New customer rant (tl;dr pls stop charging me for a phone line)
Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 11:14 am
I decided to go with Sonic for my new apartment last week, largely out of a strong desire to finally ditch Comcast and hopefully get more reliable connection (no throttling or whatever they do during peak hours). I just got the Fusion FTTN service hooked up yesterday, and so far the connection is great. Yay.
But there were a few annoyances along the way.
Using the web interface to find what service was available at my apartment, I was only shown the $60/mo 50mbps FTTN service. That was not competitive enough with Comcast, even considering their usual nonsense. Upon calling Sonic, I was told there is also a 20 mbps $40/mo service. That is plenty for me, and I'm sure for many people, and I went with this option. Why doesn't Sonic advertise their full selection online?
I learned that I must rent an ATT modem for $6.50/mo. Maybe that is part of doing business with ATT for this FTTN service. I was told by the Sonic rep that you can't buy these commercially (as with a Comcast-compatible cable modem); true? Well, OK fine, I can live with this. It works well.
The final kicker is my real complaint. I am also required to rent a Sonic ATA phone adapter for $6.50/mo, plus around $2.30 in taxes related to having a voice line. As I told the initial Sonic rep when I signed up, and again today, I DO NOT need or want a phone connection, and will not use this service. I received the adapter from Sonic yesterday. It is unopened. The box will remain unopened, and cost me hundreds of dollars over the next several years if I continue with the Sonic service. After trying to blow smoke at me about the importance of having a 911 line, the Sonic reps tell me they are powerless to remove the 'bundle' package.
I can only think of a couple reasons Sonic does this. Either they are unashamed about extoring almost $9/mo from me, or their profit margin on the advertised $40/mo for internet is not sufficient so they must include mandatory extras like this. In either case, it is unpleasantly reminiscent of my experience with Comcast over the last decade.
Am I happy with the Sonic internet connection so far? Yes. Do I believe they are really the people's ISP? Not based on my experience so far. I unfortunately remain ready to jump ship if a more transparent ISP comes around.
I can only hope they will soon remove this ridiculous bundle requirement (it's equivalent to Comcast forcing basic cable TV on me, and even they are above that). Until then, I will have to periodically call Sonic to check if things have changed, to ensure I don't continue to get ripped off if the bundle requirement is removed. Even with Comcast, I only had to endure calling them once a year to keep the 1st year discounted rate.
To be clear, I am not claiming a bait and switch. I knew the costs going in. I am questioning the rationale to force the voice line. I'll happily send the adapter box back unopened, just give me an address.
But there were a few annoyances along the way.
Using the web interface to find what service was available at my apartment, I was only shown the $60/mo 50mbps FTTN service. That was not competitive enough with Comcast, even considering their usual nonsense. Upon calling Sonic, I was told there is also a 20 mbps $40/mo service. That is plenty for me, and I'm sure for many people, and I went with this option. Why doesn't Sonic advertise their full selection online?
I learned that I must rent an ATT modem for $6.50/mo. Maybe that is part of doing business with ATT for this FTTN service. I was told by the Sonic rep that you can't buy these commercially (as with a Comcast-compatible cable modem); true? Well, OK fine, I can live with this. It works well.
The final kicker is my real complaint. I am also required to rent a Sonic ATA phone adapter for $6.50/mo, plus around $2.30 in taxes related to having a voice line. As I told the initial Sonic rep when I signed up, and again today, I DO NOT need or want a phone connection, and will not use this service. I received the adapter from Sonic yesterday. It is unopened. The box will remain unopened, and cost me hundreds of dollars over the next several years if I continue with the Sonic service. After trying to blow smoke at me about the importance of having a 911 line, the Sonic reps tell me they are powerless to remove the 'bundle' package.
I can only think of a couple reasons Sonic does this. Either they are unashamed about extoring almost $9/mo from me, or their profit margin on the advertised $40/mo for internet is not sufficient so they must include mandatory extras like this. In either case, it is unpleasantly reminiscent of my experience with Comcast over the last decade.
Am I happy with the Sonic internet connection so far? Yes. Do I believe they are really the people's ISP? Not based on my experience so far. I unfortunately remain ready to jump ship if a more transparent ISP comes around.
I can only hope they will soon remove this ridiculous bundle requirement (it's equivalent to Comcast forcing basic cable TV on me, and even they are above that). Until then, I will have to periodically call Sonic to check if things have changed, to ensure I don't continue to get ripped off if the bundle requirement is removed. Even with Comcast, I only had to endure calling them once a year to keep the 1st year discounted rate.
To be clear, I am not claiming a bait and switch. I knew the costs going in. I am questioning the rationale to force the voice line. I'll happily send the adapter box back unopened, just give me an address.