June 9
John T. Chambers
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Cisco Systems, Inc.
170 West Tasman Drive
San Jose, CA 95134
Dear Mr. Chambers,
Do you know the scam being run by Cisco Support? If you don’t, you really should read further. If you do know about it, shame on you!
I purchased an E900 Linksys router in April. When my laptop lost all internet access even though my PC was connected, I called my ISP to come out and look at my laptop. When finished, he concluded that either the router driver needed updating or the router was defective (even though it was only two months old) and advised me to contact Cisco support for assistance.
When I reached Cisco this past Wednesday, a technician named Mark informed me that the router was under full warranty (which I already knew) and assured me that my problem would be resolved. He then spent five minutes telling me that he was going to transfer me to a “third party” that would work with me to get my router up and going again. I was a bit suspicious about this “third party, ” and when I asked him whether there would be a charge for this service, he admitted there would be a “small charge.” When I protested that that’s not what a warranty means, he replied that is the way Cisco provides support.
Since I needed my router to be fixed, I reluctantly allowed Mark to transfer me to the “third party” (Supportrix), where a woman began by telling me – before she even asked what my problem was – that they had two kinds of service arrangements, a one-year contract for around $300 (!) or a 6-time contract for $119 (I don’t recall the exact charges but the above figures are clearly in the ball park). By this time my blood pressure was probably going through the roof and I was thoroughly enraged. And then, as I prepared to hang-up the phone, she offered me a 50% discount!
Now how can any responsible company allow its support division to ignore a guaranteed commitment by working hand-in-hand with such a questionable outside group intent on squeezing the consumer? I’m sure many unsuspecting Cisco products users have been sucked in by this sleazy concept of “support.”
I’m going to wait ten days before taking any action, but I give you my guarantee: if I don’t get a satisfactory reply indicating appropriate action on Cisco’s part, I’ll make sure that the BBB and the community of internet users are made fully aware of this scam.
P.S. My E900 Linksys router is still not fixed.
Sincerely,
Seymour Fisher, Ph. D.
Professor Emeritus
(Personal Information Removed)
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