EarthLink Reviews

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About EarthLink

EarthLink is an internet service provider that offers customizable plans for home and business needs as well as internet security software and digital marketing solutions for small businesses. Its premier service, EarthLink Fiber, gives you access to internet speeds up to 5 Gbps with no data caps or teaser rates.

Pros
  • Fiber, 4G LTE / 5G, and Fixed Wireless options
  • Home plans start at $39.95/month
  • Home and business internet
Cons
  • Not available in every state

EarthLink Reviews

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    Page 7 Reviews 835 - 1035
    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceInstallation & SetupStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 12, 2016

    I paid for my service to be installed on Aug 29th. I was suppose to have an install date within 6 days. They were unable to get me an install date. I called them back on Sept 6th. I was told I would be contacted back in 24 hours with an install date instead I receive an email telling me I will have an install date no later than Sept 11th. Still nothing. I called back again and spoke with 3 different people who kept putting me on hold. They would come back on the line to check if I was still there then they would tell me that they were still looking at my account. Then they would try to still sell me their security package. Like I don't even have your service. You just told me that you couldn't service my address. Just give me my refund. So then finally after an hour long hold, I received my refund. This is a bad company that has zero customer service skills and very limited service area! Do not spend your money with these people!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 23, 2016

    My two-month encounter with Earthlink was full of strange incidents. Customer support in India, non-answered calls, never calling back etc. It became very clear that they were not going to be able to deliver a working internet connection so I cancelled, still within my trial period. I was promised my deposits back, but it never happened. I actually reported this business to USPS as a scam, feeling that they send mail which is date-stamped and then let wait somewhere and only delivered to the mail system so all the deadlines are already gone when you get the mail (this was related to returning their equipment to get the money back). Please be very very cautious with this company. I am now with Shentel: they were able to deliver a functioning connection and the couple of times I have had issues (such as faulty modem), a local repair guys arrives and actually does something to the matter.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 18, 2016

    Long time customer of Earthlink. Had an issue with my DSL and was promptly issued a work order from a foreign customer service agent. The reason I state the origin of the customer service is because the volume of my business is deemed bronze, meaning not important enough to have US based customer service. If I was a larger company I may merit Silver or Gold status. Agent filed it as a phone issue not a DSL issue and AT&T sent out a repair crew checked the phone line and said everything was good. After days without internet I called and was told everything was good. I stated my internet was not working. They sent someone again and same thing happened, two more times this happened.

    Finally a service person from Earthlink caught on that the ticket was for DSL however the work order for AT&T was for Voice. After 4 weeks of going without internet, thanks to a local service man going out of his way to contact AT&T it finally got fixed. Today I received two things from Earthlink. 1. An e-mail that my issue was resolved, 2. A bill with no credit issued for lack of internet. Customer service will not resolve this because according to them it is still an open order. I advised them that it was closed per my e-mail from the company they work for. Billing is not resolved, and will have to go to court because that has to be easier than dealing with their customer service.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Aug. 8, 2016

    At our company we have been loyal customers to Earthlink for awhile. For the past three months we have been trying to disconnect our service as it is to no use of us anymore. We have filled the disconnect form out twice, sent it to 2 different emails, and we received no response until two months later claiming that they did receive the form but from someone who is not authorized on the account (I made sure that everyone in the office is verified on the account when I first tried to disconnect from the service). So I then sent the form, and an official letter from my supervisor stating that I was a contact person on the account and I was able to submit forms to them.

    Once again did not receive an email back, until they sent out their last email saying that they received no form from us and will not disconnect our service, so we are still being charged for months that we had previously tried to disconnect and now we are getting late fees. So please do not ever sign up with this company. Do not waste your money, and do not waste your sanity trying to talk with someone who does not know what they are talking about.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 3, 2016

    For over the past 15 years I've been a loyal Earthlink customer. My current issue is the DSL Internet speed. I tell them that I'm using an XP OS. I'm paying for 3Mbps, but receiving 80Kbps. I've called several times over the past year to resolve this issue, but only temporary solutions were offered. Earthlink sent Verizon technicians out to the junction box, but no improvement. Earthlink replaced my modem, but no improvement. Earthlink has given me token refunds, but no improvement. I've had issues on and off, but this current one has gone on for over a year. It leads me to think that it is time to quit Earthlink.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed July 18, 2016

    I signed up over the phone June 10th, 2016. I was charged initially, that day $19.95. They said 5 to 10 days to receive the modem. I gave them two weeks. I called back. They said my order was cancelled and could not explain why. They re-ordered my service and told me if I didn't hear from their installation department within 3 days to call them back. Day 5 I called them back. Now we are in the month of July. I have been charged $19.95, $21.60 and $11.24. I know, random. Again, they said the order was cancelled and they issued me a credit of the $21.60 charge.

    After the 3rd attempt of trying to receive a modem for the worst, dial-up service (the only thing available where I live) and not able to get, EVEN THAT, I gave up. I called them back today, 7/18/16 and told them to refund the $19.95 and the $11.24. I was told by a guy who became very rude with me that the $19.95 was non-refundable. But, since THEY COULD NOT MAKE THIS ORDER HAPPEN, and claim they CANNOT FIND MY HOUSE? WTF, the rep, named Shane, claims he processed two refunds so now I'm back to zero and back to NO HOME INTERNET. Wow. Hey, I tried, I gave them THREE chances and they could not make it happen. Happy Monday!

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceInstallation & SetupSales & MarketingPriceStaff

    Reviewed July 14, 2016

    I have had 2 bad experiences with EarthLink's email services, which are finally giving me the umph to get rid of them. A couple of years ago, I had a brief problem with my email, which EarthLink's customer service addressed, but then strongly recommended an internet security software (I will not list that here as they are not being reviewed), that I could buy for a discount through EarthLink. I did this, installed it, and it crashed my computer. Apple spent a week with me diagnosing and fixing the problem and it was caused by the EarthLink recommended software.

    I called EarthLink customer service to give them the feedback that they not recommend this product for all customers with Macs. I was told that it was impossible that this was the cause of the crash of my computer and that Apple was wrong. That agent actually went as far as trying to sell me the same product again. Nevertheless, due to slothfulness on my part, I continued to pay EarthLink $24.80/month for a service I could get for free from many other companies.

    Last week the straw broke the camel's back. EarthLink called and said my account was about to be shut down due to failure to pay and could I provide them with another credit card to pay the account. They said the autopay from my regular card was rejected. I asked them to run it again and they told me it was rejected again. As I had just paid the card the previous month, I knew it was still good, but called the bank to confirm. I was told I currently had 2 charges pending from EarthLink for my monthly bill and that they had not rejected any payments. They offered to speak with an EarthLink customer service person to clear up the problem, but suggested I ask EarthLink to rescind one of the charges.

    I contacted Earthlink customer service again and was told that they had not been paid, nothing had been approved and my account was to be shut down. I asked them to speak with my Credit Card Bank who I explained I had given permission to so that could speak to EarthLink and clear up the problem. They said they could not do that. I called the bank again, they demonstrated again that there had not been any rejection and that I had 2 charges already approved from EarthLink. I asked if there could be a mistake on their end, and they said they were sure that this could not be the case and said it would likely be on EarthLink's end. They pointed out that many other merchants had received approved charges during the same time period without problems, which was correct.

    I contacted EarthLink again, and received the same response, but they said if the charges were pending that they would clear in a day or two, and so just wait and do nothing, and they would note my account to that effect so the account would not be shut down. 1.5 hour later I received another call from EarthLink telling me they were going to shut my account down if I did not give them another credit card to pay. I reiterated that I was already being charged twice and that a 3rd charge on another card would just cause more problems later when I would have to make sure that I did not pay 3 times for my monthly service. I again asked them to call my bank and they refused to do so. I told them I was going to cancel my account as soon as I could set up another email and get my emails transferred.

    2 hours later, while my wife was in the process of doing this very thing with very helpful Google customer service, EarthLink called her and threatened to shut down the account prior to her switching. I told her to tell them to simply run the card again (3rd time) and this time they said it was approved. Tonight I will dump EarthLink and get a free service. However, the final insult was receiving a call today, days later, from EarthLink, about my experience with their customer service. I explained again what happened, and was told, again, this could not be the case. The customer service agent then asked me to call the bank and have them send me documentation of the charge approvals (which I had seen already) and send them to them. If they received that proof, they would then look into the problem.

    I pointed out that this was asking the customer to do their work for them, and asked what benefit there was to me in taking the time to do this. I asked that question 3 times, and received no response. I should have dumped EarthLink years ago, and regret that I did not, so now I am and am taking the time to warn others about the absolutely bureaucratic non-responsiveness of EarthLink's customer service to a mistake made by EarthLink. Do not use EarthLink. When they make mistakes, they will not acknowledge them, and they will waste your time and cost you money. Moreover, they are not cheap. This is a bad company.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServicePriceReliability

    Reviewed July 9, 2016

    This is the worst company ever. Not only you cannot cancel your service when you want but also to pay them a month. They charged me for 6 months a service they never provided. Then call EVO fax for 6 months, I never was able to receive a fax and has been a nightmare to get the track of any calls or any fax because they do not provide any receipt. This company changes names every 2 years. In 10 years has changed its name like 4 or 5 times. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY FOR ANY REASON. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. SERVICE IS TERRIBLE. Until now I do not know how I have been charged for a service I did not receive for the last 5-6 months. DO you consider this a serious company when they are not reliable?

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    Contract & Terms

    Reviewed May 27, 2016

    18 months into a 3 year contract and they try to increase the monthly charge by $800.00. Their contract says you have to give them 20 notice to correct a breach before you can fire them. If you have a contract with them it's pretty much worthless, they change the terms at will. I was with Deltacom since 2000 and EarthLink takes them over and runs it into the ground. Be smart. Don't do business with EarthLink unless you don't care about getting scammed and lied to. I switch to AT&T for $800.00 a month less and went from a 20mb connection to a 100mb connection. Now we'll have to let the courts sort this mess out. They are some leery **'s.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed May 10, 2016

    My business was with Deltacom and brought out by Earthlink. The service was horrible with outages and poor/slow internet connection. Every time I called, I would reach a representative that barely spoke English. Needless to say, I switched companies and now Earthlink has sent me a bill for over $8,000 for early termination. DO NOT consider this company for your phone or internet service. I promise you will regret it. Their rating is so low for a reason. Find a better company!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed April 22, 2016

    Based off of the other ratings, it should come as no surprise that Earthlink is the least helpful internet provider and web hosting company. Our company decided to switch away from Earthlink, so I called the 1-800 to cancel. During my first call, the person transferring me hung up the line before I was connected. On my second call, I had to speak with three different departments before they got to the right department. After cancelling one service, I was again transferred to cancel another service our small business had through Earthlink.

    However, cancelling over the phone wasn't sufficient "confirmation" and they required I send them a written note via FAX. Unfortunately for me and everyone else trying to cancel, the fax line was down. It took two more calls to speak with someone who told me that they might fix them by Monday. This cancellation process feels like an undue burden to the consumer. I think a smart lawyer could easily put together a class action lawsuit and sue the pants off of Earthlink. Joe Eazer is running a bad company and needs to be fired.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed April 21, 2016

    I have been a customer for 15 years and had their DSL for 10 of those years. I have called multiple times asking for faster service over the last few years. They keep saying that it is not available even though CenturyLink updated the network years ago and offers up to 12 meg. Like too many others, my experience with non-English speaking customer reps has been frustrating beyond description. If I did not have my security system integrated so deeply with this provider I would drop them in an instant. Not sure I would ever sign up again with them, even as a last resort.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingPrice

    Reviewed April 19, 2016

    I CALLED to try their internet service and was turned down because they are somehow affiliated with Time Warner Cable and I had an outstanding bill with TWC. So I have recently received a bill from COLLECTIONS for $46.04 I guess for calling them. SMH. I had to make a account to leave this review. I'll probably be billed for this as well. But I called to speak to a manager about the situation and his solution was for me to pay the bill and they'll refund my money...UMMM "No you pay the bill and refund your money sir." This is a scam. All I did was call, got turned down and charged $46.04. Do not use this service. Don't even call. It cost 50 bucks!!!

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed April 8, 2016

    On February 22, 2016, I called Earthlink to cancel service. Dashi tried to fix my service and sell me ongoing access to Earthlink.net email. I refused both offers and asked to cancel everything. Cancellation code: **. Dashi said that the DSL line will be disconnected in 4 - 10 business days. On April 7, 2016, after attempting for six weeks to gain high-speed internet access through Verizon, I learned that Earthlink had not fully disconnected the line. I called on the request of Verizon to ask for the disconnect order. Customer Service transferred me to Anthony in Technical Support. Anthony reported that the Covad vendor released the line on February 23 (cancellation code: **). I called Verizon to tell them this.

    On April 8, 2016, Verizon informed me that Earthlink codes are still on the account. Verizon asked that I call Earthlink and ask them to initiate a "complete disconnect" with Covad. When I called, the Earthlink rep objected saying that the order had already been disconnected. He said he couldn't do anything. He disconnected me.

    I sent an email via the Customer Escalation site on the web: "I cancelled my service with Earthlink on February 22 (cancellation code # **). Earthlink initiated the cancellation with Covad (cancellation code # **). However, according to Verizon, there are still Earthlink codes on the account signifying that Covad has not completely disconnected the account. Would you please initiate a COMPLETE DISCONNECT with Covad?" I have not received a response.

    This experience is very typical of my last twelve years with Earthlink. I call, receive unresponsive customer service, and end up spending hours on the phone with them. In the past, I've been asked to reboot when I told them seconds ago that I had just rebooted, told to do a router reset when I told them seconds ago that I had just done a router reset, and so on. It's very rare to get a competent, helpful customer service rep at Earthlink (Reilly was one notable example).

    BTW - The customer service problems are not the reps' fault. My guess is that Earthlink doesn't invest in proper training. One clear piece of evidence is in the accents of some reps. Conscientious companies provide accent training to overseas reps in order to help shape the accents into something intelligible to American ears. Companies that choose to outsource customer service MUST do this so that their reps can be understood by their customers. I've talked to numerous people at Earthlink who I could not understand despite my best efforts. It's not their fault; they're speaking properly for their region. They haven't been trained in American English accents. I really wish Earthlink were different. I've been with them for twelve years and I'd still be with them today if not for the horrible, underfunded customer service.

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    Reviewed April 5, 2016

    I had Earthlink service and the crap never worked probably. I don't even want to go into detail but I need tell them in January that I wanted to cancel my service, thinking it was closed and they never did. I in turn got another service but they still kept trying to take the funds out of my checking account. Here it is 3 months later and these idiots keep calling me trying to suck more money out of me even though my account with them is closed. Don't use Earthlink. They are a RIPOFF AND THE CLOWNS THEY USE FOR TECHS DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING EITHER.

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    Reviewed April 3, 2016

    I tried Earthlink for 2 weeks and ended up spending the whole time trying to make it work. I spent 14+ hours on the phone with different tech support people. Also spent hours online chatting with tech support and online trying to make it work. Earthlink uses Time Warner Cable's line. They don't work well together. TWC has no idea what Earthlink is doing and vice versa. I ended up cancelling the service because nobody could figure out how to make it work. I did enough studying to know that my problem with my ISP. A lot of the tech support would not listen, continually tried to intimidate me, and argued with me time and time again. I would not recommend using their service because if you ever have a technical issue none of them will know how to fix it and they will patronize you.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed March 8, 2016

    If you need internet connection please found something else but not Earthlink. Customer service have no idea about nothing, customer service lied. Internet slow and when you want to get something fast like better internet you probably have to wait 4 or more days, no wait this is incredible. No recommended, I prefer to pay 30 dollars more but finally NOT EARTHLINK. THIS IS A BLUFF.

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    Punctuality & Speed

    Reviewed March 6, 2016

    We paid for a year of Earthlink Internet service in advance for $144.00. The service was very, very slow and not practical to use. We cancelled the service in December 2015, about halfway through the 1 year of use. We did not ask for nor expect a refund of the difference. However, about a month later, Earthlink charged us an additional $57.50. I have spoken to Customer Care and they are irrational and refuse to credit the $57.50 back. They say it is an early cancellation fee. Yes, we cancelled at 6 months but we had already paid for 12 months and did not ask for a refund.

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    Reviewed March 3, 2016

    I call tech support approx 2 weeks ago because of connection problems. Finally tech support figured out that my present modem was 15 years old. I requested a new modem because of intermittent connection problems but I received a refurb. Called a 2nd time to receive a NEW modem for which I was charged 49 dollars for a new replacement. This was Earthlink's mistake. I am a 15-year customer and this is shabby treatment. I would NOT recommend Earthlink to new customers. Thanks for listening.

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    Customer ServiceSales & Marketing

    Reviewed Feb. 26, 2016

    I now get password change requests once per week. I also get one or two pages every day of "mail delivery failed" messages all of which are spam for a weight loss business. I have tried identifying these as spam but with no result. Now I just delete them. I have messaged customer service with no result. I am a long time user and would hate to change my email but looks like I will have to do so.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 11, 2016

    Good Shine Travel just recently changed to Earth Link Business (T1) service, the service started at October 23, 2015, but we didn't have the service till the next day. We had terrible service quality for two days, then disconnect until October 5th 2015, we had another two days terrible service quality, then out of service from October 7th 2015 till now. I am not sure I should call this service or something else. We tried more than 20 times to reach out to your support team to work things out.

    However your support team did not provide any useful assistance to us. Your support is very horrible and we have been constantly transferred around various department and in the end we received absolutely no support at all. Because of your lack of customer service this has had an impact on our day-to-day business. We don't think it is fair for us to pay the termination fee, if we didn't have any service and what so ever, we wasted more than 30 hours tried it to make it work with EarthLink customer service. I file the dispute letter, never heard anything back. Every time I got different story from the representative.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 11, 2016

    This has got to be one of the worst companies in terms of customer service. I wait on the phone to speak with a representative about my billing waiting for almost 20 minutes. The rep picks up and says he's tech support. I say I need to discuss my bill and he supposedly transfers me to billing. I wait for 5 more minutes and a rep picks up. I give him my account info and he just disappears and I hear a cacophony of voices in the background. I keep saying "hello, hello" and there is no answer. Finally he comes back without any explanation.

    I ask him to check out my account after I give him my information. He says my account is inactive while I am on the internet, using the very account he says is inactive and all my bills have been paid on time. I ask about my monthly billing rate and he says he needs to transfer me to billing. (I thought he was the billing rep!!!!) He transfers me and another person picks. I ask him about my monthly billing rate and he says "oh you need to talk to Earthlink." I ask him, "aren't I taking to Earthlink?" He says, "no this is Time Warner." Unbelievable how I was tossed about without a single straight answer in the end!!! This is a really really really awful company!

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    Verified purchase
    Customer Service

    Reviewed Jan. 19, 2016

    I have had to change my password no less than ten times in the last month because Earthlink states my account has been compromised. They keep changing my password so I have to call them to get a temporary password. I have email accounts with Hotmail, Yahoo, Goggle and SBC and Earthlink is the only one I have this issue with.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Jan. 13, 2016

    First of all the service is slow. The customer service is horrible you cannot understand what they are saying. We had to reorder a modem and after we ordered it they charged us for a extra month and tell us we have to wait 10 to the service connected again. We had to order this modem about ten times so after a month of no Internet I'm told we owe for the month we didn't use the service. I would NOT EVER RECOMMEND SOMEONE USE THEIR SERVICE.

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    Customer ServiceSales & Marketing

    Reviewed Jan. 6, 2016

    I cancelled services with Earthlink over 7 years ago and they were still charging 7.95 a month for email services. Earthlink has scammed me out 660.00 over 7 years. Why the heck would I keep email services when I can get an email for free? If I canceled the internet service that should have been it. This is a total fraud and I'm pissed at their dirty underhanded practices. I had to get my bank to call and cancel the charge to my account.

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    Reviewed Dec. 21, 2015

    I was reviewing my yearly bank statements and saw a charge I did not recognize - Earthlink. For over 10 years I have been paying $7.95 every month, over $1000 to a company I cancelled service with over 10 years ago.

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    Verified purchase
    Sales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 4, 2015

    I had to have Earthlink for several years because I live in a very rural area and even satellite won't work. I finally decided to cancel my account and they had the audacity to bill me my monthly payment for 30 days AHEAD of my cancellation! They said they had to bill me for a month I will never use. I went ahead and paid it so I will never have to communicate with them again.

    Before cancellation, yes the modem they sent me (that I had to pay for) was so cheesy and I had to send it back because it didn't work. The next one broke too but after a month. Also, Earthlink is SO SLOW in running and there are ads popping up all the time even when I change settings. At work we are on broadband and Earthlink still works so slow. Like they can't keep up with internet updates (Internet Explorer and Firefox). Don't sign up with EarthLink. They are a dying company and service and their program is worse and worse each year because they lose so many clients. OK BY ME!

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 2, 2015

    Do NOT do business with this makeshift company! All of their modems are DIAL-UP MODEMS, meaning you will need a working landline phone jack in order to use the modem. The modem is not a wifi modem but they will tell you it is, and when it's time to close the sale, they will mumble through the disclosure so you don't hear the sales rep say "you will need a landline phone jack for the modem to work." Their modems are old outdated phone jack modems. Do not let these people sell you otherwise: IT IS A LIE! They will tell you "you don't need a landline phone jack in order for the modem to work" just to make a sale. Even corporate will back up their sales department by saying "It was a misunderstanding." No it's not, they know exactly what they're doing!

    Do your research, people. There are TONS of various recent complaints about this company all around the internet. Check out their Facebook page - nothing but unhappy customers posting legitimate complaints on a constant basis. Someone needs to start a class action lawsuit against this company!

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    Customer ServiceInstallation & SetupPrice

    Reviewed Nov. 17, 2015

    When I signed up for Dish network this is the internet service they referred me to. Setup was horrible. I waited on the phone for 25 minutes and when someone came to the line he was of no help. I kept repeating myself and eventually my roommate and I just figured it out on our own. After about a month or so of service I began experiencing problems. Again I called customer service and waited 15 minutes for them to say reset the box which I had already done. Then my bill went from $14.95 after 3 months (which I was later told was promotion price) to $39.95. This service is barely good enough to be 15 bucks definitely not 40.

    Then I called yesterday stayed on hold for 1 hour!!! To be told I would receive a call back in 2 hrs. They called back and I was on hold for 33 minutes this time. He came back to the phone and told me he would call in an hr. He did but as soon as I answered the phone hung up. Needless to say my matter has not been resolved and I will be canceling service.

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    Reviewed Nov. 14, 2015

    I never had any problem using Mindspring which I think Earthlink bought many years ago. I still use it; paid less than $50 per month for the service most years, now $10 per month when I changed suppliers. I am very content with it. The only problem is from confusion from modern technology that causes me to change procedures and not understand some of it.

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    Customer ServicePriceOnline & AppStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 9, 2015

    I have been a customer of Earthlink since 2000, yes fifteen years. I originally relied on them for internet access and also email. As technology evolved, I ultimately dropped my internet service but continued using them for email. I have been paying $7.95 per month for some time now and realized that the service really wasn't worth that much anymore.

    On the web site it states, to downgrade or cancel your service, call their toll free number. To find the right department via the automated phone service was a nightmare but after multiple calls and about 20 minutes, I finally got hold of Dave ** who said he could help. He looked up my account and thanked me profusely for being a customer for 15 years. He said that that was unusual (you're about to learn why!). I asked Dave to downgrade my account from the Premium email service. He asked why and I said it was because it was not worth $7.95 per month to me. He put me on hold and then came back to tell me that there were no less expensive options available to me.

    I then told him that in that case, I wished to cancel. He informed me of all the bad things that would happen if I canceled; like "losing all your information." I said, "please cancel the account". He put me on hold and then came back to offer me a $2 discount because I have been such a loyal customer. I told him that if he valued loyal customers then he should have offered the $2 discount before I said I wanted to cancel. I told him that I don't like to do business with companies that don't value my patronage until I'm ready to leave. I asked him to please cancel my account.

    The guy continued tirelessly to get me to accept the lower rate. I asked him to please cancel the account multiple times. We were stuck in a loop. It wasn't until I threatened to write a complaint about Earthlink and about him personally that he conceded to cancelling my account. Gang, if this is how they treat a customer of FIFTEEN years then you do not want to do business with them. Good riddance!!!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Oct. 7, 2015

    We've been Earthlink DSL subscribers for about 15 years. Our previous ISP was bought out by Earthlink. Overall, we have had very little problems. We don't have a cable provider. We have a landline and DSL modem. Our speeds are satisfactory. We have a home network, 2 ipads, and 2 Macs, ads we watch Netflix. When I do call them if I can't understand their accents I ask for a person who speaks English better.

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    Customer ServiceInstallation & SetupStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 7, 2015

    Earthlink is by far the worst breathing of hell out there, idk why these ** are still in business. I ordered high speed internet for 20$ with DISH but they sent them instead and they sent Verizon to setup and charge 50$ for the first month and sent me a router that was not wireless. I called them and the told them that, they said I have to buy that for 70$ and get a rebate. I fill it out and sent it and get nothing. So I called to remove automatic payment but that's not acceptable so I asked to cancel and they tell me there's a cancellation fees of 90$ plus another for 48$ plus another for 3$. So aside from no one actually speaking English working there, these people are ** and I can't wait to see that company burn to ashes in hell where they ** belong. Anyone thinking about getting them, "you're better off dead".

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Sept. 17, 2015

    For the past two weeks my internet is only coming on at night for about 12 hours. Usually between 7-9 pm and goes off about 9 am. They sent a tech out who said outside lines are fine. EarthLink tells me it must be the inside lines that are causing problems. I really don't think so. My phone works fine through the lines. I work from home and this is really ticking me off. I told them I believe it's something with EarthLink and they tell me everything looks good on their end. What a bunch of BS. We stream TV too, so we don't have that either. I'm about to switch service even though I don't want to pay 70 a month, which is about the only option around here. I hung up on the guy today.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 14, 2015

    I decided to sign up for Ultimate Internet with Time Warner and cancel my EarthLink service. I got to tech faster than I expected. He had a heavy accent but I could understand him most of the time. We went through all the verifying and he cancelled my service and even gave me a confirmation number. Yay. Easy right? Hold on a sec. He then transferred me to a Time Warner rep (they resell Time Warner service so I guess they are connected somehow). I got to an American that spoke perfect English so I easily understood it when she said, "your service hasn't been disconnected". What? I have a confirmation number.

    She decides to call them back herself (bless this woman - she was so awesome). She gets another EarthLink tech on the phone and I honestly could not understand one thing they were trying to say. Their accent was so thick, I really had no idea what they were talking about. Somehow the Time Warner woman finally realized we were in the wrong department and the guys says he will connect us to tech support to disconnect our service (that part I got). A very American sounding guy answered and the Time Warner tech recognized the guy. Apparently they work right there together. We had been transferred to her Time Warner department again instead of Earthlink tech support.

    To make the rest short, we finally got someone that could finally disconnect my service and get me signed up with Time Warner. Took about an hour and a half altogether. I have to say the Time Warner rep was very helpful, but I will never sign up with Earthlink again. That was a nightmare. I am giving them 2 stars only because the actual Internet service was fine and I had no trouble getting it hooked up when I signed up for it.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 12, 2015

    My boyfriend had called to get an estimate for internet service in our new home. They required a credit card number before they could even state whether or not they serviced this area. They then quoted us $14.99 a month for DSL internet service. He took the deal and over a week later received a box with a modem and a cord. It never worked. After a week of fighting with them and them claiming to have a service tech coming each day I gave up. I called myself to be told that they never had us scheduled for a technician, and that they don't even offer DSL.

    The man was extremely rude, even yelling at me about how it is my problem their service wouldn't work and slipped and said they do not have technicians because they are in India, and they have software that says what's wrong. I told him to cancel the service immediately and he told me no. Said there is no valid reasons for them to stop service and hung up on me. I just now received my bank statement that says they charged my account $29.99!

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    Reviewed Aug. 11, 2015

    Horrible service. I was told when I was signing up that it was a low flat rate of $14.95 per month and I could cancel whenever I wanted, which sounded great considering I am a college student and can't afford something too high. I get 1.5 mbps, yet I am paying for 3. Very disappointed when I get a bill for $40 and told I have to pay $90 to cancel.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsSales & MarketingPriceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 5, 2015

    I had visited my local Verizon dealer in Cold Springs KY. I wanted cellphone service with unlimited internet service which my wife and I stated over and over to our rep in this store. He assured us that their internet box had unlimited time for one price and that if we ever went over it would be impossible. Upon receiving our first three or fours statements we noticed that we were not on unlimited at all and that we were being charged ridiculous charges for this service. We immediately went to see the associate that sold this to us. He was off and had given us his card with cell number. He would not answer it at all after numerous attempts to contact.

    After this we went back to the store to see the manager and told him what happened. He told us that there was nothing he could do and that he was aware of his associates lying to the customers to get their incentives. His quote there was "a lot of them do it but I cannot control this." With all this being said and the high rate of turnover they have neither one is still there. But in closing if they can break a contract the customer should be able to as well. For services not rendered and under false contract pretenses. This is considered a scam and is illegal in all 50 states. I feel they should be investigated by authorities before this happens to thousands of other customers if it hasn't already.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed July 30, 2015

    So I signed up for wireless internet and I received only a router that I couldn't use and I ended up giving the router to a person who needed it. A couple of weeks later they tried to take money from my account 2 times. The first time was an amount for $125 and the next following week another for $165. That's outrageous for internet by itself. Then I started to get mysterious phone calls on a number that was no longer in service and I call the number back from another phone and it was EARTHLINK. These calls come in at least 10 times a day.

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    Verified purchase
    Installation & SetupPriceStaff

    Reviewed July 30, 2015

    I signed up with Earthlink on 7/20/15 and had it installed on 7/27/15. I signed up through chat. I also ordered the new router that they suggested and was told it was 79.95 not charged up front 30 days later, plus would receive a mail in rebate to get a full refund in 6 to 8 weeks. I have a copy of the chat to prove what he said. 2 Days after installation, they charged my account 114.60 which caused my account to bounce 3 checks costing me additional 75. I called Earthlink about the issue. I spoke to 5 different people, none who could speak clear English, which I am not racist, but makes it extremely hard to understand. All who which told me it was for the router, plus 19.95 for s&h that I did not know about, plus 7.95 for networking plus 6.95 for some other fee I knew nothing about.

    They refuse to acknowledge this, only that they were charging me for the router and the s&h and that they could not refund me. I told them I had proof that I was told it would be 30 days. They said it did not matter. So now I have spent 88.20 for initial set up fee on Monday, then the 114.60 that they took out without my knowledge today, and the unfortunate charge of 75 for 3 bounced checks that Earthlink has no remorse on and refuse to do anything about.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceInstallation & Setup

    Reviewed July 29, 2015

    I signed up for EarthLink and was told I would have installation on 7-27-15. When that day came no one arrived. I called and was promised installation on 7-29-15. No one came. I called and they said the provider had canceled my account! I was irate and called to reinstate and give them one more chance. I am still waiting for installation.

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    Customer ServiceSales & Marketing

    Reviewed July 24, 2015

    Over a year ago my email account was hacked - use of email address. Before Earthlink security caught the problem about 1000 or more emails (various topics) went out. Now getting scam mail that fill up email box. Earthlink states there is no way they can stop these emails from getting through. Feel there should be - the domain and email addresses are obviously not legitimate email addresses. The only solution is for me to go in everyday and earmark those that need to be blocked. Continually ongoing. Earthlink should have security software that should detect these email. Must keep the address - used since 2003 for business and personal - not possible to notified everyone of new address nor make list of people not to block. Wish there was someone at Earthlink on American soil could speak with.

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    Customer ServiceSales & Marketing

    Reviewed July 23, 2015

    As a loyal customer since my first computer in 1990, I had remained with Earthlink, assuming all servers were as problematic. The first series of complaints were that I could dutifully report each individual spam mail that came in on Webmail, and it did nothing to reduce the spam. The bigger problem: from May until the end of July, I have repeatedly asked for them not to allow mail to be posted to my address that claims to be from me (which it is not) addressed to me as well as to two other parties, because they always follows an auto-return to my address and the mail always includes URL's with malware or an illegal content site, neither of which I open. There have been 19 of these email messes none of which I ever sent, and most of those in the last two weeks.

    I was told by the Mac shop that Earthlink was my problem and dump them. I have some suspicion that their company are involved in the sending of malware. Multiple promises to address this failed. I finally refused to pay a $16 bill for the last two months, and then I got robo-calls from their billing department, which do not have contact with all the complaints I filed with the tech department. No conversation with either the billing or the tech departments is satisfactory. Disgusting.

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    Customer ServiceContract & Terms

    Reviewed July 13, 2015

    I signed up for internet service. When 3 weeks passed and I did not received my modem I called and after a lot of investigating they told me that they do not service my area, and they will only return part of my money because was under contract and I was breaking the contract. Wasted half a day talking with somebody that obviously was not in this country. I got a little bit more than they wanted to refund. A month later I get a charge in my cc. When I called to complain guess what: I have contract for a year. I had to called my bank and put a complaint with them so they will not paid any further. Worst experience ever.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed July 11, 2015

    So I have had Earthlink for years and have kept them 1.) Because I like their spam filter and 2.) At this point my whole life is linked to my email account. But long ago I dropped them as an ISP and just kept the email address, for which I am currently paying $7.99 a month Just to keep my email address? Really? Then the other day I started getting notices from friends that my email had been hacked and they had gotten spam from me. I also got lots of returned messages from long dead email addresses in my address book.

    When I contacted Earthlink (chat) they advised me to change my password and then sent along several paragraphs of promotional material for Norton Security. Now somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think having Norton would have prevented this. I scanned my computer with my free virus software and found nothing. Something fishy about the whole thing, don't you agree? BTW the agent made no attempt to justify why I should stay with Earthlink. Bet he doesn't use it!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed July 8, 2015

    The shadiness with EarthLink starting on the EarthLink website while I was researching DSL only service. A chat window popped up with an EarthLink agent on the other end. I informed him that I was shopping for DSL and he required my cell phone number, in case we got disconnected. I gave my number and typed that I was at work and could not receive phone calls. I inquired about services and charges and typed that I need more time to make a decision and ended the chat. THIS GUY, barely speaking English, called my cell phone number!! I should have known this was a bad sign. I signed up for the EarthLink package and was never able to get the service started. The connection date kept getting pushed back and closer to the first date of payment of DSL service that was NEVER turned on.

    With each telephone call to tech support, I spoke with an American named agent with a thick foreign accent. Each time I was given a bogus excuse and that the vendor support team is investigating the issue. On my last telephone call, five in all each with a new turn-on date, I asked to speak to the vendor support team. I was informed that there was NO vendor support team! It took 30 minutes to get the order cancelled! EathLink has signed me up for backup services and anti-virus software, Norton, that I NEVER agreed to in the first place.

    EarthLink refused to email me a return label to my email address and I had to wait 5 to 7 business days for the label or be charged $90 for the modem. I am a help desk technician and know how to connect DSL service. The fact that EarthLink attempted to delay my service until passed the first billing date breeds fraudulent practices. BTW, using American names with the thick accents does NOT fool anyone.

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    Reviewed July 7, 2015

    This is the worst int. I have ever seen. I think my dial up was faster. I have a brand new computer and they say it's not the internet. Then what the hell is it?

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed June 25, 2015

    Your sales department wronged me in committing a fraudulent practice. I called 888-807-0906 at 9:36-9:49 am CDT on June 25, 2015 with basic questions about a potential new home internet service. I was evaluating whether or not to sign up with EarthLink and wondering if there would be any installation charges. The representative that I spoke with told me that before he could answer my questions I needed to give him my information. After giving him my information he told me that before he can answer my question he would need to run a credit check. After running the credit check he told me that a self-installation would cost $15.

    At this point I informed him that before purchasing the service I would need to speak with my wife to make a decision. He told me that he could go ahead and set up the service and then I could cancel it if I did not want it. I told him that I did not want to sign up for the service. He continued to insist that I should sign up and just cancel it later. I terminated our conversation after realizing that he would not listen to me. I was not willing to sign up for the service.

    Less than an hour later I received an email from EarthLink explaining my new internet service and the charges that I would begin to incur. I called the Comcast helpline located in the email and cancel the service. I then called EarthLink and spoke with the sales supervisor. This is fraudulent business practice. The sales representative had no right to illegally sign me up for a service I did not purchase. Please respond within 48 hours explaining why your company would allow its staff to traffic such activity.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed June 25, 2015

    We changed our cable company to DISH Network and asked if they had an internet service, they advised EarthLink. I started to investigate online and found this website with the complaints and I told my husband I think we made a mistake. When the equipment came, my husband determined it was a dial-up connection which we could not use.

    Trying to cancel service was terrible. I was hung up on, could not understand the representative, she could not understand me. I told her that I had better not be charged at all because had we stayed, the first month was supposed to be free. She assured me we would not be charged and boxes are forthcoming to send the equipment back. I checked my bank statement today and not much to my surprise, I was charged! I have contacted my bank and disputed the charge and it was NOT an authorized debit. They have opened a fraud report on the company. Stay away from the so-called service, use two tin cans and a string if necessary!

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed May 31, 2015

    I have no credit with Chase, because Earthlink blocked my payment due notices. I didn't receive my itinerary from Delta airlines, because Earthlink blocked them. I'm not talking about these emails winding up in spam. They just out and out blocked them. I don't know who else they blocked, and what I could have missed. In numerous calls with their representatives in India, all I can gather is it's based on a consensus of what is "spam". Sure, I get spam from these companies, but I also get important emails too. This is outrageous behavior. They have to be forced to send their customers their emails! They are messing up people's lives!

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    Verified purchase

    Reviewed May 24, 2015

    I tried on several occasions to get my service with them to either get false information, ran around or told on the day my service was scheduled to be on they canceled my order. Best advice to anyone wanting to go to them would be run in the opposite direction.

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    Price

    Reviewed May 6, 2015

    I should read the reviews BEFORE I called that stupid company to sign up for services. Here is my addition to the long list of negative reviews. Be aware that the initial charge they ask to pay during signing up is non-refundable. They will not tell you that, so make sure to specifically ask them about it. I was looking for a new ISP because my current (Comcast) was getting too slow. Spoke with EarthLink, decided to try.

    In the meantime Comcast finally sent someone over to correct our slow connection (before they would just "re-send the signal", which didn't help. This time a tech arrived, replaced the modem and cables, and now it works just fine. So I called EarthLink to cancel the services. They refused to refund my $20, which I paid during signing up. They said its charge for S&H for the modem that is coming in mail. They said I can used the return label to send it back. When it arrived, there was no return label. It cost me $6 to ship it back.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsPricePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed May 5, 2015

    We entered into a 3 year contract with EarthLink 2 1/2 years ago for 5 of our business locations. Since day one our internet service has been slow. They insisted that it was our problem and sold us an upgrade. This did not improve the service. Over the last couple years, the service has gotten worse and each anniversary date, they take the opportunity to increase our rates per the contract to the maximum allowed. When I asked about paying an early termination penalty and getting out of the contract, they informed me that the penalty would be equal to the remainder of the payments. They also insisted that our service is not slow.

    However, it is so slow that it has cost us thousands of dollars because we rely on member check-ins for payments and if 2 members check in one after another, the second one doesn't register. I asked them to come out and observe it, but they refused. They will do nothing to remedy this situation and are charging us in excess of $200 per month per location just for internet service that does not work properly. I cannot wait to cancel this service and get our business back to normal! Also, if you call their customer service number with a problem, they are trained to sell you a new contract with the promise that they will fix the problem. DON'T sign up with EARTHLINK!!

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    Staff

    Reviewed May 5, 2015

    I moved into a new house 8 months into my contract. After a week of my internet being "activated", I still had no connection. Verizon showed up today without my knowledge and claimed there's no issue on their part, and I was told by Earthlink to hire a "local technician" to fix my wires inside going to my jack. I just paid my bill on april 25 thru may 24 and haven't got to use my internet yet. After talking to several reps, and a couple screaming matches, I decided to just cancel with them. They refuse to refund me for this month and are charging me a $45 early termination fee. They refused to refer me to any technicians to come out and fix my problem and wouldn't transfer me to a supervisor. I was told if I didn’t pay, they'd send it to collections. I’m so mad right now and I guess there's nothing I can do about it!

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    Verified purchase
    Customer Service

    Reviewed April 14, 2015

    I called Earthlink several months ago to cancel my account, which they did. However, they kept billing me. I called back and they took care of it (supposedly). But, they sent another invoice. This time when I called, they could not verify my account because it did not exist in the online portal. So now, they cannot open my account for me to dispute the charge. Here are my details...

    Case # ** - web hosting cancellations complete 02/05/15
    Case # ** - dial-up cancellations complete 02/05/15
    Case # ** - cancelled services again. Complete 3/30/15 - 40 minutes on phone with Earthlink

    No case number - called to dispute invoice that they sent in the mail. 40 minutes on the phone with Earthlink. They would not help me or provide a way for me to verify my account.

    The customer service is an Indian call center and half the time you cannot find anyone that you can understand. Now, I am sure they will send my invoice to collections. The Earthlink saga continues!

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    Contract & TermsStaff

    Reviewed April 9, 2015

    I work for Earthlink Business and wish to remain unnamed. This is by far the worst company I have ever had to work for. I send sympathy to all of our customers because of the poor poor service provided. I do work in customer care and do what I can to help our customers, but most of it is out of my hands and I'm told that there is nothing we can do to help. So on behalf of me and my co-workers, we sincerely apologize for the terrible service that Earthlink provides and the bogus charges and wait times that they make you go through. If you are out of contract, run far away.

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    Customer ServiceInstallation & SetupContract & TermsSales & Marketing

    Reviewed April 6, 2015

    When I was looking to find a less expensive ISP, I found Earthlink online. In order to accurately record my conversation with them (so I could review their comments later if I couldn't immediately make up my mind), I chose the Live Chat. After at least 30 minutes, I decided to give them a try. Here's my issue. Here is a paragraph verbatim the online chat conversation (I copied the entire chat when done and pasted it into a word document):

    "There is No Contract, No Term Commitment! No Phone Line required. You do not need to have Cable TV service to have Internet service. There is No Upfront fee as well. In other words, you will not be charged anything today to start the service. This is a best effort technology with speeds up to 15.0 Mbps on the download and up to 1 Mbps on the upload. There is no charge for the standard professional installation, $29.95 per month for your first 6 months and then just $43.95 per month after that. $4 per month is the modem rental fees."

    Notice the statement "There is no charge for the standard professional installation." Earthlink apparently doesn't do their own installation, but Brighthouse does in my area. When the Brighthouse installer called to set up an installation appointment, he told me that there would be a one time installation charge of $49.95 which I would have to pay up front when the installer arrived. I told him to put the install on hold until I could get with Earthlink. I assumed that they were going to cover it to get me as a customer.

    After at least two hours on the phone to Earthlink (definitely in India), I was apologized to many times for the "inconvenience" - but told that I would have to pay it. In the US this is called "bait and switch" - no wait . . . it's called being deliberately lied to in order to get you to sign up with their service. It took another hour to cancel the order and the installation. If you have this kind of issue with them at the very beginning, it can only get worse once you're a customer. Steer clear of Earthlink. If you don't, I can assure you that you're in for some nightmares down the road.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed April 3, 2015

    I have Earthlink as my DSL provider...and they were great...for about a month. To start, they run off of other services. I had Verizon show up at my house with no phone call or warning they were coming; that was red flag number one. Now about a month into my service, the modem decides to stop working. It can't verify to my router. I called customer support and they were no help. They tried to tell me that I had to reconfigure the modem. So I followed all the steps and guess what... still no service. So they created a ticket number for me claiming that it was a back-end problem and nothing wrong with my hardware...ha.

    So today I receive a phone call that the ticket was closed and everything was functional and working. What a joke. Nothing was fixed, still had the same problem. So after some yelling, which gets you nowhere because they place you on hold for an hour - which just makes you want to yell more - anyway they come back and tell me my email address is too long and needs to be changed for the modem to register it properly. Is this some sort of joke? I will be canceling my services and never looking back and advise anyone else to do the same. I wish I could leave less than 1 star.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed March 26, 2015

    I had EarthLink as my ISP for 14 years with no more problems than any company might have- a few technical problems once in awhile, nbd. Due to financial challenges (broke) I had to live without Internet for the last six months until now. So I call them to catch up and restore my service just to ultimately be told that DSL is not available in my area. HUH? I didn't move and the same phone line has been there for 51 years! When I asked how that can be I was told to call back in 24 hours or login to Earthlink's website to explore options, they'd even email me a link. Uh- Hello - I DON'T HAVE INTERNET SERVICE- thus the reason I need help! Truth be told, everyone I spoke with was eager to help, they just seemed not to know what they were doing.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceReliability

    Reviewed March 12, 2015

    I have kept this company for DSL and home service for a several and have been as patient as possible. After A LOT troubleshooting over the years, my connection worked great. A few days ago, I moved and called Earthlink to see about transferring my service now that I am settled into my new home. They did not offer service (DSL or home phone) in my new area, only the mobile hot spot which I did not want. I told them I wanted to cancel my account. They kept me on the phone over 30 minutes trying to convince me to stay and even offered me a free month FOR SERVICE I CANNOT USE SINCE IT'S NOT AVAILABLE IN MY AREA. Then they tried to get me to keep Norton and my email address with them both for $6 a month a piece. I kept saying "I NO LONGER NEED YOUR SERVICE, PLEASE JUST CANCEL MY ACCOUNT!"

    I then asked will I be received a partial refund since I had already paid for the entire month of March on the first of March and it's not the 12th. They proceeded to tell me no, and that they do not offer partial refunds. I was livid and said, "You mean to tell me you don't offer service here so I can't transfer and I can't even get back the amount for the 13th of March through the 28th for which I have ALREADY PAID???" I hung up and called back and spoke with someone else only to get the response, "WHO DOES THAT!!??"

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed March 12, 2015

    NEVER use this stupid company! I've been in business for 29 years and have never complained publicly about any company I've done business with before. I realize that no business is perfect and anyone can make a mistake, but this company is horrible. I've been a business phone customer with them for 6 or 7 years. The basic phone service works just fine. But their billing charges and fees are insane. All of the sudden they started charging a "Administrative Fee" of $13.78 a month. When I called I am told that is "to recover the costs of billing and collections", which is insane. I then ask to remove my voice mail and additional directory listing service. Then I am told that it will cost a $25 cancellation fee to remove each of the services. The woman on the call was nice (this wasn't her fault) so I just told her that we're going to cancel the account.

    I was paying $180 for basic phone lines but now I leaving and cancelling my two other business locations as well. I just never met such a dumb company that whacks you on fees and doesn't care. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY TO ANYONE. BEWARE!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed March 6, 2015

    I never got the DSL to work and when I called to get assistance, they were absolutely no help. I was also billed multiple times in one month and with no clear explanation on why and how it happened. I ended up cancelling the service within 30 days of setting it up. Again, I never used it because I couldn't get it to work. They still charged me the $90 cancellation fee.

    I have a sinking feeling that the whole ordeal isn't over. I'll be watching my credit card statement very closely. I will never use Earthlink again. Technical assistance and customer service were both terrible. I will be warning everyone I can to avoid them at all costs. There are other service providers out there. I wish I had read the reviews first. If I did, I never would have signed up for their service. I just don't understand how they can get away with this. Something needs to be done.

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    Customer ServiceOnline & App

    Reviewed March 2, 2015

    We've been customers for over 20 years and the service has consistently declined. Webmail has been sketchy for the past few months and every time we call tech support we get the "we're working on it" response. This is a known issue that has been going on for some time now, yet there's never been a notification on the website. Is this company about to close? I get the feeling it's two guys in a basement somewhere.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 20, 2015

    Been chasing a refund check for a closed account for over three months. Earthlink has missed every committed date. Customer Service reps and supervisors contradict themselves during calls. I have been given another "absolute and final" commitment for the check to be mailed. Started this process on 11/14/14... It is now 2/20/15. Check still has not mailed - that is over three months. WHILE I was an Earthlink customer they over-charged by creating a second account number because THEY made a single letter typo in address - so we're billing it as TWO locations. Language barriers to their customer service prevented me from correcting this. I tried.... Nope, still shows a second incorrect address. They could not figure it out.

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    Reviewed Feb. 20, 2015

    Over 300 dollars for less than 1.5mbps!!! Terrible customer support and unwilling to work with you. Can't wait to be rid of them!!!

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    Verified purchase
    Staff

    Reviewed Feb. 12, 2015

    We signed up for internet service with DISH and EarthLink was the internet provider. So we got separate billing and internet from EarthLink. They have charged my Debit card twice in a month many times. When I called to inform them each time of this mistake on their part, they agreed to refund my money to my account but they gave me a credit instead of a refund. Very frustrating! Furthermore, the modem they sent me is a refurbished 10 year old Zyxel p-600 series. This modem cuts out about every hour for 5 to 30 minutes at a time, randomly throughout each day. I've asked them to replace it with a newer model and they want an "upgrade" fee for a better one. This is unacceptable to us. I found out that my our internet is Verizon DSL that is contracted to EarthLink as a third party. Just horrible to deal with these people. And... the customer reps are in India and everything is scripted. NOT HAPPY!!

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 5, 2015

    I have had an e-mail account with Earthlink since its inception about 25 years ago. As of January, they cancelled all of their "free" accounts (only a few thousand people) and locked our accounts. They supposedly sent an e-mail (duh), which I never received because they sent it to a dead account, explaining they were going to cut off service. This has screwed up my entire commerce and personal life, leaving me to struggle and try to locate EVERYONE who may have my old (over 2 decades!) account.

    Contacted Earthlink three times, each time they tried to put me on an expensive plan while they touted a $5 for 5 account plan. But their people claim that now the account is inactive and they cannot reactivate it. I have lost over three weeks of correspondence and commerce and have been trying to get reactivation since the problem occurred. They went out of their way to try to squeeze a few dollars from a very small number of us without ANY regard to what happened to people and companies. If there is going to be a lawsuit on this, please contact me as I will be HAPPY to join it! After over 25 years of being a loyal customer, they threw me, my family and coworkers out like yesterday's trash. Avoid this company at all costs!! Read the other reviews, they should shock you!!

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsSales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 16, 2015

    We have a small business and explored the cloud services that Earthlink promotes. We signed a contract, but they never performed and we never set up cloud services with them. We selected another company just 2 months ago. Yet they continue to bill and call us since August 2014. We have been continually harassed with phone calls at our business. I have called and emailed to resolved this issue without any success. People should know about Earthlink and their fraudulent billing, harassment and overall lack of performance. There was no follow up from their sales rep and IT dept. to even determine if we were happy with their services. They just started billing and have never let up. It truly is wrong and everyone should know about them.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 14, 2015

    These representatives fail to disclaim & make understandable, the most important information. I specifically explained that I DID NOT have a computer so I wanted wireless internet service. He told me that it would not be a problem & that I would just have to pay for the service, which I did. (19.95 but they actually took more out of my account) So now I've received the modem which I actually HAVE to have a computer in order to use this service. I called trying to figure out why & how come I was sent a modem I did not ask for & I was basically told that I have to cancel my service, pay an additional 19.95 & send the modem back WITHOUT a refund!!!! Oh & if I didn't pay it would be sent to collections. I will NO LONGER do business with earthlink EVER again!!! So DISSATISFIED!!!!

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    Verified purchase

    Reviewed Jan. 14, 2015

    I have no complaints about the actual internet service. The complaint is about the call center where I placed the order for new service and for two subsequent unauthorized charges. I gave them my MasterCard number to pay ONLY for shipping for a piece of equipment that they told me I needed, but did not. They told me that I would be billed in ten monthly installments for the equipment, but that I had to pay the shipping fee up front. I then made the mistake of giving my MC debit card information to him. Instead of charging my MC for the shipping, they put the full charge for the equipment plus shipping on my MC... more than $100.00 over the amount that I had authorized.

    To make matters worse. When I received the equipment I did not open the box. I called EarthLink to request a Return Authorization number. They gave me a number and told me that they were sending a return shipping label. The next day they charged my MC for another charge... This one was a few dollars more than the original overcharge. My only choice was to cancel my MC debit card and wait 7-10 business days for a new card so that I can access my money. I don't have a receipt.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Jan. 8, 2015

    I purchased the plan with Earthlink right before Christmas. It did not work. A week later they sent someone out from Verizon to fix it. I was told that there was no problem and that I would receive a call or email from Earthlink. Never happened. A couple of days later after no one contacted me I called them from work. It took about twenty minutes and no one could find me in the system. Then I was told to just call back. By now I am aggravated and just wanted to cancel the service. I haven't even started my service and I can't even speak to anyone about my problem and then when I just want to cancel the service, I am told that I already have a bill. Have not even used the service. So could not speak to anyone regarding why my service was not working. My security question was not even a question that I provided an answer to. Almost thirty minute call from work. Now I have to mail them the box back and I will receive a bill for a service I never used. Awful customer service.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Jan. 8, 2015

    Unable to connect. I tried to connect X3 and was told there was no service for that and I should call a friend. I gave up!

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    Customer ServiceInstallation & SetupStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 7, 2015

    I ordered Internet service from Earthlink in the first week of October and did not receive my equipment for a month. Then setting it up, it did not work! I was on the phone with them everyday trying to fix it only to be told everyday just give us 24 hours to fix it (nothing was ever done). I had supervisors tell me they would call me back in an hour and never heard back. They were rude and all told me the same thing and the problem was never fixed. I cancelled my order, after the Rep argued with me about canceling, and will never deal with them again or recommend them to anyone.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 5, 2015

    Called to see if their equipment was down again as I couldn't log on. The rep was rude, stated it was my equipment. When I called back after checking my equipment, he laid his headset down. I know this as I could hear him laughing and talking about me calling back. I had my service turned off, will find a better co. to give my money to.

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    Reviewed Jan. 2, 2015

    I subscribed to EarthLink in October 2014 because DSL or cable is not available where my parents live. I spend a lot of time here, helping them. I paid for a year. It takes a ridiculously long time to log into any site IF I'm able to log on at all! I would never recommend Earthlink.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer Service

    Reviewed Jan. 2, 2015

    When sick in my bed using my phone as I am now since WIFI EARTHLINK GIVES ME THE SIGNAL I PAY FOR TO THE MODEM, THEN DISABLED MY ROUTER to make me pay for networking. I know my router is not the one disabling itself after, so briskly GETTING CONNECTED.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Dec. 30, 2014

    To make a long story short... I've called Earthlink 3x's to set up internet service... I wanted service before Christmas so my children could play with their new tablets. It's 12/30 and I called to find out where my package is and they tell me for the 2nd time that I'm not even in their system! BOGUS COMPANY. Don't waste your time!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Dec. 5, 2014

    I tried to contact Earthlink many times. They give me the runaround as usual. How to reset connections, does no good. The problem always comes back. Admit it, your servers and routers are always down with problems and your customer service is hard to understand long distance overseas maybe. Nothing gets down and we pay for services that simply aren’t there. We need a reliable Internet line. Going to go to a different Carrier real soon. Maybe Comcast.

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    Reliability

    Reviewed Dec. 4, 2014

    After three weeks of complaints from me, the tech support people at Earthlink did manage to get AT&T to send a repair tech out at 5:30 PM. The tech did not find a problem at the drop box connection, so he wanted to check to modem for performance. I related to him that Earthlink had supplied a reworked modem to me three days prior to the AT&T tech's visit. Now I am left with no PM DSL service and no reason why. Perhaps the reworked (and seven year old) modem is defective. Perhaps the $19.95 I was charged for the unit was a total waste of my money. I know that for the $39.00 monthly charge, I have only day time internet service. For fewer than ten dollars more per month I can have AT&T U-Verse with 3 times the speed in download and 24/7 service also. Perhaps "long distance tech support" has had it's day in the Indian sun. (Sent by way of my Verizon 4G Jetpack)

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 18, 2014

    I have been a customer of Earthlink, or the companies which it bought out, for 23 years! I have spent tens, if not hundreds, of hours on the phone with technical support over the years and, after 23 years, they have never ceased to amaze me at their inability of fail to resolve my problems. Their technical support staff ranges between nominally literate in American English and illiterate. Only my son, a computer scientist, and I have kept me online. Recently a DSL modem which they sold me failed. I called technical support and they sent me a refurbished modem. That has also failed. I only stick with them because I'd have to change my email, which is known worldwide, if I left. In addition, they charge me more than they do their regular customers because I agreed to rates one of the companies they bought charged. When they bought the company they did not reduce my rates to their own.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceContract & Terms

    Reviewed Oct. 22, 2014

    I ordered dish network bundle (with EarthLink as internet provider) service but cancelled within a few hours. Dish network did not connect, dish network accepted my cancellation and refunded my connection fee at that time but in those few hours dish provided Earthlink with my credit card info. Within a few weeks I received a modem from EarthLink. I immediately called and returned modem. A few weeks after that I received another modem from EarthLink - immediately returned and called Earthlink again. Several weeks after, received another modem and realized Earthlink had continued to charge my account and this time when I called they said I would have to pay several hundred dollars to discontinue service I NEVER USED! EarthLink charged me for several months of service and several hundred dollars to discontinue contract. In the end I was told it didn't matter if I used their service or not, they would not refund the money. We are military. We have no choice but to move a lot. We cannot afford to have a bad credit rating for utilities. I think Earthlink knows this and takes advantage of military people.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 6, 2014

    I recently relocated from the Raleigh, NC area to the Winston Salem, NC area (about 1.5 hours away) and my Earthlink account bill is paid through Time Warner cable. On my transfer of service, Earthlink cancelled/deactivated my account for alleged non-payment. I learned of the cancellation at 2am in the morning when my email logins from my mobile devices were failing and I was getting notifications. I contacted support thinking my account had been compromised, but instead get a support rep telling me that due to my relocation it caused the cancellation of my account and that I should pay them directly so my accounts don't get cancelled when I move. This disturbed me and I asked for my case to be escalated and I was told they were only doing what was in their powers to do.

    I called back in immediately and got another rep who told me that they see they created a new account on my moving and it hadn't been set up and they saw my account cancelled for non-payment. I asked why I received no notification of the account problems by mail or email before cancelling services to call in and get it fixed, no answer could ever be given. I asked how I could have two separate accounts on my name, could only answer this was caused by my moving. I next asked them to correct this and get my email accounts back online since I needed it for work email alerts forwarding to my personal address, I was told that they could not do this but they would delete my old account and recreate the email accounts on the new account but I would lose my emails and address book contacts.

    This escalated my frustration with them and again I asked to be escalated to a manager, engineer or some support level that could fix my problems. I was supposedly put to their highest support level and they offered absolutely no help beyond again....a confirmation that they see my old account cancelled and a new unset-up account, but they couldn't touch my accounts to help. I asked if at the very least new incoming emails would be archived and delivered once service restored, they could not do this since the account was inactive so they bounced all my emails. Due to Earthlink's ineptitude off-shore support being unable to fix my account until 2 days later when their off-shore customer service was in house, I had to make a 1.5 hour round trip drive at 3am to my office to get my work laptop so I could get my work email alerts since I had no active email account or access for my forwarded work alerts.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingReliability

    Reviewed Sept. 20, 2014

    Earthlink/Mindspring with their "blocking spam" policy is way over the top. The owner of the account has no idea that he/she is not receiving the eMails as they do not get a notification by Earthlink. The fact is many incoming eMails from different domains, even FORWARDS from my long years Domain providers are now BLOCKED. A very LAME system of automated customer service messages are sent back that are of NO HELP. Very frustrating to deal with this issue as it is basically not resolvable with them.

    AVOID Earthlink especially if you plan to do BUSINESS on the Internet. Some of your Customers are not able to reach you, but so are also relatives and friends which Earthlink may consider they write from a provider that is on "their blacklist". It basically shuts down any "RELIABLE EMAIL SERVICE" through them! Like Russian Roulette if you receive eMail or not! DETRIMENTAL IF YOU OWN A SMALL BUSINESS! Not good, after trying and trying to sort it out with them, no success. Very stupid customer service system. To say the least: VERY DISSATISFIED.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer Service

    Reviewed Sept. 12, 2014

    We have had Earthlink (and choice one communications prior) for over 7 yrs. When it was Choice one (which earthlink bought) we had good customer service....not under Earthlink it is not good, and you talk (try) to India! We called twice, one time to upgrade and BUY something, and the other because our service does not load or slow. NEITHER time did they call us. We had to call them..... We are still working on it they said!. Not happy as we use the internet everyday.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Sept. 7, 2014

    Every night at about 7:15 PM, my connection drops completely. It stays off for about 30-45 minutes then comes on. Earthlink made me buy a new modem, problem unchanged. Have called and talked to "Mike", "Chris", "Edward" and who knows else and they have yet to solve the problem. Supposedly sent someone to check the lines who then claimed they could not find the box. This was after specific instructions. Their service is the worst. Now, they will not do anything until a technician comes out and checks the line. Plus, they never listen to any information that you offer to them. Especially if it deviates from their little scripts.

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    Customer ServiceInstallation & SetupContract & TermsPunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 2, 2014

    I had Internet service with Earthlink for 2 years. From the beginning things went wrong. It took about 2 months for Internet to get set up working correctly and all this time paying the service. Once working it was really slow with freeze ups. Tech service said it was our computer. We had it checked and updated. Still the same. We had paper billing requested and they would charge us for that. We had No "automated" payments agreement with them, but eventually had them get in my account without permission and draw money without notice or permission. I eventually had my bank block them and they turned off my internet. When I complained they told me that I had to agree to a new contract and re installation that would take 2 weeks. They had previously told me a few days before to pay 1 month ahead and service would be back on within 12 hours. When I called back they told me my contract had been cancelled. When I asked for my money back, they said they couldn't refund no money to me. Please keep in mind that you deal with people in India. They have different policies and change them as they go along. These people are thieves and liars.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 23, 2014

    Just canceled my email account and it was unbelievable how difficult just to cancel was with the rep. I had been a customer with them since 1999 when they were Mindspring. Despite the email charge, I had stayed with them because I didn't want to change the contact email I had with everyone. Then the charge went from $3.95 to $5.95, and recently to $7.95...JUST to have email. I didn't even realize this until I for once clicked my monthly online billing statement and saw this new fee. Yes that is my fault for not watching their charges but I could not believe they were doing this just for a email only customer.

    Needless to say, I called to cancel. I must have told this representative over 10 times I wanted to cancel where he would solicit me on something else, or offer me a better price if I stayed. I was getting very frustrated but remained polite. It just seems like one of those companies with very unsavory practices. Now I have to wait for next month to see if a charge shows up because I do not trust them to have stopped billing me. I advise anyone considering this company to think twice. They do not seem honest at all.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 21, 2014

    We have a T1 coming in from Earthlink with data and voice. Our link has been down for 5 days and they are not able to resolve the issue, Earthlink is blaming Verizon (carrier) and vice versa. I don't get an update from them on what is going on. The only answer I get is "Technician is working it, it's a Verizon problem, it's a problem from Central office." I am extremely annoyed by the service and would highly recommend existing Earthlink customers to start looking for alternate options before they face something like us.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 20, 2014

    Service was interrupted (no service). Support was called nine (9) times but nothing changed. However, Earthlink continue to bill a monthly fee even after the credit card on file was deleted. I must call monthly to demand a refund. Still nothing changed.

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePriceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 2, 2014

    I have had Earthlink as my email provider for years and kept it even when Time Warner (Bundle Provider) wanted me to switch to Roadrunner. I did not want to change my email address and had had no problems with Earthlink at that time. In April of this year, my old Gateway computer started having problems. I was told to switch to Windows 8.1 to fix my problem. I didn't know that 8.1 was totally different than 7.0. I couldn't complete the download because at one point I was supposed to enter some code. I'm 66 and not very high-tech so I called for help and I at first wanted to go back to 7.0. Microsoft said someone could help me download 8.1 because the new computer I was thinking about purchasing would come with 8.1 anyway. They got me to some help from YodaCare (An India company). They convinced me to take out a 2 year deal with them to help me with my problems and provide security. They had an icon I could click and the geeks would come on immediately to chat with me.

    Toward the end of April, I got an email virus. YodaCare had my security but their site said they couldn't watch my email since it was under a protected password. I called Earthlink and a guy there helped fix the virus and told me that they could automatically give me 30 days coverage from Norton 360. After 30 days, I would have to pay for the protection. I told him NO because I had just signed a 2 year deal with YodaCare. In my dealings with Earthlink, I did have them expand my storage space and it was going to cost me $3.76 on my regular charge card (my Time Warner bundle covers the rest of my computer coverage). So far, so good. My credit card bill was reflecting this small cost. My credit card statement, due 8/20/14, suddenly reflected a payment to Earthlink of $25.75. I looked back and found that the statement ending 7/20/14 also included a charge of $26.47. The earlier bills were correct.

    I called Earthlink and was told that I had ordered 4 things: 1. Email by phone (I don't even know how to email by phone); 2. Earthlink on-line backup; 3. PC Fine Tune (still have no idea what that is); and 4. Norton 360. I told the guy that I had not ordered any of that. I told him that they had offered Norton360 when I called in re previous problems but I told them NO since I had paid for other security services. I don't remember the 1st Earthlink guy talking about the other 3 things but know I wouldn't have ordered them because I didn't even know what they were. The new guy said he would take all 4 things off from future billings but I would have to contact Customer Service during the day for reimbursement for the past 2 months. My daughter, a little more high tech, helped me look at my computer installations to see if any of these 4 things had been added after my 30 days of free coverage. They had not been.

    I called the next day and the girl said she could not take of the charges since I had ok'ed them. Told her I did NOT. Got her boss because I was having trouble understanding the accent. He told me the same thing. He then said he would reimburse me $23.80 from the current bill but not the previous one. I asked him how they could charge me for something I never ordered and they had never added to my computer even after the 30 day free time? He just said the best he could do was credit me $23.80. Told him I was going to cancel my email service with them and go to Roadrunner and complain to everybody I could think of. I want my money back. I can be contacted at **.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 1, 2014

    After years of good dial-up service, we canceled w/ Earthlink on 02/18/13 - definitively, rejecting the offer of "a free month." We were certain that they could not bill, since our Visa had expired and they did not have new exp date - they requested it by email, which we ignored. When I realized in July 2014 that the billing was still going through Visa to our bank, I wrote the BBB that this was open fraud. "No means no," which means that if Earthlink's record shows cancellation on their records (it does) and my refusal for an "free mo." was adamant and my Visa expiration date was NOT given, then my answer to EL was NO, NO, NO! Bottom line: Billing from 2/13 to 7/13 at $13/mo (at least $234). This is approaching felony status.

    My demand with EL lawyer (set up by the BBB) was full payment of that period. EL's lawyer claimed that since I had "accepted the free month," the billing was resumed and was legal. I told him that their data recording will show a firm refusal of the "free month," and that therefore it was ILLEGAL. I said that if full payment was not made, I would gather names and begin a class action against them for procedures that are endemic in the corporate practice of EL. He sent a down-payment of $64 and ended arbitration. I call on all who have had similar incidents to join me immediately. I know the firm that successfully sued in Georgia, in EL's home court.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed July 9, 2014

    For the past month I have had intermittent Internet services from EarthLink. When I call tech support they suggest the problem is with the phone line, but I have called the phone company and EarthLink even had them come out to check the line, and there is no problem with the phone line. They have got to be the worst ISP ever. I've had nothing but problems with EarthLink internet service for the past 2 yrs, and I have been a long time customer. I'm done, moving on to another ISP.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed June 17, 2014

    I've had an Earthlink account since the very early days. When I was forced to use Comcast for internet services, I revised my account to an email only account. As I got greater and greater amounts of spam, I signed up for an email account with another service, and started using that as my main account. When I got a notice that my email account was going to start costing me 33% more, I called to cancel.

    Actually, I tried to cancel via chat, but they don't allow that. So, I called. An Indian man named Mark took >30 minutes to cancel my account. Every 2-3 minutes, he would come on the line and say "I just need about 2 more minutes". It was obviously a scam. He apparently wanted me to get frustrated and give up. After all those years of paying my bill, I can't believe they treated me like that. Super glad to be done with them.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer Service

    Reviewed June 6, 2014

    I had an account with Earthlink Bus for years then I switched both the lines and internet. Problem is I am still getting bills. Called customer service and tried to solve the problem. Of course they refused to understand the error of their ways. I am planning on going down to the local office to solve this matter.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsSales & MarketingEase of Use

    Reviewed May 27, 2014

    To start, I've dealt with every ISP that's available in the middle Tennessee area and know what every company's tech support is like since I have to call them on a regular basis. The worst of all? Earthlink, especially the business accounts. Earthlink is an ISP from the 90s that started, like AOL and many other ISPs, with the successful and slow dial-up connections that were popular until broadband cable and DSL companies came in and made them obsolete for the most part. To stay in the game, Earthlink has become a reseller of other broadband companies' services and marketing under their own name. This should be a red flag to any business that is concerned with support to begin with as Earthlink will be limited in this capacity as I've encountered.

    Now that the Earthlink story is somewhat set, I was hired to make security cameras accessible to many check-cashing locations of a business that got sold a contract to Earthlink on what I would consider deceptive practices (just my own opinion) and they were promised the best support along with it, as I was present during a conference call with the sales scammer, a mean person that promised everything would be okay and I would have every at my disposal when needed. If I'm working with a client that uses Comcast or AT&T as their ISP, the modem gateways are easy to access and configure for port forwarding and my job is very easy. Earthlink, on the other hand, is a reseller and will not allow me to access the modem gateway in order to configure it because I would see their settings from the ACTUAL ISP that is really in control of the internet service. That's fine, so I would need only to call and have them do it, right? WRONG!

    My first experience with them on this job was at a location which is an hour drive for me to get to. I called Earthlink to forward two ports to a specified IP address. This was about 3pm in the afternoon on a weekday. I was told (by a corporate support agent of Earthlink) that I would have someone contact me within 24 hours. I was dumbfounded. 24 hours? Even the guys in India would help me on the spot from any other ISP I've used. I told them that was unacceptable, yet there's nothing that could be done because apparently, the only support tech that could help me wasn't there. How does a nationwide company not have someone in tech support to help with a BUSINESS CLIENT that just bought service for 22 locations?

    Okay, well I waited the 24 hours and got no response, and then 72 hours and still no response. I then went back to the location (another hour drive - one way) to see if they even did the work and they didn't. I called and had to ask for a supervisor that still didn't get anything done for over an hour. It became a circus act on the phone with "the supervisor is working on it now, they will call you soon" which they never did, "it will going in just a bit, blah, blah, blah". After over an hour, we finally got everything taken care of on that one location, then other locations had the same issue. We have had more conference calls with their best techs on the line and I've still gotten nothing to solve this ridiculous issue of their support that can't support anyone.

    Port forwarding will take me about 3 minutes or less on a modem gateway or router that I easily access the setup menu on. Two hours of driving plus 3 hours or more on a tech support phone line plus time lost that could have been used elsewhere is unacceptable. I highly recommend that no one uses Earthlink for any purpose. Support this bad is unheard of in this field. If you still accept Earthlink for you ISP after reading this, you deserve every bit of bad service you get.

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    Reviewed May 25, 2014

    Earthlink has the worse C/S and internet service on the planet. Located in India, they should be banned from doing business in the United States. They lie and the service is horrible, the worse service and c/s on the planet. I got taken!!!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed May 23, 2014

    Earthlink customer service is really non-existent. You can talk, chat, and email but nothing is ever resolved. I had 4G Broadband service for 2 months, February and March. I closed my account and awaited the arrival of a return shipping label for my modem. During this time, I was charged for another month of service. I easily spent another 2-3 hours trying to resolve this matter. Unfortunately, their customer service representatives are only able to respond with scripts and my questions and their comments were always out of sync. I was always thinking "what does that have to do with this"?

    Each representative assured me they could resolved the issue - none of them could until I was able to reach a US-based office. The billing was removed and I was told my equipment had not yet been received and that the account isn't really closed until the equipment is in their hands. I check my tracking and the equipment had been received so I figured it was a done deal. Now two months later, I just received a past due notice of $49.95. How does one finally free themselves from this company?

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed May 21, 2014

    This company is based out of India. I called for DSL service. They sent me a 4G service. I called requesting credit because it wasn't what I wanted. They refuse credit and terminated the service before my 1 month was over.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceInstallation & Setup

    Reviewed May 9, 2014

    Received modem today. Instructions with modem not accurate and set up doesn't recognize network serial number. Called support 1-888-327-8454 and never reached a live person after 1 1/2 hours of being on hold. Listening to the same prerecorded message over and over nearly drove me insane. They charged my credit card for monthly service before modem even arrived.

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    Customer ServicePrice

    Reviewed May 2, 2014

    Our business quote was $784 a month. Our bill is $932 a month. Bill includes additional items like "administrative service fee $38.58". Taxes, 911 fees I'm okay with. It's the intent to deceive that is a problem. Read the fine print multiple times in quote, nothing about this administrative service fee. So this is an item a quote would have no idea about or to include? Most unresponsive customer service department I've ever encountered. Worst company ever dealt with.

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    Reviewed May 1, 2014

    I have been with EarthLink for 5 years. Up until the past year, I've had no serious issues. That's not the case anymore. They have, without authorization, been debating my account for payments not yet due. They, just this morning to my surprise, debited $131.55 for what I don't know. I have told them time and again, I only pay by check and they are not ever to debit my account for any payment. I pay on time the full amount which is $58.20 per month. I would like to open a class action lawsuit against them at this time. They are illegally going into my checking acct. whenever they want and helping themselves to my money. Truly, EarthLink is THE WORST.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed April 26, 2014

    They are the worst company ever. Try and cancel an account and your nightmare begins. They will not disconnect you and keep charging you but you will be without internet and phone for weeks. I am so angry. They are the worst company I have ever had.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed April 24, 2014

    We paid for two months. I chatted with one guy and he said everything was fine and we were paid up and had a credit for the next month. About 2 to 3 weeks later. We got a bill that we were behind 3 months. We think that EarthLink messed up. We tried with their auto pay. But they kept taking it out on the wrong day. This has happened many times before. We are fed up of the harassing phone calls everyday. They call us a least twice or more times a day. It's very hard to understand them.

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    Customer ServiceOnline & App

    Reviewed April 22, 2014

    I've been an Earthlink customer since Earthlink's first days when they were the only unlimited access provider. Until recently, I've been satisfied with their service. Starting about a year ago, I began having trouble connecting to a server. No problem getting online, just connecting. I'd call customer service, spend up to an hour on the phone trying to answer questions from someone whose English and understanding of English was borderline, would get nothing resolved, and yet a few hours later, after being told there was nothing wrong and that it must be a problem with my computer, I'd be able to connect to a server. So this has pretty much been the pattern for the last year.

    Due to ancient AT&T lines in my area, I'm only a good candidate for dial up. Starting about three months ago, my local dial up numbers didn't work anymore. At one time, one of the numbers I'd been using to connect dialed the number of a local Ford dealership's answering machine. More calls to Earthlink customer service in Mumbai. More run around. Tried to suggest dial up numbers that would have resulted in a long distance fee. Told me there was only ONE dial up number for the Austin, TX metro area. Only ONE? For a metro area that's larger than a million people? What? Nothing resolved and then, a few hours later, my old dial up numbers worked and I was able to get on. No problem.

    I'm starting to see a pattern. Is anyone else having this problem? I've been going to places with free WiFi and using my tablet to access the net, but it's just not the same as having a working PC. Shopping for a new provider now. I've had it. Earthlink has gone from one of the best to one of the worst. What a shame.

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    Reviewed April 11, 2014

    No one is on the same page.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed April 7, 2014

    Service has been intermittent for the last couple of weeks. Sometimes it works fine with normal response; at other times it is very slow or refuses to respond at all. Rebooting all computers, router and DSL sometimes fixes it for a while. This has happened in the past and was down to DSN issues. I am getting quite frustrated. I have been a customer for more than 15 years.

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    Customer ServiceSales & Marketing

    Reviewed April 2, 2014

    I have been a loyal Earthlink DSL customer for many year, but needed to cancel because the download speed was very slow. After lengthy waiting periods on the phone, and the various sales talks, I was informed that it takes about 10 business days to release the line. However, I can purchase limited dial up service for $9.99/month. I can also purchase my e-mails to be saved at $5.99/month. I declined all. I had Internet Service available to me from my landline (Verizon) immediately. Not only did Earthlink delete my e-mails on the servicer, Earthlink invaded my computer and deleted ALL downloaded e-mail messages from my computer, from current to 2009! I am outraged! What course of action do I have available? Beware of Earthlink's trickery.

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    Reviewed April 1, 2014

    I just noticed that I have been being billed for years for an unused email account. Earthlink refused to credit it even though the account has sat unused for years.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed March 25, 2014

    I have been an EarthLink Customer for 12+ years. Unfortunately, the service that they provide in my area 3.0 DSL only is no longer adequate for my needs (Streaming, etc.) As a result, I cancelled my service, so I thought. Called on March 7 to cancel. Was told service would be on until March 25 since I paid. Set up new service with new carrier; however as of today March 25 line is still not released. After many calls and more than an hour in total hold time after speaking with four different reps, I was told that it would take up to 10 days to release the line. Must I be held hostage longer for poor service! This company is not flexible and the outsourcing experiment is a huge failure. STAY AWAY FROM EARTHLINK! Terrible company.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed March 22, 2014

    Moved to a community that had a flyer for a package deal with cable and net. Found where I was ...was not a good location for cable. The company that was providing the package said they were sorry they couldn't help me and is refunding my full $$ that they debt. I asked what about Earthlink and he said I would have to call them to have the $$ refunded. 3 days of trying to get someone to answer the phone...and long periods of me being put on hold. Today 3/21/14 came from work after 4:30 pm to see a package on my steps. I have been trying to get them on the phone those 3 days so they wouldn't send the pkg too. Finally. Got to talk to someone today and he said they were not going to give me my $$ back since I have had service since 3/18/14.

    Today is 3/21/14...and I asked how I had service if I just got the pkg today and have never opened it. He kept giving me the run around and kept saying..."are you telling me you are not aware of your account here?" Which he kept repeating that at least 8 or more times. I told him, "are you aware I just got the pkg today...how have I had service since the 18th." Which I repeated that as many times as he did. Told him I wanted my $$ refunded back and I will returned the box when he does. He came back on the phone and said he was marking the account for fraud and for me to contact my bank and get with them for the fraud. I told him I felt this was a scam and that I myself didn't open the account with them. That the company did that was doing the pkg deal. Poor customer service and terrible how you are left on the phone for very long periods of time with no one answering the phones. Terrible how they they are ripping people off. I can see if I was using their service and then canceled that first month. I haven't even had the service yet for them to keep my money. A company I will never deal with ever.

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    Installation & SetupPriceStaff

    Reviewed March 14, 2014

    During installation, I was told that the price EarthLink quoted me was incorrect. After a few hours of holding with different EarthLink reps, I was reassured that Time Warner was incorrect. They do not speak with each other yet they have restrictions that don't make sense. They didn't let me use my modem - I found the hard way that "yes you can" means "we're screwing you over" in Hindglish or whatever their reps speak. I sought out EarthLink because there aren't very many options for internet in Los Angeles and both options are almost equally bad. U-Verse has been acceptable except for the speed limitation. Time Warner is the worst but then add an angry ex-wife that you have to run everything by first - well more like through an ex-wife's lawyer - then you get a small idea of what EarthLink is like!

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed March 7, 2014

    After a traumatic death in my family and having to close the email account of deceased, a representative was adamant that I could forward the deceased email to my own for an unlimited amount of time but that she'd have to transfer me to tech support to do it. When I got tech support they told me they couldn't do it, that the representative would have to. I demanded to speak with a supervisor and the tech support went off for a moment and came back and said, "I can help you." I asked if I could be assured that once the account was closed the email would still be transferred to my non-earthlink account he said yes. I felt in my gut that this just wasn't possible but he assured me. I told him it was imperative that this forward stay on for at least 3 months and he reassured me it would. Now of course the next day after the account was closed the forwards are not happening. I would have paid a fee to keep this forward going but instead I have nothing now and I am going to tell everyone to stay away from EarthLink. They allow their representatives to lie to their customers.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 25, 2014

    I have had an Earthlink email for many years. I pay about $35 a year for the privilege; when every other email account that I know of is free! My ex-husband originally set it up years ago. Don't ask me why he thought he needed to get me an email that cost us money, but way back then I didn't know any better. After having it for so many years it was just a hassle to change it, so I kept using it even after I separated from him. But, recently, I got a new computer and for some reason the email didn't work on it.

    I asked Earthlink to close my account. They wouldn't do it. They said I had to just finish the next 5 months and then it could be closed. I had always paid the whole year up front to save me from having to do so every month. If I had signed up to pay monthly, I could have just stopped paying them for the service and I would have been done. But, since I had paid upfront, they said that I would have to finish the year that I had already paid for and refused to give me a refund. It's not that much money, but it is the principal.

    It made me angry that they would not give me a refund. I can no longer use the account, because it doesn't work on my computer. I don't know why. What I do know is that I spent three excruciating hours on the phone with a tech rep that had such a strong Indian accent that I couldn't understand anything he said, and had to ask him to repeat himself 3-4 times before I could figure out what he meant!!! They couldn't fix the problem and still they refused to refund my money! I recommend that everyone never sign up with Earthlink, unless you like to pay for your email and then have no support from them for anything when you run into a problem.

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    Price

    Reviewed Feb. 20, 2014

    I have had Earthlink for quite a number of years and am always experiencing problems with it coming and going. One minute you are on the internet, the next it's off. I don't know what other company has real good service that's affordable because if I can find something better, I'm gonna leave Earthlink.net

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Feb. 13, 2014

    What happened is I have been paying for this so-called internet for more than 3 months and it is out more than on. I call them every single day. I have stayed home from work because someone, a tech, was supposed to come and fix. Never showed up. I lost a day's pay. Nothing from them. All I get is a run around. I call the number and get connected to some foreign country where all they do is double talk, put you on hold and talk in a language you can't understand and the issue is NEVER fixed. And when I say I'm gonna cancel they have the NERVE TO TELL ME THERE IS AN EARLY CANCELLATION FEE. I am now to the point where I'm gonna check with a lawyer. Because someone cannot charge you for a service they are NOT providing! The only thing they are good for is taking your money. They suck!!!!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 9, 2014

    Its bad enough that companies in America outsource their answering service overseas to India and Pakistan. And taking jobs from Americans. But they don't train these people. I don't have a problem with their race but these people have no clue, they obviously think we are idiots. For two years I've been trying to get service. Last year they sent out a Verizon tech whom they partnered with. That's in but they never sent the modem. After a month of no modem I canceled my service. This year I tried again. They Sent the modem but lied to me and told me that a technician was at my house to check the junction box. Well that was a lie because there is no way this guy got into my yard because I have a six foot fence and a 200-lb Cane Corso Mastiff that would have killed him. After going back and forth with these idiots, I called Verizon and they told me that no one was here. Then Earth Link told me that Verizon isn't allowed to give me any information. I told them where they can go. Do anyone know number that iI can call in America to complain?

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Dec. 19, 2013

    Earthlink is the worst kind company for internet I have ever been a part of. Had them for a li'l over 30 days. We asked for wireless we did not get. We needed it just we do most of our work from phones or tablet so I called. We did not have that in our package. Ok fine, I would like that please I hooked up our wireless modem. It still did not work. I called back. We were only able to use our internet one time out of the 30 days so I finally just called to cancel. Oh boy was a 1 hr and 20 min phone call, mostly because they speak horrible English. Can't understand half of what they say. They started adding all kinds of charges, 90 dollars for this, 20 for this. We finally were able to talk to someone with some brains and they figured out that they had added some Norton thing we never wanted and they finally dropped the final fee down to 15 dollars and after all that, they had the balls to ask if I wanted to continue my service with them. So please, please, please don't ever try Earthlink at all. Save yourself the heart attack.

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    Customer ServiceContract & Terms

    Reviewed Dec. 5, 2013

    I called back in August and cancelled the service!!!! I spoke to several people that day because my internet was not working!! I then had my contract terminated on August 1st, 2013. Come to find out they have still been taking funds out of my checking account!!! I called them and they said I did call in but I needed the confirmation number which of course they know I don't have!!! $59 for the past 5 months!!!! They would not give me a refund! Just told me they would cancel it as of today!!! They need to b sued!!! Someone help me please!!!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 27, 2013

    I have been a customer of Earthlink for approximately 18 years. The past six weeks may well have been the least productive time I have ever spent when contacting 'Technical Support'. I can no longer accept being told, "We are here 24 hours a day. Please feel free to call us if you need additional help". My issue is verifiable (and has been verified by technical support) yet they cannot resolve the issue remotely. It requires hands on intervention at a server location and that has not and will not happen if past experience is any indication. FOR REFERENCE, my Earthlink e-mail and account information is under **.

    First of all, when using "Outlook", I am able to access my e-mail; however, if I attempt to access via WEB MAIL, I may or may not connect. I have purged everything possible back to the "beginning of time" (Google Chrome) and done a fresh install of Internet Explorer starting with EMPTY history, cache, etc folders. I have done EVERYTHING that Earthlink Tech Support, Server Support, Level 2 Support has told me to do and THEY have been able to duplicate the issue - even though only one time when they actually agreed to take control of my computer and TRY to "sign on". The same day they attempted to"sign on" using my password from the location of the "Server Tech" and he could NOT do so.

    THERE IS A DEFINITE albeit "intermittent" issue. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM is that by the time I reach a "live person" or if I "called back" - if the WEB MAIL is working .... that is the only notation they make and then tell me to, "call back if it happens again". IT WILL and DOES happen again - each day - every day - without fail. Yet, I have performed a TRACERT and after 12 to 13 'hops' and IMMEDIATELY AFTER arriving at ATLANTA, every 'hop' after that TIMES OUT. If WEB MAIL is attempting to connect at the same time, I receive ERROR MESSAGES, "SERVER RETURNED NO DATA" or "NO DATA RECEIVED" or a variation of these; it ALWAYS HAPPENS no matter the browser.

    I do not know WHAT the problem is; however, I do know if this is a result of "upgrading" and IF "waiting a few days" would resolve the issue, it would have been resolved fifty times over. EARTHLINK is not doing anything aside from paying lip-service. They do not look at a SERVER PROBLEM or other related HARDWARE as being the issue. They DO NOTHING - ask me to "wait" and send me on my merry way. While they ARE courteous and the techs do as much as allowed, it has now become evident that the POLICY of EARTHLINK has now become, "put them off as many times as you can and if they leave us - they leave us. It's only one customer." Well, after 18 YEARS, they are on the verge of losing me in spite of the inconvenience.

    ZERO for TECHNICAL SUPPORT beyond the allowed company supported "put the customer off" policy of upper management. As a last ditch effort, I am compiling hard-copy information which, if this matter is not resolved very soon, I plan to send to the individuals shown below. There is NO reason why this matter has not been resolved in a REASONABLE length of time; over six weeks is beyond ridiculous. Earthlink has in reality done nothing beyond go through useless motions and waste my time. This must cease one way on another. I have always been courteous, factual and politely asked, "What can YOU do to resolve this issue?" If upper-management of Earthlink does not see to it that these issues are RESOLVED once and for all, I can only assume they no longer value long-term customers or ANY customer who is having an ongoing issue.

    Kevin Brand serves as Executive Vice President, Customer Delivery & Care.
    Jim O'Brien serves as Executive Vice President, Infrastructure Engineering & Operations

    Rolla P. Huff is chairman, chief executive officer and president of Earthlink, Inc.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Sept. 1, 2013

    My email address ** was closed down by EarthLink without notice. Apparently there was a virus issue. I could have downloaded if they had given me notice.

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    Customer ServiceInstallation & SetupStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 19, 2013

    I ordered DSL service from Earthlink. They sent me their hotspot. It did not work - activation lights never came on. I made several calls to tech support and they were unable to help. One guy actually told me I needed to walk around the house and up the street to try to get a signal! I tried to cancel on the phone and they kept saying, "No, I transfer you to tech support." They wouldn't let me cancel! Finally cancelled by logging complaint with my credit card. They then sent me return authorization to send back the hotspot and they credited the cost of the hotspot MINUS shipping and handling. They also refused to refund the monthly charge. Thus, I paid nearly $40 for not one minute of service. They are SCUM!!!!!!!!!!

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    Customer ServiceSales & Marketing

    Reviewed Aug. 12, 2013

    Earthlink charges $3.00 per month for paper billing, and $1 per month if you pay by check. I can live with the check fee. I do not want anyone taking automatic payments out of my bank account. When they do that I have no leverage. But the $3 monthly paper invoice fee is a scam, because they will not change it to email unless you sign up for automatic payments. Some sort of classic bait and switch. I smell a class action suit.

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    Installation & SetupStaff

    Reviewed July 26, 2013

    Ordered a bundle w/ Dish. Was promised to have cable & internet installed at the same time. Only cable was installed. 5 days later, a box arrived & contacted Earthlink since it failed to work (followed instruction that came w/ it). Talked to 3 people, "Susan", "Rufus" & "Jason" in INDIA (not U.S.) who spoke no English. They told me that I had to climb the roof & find the lines. Are you kidding? I told them that this is not what I signed up for. They said I had to 'hire' a Tech w/ my money & time. Told them to "cancel" the Svc & called Dish about the experience. Thinking of cancelling them too & go w/ Verizon.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed July 15, 2013

    I have had several occasions to contact EarthLink Customer Service in my 4 short months as an EarthLink DSL user. On every occasion it has been an absolute nightmare! Each time I have called, I get a technician who speaks a foreign language and I can't understand them. The technicians have NO CLUE what they are doing. They are reading to you from a script as they "walk you through" all of the possibilities. They have promised to call back and DON'T call back. Just last week I received a new modem after being without my service for a week and the EarthLink Customer Service person offered to credit my account for $5 for my trouble... ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? That is a joke after the hell you have to go through just to get the service running and keep it running. Each issue I've had has been either with EarthLink's network or with EarthLink's equipment - this is the worst internet provider I have ever worked with - the only thing worse than their network is dealing with their customer service!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed July 12, 2013

    I began having trouble with the Earthlink Total Access email. I used MS Access to check Email Storage database. There were over 16,000 emails there. I closed the folder, called Earthink Support to get my Total Access email working properly again. The technician I got worked on it for some time, after asking for permission to use "Go To Assist" control program. After about 20 minutes, he told me his supervisor would be taking over the repair. They reinstalled the software, got it working, but when I checked, the over 16,000 stored emails were missing. I have spent hours on the phone with their support technicians. They would keep me on the phone for long periods of time, then several times I would realized that I had been cut off. Then they began telling me that they would have to call back at a set short time. Then they started never calling back.

    I opened MS Access, looked for the Earthlink Email storage folders, and they had been deleted. I have been paying two extra charges a month for extra email safe storage. I called yesterday (July/11/2013) and they said they needed time to work to recover my emails, and agreed to call me back at 7:00pm (by my time zone) later in the day. It is 1:40pm the next day (July 12, 2013) and they have never called back. They've set these callbacks at certain times for about 5 days now. I had a confirmation number for my running case. Yesterday, they told me that the case linked to that number had been closed, after being totally resolved. I need those emails. They contained medical and legal information, along with various technical files. I am at a loss for what to do, as I can't stay at my house (I had to miss a Medical appointment yesterday) waiting for these promised calls, that I am told will show me my recovered files and explain what happened, and info on preventing this from happening again.

    I found yesterday that the email program they told me was repaired, and had over 100 new mails, now had "0" files in my Inbox. They had me find an installation disc I had stored for "Total Access" and told me to reinstall the whole program. I have no idea if it will work properly, just for email, after everything that kept happening, after they, or they would tell me to reinstall software. I suggested that they have a local data recovery service come out, take the drive to their facilities, restore only the missing Earthlink files (which I believe they probably can do), and bring it back and reinstall it. All of a sudden, they would go silent. Once, they simply cut off the call. I am disabled, with only my Social Security check for income, so I can't afford a lawyer. (I would like to at least get a legal opinion on what can be done.) I don't know what to do.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed July 5, 2013

    In April, I moved. Pretty simple if frustrating process. I called and let Earthlink know that I would be moving and that I wanted to have my Broadband internet and VOIP phone service moved to my new address. Every month since that fateful day, I have two different accounts, the original for the phone and a new one they created for the internet because of the move. There have been a total of 6 different phone calls to customer service and all have resulted in failed communication as Earthlink has their customer service centers in India. Due to the language barrier, they were unable to understand that I wanted the 2 accounts condensed into a single account.

    Needless to say, after three months and having my services upgraded, disconnected and email accounts deleted, I am in the process of moving to the local cable company for my services. I have been an Earthlink customer since November of 2002 and I for one am sad to see that they no longer have the customer service standards that they had in the past. My advice to anyone else is to simply not move an account as for some reason, this just confuses them. Just open a new one. Again, I am not trying to flame Earthlink as I have been with the company for 11 years but there just comes a time when my frustration just isn't worth the trouble any longer.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed June 25, 2013

    To put it simply, I ordered Earthlink via phone and was advised that their packet, including modem, would arrive within a week. The $21 and odd cents has already been debited from my account. I am almost a month in since the order was placed and still have yet to receive anything from Earthlink. I've called them and they said they would research the issue and call me. I have not received one phone call from them and am working on getting my money back ASAP!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed June 11, 2013

    We opened a business in Modesto and chose EarthLink to handle our T1 internet service for internet access. They already had a line into this business so it was not like they had to completely run a new line. Unfortunately, after a few months, the business failed. We had stupidly set up EarthLink on a direct pay from our business account. We called EarthLink and advised the business was closing and asked them to send over addresses so we could send them back their equipment. It took me five calls to get the paperwork from them to return their equipment. At the time, I was advised there was no penalty to quit, since the business failed and was closing.

    I then found they deducted $4006.73 from my business checking account for "equipment" which we had already returned to them (and they later admitted that and advised they would refund the money, still not seen it yet) and they deducted another $5071.78 because of "early termination fees" in April of 2013. I was furious but they refused to acknowledge their folks had indeed told me there would not be any termination fees and they refuse to refund the $5071.78 they took out of my business checking account.

    I have approached B of A and they tell me it is not their problem. EarthLink won't budge, even though this was a small business that went out, and I cannot get my $5000 back. Any solutions as they seem like a rip off company to me?

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed May 15, 2013

    On March 7, 2013 I signed up for a package deal with Dish TV. They informed me my provider would be Earthlink. When I signed up for the internet, I told them that I needed wireless because I do not have a phone line. Two weeks later I received a DSL hook up kit in the mail. I immediately called Earthlink to explain to them that I cannot hook up with DSL because I have no phone line connected to my home. They said no problem for $80.00 more, and that's where I stopped him and told him I wanted to cancel. He proceeded to explain to me that as long as I have a phone jack, it would still work. He had me try and connect anyway. After several attempts, I told him I wanted to cancel. He apologized for the problem and said, "Okay, thanks. Have a good day" and hung up.

    I also cancelled with Dish TV because of my dealings with Earthlink. Two months later I noticed Earthlink was still charging me. I called and told them I am still being charged for services I cancelled. They told me there is no record of me cancelling! So I told him I am cancelling now and would like to be refunded for services billed to me that I have not received. Not only did he tell me I would not be refunded, but I am also going to be charged $90.00 for cancelling. I was billed a total of $66.20 for services I never received and going to be charged $90.00 more.

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    Customer ServiceInstallation & SetupStaff

    Reviewed May 14, 2013

    I had Earthlink since 2007 and they started out being very nice and popular. I did not have any problems until I changed my modem. In December, I decided to go WiFi and a router was sent by them. The instructions appeared very simple and I followed them as any person who has college. I couldn’t get the damn thing set up. When I called them for support, that was when it dawned on me that these people are no good. They are in India, complete impostors with English names, e.g., Peter, Sam and Michael. Now, when he told me to hold on for his manager, the guy who came on sounded like the same person. They are running a con game with all consumers’ personal and financial information.

    Anyway, I called my cousin who works in IT in NY. He came to assist me with the connection and discovered that the router was refurbished, had the wrong IP address and the modem was also used. I began having problems with the modem but they always made me restart the modem and all to get working. I was supposed to get an instant rebate for $79.95 for purchase of the router and I never got it. They gave me so much stress that some should reimburse me. As for the fee and taxes that I paid for six years, all of them are not legal. I think that they imposed international fees on my bills. I hate them and I am no longer their customer!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed April 23, 2013

    On or about January 6th, 2013, I acquired internet service from Earthlink. A couple of days or more after that, Earthlink sent me a package which included a modem in order for me to connect to the internet. I was told that no phone service was required for connection and that Earthlink would have to connect me up, so to speak, in order for the DSL to work. After connecting everything as instructed within the package, I could not get my internet connected. I called Earthlink several times in which they tried to get me connect via phone conversation and later told me that they would have to get someone out to check on the problem.

    After numerous times of me exhaustively calling them and informing them that I had no service, and that no one came out to check on the problem, I finally called them and gave them an ultimatum - either fix the problem or cancel the service. After they continued to not fix the problem, I called again and told them to cancel the service. Earthlink did not cancel the service. They continued to bill me each month and extract $49.95 out of my bank account for service that I was not receiving. I finally called my bank and put a stop payment on their ability to debit my account. On or about April 6, I noticed that Earthlink somehow had commenced debiting my bank account. How they did this, I do not know.

    I called them and explained everything as in this complaint and told them to either fix the problem, cancel the account and refund the monies for no service or I would seek legal action against Earthlink. They agreed to send someone out immediately. Within a day I was hooked up. I feel that Earthlink owes me at least 3 months or more credit for the service I did not receive. In addition, Verizon hooked up the service - not Earthlink. I chatted on Earthlink's complaint site with Luke about this matter and he very disrespectfully said that he was unable to credit me or look into the situation. Earthlink owes me 3 months' credit. Please help me. Thank you.

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    Reviewed April 18, 2013

    I had prepaid for 1 year of email service from EarthLink and they required that it be prepaid through a credit card for this. I do not have a personal computer and use their webmail only service as I travel for my job & need email for business & personal use while traveling. I gave my mother the money for the yearly fee and she used her credit card to prepay for the yearly prepaid email service which was from July 2012 to July 2013. Starting in January 2013, EarthLink just started billing her account for two services that I never ordered or authorized which was 1) PC Fine Tune (to optimize my PC - which I do not have) 2) Norton Anti-Virus for my PC (again I do not have a PC). One was $5.95/mo. and the other was $6.95/mo. and they billed for 3 months to her credit card unauthorized.

    I talked to 3 different supervisors on 3 different occasions, who told me that the charges would be reversed & credited back to her credit card. They never were, so she informed her bank which contacted EarthLink right there in front of her & they said that she had ordered the services (which she did not) and the bank instructed them to reverse the charges, which they did not, so the bank closed that credit card and reopened another one with different numbers so that they could not continue to charge these unauthorized charges. EarthLink immediately froze access to my email account, which I have prepaid through July 2013 and have had uninterrupted for 14 years. I need to have this reinstated immediately & have them discontinue their practice of randomly charging me for services that I do not need & did not order.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed April 10, 2013

    I wanted to shop around for my internet service needs. A female representative calls me. I tell her what I am looking for, and what I am currently paying. She cannot find what I need for a better price. I told her nicely that what she has to offer does not fill my needs, and she hangs up the phone on me! She has my information so there is no excuse for her not to call me back. I call in and talk to her supervisor, and she hears my story with irritation. When I asked her what she will do and what I should write a review on, she says, "You can say that I was nice!" Is Earthlink serious here? If this is how they treat potential customers, God only knows how they will treat current customers! Earthlink sucks!

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    Reviewed April 8, 2013

    E-Mail Service - I was told that hackers had entered my account, through no fault of my own (I was also informed). But alas, my account was closed and may never be reactivated ever. I should create another account was the only solution they offered. For over 10 years, my friends, family and colleagues have contacted me here. I may as well have changed my first name! Earthlink which boasts its tech acumen is full of it!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed April 5, 2013

    I was informed by EarthLink that my house does not have the equipment necessary to use their service. I discovered that they have been billing me monthly for a service that isn't possible for me to get. I spoke at length with "customer service" to no avail. They refused to refund my money and on top of that, are charging me a "termination fee" for this non-existent service. This is fraudulent billing and poor customer service.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 16, 2013

    They need a 1/2 star option lol. No other way to say it, Earthlink just sucks! They, by far and wide, have the worst customer service I have ever seen or dealt with. I have been with Earthlink almost from the time they first started. Back then, their customer service was excellent. Now, they outsource to India and apparently let them do whatever they want. I work at home and my internet/voice went down. I called them to get a technician to come and fix it. After a week of calls (me calling them because they never do call back even though they said they would), all they could tell me is to do the basic checks. I asked for a manager. After 2 hours of arguing with people, I was finally put on with a manager whose name was Pearl (she said she had no last name) and she said there was nothing they could do, proceeded to cuss me out, and then hung up on me.

    I have been a customer for 20+ years and they cannot help me fix a problem that is on their end? Apparently, Earthlink does not value their customers any longer. I have been with DirecTV for over 10+ years, and when I call them for support, I am treated like royalty. Earthlink has lost its vision and no longer respects nor values the customers that keep them in business. I am moving to Time Warner.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Jan. 21, 2013

    I signed with Earthlink DSL due to regular issues of service dropping with Verizon. At the time I signed up, they indicated they would notify Verizon at the time of the cut over. I continued to get billed by Verizon and Earthlink. There was no change in service quality, so I canceled Earthlink about a year ago. I called multiple times for this to take place. I recently got a notice from Earthlink that I was past due for a bill this month as the credit card expired. I explained to them the same information I gave them a year ago - that I canceled the service. But they are sending me to collections for the last month's bill. I tried to respond to their collection notice and got a response from their mail service indicating mailbox full. Where can I file complaints and how do I protect my credit from their false allegations? I am unemployed and cannot afford an attorney at my expense.

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    Punctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Jan. 12, 2013

    I have had an Earthlink DSL account for 7 years. Recently, I needed to replace the modem. I spent 2 hours going back and forth between technical help, customer service, and cancellation departments. Finally, I was supposedly given a new modem, rebate for shipping and reduced monthly rate. Well now, two months later, none of that has happened! And I have spent another 45 minutes on the phone. Very frustrating.

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    Customer ServicePrice

    Reviewed Jan. 3, 2013

    I signed up for dial-up service with EarthLink in April 1998. In August 1999, I signed up for web hosting. In May 2002, I upgraded to Earthlink DSL. I have never received an itemized bill for services from them; they would just automatically charge my credit card. My credit card bills would show just two charges from Earthlink - one for $19.95 and one for $64.85. I was never quite sure what services were included in either charge. The $85.00 per month seemed a little 'pricey', but having to shop around and change to another service seemed to be more time and effort than my hectic business schedule allowed.

    In November 2012, I called Earthlink, hoping to negotiate more competitive rates. During that conversation, I learned that they had never stopped charging me the $21.95 for dial-up service; they had been charging me for a service I hadn't used in 10 years! I requested a refund, and they refused. At that time, I told them to take that charge off my account and to cancel any further charges for dial-up. In December 2012, I called them because of the outrageous amount of money they wanted from me and learned that they were still trying to charge me $21.95 for dial-up.

    I got them to remove that charge from what I owed and then gave them a credit card number to pay my bill with, and when I looked online at my credit account, they double charged me. I called them back (in India) and demanded my money back. I must have been transferred to 6 different people, and every single one of them refused to refund my money, stating that their system only showed one charge! The next morning when I checked my credit account again, sometime during the night they charged an additional $35.00 without authorization! Every time I try to contact anyone at Earthlink, all I get is double talk and the runaround. Nothing is ever resolved, and they keep stealing my money. My next step will be a class action lawsuit!

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 24, 2012

    I shopped around to see where there prices are at and called over to speak to a person in sales. So I owed $200.00 or $300.00 on account. The day I called I paid in full on account. The lady in the sales department was by far the most rude person and she should be fired. Also, I found that there prices are very high, and the rude lady in sales wouldn't even come close. I asked to speak to a manager and she lied to me. I was told that they have no manager, plus she hung up on me. I will tell others not to use their services, this could have been taken by talking to a manager. I am looking for a new phone company.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 24, 2012

    Earthlink disconnected my service without my knowing. I just spent the last two hours on the phone speaking with reps who are unable to help me. Still no email access!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 20, 2012

    I had Time Warner Internet service. I had signed for a special promotional rate for one year at $34.95 per month. At the end of one year, the rate went up to $52.95 per month. This was a considerable increase so I started looking for another service provider in the area and I saw a deal by EarthLink for $29.95 per month for six months. I called and signed up with them on 10/22/12. The agent gave me all the details about the account including my e-mail with EarthLink. They told me that billing would be done by TW.

    On 11/8, I received the bill for $52.95. I called EarthLink on 11/10 and complained about the bill. The Customer Service said it would be taken care of in 72 hours. Nothing happened. I called again on 11/14 and complained again. I received a call today, 11/19, from EarthLink with a TW agent on the line. After half an hour of discussions, TW and EarthLink agents agreed that I will be switched over to EarthLink starting today at the rate of $34.95 per month. I agreed to the deal and asked that my billing be adjusted starting today. The TW agent on the line said, "I will need to call the Billing department to confirm." Well, I called TW Billing dept. right away. Guess what? The Billing department said there is no way they can switch me to the $34.95 rate.

    All along I was under the impression that EarthLink and TW are two different companies. They are not. They are two divisions of the same company. It seems what EarthLink offers, TW does not necessarily uphold. I think EarthLink should be liable for providing me the service at the rate they agreed to. On the surface it seems the two divisions don't get along. I don't even know why they have two divisions offering the same services? This is the worst and most frustrating experience I have had with any company.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Nov. 18, 2012

    The Animal Welfare Association, a small charity in NJ has been without Internet and phones for 4 days! AWA has phoned Earthlink 2-3 times a day for status updates. Earthlink & Verizon both admit they have no clue how to fix the issue(s) but they are firm in their need for 4+ days to "test" things and are working on it, "around the clock." We now enter day #4 with no resolution outlined and a lot of work unable to be performed. I can't get to our pet care database, make clinic appointments, or email or phone clients. Animals can't be adopted, get medical care, or more because of this and they don't seem to think it is an issue. No one has any news or progress and each time I call, they cycle back to what they knew 2 days ago!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 8, 2012

    I called to try EarthLink’s free 30-day offer for their high-speed dial-up. I was having problems with it (and it was very slow) that numerous calls to their techs did not resolve, so I called to cancel and told the woman that I removed EL from my computer. However, the woman I spoke with was very pushy - did not want to cancel! She said she would not cancel me for a few months to give me a chance to change my mind, that there would be no charge. I later got an e-mail stating I owe $21.95 for the next month. I discussed it with someone in EarthLink, but he said there was no record of me calling to cancel the first time (with the woman), and he was to cancel the account but insisted I still owed the $21.95.

    Now, they are harassing me with phone calls, hanging up when they hear the message machine. They call sometimes 3 times in 1 hour; twice in 15 minutes this morning. The 2nd day, I noticed the pattern of phone calls, so I answered. The man confirmed my identity. I told him firmly I cancelled the account, told him as above, said something like ”I don't want to be bothered,” and hung up. Note: When they insisted I owed the $21.95 after I told them about me calling once before to cancel and the woman would not cancel the service, I reported my charge card account as lost or stolen to close it so they could not collect the $21.95.

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    Customer ServiceContract & Terms

    Reviewed Oct. 24, 2012

    I had been a customer of Earthlink for over 12 years. About a year ago, our service started becoming inconsistent and spotty. After several months of calling and working with their online technicians to resolve the connection issues, the problem of our internet going out was not resolved. We were told it was the phone lines, so we had them replaced at our expense. Then, it was our electrical wiring, which we had checked, also at our expense. Finally, they sent us a "new" modem, which also did not resolve the issue. They finally sent a tech to my house who determined the issue was the modem being cheap and outdated. Still, they refused to accept this as the problem. So today, I cancelled my service with them. They refused to cancel my service unless I pay $49.95 for this modem because, apparently, by accepting the replacement in the first place, I agreed to a new contract and now I am bound by an early termination clause. I never asked for this equipment replacement and still tried to work to resolve this issue for another few months. I do not feel I should pay and agreed to return the modem but was forced out of my money in order to cancel my service with them.

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    Reviewed June 2, 2012

    Unauthorized debit - They took money from my debit card without telling me they were and the amount they took was $67.50. I don't have their internet service. They said that they can't refund my money to my debit card.

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    Reviewed April 17, 2012

    I downloaded the Norton CD they sent me. It's working very good but it refused to activate. They are continuing to ask me for money.

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed March 15, 2012

    I recently found out that EarthLink has been charging me a $7.95 monthly fee for home networking since March 2006. I remember they sent me a router, and we didn't need it because we had only one computer, so I returned it and told them that we didn't need it. I didn't realize the charges had continued because when the bill came, it just said the total amount - to see the breakdown, a customer has to click on View, which I never did. I learned about this charge in February 2012, when I contacted EarthLink about removing an antivirus promotion, and then I learned about the ongoing home networking charge. The representative said that they could not do anything about the years of wrongful charges, because I should have contacted EarthLink within 30 days of noticing the wrongful charge. She removed the home networking, so I shouldn't receive any more charges (and yes, I will be checking carefully now), but I believe that they owe me about $572 for the months that they wrongfully charged me. I'm cancelling my EarthLink service. I think they're very dishonest.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed March 7, 2012

    Years ago, we converted from dial-up to high-speed internet service sometime in 2003. At that time, Earthlink could not provide high-speed service in our area. However, we wished to keep our email addresses. Therefore, I converted our service to email only and asked Earthlink to combine the charges and bill only my account. After a few months, we realized that they did not cancel the service and continued to charge my husband's credit card. I called to cancel the service again, however, they never cancelled the service. This has gone on for obviously more years than I care to admit to.

    Once again, I called to cancel the service. This time I have been assured that the cancellation will take place. Earthlink agreed to credit my husband's account, but only for the last month. Their represented stated that since I could not provide a confirmation number for the cancellation that they were not obligated to give me a credit. Although by their own omission, they have verified that no activity has occurred on the account for years. I think this is fraud to accept payment and not provide any service.

    I have yet to receive a confirmation email for this last request for cancellation. Then I suppose I will be in the same situation where I will call and then because I have no confirmation number associated with my request for the cancellation, they will only credit my husband's credit card for the previous month, but that is lip service because they never actually implement the credit or the cancellation. Based upon the complaints that I have read on this consumer complaints site, I am not the only individual that cannot get an account cancelled or receive a refund. This is my tale of woe and I would appreciate any help that I can get to take Earthlink to task.

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    Price

    Reviewed Feb. 25, 2012

    If you pay by check, as I do, Earthlink charges $1.00 for the paper invoice, and $1.00 for non-automated payment. I've been a customer since 1999, paid over $3,000 for the service (mind you by check). Is this legal to charge customers for paying by check?

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Feb. 9, 2012

    I allowed my prepaid year subscription to EarthLink dial-up service to expire and did not request to have it renewed, yet I was still charged for a new month. I contacted live chat to remove the charge and they were unwilling to do so despite never requesting my permission or getting my authorization to charge my credit card.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Feb. 6, 2012

    In the summer of 2011, I was an Earthlink customer who was owed two months refund of a little over $20 and never received the refund check promised to me in several phone conversations with people who evidently live in India. When I called today, 2-6-12, I got the usual runaround again from some guy in India who uses an American name. Still I have received no refund check in the postal mail. Then I read this very long list of complaints from other Earthlink customers, many with worse problems and owed even more money!

    I'm a 74-year old disabled veteran. I don't have much longer to live and sad to say it seems corporate pirates like the folks who run Earthlink would urinate on my grave for all they care about being an honorable business organization. So much for sunshine patriots and war mongers! Guess I shouldn't expect much from “One Percenters” like the folks who run this shyster company. Please let me know when a class action lawsuit is going to be filed against Earthlink with multi-millions of dollars in punitive damages!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 1, 2012

    On numerous occasions, I spoke with Earthlink representatives and told them that I wanted to cancel my service. I could not remove my credit card information from the account setup up. Finally, my credit card expired. Then I started getting collection calls and invoices due. I finally relented and sent in a payment. Accompanying the payment was my written request for cancellation.

    They cashed my check on 1/6/12 and then billed me for another month of service! On Earthlink's chat feature, one of the options is cancellation. However, when you choose that option, they tell you "no operator is available". I then chatted with a billing rep, who could not cancel my account. Instead, he gave me a phone number.

    When I called that number, I was told that she could not cancel my account. I would need to call another number! After I pitched a fit that I would not call another number, she finally agreed to cancel my account. However, she refused to credit the account for the amount they charged me after they received my written cancellation request. Earthlink used to be a terrific company. It is a shame that they have exported their customer to India and that somewhere along the way, they lost their business ethics.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 25, 2012

    I requested my Earthlink email account to be canceled in 1/2011 after my pre-paid year was over. I stated then that I was not satisfied with the company and did not want to receive anymore charges. I had a very difficult time understanding the representative and was frustrated at the inability to cancel my account which is why I finally paid the $29 for the year and insisted not receive any more charges. Now, a year later (1/2012), I got the same phone calls requesting payment. I spoke to 4 representatives, all refusing to credit the $3.95 to my account although I had stated that I did not want nor use their services and had requested the cancellation a year prior. I was told there were no more point of contacts for me and they could not help me.

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    Customer ServicePrice

    Reviewed Jan. 13, 2012

    I moved out of New York to Philadelphia area in 2005. I noticed that EarthLink was charging me for "dial-up" service I had an account since 2000. I stated to them in 2005/2006 that I do not use "dial-up" and to prove it, they could check my account log for "dialing in" which they didn't dispute. However, I was told by customer service that in order for me to keep my email addresses (I have 4), I would need to continue with "dial-up" and so I would need to spend $21.95 per month for the service. I didn't want the hassle of changing things at the time so I let it go after questioning EarthLink why I would still need "dial-up" service with a cable modem.

    It being many months later now and generally satisfied with EarthLink, as I renegotiated my service, I find that all along that I had the option to just have email without the "dial-up" and it's $5 per month! I am so angry with EarthLink at being overcharged for years. I didn't need dial-up (had a cable modem starting in 2005) all along. They won't even dispute that they can check the dial-up log to see activity which would be zero for me since 2006 and yet continued to charge me. I went from a plan that cost me nearly $60 per month (with Web hosting) to a plan that is about $15, all with the same level of service. The years of overcharge is greed/fraud through mismanagement. The next step is to find another service provider.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 30, 2011

    Apparently, Earthlink's technicians are more interested in selling services for a commission than fixing problems. I was on Live Chat with a tech yesterday trying to get my router to communicate with my modem. The fixes he suggested didn't work, so I allowed him to stream into my computer. He got to a page (which I was unable to get to) to switch the mode to bridge mode. He told me not to change it yet as we would be disconnected. He then tried to sell me Norton 360. I told him, I just wanted to get my router working and that I would think about the Norton.

    He would not give up! I finally told him okay, I would take the Norton, just to get on with it. After confirming back and forth that I was accepting the Norton 360, I didn't hear any more from him. I asked if the session was over and heard nothing. So, I switched over to bridge mode and assumed he was gone. Quite a while later, I got the message that the session was over. I have no ideal if he was still "in my computer" all that time.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 28, 2011

    I had issues with billing services. They started monthly billing and added charges for paper invoice in lieu of our previous process where I paid for a year at a time.

    A representative (with a strong accent) called my home requesting 2 month of billing at $4.49 per month. I asked why Earthlink started billing monthly instead of the annual billing. He said I owed $8.98 and if I would give him my master card number, I could pay in full. I told him I was not interested in monthly fees and if that was all Earthlink could do to cancel my service. He agreed to do so and asked for my credit card to complete transaction. I provided it and he charged the $8.98 and said he would cancel my account.

    I received another bill from Earthlink requiring a $4.49 payment. I called Earthlink informing them of their mistake. The representative said he would cancel but I owed $4.49. I disagreed and asked to talk with his supervisor. Mr Roger **, the supervisor said he would cancel my account but I owed $4.49 since I did not have a cancellation number from the previous call. My cancellation number he gave me is **. I was told to expect more calls and billing until I pay the $4.49.

    How do I dispute this unfair charge?

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    Contract & TermsStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 24, 2011

    I committed to a 1 year contract for DSL business. I was told I could take the service and contract with me if I move. I went with EarthLink for this reason, knowing I would be moving within the contract time. I recently moved offices and discovered from EarthLink they do not have DSL service at my new location. Now they are billing me for service I am not getting and telling me I am liable for the entire contract amount. I find this an outrage! Since they cannot provide the contracted service to me, they should void my contract. Period. They are giving me the run around. I continually ask to 'speak' to the person that can settle this matter but keep getting different people emailing me. Their customer 'care' is a bogus facade. They do not 'care'. They operate on fake service and phony billing. They need to be stopped. A class action suit should be filed against them!

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Oct. 16, 2011

    I have been a customer of Earthlink through Time Warner for 10 or more years. My account was transferred entirely to Earthlink at $5.00 per month. I owed maybe $15.00. They closed down my account. I paid the bill. My e-mails for all those years, with all my client info and valuable personal mails, were removed. I asked them to put it back. They told me they would. Four weeks later of me calling weekly, I got no answer. Now I have no access. They are charging me $35.00. They closed my account and took all my personal mail for 10 years now. I refuse to do so unless the emails appear. They don't even have a record of the incident or that we spoke, just that I owe them.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Oct. 13, 2011

    I called to switch my internet service from AT&T to Earthlink on 10/2/11. They sent my modem to me a few days later. Although I can barely understand the CSR, I was told that I didn't need a home phone line for DSL. My laptop hasn't been working since I switched, so I called to cancel. I just want the money back that they have taken from my account and want to go back to AT&T. But they would not accept this and said that it is not possible. Of course, it is possible. It may not be policy but it is possible. I am a one income person and can't afford this extra debt. I have never dealt with such terrible customer service.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 15, 2011

    I have had Earthlink email since 1996 and never had much problem, so I stuck with it. In March of 2006, we decided to switch phone service and I decided to go with Earthlink TrueVoice due to the good service I had with my email. This was the worst decision I could have made. I had three phone lines set up; one unlimited and two limited lines. Two of the three phones worked fine, one of them had terrible static on the line and it was impossible to hear the person on the other end. This phone was being used for a small business I have and again, it was impossible to hear on this phone so it was useless.

    I called Earthlink numerous times to get this problem straightened out and I kept getting the runaround, being passed from one person to the next and being told that it's because I'm using three phone lines over the internet and most people don't use more than two. By the way, I'm now on Vonage and have no trouble using three phone lines through voip service. This never got resolved. In January 2007, I called Earthlink to cancel all three lines and cancel domain hosting for a domain I have through them. Two of the lines got canceled (meaning I was no longer being billed for them) and one line I continued to get billed for. The domain hosting was not discontinued either and I continued to get billed for this.

    The next month in February 2007, I began receiving a bill for unlimited dial up service! I never added this. We have high speed internet powered by Comcast and there is no need for dial up. All three of the phone lines that I requested to be shut off had their numbers ported to Vonage. So right now, all three numbers are in use as Vonage numbers yet, I still am billed for one of these lines through Earthlink and the number doesn't exist on their service anymore! $14.95 plus taxes from March 2006-January 2007 where the line did not work. I am still being billed for this service. March 2006 to August 2011 without the tax, that's 65 months at $14.95/month = $971.75 owed for just this phone.

    The domain hosting was supposed to be turned off in January 2007: Without tax, that's 57 months at $19.95/month = $1137.15 for domain hosting. Dial up service being added without my consent since February 2007: Without tax, that's 56 months at $21.95/month = $1229.20 for dial up service that I didn't authorize. That's $3338.10 without the tax I was also charged on these services.

    In August, the recurring payments that were being charged on my credit card stopped because my credit card expired. I did not supply a new credit card on my account so that these charges would stop. I received postcards via snail mail telling me that I owed the amount due for August and if I didn't pay by a certain date, I would be turned over to collections. I had called in August and a representative told me that he couldn't reimburse me because it was after hours and I would have to call back. I called them about this before the credit card expired.

    I called again last night, 9/14/11, and went rounds with a representative who told me that I could not be reimbursed because this was a recurring payment. I asked what difference that made because I was being charged for services that I do not have. He said that I would have to take it up with my bank. I told him that my bank didn't charge me for services I don't have, Earthlink did. Eventually, he spoke to a supervisor (supposedly) and said that there was nothing he could do because the balance is now in collections. I asked how I could contact them. He said they don't have a phone number. I said, so if I wanted to pay the balance due, there is no way I can? He said, "You haven't heard from collections about this?" I said, "Yes, I got a postcard in the mail with the phone number I'm calling you on right now. I'm calling it to get this straightened out". He then told me that someone from collections would be in touch with me within the next 24-48 hours. He told me, "This is genuine". I said, "Forgive me if I have a hard time believing you. I've been told numerous times since 2007 that this will be taken care of" or "a supervisor will call you back", etc. etc.

    We got off the phone and I now await a call over the next couple of days.

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    Reviewed July 16, 2011

    Earthlink has a history of overcharging me, adding services to my account I didn't ask for then taking the additional fees for those services from my credit card, changing my service without my knowledge then charging me for the changes or new services and the list goes on. this is a more than 10 year history of having to fight them every 6 months on some overcharge. This recently in the last 5 years has become an every 2 or 3 month occurrence. I recently discovered they charged me a total of $240 for services I never asked for. when I asked them to return the funds they refused stating I didn't complain about the additional services within their 30 day policy period.

    I didn't know about the services they added since I didn't ask for them, and only discovered them when I saw the overcharge. I went round and round with their customer service who would only agree to credit me by giving me 1 month of email charges for free ($3.95) that's right, they took $240 and thought everything would smooth over if they offered me a free future service worth $3.95. I told them to do the math. I asked them to cancel the account. Instead, they offered me 2 months free. I again asked them to cancel, I was then offered 6 months, then later 1 year. I asked them to cancel the account if they were not going to put the $240 back that they took without authorization.

    instead, they supposedly credited me for 1 year of free email ($3.95 x 12) Today I discovered they not only have they not cancelled the service, they've begun charging my credit card again. I've again asked for cancellation but was told the account won't cancel until august 14, 2011 and also that they couldn't credit the charges because they are not showing as posted for them. interestingly they are showing as posted and debited to my bank account. How long will earthlink be allowed to continue with this theivery?

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    Reviewed July 1, 2011

    I changed internet provider. I was totally and immediately unable to access the email account that I had with EarthLink. I had important information in some of the emails. They should have given me some time to access the account. They were very inconsiderate. I will never use it again and will question other providers regarding this policy.

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    Reviewed June 9, 2011

    EarthLink is a hideous company, full of subpar devices, and nonexistent service. After spending hours with tech people having us stick an unfolded paper clip into the device to "reset" it, we canceled service. We had kept our side of the bargain of a two-year contract, but they had never delivered a working device. We mailed it back. Months passed. It was several months later we realized they were continually charging us $39 monthly 4 years past our cancellation! 12 x 39 x 4 = $1,872 plus 20% interest yearly for false charges and no service.

    They haven't responded to my letters, the device mailed to them from my husband's work on April 2007 until today, June 8, 2011. Someone had the nerve to try to charge yet another monthly fee. But we no longer have credit cards. I told him the situation was quite the opposite. If they wanted to avoid litigation, they would need to pay us about $2000 to give us satisfaction, and the Better Business Bureau would have this report. This is a very slimy company that needs to be stopped.

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    Reviewed Jan. 22, 2011

    My wife has had a Cidco Mailstation for several years, and in October 2010, it quit working and I suspended the account. No sense paying for something she could not use.

    Now we have the Mailstation operating again and I wanted to reinstate the account. I was told that EarthLink was not supporting mailstations anymore and I could not have my account reinstated, even though they still have all the information available to do so.

    I went to EarthLink's Web page and they still promote the mailstation as well as include it on their list of domains. My understanding from one of the representatives is that they are still selling these things, but are not supporting them with dial-up accounts. You cannot get another ISP because they have built this into them and you don't have access to change it.

    My wife is not computer literate, therefore this was the only tool she could use for communication with her family. In addition, a lot of exasperation being transferred from one person to another and none of them are very understandable.

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    Reviewed Jan. 3, 2011

    I just got a bill from EOS CCA (collection agency) stating that they demand a payment of $69.07 on behalf of Earthlink. I have never had an account with Earthlink to my knowledge (if I did it was years ago). I have never gotten a bill from Earthlink stating that I owed them money, in fact I haven't heard that name in a few years. My account number is **. I'm wondering if this is a scam and if other people have received any notices like this.

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    Reviewed Dec. 23, 2010

    I have an Earthlink email account and pay on average of $20 a month for this service. The service comes with SpamBlocker that can be set on 3 settings. In the past week, I have been getting an unusual amount of Spam even though my SpamBlocker is set on High and no emails should be getting in except for the ones in my address book. So, it's not working and I call Earthlink Support over 3 days ago. Agent puts my question to someone else as he doesn't know why it's not working.

    I am getting flooded by spam emails that Earthlink SpamBlocker should be catching. It is causing me lost work time deleting all the spam flooding in. Earthlink closed out the first work ticket and escalated another new one. They are giving me useless remedies. The bottom line is that their service sucks, their tech support sucks even worse and I am going to cancel their stupid service.

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    Reviewed Dec. 11, 2010

    I have been a customer of Earthlink for over six years. I have had, collectively, about only two years of working Internet, yet I pay for the service that I don't get. They have internally scammed me, given my personal information to strangers calling in, not helped me with either one of the two scams that I endured due to their negligence, told me that they were "Ashley" when it was an Indonesian male just using the American name, told me multiple times they would call me from the fraud unit four years ago as well as the time two years ago, and I am still waiting for both of these calls.

    I can not get into my e-mail, they can not help me as their system is down (really comforting that their system is as bad as my service), and they keep telling me that my e-mail is not a valid one, although I have had it for years. One girl stated that she was the only one there to answer calls from the world. They refuse to connect me to America, but still won't fix the issues. I have a filled mailbox but can not get in as they won't help. I have been disconnected twice by strangers and they will not even admit that the people that called in to maliciously disconnected me, were not supposed to be allowed to even discuss my information, much less disconnect my services. I am paying for what?

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    Reviewed Nov. 2, 2010

    I've been a customer of Earthlink for 20 years but the last 2 years have been intolerable. They don't take no for an answer. Their customer service leaves you forever online and hangs up on you after all that if they don't want to deal with your issue. My internet has not been working at all for the last 3 weeks. Yet, they want to charge me for it and insist that I owe them the upcoming month in advance! I finally gave in to them and allowed them to send me a new modem. But it will take 10 days and they would not commit to making this wait time no charge. Customer service is rude, pushy, and not concerned about the customers at all. If anyone is interested in Earthlink, don't do it! It has become a scam.

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    Reviewed Oct. 18, 2010

    I have been with Earthlink since they were called Mindspring maybe 10 years ago. Recently, I noticed the DSL was dropping a lot.

    I called Earthlink's customer service. They said I had an old modem and they would be glad to send me a new one for free. I waited two weeks and then called them back. I was told the first agent had been mistaken and they could only send me a new modem if I paid in advance. They did not offer any other solution to fixing my bad DSL. I refused to pay for anything and hung up.

    Since I was moving soon, I resolved to quit Earthlink at that time. Two weeks before my move, I called them and asked to cancel the service effective August 1st. The agent said that was not a problem. I canceled all my utilities and moved on August 1st. In mid-August, Earthlink charged my account. I called and they said I was still active. I explained to them that I had canceled back in July. Once again I was told that my service would be canceled and the August charge would be refunded. I got the refund and thought the matter was closed.

    The next month I got a bill from Earthlink. I called to ask what it was for and was told it had been sent to a collection agency! Soon after I got a letter from EOS/CCA stating I owed them $73.27. So far this has just been a waste of my time. But now this could damage my credit rating and I can possibly incur legal fees.

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    Reviewed Oct. 4, 2010

    Earthlink has been my internet provider for over ten years. I have, from time to time, had problems with support, but nothing like this one. I have been trying for 3 weeks to get my internet service fixed, and have been dealing with their Level III technicians during this period, without success. I cannot find a way to talk to an American about this problem, and have reached the end of my rope. Their service no longer works, and they have not been able to fix it. I have spent $199 on a computer that did not need fixing, and I have spent over 40 hours dealing with their technicians.

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    Reviewed Sept. 27, 2010

    Earthlink, my ISP, blocks e-newsletters to which I have subscribed. I have called them 4 times about it and still they persist. My ability to manage my retirement portfolio is compromised without the financial newsletters, and I have missed buying opportunities in my local market.

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    Reviewed Sept. 21, 2010

    In 2007, I canceled my earthlink.net service because it was costing too much to maintain a house phone for just internet service. Things went well for a while but then Earthlink started collecting my monthly fee from my checking account. When I called them to say that they were taking out the fee, they told me that this was a different account than the one I had a record of. As it turned out, the account was from 1999 when I did not even live in the same area. I had moved from So. Florida to Central Florida. They have refused to further review their records to try to solve problem and will not refund anything. Beware, do not let them take auto payments, you'll be sorry.

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    Reviewed Sept. 3, 2010

    Started having sporadic connection problems with Earthlink. Tech support thinks it might be my modem. They want to give me one if I sign up for another one-year contract. I've been with Earthlink for over ten years. You'd think they could replace the modem for free without having to lock me in for a year. I guess it's time to switch carriers.

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    Reviewed Aug. 24, 2010

    My home phone and internet service provider (DSL) is Earthlink. I have been a customer for almost 2 years now. During this time period, my DSL service got increasingly worse. I am forced to call the support center almost monthly. And up until now, it has been tolerable although they never fully fixed the problem. But they somehow provided enough assistance to get through another month.

    My last call on August 21st was answered by a technician, who introduced himself as Sebastian. He not only did not fix the problem, but made it worse. But it is not why I feel compelled to write to the Consumer Affairs. He refused to involve another Earthlink technician although I repeatedly asked him to do so, since he seemed to be incapable to deal with the problem at hand. He would not call the supervisor when I asked him to do so. And he refused to hang up the phone, because he wanted to prevent my taking after-service-call survey, even though I asked him repeatedly to so!

    Finally, every time I call to Earthlink, now I am not able to reach the representative. After complying with the request to enter my phone number, it just goes to a waiting queue. And automatic recording notifies me every minute that the representatives are assisting other customers. Out of curiosity, I actually stayed online and my call was not answered for half an hour. I just hung up after that. I only assume that he blocked my phone number, so I cannot talk to anyone else. I work at home, and internet connection is vital for my work. It has been two days, and it is not getting better. I got a voice message from Earthlink saying that they need to send a technician to check out the main line in the building. I cannot even return her call, because every time I attempt to do so, I am asked to enter my phone number associated with the account. After that, my call is redirected to the waiting queue.

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    Reviewed July 26, 2010

    I had an account with EarthLink for 5 or 6 years. I close the account on august 2007. EarthLink then sent me to a collection agency for non-payment for April and May 2008. After hours of conversations and no resolution, I decided to pay the 2-month due and again make sure that EarthLink understood that my account was closed, and no one else had any authorization to use the account. For my surprise I received a collection notice for $130.55 on July 2010 for activates on my closed account for July and august of 2009. Why took one year to EarthLink contact me and how I can have a balance for usage of an account in 2009 if it was closed not just once, but twice on 2007 and 2008.

    I have being on the phone with EarthLink for at list 4 hours on this month, with no results. They had promise an investigation, and to return to me with answers. Well, two weeks has pass. No answers. I again will pay a balance for an account that has being closed, just because I can't afford the time and resource and to protect my credit history. EarthLink is a disappointment. I wonder how they can protect their costumers' privacy sets if they can't figure out how my closed account has being activated. Once and for all, I hope EarthLink understands that my account is closed. I paid an amount of $130.55 twice on a closed account to avoid bad credit report, since EarthLink was unable to resolve my problem.

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    Reviewed June 26, 2010

    I have been using Earthlink DSL service for about 6 months, my problems started almost immediately. My service drops the connection randomly and the modem must be reset to get it working again. In dealing with Earthlink, we have changed our ethernet card, modem, phone line to wall, lines to the box and the box on the house itself. The smaller items, having been replaced numerous times, yet the problem still persists. Earthlink has been unwilling to change anything on their end.

    As of today, they have told me that they see no problem and there is nothing they can do to help me even though 3 techs that have been to my house, have told me the problem is with the port on their end. And through the entire thing, Earthlink has demanded full payment every month. The biggest issue has been the stress and heartache of dealing with this for so long, as I buy and sell on eBay, I need my internet and I am afraid that I will get hit for the cancellation fee when I switch services next week.

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    Reviewed May 8, 2010

    I own a small carpet cleaning business and I haven't gotten any calls in 5 months. I kept calling the call center from my home phone (Vonage is the provider) to our call center (which Vonage is also the provider). It seemed odd that we hadn't had any calls, so I would periodically call our call center and never had a problem connecting. However, this spring we put an ad in the local community press and didn't receive one call. Then we were notified by a past customer that when they called the phone number they received an automated message stating that the number was out of service. She assumed we had gone out of business. We tried to call the number from our cell phones and sure enough we received the out of service message.

    When we notified Vonage of this, they said it was Choice One's fault. They gave me the number to call for what they thought was Choice One (now called One Communications). While Vonage was trying to retrieve our phone number from One Communications, I called to try to find out who authorized this transfer of the number. I was told that Vonage had made the transfer. When I called Vonage back and told them this they said "no we didn't" they took the number without our authorization or yours. When I told One Communications that they said no, Vonage is the one that switched the number to us. I don't care who did what or why. All I care about is getting all the money that I paid out for my business insurance, marketing expenses, and general business expenses during this period of time. Loss of business restitution would also be nice. Loss of business for 5 months. Worried sick that we will not be able to pay our franchise fees, insurance fees, marketing fees etc. We are just starting up and this glitch has financially ruined us. Anything you can do to help will be greatly appreciated.

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    Reviewed March 21, 2010

    We wanted to move the service from the one place to another place but we did not cancel the service. The Earthlink still charged me early termination fee because the Earthlink disconnected our service and caused us loss of a lot of money and it's very inconvenient.

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    Reviewed March 20, 2010

    On March 5, 2010. I telephoned Earthlink.Net in Georgia and asked that they change my visa card to another company because I had cancelled the card from which my monthly transaction fee was debited. I spoke with a young man who took my new card number and made the change while I was on the phone. Stupidly, on my part, I did not get a confirmation number for the transaction. My account should have been debited for the fee using my new card on March 20. On March 15, I was unable to send email via Earthlink on my Mac laptop. Assuming the problem was a technical issue; I phoned Tech Service and got a woman in India whom I could barely understand.

    I spent about 60 minutes on my cell phone troubleshooting the same issues I had already troubleshot ineffectively by myself. The woman did not understand that I had already gone through the same procedures for five days in a row, which she kept repeating to me. She finally got rather rude and said it must be my AT&T Wireless attachment at fault and that I should call AT&T. Yesterday, March 19, my Mac desktop suddenly stopped sending my email through Earthlink. Now, putting 2 and 2 together, I realized that whoever, wherever should have posted my new credit card number has not done so.

    I have tried to phone an agent today (Saturday), but apparently no one at the Earthlink Headquarters in the U.S. works on weekends. We have had this account for over 14 years and have had another serious problem with the accounting office when it went offshore. Unfortunately, we live in an area that does not yet have DSL or Verizon Wi-Fi service. I certainly intend to sign up with another company if I can find one that my co-workers recommend. I've had it with Earthlink! Inability to reply to business correspondence and orders placed.

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    Reviewed Feb. 28, 2010

    When I signed with Earthlink, I described exactly what my need would be. Due to the poor economy, I was laid off from my job like so many others. At this point I decided I would open my own independent consultant/contractor office. This all started around the end of August. I started preparing for this in September, launching and posting resumes on several search sites looking for potential contacts. Now that I have these postings in place I needed to start preparing a domain name, web and email server for my company. Acquiring the hardware and software was the next logical step. After installing the operating system, I installed and configured the email software and started looking for the right ISP to put my company online. After talking to several ISPs, I talked to Earthlink who made promises to unblock any necessary ports I would need to accomplish my goal. My Earthlink services was activated on or around 12/10/2009.

    However, I have not been able to get my email server online. I have called Earthlink support several times complaining I cannot send out my email. I can receive email, but cannot send out email because they are blocking port 25 outbound. After many calls I insisted on speaking with a manager. After explaining to the manager the promises made to me about ordering this service with all available ports unblocked including port 25 inbound/outbound he informed me Earthlink will not unblock port 25 for anyone. This is a major problem for me trying to start a business. So where do we go from here? Where Earthlink refuses to cooperate and unblock port 25 inbound/outbound, I cannot send out resumes, presentation, proposals and/or quotes. I have lost several potential customers that could have brought in several thousands of dollars for my one man company.

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    Reviewed Feb. 5, 2010

    I had a dial-up account with Earthlink for a number of years. At one point, I switched billing methods from a credit card I no longer wished to use to a bank debit. Imagine my shock over a year later when I discovered that I had been getting billed on both cards! I called to cancel the service and get a credit for the overcharged amounts. I was told that I had two accounts, and they could do nothing but cancel them. No credit, no apology, nothing.

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    Reviewed Feb. 3, 2010

    I called the company to cancel my phone service. I wanted to keep the internet. I was told I would have to cancel both service as it was a bundle package. Next I was told if I cancel my service, I will have to pay for a replacement modem they sent me year ago. They said that I had a one year contract agreement for the modem, which I never agreed to, but they claimed I did. This modem is cheap, flimsy, and poor quality. It never worked well. I brought my own modem and wireless router, because this modem they sent never worked properly.

    My internet service was so slow and I had a lot of connection problems. And my phone would go out and I would be out of service for a week before they would fix the problem. They cheat their customers with agreements without really explaining to the customer what they are agreeing to. Record your conversation without your permission, and have you agreed to stuff under pressure. They won't solve tech problem unless you agree to spend more money for unnecessary products and service. They will charge you for things you never agree to. They over charge your account for software and services you didn't agree to. When you call for customer service, they try to solve your problem by trying to get you to buy software products at an additional charge.

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    Reviewed Jan. 30, 2010

    Earthlink hosts my web domain. This website requires a security certificate. A security certificate has to be uploaded by the hosting company. Last year, it took Earthlink 45 days(!) to upload the security certificate, a job which takes about 15 seconds. I finally found the phone number of a vice president online and phoned him at 4:30 in the morning in California and got him out of bed.

    None of Earthlink's tech people can actually contact engineers directly. This year, they moved my site to a new server and scrambled it. Then they moved it back, but they forgot to move the security certificate back. Then I called to ask them to do so. They told me that it would take 24-72 hours. Well, it's 96 hours later, and it's still not done. My site is down, and my customers can't use it. I am on hold for the 15th time, waiting while their automated annoyance systems babbles mindless corporate jargon at me nonstop so I can't even work.

    Earthlink is the worst company I have ever dealt with. If you have an important site, do not situate it on Earthlink. Their tech reps are polite but powerless.

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    Reviewed Jan. 28, 2010

    I have been with Earthlink for over 2 years and didn't experience any problems with the company until about 6 months ago. I called to setup DSL and wireless service. I was sent a Linksys router and when I called to set it up, after speaking with several reps, I was told it was bad and a replacement would be sent. I received the replacement approximately 10 days later and it worked until about 2-3 weeks ago when I kept getting "server not found" errors. I called Earthlink and became frustrated when transferred to a Level 3 tech who couldn't assist me. I then sent an email to ** and received an email from Nancy, who assured me she would have the matter resolved. A rep by the name of Stephen called me approximately 2 weeks ago and determined the router needed to be replaced again so he requested a replacement.

    I called Earthlink on 1/24/10 to request assistance in getting it programmed and the nightmare began all over again. I spoke with three different reps and a Linksys rep. None of them were able to help get my router programmed. I emailed Nancy to advise her of my frustration 3 days ago and have not received a response. Now, I sit with a router that is not in use. I'm frustrated and at my wit's end with this company. Here's a copy of the email I sent Nancy on 1/24/10:

    "This issue is definitely not resolved! I'm not sure what's going on with Earthlink and its technical team, but it's amazing I can't get "one" person to fully assist me without having to be transferred a million times. Do you have the same issues? I think not. Would you continue with the same mediocre service when you can find a better one? Why should I stay with Earthlink when there are other companies who don't have reps overseas who don't know **? I spoke with 3 reps yesterday as well as a Linksys rep who after an hour told me she couldn't help me and to call Earthlink back after I was 'blind" transferred to her from an Earthlink rep. Do you consider this good customer service? I've been in the service industry for over 10 years and have never seen such a mess. It definitely doesn't speak well of management or the company as a whole.

    My router is ready to be used if you can find someone who can seriously help me. I refuse to stay on the phone for 2 hours at a time any longer and pay for service I can't use. If you can't assist me, that's fine. If not, then use this email as an official cancellation of service and I will send your equipment back and bid you "farewell". I have experienced emotional distress as well as stomachaches. I take online courses at home and this is more than I can bear. No one at Earthlink seems to be able to offer good customer service or care whether or not I get the router in use."

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    Reviewed Jan. 13, 2010

    I called Earthlink on 10/31/09 to cancel my service (which I've had for 12 years). The customer service rep agreed to terminate my service, after offering me numerous incentives, like a 30% reduction in my monthly rate, a free month of service, etc. I asked only to cancel my account. Earthlink has continued to send bills and when I called, after getting transferred four times, plus once to a recording (necessitating a call back), I finally reached someone who tells me that there is nothing he can do.

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    Reviewed Jan. 6, 2010

    On 1-17-09, we ordered Earthlink. They said I had 30 days to cancel if we weren't satisfied. We received the modem on 1-19-09 and hooked it up. But we couldn't get anything. They said to try it again the next day. We tried the next day and nothing. I told them I wanted to cancel, and they gave me to someone else and said they could fix the problem.

    I was on the phone for 2 hours with them trying to fix the problem, and they didn't fix it. I told them again that I wanted to cancel, and they just kept giving me the runaround. My husband got tired of hooking up Earthlink, unhooking it, and hooking back up to cable. He did this 4-5 different times, and we just boxed the unit up and sent it back to Earthlink.

    We are not paying for something that doesn't work, and I told them that. I have a certified mail receipt from where we mailed the modem to. I have explained all this to Earthlink, and they have turned us into 2 different collection agencies. We have perfect credit, and we are not going to let a fly-by-night company screw this up. We thought it was all handled through the 1st collection agency. Now, after 7 months, they are trying to go through another collection agency.

    This company (Earthlink) must be really hurting for business. I have all my paperwork associated with this company. They don't give up. Again, we refuse to pay for something that we don't have.

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    Reviewed Jan. 5, 2010

    After more than 10 years as an Earthlink subscriber, I cancelled my DSL account due to ongoing connection problems that Earthlink tech support acknowledged was on their end. I called customer support in September 2008 and told them to cancel the service. They did not cancel the account so I wrote to them in November 2008 demanding that they cancel the account and stop sending me bills. One year later, I received a collection notice from them even though I paid my account up beyond the period of service. I had another provider and was not even connected to Earthlink.

    When I called customer support, my calls were disconnected and there was no way to resolve any issues with them online. I figured a letter would do it, but apparently not. Their tech support sucks, their customer service is shady, and my internet connection was intermittent at best. If there is consumer class action suit against them, I want to be part of it.

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    Reviewed Nov. 23, 2009

    On October 13th, I ordered freestanding DSL internet service. It was scheduled to start on October 21st. After waiting until around the 23rd, I still had no service so I called and was told it would be on in a few hours. After the next day, I still had no service. Between that day and the 26th, I called several times (because I needed internet service). I was given different answers by different representatives (from it will be on after 7, after midnight, the next day, or answers like the problem was that Verizon had not released the phone number and finally the stupid answer of they would call me when it came on). I was also told that someone came out to my home to install my service (in all your information, it says that freestanding DSL does not need any kind of install. But even if that was the case, wouldn't you schedule that service with the person that had to be home when someone came? If the phone company came out to your house they would at least tell you what day they were coming, right!).

    So on or around the 26th or 27th, I decided I had enough. I was tired of waiting on the service. I was sick of being put on hold for 20 to 30 minutes each time I called. I was pretty feed up with being transferred from person to person and having to explain my issue over and over again with each person I talked to. I was sick of the lack of communication skills, the lack of knowledge of your representatives and ability to give correct answers. I called to cancel my service and this time spoke to a supervisor that sounded like he knew what he was talking about and was really concerned and was not just reading a written out script that was given to him. He told me that Verizon had not released the phone number and it was scheduled to be released on the 29th of October and promised it would be on by then (I asked if someone had to come and installed anything and was told no).

    So after waiting until the 2nd of November, I received a phone call saying someone came out to my house to install service on the 29th when I was at work (why wouldn't I be informed about someone coming out to my house and what day they were coming? Why would I be told that no one had to come out?). On the 2nd, I called once again to cancel my service and was told that someone would call me to schedule a technician to come out and install my service and that they would come out on a day I was available. I waited until the 4th of November because no one called me and this time I was told that my service was now scheduled to start on the 11th of November.

    At that point, I was done with EarthLink and just wanted to cancel my service, send back the equipment and make sure I didn't get charged for anything. The person I talked to that day told me I had to pay an early termination fee (for service I never had through no fault of my own). I then spoke to a supervisor that thought it was okay to tell me, "Oh, you can wait until the 11th, just wait on more week." So finally after speaking to these people for 40 minutes to an hour that day, I was told I would receive the shipping labels and would not be charged for anything as long as they received the equipment back.

    On November 11th, I sent back the equipment and thought I was finally done with EarthLink. However, on the 17th of November, I looked at my bank statement to discover that your company deducted $99.90 from my account. I called that day and was told that you had not received the equipment yet and to wait another week. At that point I did not believe anything your people told me, so I called UPS with the tracking numbers and discovered that you received the equipment on November 13th. I called back only 10 minutes later. Someone else told me you did receive the equipment back. When I asked why was I charged, I was told that it was a system error. I then asked when that system error was going to put my $99.90 back in my account. I was told I had to wait until December 12th (Oh and by the way, I had to pay for shipping and handling charges for sending back the equipment that never worked through no fault of my own.). It's unacceptable that you would take money out of someone's account that you didn't earn. And it's funny how fast it came out but I have to wait a month to get it back.

    In closing, this letter is to express my feelings about your big company and to say I cannot be alone. I don't expect that anyone will respond to this letter or try to resolve what started out as a minor issue but I will pass this letter on to whoever will read it. And if I don't get my $99.90 back into my account, I will find other actions to take!

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    Reviewed Nov. 3, 2009

    I ordered internet with EarthLink. I received their package and it didn't work. I was told that if I was unsatisfied or if it didn't work, I could send it back and I would not be charged as long as it was within a certain time limit (30days). I received it and it didn't work, so I sent it back. It took three phone calls just to get them to send me the return label. Then I was told they were only going to refund a portion and they were charging me for shipping. At this point, I just wanted out so I said, "Fine." I have placed another four phone calls to them and have spoken to two supervisors and have as of now not been refunded a penny. They have just charged my card again, so not only are they not refunding me, I cannot get them to cancel my account and stop charging me. Everyone I speak to there says they are canceling my account and that I will be refunded but it never happens. I just want to get my money back and get away from this company. As of today, I have been charged $32.90 and $19.95 and I can't get this to stop.

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    Reviewed Oct. 23, 2009

    I signed up with One Communications telephone company on 11/05/07 order #1790553 with an explicit condition that i am not limited to a contract. I signed a form without any type of commitment. They filled out the form afterwards with their own handwriting committing me to a 3 year contract with an astronomical fee if I break the contract. I am having major problems with my phone service and have no service from them whatsoever. They made me pay for a third line that never worked and now that I want to close that third line they are charging me a crazy and unreasonable amount. I only want to get rid of them and they tied me up without my knowledge. Please help me fight this with them and just get me rid of them.
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    Reviewed Oct. 17, 2009

    I called Earthlink and told them I did not tell them to take out my account from my bank. They are taking out my bank account every month and my bank can tell you they are, and I have the bank draft to show they are doing this. I called them and the lady told me this account was closed. Well if the account is closed, how are they getting money from my account? I want to sue them for this to stop all internet company from doing this to people's accounts.

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    Reviewed Oct. 15, 2009

    I have been an Earthlink customer since July of 2005. My service includes home networking, which means I have a Linksys router and a modem (both were provided by Earthlink at my cost, of course). I have been paying $39.95 a month for the DSL service, plus an additional $7.95 for the home networking, $9.99 for use of the router (I never understood this) for a total of $57.89 a month (before taxes and other charges). I have always had problems with my service and trying to get help from the tech support in India. A few weeks ago, I lost connection to the internet and called 888-327-8454, which is the tech support for Earthlink. I spoke to someone (I never could understand her name) who gave me the runaround for over two hours, changing settings on my computer and so on.

    Finally, I was told that my modem was bad. I said, “Okay fine, replace it.” They informed me that it was going to cost me $69.00 to replace the modem unless I signed another year contract. I again said fine, just send me the modem. I requested it to be overnighted and said I would pay the extra fee, but I needed it tomorrow. They set it up and assured me it would be delivered tomorrow. Well the next day, no modem. I called back and I was told that the order was not even put in until earlier that day, so it would not be here until the next day. I was very upset and told them I better not be charged the overnight fee as it was not overnighted.

    The next day, no modem again. I called very, very upset, asking to speak to a supervisor and was given the runaround again. I was hung up on by one rep, who stated she was not going to have me yelling at her. I told her, "I am not yelling at you, I am wanting a supervisor and you refused to get me one." She hung up on me. I called back and this time, I was not nice at all. I demanded a supervisor. Once I got connected to someone who claimed to be a supervisor, he told me that the modem should be there the next business day. I asked why I was lied to again and again. He only said, "I have no record in your account that you were told you were to have this overnighted," yet stated, "I do see a charge for overnight shipping on your account." I told him that better be removed because I am not paying for it.

    He said he would remove the $39.95 shipping fee and gave me a month's free service for my trouble. I said fine. The next day the modem arrived, I called Earthlink to get it installed and back online. However, I was having the same issue as I was having with the other modem. It wasn't recognizing my DSL line. I was then told that they would need to send a technician to my house to test my line because that must be what's wrong. I was very angry. It is now over a week and no one knows what the heck is going on. I was given a hard time about "when" I could get a technician out to my house, when finally I was sent to a level one tech supervisor who set it up to have a technician out to test my line the next day.

    When the tech arrived the following afternoon, he spent over an hour outside messing with the connection on my phone line. When he came to my door, he stated he lowered the connection because it is not possible for me to receive the type of speed I have been paying for. He said their range for a decent DSL service is 15,000 and I was just past at 15,455. He stated he was recommending me to cancel my service with Earthlink (yes, he told me to cancel my service) and was declaring the issue with my line "NTP," which is not technically possible. I was outraged. He stated that he did start the connection again, which was stopped for some reason that's why my modem was not recognizing my line.

    Once the technician left, I called Earthlink back and was able to get online for the first time in almost two weeks. However, my speed had gone from being able to watch YouTube videos with no problem to below dial-up speed. I ran a speed meter test just now and I am at 86.40kbps. The speed I am paying for is 3.0mbps. I have called Earthlink several times to have my account reimbursed for the time I was not able to connect, as well as what I have not been getting since my service has started. I have been told it is not their problem. They refused to credit me any money I have paid with the exception on $68.00. They debited $113.00 out of my checking account a week ago for the shipping fee and a month's service. It took me three days to have that approved to be credited back in my bank.

    I am still being charged the $60.00 a month. I requested that the technician come back out to my house and reverse whatever he did when he was here because I was able to get a good connection until then and they refused, stating it is NTP. I am looking into cable for internet service, but I am required to pay a deposit for it. I can’t afford that right now. Earthlink has told me to cancel my service. Again, yes, they told me to cancel my service and when I attempted to do so, they are trying to hold me accountable for the year contract I signed when I got the new modem. Even though it is not possible for them to give me service, they are trying to hold me to this contract and refuse any refunds for the past four years of not getting what I have been paying for.

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    Reviewed Oct. 13, 2009

    My DSL account was terminated on 9/21/2009 for non-payment of my bill. I paid my bill in full online with a credit card in a "chat" with a Customer Service rep on 9/26/2009 with the assurance that my DSL would be "reconnected immediately." Further, they waived the $99 reconnection fee, but said that I would owe $39.95 for DSL, $15 for reconnection, and $1.95 for extra web mail space. I agreed to this. When I found out some three days later in another "chat" with a Customer Service rep that my DSL service would be restored "in about five days" or more, I decided that I'd been lied to and since they broke our agreement, I would close my EarthlLnk account when I had found and signed on with another ISP.

    On 9/30/2009, I signed up for a DSL account with DSL Extreme and my line was activated on 10/5/2009. At no time did EarthLink restore my DSL service or provide me with any services other than dial-up, of which I am allowed twenty-hours/month free of charge. This morning, I called their Customer Service at 888-EarthLink and spoke with someone who said they could help me cancel my account. After some time, they said that my account balance was $56.90 and that I would have to pay that before they would cancel me. Once again, at no time since 9/21/2009 has EarthLink reactivated DSL and provided me with anything other than dial-up. EarthLink has provided no service so I don't owe them anything except perhaps a few hours above the twenty free hours of dial-up. How much could that be? They charge $14.95/month for dial-up.

    Becoming hostile, they informed me that I have some 60 hours of dial-up over the twenty free hours, and that I owe them $56.90. I'm refusing to pay for services they have not provided, and the $56.90 was supposed to be for DSL. Ultimately, I told them **!" and hung up on them. They clearly will not close my account until I pay them $56.90 that I do not owe.

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    Reviewed Oct. 8, 2009

    I tried to cancel my EarthLink account for over a week. I could not get through their automated phone system until the 8th day. When I told the agent, April, I wanted to cancel, she started into a sales pitch. I told her all I wanted to do was cancel, that I no longer wanted internet service. She then tried to make me feel weird since everybody has internet access. I told her again I didn't need it and wanted it canceled. She said she had to pull up a lot more info. I told her just give me a confirmation number or I was going to call my credit card company and have them "cancel" the account by not paying. They really jerk you around and do everything they can to get you to give up trying to cancel. Not only that but the dial up service is horrible.

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    Reviewed Sept. 30, 2009

    In August 2007, I called about an Earthlink and AT&T ad for DSL service. I have been with Earthlink since 2000 and several years before as InfiNet customer. I have been happy with Earthlink service and wished to continue with them, so I asked if they would meet the price in the ad for $19.95. The representative said he had to consult with his supervisor. He did and he said the supervisor had approved a rate of $21.95 if I agreed to continue with Earthlink for another year. I agreed. That is when the problems started. I never got the free DSL router, so Earthlink agreed to ship me one at no charge. This is what I have been charged since: 8-1-2007, $49.95; 9-1-2007, $220.54; 10-2-2007, $57.90; 11-1-2007, $57.90, 12-1-2007, $57.90; 1-1-2008, $57.90; 1-28-2008, they gave $80.20 credit for overcharging and rate was to be $21.95; 2-2-2008, $42.90; 3-2-2008, $42.90; 4-1-2008, $42.90; 5-1-2008, $42.90; 6-1-2008, $42.90; 7-1-2008, $47.03; 8-1-2008, $45.85; 9-1-2008, $45.85; 10-1-2008, $45.85; 11-1-2008, $45.85; 12-1-2008, $45.85; 1-1-2009, $45.85; 2-1-2009, $45.85; 3-2-2009, $45.85; 4-1-2009, $45.85; 5-1-2009, $45.85; 6-1-2009, $45.85; 7-1-2009, $45.85; 8-1-2009, $45.85; 9-1-2009, $45.85.

    Although I called many times during this period, a call on 9-9-2009 is particularly important because I called and talked to Eileen. I explained a little about the situation, and she cut me off to tell me that $21.95 was not the rate I was supposed to be charged. And then she started telling me amounts for protection plans and several other things I had signed up for. I told her that I did not sign up for any of those things; and before I finished, she hung up on me. I filed a complaint with a consumer service on 9-9-2009. My service was terminated on 9-29-2009. When I called I was told that I had put in an order to cancel my service on 9-29-2009 and that I would have to pay approximately $99 + additional charges for reconnect. After nearly an hour chat, she agreed to begin charging me $21.95 but also told me about all of these other services I had been paying for. I told her I had just learned about all of those. I have been requesting an itemized bill – or any bill for that matter – from Earthlink. I have never received a bill from them since August 2007 when this began. Prior to August 2007, I received an email billing statement that listed all of my charges. Despite requesting this many times, I still haven’t received.

    I did call during mid-2008 to make sure I didn’t have any other services than the monthly and was told I had been billed for a month of something he sent out when my 11-year-old called for tech service. He agreed to take all charges off and list that nothing else would be added in the future. I have records of dates and times and names of people I spoke with. I also have a copy of the original $21.95 Earthlink ad. I also have letters I wrote and mailed to Corporate Headquarters in Atlanta. My fear is that they will again cancel my service if they find out about this complaint. I am still not getting proper service from Earthlink for canceling yesterday without my consent. None of us are getting email or nothing is working properly. I spent another 45 minutes with tech service last night and still can’t get it repaired. My husband fears he is losing business because of this problem Earthlink caused. Please help me.

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    Reviewed Sept. 11, 2009

    I've been a loyal customer of EarthLink for more than 10 years, ever since they were called "MindSpring". I've had a DSL connection with them for almost four years. In March of this year, I was changing addresses and I called EarthLink to switch my service from my old address to my new address. The change was supposed to take place on April first.

    Come April first, I still had no working DSL connection. Repeated calls to their tech support in India only yielded empty promises of "we'll get back to you next week", etc. I suspected the problem was with my old DSL box, which had been acting up for several months, anyhow. I requested a new box. At first, tech support was reluctant to send me a new one. They told me to just "try to work with it". After two more weeks of no service, I called them up and demanded a new DSL box. They said they'd send me one for $75. I told them I just wanted the replacement of a defective box and they eventually promised to send me one for free (although they ended up billing me for it despite their promises).

    Even after getting the new DSL box, the service still didn't work. During one of my frequent calls to the service department, I asked if I could get a physical address for EarthLink so I could send back the old, defective DSL box. They said they'd send me a pre-paid shipping sticker, instead. Shortly after this, I got a notice from EarthLink stating they were terminating my DSL account. The wording of the form letter made it sound as if I'd requested this, but I hadn't. I'd just wanted to send back a defective piece of equipment. By this time it was August, and I hadn't had a working DSL since March.

    Yesterday, I got my monthly invoice from EarthLink and they charged me a $171.90 "early termination fee". As I stated, I've been an EarthLink customer for over ten years and I've had a DSL for almost four years. I didn't even terminate my account and for that matter, I hadn't even had one second of DSL service for five months. By what reasoning should I be charged an "early termination fee" for a service I'd never even been given? I'm going to attempt to reach someone in their home offices - if I can find them. After that, I'm filing a complaint with the FCC.

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    Reviewed Sept. 1, 2009

    I am writing to you as I am extremely disappointed and unsatisfied with the level of service EarthLink has provided me this year. Apparently, I was offered a free trial of PC Fine Tune and Symantec Antivirus program for 30 days. I was not aware/notified of this free trial at all. EarthLink then took the liberty to charge me for these two services since 1/24/09! Unfortunately, I was just made aware of this issue now as I started a new job in December 2008 and have been traveling overseas for the past eight months. I am not able to access EarthLink webmail account on a consistent basis from my work laptop due to my new company policy.

    So now, I have a new personal laptop at home and when catching up, I logged into "My account" as I noticed my monthly charges were higher than usual - over $50 instead of my usual $39.95 due to these two options being charged. When I contacted Billing Support yesterday, Samuel ** was helpful, although difficult. He was able to cancel these two options and give credit for the month prior. I then contacted AmEx and they suggested me to get a supervisor at EarthLink to help with this issue as they are only able to dispute charges three months prior. Today, I spoke to Sid ** and he was only able to offer me two months credit.

    I never used or downloaded these products as I was not aware I even had them to begin with! It looks like this "free trial" really isn't free as the customer needs to physically log in and "cancel" this option. Unfortunately, due to my inability to access my EarthLink account and manage all the hundreds of email I get, I was not made aware that I even had these two options! I honestly feel that this deceptive. How can EarthLink offer a free trial then if the customer does not physically know to log in, then EarthLink goes right ahead to add these charges?

    As a conclusion, I want a full refund credited to my account. If not, then I want free Internet DSL service equaling the amount I spent on these two services since 1/24/09.

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    Reviewed Aug. 27, 2009

    I have DSl with Earthlink for one year contract back in 06-2007. Back in 01-2009, I called in to tech support due to interruption on internet service and she offered to replace the modem for me. For the past three months, I am getting such a slow speed on my DSL and I have placed several calls to Earthlink tech department and received no solution from them. As of today, I spent another two hours with tech support and they told me that maybe the site is too far to support my service. So, I started to look for new carrier.

    When I called in to cancel the service, that is when I found out that by replacing the modem, I accepted the one year agreement with them. No one mentioned anything about the contract agreement to me. I did not consent verbally or in writing and they just stuck me with the contract without my knowledge and now refused to waive the termination fee and want to charge me for the modem also. They are charging DSL and providing a speed slower than dial up. After numerous attempts to try to work out with them without success and now they are holding me in prison for another 136 days with them. The business practice that they are using is so low and unethical. Cheating people to stay with them is not the way to do business.

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    Reviewed Aug. 6, 2009

    I had Earthlink service from July 2003 to May 2007, at which time I cancelled service. I had relocated and the cable internet service from Earthlink was unavailable at my new address. There were no issues at the time and I had considered myself a happy customer. Fast forward to May of 2009, I began receiving automated calls saying that my account was delinquent and that I owed $30.19 for service for the previous month. I called and after finally getting a warm body, found that none of the information matched my old account or any of my information. The address is a FL address. I live (and have always lived) in NC. The password, PIN and mother's maiden name don't match either. The only thing that does match is my phone number.

    I have been unable to get my phone number removed as they cannot verify the account with the incorrect information (that I don't have). I have been disconnected (read, hung up on) 4 separate times as I was being transferred. I have been promised a callback from a supervisor on 3 occasions (in 10 minutes) and have never gotten a call. The supervisor whom I spoke with yesterday was rude, told me that she would have to call back in 10 minutes and when I replied that I would hold rather than be called back, became very agitated with me. She again told me that in a very rude manner, as if I had no choice, that she would call me back at the number listed on the account. I informed her that I was calling from my cell phone, as I was traveling for work, so I would not be at the number on the account. She told me that was the only number she could call me back at, that she would call back in 10 minutes.

    I reiterated that I could not physically be at that phone number in 10 minutes and asked for her supervisor. She informed me that she did not have a supervisor, so I asked if she works for herself. She stammered and initially answered yes, but then backpedaled and said no. That was her first blatant lie. At that point, I again asked for her supervisor and she refused. She told me to call back when I had time to deal with the problem, to which I replied that I had just spent the previous hour and a half trying to resolve this, that I had time now. She gave me the same automated number I had first called (and was transferred around 3 times). I told her that number was unacceptable, that I wanted a number that would get me to a live person who could help me.

    She then gave me a different number with an extension, which she assured me would get me to a supervisor (her second blatant lie). That number was also an automated phone tree and landed me right back at the first level support for dial-up customers. The account in question has cable access, so I was again transferred. All I want is for my number to be removed, to stop the calls about an account that is not mine and to ensure that my credit is not impacted because it is not mine and will most likely go to collections. Unfortunately, I don't have a single contact name as the call center has apparently been outsourced and I have difficulty understanding the support personnel. At this point, I am unsure what further action I can take.

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    EarthLink Company Information

    Company Name:
    EarthLink
    Year Founded:
    1994
    Address:
    980 Hammond Dr NE, Suite 400
    City:
    Atlanta
    State/Province:
    GA
    Postal Code:
    30328
    Country:
    United States
    Website:
    www.earthlink.net