Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Sparklight's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Sparklight

  210 E Earll Dr Phoenix, AZ 85012-2626

  
• 

  Sparklight

  3201 Tower Rd Prescott, AZ 86305-3734

  
• 

  Sparklight

  100 N Victory Rd Norfolk, NE 68701-6800

  
• 

  Sparklight

  401 Baylor St Texarkana, TX 75501-3270

  
• 

  Cable One, Inc.

  319 College St Columbus, MS 39701

  

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/03/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been with Sparklight for over 2 years now. This is not the first time I have contacted the BBB about them. The first time they were formerly known as New Wave. I was having internet issues for over a month and nothing was resolved until I contacted the BBB. A year goes by and I have no issues until they removed their basic 100mb download and 10mb upload plan, so I was forced to upgrade to their next plan which is supposed to be 200mb download and 20mb upload plan. However since I have been switched over I have never gotten the 20mb upload that I am paying for. I also have issues with lots of packet loss that prevent me from using the internet for my intended purposes. I first called on 8/20/2022 and got an appointment scheduled for 8/26/2022. When that day arrives my appointment time was shown as 7:30A.M.-8:30A.M. However by 8:45A.M. I had not heard anything from the company and I had to leave for work so I cancelled the appointment. I called later that day to reschedule and they told me that the next available appointment was September 8th. So I texted the persons number they gave me the last time I filed a complaint and he recognized that there was an "outside issue that is causing your issues" and that it would be worked on first thing 8/29/2022, and that he would check back with me when they are done. When I got home from work on 8/29/2022 I texted him asking if he had an update since I had not heard anything from him and he said "Still working on it please be patient". I let the rest of the week go by with no word from anyone so I texted him again asking for a timeline of when my issues might be resolved on 9/2/2022 at 5:38P.M. and he never responded to me.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/09/2022

  Following the receipt of ******************** complaint, one of our advanced technicians was sent out to resolve the issue. ************** repaired a cracked cable found at the plant and optimized the node. He also tightened loose connectors found in the customer's home. Following the repairs, the node health scores for ******************** service area are reporting above company specifications. **************** is happy with the results and we consider this issue to be resolved. Thank you!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/09/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that the problem has been resolved. Thank you for your help. 
  Regards,
  
  *********************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/28/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I started services with them and the person misunderstood the plan i wanted i didnt realize it was the wrong plan until i had to pay my first bill online and seen it was not right it was too exspensive to high. So o called to get them to dispute the charges on my account and start over with the right package i wanted. They refuse to help me said i had to pay off first what i owed them first they were gona disconnect me if i didnt pay anything at all even part of it or half which i couldnt on my low income so they kept it active this whole time along with the new package plan charged with it from end of april til now august jus now disconnected me of a bill of 385$. And now they wont refund me my money or dispute the charge or let me start over and cant get services from them unless i pay off what i owed. This was a mistake and s**** up on there end not mine but cant and wont fix it. Im disabled on a low monthly income of SSI. So id like my refund back the account taken care of to start new or for me to be able to start a new account new services from them.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/29/2022

  ************** signed up for our 1 gig unlimited plan on April 25, 2022. On June 2, 2022, she called in and requested to downgrade to our 200 mb service plan. Our ************* Manager has listened to recordings of each call and verified that ************** agreed to the 1 gig plan on her initial call and on her second call, was downgraded to our 200 mb plan. She was also reminded on the second call that she had not made any payments since signing up for service and that she needed to do so in order to avoid disconnection. ************** stated that she understood. The customer's services were later disconnected on August 24, 2022 for non payment. To avoid being sent to collections, ************** will need to pay the $285.62 balance for service and return the modem. If the modem is not returned, another $100 charge will be added to her outstanding balance, totaling $385.62. If ************** chooses to reconnect her services, she will need to pay for the first month of service and the $90 reconnect fee. Our **************** Manager called and left a voicemail for ************** to discuss these details with her. We encourage her to give us a call back so we can assist her with any questions or concerns she may have. Thank you!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/29/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/22/2022

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 8-16-2022 my husband's debit card number was used by someone else fraudulently in the amount of $475.99 at Sparklight cable service. I notified our bank and per their instruction deactivated the card. ********** says the only way to get a refund is to refund to said card but since it's deactivated it won't go through. The bank cannot reactivate the card since it's obviously been used fraudulently. ********** refuses to send me a refund by check and I was told there is no other way to do it so I'm out the $475.99. Please advise me on the appropriate steps to take to get my money back. Thank you,*************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/25/2022

  Our ********************* Representative and our Accounts Payable team have worked together to research and resolve the issue addressed in ********************** complaint. Manual refund checks are being transmitted to the customer's financial institution today, where they will then print and mail the checks to the customer. We will request that the checks be sent overnight so that the customer will receive them by early next week. Our Accounts Payable representative will be contacting ****************** today to verify information before the refund is processed. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate ****************** bringing this issue to our attention.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/25/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/22/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  The internet service had gone out for a few hours. My phone switched to my cell data plan with AT&T. AT&T charged me $40 for using their data. Your internet service was down and it cost me $40.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/14/2022

  On August 20, 2022, ************** called into the Sparklight *********** due to issues with his internet service and was informed by our associate that we were experiencing an outage in his area. That same day, ************** called back requesting a credit to his account. Our *********** associate informed ************** that he would need to call back in on Monday, August 22, 2022 to ask for credit. On August 22, 2022, ************** called back and was issued a credit in the amount of $2.27 for the service lost during the outage. Following the receipt of the complaint, our **************** Manager (CSM) called ************** on September 14, 2022 to inform him that we would be crediting his account an additional $40 for the data charges that he accrued from his mobile carrier. Our CSM also encouraged ************** to log into his customer portal and opt in for outage alerts so that he will be aware the next time an outage occurs in his area. ************** thanked our CSM for the suggestion and stated he would do so. We consider this issue to be resolved and we thank ************** for reaching out. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/21/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Been Extremely challenging to work with through the pandemic, will be on auto pay for go knows how long, will have an issue, and instead of saying hey heres a phone call saying we could not charge you. they let it roll for two months charge you late fees then charge you a disconnect fee when they turn it off. Its bit ridiculous one of the few companies out there making money off pandemic woes from disconnects.I call in to find that my plan has been 10+ cheaper as well for nearly a year and they could have also informed me that there was a cheaper plan in my area as well instead of just milling me dry until they rack up the fees.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/22/2022

  Following the receipt of the complaint, our **************** Manager (CSM) spoke to Mr. ***** on the phone on August 22, 2022. She let the customer know that we do send out emails when a payment is declined and Mr. ***** acknowledged that he did receive these emails. She also explained to him that we don't automatically change plans for customers when we have new plans or promotions, but we do advertise them. She let him know that the plan he upgraded to launched on March 30, 2022. Our CSM verified with Mr. ***** that he was no longer on EZpay and went over the details of his billing cycle and the due dates. At that time, Mr. ***** abruptly ended the call. Our CSM attempted to call him back, but was unable to reach him. As a courtesy, we have credited his account in the amount of $48, which includes the $8 late fee and the $40 difference between the plan Mr. ***** had and the upgraded plan that he switched to. We encourage Mr. ***** to call us directly if he has any further questions or concerns. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/23/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** North
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/19/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  A few months ago I reported Sparklight to the BBB and a resolution was created in the form of credits to the account. At the time a resolution request had been submitted for the issues concerning our internet to be resolved. Since then, we've been experiencing periodic drops in internet or issues with staying connected -- but when we call Sparklight they simply tell us everything looks fine. I've officially missed enough work due to ISP issues that my boss is having conversations about my job security with me. There's not another provider in the area that can be used due to it cannot be Satellite internet for work. A resolution in the form of either expanding the local VPN network or by addressing what's causing the connection issues would be greatly appreciated before I lose my job.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/26/2022

  Following the receipt of ****************' complaint, one of our technicians visited the residence on August 23, 2022. Our technician reviewed all areas of the plant from the node to the customer's home and found no issues. Once inside the customer's home, it was discovered that the **** the customer was using was from a modem that had been swapped out previously, which can cause issues for Wi-Fi devices. Our technician set up a new **** and provided the customer with a new password. The customer's PC was connected by Ethernet to a wireless amp. Our technician suggested to **************** that she connect an Ethernet directly to the modem/router, which she did prior to the end of the visit. Before leaving the residence, our technician also gave **************** plans of action to help identify the issue and requested that she speak with her company's IT department for future VPN drop offs, as it did not appear that it was an issue on our end. **************** was also provided with the technician's contact information so that she could reach them if necessary. On August 24, 2022, our **************** Manager called **************** and confirmed that her services were working properly. She also gave **************** her direct phone number in case she has any future issues. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and consider this issue to be resolved.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/29/2022

  Today we talked to Manager about tech visit we had 08/23/22, we discussed technicians change an old line for our town which was the only issue they could find but even after the line change we experience some minor issues. There was and has not been a definite resolution to our situation. Manager stated he would have our last technicians and the engineering team work together to find and hopefully resolve the issues, for now we will have to wait for them to reach back out with either a resolution or explanation of what is happening to our service. We also informed Manager that after almost an entire year of VPN/ISP issues I have lost my job, manager apologize for the inconvenience and stated that another possible solution would be changing from a residential account to a business one which was never mentioned to us before even though agent from first calls when issue state had us upgrade to a higher speed package that was supposedly going to  help with the issues, which is clearly did not, at the moment we are unwilling to make any change since every time we do price increases, since the house hold is down to only one income we wouldn't even be able to make any changes due to the costly price of a business account per Manager. By the end of the call with manager we had one possible solution which would increase or monthly cost and is only a 50/50 chance that it might actually work, other than that not definite resolution was provided.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/08/2022

  Throughout the last several months that **************** has experienced issues with her service, our Technicians have made several visits to the residence to inspect the equipment and perform tests to attempt to resolve the issue. We have made all necessary changes and updates to the equipment and our test results have all come back within a satisfactory range for the service provided. Our General Manager also made an attempt to hire an outside IT vendor to visit ****************' residence to see if they could find a cause for the issue, but the outside vendor has declined due to safety and health concerns. We understand the customer's frustration and we sympathize with her, however, without the problem being caused by our service or equipment, we are limited to what we can do to assist. **************** is a valued customer and we will continue to offer her any advice and support that we can.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/13/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/12/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We have our internet Thur this company for years, the pass 2 months we have our internet service interrupted, for unknown problems. The equipment shows we have internet but the devices say that we don't. When call the company we are put on hold for hour or longer time or get hung up on them have call again and wait even longer time. They sent someone out and said that it was interference from house next door . We have never had this problem before,we have lived in this house for 4 years. The problem continues happens. I pay ****** a month for my service.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/14/2022

  Our last visit to Mr. ***** ********************* home was in June of 2022. While there, our technician changed a setting on the modem from being set at a single frequency to auto, which helps the modem select the best frequency channel for service. Following the receipt of the complaint, the customer's modem is not showing as being offline or having any issues. We left a message for the Raineys on September 7, 2022 and again this afternoon, September 14, 2022, but have not received a response back. As a courtesy, we have issued one month's worth of credit to their account in the amount of $107.99. We encourage Mr. or ***************** to call us back directly to discuss the issues they are experiencing further. Thank you!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/12/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I work from home and everyday multiple times a day I receive intermittent outages lasting anywhere from a few minutes to 15 mins at a time. Also, every single night after 10pm a reoccurring long outage over an hour long per session happens. This has been going on for months. I spend so much time calling and holding for hours on end just to speak to a representative just to hear them say my modem looks good and theyll get a tech out 5-6 days later. Then, finally when a technician comes out in the truck they sit in my driveway for 15 minutes then tell me its in the main lines and not my issue and promises that it will be fixed. That never happens. The outages constantly occur. I ask for proof of the outages to show my employer and an told the local office will email it to me and I never receive a call back until the first time yesterday from a representative and was promised a credit on my bill first for only $20 they said calculated according to the number of calls I have made and documented. When I told them that was completely not acceptable they agreed to credit for only one month. They have documented over **************** the past month but thats just a few of the calls that I could hold on for over ***** minutes waiting yo speak to someone. Many times I had yo just hang up, I am tired of the dishonesty and poor services. For me this is more than just trying to stream a movie, or play a game. I work from home and this is my livelihood. As soon as the new ISP runs their lines in my area I will be leaving Cable One/Sparklight as well as so many others in my area. Unfortunately, at this time they are the main ISP in my area and for now I do not have a choice but I hope to have a voice until this is resolved.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/29/2022

  Following the receipt of the complaint, our Field Technical Supervisor checked ****************** modem and the nodes on August 22, 2022. He found that there were connectivity issues in the nodes due to a storm that caused an outage on August 9, 2022. These issues have since been resolved. ****************** modem was testing within satisfactory levels. Our ********************* Representative spoke to ************** and offered her a month's worth of credit to her account in the amount of $60.50 and also sent her a letter to give to her employer regarding the outage that prevented her from being able to work remotely. ************** accepted the credit and appreciated the follow up. We apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused and appreciate you bringing it to our attention.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/10/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  From 08/16/2021-7/30/2022 my internet service provider has been Sparklight. My account number is *********. On my account **** I've been charged $80 per month for the service plan of Flexible 300 Plus, however on the website that exact same service is showing my current plan, which is the Flexibile 300 Plus is only $50 per month. I reached out to customer service and was told that's just false information and my plan is $80 per month. I've been over billed and I've no idea for how long. $30x11 months is $330. It may not be much to many people but I am a part of the lower class and that is a lot is my family if it's been happening the entire time.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/15/2022

  Following the receipt of the complaint, our ********************* Representative (CSR) reached out to ************** concerning her billing dispute. Our CSR confirmed with ************** that the Turbo package she had prior to her upgrade was $80 per month and asked to see a screenshot of what ************** was seeing online. We believe that what ************** was seeing was the amount after her ACP discount is applied ($80-$30 ACP discount=$50). Our CSR apologized to ************** for the confusion and thanked her for bringing the issue to our attention. We will work to get this resolved to prevent any confusion for our customers in the future.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/09/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On March 17th 2022, I called Sparklight and a gentleman picked up then and asked how he could help me. I told him that I needed internet services for my home. The gentleman set up the services and charged me ****** dollars stating that I will be provided services for two months before the next charges. On April 28th, I realized my internet services were disconnected. I called at after hours and the answering machine reported that my services were disconnected. I couldn't achieve what I was planning to achieve that night. I called back the next day, they told me that I did not pay for their services. I told them that I paid with an American Express credit card, they claimed that they don't accept American Express, and advised me to contact my bank to cancel the payment, of course it was too late, it was a month after the transaction was completed. I also asked them to investigate, because I did not understand how they claimed the gentleman was not from them, then how did they know that my services were set up for the day they came out and at the exact time? a question I have not gotten an answer until today. I paid that **** just because I needed internet so bad to complete my work. I called again to follow up on the investigation, I met anther nice gentleman on the phone, I gave him the information of the person/company that charged my card and set up services. The gentleman told me to hold on to the payment so that they can investigate. I waited and I didn't hear from them, I called back again and spoke to lady who told me to just go ahead and pay the **** so that I don't accumulate more money. I paid. I haven't heard from them still. So I came home last Saturday, my internet was disconnected again. I am complaining because I believe they are fraud and they know exactly who set up the services and collected my money.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/10/2022

  Ms. ***** originally called our customer service line on March 16, 2022 to discuss the issue. It was apparent that Ms. ***** had been scammed as the telephone numbers that she provided to us are not associated with Cable One/Sparklight. We have conducted an online search for these phone numbers and have found that they have since been disconnected. Our representative explained to Ms. ***** that we do not accept American Express cards and therefore, it would not have been one of our associates that she spoke to. Our representative instructed Ms. ***** to call her credit card company to dispute the charge. He also called Ms. ***** back that same day to help set her up with ******************* The customer was disconnected on April 29, 2022 due to nonpayment, but was reactivated once her account was made current. Another payment attempt was made in June,  but the credit card that was used was declined. Ms. ***** returned her equipment to her local office on August 10, 2022. Our General Manager called Ms. ***** to discuss these details, but she informed him that she works evenings and they agreed to have a phone conversation this afternoon at 3 pm. Unfortunately, we are not able to reimburse the customer the $154 for the original attempt to set up service, due to this being a scam. She will need to report the activity to her credit card company for reimbursement. We are very sorry that this happened to Ms. ***** and we hope that she is able to resolve this problem with American Express.