Community Chat

[Venezia]

We live in a rural area in New England and until two years ago, we only had one option for internet and phone and the service was diabolical.  We were lucky to get speeds of 2.5 mbps.  Two and a half!  We had to have DirecTV in addition.  We were paying over $265  a month.

We could never have streaming because you need a minimum of 25 mbps for that.

The signal would drop all the time, multiple times a day and we often ended up with no service for days while waiting for a technician to come "fix" the problem.

Then a local committee in our town started looking into getting better service and thank God they did.  The day I found out I could switch to Spectrum, was the day I called them and signed up.

We initially had internet, phone and tv through them and it was still over $120 cheaper a month than our previous services.

We've since dropped the tv and just have streaming, but our internet speed averages 300 mbps and we can phone anywhere for no additional charge (our previous ****** company only allowed us 60 minutes of long-distance a month).  I've even called England numerous times with no added charge for some reason.

I've found the customer service to be excellent, if I've ever had a reason to contact them.  And they always notify us, if there's a power outage, and follow up to ensure our service is okay, when power is restored.

As with many things, it all depends on where you are.  I will forever be grateful to Spectrum for providing us (after over 20 years living with lousy service) with great service.  For around (with taxes) about $105 a month.  Worth every penny.  (Without the phone, it would be around $80.)

If you live somewhere, where you have multiple options, lucky you!

[In-x-s]

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@monicakm wrote:

It seems like a few months ago a few of you were complaining about Spectrum internet. Was that the right company? They have just buried Cable in front of my house and left a card on the door describing their services. I am 100% satisfied with my current internet provider and the price which is not gone up in the four or five years I've been with them. I'm thinking I should stay where I am. What is your thoughts on Spectrum. Sure, my internet could be even faster but I'm not unhappy with the speed that it is now. And I'm surely not unhappy with the $54 a month unlimited usage and no throttling down.

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I am not unhappy with Spectrum.  It isn't cheap but I don't think it's any more expensive than others similar.  We like cable TV and Spectrum does have a good cable package.  I have phone/internet/TV.  If I drop the phone it would cost more because it's a package so I just keep it.

IF you do consider switching, be sure to read the fine print.  They do like to suck people into services with 12 month discounted pricing and it goes UP after that. 

I have a feeling they are starting to feel the hurt of people dropping cable and going with streaming because they are really pushing their mobile phone service big time!!  Again, cheap for the first 12 months.

[elated]

I live in Kentucky and this is the only service in my area that offers cable, internet and phone..I have never had a problem with them or customer service. IMHO, their customer service is excellent. Whenever I have a problem they will walk me through the situation until it is resolved. If it can't be resolved over the phone, they sent someone to my home no charge.  I am currently paying $179.00 a month.

[monicakm]

@In-x-s 

Oh no, I'm not switching! I just wanted to make sure I remembered right. I've been with this company for four or five years and the rate has not gone up. It's extremely stable and I'm very happy with the speed.

[monicakm]

I don't remember the technology they use but it has something to do with using the rails of a railroad.  I know, sounds nuts

[sligo]

@monicakm, When we moved back to the South (a few weeks ago)we received a special  12 month offer from Spectrim. In the North we had charter. Spectrim.s offer was 180.00 Includes  internet, phone and cable tv. When 12 months passes I will try to get Charter. Not sure it is avail in S.C. Spectrum is just OK. Charter service is much better.I think Spectrim internet alone is 89.00 Think it is higher if also using for business purposes.Have no idea as to charges in your part of country. Do not rush into Spectrum my friend. Always, Sligo   (Can you share comp you are using?)

[cindyNC]

Spectrum is one of those companies that offers remarkably good deals for new subscribers and then it just goes up and up and up after that.  I would stick with what you have. 

The only time I got a deal from them is when I walked into an office and told them I was discontinuing services.  This was many many years ago.  I wish we had a choice other than Spectrum where we live. 

[Stray]

We have no choice; Spectrum. We live in a high rise & have a community package which includes high sped inet, WiFi, phone, HBO, Max, Disney & Showtime. We pay $70 in our maintenance. Our wiring was damaged during a building flood. Their response was impressive as it was a big issue, all cables go to the main box & it was badly damaged. They didn’t have parts locally so they fedexed parts to the building from upstate NY & other areas. They sent a team from North Carolina as the emergency was bumped up with the help of town officials. Many residents work from home & it happened during the pandemic. The team checked with every unit & stayed on site until everyone was online. Tech visited my unit to get my printer on line. We also have our own help line for “normal” complaints & they are responsive & very good techs. The Board just renewed the contract. We have a good deal & are satisfied with service.

[Squirrels Are Trash]

@monicakm 

I wouldn't encourage moving to Spectrum. They will give to a deal to get your business, and then start doubling the price. Within the last few years they even made one of the "most hated companies" lists.

Their phone customer service is abysmal, but their in-person techs are pretty good. They have this tendency to do system maintenance/updates at about 11 AM. The network traffic will slowwwww down.  They deny it, but a tech told me they always do updates during the day. Overhead airport traffic interferes with my wireless and sometimes my ethernet. I'm a subject matter expert, so I do web broadcasts with a few hundred attendees about once a month, and I am regularly kicked off because of the slowness of Spectrum's network. Pretty embarassing...

[Venezia]

@Squirrels Are Trash - Like everything, people's experiences are different.

Your post made me look back through our own Spectrum bills.

We've actually been with Spectrum for nearly 4 years now (seemed shorter!).  We initially had the tv, but dropped it, when we were able to use streaming services.  Our internet speed has increased from initially 100 mbps to 300 mbps, with no increase in cost.

For the internet and phone, our cost over that period (after the end of the 12-month promo), has increased by approximately $7.  The latest increase, in January of this year, was $2.  I'd call that a modest price increase.

Every company I've looked at offers a special promo price for new customers, not just Spectrum.  When we signed up, we were told upfront what our bill would be for the first year and what it would be, when the promo ended.  Our previous company had increased our bill three months in a row, with no advance notice and no explanation!

Also, this was a no-contract, no early termination fee account.  The lady on the phone said "We want you to be happy to stay with us, not locked in."

When I call Spectrum CS, I've had a human answer within a few minutes.  Our previous company?  The routine wait was over an hour and my final call to them had them hang up on me after I'd waited 1 hour & 45 minutes to speak to someone.

As to maintenance, it's routinely done here at 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. to "minimize disruption to the service", always with advance notice.

So like I said - different areas, different experiences.