TDS

Response to file# [redacted].
 
TDS advertises that DSL
speeds and availability vary. Speed plans are “up to”. Unfortunately, we are
not able to offer faster internet service plans in Mr. [redacted]’s area at this
time. Fortunately,
Connect America funding will help expand broadband in...

his area. At this time,
the project is expected to be completed in early summer 2018. Customers may
sign up for updates about the broadband projects at www.tdstelecom.com/networkupgrades.
In response to the excessive demand on the existing network, we limited our DSL
sales in Mr. [redacted] area. We also notified customers of their options due to
the network capacity issue. Mr. [redacted] already receives the lowest possible
price for internet with his current promotional plan (“Price for Life”) and
thus reducing his service plan to the DSL “Lite” plan would not be a benefit,
otherwise we would recommend reducing the speed plan. Mr. [redacted] may cancel
internet service without penalty. We partner with DISH Network and can offer
their dishNet satellite internet as an alternative. Additional alternatives
could include other satellite or wireless providers.
 
Thank you.

Response to file# [redacted]?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /
 
TDS advertises that DSL speeds and available vary. Speed plans are ‘up to’. Unfortunately TDS is not able to offer faster DSL in Mr. [redacted] serving area. The options at this time are...

that we can reduce the DSL plan to “Lite” (1MB) or we can offer dishNet satellite service. We partner with DISH Network. Other alternatives could include Exede, or other cellular or satellite providers.
 
I am sorry we cannot meet Mr. [redacted] expectation for service and it seems that the best option for faster internet service is likely a satellite provider.
 
Thank you.

Response to file# [redacted].
 
The DSL plan to which the customer
subscribes has up to 5MB download speed and 512kbs (0.512MB) upload
speed. Prices for the internet may vary based on the number of services being
bundled with it or whether a customer can qualify for a promotional...

rate.
Generally we offer a new customer promotional rate or a promotion for existing
customers who are adding a new service to their bundle. The customer could
upgrade their service plan to get a plan with a faster upload speed if they
wished. We offer fiber internet service plans up to 1 Gigabyte (1000MB) at
their location. Our records show that Ms. [redacted] contacted TDS on 2/13/18 for
pricing of our up to 100MB internet service plan.
 
Thank you.

Follow up:
 
I am sorry
that Mr. [redacted] is dissatisfied. Our records show that our senior advisor, [redacted],
attempted follow up on 9/26/16 at 8:41am CDT and reached voicemail at
360-263-6461, which is the contact number given to TDS.
He left a message to check if internet service was still working okay. [redacted]
then called at 3:43pm and left another message indicating that he would try one
more time in the morning. On 9/27/16 [redacted] called at 9:02am and again reached
voicemail; he left a message and that he
would leave the trouble ticket open until the end of the day. I found the call
records in our Contact Center phone system, which records calls for quality
assurance and coaching purposes. I asked [redacted] if he had received any return messages;
he indicated he had not received any. If Mr. [redacted] is still experiencing
trouble, at his convenience he may call TDS Repair at 888-225-5837 to open a
ticket. If he wishes to speak with a senior advisor at that time, he may
request this and can speak with an available senior advisor. Mr. [redacted] may
also contact TDS Repair via Chat or web-form at www.tdstelecom.com. Our records indicate that Mr. [redacted] provides
his own modem. While we cannot support third party equipment, we can assist
with troubleshooting to determine if there are any line issues or if the
trouble might be isolated to the customer’s modem.

Response to file #[redacted].
 
It is our policy to refund a
deposit if TDS is not able to serve a location. That is not yet the case here.
The area in which Ms. [redacted] resides does not launch until this Summer and we
have extended our registration period through mid-March. If...

there is not enough
interest for TDS to build in the neighborhood, then we would refund anyone who
paid the registration fee.
 
As Ms. Smith is dissatisfied
and wished for a refund, we will provide one. Our senior advisor Susan spoke
with Ms. [redacted] on 1/2/18 about this.
 
Thank you.

Follow up:
 
The lag to provide refund is
primarily for usage charges (collect calls, operator assisted calls, 411
directory assistance, third party toll charges, long distance, international
long distance, 900 calls, Pay-Per-View, etc). It is not for holding out for
equipment return. It has nothing to do whether a customer has paid on time or
has an excellent credit rating. All customer accounts are treated the same. It has to
do with pending billing charges for usage which is always billed in arrears. As
previously explained, it could take up to 120-days depending on the type of
usage. Typically most usage charges are billed within 2 billing cycles (each
billing cycle is 30-days). Customers who inadvertently made a payment may request
reverse payment within 30-days of the transaction or stop payment with their
financial institution as well. Additionally, upon request a credit balance
could be transferred to another account when one exists with TDS. Our advisor
explained to Ms. [redacted] at the time of the disconnection request that she only
had to pay for the days the service was active and that we would provide credit
for any days billed after the disconnect with the next bill. Unfortunately our
advisor did not remind Ms. [redacted] that she has an E-Pay account and that she
should check her auto-pay status. The refund check was processed within the
expected time frame for such things; I am sorry that did not meet Ms. [redacted]’s
expectation.

Response to
file #[redacted].
 
On 1/23/18 the TDS technician
was dispatched to address an internet service issue. The technician
reconfigured the splitter to address the issue. On 1/26/18 the TDS technician
returned to address an intermittent connectivity issue. The technician...

replaced
the additional outlet cable line to resolve the issue. TDS Repair provided a
$40.00 credit for the issues.
 
Thank you.

Follow up:
 
I am sorry that Mr. [redacted] is
dissatisfied. They could have cancelled service at any time as there was no
contract. We are happy to work with any customer with finding a plan that best
works for them or better matches their experience if it was not meeting the
expectation. If the service was not working, we would need a trouble report
from the customer in order to address that problem. We responded to the two
internet service interruption reports (replaced modem 1/6/16 and area outage
7/26/16). We were aware of the slow internet speed issue that was especially
noticeable during the peak hours of usage. Our engineering project to upgrade
equipment and expand network capacity took much longer than we had originally
anticipated. As previously indicated, that project was completed and account
notes on 1/19/16 and 2/23/16 indicate that the customer experience met that service
subscription speed.

Response to file# [redacted]
 
Ms. [redacted] opened a new account with the prior telephone number for Mr. [redacted] whom she informed us had passed away. Mr. [redacted] account was closed on 8/14/14 and a final bill was issued. TDS did not provide the Lifeline discount to Mr....

[redacted] past 8/14/14. We were not aware of the problem at the time, but we have since learned that there had been a system feed issue where the transaction notification did not make it to Xerox (formerly Solix). Xerox is the State of California’s Lifeline administrator. Our billing system sends a transaction feed to their system to communicate changes of Lifeline customers and also notifies them of an application request. We believe that because the old account for Mr. [redacted] and new account for Ms. [redacted] were processed around the same time, the transaction information was disrupted and resulted no change notification on Xerox’s end. As far as we could tell on our end, the accounts were closed and opened appropriately and we put the code on Ms. [redacted]’s account to get her started with the application process. We were not aware that Xerox had not processed an application request and as far as we were aware, we had no approval of eligibility for Ms. [redacted]. Until we have approval of Lifeline eligibility, we cannot provide the benefit.
 
Also, there are no notes on the account that we were made aware of any problem with Lifeline until 1/27/15, which was subsequent to a disconnection notice issued on 1/22/15. We have record of only one payment made to the account.
 
To resolve the system issue with Xerox, we sent a new notification to Xerox to confirm the cancellation of Mr. [redacted]’s account and then sent another notification to initiate the application process for Ms. [redacted]. Xerox’s records indicate that they mailed the application on 2/2/15. As of 2/10/15, we have been notified by Xerox that Ms. [redacted]’s Lifeline eligibility has been approved. We are providing a credit that will reimburse Ms. [redacted] going back to 8/15/15 when she first requested the Lifeline application. It is not Ms. [redacted]’s fault that there was a system issue between TDS and Xerox.
 
We have offered a Deferred Payment Agreement to Ms. [redacted] to avoid disconnection. Ms. [redacted] must maintain the terms of the Payment Agreement to keep services active. Molly Post, our Customer Service manager, has discussed the account with Ms. [redacted]. Molly will follow up to estimate the amount of credit Ms. [redacted] will see with her upcoming bill.
 
I apologize for any miscommunication and inconvenience.
 
Thank you.

Response to file# [redacted].
 
On 12/17/17 the customer
reported slow speeds. TDS Repair went through standard trouble shooting steps
and the speed test was normal. The customer indicated that trouble seemed to be
occurring around 4pm daily. We dispatched our technician to test...

further. He
replaced the customer’s modem. There has been no further trouble report.
 
Thank you.

Response to file# [redacted].
 
TDS advertises that DSL speeds and availability vary. Speed plan are “up to”. DSL is a distance sensitive technology and the further the customer is from the serving equipment, the more reduced their speed result is. As Ms. [redacted] residence is over two-miles...

from the serving equipment, we can only offer as a maximum plan, DSL “Express” (up to 5MB). We actually have the port speed set at 6.144MB and our records show that on 6/10/15 when Ms. [redacted] contacted TDS she was getting 4.8MB on her speedtest, which we consider to be an excellent result given the distance. Alternatives for faster internet service could include satellite providers such as Exede or dishNet.
 
Thank you.

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
We did receive a call regarding the removal of [redacted] NOT ([redacted]) from the TDS account. [redacted] was told that NO other changes will be inccured due to the name removal. As long as TDS stands by their word of keeping our plan & pricing the same we are satisfied with the outcome.Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards, 
>a 1 month credit ? 6 plus years of DSL & was told las dec . that box down the road would be fixed this year . sorry . not good enough. 
[redacted]

Response to file# [redacted] .
 
We reviewed our
communications with Ms. [redacted] and we did not advise Ms. [redacted] that she did
not need to return any of the equipment. Our advisor was very specific that the
return shipping materials for the TDS TV equipment would take about...

2-weeks to
arrive and that Ms. [redacted] would be responsible the return. Ms. [redacted] asked
about the router, which our advisor explained could be returned as well, but
the TV equipment was the most important to get returned to avoid getting
charged for it. Ms. [redacted] did not request additional shipping materials nor
did she ask for assistance with how to return the remaining equipment.
 
The shipping materials also
include a color instruction sheet which describes the equipment with example
pictures of the set-top box/DVR, remotes, and power cords. The instructions
specifically state “NOTE: If you do NOT return your equipment within 10 days of
receiving this notice, you will be charged $150 per set-top box.” And  “Please do not throw the equipment away, as
it can harm the environment if not handled properly. If you have any question
about returning your equipment, call TDS TV Support at 1-866-44-TDSTV.”
 
Ms. [redacted] indicated that she
threw away the equipment. She is responsible for the equipment and the charges
for the unreturned equipment will stand.
 
Thank you.

Response to file# [redacted].
 
TDS does not run the rewards
website. We use a promotions vendor to do so. It seems that they were doing
some website maintenance and then had some difficulties with customers being
able to login or to reset passwords. We asked our vendor to directly...

contact
Ms. [redacted] about getting logged in to place her reward request. Our vendor
informed us on 3/3/17 that the customer was able to process her request for the
Amazon gift card reward on 3/1/17. The vendor indicated that she had left a
message for Ms. [redacted] on 3/2/17 to ask if she needed further assistance but did
not hear back from her.
 
Thank you.

Response to file # [redacted].
On 7/20/15 TDS issued a disconnection notice for the TV and DSL service. Payment was needed by 8/3/15 to retain these services. On 8/4/15 the two services were suspended for non-payment. The regulated telephone service was not included in this. In the evening of...

8/4/15 Ms. [redacted] contacted TDS Repair who referred her to TDS Financial Services. We have no notes indicating that Ms. [redacted] contacted TDS Financial Services subsequent to this, not until 8/24/15. We do not have an [redacted] in our Financial Services department. It is our policy to add an account note for all customer contacts. Of course that could have been overlooked by the advisor. It would be extremely unusual to have a Deferred Payment Agreement arranged without it being entered into our billing account system. If a Payment Agreement had been arranged with Financial Services, we would have restored services at that very time. Services were not restored and Ms. [redacted] did not contact TDS again about this until after the two services had been permanently disconnected for non-payment and the collection referral had been made. On 8/24/15 Ms. [redacted] contacted TDS and we advised her that the past due balance including the collection referral amount would need to be paid to restore the internet and TV service. As a past due balance had been consistently carried over the life of the account and we also found a prior history of account debt, we would not make an exception to restore service without further payment. We found a past TDS account [redacted]  (control date 01/09/2009) where Ms. [redacted] left a sizeable debt. Ms. [redacted] should contact The Affiliated Group/Affiliated Credit Services at [redacted] in regards to that particular account.
On 8/25/15 our senior advisor followed up with Ms. [redacted] in regards to her complaint and advised her of the amount needed to be paid to be able to re-order the internet and TV service. Ms. [redacted] indicated she could not pay until Friday 8/28/15.
I apologize for any miscommunication or misunderstanding that Ms. [redacted] believed that a Payment Agreement had been established.
Thank you.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Nothing was said about the last full payment I made, nothing was addressed as to why I am being billed for a phone line I have not ever used, no phone is connected to any line, we use cell phones, so I would not even know if it was on or off.
Additionally, I never received a call from TDS. I left 2 numbers to reach me at [redacted] and [redacted].
Regards,
[redacted]

Response to file #[redacted].
 
In response to the customer’s
concerns, on 10/13/17 our Field Service manager Daren called Mr. [redacted]. He
offered to have the contractor return to remedy the matter. The contractor, [redacted],
called Mr. [redacted] to discuss. Mr. [redacted] was not interested in having...

any
restoration done. [redacted] promised that he would speak with his crew about taking better
care with landscaping. Mr. [redacted] was happy with that.
 
Daren indicated that normally
our contractor is very conscientious. [redacted] approved a $50.00 courtesy credit
for Mr. [redacted]’s account. The credit appears on the October invoice.
 
Thank you.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
My complaint is that TDS is charging and advertising for a service they cannot deliver.  A refund for service is not an adequette response as a refund does not fix the issue.  I initially accepted their discount with the belief that the poor internet service would be rectified in short time.  Now that the issue is still not resolved, I refuse a refund and ask that TDS deliver the internet service that is expected. In regards to the TDS response that their Turbo Internet service only offers speed "up to" their advertised speeds, my TDS internet service never comes close to these advertised speeds during peak and non-peak hours. In all of my speed testing done with only one computer connected directly to the DSL Router since this issue started last May, I have never been able to get results above 8MB download speeds and the majority of the time the speed test results are under 2MB download, regardless of the time of day.  Many times the service simply does not work.   The interent service simply has got worse since my initial complaint to TDS.  I have also recieved the same reviews from my neighbors who use the TDS service.  If need be, I will collect signatures from many local TDS customers signed to a petition that their Internet service is not beig delivered as advertised.  To stand by an "up to" standard as a way to quantify their response on the issue is insulting when the service does not even come close to the "up to" rate. In addition, TDS has now openly admitted in their response to the Revdex.com that they have a bandwidth issue that needs resolved (promising a resolution sometime in May of 2015).  Yet TDS has not proactively reached out to their customers to advise on any issues with their network speeds and stands by their advertising that they can deliver 15MB download internet.  TDS created this issue by over selling their Internet service to our community, a business tactic that the Revdex.com should be looking into. Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]
 
 At this point (7-27-15) I am rejecting the TDS response. I will, however, review the matter when the 7-28-15 statement arrives and make you aware.Regards,[redacted]