Cincinnati Bell Misrepresented their service and it's cost Cincinnati Ohio
I have two complaints: 1) I was recently forced to upgrade from 5 Mbps to 10 Mbps. I was told by the agent on the phone that it would only cost me an additional $8.99 USD. I asked if there were going to be any additional charges, fees, taxes, etc. The agent on the phone said there would be no additional charges.
I reiterated, "just $8.99, that's all, right?". He replied "just $8.99, that's all". My bill went up $40 per month, not $8.99 as I had been promised. Now, let me add that I just talked to a friend that lives 6 miles from my home. He pays $42 per month for 500 Mbps. Yeah, you read that right, 500 Mbps for $42 per month from the very same internet service provider, Cincinnati Bell.
My bill is $130 per month for just 10 Mbps. In my opinion I've been lied to by Concinnati Bell. In my opinion I'm being cheated by Cincinnati Bell. In my opinion I have been robbed by Cincinnati Bell.
2) I agreed to pay for for 10 Mbps. I run speed tests occasionally and I never get more than 8Mbps download speed, and that is rare, most often it is around 6.5 Mbps download speed. Not once during a speed test have I ever received more than 0.5 Mbps upload speed. So, on average I am receiving about 65% of the download speed I am paying for, and only 5% of the upload speed I am paying for.
I recently chatted with a Cincinnati Bell rep online and she said they only guarantee 80% of the speed I am paying for. That is 8 Mbps. I was not told this at purchase time and it is not what I agreed to purchase. Additionally, right now my wife is trying to work from home.
Her efforts are being hampered by our current internet speed of 4 Mbps. In my opinion I am being lied to by Cincinnati Bell. In my opinion I am being cheated by Cincinnati Bell. In my opinion I am being robbed by Cincinnati Bell.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
Irvine,United States
Missing Details
#3Consumer Comment
Thu, November 07, 2019
You need more than "Oh my friend 6 miles away is only paying....".
The first thing you need to do is get your friend to show you their bill and compare the two. This should tell you exactly why you are paying different prices.
The likely reason is because you are not actually paying for the same service. For that speed, it is possible that you only have DSL and your friend may have Cable(Broadband). DSL is older technology and going to always be higher cost for lower speeds. As I looked on their site and couldn't find any Broadband plans over $65.
Another possibility is that you may have been sold a "bundle" where if you didn't have TV or phone they may have added it. It may also have been just an overall upgrade of all of your services if you did have it. Where they may have been correct, your "Internet" may have gone up only a certain amount, but with the other services that adds additional costs.
As for Upload/Download speeds you need to be sure you do this at the main connection point. If you have a Router or WiFi that could be slowing it down and that would be an issue with your network, not their speeds.
One other item, if your wife is trying to work from home you should not be "cheaping out" on even a 10Mbps plan unless the only thing she is doing is reading e-mails. You need to look at upgrading to at least 100Mbps especially if you have more than 1 device that is trying to access the Internet in your home.
Along with that is again the router, if you are cheaping out on a 10Mbps router it doesn't matter what your connection is...that is your slowest point. You should again look at a gigabit router for your home. They are not cheap, but if speed and productivity are a necessity...you need to spend the money.
CARTER
Columbia City,Indiana,
United States
You have DSL.
#3Consumer Comment
Thu, November 07, 2019
So you are only guaranteed up to 10Mbs a second. The Up To is the key phraise. The other person is not using DSL. DSL is based on distance. You are comparing apples to oranges.
As for the price I agree it wrong to quote you somethign then charge much more. It could also be the increase cost is a one time fee? You will need to check your bill for that answer.