EarthLink / Windstream Services
Reviews and Complaints

I was experiencing some DSL trouble after the 30 days they give you to cancel. They had me troubleshooting and it took almost two hours, the first time. Finally got it working. About a month later the same problem had started again with the DSL and it took me a hour this time with them assisting me with troubleshooting. Six weeks later it started again and I was furious and informed them I am not spending another minute doing there job for them and to resolve my issue. Of course all I got was the run around after explaining myself over and over each time I spoke with someone. No one helped me, not even the supervisors. I asked for a manager and they told me none was available and I could cancel if I paid the early termination fee. I informed them that was not fair, their system have issues and I am being penalized for it. Why should I have to pay to cancel, if there service was working I would not have to cancel. Well, that went over well. Still either pay the early termination fee or deal with it. Those were my options. So to anyone. Please do not get peoplepc. They are rude and will not cancel your account if it is their fault. I decided to deal with it until May, then I will cancel the account. I just don't have DSL at this time only dial up. I refuse to pay a early termination fee for a issue that is not my fault.

Please do not use PeoplePC unless you are willing to make a lifelong commitment to use their service until the day that you die (and even then, your grieving family members might then be saddled with an inefficient, slow internet service forever and ever, amen).
I just spent 30 minutes on the phone with a "customer service" representative (and I use that term loosely) trying to convince them FOR THE SECOND TIME that I no longer wish to use or pay for their internet service. I had called in October to cancel, and apparently, their "customer service" representative told me that he was cancelling my service, but in actuality took it upon himself at that time to give me a "promotional service, " so I have been billed in December and January for service I stopped using in October.
In October, I initially asked for them to cancel my service because I am trying to cut costs, and I just don't really need internet service (especially if it doesn't always work and is always extremely slow) at home. The representative was very nosy, asking why I was getting my service shut off. I explained that I didn't see why they should care but that I was trying to cut costs. The representative then tried to convince me to stay, so I said that I was also having my phone service shut off (which I had every intention of doing), so what good would dial-up internet service do? He was forced to agree and then said that he would cancel my service and to have a nice day.
I finally got around to really looking through my credit card statement today and noticed that PeoplePC showed up on there twice since October - once in December and once in January. I called and was very polite to begin with, explaining that I had already called to cancel so why was I still being charged? The man I spoke with was also very nosy asking why I had cancelled my service. I said, "I honestly don't see what business that is of yours, but I don't have a computer anymore, " which is true. He then said, very smugly (it seemed to me), "Well, when you called in October, you said it was because you don't have phone service anymore, so which is it?" I said, "Again, why does it matter why I had it switched off?...I don't have a computer anymore, and I had intended to shut off my phone service. Why do you care?" He asked, "Do you have a computer now?" I refused to answer that question, saying, "That is none of your business. I want to have my internet service shut off; I wanted that done in October."
I had to speak with a supervisor to get a credit for the two months I was billed for service I could not have known I even had, much less been able to use. I had to go through the same conversation with her as I had with the previous representative.
All in all, the ordeal was more trouble than the internet service was worth for the year that I had it.

Called PeoplePc to receive dial-up internet service because it is cheap, or so I thought, and I only needed it for 4 months. Josah, the tech, who was difficult at best to understand, was on the phone with me for over an hour trying to find me a local number, finally he said, 'This is what I'm going to do, I have found 3 numbers that will work for you, you write them down and try them after we hang up and one of them should work for you.'

What do I know? I did what Josah told me to. First number I tried worked like a charm, I'm good to go on dial-up, $5.47/month for the first 3 months great! Not so great! Several days later my kind telephone company, Frontier, who may I say has been an absolute blessing in all of this and is even willing to take some of the charges off, gave me a courtesy call to see if I didn't want different phone service considering the charges being made and was I aware of the charges! Excuse me! What are you talking about? I practically screamed.

The whole time over the past 5 days I had been using the Internet, I was not on a local number at all, but dialing long distance every single time. Now some might say this is my stupidity, however, in this day and age with all the services and packages available, I don't think there is anyone who KNOWINGLY would sign up for Internet service dialing long distance every time. NO WAY!

Not after a tech telling you he is giving you a LOCAL number, I anyway, tend to believe what I'm told. I just moved into this area, I don't know the phone numbers or exchanges, I had no idea and I was not told any differently. Anyway, I call PeoplePC and they say, too bad, your problem, Josah read you the long distance charge waiver and I say, 'EXCUSE ME'! I have no idea what you are talking about and Josah is a liar; sorry but he is! Oh yes, it indicates right here Josah told you all about it...NEVER HAPPENED!

And again, even if he had, okay there may be SOME long distance charges incurred, not we are giving you this long distance number and you will incur a huge phone bill. And, it didn't take this new tech, Andrew, more than 10 minutes to tell me...are you ready?...there is NO LOCAL NUMBER AVAILABLE IN YOUR AREA. NO REALLY? But, they are doing nothing about the charges and say it is my problem so, if there is a kind, cheap lawyer out there that can help me get this taken care of, I sure would be a grateful Mom.

I upgraded from dial up to DSL Lite with People Pc they told me the first three months would be 10.95 then the service would be 19.95 from then on. Wrong it is 39.95 and if I want to get out I pay them 149.95 to do so. They tell me there 1.5 service is twice as much as everybody elses DSL Lite Service and will not tell me how much the 3.0 service is. They monitor their calls for quality assurance, yea right. They have no customer service.

Stay Away from them at all Cost - They are a Nightmare. Your Average call to customer service is between 70 and 90 Minutes.

They are Ridiculous Liars.

I used Everyone's Internet for a couple of years. They were purchased by PeoplePC and I received information in the mail to activate my PeoplePC dialup service. I had just gotten TimeWarner's RoadRunner so I did not activate the new PeoplePC account with the provided CD and info. I noticed that PeoplePC started charging me like ev1.net had been. This seemed odd but understandable. I tried to contact them to tell them to cancel any account and stop charging but was told to call back at a better time because they were very busy and the wait time would be more than 30 minutes. I called back three times and got a similar recorded message each time. I was too lazy to keep calling or send a letter so I would call every four or five months and get the message. My fault. When the expiration date on my credit card expired they called me. I explained that I no longer wanted their service and understood that they would not refund my two years of fees because I never actually cancelled my account with the company that they bought. They said that I would have to pay them for the last month and asked for my credit card information. I refused to give them that information and told them that I would not pay them for the last month. The next month I saw a charge on my credit card. They kept trying my credit card account number with different expiration months and years until they got the correct one. I am not sure if this is illegal but called them, got the same call back recorded message, but ignored it this time and got a customer service rep within five minutes. I cancelled my account and will wait to see if they try to charge me again. If they do I will investigate the possibility of a class action suit against PeoplePC.

I called peoplepc on july 28th 2008 to cancell my account. I was assured that the account has been cancelled but this did not happen.

I have been charged for August, september and november of 2008. I want my account to be cancelled and the money charged to me since I requested the cancellation to be refunded to me immediatly.

When I talked to the peoplepc on 10/23/08 I was told that they will not refund me. how can i get my account cancelled and money refunded.

I have not used their services since July 28th 2008.

I cancelled my people pc account in May. At that time I was told that I could keep and use my existing people pc email address at no charge. I said NO. I DO NOT WANT IT. CANCEL IT ALL. I recently discovered that not only is my email account still active, but I have also been getting charged a monthly fee for use of the email account. These are charges that have not been authorized and have been deducted from my checking account. I filed a complaint with the better buisiness bureau and wondered if anyone else did the same.

Earthlink seemed like a good company at first. I used them for wireless services, in conjunction with cable internet from Time Warner. As mentioned on this site, there phone service was terrible. Working out a minor issue would take at least an hour. I was assured I could keep paying for the wireless after ending my cable service, in order to avoid the $100 fee for canceling before a year. But when I closed my account at Time Warner, I was immediately charged the $100 (no warning). It took 2 hrs. to reverse this, and I could not simply tell them to cancel my account at the end of the year. I was told I had to call back after the contract terminated. But of course, when I called back and inevitably spent another hour on the phone, I found I was charged for the month after my 1-year termination date, and I could only get half of the charge back. WTF! To top it off, I cannot for the life of me get their software off of my laptop, so whenever I enter a URL that doesn't exist, Earthlink's page pops up, with embedded advertisements. Earthlink, tell me how this is not a parasitic ploy to make ad revenue. You are honestly a crooked company.

Bottom line: crappy internet service, incompetent customer service, and bogus charges that you are forced to pay if you care about your credit. I had Earthlink DSL and was paying with a credit card connected to my home equity line of credit. When housing prices declined, they lowered my credit limit and essentially cut off the card. I wanted to switch ISP's due to ongoing technical problems with service anyway so I didn't bother calling them. So they rightfully cut off my service when the card no longer worked.

A few months later I got a recorded message saying I needed to update my payment method. I called them to say I wanted to close the account anyway. They said they wanted to charge me for service since the card stopped working until the present time. I argued that I hadn't had any service from them for the past few months, so why should I pay for service I wasn't getting? They agreed to remove SOME of the charges made after they cut off my service. So I ended up paying for at least one month of service that I didn't receive.

I thought that was the end of it but it wasn't. I continued to get recorded calls saying I needed to update my payment method. I called them again to find out that even though I closed the account and paid the agreed upon amount, it was still active and they were continuing to charge me for service I wasn't getting. I explained the situation, told them I wasn't paying them for any more service that I had not received, and closed the account AGAIN.

Even after that I was still getting calls saying I needed to update my payment method. I was so annoyed that I simply ignored the calls.

Then, I started getting calls from a collection agency saying that I owed money for service that I did not receive from Earthlink and also more money because I didn't return the DSL equipment. Both times when I called to close the account, neither representative said ANYTHING about returning the equipment. I explained that I didn't owe them a dime for service and that this was the first thing I heard about returning the equipment. I would have been happy to return the equipment if they'd asked.

I asked if I should call Earthlink again. The collection agency said that all other customers who thought the charges were bogus were only sent back to them if they called Earthlink. She also said that most of the other customers who had been sent into collections by Earthlink complained that Earthlink was horrible to do business with.

So, I ended up paying half of the amount they said I owed just to clear the books and avoid a black mark on my credit rating (which is "excellent" because I pay what I owe).

So, if you give a crap about your credit score, you are more or less forced to pay whatever Earthlink says you owe them no matter how ridiculous the charges which basically amounts to extortion.

Called to cancel in May. They told me they did. Got call in August. My credit card on file had expired. "I do not have an account with you". "Yes, you do". Called customer service (at least 25 min on hold). Instead of canceling, as they told me they did. they gave me two "free" months and reinstated account. Canceled again. Was called two days later for credit card info. "I do not have an account with you". "Yes, you do". Called customer service again (another 25 min on hold). This time they had signed me up for an email account for $1.95/ month instead of canceling (again, as they told me they had)! Canceled again. I hope this time sticks! Bad, bad company with horrible and sneaky tactics. Someone needs to stop them.

Tried unsucessfully to cancel services and Earthlink kept taking fee for another 6 months. Wont refund money or appologise and they were very rude. Talked to Rose. She was very rude.Talked to her boss also . Basically told me too bad. Didn't offer to resolve problem, just asked for conformation code. They are not trained in India to talk nicely or treat their customers respectfully. Had to change debit card numbers at my bank to resolve this. I will tell anyone and everyone not to deal with Earthlink Internet Server.

In March 2008 I canceled by Earthlink as my service provider. I ask them to cancel everything. Months later I find that they are still charging me 9.95 per month for email usage which I have not and DID NOT want to use. The Indian on the phone said that he could only credit me with the lasts months billing of $9.95. I am pretty sure I will take this to small claims court since I have since read on the complaints about Earthlink that they are doing this to a number of folks. I would NOT use or recommend use of Earthlink as a service provider for anyone. They are a scam. If they are doing this to a number of people I can just imagine how this must add up in their behalf.

A very perturbed man!

My father, who is 85 years old, has an account with PeoplePc. In June of 2007 I set his account up for him and paid for one full year in advance with my bank account. In May of 2008 my father contacted them and told them he wanted to pay in advance for another year of service for himself. BUT he did not want to use a charge or debit card and he did not want it added to his telephone bill. So he got a certified check from his bank and sent it to the address that the lady from INDIA told him to send it to. (Which was in CALIFORNIA) He sent it by registered mail and requested a signed receipt.

Well June came around and you guessed it the check had not made it to the right destination yet (Which was GEORGIA) so the tried to pull money from my account again, which was blocked. Then Two months went by and my father had no service because they had disconnected his service for non payment. They added the charge to his phone bill (Which by the way you do not have to pay these charges and you phone company will not disconnect your phone).

They then received his check and he received his receipt in the mail. His service was reinstated. We thought all was fine. UNTIL THEY TOOK TWO MONTHS OF CHARGES OUT OF MY ACCOUNT IN AUGUST OF 2008. I don't know how they did it but they did and they insist he owes it for the two months of service before they received his check, YES the two months he had no service.

There is absolutely no way to contact them. You e-mail them and you get the same response to call this 888# and you call the 888# and you get NOTHING.

I paid a bill over the phone, 7-19-08, for one of
My true voice phone accounts.
They applied the payment to the wrong account,
My other account.
They sent me a letter with early disconnect
And late fees because of their error. (335.08)
I have called several times on 8/5/08 and 8/7/08.
I requested to speak to a supervisor, only to be
Either disconnected on their end or left on hold
For more than 10 or 15 minutes.
I had also requested that a supervisor call me
Back, but that never happened.
Their web site has no e-mail address to ask for
Help and their on-line chat help does not work
Or address my issue or product.
On 8/7/08, one supervisor said that she would call me back, but never did.

About a month ago I signed up for DSL since I had been so pleased with your dial-up service in the past. I was super excited when I received my DSL Kit and couldn't wait to get it hooked up. However, once I got it hooked up I found that I didn't have a DSL signal. I called Tech Support Three time before I got a hold of someone I could marginally understand.Still I could not understand him enough to know what was supposed to happen. I then Tried e-mailing tech support in hopes that the written word would be more understandable between us. The reply told me to call tech

support.

This took place over the course of several days and in that time I noticed that I had DSL sometimes and no at others. I contacted my own Networking Specialist and he gave me some ideas of things to try but to no-avail.

I've tried taking all of our phones off the line to see if there was a conflict. I have checked and cleaned the phone connection coming into my home. I've tried different jacks in my home, and about every other thing I

can think of.

So my concern is this: I'm going to be billed as if I had internet connection anytime I want it, but I don't. I should just be able to sit done open up my browser and use the internet without not being able to connect or being afraid I'll lose my connection at any moment. I really don't want to leave People PC; we have been with you for years and up 'till now have not had a problem. What can be done?

Thanks So much for your time,

namewitheld

Re: DSL Problems [Ref:5759012]

From: member.services AT peoplepc.com

To: namewitheld AT peoplepc.com

Subject: Re: DSL Problems [Ref:5759012]

Date: Jan 7, 2008 10:06 PM

Read this email and the reply.

Dear namewitheld,

Thank you for writing to PeoplePC Online.

For help with your DSL service please call [protected] to speak with one of

our DSL agents. I apologize for any inconvenience this might cause.

Thanks again for writing.

In November of last year my boyfriend and I moved in together and were in search of a cable and Internet provider. Since we didn't have established credit most companies wanted a high deposit.

My boyfriend found the number in the yellow pages for Earthlink. Since I had better credit than him, he suggested I call and talk with them. To my surprise the representative told me they wouldn't require any kind of deposit. From my understanding I was told I would be receiving cable and internet thru a satellite. I would be signing up for an 18 month contract to purchase the satellite and receive service.

I was also told that I would have 30 days to try out the service at no cost, if I wasn't happy I could cancel, if I was happy they would bill me January. My cost would be $102.95 a month. The man said he would need my bank account information to establish the account and assured me no money would be taken out until January. He gave me a number to call to set up a date for installation of the satellite. Again that wouldn't cost either.

So I called the number and unfortunately it would cost $125.00 for installation of the satellite. I also learned that this company was separate from Earthlink. At this point this sounded like the cheapest company to go with. I assumed the representative wasn't aware of the fee. So I set up the date for installation.

The man came and installed the satellite on the morning of November 15, I was at work and my boyfriend was at home. When I got home from work my boyfriend informed me that we only had internet and didn't have cable. He thought that maybe someone else would come to do the cable.

I called Earthlink and told them my problem. It was THEN that I was told they don't offer cable for televisions in my area. I told them that I didn't want the service and it was THEN I was told their would be a $500.00 cancellation fee that I would have to pay UPFRONT. I told asked them about the free 30 days and they told me their was no such thing as a free 30 days.

Obviously the representative lied to me about EVERYTHING. So at this point I felt like I was stuck with the service I didn't have $500.00 extra dollars. Then in the next few months they never took the money out of my account on the day they said they would. (the 13) It was either a few days before the 13 or up to a week after.

I ended up getting a prepaid credit card to make the payments. After not paying them for three months they finally disconnected my service. They started calling me 2-3 times a day. I eventually called them back to cancel the service. And the lady cancelled it just like that. She didn't even say anything to me about the cancellation fee. I had to ask her and she didn't know. I assumed I would be billed for it.

Earthlink ended up sending the bill to a collection agency that keeps harassing me. I've tried to set up payment arrangements with them but they want the whole amount up front which is somehow over $700.00. I don't know what to do. They put it on my credit report. But on my credit report it says I only owe 544.

I wouldn't recommend Earthlink to anybody they lied to me about everything. I would greatly appreciate any advice on this matter. My boyfriend and I are broke college students trying to make it from week to week.

I have used peoplepc as a dial up service to connect to the internet for about a year. I found out that I received FREE wifi in my home, so I decided to cancel my service with peoplepc. When I called to cancel it wasn't that bad to do so. I got through the we'll give it to you for this much now, blah blah blah, I repeatedly said no thank you.

So I canceled 2 days after my billing date but they still had the nerve to charge me for that month. So I had to make another phone call and have them credit me which they did. Now on to why they're such trifling ###. I couldn't access my email no more, it would say 'log in server failed'.

I contacted live support to see why. I assume that this was a technical problem. They said that my account needed to be 'active' in order to check my email. I said you mean 'active' as in paying you for internet service which I don't need?. They replied yes. I shot them a new one so to speak. DO NOT bother signing up for internet service with them even if you're desperate. Other internet companies don't treat people that way. They're not worth it.

People pc will scam you! even if you cancel your service you will be billed! Also they will be rude with you! Fyi. keep all confirmation # as you will need this info. I canceled my service in 07/07 again i had to cancel in 2/08... and now i am still being billed! So again i call back to see why i am being billed} they are rude w/ me and tell me they cant do anything about it!

Earthlink billed me for a service I never subscribed to (dial up service) via my verizon bill with out any request or permission. It took 6 weeks and an inordinate amount of time to get the account cancelled and they still wouldn't give me a refund for the repeated billing. What is more disappointing is that Verizon just let Earthlink bill my phone bill w/o permission or confirmation from me.