[Nolug] query: cox cable complaint

From: usserylaw_at_bellsouth.net
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 00:20:22 -0500
Message-ID: <3DFD6296.8060208@bellsouth.net>

i ran a search for "cox cable complaints" and this is what i got right off the bat -- got it from consumeraffairs.com; would anyone from cox like to respond to these complaints?  oh, sorry, that's right, cox is comprised of a bunch of inefficient micro-monopolies so we would have to actually refer each complaint to each tiny office in each tiny county where said complaint would vanish into a tiny black-hole, never to be seen or heard from again.   ;-)

Stephen of Santa Barbara writes (2/6/02):
Cox is my internet service provider. As you know, @home went out of business, so Coxdecided to set up its own ISP service. It seemed to work all right at first, but in the last two weeks I have been able to access the internet and e-mail only about 5% of the time. This is a significant hardship to me since I do my personal banking and other personal activities over the internet. I'm also missing a lot of personal e-mail.

To add insult to injury, I have not been able to contact Cox by any means. When I call Cox, I get put in a queue whose stated length is 20 to 60 minutes. I have waited on the line for more than one-half hour without talking to anyone. I have gone to their website (from work) and found that the part of the website that might accept a complaint does not respond. It appears that Cox is stonewalling their customers. I am planning not to pay the part of my bill relating to internet service.

Richard of Fredericksburg VA writes (1/30/02):
I got hooked up with cable modem Internet access about 3 weeks ago. And it has been a nightmare ever since. I can't ftp to my web space that Cox Cableis suppose to provide. I can't log into other ftp accounts as well. And I get disconnected at least once a day for no apparent reason. My email is currently not working because it looks like my password has been changed or the servers are down.

I was on the phone with tech support, almost nightly for awhile. And then I just gave up. Sometimes they blame it on my computer. Sometimes they tell me to call the local office, which doesn't have a clue about Internet access. Sometimes they tell me to call the place that I am ftp'ing to (which I have done - and they tell me that there is no reverse DNS being mapped to the IP address). One lady at Coxtold me that they were getting more IP addresses and that they may not have them configured yet. Sometimes they try to accuse me of doing something illegal, like "running an ftp".

Someone also asked me if I was using my Internet access for business, as if I wasn't paying them enough or something. A help desk guy told me he could help me with everything, but ftp - that it was my problem and I had to fix it myself. While at the same time, he couldn't ftp to my web site using my username and password either.

I happen to be a professional software engineer. And they think they can b.s. me and try to blame me for all their networking problems. They don't even read the log files. Because if they did, they would not try to make me repeat the same thing over and over again. Tech support is in Texas and I am on a different network in Virginia. They keep guessing domains, email servers, usernames, and passwords. They must have given me about 10 or 15 different ones to try.

I don't know why this is a guessing game. I have used the Internet for over 10 years and have never had a problem with my ftp. If their network is set up properly, all they need to do is give me the ftp address, web address, incoming mail server, outgoing mail server, username, and password. And in order to be considered an ISP, you should also provide a news group server. There are many people in this area complaining about Cox Internet Access.

Jim of Chandler, AZ (11/25/01):
Two years ago I ordered Cox CableInternet Service to replace my 56K dial up connection. This was at an address other than where I live now. At first it was great, a lot more expensive, but great, 256K WOW, what a wonderful thing. My friend who lived maybe two miles from me was always complaining about his Cox Cable service and I didn't understand what he was talking about. For months he complained to me and to Cox and told me he "wasn't getting anywhere with Cox Communications regarding any kind of permanent resolution to his "daily-stress" due to Cox's incompetence."

Well as soon as I moved my family to a new house in May 2001, I began to understand exactly what he was stressing about. Since July 2000 alone, I have had Cox service out here seven times for one problem or another. Each field technician of-course blames problems on the previous technician who was here, even though they have no idea who the previous technician was or what they did.

In the last two months my provisioning in the Coxdatabase has been anonymously deleted and has had to be repaired. Also in the last two months I can't seem to keep a good connection longer than 15 minutes or so. I can't surf the web, do work from home, or play my on-line games. I call in tickets time and again and the problem still isn't resolved. I can physically see the light on my cable modem going off and on; it should be solid green all the time. It has grown very frustrating.

My family tells me why are we paying so much for service such as this? Well I don't know.. And the short of it is I am not going to pay for it anymore. I am canceling Cox Cableservice both TV and Internet and going with another solutions provider, I only hope that their service both in my house and customer service on the phone is better than what many people seem to be experiencing all over, not just with Cox.

I am so frustrated that I pay so much for service and I get nothing in return, not even an honest effort or a caring voice on the other end of the line. Before signing up with Cox Cable, inquire as to how many users are in your area and ask around to see how people like it. I just don't want anyone else to experience what I and other friends have experienced with Cox cable, save your money or go with someone else. Guess what I just lost connection while trying to submit this. Imagine that.

Jon of Oakton VA (3/18/01):
About six months ago, my family ordered Cox Cableinternet access to replace the dial-up that we were paying for. It cost more, but we thought that the extra speed was well worth it. The last thing anyone wants to do is sit around and wait for stuff to download. That's exactly why I'm so disappointed with Cox Cable. For the last month or so, the connection has been slow - at times, worse than that of a 56K modem. It just now took me almost two minutes to connect to consumeraffairs.com, and it's almost 10:00 on a Sunday night.

I'm thoroughly fed up with Cox Cable- I'm constantly restarting my computer, hoping that the slow access is being caused by other programs that are open or by a lack of memory. Nope. Paying more for less. As if all this weren't bad enough, Cox Cablealso does a POOR job of providing us with TV. Comedy Central and a few less consequential stations hardly come in at all ever since Cox took over from Media General two years ago.

___________________ Nolug mailing list nolug@nolug.org Received on 12/16/02

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