Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Astound Broadband powered by RCN's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  Astound Broadband powered by RCN

  650 College Rd E Ste 3100 Princeton, NJ 08540-6629

• 

  RCN Telecom Services

  956 Massachusetts Ave Arlington, MA 02476-4509

• 

  RCN Telecom Services

  1224 Hyde Park Ave Hyde Park, MA 02136-2805

• 

  RCN

  2124 Avenue C Bethlehem, PA 18017-2120

• 

  RCN

  10000 Derekwood Ln Lanham, MD 20706-4387

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:11/14/2022

  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.

  when i got the bundle package i was told that i would get senior which was not truth each month my bill is ***** to ***** more my bill is almost ****** a month for basic cable i am senior on a fixed income all i want is affordable cable there are so many extra fees and taxes

  Business Response

  Date: 11/21/2022

  We do not offer senior discounts. The new customer promotional offers applied 08/24/2021 were valid for 12 months, no contract before estimated taxes/fees. The monthly rate is currently $262.69 for unlimited phone, 110mbps internet, signature cable and equipment rental including estimated taxes/fees. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/13/2022

  Type:Product 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.

  RCN/Astound has offered me a contract rate of $26.55 per month since Feb 2022 but have been imposing questionable monthly network access and maintenance fees of $7. These fees have increased to $10 per month now. In addition, there have been interrupted internet access due to network outages. I contacted customer support and the hold time were repeated excessive. After 5 failed attempts to reaching billing support, each time with hold time over 1 hour, I have no choice but to contact the **** I am seeking a full refund of excess fees and the days I was without internet access. The total refund I am requesting is $75.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/21/2022

  ************* has not reached out to us regarding an outage issue since 07/02/2022  6:25 am and at that time, we applied 1 day of service credit, totaling a prorated amount of about $0.90. We do not have any recent reported outages and there has not been a technician visit since March 2022 when service was changed. We are unable to determine if it is the customer's own equipment causing an issue unless we schedule a technician visit. We sent a notice on the September statement explaining the following: 

  Effective on your October billing statement, the price for your current monthly services will be $25.99, excluding taxes and fees. In addition, below please find a summary of rate adjustments for specific fees and/or costs; unless otherwise notated, the listed fees and/or costs are neither government mandated nor a tax imposed on you by the government; they are either a fee and/or cost Astound Broadband assesses and retains:
  The Network Access and Maintenance Fee will increase by $2.80. This fee helps defray costs associated with building and
  maintaining Astound's fiber rich broadband network, as well as the costs of expanding network capacity to support the continued
  increase in customers' average broadband consumption.
  Periodically, franchise, utility, PEG fees and other government mandated fees and taxes are also adjusted in keeping with regulatory
  requirements. These fees and taxes are government mandated and we are required to comply.

  On 11/13/2022, we applied a $2 loyalty credit and the promotions applied 02/21/2022 are a non-contract offer for 12 months before the estimated taxes/fees. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/12/2022

  Type:Product 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 reached out in regards to my bill going up (via text). Their customer service rep offered me a price that was guaranteed for twelve months and asked me if I would accept. I said yes. Very straightforward written binding contract. My next bill came and the old price was still there. Reached out to customer service and they said sorry not doing it. I asked for contact info for their legal department which they gave me. TWO emails and no response. Email to the *** and again no response. Other than going to court Im out of ideas. This is clearly breach of contract. I have all emails along with the messages giving the exact price and me accepting, I attached the texts but cant do it with the emails but would be happy to forward them in order to see *** tried to resolve the issue. All I want is what they promised me in writing.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/21/2022

  The monthly rate for 7 cable boxes, the premiere total package, signature cable, 100mbps with a free upgrade to 250 and phone service is $266.25 including all rental fees, estimated taxes, fees, and surcharges. On 10/22/2022, we applied a 12 month $35 customer loyalty credit and this is the best available rate. ************ is not in a contract and may make changes to the account at any time. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/09/2022

  Type:Product 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.

  Sometime during the week of October 24- 28 I spoke with a Astround representative about upgrading my internet service from 1 Gbps to 1.2 Gbps. She was returning a call to me. I was told by the representative there was no problem in doing this. She said she made the changes to my account and to reset my modem. That everything would be completed/updated then.***** viewing my most recent bill and testing my internet speed I realized the speed was never increased as the rep had said. On 11/9/22 I spoke with an online Astound chat rep. ***** some digging he told me the work order was done incorrectly. He would need help completing it. ***** a lengthy period of time he then informed me that my modem would need upgraded and it would cost $79 for the tech to come out. I advised I could replace the modem myself but I was told this wasn't an option. The work order was cancelled because I refused to pay the $79 tech visit which I was never told about previously while I was under the assumption the speed increase had occurred. Also rep refused to waive the tech visit fee even though this is Astound's fault.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/17/2022

  This technology is the cutting edge of internet development. **** Mbps is so fast that it has surpassed the speed capabilities of the majority of todays modems and routers. Older modems are not compatible with this service. Astound Broadband is providing every new **** Mbps customer with equipment rental that is capable of passing speed above 1 gigabit speeds. This must be installed by an Astound technician as they are not available for self-installation and at this time, customers are not able to use their own modem for 1.2 Gig. The charge for a technician visit is $79.95. Our equipment will ensure that customers will have the capability to handle **** Mbps speeds in their home. Upon launch, a customer will need to rent equipment from *******************************************. ***** (Multi-Gig Ethernet) ports are newer types of Ethernet ports used on some modems and routers. 2.5GE ports support higher connection speeds than the Gigabit Ethernet ports previously used on most devices. To ensure your devices operate at full capacity, we will provide you equipment rental capable of handling the **** Mbps speed.
  
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/17/2022

  
  Complaint: 18381420
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  They didn't even address my complaint. Not sure they even fully read it. This appears to be a copy/pasted canned response. Very disappointed! I will just switch to another provider. Astound has lost another customer due to POOR customer service.
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************************

  Business Response

  Date: 11/17/2022

  As **************** stated, the order was cancelled and service was not upgraded. The 1.2GBPS upgrade would require a technician visit, which is a one time fee of $79.95.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/08/2022

  Type:Product 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 had services at my former address. I moved. I called, and the Astound rep told me I do not have to return equipment ( 1 Arris router and 2 EERO connectors) because it's old (I had WOW before Astound bought them out), and they can't use it anymore. Then I got $618.46 taken out of my bank account by Astound for not returning the equipment! I called and told them the last rep I spoke with told me I did not have to turn in the equipment. I did not authorize the charge on my debit card and they had no right to take the money, and the equipment I had was not worth as much as they took out of my account. I returned the equipment to my local Astound store THE SAME DAY THE MONEY WAS TAKEN OUT OF MY ACCOUNT. They said the money wuold be returned to my account in 5-7 days. This was Oct 6, 2022. When the money was not returned to me, I called again. This time they told me it will take UP TO 30 days. I still do not have the money. I have called several times, and every time I do, I get a different story. They do not let me talk to their "financial department", only a rep or "supervisor" on the phone. It has been MORE than 30 days now. When I talked to someone on the phone on Nov 3, 2022, they said the "financial department" had a note in my account saying I would get the money in 3-5 days; that Nov 8, 2022 would be the absolute last day, and I would not have to wait longer than that. Today is day 5, Nov 8, 2022, and still no money! When I called today, Nov 8, 2022, I spoke with a very rude "supervisor" who laughed at me. She said it will be 3-5 days from TODAY, Nov 8, 2022. She said the note was just put in today! I told her when I called Nov 3, they said there was a note in there saying 3-5 days from THEN. She refused to listen to **** want my money back NOW. They had no right to take it, the equipment has been in their possession since Oct 6, 2022, and they took over $600 out of my account which is grossly more than the equipment is worth. This is fraud and theft.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/17/2022

  A credit card refund was processed on 11/03/22 for $618.46. Equipment was removed from the account on 10/07/2022 and refunds can take up to 30 days from the time the account is totally disconnected and equipment has been returned. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/05/2022

  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.

  We have been a WaveBroadband user since 2018, had a few outages due to storms and power which were expected, however. After Astound acquired WaveBroadband and finished the move in 2021, we have been having constant outages, with the need to work from home (in my case, my job is 100% remote) as well as some telemedicine sessions, we had lots of problems lately where I couldn't work or make to sessions (online).I really wanted to understand if there's anything being done to avoid those, I do know in a few cases they will happen, but for the past few months this has happened constantly, a few times a week, they also do not provide discounts when that happens , unless you call and beg.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/11/2022

  There were recently Commercial power outages and Astound network outages due to major storm damage to the fiber network in **************************** power outages continue in some areas; there is no internet until power is restored
  
  In some areas, power is restored, but Astound internet is still down because of Fiber Network damage currently under repair, or damaged fiber that is in accessible due to unsafe conditions
  
  Our crews are working with local authorities to ensure safe access and repairs as soon as possible

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/02/2022

  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.

  Ive been an RCN customer for a few months now. We were originally planning to use our own modem, but when the installation tech arrived, he informed us our modem didnt fit the tech requirements. He suggested we use RCNs modem until we could buy a new one. He said theyll waive that week of rental fee. We bought a new modem a week later and returned RCNs modem on 9/15 through a ***** prepaid label they sent. Not only was that one week not waived, since then, Ive continued to be charged for 3 months worth of equipment rental at $29.95 + tax each month. When I called RCN, they said it can take 4-5 months for our facility to process the return. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do, but pay that rental fee until we process it. We can not give you credit retroactively because we arent getting any benefit from the equipment while it is in our processing facility 4-5 months to process! I should not have to pay for a modem I already returned to RCN just because RCNs equipment facility is backed up and they havent hired enough people to process returns. Had I been informed I wouldve been getting one week of benefit from the rental, but required to pay 4-5 months worth of fees while it sits in RCNs facility, I wouldve absolutely refused the equipment.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/03/2022

  We removed the rental modem and backdated the charges to 9/7 when a customer owned modem was installed. Nothing is owed 11/24 and there is an additional credit of -$6.59 towards the statement due in December. 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/03/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/31/2022

  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.

  My husband and I live in a community with townhomes/condominiums. Our internet service failed completely on Tuesday 10/25. For the remainder of the week, multiple technicians came to our apartment in attempts to fix the issue, causing my husband and I to take multiple days off of work and move around previously scheduled obligations on our scheduled days off. There were clearly no notes listed on our account, because each technician asked the same questions and proceeded with the same attempts at "troubleshooting." Ultimately, it was determined that our internet cable had been completely severed at the box (by an unknown entity, although the internet was lost immediately after an RCN technician was servicing our neighbor's apartment). This entire experience has been complicated by the fact that our internet cable runs partially through our neighbor's apartment, resulting in us having to enter their residence as well (with all coordination being left up to us and zero help from RCN). After entering our apartment and neighbor's apartment, we were told all additional fixes could be performed without entering either residence. We called multiple times to confirm this. We are both at work today (day 6 without internet) and were contacted by our condominium representative that RCN had arrived and was attempting to enter both our and our neighbor's apartment. I authorized entrance with our representative but was later informed that RCN left prior to this consent and did not make any attempts to fix this issue. I spoke with technical support today to schedule (YET ANOTHER) appointment for tomorrow, so I will yet again have to manipulate my work schedule. I was refused a written confirmation of this appointment or a record of my call, and was told this was only available if requested by police. Ultimately this entire experience has been unfathomably inappropriate, and the incompetence of RCN as a company is clear. I am currently awaiting a call back from a supervisor.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/09/2022

  A technician visit was completed 11/1 and they had determined that the resolution was DI - REPLACE/REPAIR OUTSIDE LINE. The visits scheduled 10/27/2022 and 10/29/2022 were canceled as ************** supervisor team stated:  Please refer the above address to construction for post-wire replacement on 10/29. Credit was applied for service charges 10/23-11/1. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/30/2022

  Type:Product 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.

  ACP credit not applied to bill. Called Astound and they said missing DOB but ACP sent email stating application approved.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/04/2022

  We need the date of birth to run the application through our verifier tool. Please call ************ and update the open case with the date of birth so we can process the Approved ACP benefit on the account. We left a message at ************ on Sep 13, Sep 15 and Sep 19 with this information. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/27/2022

  Type:Product 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 returned my equipment (that I was paying a monthly fee to rent) on 09/30/2022 at the location in **************. I was told that my refund would be placed back into my account within ***** business days. On the 14th business day, I reached out to a representative online. That representative then told me that it would take ***** business days. After 17 business days, I reached out again. This rep was a lot nicer, and told me that he filed a case to get my reimbursement, and that it would be filed within three business days and my check would be sent out. A week later I reached out again. This time I was told the reimbursement had not been even processed to my account, and that it would take another ***** business days. This business took $251 out of my account for equipment that was returned on the day I was told to return it. This has been a nightmare to deal with. Every rep I talk to gives me a different story, a different expected completion date, and I am fed up. Nobody seems to be able to give me a legitimate answer. They said they cannot call me about this information, that online chat is the only way to resolve it since the phone number you call gets you to a rep that says that they cannot answer billing questions. I understand for privacy reasons they want to protect customer information, but to me this seems like a great way for them to charge customers that are leaving their service an extra $251 on their way out the door.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/04/2022

  The equipment was removed from the account on 09/30/2022. A refund was issued on 10/27/22 to 5018 ***********, **********, ** 47715. 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/04/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************************