Earthlink is big all right. By most reckonings, it's the second largest Internet service provider after AOL. Unfortunately, it shares many of AOL's bad habits -- the most notorious being the near impossibility of cancelling the service.
Below is a sampling of recent complaints. Click the links to the right for more.
Kim of Redlands, CA April 29, 2008
Kim of Redlands CA (04/29/08) I received a bill from earthlink stating that I am past due on some account they claim to have with me. I don't use earthlink. I am quite aware of every account that is legitimately in my name. So, of course, this is fraud. I tried to contact Earthlink, but I cannot get past the pre-screening on the phone and online because I don't have an account type or user ID registered with them. So, I faked a user ID by typing [website] and randomly choosing an account type and I finally got someone on live chat. He said he couldn't help me with that problem and referred me to the telephone number above... which doesn't work!
Any company that let's itself be duped by a criminal fraudulently creating an account should have all of the burden of fixing it. It seems that the only person who can't get into my account without sufficient proof of my identity is me!
Marc of Vancouver, WA April 22, 2008
Marc of Vancouver WA (04/22/08) Our intranet service was terminated in Dec. 2007 (Earthlink has an expired credit card on file) we had always paid by check. When we contact them they said we had not made a payment with our credit card. When we tried to explain we paid by check they just kept saying our credit card was denied. We then contacted another person and we faxed copies front and back of cancelled check deposited by Earthklink. We kept getting calls.
Finally in late January I contacted them again (got a very nice person but did get her name) she reviewed our account back to January of 2007 and told me everything was paid in full. I thought it was finally over. Then the first of April I get a notice from CCA (earthlinks collection division)saying that we still owed for one month but couldn't tell which month I supposedly owed.
Between my wife and myself we have made no less than 10 call to Eathlink and or CCA with aboslutely the worst customer service I have ever experienced. No one seems to be able to give you any information or will accept any information from you. I have just mailed copies of the checks to CCA and faxed them to Earthlink Accounts Receivables in hopes that this can be resolved. I will never do business with Earthlink and I will do everything in my power to let everone know how hard they are to deal with.
They still say I owe them 21.95 plus some kind of pentalty.
Marilyn of Plainfield, IL April 16, 2008
Marilyn of Plainfield IL (04/16/08) Have repeatedly tried to cancel their service. Requests are ignored!!
Tonya of Remlap, AL March 30, 2008
Tonya of Remlap AL (03/30/08) I first signed up for DSL service with Earthlink on March 28, 2007 for 6 months for 19.95. I had already been a dial-up customer with them, but now DSL was being offered in my area. When July came around, I started being billed for 39.95 so I called and found out that a new promotion had started when I signed up for 3 months for 12.95 so that's the promotion I was under. I just thought to myself, I can't trust Earthlink. That was so deceiving.
So since July I have been waiting for March 30 to come around so I could cancel. I called a few weeks ago to let them know I did not want to be billed for another month as I would be canceling on the 30th. I was advised to call back on the 30th or be charged an early termination fee. That was fine. But supposedly the rep made a note on my account not to bill for another month. My Earthlink modem for DSL just happen to go out on Friday, 3/28, so I was without internet service. I called AT&T and got service on the 28th of March and found out I didn't have to have phone service. Well, this was great I thought. I can save some money so I canceled my phone service on 3/29/08.
When I called Earthlink today, 3/30/08, to cancel my service, I was informed that I owed 149.95 due to my phone service being canceled. I pitched a fit. I said if you want to get technical, I haven't had internet service since Friday anyway. The rep and I talked back and forth and she was nice enough (I'm being sarcastic) to take off 99.95 so I still owe 50.00. I was given a confirmation number and told I wouldn't be billed for another month, but I said I hope I can trust you because I haven't found anyone at Earthlink so far that I can trust. There were no notes on my account about calling and the rep said I could cancel on the 30th. Consumer beware!! I sure hate to lose 50.00, but I guess it's a lesson learned the hard way.
I'm being charged 50.00 that I shouldn't have had to pay. I do not have the money to waste like that.
David of Los Angeles, CA March 27, 2008
David of Los Angeles CA (03/27/08) In June of 2007 I expanded my Eathlink service to DSL, home phone, and home network. I have had DSL since 2004 with them. I was having problems with not being able to get a dial tone on my home phone intermittently since June of 2007. I would use live chat (since the phone didn't work) and would be put through the same process each time which would disconnect me from the live chat but never fixed the problem. In February of 2008 the problem with no dial tone got so bad I was missing important phones calls because they would go directly to the message center. I went back to AT&T on my home phone service but this caused problems with my DSL. I have spent over 6 hours on the phone in the last 2 weeks, been cut of four times and was told that the DSL was not available at this time and they would call me when it was available. I canceled all my service with Earthlink.
I will have to pay over 200 in early cancellation fees for services that they can't provide. It's worth it not to have to deal with their customer service again.
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