Rainier Connect

We are responding to this complaint with the assumption that this is from [redacted] officeI have attached the month contractual agreement signed by [redacted] on 2/10/and countersigned and executed by Rainier Connect on 2/18/for referenceThe contract terms and conditions outline early termination fees in section on the second pagePer this contract, we are requesting the specified 50% term liabilityIn addition, the term liability was sent only after the customer ported phone numbers, at which point we are not allowed to contact the customer in regards to a service issueAfter receipt of the early termination letter, the customer then contacted us and wanted the term liability removedAt that point we were informed that they did not believe the service was adequate and that is why they decided to move servicesWe also reviewed account records, which confirmed that the customer never contacted us prior to receiving the letter, to inform us about changes needed to the service or any service issuesCustomer did acknowledge that there had not been any prior communication about these issues prior to the port requestFurthermore, if the customer had contacted us prior to cancelling the above contracted services we would have informed them that we have the ability to provide fiber to that location with speeds of up to gigabit synchronous service, which would have been more than adequate for any medical systemI attempted to inform the customer of the option of additional services at the time of the above mentioned call, but the interest was not in us providing adequate services, but for us to release them from the term liability of the contract

[redacted] In response to Ms [redacted] complaint here is a summary of her balance and payment history On 2/5/the recurring credit card payment for $(service period 2/– 2/28/16) was declined On that same date, Ms [redacted] emailed Rainier Connect to notify us her card had been compromised and she would call in on 2/26/to pay her bill At that time we removed the compromised credit card number from her account and also waived the declined credit card fee On 2/29/Ms [redacted] made a partial payment of $ 2/29/Late Fee of $is applied to the account 3/1/monthly charge of $is applied to the account (service period 3/1-3/31/16)No payment on record in March 3/31/Late Fee of $is applied to the account 4/1/monthly charge of $is applied to the account (service period 4/1-4/30/16) 4/12/Payment of $is made to the account This payment covers, remaining balance for February ($20.00), all of March ($32.95) and February late fee ($0.13) Balance of $for April is due 4/20/ 4/25/Late Notice is sent 4/26/Late Fee of $is applied to the account 5/1/monthly charge of $is applied to the account (service period 5/1-5/31/16) 5/16/Account is disabled due to non-payment Final balance remaining on account is $ $April – April $March Late Fee $April Late Fee $May – May After an account is disabled for non-payment Rainier Connect does leave the modem’s MAC address active in the system until balances are collected This does make the modem unusable with another Internet Service Provider on the Click! Network only Upon collecting payment the MAC is released If Ms [redacted] feels she has made a payment we do not have on record we would be happy to research it

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because:
They should not hold my modem hostage at all no matter what carrier I am using and I am pretty sure it is illegal I will escalate this to the Washington State Attorney General's office Thank you for getting me confirmation in writing from them about their illegal business practice
Sincerely,*** ***

[redacted] entered into a binding 36 month contract for Commercial Telephone and DSL services. The terms of the contract she signed have a Cancellation of Services provision (contract attached see Term 5. Cancellation of Services). Also highlighted on the contract is the...

following statement, “In addition to charges listed, the applicable taxes and surcharges apply as stated in filed tariff.”The term is as follows:5.CANCELLATION OF SERVICE: (A) Customer may cancel a Service, without liability except for payment of charges incurred prior to the cancellation date, by written notice, if aService is not available on the ninetieth day following the requested Service Date for that Service, or at any time up to 72 hours in advance of the cutover date/time for a Service (however, receipt of such notice within such period does not guarantee effective cancellation and Customer may be charged for late cancellation). (B) If Customer cancels a Service for reasons other than those permitted by Section 5(A) hereof, or if Rainier Connect terminates the Service or the Agreement for any reason, including non-payment of charges by Customer, then Customer shall immediately pay to Rainier Connect all charges for Services provided up to the date of termination plus an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of the remaining monthly charges for the Term of the cancelled or terminated Service. (C) Rainier Connect has the right to cancel this Agreement for any Service at any time if Rainier Connect is prohibited from providing a Service by a government agency or court, or is prevented from providing the Service due to the unavailability of facilities or equipment necessary to provide the Service. (D) if Customer terminates inbound/outbound long distance Service prior to completion of its term commitment, Customer shall pay an early termination penalty calculated by multiplying the number of months remaining on the contract by 15% of the Customer's average monthly long distance usage during the term of the Agreement.Mrs. [redacted] was quoted a monthly recurring cost in her contract estimate of $135.85. As explained in the July 8, 2015 email (attached as [redacted] Email Regarding May bill) we clearly outlined her May bill prior to taxes:“For May your monthly cost without taxes came to $137.85. I had quoted $135.85, but call forwarding was added for $2/month which brought it to $137.85.Taxes on the monthly cost was $ 26.18 which brought the total to $164.03.So it was only an additional $26.18 for taxes over the $135.85 that was on the quote to you.Partials for April 16 through April 30th were $77.44.  That total includes the partial monthly & taxes for April.$164.03 + $77.44 = $ 241.47$241.47 is the total amount for your services starting on April 16th through May 31st.So you actually paid for a month and 1/2 of services.”  Please note that we do not quote taxes as they are not within our control and can change if the tax rate is adjusted. We are aware that Mrs. [redacted] was frustrated with the cost of the taxes, but since that is not within our control and we provided the services under the contract and even made adjustments to the contracted service to help lower her bill we are holding her to the contacted terms. I have included emails we have sent her that clearly break down each month’s costs in addition to her bills and a copy of the signed contract.In addition to her monthly recurring bill, you will see that there are partials for any changes made to the services during the month. Since Mrs. [redacted] has opted not to pay her bill on time, she is also incurring additional late fees. The service we agreed to provide works as we said it would and Mrs. [redacted] only dispute were the taxes above the contracted monthly estimate of $135.85 not including taxes and surcharges.  We also waived all installation costs, which would have been an additional $84.95. I understand that Mrs. [redacted] believes her business is suffering because the services are not working properly, but the services are working properly. She has had some of the original contracted features removed to reduce her monthly costs, which also restricted her feature options. The service was installed on 4/16/15 and the customer first contacted us on 6/11/2015 to question why her bill was so high. At that point our representative explained that the charges included prorated charges for April, full bill for May and a full bill for June. She was also told that services removed on 5/29/15 were removed and refunded to the account but would not show on the June bill due to timing with bill printing. Customer stated she would speak to Commercial Sales.  On 6/24/15 she called again requesting to cancel services, this is just over 2 months from the original installation and at the same time as her first payment was made. As the department manager, I have worked with my sales team to help provide Mrs. [redacted] with a very clear understanding of her bills. She has continued to protest the taxes. Based on the fact that her services do work as contracted (prior to customer made changes) and that we have not only maintained our estimated monthly pricing of $135.85 before taxes and surcharges, but also let her reduce her services to lower the monthly rate that she is obligated for the terms of the contract she signed. If she cancels her services, she will be charged and early termination fee as outlined in her contract.Thank you and please contact me if you have any additional questions,Lorie L**Sales & Marketing ManagerRainier Connect
[redacted]SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS REDACTED BY Revdex.com[redacted]

[redacted]
 
In response to Ms. [redacted] complaint here is a summary of her balance and payment history.
 
On 2/5/16 the recurring credit card payment for $32.95 (service period 2/1 – 2/28/16) was declined.  On that same date, Ms. [redacted] emailed Rainier Connect to notify us...

her card had been compromised and she would call in on 2/26/16 to pay her bill.  At that time we removed the compromised credit card number from her account and also waived the declined credit card fee. 
 
On 2/29/16 Ms. [redacted] made a partial payment of $12.95.
 
2/29/16 Late Fee of $0.13 is applied to the account.
 
3/1/16 monthly charge of $32.95 is applied to the account (service period 3/1-3/31/16). No payment on record in March.
 
3/31/16 Late Fee of $0.53 is applied to the account.
 
4/1/16 monthly charge of $32.95 is applied to the account (service period 4/1-4/30/16).
 
4/12/16 Payment of $53.08 is made to the account.  This payment covers, remaining balance for February ($20.00), all of March ($32.95) and February late fee ($0.13).  Balance of $32.95 for April is due 4/20/16.
 
4/25/16 Late Notice is sent.
 
4/26/16 Late Fee of $0.33 is applied to the account.
 
5/1/16 monthly charge of $32.95 is applied to the account (service period 5/1-5/31/16).
 
5/16/16 Account is disabled due to non-payment.  Final balance remaining on account is $50.28.
 
               $32.95 April 1 – April 30
               $00.53 March Late Fee
               $00.33 April Late Fee
               $16.47 May 1 – May 16
 
After an account is disabled for non-payment Rainier Connect does leave the modem’s MAC address active in the system until balances are collected.  This does make the modem unusable with another Internet Service Provider on the Click! Network only.  Upon collecting payment the MAC is released.  If Ms. [redacted] feels she has made a payment we do not have on record we would be happy to research it.

We are responding to this complaint with the assumption that this is from [redacted] office. I have attached the 36 month contractual agreement signed by [redacted] on 2/10/16 and countersigned and executed by Rainier Connect on 2/18/16 for reference. The contract terms and...

conditions outline early termination fees in section 5 on the second page. Per this contract, we are requesting the specified 50% term liability. In addition, the term liability was sent only after the customer ported phone numbers, at which point we are not allowed to contact the customer in regards to a service issue. After receipt of the early termination letter, the customer then contacted us and wanted the term liability removed. At that point we were informed that they did not believe the service was adequate and that is why they decided to move services. We also reviewed account records, which confirmed that the customer never contacted us prior to receiving the letter, to inform us about changes needed to the service or any service issues. Customer did acknowledge that there had not been any prior communication about these issues prior to the port request. Furthermore, if the customer had contacted us prior to cancelling the above contracted services we would have informed them that we have the ability to provide fiber to that location with speeds of up to 1 gigabit synchronous service, which would have been more than adequate for any medical system. I attempted to inform the customer of the option of additional services at the time of the above mentioned call, but the interest was not in us providing adequate services, but for us to release them from the term liability of the contract.

Mr [redacted] subscribes to our “Up to 6Mbps DSL Internet”.  As it states in our disclosure, which can also be found on our website:
*Up to 6 Mbps and 12 Mbps available in 80% of our rural community. Speeds available are dependent on the distance from Rainier Connect equipment. DSL Broadband...

requires a 6 month contract. There is a 30-day trial period. If the Customer cancels service within the first 30 days there will be no penalty, however, the customer will be charged for the first full 30 days of service. Customers who cancel service after the first 30 days of service will be charged a $25 default fee. All Internet Services are subject to our Internet Service Acceptable-Use Policy. Speeds may vary based on customer equipment.
The above mentioned speeds are what can be expected from a single device connected directly to the modem and not via wireless.  The introduction of routers, switches, wireless and multiple devices (gaming devices, tablets, computers, phones, streaming devices, etc) will all have impact on the users experience and connectivity. 
Our network team has the ability to monitor the DSL circuit to Mr. [redacted]’s home and can see the connectivity to the modem has been stable and without loss of connection for the past several days.  We will continue to graph and monitor the connection. 
While plans are underway to upgrade the services available in Eatonville it is too soon to project a date that these upgrades will be available to Mr [redacted]’s service address.  The upgrades require building fiber over our existing copper network which are both time consuming and costly. 
The rates for the DSL service have remained the same at $41.95 and have not increased since the date he ordered the service.  However, there have been FCC regulated rate increases to the local telephone service charges which are on the same bill as the DSL service.
We are more than happy to coordinate a site visit to trouble shoot connectivity concerns with Mr. [redacted] if he would like to contact us by phone and coordinate a time that works well for his schedule and our technician’s.  He can work directly with Teckla W[redacted], our Customer Care Supervisor.  Her direct line is 360-832-4089.

Customer paid the outstanding in full on 7/14/16.  On that same date the modem's MAC address was released and became available for use with another provider on the Click network.