Smithville Reviews (%countItem)
Smithville Rating
Address: 1600 W Temperance St, Ellettsville, Indiana, United States, 47429-1028
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Smithville offers terrible internet services that are way below what they advertise. I am told I will get aprox 1.5 MB speeds. Aprox 98% of the time I get 600-800Kbps speeds. I call very frequently and am told that I am getting slow speeds but nothing is ever done about it. I complained to the Revdex.com a couple months ago and miraculously I starting getting 3.5Mbps speeds. For about 2 months. After that, my speed was reduced, and once again it's un-usable. It's so slow it's unusable. I work from home and this internet is useless. They say there is a problem in my house which is ridiculous. I've tested everything and obviously it's working, because when Smithville wants to, it can give me faster speeds. They simply turn it down making it unusable. Additional infrastructure is needed to properly service their customers, yet they refuse to do this as they don't want to spend the money, so here we are. Crappy service. I called the other day and the tech said he was sending me a new modem. What will that do? This will be like the 15th modem they've sent me. It never does anything. Just give me a speed that I can use.
Please find our response to Revdex.com Complaint *** in the document attached. Have also attached our response to Revdex.com Complaint *** for your reference. Should you have an questions, please feel free to reach out to me.
Revdex.com Case ID #: ***
Customer First Name: ***
Customer Last Name: ***
Customer Address: ***
Complaint Involves: “Customer Services Issues”
Smithville Response: This is the second Revdex.com Complaint that we have received from this customer in the past three (3) months. To tie both complaints together, we have included our response from Revdex.com Complaint *** in a separate document. With that said, the following response will be based on the customer’s most recent call to our Tech Support Team.
Smithville Trouble Ticket # ***:
02/08/19 – Customer called in concerning slow internet speeds. Customer said he was training at 1.0Mbps and usually gets around 3.0Mbps. Tech Support rebooted the router and cleared the port, but the modem retrained at 1.0Mbps. Tech Support suggested that we swap the customer’s modem for a new one. Smithville warehouse staff shipped a new Smart RG modem at no charge and included a prepaid return shipping label as well.
02/13/19 – Customer called back in concerning slow internet speeds and advised that they had yet to receive the replacement modem shipped on 02/08/19. The Tech Support specialist worked with our Technical Operations team to see if there was any way possible to push more speed to the customer, but also advised the customer that if the speeds slow over time, this usually points to a physical issue on the customer’s line(s).
02/13/19 – Smithville Tech Support checked the connection remotely and found that the customer was receiving speeds around 1.5Mbps/650kpbs. They also saw a tremendous amount of noise margin on the line. Ideally, noise margins should be in the 6dB/6dB range, but this customer’s margins as of 02/13/19 were showing 11dB/11dB and 17dB/12dB, which suggests interference on the line. This most commonly occurs in homes with older wiring, in instances of pest damage, moisture problems, etc. To make sure that these noise margins are correct, Smithville plans to send an I&R Technician to the customer’s residence to check the physical connection and performance of Smithville’s lines to outside of his home.
02/15/19 – Smithville I&R Technician went to the customer’s home to recheck the connection and perform troubleshooting at the request of the Tech Support Supervisor. The customer called in to Tech Support to express his frustration that a technician was there unannounced (NOTE: Trouble Ticket # *** was still open, and customer had just placed Complaint *** with Revdex.com, so technician presence should have been expected. However, technician visit occurred while customer was working from home, and the visit interrupted his work). Technician found and replaced bad scotch locks. Technician also noted customer’s distance from servicing equipment to be 16,000’ which is very close to the maximum distance for copper serviced DSL. Tech Support then monitored the customer’s connection all weekend and observed no connection drops and stabilized speed at 2.7Mbps.
02/18/19 – At this time, should the customer continue to experience diminishing DSL speeds, it is encouraged that they continue to work with our 24/7 Tech Support team at 800-742-4084. The noise margins will most likely continue to be an issue for this customer, which indicates that an inside technician visit is needed. Smithville charges a $125 fee for this inside repair work but offers a reduced rate with Connection Protection. The customer can also hire their own electrician to replace any line(s) in question.
All the best,
Jeremy
I spoke with thier customer service team and was told to make a payment in late October and that they assured me that I would not be disconnected. I was promptly disconnected from their service on November 5th and was told to pay the same bill I paid on in October. I have receipts to prove this payment went through correctly.
To Whom It May Concern,
We have investigated this complaint and have found the following:
- On October 23rd, customer contacted Smithville to advised that payment made on October 22nd with PayPal account had been compromised and a replacement payment had been made for $79.87
- On October 31st, our system generated a Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) report that rejected the October 22nd payment
- On November 7th, customer had their services suspended because our system failed to recognize that the NSF payment from October 22nd had been replaced on October 23rd
- Also on November 7th, after being suspended, the customer contacted our Customer Service Team to see why services had been shut off. After research by the Customer Service Representative, it was found that the customer should not have been suspended for non-payment, as their payment received on October 23rd replaced the NSF payment from October 22nd, but the system failed to recognize it properly.
When looking at the customer's account, they will see the following on their next billing statement as of November 14th:
- All fees to reconnect services from suspension have been credited ($30.00)
- Fees for time without service from November 6th - November 19th have been credited ($33.13)
These items will be detailed on the next billing statement, but should the customer have any questions once they receive their new bill (electronic bills will be made available online November 14th and physical bills will be mailed November 16th), they are encouraged to contact our Customer Service Team at 800-742-4084. Our sincerest apologies for this most inconvenient occurrence.
All the best,
Jeremy R. P
Supervisor, Customer Service
Smithville Communications
Smithville is unable or unwilling to offer the service that I am paying for. I pay aprox $45.00 per month for unlimited DSL internet. What I receive is a very slow, most of the time inoperable internet service that is unusable. The speeds are so slow, that data is not even able to download. There are so many connection drops that I am unable to use it for my work as I work from home. I use my cellphone as a backup hotspot which I am on almost constantly as the DSL is almost always down. I pay for this. I have contacted Smithville on possibly 45 occasions and claim that everything is working as it should. Yet it never gets resolved.
To Whom It May Concern,
After receiving this claim, I immediately checked the customer trouble ticket history. I did find that the customer has opened nine (9) trouble tickets with our Tech Support Team throughout 2018. At this time, I'd like to provide the findings from each of those trouble tickets beginning from the oldest, and working toward the most recent ticket from September:
TT # ***: Opened 02/27/18; Closed 02/27/18 - Customer called to report "slow internet." Tech Support cleared the port and the customer's modem trained at 3.7Mbps. No further issues. Ticket closed.
TT # ***: Opened 03/14/18; Closed 03/20/18 - Customer called to report "slow internet." Tech Support cleared the port and had customer reboot modem. Modem trained at 2.48Mbps. It was recommended that the customer visit the Technology Powered by Smithville Store to exchange their modem for free (one was mailed to the customer instead). Customer called back to report no internet with the new modem. We dispatch a Technician to test the service to the outside of the home. Technician test results showed 2.71Mbps with no drops in connection or fluctuation in speed. Ticket closed.
TT # ***: Opened 03/21/18; Closed 03/21/18 - Customer called to report "slow internet." Tech Support advised customer that our Technicians could not find any issues to the outside of the home and that speeds to the outside, Smithville owned, wiring were performing properly. Tech Support offered to send a Telecom Technician to the home to inspect customer owned wiring, which is a charge to the customer of $125.00. Customer declined and stated they would cancel service. Ticket Closed.
TT # ***: Opened 03/25/18; Closed 03/25/18 - Customer called to report "internet drops." Tech Support advised that the customer should swap out the modem for free at the Technology Powered by Smithville store. Customer agreed to do so. Ticket closed.
TT # ***: Opened 03/28/18; Closed 04/11/18 - Customer called to report "no internet." Tech Support cleared the port and the customer's connection was restored. Due to the need to clear the port so often, Tech Support asked that our Technical Operation team to take another look at the connection. Technical Operations team moved customer to ADSL2+ and confirmed that the issue with slow speeds and connectivity drops was most likely due to customer owned equipment/wiring inside the home. Ticket closed.
TT # ***: Opened 05/18/18; Closed 05/18/18 - Customer called to report "speed issues." Tech Support reset/cleared the port and the customer's connection was restored. Tech Support advised the customer that the reason for the internet issues could be due to an inside issue and a Technician visit would be needed to verify. Customer said they will deal it and didn't believe that is was an inside issue.
TT # ***: Opened 06/08/18; Closed 06/19/18 - Customer called to report "internet drops." Tech Support requested that an I&R Technician visit the outside of the home to test the connection for a more extended period of time. Technician went to home and connected test for extended period of time (15+ minutes) and found that all Smithville equipment was in good working order and speed were testing at 4.0Mbps. Customer said he would monitor speeds. Ticket closed.
TT # ***: Opened 08/07/18; Closed 08/14/18 - Customer called to report "slow internet." Tech Support requested that an I&R Technician visit the home again to test the outside connection. Technician tested all Smithville owned lines/connections to the outside of the home and found no errors on his tester, with all train rates and speed margins sufficient. Technician noted that CAT5 inline looked good, but did go ahead and changed out the protection. Technician routed TT to Technical Operations team to monitor connection. Technical Operations found speeds at 3.775Mbps, which was the same shown on the tester by the Technician onsite. After continued monitoring, Technical Operations saw drops in connection and routed back to Tech Support to follow up with customer and advise that an inside visit would be needed as all Smithville connections has been tested, monitored, and verified to be working correctly. Tech Support called customer to advise that an inside visit would be needed and that charge would be $125.00 and the customer blamed "old equipment" and said that "our techs don't know how to check the internet/connection properly." Customer refused inside visit. Ticket closed.
TT # ***: Opened 09/22/18; Closed 09/22/18 - Customer called to report "slow internet." Told Tech Support that he is very frustrated with DSL service and wants to give up for now. Ticket closed.
As you can from the above trouble ticket history, Smithville has done everything possible to test, monitor and confirm a working internet connection at higher speeds than the 1.5Mbps speed the customer reported in the Revdex.com Complaint. After much discussion between the customer and Tech Support, combined with multiple testing from Technical Operation and I&R Technician visits to test the Smithville owned connections to the outside of the customer's home, it is advised that the customer allow one of our Telecom Technicians to visit their home and test their inside/customer owned wiring. This is a standard fee of $125.00. Unfortunately, the customer has been unwilling to accept this diagnosis and has refused the inside visit to further troubleshoot. At this point, it would be advised that the customer contact our Tech Support team at 800-742-4084, option 1, and ask to add our Connection Protection plan. This plan would cost the customer less than $5.00 per month and would reduce the Telecom Technician fee from $125.00 to $35.00. It is our hope that the customer will contact Tech Support, add Connection Protection, and allow us to continue our troubleshooting on the inside/customer owned wiring. If they are unwilling to do so, they will continue to have trouble, which will be no fault of Smithville, as all Smithville owned wiring/connection are working have have been tested for proper functionality multiple times.
All the best,
Jeremy R. P
Supervisor, Customer Service
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
My response to this is simply that they are lying.
They do test the connection, but use a substandard method. To them, it is working. They leave, it's not working again. The internet service they provide simply doesn't work. The internet is DOWN 95% of the day. Every day.
They are trying to (skillfully, like true liars) put this back on me. They say, if I would only let them come into my house (for a fee that keeps rising by the way) this will fix my problem. Meanwhile, one of their techs has come in my house and performed testing. He found nothing wrong. There is a 12 inch span of cable in my wall. Which is in perfect condition. This is not the problem. It is the miles of cable between the outside of my house and their offices. They simply don't care and won't spend the money to update their equipment. I know this and everyone in our town knows this. Their response is NOT accepted.
Regards
Where to begin!
Smithville use to be great, never had a problem with them until about 1 year ago. Our internet starting going in and out constantly, still does cannot get a clear signal for a complete hour. Call, and all they say is they can see their is interference, but not on their end. We have replace wires and modem multiple times without any success. Still they say that it is not them, and that if they were to have someone come out and look at it, it will cost 75$. They can't even have good enough service where they will check your lines if you are still having problems, and they can see the problem. How do they get away with it, being one of the only providers available.
I hope a class action suit happens soon, because smithville takes and takes from their customers, but does not give, even the minimum of what is expected. Wired in I only have 800kb at most, when I pay for 3MB at the least.
They are a joke, I have emails from them constantly back and forth, but by now they are professionals at blowing you off. Good luck to any one that has them, and I would not recommend Smithville to anyone that has an option.
The name on this review does not match our records. Perhaps the name on the account is different than the one provided. Regardless, Smithville has most recently completed a large Fiber to the Cabinet project in the area servicing the 47432 zip code. This upgrade should allow customers more stable, and in most cases faster, DSL speeds.
Additionally, Smithville will maintain and repair connection up to the NID (phone/DSL box on outside of home). Anything past that point is the property of the homeowner, and thus their responsibility to maintain and/or repair. As a comparison, the water company maintains the distribution pipe to a home, but if a pipe breaks in the bathroom, that would be considered the homeowner's responsibility. Smithville does charge a fee to diagnose and repair customer owned equipment, or the homeowner has to choice to select another source for their repair, such as an electrician.
Lastly, any/all connectivity and/or speed issues should be reported to our 24/7 Technical Support Team at 866-470-2583. They can troubleshoot with the customer over the phone and, with the permission of the homeowner, can escalate the trouble ticket to our Scheduling Team to send a Technician to the home. Again, evaluation and/or repair outside the home would be done at Smithville's expense, but if the trouble is determined to be inside the home, applicable charges would apply.
As always, it is our goal to provide our customer with an exceptional experience. It is unfortunate that this review did not meet the goal. To help lessen the charge for an inside Technician visit, Smithville has most recently introduced Connection Protection. This offering works similar to an insurance policy against inside wiring issues. For more information, customers may contact our Customer Service Team at 800-742-4084 Monday-Friday (8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.) or Saturday (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.).
There does not seem to be much in the way of competence with this outfit. There service hours are only for a limited portion of the day and they seem to be incapable of accurately reflecting payments.
I made a payment to them which they cashed but did not reflect in my billing statement. A month later - after I had already taken time off work and incurred fees from my bank - I sent them a copy of the cashed check and according to them, this was never received and they continue to take the position that the bill was not paid even though I had sent them proof to the contrary.
Due to their inability to conduct themselves as a capable, competent company they went ahead and shut off my service; prompting me to use a satellite provider as well which offers a better quality service any way.
This is a rude, incompetent organization and the services they provide are not worth the headaches that will follow with their poor customer service and slower-than-normal connection speeds.
Unfortunately, the comments made by this customer do not match our records. Our notes indicate that we have spoken to the customer about a missing payment and requested that they obtain proof of payment from their bank. To date, we have yet to receive any documentation from the customer's bank that would indicate that Smithville processed the payment. We have always been open to working with customers and their banks and have been willing to work through any discrepancies until resolution. Our goal is to provide an exceptional customer experience at all times, and it is disappointing that this customer didn't have that with Smithville. Should they wish to continue discussions regarding the missing payment, our Customer Service Team can be reached via phone Monday-Friday (8:00a.m.-7:00p.m.) and Saturday (8:00a.m.-5:00p.m.). Customer Service is also available in person at our Technology Powered by Smithville store Monday-Friday (9:00a.m.-8:00p.m.) and Saturday (9:00a.m.-5:00p.m.). Lastly, for any technical issues, our Technical Support Team is available via phone 24/7 with the exceptions of Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.