ComplaintsforBroadStar

• Initial Complaint

  03/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have had major service issues with Broadstar over the course of the past 90 days, and I have had an email chain as long as a dozen phone calls to their support over the past 60 days regarding this issue. There are other complaints posted during the month of February on BBB that I can see here that are obviously from my same neighborhood. ************** in ***********, ** has had service issues for months now, it took me several calls just to get them to acknowledge that it was a property wide issue, instead of their support blaming it on my computer's CPU as if that makes any sense even after I explained that this was consistent across multiple devices. For 60 days now I have an email chain where I ask for an update on this issue every few days, every response is "we have not gotten an update form the *** team". After 2 months, no ETA, no resolution, I do not care about being compensated a month's worth of bills. I want to have internet at my residence that works. 2 months ago they said it was an issue with the circuit and they planned to replace it the following week. Nobody has visited the property, there has been no further update and no improvement since then to this day as of 5 minutes ago when my most recent call to support ended with the same "no update from our *** team". Supervisors consistently refuse to get on the phone, theres no point of escalation and 0 communication. Its frankly criminal that Broadstar has been allowed to operate this way. It has cost me substantial money to travel daily to a place where I can utilize internet for my job at any hour of the day, and has cost me substantial amount of personal time just to try and stay on top of this issue. I am not at all surprised to see I am not the only person at this property to file a complaint.

  Business response

  04/01/2024

  We have escalated ****************** issue to our Level 2 Support team. According to our system, his system is working fine, but we understand his concerns and are investigating the matter further to provide a satisfactory resolution. As a gesture of goodwill, we have credited ****************** account with two months of free service. We are committed to working together with him to identify the root cause of the issues he is experiencing.

  Customer response

  04/01/2024

   
  Complaint: 21461805
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This is not true, my most recent call with your support team was 2 days ago in which he also confirmed that the issue is still "being worked on". I have emails from less than a week ago with your support team screenshotting my internet speeds at an abysmal 13mbps down on your highest plan you offer my neighborhood of 500mbps down. As I have said, refunding my service is not a gesture of goodwill. A gesture of goodwill would be communicating a path to resolution on this issue in which there has been none. The leasing office at Magnolia is aware of this same issue that you are claiming now doesn't exist, they explained that they have had a dozen complaints from residence over the past few months about the same issues I am experiencing, the same issues your support team has confirmed exists at the property, and says the tickets still remain open and unresolved. I want working internet, I've already had to cancel the renewal of my lease because I cannot do my required work from home tasks at my own home for months. This response is a blatant lie, or a great April ***** joke. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

  Business response

  04/01/2024

  Hello , 

   

  I am not showing a Reason for Rejection ? 

  Business response

  04/04/2024

  Hello , 

   

  We are working with getting this customer scheduled . We need a technician to go out here and see if he can identify the issue - We have been in contact Via Phone and email 

  Customer response

  04/20/2024

  This response was once again just a PR stunt. They "scheduled a tech" and then promptly canceled that onsite upon realizing that the issue could not be resolved via an onsite visit. I will paste the exact correspondence below and also include screenshots from the email. The best part was they didnt even notify me that they canceled the onsite, so I took off a day from work to be at home for the 4 hour window they gave me for no reason. As if a compensated month of non working internet makes up for lost wages. 

  Hello,
  
  
  At this point, we've been given the go-ahead to schedule a service call for this. I have an opening on 4/10 between 8:30 and 12:30. Will you be free during that window? Also, I can request a sooner opening if you let me know your availability.
  
  
  
  
  Best,
  Jack
  
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  JR
  *******************
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  To:Customer care
  Thu 4/4/********* PM
  
  I can make anytime work for this. Send at the soonest possible.
  
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  JR
  *******************
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  To:Customer care
  Wed 4/10/********** PM
  
  So I have taken this entire morning off of work so I could be home for this. Nobody has showed up, nobody has called. This feels like I am on a reality TV show being pranked. To be ***** im not even sure why we are scheduling on on site technician to my apartment again when at the beginning of this almost 3 months ago we already confirmed it wasnt an issue with anything in my apartment. 
  
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  Customer care <********************************************************************>
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  To:You
  Wed 4/10/2024 12:51 PM
  
  It looks like this was removed from the calendar after it was determined there was nothing that could be done in person. I really wish someone would have reached out to you. I am crediting your account for 1 full month worth of internet service. Apparently we need a brand new circuit at ************** and we are hoping this will happen within a month.

   

  Business response

  04/22/2024

  We would like to extend our sincere apologies for any inconvenience experienced due to the delay in upgrading the equipment at your property. As a gesture of goodwill, we are providing complimentary service until the equipment upgrade can be completed. Your satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us, and we are committed to resolving this matter promptly. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work to address this issue.
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  03/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have been a customer of ********************** for 2 years against my wishes but our HOA decided to burden us with this company.I have had problems with video recordings failing since day one.Last week on the sixth of March the recordings started failing again. I notified them on the eighth of the problem and they carried me through a sequence to try and fix it over the phone which failed. I let them know it was continuing to fail on the 19th. I called them again on the 15th to get an update since they had not contacted me in a week. They said there were no updates and had no answers for me. Since this is a product I pay for and is supposed to be included in their services I expect it to be fixed long before now.

  Business response

  03/27/2024

  We have escalated the recording issue with the customer to our app developer. We have reached out to schedule a technician to come out and help capture the issue to assist with escalation

  Customer response

  03/27/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  02/21/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I and my roommate are filing a complaint against Broadstar (Account #************ for deceptive marketing and billing practices at **********, ***********, **. After service activation on Jan 30th 2024, a complete internet outage from Feb 6th-20th ensued due to Broadstar's infrastructure failures.During this outage, Broadstar issued us a bill for $76.23 (Invoice Number:240613513), which was for an undisclosed one-time installation fee. When we contacted customer service on February 19th, a representative named **** confirmed that this was a one-time setup fee and agreed to disconnect our service and issue a refund for the entire bill. The call was suddenly disconnected before the refund was processed, and despite numerous follow-up calls and voicemails, we did not receive a confirmation of the refund.On February 21st, after no communication from Broadstar, we reached out again and spoke with another representative named ****. He was uncooperative, refusing to connect us with **** or a manager and insisting that the $76.23 fee was valid. We reiterated that **** had already obtained approval from a manager for a refund but to no avail. **** also denied our requests for call recordings or written notes from our conversations that he had.In addition to the billing issues, we have concerns about the misleading advertised internet speeds. Broadstar advertises speeds of "up to 500 Mbps" for the $60/month plan (see the at ************************************************** ), but our speeds never surpassed 50 Mbps. Furthermore, Broadstar mandates the rental of an older model modem/router for an indefinite rental fee of $10/month, preventing us from using our own equipment, which we know would be faster and cost-effective.We urge the BBB to investigate Broadstar for these deceptive practices and secure our refund. We look forward to your action on this matter.Sincerely,

  Business response

  02/27/2024

  Good morning,
  
  Thank you for your email regarding your BBB complaint.
  
  The activation fee of $69.99 applies to all services activated on your account, including TV and internet. You signed up for *******'s Top 120 and Lightning Internet, and this information was provided to you during the initial call when you set up the service. ********* assisted you during your initial call and the call that you are referencing, and I have reviewed the recording of it. He mentioned that he would investigate the issue for you, and after reviewing your account, he found that the activation fee applies to both services. However, I did not hear him mention that there is a valid fee for activating the (included) TV service. Therefore, I have waived the activation fee. Please note that ********* called you back several times, but our outbound calls come from a different number, which you may have yet to recognize.
  
  We recommend customers use BroadStar-approved modems because outside modems have caused interference in our network in the past. I did not hear on either call that you were asked if you were hard-wired into the modem or using WIFI. If you are having speed issues, we always recommend having our tech out to see what the issue is.
  
  I have reviewed the call you made to Herb. Although the call was live and not transferred to a supervisor, **** should have filled out a request to have one call you back, as you had asked. I apologize that this did not happen.
  
  Regarding the refund of the activation fee, I have processed it, and it should be back on your card ending in 0793 within 5-7 days.
  
  Please feel free to let me know if there is anything else I can help you with. 

  Customer response

  02/27/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  02/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Broadstar internet services have been down since Sunday, February 4th at ************ Apartment complex in ***********, **. The internet is down complex-wide. They are sending out very few updates, all vague in reasoning. I can provide the emails if needed. At first we were told by Broadstar to not contact customer service during this time. They did change their tune and allow customers to contact customer support after the ******************** was down longer than anticipated. Aside from being a major inconvenience, I work remotely and this has severely impacted my work. I do not have access to half of the equipment I use on a daily basis to perform at my job to the best of my abilities. They also mention in each email that access to 911 is unavailable during this time. Because our apartment complex is provided internet exclusively by Broadstar, we are unable to seek service from another provider. I did try to contact other internet providers anyway and they all say they do not service our complex. I was told by a Broadstar customer service representative I would be contacted by a customer service manager days ago and never was. I implore you to read their recent ****** reviews to see complaints about this disruption of service. On Broadstar's social media accounts, they only post partial reviews, all 5-stars. I do not know if this would be considered false advertising but it is certainly not transparent. We have no estimated date of restoration for internet services. This is beyond frustrating. We pay for these services and are not provided them. I hope the BBB can aide in resolving this situation.

  Business response

  02/19/2024

  Thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately, we are working on replacing the circuit on the property due to unforeseen circumstances. We have been able to establish an estimated time of repair and we will make sure to reach out to you to discuss the credits you will receive and any further updates.

  Customer response

  02/20/2024

   
  Complaint: 21297176
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  Hello, 

  I had to leave my apartment to work elsewhere as I work remotely, and ultimately had to travel back home to live with my parents until services were restored.
  If one week of outage = a month of credit, I would assume we could receive additional retribution for the outage lasting much longer than a week. 
  

  I was told this morning "per management, we are not able to credit for more than the one month of service."

  To me, this is unacceptable. I understand not extending this courtesy complex-wide but for some people this went far beyond a simple inconvenience. This outage put my job in jeopardy. 

  
  Thank you, 
  *******************************

  Business response

  02/20/2024

  Thank you for reaching out to us. Normally, we only credit for the days when the service was not available. Being down for a week does not mean that a whole month's credit is due. However, as a gesture of goodwill, we have credited one month of service and also one month's rental fee for the equipment

• Initial Complaint

  02/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I've been in ****************** complex for a bit under a year and have had Broadstar the entire time. To say I've been disappointed with their service is a vast understatement. At this point I am shocked that an ISP can be this bad. It almost feels like they're actively trying not to provide the services they offer. It should be criminal to charge $80 a month for "500Mbps Download" but rarely provide even 100Mbps download speeds. They've sent a technician to "fix" the issue multiple times with 0 improvements. The biggest problem with their service is the CONSTANT internet disconnections. I can't go more than 30 mins without a minute or two where the internet does not work at all. If you work from home and you have broadstar, you might as well quit your job because you will not get any work done. Forget about any recreational internet use, that will only lead to frustration. I haven't even mentioned they're outdated website and payment portal. This company is a joke. If any other business provided less than 10% of what they offered they'd be sued instantly. This is unacceptable service. Broadstar is the worst ISP I've ever had. STRONGLY RECOMMEND AVOIDING THEM AT ALL COSTS. Ironically, I've had to try and submit this claim multiple times because my internet would go down before it submitted... as expected.

  Business response

  02/22/2024

  Hello , we will have a Representative reach out to you to schedule a service tech to come out and determine what the issue is. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Today, Feb 7,2024, my Internet has been out since early Monday morning and is still out. No explanation why, just that they r working on it. No estimate when might be done. I will have to move if not corrected soon since I do some of my work at home and needing Internet access.They also provide dish, and when that goes out on a Friday they will not come out to fix until Tuesday or later in the next week. Apparently they have no service tech to come out. Just expressing my frustration. Someone needs to find out what is going on.

  Business response

  02/19/2024

  Thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately, we are working on replacing the circuit on the property due to unforeseen circumstances. We have been able to establish an estimated time of repair and we will make sure to reach out to you to discuss the credits you will receive and any further updates.

• Initial Complaint

  11/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company provides television and internet services in *****************, in *************** **. That is when it works. Their service goes on and off so frequently its unbelievable. When it is on you have to put up with pixilation so bad you can hardly watch. They have been out to service our system at least 5 times. If they dont come out their fix is to unplug and reconnect the box after ************************************************************************************* the time weve had their service. I wonder if the president of this company had his car stop on the street every other day and the car company fix was. Just get out and kick the tires..how long would they keep that car. I really dont think their service personnel know what they are doing. Or the company just doesnt want to spend the money to upgrade their equipment to something reliable. This is not just a personal complaint. Many, many people in this 55 and older community have had the same experience. And NEVER has their been any compensation offered.

  Business response

  12/04/2023

  Hello, last week we sent a Tier 3 technician to Saddlebrook to review the issue. We worked on the distribution and were able to balance it. We are confident that these fixes will eliminate the outages. As a gesture of goodwill, we have credited this customer for an entire month of service for the inconvenience caused.Customer Information:

• Initial Complaint

  11/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Back in September of 2023, Broadstar decided to cut ties with me and my entire community. They reimbursed me for the month of September. However, I owe them $***** for equipment fees. Today I received an email stating I need to return the equipment by December 30 with NO PREPAID SHIPPING LABEL and they will waive any outstanding bill I have with them. So I called their billing department to ask why isn't there a prepaid shipping label attached to the email and they said I have to buy the label and ship the equipment back to them. I then ask about them waiving the ***** bill once they receive the equipment and they told me no. So how is it fair that I have to provide my own label AND pay for the equipment fee when I haven't been able to use their service since September!? I want them to waive the bill if I have to buy the shipping label to return their equipment.

  Business response

  12/04/2023

  Hello, I called and spoke to **** and explained that we will waive the balance on the account if he ships it back. I apologize the representative gave the wrong information 

• Initial Complaint

  10/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Called at 7pm and its 730 and still waiting for someone to answer the phone tried every option the provide and nobody answered. My card was replaced and I tried calling to replace the card. One day after due date the suspended my service. Now they are charging reconnection fee. I paid it by 10 am this morning. And still no service. Dont try to respond saying there is no account affiliation. I will post my account and payment history to show. Never been late! Expect a refund for reconnection and call back

  Business response

  10/10/2023

  The customer had enrolled their account in the auto-pay service, with the payment due on the first day of every month. However, the payment was unsuccessful, and BroadStar tried to inform the customer twice, on the 2nd and 3rd day of the month. Despite these attempts, the customer failed to respond. Consequently, on 10/4 at 12:10 p.m., BroadStar suspended the service and levied a reconnection fee. The customer eventually called on 10/5 at 10:20 am to pay their bill, which was four days overdue and had already been suspended.

• Initial Complaint

  09/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have lived in Magnolia Place for about a year and a half now. I pay for the highest plan Broadstar offers being 500mbps down in my neighborhood, which is low for the area. The other leading ISP in town offers 1 gig internet speeds and I used them prior to moving to this neighborhood with little to no issues. Since my move in date I have filed a new ticket every couple of months complaining about internet speeds. I regularly work from home and complained that getting on average ***** down is not acceptable, especially when ***** is if I am lucky. As I am writing this I am getting 16mbps with only one active device on the network, hard wired to the modem. I can count on one hand the number of times I have ran a speed test and gotten over 200mbps, and only on two hands then number of times I've seen over 100mbps. This recent 2 weeks was a breaking point for me after I opened yet another ticket only for them to want to schedule another on site technician as if somehow after all this time another modem is all I need. Prior to this redundant on site I received a call saying they believe they found a potential issue affecting my network, and were going to try and fix it remotely on Monday (today). It is now the end of the day almost 8pm, I have not received any follow up, my internet has not improved, I called their support again and was told there are no notes on my ticket and that the on site technician scheduled for tomorrow will likely figure out why my speed is slow (he wont). I then decided to call back and speak to the billing department to demand some form of credit to my account after over a year of trying to fix this issue. I got the same person on the phone, who told me there is nothing they can do for me until the issue is resolved. Which is mind blowing to me considering they haven't fixed it in over a year.

  Business response

  09/29/2023

  On 9/10/23, we received a report of an issue, which we promptly addressed by replacing the modem on 9/22. We wish to assure our valued customers that our proactive monitoring efforts will continue to ensure seamless service delivery. As a gesture of goodwill, we have credited the customer's account for one month of service. Should you have any further inquiries, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩