Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/30/2024

  Type:Order 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.

  This is a contracted internet company by my apartment complex. I have been without internet service for multiple days and have paid full price for internet services when none was available. The company is based in *****, yet there is no actual physical location. Ive contacted the company numerous times and no solution has been offered. I have missed multiple days of work because of this issue.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/08/2024

  Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We take all customer concerns seriously and strive to address them promptly and effectively. We appreciate the opportunity to provide an explanation and resolution for this complaint.
  
  Response to Complaint:
  Customer's Statement of the Problem: A customer reported being without internet service for multiple days and expressed concerns regarding service disruptions.
  
  Our Perspective: IBT Connect did not experience an outage in our internet service. The interruption was a result of a severe storm/tornado that caused a massive power outage in *******. It is important to note that internet service relies on electricity, and without power, internet service cannot function.
  
  Explanation of Events:
  The massive power outage in *******, which is of public knowledge and documented in the news, affected almost ******* homes and businesses, leading to significant electrical issues, including power surges that damaged the customer's WiFi Access Point.
  Our team responded promptly, visiting the customers apartment several times to address the issues caused by the power outages.
  We replaced the damaged Access Point and ensured that the customer was aware that the primary issue was the lack of electricity, not a failure in our internet service.
  As soon as power was restored to the building, internet service was also restored for the customer.
  
  Resolution Efforts:
  As a goodwill gesture, the customer received credit for the inconvenience experienced.
  Our team acted swiftly to resolve the issues caused by the power outage and power surges.
  A new Access Point was installed and service call visits to the resident's property were done at no cost to the customer.
  The customers internet service was fully restored, rendering the claim moot.
  
  We believe that our team acted in good faith and did everything reasonably expected to address the customer's concerns despite the challenging circumstances caused by the power outage. We are committed to providing reliable service and appreciate the customer's patience and understanding during this time.
  
  Please let us know if there are any further steps required or additional information needed to close this complaint.
  
  Thank you for your assistance.
  Sincerely,
  
  
  *****************************
  IBT Group, LLC. 
  *******************************************************************************************
  T. *****************  | F. +1 (305) 358-5056 | ******************************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/11/2024

   
  Complaint: 21778907
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The use of improper power supplies provided by IBT has not been resolved, which has caused frequent failures of my access points. These failures have resulted in regular disruptions, leading to missed critical work hours and necessitating constant visits from technicians to replace or repair the faulty equipment. This ongoing issue has significantly impacted my productivity and added undue stress. I urge my provider to address this matter promptly by ensuring that all equipment is supplied with proper power sources to prevent further disruptions and enhance the reliability of their service. I do acknowledge that a major storm caused an electricity outage throughout various parts of *******, yet three (3) Access Points have failed and have had to be replaced since the original storm due to power outages, prompting me to believe that the issue has not been resolved for my specific unit. After verifying that my neighbors internet access had been restored after each power outage since May 2024, I came to the conclusion that I was one of the few residents that did not have their services restored due to a damaged Access Point caused by the outages that we've been having. This leads me to believe that any power outage that we have in the future will continue to yield the same result; an Access Point that will no longer function due to an unresolved power issue that IBT has not resolved.
  
  Additionally, I have experienced performance, reliability, and network address translation (NAT) issues due to the lack of IPv6 support from my internet service provider since August of 2023 in which I brought to their attention at that time. Over the past year, I have encountered significant connectivity problems, particularly with peer-to-peer applications and online gaming, which often fail to function optimally due to the extensive use of NAT necessitated by IPv4 address shortages. Furthermore, I have noticed frequent performance bottlenecks and reliability issues, likely exacerbated by the increasing strain on IPv4 infrastructure. These issues have not only disrupted my personal and professional activities but also hindered my access to certain websites and services that are available only over IPv6. It is imperative that my provider addresses these shortcomings by implementing full IPv6 support to ensure a more stable and efficient internet experience. After doing extensive research on internet service providers in the ******* area, I have discovered that IBT is the only ISP that does not offer IPv6 support. The only solution would be to select a different ISP, however, our apartment complex has a contract with IBT which doesn't allow us to opt for a different ISP.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business Response

  Date: 06/28/2024

  Good afternoon,

  We respectfully believe this complaint should be resolved because the customer's original resolution of receiving a credit for the time their services were down were satisfied and their internet services have been up and running for weeks ever since we last had our technicians work on their unit. As such the complaint has fully been resolved. 

  As the resident acknowledged, the internet disruption within their unit was caused by a major storm that passed through *******. All of our equipment at the building is properly grounded and supported by the necessary power sources to ensure that it is functioning properly. As has already been stated, the issues with this particular customer were promptly responded to with a new access point being installed.

  We are not responsible for any electrical failures at the building that *** be the cause of storms or otherwise. Unfortunately, as the customer clearly states, the issues with their particular unit was caused by the electrical systems within their unit damaging their Access Point. This is evidenced by the customer's own description that following the storm, the internet services returned for all their neighbors, showing that our equipment was functioning again as soon as the power returned. As such, the issue is not a power issue on the side of our network, but rather a localized issue with the power within their unit which should be resolved through the customer's electrical company. 

  The remaining parts of the customer's response are also not a part of the original scope of the complaint, nor accurately represented. The use of IPv4 is an industry standard and the technical details shared in the complaint are unfortunately incorrect, as the vast majority of websites have not transitioned to IPv6, while all services have IPv4 support and singificant percentage support IPv4 exclusively.

  In summary, we have been directly resolving all of the customer's issues promptly with our local technicians and will continue to do so if any other arise. With that being said, since we last resolved their issue following the storm, the customer's internet has been working well and there have been no further interventions necessary. As such we firmly believe this complaint should be resolved.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/29/2024

   
  Complaint: 21778907
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  A credit was not received for the issue, thus rendering IBT as untrustworthy and untruthful. A screenshot of the bill has been attached to this response showcasing that the $60 fee was still accessed on the account after being told that I would not be charged. This charge was forwarded to my upcoming bill for the month of July 2024. This was previously mentioned by IBT in their original response as a goodwill gesture, however, no credit was ever issued. Another issue to point out was the blatant false information provided by IBT stating that the issue was resolved after electricity was restored to my unit. This is not the case, as seen by the response stating that a technician visited my apartment "several times" to provide a resolution. It explicitly states that power surges damaged my Wi-Fi Access Points - three (3) times in total, further explaining my original point that the Access Point in my unit is NOT properly grounded. As mentioned before, my apartment complex has not had a power outage since May 2024, but my concern lies with the possibility of another outage occurring and another Access Point possibly failing. The technician that has visited to resolve these issues explained that this will continue to be a problem until the Access Point to my unit is properly grounded. Additionally, if IBT knew this was not an issue that they were responsible for, we must question why the technician needed to visit multiple times and also why would IBT state that a refund was issued if they believed they were not at fault or their equipment was not a root cause?

  Also provided is a map sourced by ****** that provides an accurate and up to date view of countries around the world that has provided IPv6 coverage. As shown in the screenshot, ***************** provides over 56% coverage of IPv6 to residents. This is important to note because per my previous response, this was an issue brought to IBT in August 2023. With IBT not adopting IPv6 technology, this causes connection issues to critical websites, peer to peer software, and common websites that I visit. As a previous member of AT&T and **************** services were ~$65 monthly, we were provided access to a default gateway in order to issue static IPs and port forward, and IPv6 was included. As residents, we are paying roughly the same amount but we are not receiving anywhere near the same support or performance as the aforementioned companies. I do believe that IBT is a company in its infancy, however, that is not an excuse to keep customers on the fringe of not knowing when service will be restored, repeated visits due to hardware failure, and restricted access to websites along with performance issues.   

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business Response

  Date: 07/26/2024

  Good afternoon,
  
  First let me begin by saying that a credit was issued this morning by property management for *** and June. We apologize for the back and forth and any issues that our client has had due to the power outages that occurred back in *** which are outside of our control. We are the internet service provider, not the electrical company for the building. We have gone above and beyond with this unit in providing 4 different Access Points due to an issue with the clients own in-unit electrical system. As the clients own messages show, the internet has been up and running ever since our most recent replacement. In that time, there have been multiple additional storms  (including Hurricane *****) which left the building without power, and yet the customers access point was not affected. With that being said there is one additional solution the customer can implement themselves if they are concerned about their access point being at risk of another power surge:
  The customer can install their own Wi-Fi router by connecting it to the port below our Access Point, at which point the access point acts as a bridge/passthrough for the internet connectivity.
  
  Finally, we never claimed to provide IPv6 as our agreement is to provide a Managed Wi-Fi solution.

  Best Regards,

  *****************************