TDS

Response to
file# 11867026.
 
TDS advertises that DSL speeds and availability vary.
Speed plans are “up to” and not guaranteed. When we became aware of the network
capacity situation in Mr. [redacted] serving area due to excessive high
demand, we limited our sales to our lowest...

DSL tier, DSL “Lite” (up to 1MB).
Additionally, earlier this year we notified our existing DSL customers in that
serving area of the issue and offered the option to change their DSL plan or
cancel without penalty. We partner with DISH Network and can offer their
dishNet satellite internet as an alternative. Other alternatives could include
Exede, other satellite or wireless providers. I apologize that we cannot meet
Mr. [redacted] expectation for service at this time.
 
Thank you.

Follow up:
 
The original
sales call was not recorded so we are not able to review. I acknowledge that
our Sales representative may have made a mistake with not entering the billing
address that Mr. [redacted] desired and I apologize for the inconvenience. An
incorrect billing address does not excuse non-payment for services rendered.
Mr. [redacted] was aware that he ordered the service, would be billed for it, and
would need to pay for it. We were not made aware of the invoice billing address
issue until after the disconnection. We made an effort to contact Mr. [redacted]
prior to the suspension of service. We do also offer online bill pay.
 
Our
marketing lists show the Alpine address and we can find no explanation as to
how the marketing letter got addressed to Austin. I apologize for the inconvenience of the confusion with the mailer.
 
Our Customer
Service supervisor agreed to allow an exception to add the promotional rate for
internet-only service. Please note that delinquent accounts may lose discounts.

Follow up:
In response
to the network capacity issue, TDS has already limited DSL sales in Mr. [redacted]
service area. The same plan to which the customer subscribes is no longer an
option in that service area. We recommend that the customer reduce their speed
plan since they are not satisfied with the speed result that is especially
noticeable during the peak hours of usage. We do not currently have a network
augmentation project to increase capacity, but that may change over time.

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.]Again.  TDS is unresponsive to the issue at hand, and passing the buck.I expect compensation for this horrible experience with their tech support, the SLOWWWWWWWWWWW internet bandwidth, and bad responses.It took me 20 minutes for this web page to even load up to respond, now that is not right at all.Fix the service, compensate, or jump ship and leave Salome.Telling me to leave your service is not fixing the matter, its only pissing me off more.NOW, if you don't want me on TDS DSL, then kick me off, but I will not be terminating as long as you all wont respond to the issues at hand.
Regards,
[redacted]

I accept the business response to resolve this complaint. Please note that we still do not have TDS email as of 12/14 and today is 3/15/2015. They said they will not explain why but still have a problem and therefore they have not fulfilled their part of the contract. We will wait this out until they fix the problem. P>[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. 
Regards,
 
[redacted]

Response to file# [redacted]?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /
 
TDS advertises that DSL speeds and availability may vary. Speed plans are “up to”. We have previously explained to Ms. [redacted] that TDS is not able to offer faster speeds in her area. We...

have offered to reduce Ms. [redacted] DSL plan to the DSL “Lite” (1MB) plan and advised that she may cancel DSL without penalty. Alternatives could include satellite providers such as dishNet, Exede, or others.
 
Ms. [redacted] DSL plan is on a promotional rate of $29.95/month (rate good 2/5/15-2/5/17). No further discount is applicable.
 
Thank you.

Response to complaint file #[redacted].
 
TDS Baja Broadband has a project in place to upgrade equipment and improve network capacity. On 8/5/15 TDS Repair supervisor followed up with Mr. [redacted] and offered a 1-month credit for the internet issues. Mr. [redacted] indicated that he intended to...

cancel service with TDS for now and switch to CenturyLink. He may call back in 2016 to switch back once the capacity project is complete.
 
Thank you.

Follow up # 2:
 
I am sorry that our Sales representative was not inquisitive about the status of the customer’s telephone equipment.

Response to file# [redacted].
 
Our senior advisor, [redacted], reached out to Mr. [redacted] to go over his concerns. She went over the service charges, promotion, and the additional discount that had been given to bring the customer’s monthly bill to where he felt more comfortable. Mr. [redacted]...

still expressed dissatisfaction, and the senior advisor got permission from her manager for Mr. [redacted] to send back the un-opened TV (that was the big part of the promotion) and agreed to waive the termination fee upon receipt of the un-used/un-opened TV; this offer is good for another week. Robin called back on 3/11/15 and Mr. [redacted] indicated he was considering keeping service with TDS and had one last dispute that would be resolved with a $40.00 credit. We agreed to the additional credit and hope that the value of the service now better meets Mr. [redacted]’ expectation.
 
Thank you.

Response to file# [redacted]
TDS advertises that DSL
speeds and availability vary. Speed plans are ‘up to’. Unfortunately, at this
time TDS is not able to offer faster speeds in Mr. [redacted] area. We recommend
that the customer reduce their speed plan that better matches their...

experience.
The customer could have changed or cancelled the service over the past two
years when they found the Turbo plan did not meet their expectation. In
response to the network over-utilization, we have limited DSL sales in Mr.
[redacted] area. Also, we partner with DISH Network and can offer their dishNet
service as an alternative. Other alternatives could include Exede, other
satellite or wireless providers. I apologize that we have not been better able
to meet the customer’s expectation for service.
Thank you.

Response to file# [redacted].
 
TDS advertises that DSL speeds and availability vary. Speed plans are “up to”.
 
The TDS technicians did some extensive testing with the customer and isolated the trouble to the customer’s computer equipment. The customer has numerous Apple devices...

connected via an Apple hot spot. The technician determined that the issued was the “IPV6” running on the Mac devices and the hot spot was causing the slow internet issue. The customer turned off the IPV6 on all of the devices and the slow speed issue was resolved.
 
Additional explanation from the technician:  When you initiate a connection to any website, the first thing the computer does is look up the IP address in DNS. DNS is currently handled in serial, not parallel. The IPV4 lookup is always handled first, then the IPV6, so it takes at least twice as long. Second, because the IPV6 lookups are less frequent, they are not cached as often on the DNS server, causing further delay. Most if not all web pages load content from many different URL's, and every time the browser has to look up an address for an image, Flash object, or anything else on the page, the slow down on the page is increased.
 
The speed test completed with a wired connection to the modem by the technician showed 10.5MB. This is within the expected range for the “Turbo” (up to 15MB) plan. Due to distance from the serving equipment, which is nearly two-miles in this instance, this is the fastest speed TDS can offer. For faster speeds, alternative providers may include dishNet, Exede, or other satellite providers.
 
Thank you.

Response to file# [redacted].
 
Service was installed on 5/4/15. Billing charges are one-month in advance. For example, the bill date of 7/4/15 covers charges for service 7/4/15-8/3/15 and the bill is due twenty days later on 7/24/15.
 
Initially there was a billing error where the DSL...

service billed before the installation for 17-days (4/17/15-5/3/15), which was an over-charge of $19.77. TDS corrected this error by providing a credit of $20.43 which appears on the June invoice. On 6/11/15 Ms. [redacted] contacted TDS about her bill, which we reviewed with her. We offered a $20.00 courtesy credit as an apology for the billing error. This credit appears on the July invoice. On 7/14/15 we went over the billing with Ms. [redacted] and explained the credits given and the service dates covered that make up the balance. We also mailed bill copies for Ms. [redacted]’ convenience.
 
Ms. [redacted] owes for services covering dates 5/4/15 – 8/3/15. The amount due is correct and no further credits are warranted. If any further questions, Ms. [redacted] may contact TDS at [redacted] (888CALLTDS) or chat/send web mail via www.tdstelecom.com/contactus.   
 
Thank you.

Response to file #11934518.
 
It is
industry practice that toll charges, which may include operator and directory
service charges, may be billed up to 120-days after charges are incurred. Toll
charges are billed in arrears. Additionally there may be equipment
return/damage...

charges, final TV usage charge (ex. PPV), or other usage charges
that may apply. Accordingly it is TDS' standard practice to wait 60-days after
the final bill is issued to make sure all charges have been received and billed
before any refund is issued. The final bill was issued on 11/16/16, which
reflected a credit balance. As of 1/16/17, which is sixty-days from the final
bill date, the refund is being processed. The refund check will be mailed on
1/26/17.
 
Also, as an
E-Pay subscriber Ms. [redacted] had full control over her auto-pay scheduling and could
have stopped the payment. Bills are issued on a monthly set schedule. The
monthly recurring charges are billed one month in advance. Usage is billed in
arrears. The bills show charges with “TO” and “FROM” dates that reflect the
billing period. On 10/13/16 we issued a reminder email to Ms. [redacted] about the
upcoming auto-payment in E-Pay. The subject line of the email was “Your
TDS Bill is Scheduled to Be Paid!”. The message indicated “Your most recent TDS bill is
scheduled for automatic payment on 11/05/2016.”
 
Unfortunately,
the actual disconnection occurred after the October bill had already been
issued. E-Pay auto-payment does not take into account future bill adjustments,
but acts on that month’s bill amount. The refund was handled on schedule. I can
certainly understand Ms. [redacted]’s desire to get her refund as soon as possible
given the amount of her over-payment.
 
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.
Unfortunately - the lines TDS has disconnected are not the lines we requested to have disconnected. The lines we requested to have disconnected include:[redacted]
Regards,
[redacted]

Response to file# [redacted].
 
Unfortunately TDS Repair was not aware that the Sports Pass was discontinued. They understood that the Sports Pass had been grandfathered and were working toward a solution with the vendor for several weeks without a resolution. We apologize for the...

misunderstanding and inconvenience. TDS Repair followed up with Mr. [redacted] to explain and offered a $100.00 courtesy credit due to issues. Mr. [redacted] may contact Consumer Sales at [redacted] to make changes with his internet service options.
 
Thank you.

Follow up #2:
 
I am truly sorry that Mr. [redacted] is frustrated and has not had a satisfactory internet experience. We are working on the last piece of the engineering project (carrier long haul circuit) as previously explained. Again, Mr. [redacted] may cancel service at any time without penalty. Alternatives could include satellite internet providers.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 11851041, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Apparently you are not talking to the same repair supervisors that I have spoken to.  The initial complaint was made in Jan 2016 at which time I as specifically told that the problem would take 13 months to fix the problem (Feb/March 2017). On 5/5/16, 5/24/16 and on 11/29/16 your repair supervisors explained that the project was on going and on 11/29/2016 I was told that the project was on going and that the completion date could not be provide do to company policies.  Now, that the expected completion date is near it appears that the repair supervisors were providing wrong information when I was told that the project was underway and ongoing.  What has happened to the project that was on going the last nine months?????   By the way, no one that I am aware of in the service area has been notified that there were no plans to fix the problem.  Matter of fact I contacted Customer Service to change my plan and they recommend that I DID NOT change the plan due to the plan that I had.   You cannot supply the speeds I desire, what are you talking about???? All I am asking for is up to 5 like I was getting 2 or 3 years ago. NOT the constant less than 1 that I have been experiencing the last year. And in the last few months it has been more consistently less than 0.5. You shouldn’t have over sold what you could provide.   
Regards,
Dave Schilt

Response to file #[redacted].
 
Unfortunately, the incorrect address was initially used for the order (401 vs 403). Also the contact number the technician had been given did not work. The technician was not given the correction information and could not complete the installation without it....

With the order correction, the TDS technician arrived on the morning of March 6th for the installation. Our supervisor [redacted] spoke with Ms. [redacted] and made sure with the local Field Service team that the order would get completed on the morning of the 6th. She also followed up with a courtesy credit of $57.90 due to the delay with the installation and miscommunication with the original installation appointment. The Sales advisor who had the order error has received coaching.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
 
Thank you.

Response to file# [redacted]
 
TDS advertises that DSL speeds and availability vary. Speed plans are “up to”. Unfortunately TDS is not able to offer faster speeds in Mr. Nelson’s rural area at this time due to restricted network capacity. As a result, we have decided to limit DSL sales in...

this area. The options are that Mr. Nelson may change to the DSL “Lite” (1MB) plan or cancel without penalty. Alternatives may include satellite providers such as dishNet or others. We apologize that we are not better able to meet Mr. [redacted] expectation for service.
 
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.
I am still not happy the cable is still above ground, they need to finish the job.
Regards,
[redacted]