Problems with Flashcom, a national DSL service provider
From: Ed Anderson
Subject: Re: Cancelled Flashcom install: they won't return my calls...
Date: 31 Mar 1999 00:00:00 GMT
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In comp.dcom.xdsl TLK wrote:
> I just cancelled my installation in disgust. If they refuse to
> return phone calls for the install, what were my chances that they'd
> help if I had a real problem? Here's the letter that I sent them ...
> ...
> Anyone got any other good DSL stories in the Boston area?
And later...
> BTW: how long did you wait between your contract signing and getting an
> installation date? Just curious...
> Thanks for your input. Any others out there?
IMHO, you're wise to get out. My installation fell through the cracks,
too, but I stuck it out. It took about six weeks. Service as fine for one
month. Then I started getting more calls about new installers arriving,
but confusion about why. It turns out I was an early adopter in the SF Bay
area, and they decided to boycott PacBell and go with Covad only. After
much confusion, I discovered that they decided on a hardware change, and
dropping the speed in half to 192k in order to keep the price the same,
even though Covad offered the same speed. I told them they were in breach
of contract, and accepted the change under duress. They never managed to
get that together, and began threatening to disconnect the service, as if
it was my fault. Then I discovered that they had taken over my entire
phone billing, and had been cramming all the installation charges to my
PacBell account, where they were automatically paid. It came to about
$1000 over what I had been billed by Visa. I managed to get a hold of Brad
Sachs, the president, and he actually told me to tke it or leave it, and
hung up on me as I was speaking. I cancelled the account at that point.
I'm still in the process of cleaning up the mess, and it set back my plans
for world domination by a few months. I wouldn't trust them any farther
than I could spit.
Technologically, there are a couple of good engineers there if you can get
ahold of them. Fortunately, they farm out the connectivity, so it's more
immune from Flashcom's bureaucratic bungling. Plan on running your own
trouble tickets if there's a hiccup outside of working hours. They run
their mail and DNS on NT servers in So CA, IIRC. They're a national ISP,
so the home office problems are going to affect all their customers.
Writing up the details on a web page, and attaching the various emails,
was therapeutic in moving on. See: http://www.pinch.com/flashcom/
The president invited me to take it public, since he felt he was getting
nothing but good press. I've reposted the tale a few times, as a warning
to others. As sad as your story is, it's comforting to hear another
confirmation. I applaud you for taking the time to send out an alert.
I know other folx have had good luck so far. I sincerely hope that
continues. If you run into problems, I suggest that you not be too
assertive in standing up for your rights. To simply take whatever they
offer, and humor the underlings, might be a better strategy for remaining
connected.
-- Ed "only the condensed version of my Flashcom rant" Anderson
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Problems with Flashcom, a national DSL service provider