Been with Cricket for nearly four ywars, at first the service was fine but over httte yesars it began to degrade, to the point now that I seem to be spending more time troubleshooting the connection than being online. While I live in a slight "shadow" the signal was still steady, slow but stable, until about a year ago. When I finally took the modem unit (their branded E600B) to the central store in downtown Portland (OR), I was told the modem was pretty much wearing out and I needed a new one. Well I thought fine, I've been paying extra for insurance every month to cover just such an instance.
Next I am told that the current modem I have is no longer available, and I can only get 50% off on the next upgrade (for 69$) that not only has a more limited download bandwidth per month and will cost more for the service, but also may or may not work. I was told if it didn't work I could only get a 45$ refund if I returned it, so I basically I pay them 24$ (about half of my monthly connection charge) for nothing. So much for being a loyal customer for nearly four years.
OK this gets even better for today when I pressed the question about whether their local node in my neighbourhood might be experiencing difficulty as, at two certain times of the day every day, my connection goes down the loo for a couple hours, I was told my area of town (a middle class to slightly affluent neighbourhood) was a designated low connectivity area.
On top of all this, as I was informed Cricket is apparently dumping straight broadband internet and moving completely over to Smartphone sales/service so why would I shell out nearly 70$ for a device that most likely in six months will no longer be supported?
I told the rep that I don't need or want a smartphone (which would be an even larger expense for activation, service, and the device, than what I am paying now), I just need monthly internet service. Lately I have been spending about as much or more than my monthly Cricket bill in coffee drinks & such at the corner hotspot just so I can get a stable connection.
Currently I am unemployed and need my internet connection to apply for jobs, submit resumes and receive notification of pending interviews and career workshops. I am unable to afford an expensive hardwired plan with contract obligations and other bundled services (such as television) which I do not need. The was the whole reason I went with Cricket in the first place as they were (and I stress were") no nonsense. Apparently that has changed and they have become as greedy and unaccommodating as any of the other large telecom services.
Bcs
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