Earthlink, inc
Earthlink inc Delinquent refund of non-working home networking gateway

I switched to Earthlink from Time-Warner Road Runner some time last summer. When I got a second computer, I wanted to put the second on the Internet, so I approached Earthlink about their advertised Home Networking Gateway ("HGN") solution. Unfortunately, due to inept customer service, Earthlink lost me as a cable Internet customer and now as a wireless Internet customer.

The first service rep I contacted said they could have the HGN within a week of ordering it. When I was ready, I ordered it, leaving some three weeks before I needed the setup for a demo to a client.

After two weeks transpired, I had heard nothing, so I called Earthlink customer service. They reported they saw the order but no action had been taken on it. I explained the situation with the client, and they got started on it. I paid for expedited shipping to receive the unit in time.

A few days later, the HGN arrived. I immediately tried hooking it up, but the unit I received did not match the instructions for the type of HGN I called and asked for help. After two hours on the phone, the analyst at Earthlink determined that the unit was the wrong kind. They had sent a DSL unit instead of a cable modem unit.

The analyst reported Earthlink could ship me a new unit in place of the first, and since I had paid for expedited shipping, they would ship the replacement in that manner.independently, they said, they'd send me a UPS return tag to return the first unit.

Two days passed, and I had nothing. I called Earthlink again. Customer service reported that they could not send the new unit out until they received the first unit back. That was difficult since I was waiting on them to send me the return tag.

I escalated the problem, to no avail.

I contacted my client and won a deferral of the demo. I then contacted Time-Warner Road Runner and cancelled my Earthlink account. I asked them what kind of HGN setup I needed. Theirs did not support Win95, which is what my older computer runs, and they weren't sure their software was compatible with WinXP Home Edition. Actually, this turned out to be a fortunate turn of events.

I contacted LinkSys, the people who make networking routers, and took advantage of a free technical service line LinkSys runs to explain what I wanted and needed. I already had Time-Warner Road Runner back.

The knowledgeable LinkSys rep said I should tell Time-Warner and Earthlink to go away, if I had a cable modem Internet link. She told me which LinkSys unit to buy and that that would work fine, although it would probably be a good idea to run firewalls on both machines. Later that day I bought the unit from Circuit City across town. The next day I did my demo for my client.

Back to Earthlink: The Customer Service reps said all I needed to do was give them the UPS Tracking Number on the ticket I used to ship their HGN back and they would initiate the refund process, including the double expedited shipping charges I paid. They knew I had cancelled my Earthlink account and that I had an Earthlink wireless account as well. Well, guess what, the customer service reps now said they could not initiate the refund process until after they had received the HGN hardware back. I was getting pretty angry by this point.

A week later, I used the UPS site to confirm Earthlink had received the HGN hardware back. I called Earthlink asking them to be sure to initiate my refund. They said they would, and the refund would arrive in my account 5-10 business days after approval.

A week later, I checked with Earthlink again only to learn the refund process had not bee n initiated or approved. I started threatening legal remedies, although it probably wasn't worth it for the $200 involved unless I could do it in Small Claims Court.

A week yet later, I checked with Earthlink again to learn that the refund had been approved in full, but it hadn't gone to the department which needed to cut the check. I asked them to expedite it. That was last week, the week ending 17th January.

I have not seen my refund yet.

Both because of my unhappiness with the company and because I need to cut some costs, I have cancelled my Earthlink wireless account as well (formerly known as Omnisky). I will probably have to pay a $100 early termination fee, but that will be cheaper than waiting until the end of the year's service to do it. I wonder how long it will take them to process that?

Jan
Endicott, New York
U.S.A.

Company: Earthlink, inc
Country: USA
State: Georgia
City: Atlanta
Address: 1375 Peachtree St., Level A

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