May 3
I and several of my friends and family members have had service with Budget Dialup for well over 8 years. Until a few months ago, they were fine: very few drops in service or connectivity.
Several months ago, their service started failing; there were lots of dropped calls, couldnt get online, couldnt send/receive emails, etc. Calls to the Help Desk and/or Support went unheeded, or they were abrupt and didnt seem to care whether they had your service or not.
My email service STOPPED on May 1st. As in just stopped. I have been a paying customer as I said for several years, and I have 8 months left on my current account. I paid in full, in advance, so payment is not an issue. Ive sent emails directly to them no response. Ive tried calling them they have an automated telephone system now on their Customer Support line (866-644-6500), so you cannot talk to a real person, although on their website it says: Friendly Service, All Day, Every Day (866) 644-6500. Our support line is answered 24/7 by a person, not an automated phone system. If you have any questions or problems, just give us a call toll free anytime.
Im here to tell you, it is NOT friendly, nor is it All Day, Every Day, nor do you get a live person! It is AUTOMATED to the max, and tells you that any support you need you must send an email to [email protected]. Good luck with that! Each time Ive sent an email (which has been about 5 times in the last four months due to email not working), I have yet to receive a response. The email will start working again, so I assume theyd received my support email they just never respond. Their Corporate number just goes to a voice mail which says they will contact you back they never do.
Today after much researching I found an alternative phone number where I reached a live person it was through a subsidiary company, iRove.com, number is 888-443-5739, which is also for the Budget pre-paid billing office. I spoke with Ivan (which was he name he gave me when I asked to whom I was speaking), who was initially very abrupt with me, then got downright rude. I let him know that my email was not working and hadnt been for 3 days, and described the problem (not being able to send and receive emails). He said he didnt know what I meant. I said, I send an email to someone, they dont receive it; someone sends me an email, I dont receive it. Could you help me figure this out please? He says what exactly is happening? I say, I type an email, and enter someones name in the email address. They system shows it as being sent, but the recipient does not receive it. He says it must be going to their SPAM folder. I say that this just started 3 days ago, and Id not done any changes to my computer or my email. He asked if I go to the Webmail to use my email, I said yes, Ive done that also, and it doesnt work either. I told him I normally use Outlook Express to send and receive email. He said maybe I need my computer checked out by a technician. I said Ive just paid to have a technician check out my computer remotely (to the tune of $29.95), and they found no issues and said it was at Budge Dialups server end.
Ivan insisted again that the server is fine, and that all the emails are going to the SPAM folders on my senders and my account. I told him Ive checked my SPAM folders, they arent going there; I said my friends and family and others have checked their SPAM folders, added me (again) to their address books, have whitelisted my email, and/or have marked my email address as safe. Still, none of the emails are getting through. He says, Well, I cant help you. You need to get another service provider, and then hung up on me. Needless to say, I was a bit peeved.
I called back again. I asked to whom I was speaking. He said Budget. I said what is your name? He said, first name Budget, last name Dialup. I said, "okay... I was calling about not being able to send or receive email". We went through the same drill again. He said it was because my free trial period had ended in January I said yes, but you still offer the email and that I wasnt using the Dialup as I was on DSL. I said they had done this same thing to my sister, and she had paid for a whole year just for email. He said, what do you expect, free service? I said no, I dont use you for dialup anymmore (which is what they charge for), but that I was a long-time customer previously (8 years), and your service does not say anything about not being able to access email, that you can (obviously) still keep your email address even though you dont use their dialup. I said my sister has a paid account, and her email is not working either. He then very rudely said, then you tell your sister to call, and hung up on me again.!!
I called my sister and told her what happened. She said she couldnt call because she was on her way to work. She asked me to call on her behalf, and I agreed. This time I got out my recorder, and called Budget back. I got Ivan again, trying to disguise his voice apparently but it didnt work. I asked, who am I speaking to please? He said Budget Dialup. (Oh, good grief!) Went through the whole thing again, except this time it was an even shorter conversation because he hung up on me again when I told him it was not at my end, that it was due to something on the Budget mail server.
I called back again, and when Ivan came on I asked to speak to a supervisor please. He didnt say anything, but I heard the phone being muffled, then the same voice came on and said Supervisor. I said, what is your name, sir? He said, Supervisor. I said, Okay, may I speak with your supervisor please? The phone was muffled again, and then I heard the same voice come on and say Supervisor. I asked again his name, he said Supervisor. I said, Well Mr. Supervisor, can I speak with your supervisor please? Then the phone was muffled, then the same voice came on and started speaking in a language I can only figure was Iranian or some other middle-eastern language. After he hung up on me again, I called back.
This time I got the voice mail. I left a message. No call back, of course (not surprised!). I called back, heard the phone pick up and someone breathing, then he mustve turned on the radio because I heard music. I also heard (what I assume to be him) sitting in a chair as I heard it squeaking. I also heard someones voice in the background. I hung up and called back. Voicemail. I called back got the music. I called the corporate office again and left a detailed message no call back. I sent a fax to the corporate office (858-430-5526). I filled in an online Contact Form. I called Budget support number (866-644-6500), and even went on a whois quest for their domain name info (which the phone number from there has been disconnected, FYI).
I called once more, and got the squeaking chair and music (so I knew someone was there). I told them that if they dont address our concerns, I will report them to the FCC, the Better Business Bureau, and usacomplaints.com. I said that I will also give an accurate description of the way my sister and I have been treated to any venue that reviews service providers. I added that I am hoping to change the way they treat their customers in that if they start to lose customers, then perhaps they will start to be more appreciative and customer-friendly because as it is right now, their service stinks. And then I hung up.
Interestingly enough, 10 minutes after my last phone call, our email magically started working again! Amazing.
Although our email is working again right now, I have lost all trust in Budget Dialup. I have sent a copy of this letter to all my family and friends who I know have Budget service (there are 34 of them total, I was the one who had initially found Budget and turned everyone on to their service which several years ago used to be quite decent). They are all going to be dropping Budget as the ones I spoke with also had had issues mostly in the last few months. Nice to know its not just me! ;-)
Im not sure what has happened to Budget these last few months, but whatever it is has certainly not been a good thing. I abhor companies and service personnel who treat their customers like idiots, and I refuse to do business with them.in the case of Budget Dialup, it seems it is owned and run by one person (perhaps two people at the most), and Ivan (aka Mr. Budget Dialup, aka Mr. Supervisor) is extremely RUDE.
I also noted after my email started working again that the website info has changed; it no longer gives the phone number to Customer Support only the email address shows ([email protected]). So, Ivan or Mr. Budget Dialup mustve also just changed that when he fixed the email server. I dont know why they bother though, because they dont answer their emails either. Poor excuse for Customer Service.
They also have two contact addresses and emails:
Technical Support
Hours: 24x7
Budget Dialup, Inc.
1001 SW 5th Ave, Suite 1100
Portland, OR 97204
[email protected]
Toll free: (866) 644-6500
Corporate Headquarters
Hours: 9am to 6pm PST
Budget Dialup, Inc.
12707 High Bluff Dr, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92130
Phone: (858) 925-7293
Fax: (858) 430-5526
[email protected]
I heartily suggest anyone who is either with this service (tongue-in-cheek description) or is considering them to go elsewhere. Their service is okay (just mediocre really), but it quickly turns into a nightmare if you should ever have any problems. And if you are traveling and have problems? Forget it! There is no way youll get the issues resolved in any semblance of a reasonable time frame.
Best regards to the usacomplaints.com community!
And *Good Luck* if you are a current customer of Budget - you'll need it!
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