Cogeco
Reviews and Complaints

AWFUL service. Installation guy came and left after 5 minutes- did not even hook up the internet properly.

Called tech support 4 times - eventually was told had faulty modem and was Informed they'd ship us one, drove out to belleville and picked one up instead .. wasted an entire tank of gas apparently.

Rep in belleville told me it would take 24 hours at the longest to be activated (note it's a long weekend)

Got home and called back and long story short was told the agents misled us from the beginning and it probably wasn't even the modem that was the issue?

The agent said it would be 2 to 5 business days which would likely be another 2 weeks without internet considering the long weekend. They offered a 30 dollar bill credit? Why would we ever pay a month for service we ARNT GETTING?

Wtf... seriously the worst experience I've ever had with cogeco.

I called on Oct. 3 after receiving an email informing my I owed over $900 due to lack of payment. I have automatic credit card billing. I was told the payment "failed." The representative doubled checked the credit card information and it was all correct. He told me he put through a payment just then (8:52pm) and it failed again. He told me to call the credit card company. I called them only to be told that the payment did not fail. I was informed the payment submitted by Cogeco just then was for 0 dollars. Of course, when I called Cogeco back, it was closed. I called the next morning and was told the wait time to speak to a representative would be 25 minutes. I am still on hold after waiting 45 minutes! This is customer service? Now, I have been told when they changed over to a new system my information was not transferred correctly and I owe over $1, 000. I asked if there was any compensation for their mistake and was told I had to speak to a representative from the credit collections department. I was put on hold again and waited 5 more minutes only to be told the could arrange a payment plan for me. I said I wanted to be compensated for a mistake on their end and was transferred back to billing and put on hold again. I have to leave for an appointment so will have to go through this all over again later. Cogeco service is sorely lacking.

My message to COGECO:
Hi
I have been a long-time customer of COGECO for over two decades. Each year, my billing is increased without notice. I then call - first the billing team, who transfer me to the sales team, (each process taking over 30 minutes hold!). Then, for my "loyalty" they graciously reduce my bill amount.
This year, my billing has gone up from $147 to $187 in Sep and now to over $269 in Oct. I had called last month (around Sep 4) to complain and after 4 calls, was finally advised to call after Oct 3 as there was a new loyalty program that I would benefit from.
I have now been holding the line for over 35 minutes to speak with a rep, although the recorded message had advised an average wait time of 25 minutes. In this day and age, this would not get you any customers. Its only because there are no other service providers in Oakville that you are holding on to my account. I promise you this is going to change.
TERRIBLE experience as you do NOT provide any customer service!
Pankaj Mehra

I've called this morning to troubleshoot my internet as it was not working and the terrible customer service guy (Dennis) tried a few options such as reboot the modem and the PC. After all this the problem was not resolved and he just said that there's nothing else he could do and wanted to finish the call without suggestion or offering further assistance ! ! ! After I insist he offered a technical support visit for next week only ! so we won't have internet until next week ! ! ! I came from a third world country however I've never seen a such terrible customer services, untrained people and terrible internet service like this !

You need to know my experience.

My experience with Cogeco. On September 11th I called into Cogeco because I was having an issue with my internet not working like I believe it should be. The customer service rep suggested that I increase my internet package to the all new 360. I gathered more information got a supposed loyalty deal and booked an appointment for one of their field techs to come on September 25th. Cogeco showed up in time and he started to switch the modems. The new modem for what ever reason was not grabbing the signal. Tech says I'm going to go get another modem. Be back shortly. No problem, 2nd modem comes to my house. Nope that one doesn't work either. Well sir he says, I'm going to reinstall your old modem and within an hour you will be up and working until we can do a main service call on the line outside your house. NO PROBLEM ... I said ... little did I know that this would turn into a huge hassle full of lies and drama. After 57 hrs and my service not working I called into the tech line. What's the MAC address of the modem? I gave to them. No problem Mr Bertrand .. your service will be up and running in about 1 hr to 24 hours... WAIT... wait ... Wait. NOTHING ... called back again. 48 hours later and speak to a tech who informs me that you must call our customer service department tomorrow.. they open at 7. Call early so you don't have to wait. I have written all the notes that that CSR has to do so that it will work. Well that didn't work either. After speaking to 9 different people this morning I was told that your account is in limbo and there is NOTHING anyone can do to help you. Sorry I know it sucks. If you want to look for a new service provider now may be a good time. Words from your CSR. I have all conversations from your lying..condescending employees. I will be posting this complaint along with the conversations on social media as well as making and pushing a formal complaint to the better business bureau. I know Cogeco that you don't need my business. It won't affect your bottom line. However from now on I will never... EVER ... support your company. I will be making sure that every chance I get people will know what type of service a 20 year customer gets for your amazing company ... goodbye Cogeco.

Why is this company still allowed to operate. It is an ongoing joke. They never answer phones and the people in their stores have no supplies and try to do their job with no support from the company.

I have no choice but Bell or Cogeco here in Flamborough/Puslinch. Bell told me I had to put in a pole on my neighbours property to get service so I went with Cogeco. If it was not so ridiculous it would be funny. No one answers their phones or a robot tells you there is an 11 hour wait to talk to someone. 11 Hours? Do they not have employees. Wanting to add channels (there is a message on the tv giving the number to get more channels execept it is never answered). Again a 30 min. drive to the customer service (hahaha) store. Now I am without wifi and cannot speak to anyone after many tries. This is just infuriating. Funnily enough their bill arrives on time and they collect their money on time except we are just notified we have to pay more. Please help and close or dismantle this joke of a company.

Cogeco is the only internet fiber provider in our area (Ancaster, Ont), the service got disrupted on Thursday September the 27th, where the house had no internet, phone, or even TV. When calling technical support, they said that the earliest appointment to fix the issue is October the 2nd. Just imagine a house with 3 children (teens) without internet for 6 full days. When I called again, they said that they will place us on their list where if someone cancels, we will get the spot.
I believe that Cogeco is not treating the case properly and that they should get extra attention to the areas where they are the only players in order to keep their customers in case the competition kicks in.
Currently I will be the first one to move to any other company that will provide fiber access in my area once it exists.
Cogeco is not playing the customer service role properly and should have an emergency team for such cases
Too bad

Elizabeth Hatoski... order #[protected]... installation at 39 Mary st, Hamilton, Ont...[protected]... [protected]@hotmail.com

Early Sept 2018 I reuested installation of Cogeco internet to a short term care facility that I am residing at due to breaking both my arm and leg. The installation was scheduled for Sept 17. At 5 pm on Sept 17 I called to find out when the tech would be arriving and was told that the tech had been given the wrong modem therefore the installation had been cancelled... at no time prior to was I informed of this.

I then arranged for installation on the 20 th of September. Again the installation was confirmed with the associate and when 5 pm came on Sept 20 th, I again called Cogeco to find out what happened. This time I was told that the time had been booked for my install but it had not been assigned...

Totally frustrated at this point... I cancelled the installation completely. The rep wanted to schedule another install for Sept 25 and I said no. I received several voice messages between the 21 st and 25 th all telling me that the rep had in fact booked an install for me for the 25th despite my reuest not to... and I again confirmed cancellation of service.
On the 25 th of September a technician came to the short term care facility that I am staying in and despite being told by my two roommates that I had cancelled the service... he proceeded to install the internet... he in fact mounted the box directly beside the bell box that had been installed on Sept 21st.

I have called numerous times to have the hardware removed from 39 Mary street in Hamilton, ont... and was told I would need to send it back to cogeco... I cannot do that nor am I willing to do that... I need cogeco to come and uninstall and pick up the hardware, I need the bill that I have received voided and all charges removed asap.

We had Cogeco for many years with no problems until we decided to move and have our service transferred. They could not connect tv service correctly. We had two boxes. Though one box was fine, the other didn't have any service. after 3 calls we finally got service, but only basic cable, and no hd channels and none of the premium channels. every time i called they told me they are working on the issue and give it 24 hrs...after a month of calling everyday i told them just to cancel our cable service, but keep our internet service. We drove 2 hours to drop off our boxes at the nearest drop center. our next bill was still charging us for cable, so another call was made. The person told me, as all the other people told me, they are working on the problem...well it has been 4 months now and they are still billing us for cable. I call every time i get a bill and tell them i am not paying it and to stop billing me. they keep telling me if i do not pay it will go to collections and it will effect my credit rating. I said i will sue cogeco if they do this. the last woman i spoke to (which is about the 20th person i spoke to) said she put a note on my file not to go to collections. well i just got another bill, and it is getting bigger and bigger. I continue to pay for internet only. i want to cancel my internet too, but they will just keep billing me. they are scam artists at cogeco. After all these years in good standing, i always pay my bills on time and now they are screwing me over. i am waiting for them to go to collections because i am eager to sue the hell out of this company.

On August 3, 2018 my senior (80+) parents had their phone, internet, and tv services bundled and changed from Bell to Cogeco. Since August 3rd, the phone has never worked properly. Upon the first complain, Cogeco were able to provide service to allow for outgoing calls but to this date, September 20th, the phone is unable to receive calls. Multiple calls have been placed by my father and myself, and multiple promises have been made by Cogeco Customer Service Reps, but to no avail. My family's only way to contact my parents is by dropping in on them which is not always convenient or wanted company by my parents. To be able to call them to check in is quite important given their age and their reluctance of mobile devices. On one occasion, the Cogeco representative named Brett, was quite rude to me and suggested that perhaps my parents didn't want to be bothered as justification for the non working phone issue. To add insult to injury, my parents first bill does not incorporate the bundled contract pricing but rather full service cost. Also they have been charged for three different phone items; phone number transfer and phone connection charges. My father got tired of being on hold and/or continually transferred from rep to rep after an hour and I think he is feeling defeated and highly stressed. Why can't Cogeco provide the service required for the sales pitches being promised contractually? Is there a lawsuit against them, yet?

This has been an absolute nightmare. We have used Cogeco's services for years and are moving, therefore, don't need them anymore. Attempt #1 to cancel: I got transferred to 3 different representatives (Samantha and Sharlene and one other man) over the course of 53 minutes. The final person asks a bunch of questions to which I continually repeat "I want to cancel my internet service as we are moving." He finally says that he's having technical difficulties and can't cancel our service and says he'll transfer me to another colleague who can do it at which point I was disconnected. I gave up that day because I work full time and couldn't be bothered.

Attempt #2: The next day my dad (already an authorized person on the account) calls Customer Service and is transferred around also to 3 people (his wait time in total was 1.5 hours.) He finally gets a hold of a man who (after some huffing and puffing) ALSO says he is having technical difficulties and needs to put him on hold to "reboot" his system. After 20 minutes he gets back on the phone and then asks for all his information again. Then he keeps asking what he wants to cancel and why he wants to cancel and my dad repeats 5 times calmly but firmly that he wants to cancel the internet service as we are moving. The man then says that he doesn't have the authorization and he is in the wrong department to cancel. My dad asks why he was transferred by 2 different people to this department and why all of sudden he can't perform this request even after asking and dealing with him for half an hour. He reminds him he has now been on hold for about 2 hours with them. Finally the man says he needs to recall a 1-800 number to begin the process again or something and at that point my dad had another call and was beyond frustrated.

All in all, I understand companies don't want to lose business and may do some annoying customer service tactics in order to get people to stay. Cogeco has by far been the WORST company we have ever had to deal with and for that reason we will be cancelling our other properties (if we can even get a hold of them again) and will NOT be renewing their services at our new properties. Shame on you Cogeco for not allowing cancellation. Also is a shame that coincidentally both customer service reps "had technical difficulties" and couldn't cancel our subscription. That obviously is very sketchy and we are not at all happy with how your customer service team has treated us.

Attempt #3: This will happen tomorrow, wish us luck.

we disconnected our cable services around June 7, 2018. We had a credit of $90 with the company. We fulfilled our obligation by returning the cable box within a week from cancellation on June 14, 2018 and received a receipt with verbal confirmation that they will mail us a cheque 4-6 weeks for what they owed us. since then close to 2.5 months is passed and despite our follow ups they never returned our money.
during each phone or in-person follow up we got some cheap excuses that their system is down or they will be mailing it. This is now about the principal and credibility of the company to disregard their obligation to customers.

I called to have my service moved sometime in June. I was moving and arranged to have my service moved on July 10th. I waited all day and no service. I called and was told they didn't have a record of this, so another date was arranged and I waited all day again. I was waiting for internet and tv. I called again and nothing. I called and finally got connected on July 30th. I went 20 days without any internet or tv. I live alone and had just moved to an apartment. I am disabled and a senior and sitting without any tv or internet 24/7 for 20 days was most disturbing. Because there is nothing else available, I was at the mercy of Cogeco. I am now hooked up no problems. Also I was charged for the month of August for my old address. I finally got things settled I hope. However I feel I am justified in asking for some free service.

Nancy Demers

I called them at 11 AM on September 11, 2018 because I wanted to cancel my service. I was on hold till noon before I got someone who could handle my request. I told this person several times during the call that I had to leave by 1 PM. But she repeatedly put me on hold (about 10 times) and each time after me holding for 5 minutes, she would come back with some little thing like "we will have to send you a receiver then" or some other stupid thing that was unlikely to be true (but I kept saying - "do what you have to do", but I need to cancel the service"). 2 hours later, I was upset by this point because I had to go and she said to me "if you talk to me loud like that, I won't cancel your service". And I had to finally end the call so I could leave. I plan to do try again today when I can stay by the phone for several hours (without going to washroom or eating etc.)

Since July 14, 2018 - I lost most (16) channels. Called to report this issue many times with a promise to rectify the problem. They sent a technician out - he told me that the problem I'm having is not my equipment but on Cogeco's end. He didn't bother to even try to do anything - "wished me luck and told me to wait a month or 2 and maybe I'll get my full service back". What a terrible way to handle the problem. I called back September 05, 2018 - spoke with a rep only to be told that the problem MIGHT be my receivers. They were to send me 2 receivers - only received 1. Called back again only to be told that the other receiver is "stuck" whatever that means. So I connected the one and only receiver and it didn't work. Called technical support - they told me the new receiver was not transferred to my account so it wasn't activated - UGH - SO FRUSTRATING. Nobody seems to have a clue about what they are doing. I have a MIX 20 and more that 16 channels missing since July 14.

I have been a long time customer of Cogeco. Everything was great until this year (2018) when they couldn't tell me the promotions and the promotions they DID have was for new customers only. Not wanting to cancel, but not wanting to pay the exorbitant fee for very little, my husband and I decided to switch providers. I called Cogeco to cancel in advance so that I would NOT owe anything, no breaking the contract, no bill, squared away...they said I'd probably get a credit, woo hoo! Then comes a bill, which was insane and I called, they said to ignore said bill. Next month, another bill comes...less than the first but still I shouldn't be owing anything as per the first person I spoke to. Now after yet another call with insane hold times, (I called every time I received a bill) at the start of the conversation we owe nothing, in the middle of the call, which I turned the phone over to my hubby, we owe. Huh? I finally was able to access my online bills, until today I couldn't. It makes NO sense. It's crooked, as I did EVERYTHING I was told from COGECO to get a clean break. Oh no, no clean break, more like jagged broken glass that I have to walk over barefoot. I'm extremely disappointed and disgusted by the fact that I did everything the Cogeco rep. told me to do, so I would be square with the bill and I owe nothing. I don't even care if I got the credit, I just wanted to be away from the company that once was amazing and now are crooked, greedy thieves.

I have had service issues since the start of 2018. It took a while to get around to calling but when I did, it took 2 weeks to get a tech out. They discovered I had two shorts in my cable. Since it had been so long, they said they would put me on the rush list as it takes 8 to 12 weeks on a regular time line. Right now we are in to week 9 plus the two weeks waiting time to troubleshoot with no end in sight. They claim they are waiting on a dig permit and a locate. I called the township and there is no such thing a a dig permit AND I called the locate people. They never had more than a five day backlog EVER. So Cogeco lied to me and cannot tell me when this will be fixed or even a timeline to get it done. I have waited for 2 weeks for a supervisor to call me... nothing yet. No one cares, no one has a answer but they love my $200+ per month payment

Been without Cable TV for more than two months and although they say IT has been working on it they have so far been unsuccessful even with photos of the stickers with all the information on both the TVO Box and the newer Modem. I have attached photos of what our tv screen looks like and its been this way since the second technician came a few weeks ago. Before that I had video for a while but with a Cable Card Caption across the top.

Ha d to have a pipe attached to the sewer system, and the city workers cut the cable line. It is my understanding that cogeco refuses to come out to do a locate before digging, hence the cut cable line. So we lost phone, internet and tv services completely on friday, august 24, 2018. Initially cogeco said that they couldn't send anyone out to fix the line for a week... August 31st. Clearly that was unacceptable. With a family member hounding them for a few days in a row, we finally got a temporary line, running all above ground, on monday, august 27th... Not too bad... Except that they now tell us that they cannot fix the broken line for 2 or 3 months (it will be winter by then, so they won't be able to do it then either). So now I am stuck with a cable running over my lawn and driveway, with a huge hole on my front yard that the city dug, waiting for the buried cable in that hole to be repaired, with a big ol' pile of dirt sitting beside the hole, with pylons all over from the city marking this obvious safety hazard...…. And the lawn needs cutting. How can I cut the lawn with a big gaping hole, a big pile of dirt, and safety pylons all over the lawn? Does cogeco care? No! They say they care, but actions speak louder than words. They don't give a crap. And the main problem is a lack of competition. It's either bell or cogeco, which is no choice at all since neither company has any sense of good customer service. I want my buried cable line repaired asap so that the hole can be filled back in, so that I can get rid of the pylons, so that I can mow the lawn and repair the damage to my property caused by the city to re-route a pipe to the sewer pipe, and it would be best if this were done before the snow starts flying.

My 79 yr old Dad suffered a fall 3 wks ago and is unable to go down the stairs to the main floor. We have 2 TV's in the home: my Dad's is on the ground floor and mine is on the 2nd floor. My Dad has Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and as he has difficulty reading and speaking, he's got nothing to do in his bedroom. I made an appt for Aug 31 between 5 and 8 to 1) switch out my basic box for PVR, 2) switch out a bundle for Disney and 3) have cable intalled in the 2nd bedroom. I left work early and we got my Dad out of bed at 4, got him dressed and sat him in a chair to wait for Cogeco. I called Tech Support bcs my Mom was unable to make calls to Europe; I was put through to Sales, Tech Support, back to Sales, Tech Support again - a 2 hr process! Finally I was told to reset the ASSIS modem but wasn't told our WiFi network would go back to default. At 8:00 I called them as the tech guy hadn't shown up yet - finally got through at 8:40. I was told the appt was "cancelled for no reason." He said they're very busy and probably ran out of time. I asked why a courtesy call regarding their cancellation wasn't provided. His response, "Oh really? Strange." No apology. Later in the evening we realized we had no WiFi and I was on hold for another 35 minutes waiting for Tech Support. I then asked about the Disney package as I'd been told twice in the past 2 weeks that it should be available in the next half hr. She explained that it was tied to the tech service and would only become available at the rescheduled appt, Sep 5th. It seems that the staff is not very well trained and passes on information to their customers that is incorrect. I'm quite appalled that Cogeco cancels a service "for no reason" and doesn't even contact the customer to let them know! That's absolutely disgusting and very disrespectful and I feel awful for my Dad who will sit in his bedroom for another 5 days with nothing to do.