Are you being ripped off by Barry County Telephone Company/Message Internet Express? In the Barry County area on many occasions I have tested the internet speed to find out that clients are only getting 4Mbps and paying for 8Mbps internet speeds. Some because of old modems and some because the lines from the box to the house are incapable of achieving the higher speeds. Barry County Telephone Company tests these lines after installation and upgrade, and knowingly uninforms their clients that the modem or line is incapable. Why? Because bandwidth costs money and they are taking advantage of the fact that some people arent so computer literate and would never notice the difference. I have had them blatantly lie to me on multiple occasions along with clients while I sat listening to the call on speakerphone on so many occasions I have lost count. Specifically trying to take advantage and confuse the elderly, whom a large number of my clients are. They have told my clients they have the latest model of their modem when in fact I know it isnt. Then hours later, by the same representative, be told the exact same model is outdated and only capable of 4Mbps speeds. Now this is only after being interrupted and informed that there computer tech is listening to the call. They also claim that their phone service is needed for DSL internet which is completely untrue. Based on this outright lie they charge $70 a month for 8Mbps internet requiring you to pay for what in most cases I’ve came across is a useless home telephone service that is rarely if ever used and certainly not needed by the majority of my clients. DSL is 100% capable of running on a phone line without phone service. In fact, many companies offer DSL without phone service for a $5 a month fee. Their prices are outrageous because they force you to have their phone service and this is what they are clinging on to which is resulting in a multitude Barry County residents being forced to pay ridiculous prices with no competition to turn to… which is a whole other story. So they take advantage of not having the bandwidth costs, due to clients not being able to reach the internet speed they are paying for, and on top of it charge them 2-3 times as much for slow outdated internet speeds. They keep this secret and have only to one persistent client offered a refund of the difference for 1 of the 5 years he was a customer. Even he said felt that if he would have kept the representative on the phone any longer they would have been further angered and taken that offer off the plate. Add up the 48 months that he is not being reimbursed for the $30 a month it cost before they dropped their prices down and you get $1440 in overpaid services! Now how many people are they doing this to in Barry County? Barry County Telephone Company has the monopoly on rural internet service and is completely taking advantage of their customers. They have been made fully aware of this and absolutely refuse to offer any answers. I believe they should be investigated, and if found any abuse of customers, it should not only warrant reimbursement to these customers and a formal apology, but also an opening ground for the competition that has been so long awaited and suppressed. I recommend all BCTC/MEI customers to go to speedtest.net which MEI hosts a server to and test your internet speed. If you find yourself to be in a similar situation based on the results I encourage you to call and demand a refund. Also ask them about their refusal to offer DSL without paying for their phone service. In this day and age when schools, businesses, and governments are making internet access a necessity, opposed to a luxury, everyone should have access to affordable internet at competitive prices, without being cheated, lied to, and taken advantage of.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 15:57:30 +0000
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