN Telecom Services by calling +1 (800) 746-4726 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached RCN Telecom Services by calling +1 (800) 746-4726 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached RCN Telecom Services by calling +1 (800) 746-4726 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached RCN Telecom Services by calling +1 (800) 746-4726 phone numberCustomer Service+1 (877) 726-7000+1 (877) 726-7000Click up if you have successfully reached RCN Telecom Services by calling +1 (877) 726-7000 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached RCN Telecom Services by calling +1 (877) 726-7000 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached RCN Telecom Services by calling +1 (877) 726-7000 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached RCN Telecom Services by calling +1 (877) 726-7000 phone numberBusiness Services
-
RCN Telecom Services emailsHelpMe@rcn.net100%Confidence score: 100%Support
-
RCN Telecom Services address196 Van Buren St Ste 300, Herndon, Virginia, 20170-5337, United States
-
RCN Telecom Services social media
-
Checked and verified by Olivia This contact information is personally checked and verified by the ComplaintsBoard representative. Learn moreJun 13, 2024
Recent comments about RCN Telecom Services company
Denied Referral Credit
Abc TV
10 reviews
MeTV
12 reviews
Court TV
8 reviews
Virgin Media
69 reviews
Sirius XM Radio
299 reviews
Our Commitment
We make sure all complaints and reviews are from real people sharing genuine experiences.
We offer easy tools for businesses and reviewers to solve issues together. Learn how it works.
We support and promote the right for reviewers to express their opinions and ideas freely without censorship or restrictions, as long as it's respectful and within our Terms and Conditions, of course ;)
Our rating system is open and honest, ensuring unbiased evaluations for all businesses on the platform. Learn more.
Personal details of reviewers are strictly confidential and hidden from everyone.
Our website is designed to be user-friendly, accessible, and absolutely free for everyone to use.
RCN offers business and residential customers a bonus for referring another business or residential customer who signs on with RCN for service.
Have referred 4-5 new customers to RCN, no credit have been added to my account.
I hope they are not fraudulent