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Debora of Winnemucca NV (05/09/08)
Contacted wildblue for service since we could not get anything better than dail up in our area. VERY RURAL Nevada. The first complaint is that the Fair Usage is not fair at all. No information was given before we signed up. Now I am spending an additional 20.00 a month so the family can injoy faster internet and downloads. When you get to 70% of the usage they tone it down, slow your speeds and you feel like you are on dail up again.
Now here is where I get angry the most. First....let people know that there is a limit and Second...if I am paying for 100% of usage then give me 100% not 70%. As soon as my year is up....I AM Going to find an alternative company to do business with. We do not get the service promised nor do we get the usage they claim. The speed is not what they say it will be,...although faster than dail up it is still not what is claimed.
I feel that I am paying way to much for the service and forced to upgrade when the fair usage was not explained up front. I would like to see the company have to pay for the upgrade and for the company to have to pay for finding a solution to the problems as well as finding a company that will do as promised.
Ken of Delaware OH (05/09/08)
On or about April 25th, I signed up for based internet/broadband service (ProPAK plan) on explicit expectations (via company advertisement claims and the sales rep that I spoke with over the phone) that service availability would not be affected by inclement weather conditions unless those conditions where extreme. The company's website claimed that service availability would be equivalent to typical satellite TV service; the key text that led me to call and signup was this: service is only minimally affected by weather, and only under extreme conditions....service will offer availability equal to that of satellite TV.. Since my satellite based TV service never goes out during rainy weather, even during very heavy rainy weather, I naturally felt that WildBlue service would be reliable and sufficient for my needs.
Additionally, when calling the sales department to sign up, I expressed my concern to the sales representative that I was a previous HughsNet (DirecWAY) customer and that my service with them was often affected by rainy weather conditions and I had left HughsNet as a customer for this very reason. I communicated my concern about rainy and snowy weather and asked about how the service with WildBlue could be different if both are using Satellite technology. The Sales Representative explained to me, in convincing detail, that HughsNet satellite dishes were engineered such that they are vulnerable to collect water in the dish and thus are vulnerable to rain. However, WildBlue dishes, she indicated were different and were not affected by this condition. She assured me that as long as the weather was not severe, my service would be unaffected. I took severe/extreme weather to mean extremely heavy rain, high wind, severe storm conditions, etc. and felt that was acceptable.
The sales rep's apparent confidence and knowledge (along with the company website info regarding this) convinced me that I would not experience the same reliability issues I had before w/Hughsnet. I signed up, paid for equipment, and was told that I would be contacted for installation in the next several days. When service was installed on May 3rd and I began to use the service on May 4th, everything appeared normal until our first rainy day (May 7) when we experienced several outages with no connectivity for large blocks of time during the day (several hrs overall with intermittent to no connectivity) and major performance degradation of the service when connectivity was restored. The weather conditions on that day were not what anyone would call extreme or severe - merely a light to moderate rain...no storm conditions of any kind. In addition, as always under light weather conditions like this, our satellite TV remained operational with no issues whatsover.
When calling tech service and then afterwards being transferred to the termination department and customer service, WildBlue then informed me that yes indeed, their service is and can be affected by weather. 3 representatives from each department (Tech Service Terminations, and Customer Service) all told me the same thing; rainy weather does affect the service availability. One representative (Lani who is the supervisor of Terminations) actually went further to indicate that WildBlue defines extreme weather conditions as any inclimate weather condition including light rain and cloud coverings.
Finally, they indicated that I had signed a contract accepting such acts of God and that if I chose to terminate service with them I would be subject to the termination fees totaling some $720. The monthly service is only about $92 per month and I was a customer for only 4 days. I believe I am the victim of deceptive and/or false advertisement, w/o which I would have never agreed to sign up for this service. I signed up for this service in good faith and with expectations that I would receive the service that was promised to me. I now want to terminate my contract (given service level cannot meet my originally expressed expectations) but feel b/c of the excessive termination policy, I am being forced to stay on as a customer against my will.
Total economic damage to me is approx. $1100. This includes the equipment charges, first month's service, and the termination fee.
Brent of Crescent, IA (04/29/08)
Purchased Wild Blue Equipment in Aug. 2007. Provider of satellite high speed internet did not provide service over 7 months as agreed in service contract, didn't show up for scheduled tech visit, collected monthly fees without providing service, hung up on 33 times when trying to resolve issue. Maybe had service one full day collectively over 7 months.
Techs rude, customer service always experience high traffic and asked to call back later. Could go on forever.
Sharon of Williamsport PA (04/21/08)
Paid $391.09 for satellite and installation around 12/29/07. On 4/18/08, dish was falling off garage roof (leaving holes in roof) due to improper installation (not bolted down...no back plate...just screwed down into board on roof). Company will not send installer back out unless I pay add'l. $95 labor fee because 90 days is up, so I cancelled service.
Now they intend to charge me $30 a month for remaining 8 months of contract. Plus I was just charged $50 4/14/08 (for monthly service till 5/14/08 which we only received 4 days of before satellite fell). Had to have son-in-law take dish down before last screw pulled out and it fell, resulting in more damage to roof.
After being on the phone with them approx. 4 hrs (including holding time), talking to several different people, getting disconnected twice, etc... no one really willing to assist me - just repeating that the 90 days is up and I have to pay for the repair...I decided that I don't even want to do business with a company like them anymore. I should not have to pay them more to get something done properly that should have been done right in the first place. Our DirectTV dish wouldn't move if we had a hurricane because they bolt them down properly, cauck around their plates....so there is no leakage... Not Wildblue - the weather has been beautiful. The thing just started to pull out because of the weight, and nothing on back of screws for support.
Paul of Belpre OH (04/09/08)
We ordered Wildblue in July 2007. After the installation, we still did not have any service. I have made several phone calls and I mean several calls. I spent 3 hours just on one call. We called and called and they said it would be $80.00 for the service call but I would get it back in 2 months if the problem, was not mine! I argued that it was not my problem. That did not matter! I had to pay the service fee anyway up front. After many checks and rechecks into my signal, they said that our Tree or Trea was bad on the dish. It took over two months and many calls to the installation company before an installer came to repair it, all along Wildblue kept affirming their great speed and service. Wildblue installation Companies had to wait until they sent back bad ones before the maker would send a good one.
Finally, the tree or Trea was installed and still lousy service, in and out all the time. After we got hit with their FAIR USAGE POLICE of 17,000 kps download and 5,000 kps upload, we were shut down to a crawl. I called again and we were told we had abused the police. I said what police? Didnt your installer tell you about this policy. Hell no! I said I had not abused the system and they needed to figure out what was up. They ran more and more checks. They said my signal was on and off which could mean spikes in service and that would cause my usage to increase. They could not tell me why my service was in and out nor would they help me by sending someone here to fix the problem unless I paid YES, another now, $90.00.
I had had enough, I went up on the roof of my house, going to adjust the dish up a little Bit. I found the 4 bolts that hold the vertical adjustment loose. I tighten them up but still lousy service. That was 2 months ago. Today I called about their Google Merge. I can not use my Outlook Express and she walked me through the steps and then could not tell me why it was still not working. I said O.K. how about your webmail page. Why cant I forward email to my address book clients? She and others researched this problem. They could not figure out why I cant click forward, go to my address book and click on the names and forward. I have to click forward, type in the first letter of each name and then a window pops up with all the names starting with Example letter B. When I click on that name, it appears in my to: window, but if I have several name starting with the letter B, I have to go back into this window for each and every one.
For a company just starting off the ground, you would think Wildblue would: #1: treat customers like we are someone, not stupid people that dont know anything about the intertnet. I have had BU CU training on computers. #2: If your service is lousy and you are not sending a signal to them, you would think thay would send someone out to fix the problem and if the problem is yours and not Wildblues, then bill the customer. #3: Their advertisement did not say anything about the FIAR Usage Policy. I did not know I only had 17,000 per month. This is a hidden factor that needs to be up front. Of course of it was told to everyone up front, Wildblue would not have any customers. After one figure this out in a few months, your locked into their one year contract. If youre reading this beware! As soon as my year is up, Im gone. I am as I speak, looking into another type of DSL!
My wife and I are on a disability. We both depend on our internet to stay in contact with family, to do life skills business, shopping, etc. When they do not disclose hidden policies like, Fair Usage they should suffer not us. They contract with companies to install their equipment but do not teach them what they need to disclose to us. Companies that are happy to take your money and not support thier client base should not be in business.
Kenna of Waynesville OH (04/07/08)
We have had wildblue for about a year. We too noticed the 'high speed' wasn't much faster. All of a sudden, our connection quit. We have to pay over $100 to have someone come out. We finally agreed to do that-my husband took a half a day off work-and no call, no show. We spent 40 minutes on hold to be told 'too bad' I asked to speak to a manager-and did-who had a horrible attitude and told me 'too bad' You will have to schedule again-at the same costs' and they may show, may not. We are cancelling ASAP.
A half a day off work-my husband makes about $50/hr so at least $200 in salary plus all of our time on hold!
Jason of Butte MT (03/12/08)
The Wild Blue internet service I signed up for is the platinum service with 1.5g downloads, and nowhere on the advertisement or anything I see does it say you are limited to 17,000mb per month. I exceeded that in 10 days, and they shut my speed down to half of dial up. I called them and they asked if someone had read me the policy and had me sign a document of the policy. They did not! They refuse to give me my money back and will not correct the problem.
They basically said they have the right to cut my speed down. Better yet, they sit there and tell you to hook your satellite receiver to the high speed internet to enjoy the best features that Dish network has to offer. But they never say when you download a movie, you are using up allowed time for internet. This just makes me sick. I spent all this money, and they tricked and scammed me into a service that has an allotment of usage. I think this is false advertising. Terrible thing.
Stacey of Fenton MI (03/03/08)
I signed up for Wild Blue internet services through Dish Network as it is my only option other than dial up. I am paying a fortune for their fastest speed, but never receiving it! Also, my service is down almost as much as it is up. I have 23 (yes, count them, I've kept track!) calls into customer service. Now they have merged their homepage with Google. Not only was I not notified of the change, I was not informed that it is not configured to work with Outlook or Outlook Express properly. I have been on hold with customer service for a total of 8 HOURS since Friday. It is now Monday, and I sit on hold once again (2 hours so far!). The two times I actually got a hold of anyone, they assured that they were fixing it on their end within 45 minutes. What a joke! The sad truth is that I really have no other option. The DAY anyone offers me anything better, I will tell Wild Blue to come pick up their junk; and I dare them to try to collect another dime from me!
I work from home. I missed plenty of orders from customers!
Jack of Milford DE (02/26/08)
Having ordered WildBlue Satellite Internet Service from this company on 12/28/07, the order being confirmed by them via email at 11:12 PM, I had some questions regarding the trees surrounding my house and what would happen if the installation was impossible. They replied that I would still be charged a cancellation fee of $50.00, regardless. Knowing there were other service providers who had told me they would charge me nothing under those circumstances, I quickly canceled the order with International Satellite, notifying them by email at 9:05 PM on 12/29/07.
At 11:27 PM that same night, Diane in customer service emailed me that they could not cancel the shipment of the equipment via UPS, and that I would not get my refund (minus the fee of $50) until after I had returned the equipment. In fact, the equipment was not even shipped until 12/31/07. I refused delivery and got UPS to return the equipment, which was received by the company in New York at 8:08 AM on 1/10/08, according to the UPS tracking system. So far, there has been no refund at all. Because I canceled within 24 hours, because the company lied to me (they could have stopped shipment), and because they have not issued any refund, I am requesting the entire amount of $320.00.
I'm out $320 since 12/29/07, with no sign of getting it back.
Mr of Smithfield WV (02/15/08)
My parents who live in W.V. recently subscribed to Satellite Internet Service with WildBlue Communications in USA, and was scammed out of money, and left with no service. WildBlue's Service was supposed to give us standard installation with purchase of equipment. This however did not happen, we received equipment and the O.N.S.C. technician insisted that our service had to have a pole mount installation, and this would cost us an extra $185. dollars. We had to agree to this, or we could do without Satellite Internet service and the installer threatened to leave and if he had to come back he would charge us another $95. dollars plus the extra $185.00 for installing the dish in the yard.
My parents had insisted on a second story walkout porch area for the standard mount of our satellite dish. Our Porch has a perfect view, and this was also shown to be part of a standard installation as was demonstrated in the brochure we received from WildBlue. The technician refused to use the roof porch mount, saying WildBlue would not authorize a roof porch mount, because it was on a wooden structure. After we put a stop payment on the Installers check, we received a phone call from the installer, threatening us with a lawsuit and arrest. At this point we notified the local sheriff and contacted the F.B.I. about WildBlue and ONSC .
John of Lanesville IN (02/10/08)
I became a Wild Blue customer in August 2007. At the time I wasn't able to get DSL or cable internet. I signed an 18 month contract. I was billed $233 for the install. I was supposed to receive the equipment (modem, etc.) in the mail but never did. The installer ended up contacting Wild Blue and had it sent to him. It took a month to get the installer out and I wasn't too happy with the looks of the install. I had coax running down the side of the house. On top of that Wild Blue sent him the wrong Tria for the dish. I was told I had to mail the Tria back or I would be charged $500. I had to call customer service and talk them into emailing me a UPS return label (since it was their fault).
I finally got the correct Tria in the mail and got the installer back out. It took the installer several hours and phone calls to get service activated. I asked him if he had Wild Blue at his home and he laughed. He said they have too many problems. I had the low end package which is advertised up to 512K download speed. At first it was a little faster than the 40K speed I got with dial-up. I would have no service with the lightest rain or fog. I was told my portal went through several states and if there was bad weather or many people on the internet in those states it would greatly affect my service. I made several calls to tech support but kept being everything looked good on their end and was in the acceptable range. Service continued to get worse and it got to where I couldn't pull up web pages at all in December.
I spoke to several tech support rep's and was always courteous with them. (I work for a very large communications company and speak with customers every day myself). One night I was speaking to a rep about my trouble and she told me that maybe if I upgraded to their highest package my internet may work. I told her that would be like me selling her a Mustang that stopped running a few months later and when you come back I offer to sell you my Ferrari so you have a running car. She didn't disagree. That was the breaking point and I decided to disconnect.
I was instructed to send an email to a certain address and they would send me info back about the disconnection. I said I would send the equipment back in perfect shape but didn't feel I should have to pay the disconnection fee. A couple weeks later I received an email back that I would be billed $300 for disconnecting service. I emailed them back and asked for a supervisor to contact me. I finally received a callback from a lady and the only thing she would offer is to have a tech sent out to check at my home. I would have to pay of course since my warranty was up. This was never offered when I had called in many times before. I asked to speak with her supervisor and she refused. After that I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. The complaint is still pending. When I came in from work today I found a letter from Wild Blue indicating they would be billing me the $300 on my credit card later this month. My advice to anyone considering getting this service is to stay away. It very well could be the worst decision I've ever made. Thank God my local phone company got DSL in our area now. I now pay $19.99/month for a 1.5M connection that is very reliable.
Pat of Hopland CA (02/07/08)
I've had Wildblue for about 2 years. Two weeks ago, I lost connectivity. I've been trying to schedule a service call ever since. Because Wildblue apparently has NO replacement equipment, the local installers are unable to do any repairs. The local installers have not been given any ETA on replacement equipment and they say this has been going on for months. The local installers are just keeping a list of Wildblue customers in need of repairs. There's nothing else they can do. So I fired WildBlue & signed up with HughesNet. The installers said they haven't had any problems with them.
I couldn't attend my online classes & was unable to complete 6 units in the current semester.
Karen of Mount Carmel IL (02/03/08)
I have been with Wild Blue for 3 years and my speeds started fast and have gotten slower and slower. I did some investigating for myself and found out about contention ratio. I asked them about my contention ratio to see if they perhaps have over sold their broadband. I was told I was not entitled to that info. Today I ran 11 speed tests with 3 websites and they were no where near what I was told I would have up to. The tech said, Unfortunately you are within the acceptable range. I asked her what the Acceptable range was and she said I cannot give you that information. I couldn't believe my ears. I pay for the service and she can't give me what they consider an Acceptable range? Why? Is it a secret. I can leave them without a penalty now and I am going to do just that.
Donna of Chewelah WA (02/03/08)
In short we canceled Wildblue service per their instructions. They have continuously charged our Visa. We have requested a credit and they have been giving us the runaround. I have called them 3 times since early December 07. They now owe us for $99.90. Can you help us. They also have misrepresented there product. It is very slow internet.
Brenda of Barhamsville VA (01/29/08)
Wildblue advertises high-speed internet via satellite for those of us who have dial-up and no other options. I was eager to get faster internet service so I paid $200+ for the equipment and installation and I am now paying $49.95/month for the service. It is slower than my AOL dial up, the email is awful, and the service is not dependable at all. I have called and their option is to bill me for the next nine months for $49.95/mo if I cancel. People need to know that they do not care what kind of service you get, you will be billed. The service I am getting (still using my dial up because it is better) for $9.95 a month through AOL is much better than the service they offer for $49.95. I wish so bad I had read some of the complaints before throwing $700+ away.
Jeff of Crystal River FL (01/02/08)
I have finally had enough of Wild Blue, what a joke. In my area the only options are dial up or satellite, so for many years I put up with dial up due to the price of satelite, when Wild Blue came out with there reasonable pricing I decided to give them a try. BIG mistake. Upon installation the technician said he would have to come back later to finish installation of my email never to return. Days later I called Wild Blue Customer Service for help with the email and within minutes knew I would have to figure it out myself, I said to the Tech on the phone it seems I know more about this than you do? And the Tech. said yeah, you do. That was the last time I called Customer Service.
The system loses its signal daily, yesterday I had no signal all day (about 14 hours), hopefully today I will have a signal long enough to post this. As for speed? What speed? Put it this way, when I press submit to post this letter it will take over 2 minutes for the screen to refresh to the next screen. Don't even think about running more than one computer online at a time. Recently I have cancelled my landline phone service due to my entire family having cell phones so dial up is no longer an option or I would return to dial up, it seemed to be just as fast. I have an 18 month contract with Wild Blue and have only a few months left, I plan to give Hughes Sat. a try and just eat the last few month of Wild Blue. My advice, If you have no other choice but Satellite Internet, DO NOT GO WITH WILD BLUE. Pay the extra money and go with Hughes. If your only option is Wild Blue..sell your computer.
Dave of Fort Wingate NM (12/09/07)
I have been reading the complaints against Wild Blue and wanted to add my 2-cents' worth. The speeds in most cases are no better than my old dial up, and talking to customer service is useless. The download speeds that I have been able to time, show 2 times my old dial up and nowhere close to the possible 10 times increase. That being said, at the end of my year I will cancel the service. I have let everyone know how poor the service is, and I know that I am responsible for at least 3 people not getting the Wild Blue service in my area. My advice: complain loudly and tell everyone you can....
My wife is really mad; she hasn't hit me or threatened divorce...yet.
Flavia of Orlando FL (12/04/07)
I have Wildblue Communications for Internet service. They first lured me in because they said their service is more reliable and faster than DSL, which is what I had before. On the first day of installation (and $300 later) the system was so slow it felt like we were back to dial up. Not only that but the e-mails would go to this black whole, where I could not send or receive any e-mails. I called the same day that I had it installed and they told me they would have someone come take a look. They didn't. I called again with no luck. Then I called for the e-mail to be fixed, and the person who helped me was laughing at the fact that my e-mails would disappear. Then she told me other customers were experiencing the same and left me on hold. She never got back to me. I called several times to get my money back and stop the service, but they will not even talk to me. They also said on one of my last attempts that they do not have any record of all the things that I went through. I have to pay for one year of a service that I do not use. I had to get another provider, and am now paying for both (on top of the $300 for the installation).
I had to get another provider , and am now paying for two providers since Wildblue does not work. I pay $70 a month for Wildblue service, and had to pay $300 to get it installed.
Chuck of Petersburg KY (11/28/07)
Wild Blue is selling their service to areas they know they can't deliver service to. I was with them 66 days until I gave up talking to them. They are into me for $500. They want $440 more to allow me to cancel even though in fog or drizzle I can't receive internet service. I put a stop on the monthly credit card charge. Now ! I guess we'll just fight about it. They told me we can't control the weather. I don't lose Satellite Tv unless there is a storm or severe rain or snow.
Edward of Santa Rosa Beach FL (10/01/07)
We described to Wildblue Communications the type of work I do from home and were assured that the service would accomodate that. We purchased the satellite dish for $500. The service does not live up to the promised speed, I was in danger of losing my job. We called to cancel and return the dish. They will not allow the return of the dish, and they expect us to pay for one year of service. We only had the service one month before issuing a complaint about its speed and reliability. We cancelled the service. They said they would cancel it but they are still drafting money from my account each month. We tried to speak with someone at Wildblue but were told there is nothing they can do and that we are not allowed to speak to management.
I was in jeopardy of losing my job. I had to rent another space from which to work. Wildblue will not accept the return of the equipment and expects me to pay for 9 more months of service at $79 per month.
Dana of Ottawa IL (09/22/07)
We signed up for Wildblue in July. Our modem and/or satellite stopped working in less than 3 weeks. We reported it and Wildblue determined our equipment was faulty and would send out a replacement.
The replacement date was in 2 weeks (Aug. 28). Seemed long, but what do you do? Got a call the next week that someone would be in the area and could come the next day (23rd). They never showed, no call, etc.
We had a voicemail that cancelled our original appt. because they didn't have the equipment. No notice of when they WOULD be out. So I email and get a generic reply that says they don't know who to send the email to and to refill out the form. Then nothing. Then the generic again. So I call.
Here begins the long horror of their 'customer care'. 1 1/2 to 2 hour phone calls with the majority of it on hold. Finally find out that they can send an installation of new equipment on Oct. 1. Yeah, Oct. 1! I get nothing but apologies and 'nothing I can do' After calling and calling I get a credit for the down time. I make sure and ask about the '10 hours of dial up' that comes with our pro pak plan. I will go over that since that is all I have right now. I'm assured it won't be a problem. Here comes the kicker: they freeze my account!! Because we went over the allotted time.
Hello!!?? I was told it was no problem. We are missing (because of their faulty equipment) 95% of our service. At this point it had been 30 days of no wireless access. Want to one up the freezing of the account?? They can't/won't do it--I was actually told they can't override their own system. One cs rep told me if I wanted my dial up back I'd have to pay for it. And a tech guy said he was told they won't unfreeze our account because of going over the number of hours allowed! So now, for the past week we've had no internet access from our home. We work from home, bank from home, do a zillion other things the normal person would do--from home and now can't.
15+ hours of phone calls are to no avail. I even had one email from them that said they have no satisfaction guarantee. Our case finally was sent up for review to be allowed out of our contract with them. But, I find out that they will refund our monthly amount but not the $294 equipment cost because we ordered the service through another company. So now they tell me if I want that I have to start contacting that company (Broadband National). So I do, and they tell me to contact Wildblue and Wildblue tells me to contact Broadband National to ship it to. I am now being told that I basically have to climb up on the roof and get the satellite down myself, pay for the shipping and a restocking fee (yeah, 20% for broken equipment). Unbelievable! With much bothering of people and more hours on the phone Broadband National is sending this to the corporate office to find out what to do.
Mark of Sheridan IL (09/21/07)
I purchased WildBlue internet for work purposes 3 months ago, satellite service is my only high-speed option due to location. From the beginning the experience has been terrible, the installer said he had to install a pole which cost me an additional $80, cable is exposed on the side of the house looks really bad, cut a big hole in the side of the house. Service is terrible, service outages all the time, cannot connect a large percentage of time when service is available, speed of service is all over the map, now that the warranty period is over they tell me I can have a service call done for $75, they did not offer to send a service man out the first 3 months while under warranty when I was calling all the time about the problems. I can not work at of my house, they will not stand by the service which I pay $79/month for, will not allow cancellation, no credit for service outages, they are sticking to use, if anyone wants to file charges as a group I am in, where is a guarantee from this company? Let me out of my contract, I'm stuck with equipment & installation cost and months of service that has been worthless!
Crystal of Saint Albans WV (09/18/07)
The WildBlue sales representative misled me in respect to the satellite performance that I would be receiving in comparison to the wireless air card I was currently using. He said he understood my requirements and was assured that WildBlue's satellite system would exceed the expectations of the performance provided by the wireless air card I was using at the time. WildBlue Sales Agent assured me that I would be provided improved performance than the wireless air card. I spoke with CSR Suzanne in the service department and she in-turn inquired with the Technical Services team as to whether the WildBlue Satellite Service would meet my needs utilizing the ProPac service that I purchased and they said NO, a business/commercial plan would be needed to utilize the Remote Desktop Connection functionality.
When I work from home using the Remote Desktop Connection, I am only able to complete 70% of my total daily work needs due to resulting connection speed. Since I am unable to successfully complete my job (I telecommute), I have to drive 2.5 days a week 20 miles to a local coffee shop so that I can utilize a true VPN connection to connect to my company's server. I have to pay for gas, I'm putting additional wear and tear on my car.
Todd of Fenton MI (09/14/07)
I installed WildBlue Satellite internet several months ago. The service has never worked well and WildBlue has records that indicate the same. It took me a long time to call in a complaint because I am out of the house frequently but my children etc complained to me frequently. I called on August 20th to request help. I made an appointment and I was happy to find a tech would be here in a few days. They cancelled the tech because they apparently are missing equipment. I have called a few more times with the last being 9/14/07. I am being told it will be at least a few more weeks. I was told by installation that there are customers waiting much longer like that would make me feel better. We depend on internet for the kids homework, nanny communicating with her family in Australia, etc. We are daily internet users. With Wildblue I have been reduced to using it when it cooperates and pleading for a service call.
Betty of Bluefield, VA (08/18/07)
I live in the country and high speed internet is only available with the sat, so I went with Wild Blue. They never told me I was limited to the amount of use with the internet .
Now they are charging me $87.99 a month for the highest package, but they have but cut my internet to the slowest speed because they said "I used to much"? It didn't even work the first 2 weeks but they would not credit me for that.
I work on the internet and have to have high speed. This is hurting my job and now I am in a contract for a year. This is the first company I have had that limits your internet usage.
Rick of Willow Wood OH (08/16/07)
Had Wild Blue installed in mid march of 07. Unit failed three days later. It took them five weeks to get repair parts and many phone calls plus a complaint to the BBB of Colorado. It failed again two months later and they charged me $75.00 to repair. Service tech told me they got a bad batch of triad's (nose pieces). We then found out they had been double charging us since March for the monthly service.
We faxed copies of our bank statements to them showing double transfers of money to them each month. They insisted their records only showed one payment each month. It is august and they are still doing it. Now one payment comes out of checking and another is charged to my credit card which was used to purchase the system. They refuse to admit they are doing it even when we fax in the bank records confirming it!
Ted of Hot Springs AR (06/04/07)
We were moving to a location where high speed internet was not available, therefore contacted wildblue before we moved. They assured us that the system would work. Well it did providing a completely clear sky. As time went on, so did the service deteriorate. We finally lost connection completely. Then we had to pay an additional $75 to get a local tech to make repairs. Those repairs only lasted a couple of weeks. After repeated complaints, they acknowledged that the cable were in need of replacement. Again, fixed the problem for a few weeks. Now the claim that you cannot use a router with their modem.
For the past month, we are not getting email, or getting email up to four hours late, or not being able to send email. You cannot reach their tech, ours will not return calls, live chat link keeps being broken and they will not answer emails. Or at lease we do not receive them. The only thing you can expect to get on time is a bill.
Wayne of Reddick FL (01/14/07)
I was sold this system with the understanding that there would be no lost signal. The system is down due to lost signal almost weekly. They did have a company come out to adjust the antenna and then advised that indeed the weather would cause signal loss even if it was no where near us, this is contrary to what I was told at time of purchase, but have been told almost each time I call in to report the outage.
The installer came back a few days later with part that he put on the antenna. At that point he assured me that the problem was now taken care of as this part was needed to bring my system to date because the system I had just purchased was and old system that I shouldn't have been installed. Each time I call to complain about the signal loss we again run through the quick fix again to no avail, they advise me a technician would need to check system out which had already been done to include the new part, but this time I would have to pay a service charge which could run as high as $100.00.
Lee of New Salem MA (01/11/07)
After having a huge billing error, Wildblue refunded the money and made us a deal on equipment and instillation, and no contract. After 2 months they lowered the FAP which I was not happy about, but service wasn't that bad for satellite. Then at the end of July 06 service went downhill. I was a direct customer, so a call to support was over an hour for a person to pick up. As of Nov. 06, Wildblue changed there service and it became totally unusable for our needs. 40 percent package loss and ping times going from what were in the 700 range, now went to to 1,400 +.
Wildblue also changed the way they measure your usage, to the point my 2-Gigs to 2.5 Gigs per month, went to 5.5 to 6.5 Gigs with less time spent on the internet. I contacted the BBB of Denver, about canceling, as Wildblue would not let me, without paying for 12 months, and about 40 days later they cut off my service without warning, even though they were paid though the 11th of the following month.
Michelle of Esperance NY (11/03/06)
I purchased a WildBlue satellite in 02/20/06. They advertise free installation but it still costs $200 for a professional to install. Since Feb 06 I have had a service call in March 25 in which I was down 4 days, paid for a service call. I placed a service in Aug 04 & 08 2006 in which I was down for 2 weeks, paid a service call and was told by service person the install was done properly and the dish was out of line and that was the problem. The satellite is supposed to have 2 grounding rods, mine has none.
Placed a service call 10/30/06 My dish is currently out of line due to a poor install again. It is now November 1 and I can not run my business without internet. I am paying $49.99 a month for service I am not getting. I am also paying $75 a service call to have someone come out and realign dish every other month.
Michael of Seymour TN (09/17/06)
Ordered their product, had 30 day money back if i did not like. Cancelled services within my 30 days. took them 2 months to come pick up equipment, in which they kept services running. They owe me 299.95 for refund, now they sent me a letter stating that i owe them money -- 536.00. I can prove that i cancelled within my 30days. They owe me money they admit to it over phone they say that they will take care of it but never do
Jeffery of Prattville AL (09/01/06)
I ordered Wild Blue Satellite internet equipment on July 10th for $299.95 and this amount was charged to my credit card. Wild Blue stated someone from their installation contractor group would be contacting about installing the equipment at my home. The installation fee was waived by Wild Blue during their promotion sales. The contractor contacted me on July 13th and stated that my home was not a typical installation therefore did not meet the standards required by Wild Blue for FREE installation and that their would be an additional $175 (same as waived amount) fee for the installation.
I am an electrician and inquired from the contractor what is needed special for my home and he stated a 2 rigid galvanized pipe installed in the ground away from all obstructions with a clear view of the southern sky and 2 PVC conduit buried 6' in the ground for cabling. I got into heated discussion with him since I know this is not necessary for conduit to be buried at that depth. I told him I could install the pole and conduit but he didn't feel I was qualified. He hung up.
I called Wild Blue to complain about their installer but they were like, well..we don't have control of our installers. They are contracted by Wild Blue to do their work. Somebody better have control of them. Wild Blue offered a couple other contractors in the area who might install the system but it was up to me and my wife to set it up. My wife called both of these companies and explained the situation. One of these refused the job and the other stated they could do it but it would cost the additional $175.
I agreed to pay the costs as the $$$ equipment was useless without being installed. They would be out Tuesday July 23rd to install it. They didn't show up and didn't call. My wife called them and they stated all their parts didn't arrive. At this time, I told my wife to call Wild Blue and cancel the account. Wild Blue stated that the equipment had to be returned before cancellation could occur. We retaped the boxes and applied the RMA paperwork on the boxes and shipped via UPS back to Wild Blue as requested. This equipment arrived to them on July 28th according to UPS shipping site. My wife has been in contact with Wild Blue on NUMEROUS occasions since and we still haven't seen our refund.
James of Halls, TN (08/29/06)
I had Wildblue satellite installed on june 7, on june 11, I called about it being slow. I called again in july 7,14,16,23rd 26th 28. It kept getting slower and I could not log on. I called wildblue but they could not get the installer to return to service the satellite.
I cannot log on to it as of this day. Someone was supposed to come Aug. 26th, but never showed up. I signed a one year contract with wildblue, and they keep charing me, but they know my satellite is not working. They will not let me out of the contract, which I guess I will honor for one year. I was going to get rid of my Earthlink dial up, but iIhave had to keep it. I pay $13 a month for Earthlink, plus the $50 a month with wildblue.
I would sure say that when my year is up, I will do away with wild blue.
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