gkelley Posted May 31, 2005 CID Share Posted May 31, 2005 I'm moving into a neighborhood that has no broadband cable yet so I contacted Dway and had two fairly long converstations with their Sales people who convinced me to go with the Small Business package as it supports Vonage which I need for personal and business phone as I work from my house. OK $1000 up front and $100 per month. The installer shows up and first thing he sticks out his hand for a check for $120 because he's installing a .8m dish on a pole and has to ground it. 10pm and he's finally finished and the modem is registered and working. Spent most of the next day checking out the system. Web browsing was barely above dial-up speed - pitiful for a Small Business System that they claim would support 3 users. Next was Vonage - 4 or 5 attempts just to get it to dial then once I got through the other end would hear whatever I said 15 seconds later - needless to say everyone hangs up because your 'hello' hasn't arrived yet. Next was my business VOIP phone (same protocols as Vonage) and it didn't work at all. I called and cancelled the service and asked for a refund. Now the real fun starts. $400 of the initial $1000 goes to a local installer and you don't get that back even if they sold you a system that doesn't perform as they claimed it would. Then they 'buy back' the modem and transponder for $600 but keep the $30 SC sales tax because it 'wasn't returned for a refund'. I have reported them to the SC Dept of Revenue for this. Now I still have a $100 charge plus $5 tax on my credit card for a month's service billed in advance that they are giving me the runaround on. Every time I call this company I end up talking to 3 or 4 different people, sometimes transferred back to the department I was talking to previously. Whenever I challenge them on a policy the just hang up on me. They don't let me talk to anyone higher up that is an actual decision maker, I'm always stuck at the bottom and I'm read the company policies that can't be changed. This is not only the worst case of misrepresentation I've ever had to deal with, but it is the worst company I've ever had to deal with regarding refunds - once they get your money you can forget getting most of it back. I find their policies and procedures fraudulent if not at least highly suspicious. This is a warning to anyone considering a dish and service with this outfit. You will need a lawyer to read and interpret their user agreement - even their sales people don't understand it. They bury little bits in there to cover their behind when things go terribly wrong and you come after them for your money back. I intend to report these events to the Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney's office. This company doesn't deserve my business - they are rude, could care less about the customer, and misrepresent their services. Sadly, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iced98lx Posted May 31, 2005 CID Share Posted May 31, 2005 Welcome to the Forum, your tale is not unlike many. WHen you call request a teir two representative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrews Posted June 7, 2005 CID Share Posted June 7, 2005 Any word on how this progressing, or not progressing as the case may be? I can easily see how a tier 1 rep could spiral a simple thing into a really big consumer relation mess. Is anyone on this forum using Vonage? Seems like everyone's DW Modem needed tweaking out of the box, although the latency problem is inherent to the system. Curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gkelley Posted June 7, 2005 Author CID Share Posted June 7, 2005 I was issued a credit for $600. They kept the $30 SC sales tax. I threatened them and they also (after two months) returned my $100 first month service fee and the $5 SC tax when I said I'd already reported them to the SC Dept of Revenue. They kept $400 as an 'installation fee' even though their crap never worked as advertised and promised by their sales staff. They do not make it clear that if things don't work right off, you will NOT get all of your money back and it is a LOT if you get the business plans. I now have a T1 for service until broadband shows up next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrews Posted June 8, 2005 CID Share Posted June 8, 2005 Not very nice to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martdod Posted June 9, 2005 CID Share Posted June 9, 2005 Andrews I really hope you have good luck with Direcway, but from my experience I must assume you will end up one of the many dissatisfied users. I have had my dish for 3 months as of tomorrow and have had nothing but problems with it. The speed is slightly above dial up, constant email issues, and constantly resetting the modem just to have a connection. Tech support is non-existant never once resolving an issue that I have brought to their attention. They DO NOT return phone calls as promised and on top of that they are rude and arrogant. Last week I initiated a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and have written a letter to Direcway stating that due to failure to provide services as promised "I am unilaterally terminating the contract." Also I will be disputting all billing put forward from Direcway towards my credit card. I will not pay these people one more cent of my hard earned money. They lie to get you signed up, give you just passable service for your one month test run then speeds drop and the troubles begin. And I have heard this same pattern of behavior from several other dissatisfied Direcway users since I have started checking into them. Their business practices are shady at best, and downright criminal at worst. Good luck and regards, Mart P.S. Check out the following links. I am not affiliated with any of them, but would like to pass on any helpful information to prospective customers of Direcway. http://direcwayreallysucks.net/ Better Business Bureau http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?compid=W9864&national=Y Epinions.com http://www.epinions.com/cmsw-ISP-All-Direc_PC/display_~reviews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fikester Posted June 9, 2005 CID Share Posted June 9, 2005 There are many more negative comments about Dway than good. Unreal what they get away with. https://testmy.net/forum/t-4412.msg40302#msg40302 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrews Posted June 10, 2005 CID Share Posted June 10, 2005 Andrews I really hope you have good luck with DirecWay, but from my experience I must assume you will end up one of the many dissatisfied users. I have had my dish for 3 months as of tomorrow and have had nothing but problems with it. The speed is slightly above dial up, constant email issues, and constantly resetting the modem just to have a connection. Tech support is non-existant never once resolving an issue that I have brought to their attention. They DO NOT return phone calls as promised and on top of that they are rude and arrogant. Last week I initiated a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and have written a letter to DirecWay stating that due to failure to provide services as promised "I am unilaterally terminating the contract." Also I will be disputting all billing put forward from DirecWay towards my credit card. I will not pay these people one more cent of my hard earned money. They lie to get you signed up, give you just passable service for your one month test run then speeds drop and the troubles begin. And I have heard this same pattern of behavior from several other dissatisfied DirecWay users since I have started checking into them. Their business practices are shady at best, and downright criminal at worst. Good luck and regards, Mart I've had a DW6000 for 2 months and the DSS system since '97. So far okay, but it's not without its quirks. It CONSTANTLY refuses to make HTTPS connections to eBay. We fiddle fart with the proxy settings and power cycle the modem and get 'er most of the time. The two wireless / microwave relay guys can't get a good line of sight to my house, so DWay or "tin can" dial-up are my options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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