Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Astound Broadband powered by RCN's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  Astound Broadband powered by RCN

  650 College Rd E Ste 3100 Princeton, NJ 08540-6629

• 

  Astound Broadband by RCN

  1133 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036

• 

  RCN Telecom Services

  956 Massachusetts Ave Arlington, MA 02476-4509

• 

  RCN Telecom Services

  518 Union Ave Framingham, MA 01702-5817

• 

  RCN

  1130 Connecticut Ave NW Ste 400 Washington, DC 20036-3990

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/31/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We have an internet cable in our yard that needs to be buried. I called on 5/10/23 and was given a case number (#*******) and was told to expect a call with 3 business days to schedule service. I never got the call. I reached out again on 5/18 and was told to expect a call by 5/23/23 to set up service. I did not get a call. I reached out again on 5/23/23 and spoke with ********. He gave me another case number (#*******) and was told I would get a call within 3 business days. I did not receive a call. I called again on 5/30/23 and spoke with ******. She issued another case number (#*******) and was told to expect a call within 3 days. I told her that no one ever calls and I wanted to speak with her supervisor. She told me that wasn't possible. I asked for a different number to call and was told there wasn't one available for me. Our Astound account number is *************** and the account is in my husband's name, ***************************. I am at a loss as to how to go about getting this company that we pay each month to come out and bury this cable in our yard.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/02/2023

  We have escalated this to our construction team and they will reach out to ******************** to arrange wire burial. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/18/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have repeatedly reached out to my ISP pointing out that I am getting slower internet speeds than I am paying for. Both technicians that have been dispatched have pointed out that the slow speed is due to high traffic over a line running to our cable box because there is a splitter in our cable box and one drop is serving too many customers. Both technicians have put in work orders to have an additional line run to my apartment building. Despite multiple follow *** no work has been done. Without notice, the technician cancelled the appointment yesterday. If I weren't following up on a daily basis I believe that RCN Astound would allow the problem to persist. They have promised a fix for nearly a year now and done as little as possible to rectify the situation.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/24/2023

  On 5/23/23 we dispatched a technician to verify and confirm the scope of the work that needed to be done.  Our construction department has scheduled the necessary work to be completed on 5/24/23.  We are working diligently to resolve the issue.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/16/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Scams labeled RCN come to my RCN account every few days. I have received dozens or maybe even hundreds over the years. They are getting more sophisticated. They now are addressed to specific groups of RCN email addresses. Getting more and more unacceptable. RCN needs to pick up its game with more sophisticated anti-spam protections.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/17/2023

  We are unfortunately unable to stop all phishing attempts. Please **** any spam email as spam, block the sender and feel free to forward any of these phishing attempts to ********************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/19/2023

  
  Complaint: 20065454
  
  I am rejecting this response because: There is little evidence you are taking robust action to resolve spam issues.  For example, you do not widely feature ******************************** as a reporting feature, nor do you block or divert offender addresses or domains, nor do you enlist the help of subscribers in IDing offenders. You need to be proactive in utilizing the latest anti-spam and security software.
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************

  Business Response

  Date: 05/22/2023

  Reporting Unwanted Email
  Select the email in the inbox and press the Spam button on the Webmail toolbar to move the message to the Spam Folder.  
  The sender gets a Spam Fingerprint associated with their sending email address, their advertised website URL, or the content of their message.   
  When these steps are followed, you should not receive the same spam message again, taking into account time to process the Spam Fingerprint and for reporting action to happen.  
  It is possible you may receive different messages from that sender in the future.   
  Follow the steps above to report each unwanted email.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/25/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/12/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  RCN/Astound is our only option for cable and internet, according to the terms of our apartment lease. We would drop the company if we have a choice, but do not, so that is why I feel like I need to file a complaint. We have had frequent interruptions and outages of our internet service for over two months. These interruptions are not just a minor inconvenience, they have caused us to miss crucial work meetings and presentations, they force us to leave our house to use cafe internet service for our work, and have taken at least 20 hours of our time to try and work out solutions from this . Service dropping during work has also caused work saved to a cloud to be corrupted and lost entirely. Our online gaming and entertainment from home is also affected, meaning we do not get to enjoy watching streaming services or online gaming in the evenings. We have called their customer service numerous times and have had three technicians come to try and solve the issue. RCN has no-showed no-called on two separate occasions for service work. They will not issue us a credit "until the problem is solved", but that is presumably so they can keep the amount as small as possible, and we do not know when it will be solved. Each time we call customer service, they acknowledge that they have record of the service interruptions and only offer us troubleshooting steps that take our time but ultimately do not fix the problem. Furthermore, when an Astound technician did come, he explained that Astound has been having a ton of these issues with other customers due to known firmware issues with their modems. Their representatives still act clueless about that. It seems that the company is stalling and covering up an issue, then making it seem like our problem. They also keep telling us that they will charge us to send our next technician when our problem was never even fixed in the first place. We just want to get the service we are paying for since we don't have another choice.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/17/2023

  The modem was replaced here 5/13 and a technician visit is scheduled to troubleshoot internet connection issues 05/17/2023 ****PM

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/22/2023

  
  Complaint: 20051690
  
  I am rejecting this response because a technician came for the 5th time to solve the problem and was not able to repair the issue. Our internet service is still intermittently dropping very often [twice just while I typed this response] and especially during crucial work hours.  I have called twice to notify them again, but their automated answering system doesn't even get me through to a live representative if there is any kind of outage in the area (which happened the last two times I tried to call and reach someone)---I am still waiting to be able to reach someone. This only extends the duration of the issue, since it is not related to the outages in the area.  It's almost like I'm a part of one giant joke.  We have tried everything we can, and this issue is wasting so much of our time and work hours since we work from home. Furthermore, if there are "known" outages, why am I not notified as a customer? The business not taking steps to get to the bottom of the issue in a swift manner is making me think there are more serious problems going on that the company can't keep up with demand.

  I will add that one of the kind representatives have finally agreed to my request of refunding some of the money we have paid over the past months where we have been experiencing the outage. This makes sense for us not to pay for a service we are not getting, and is much appreciated that finally a representative saw that. However, what we really need is to be connected to reliable internet service to be able to do our work-from-home jobs during the day without leaving the house and spending money at a cafe just to use wi-fi.

   

  Regards,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 05/24/2023

  Account was credited for service issues.  They also suggested that after the outage in the area cleared, if you were still having issues to contact us to schedule a supervisor tech to take a closer look.  Upon reviewing your service afterwards, it looks as though it has improved.  Spoke with **** on 5/24/23 and confirmed that the constant drops have been resolved and service has improved.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/11/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  About a year ago I switched my internet service from Xfinity to Wow. Shortly there after Wow was bought out or merged with RCN( Astound). The price that I was paying changed along with the service. I called Astound to speak with a customer service representative about my service and my new charges. My plan was changed at that time from 500mga to ****mga. This account was set for automatic withdrawal. No one informed me that I was on a 1 year promotion. Checked my account today and saw that I Astound was taking more than that was agreed upon. So, I called to speak to a customer service representative about this and also to ask about the service dropping a lot. Upon speaking with the representative she informed me that the modem that I've been paying for is for 500 mga. Also that someone needs to come out and replace the modem for ****mga in order for me to receive the right speed. I asked If i'd be refunded for being charged for a service that I didn't receive due to Astound not providing the correct equipment to begin with. The customer service representative stated that they could not give me refund. I told her that was a form of stealing and deceit.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/17/2023

  We continued to honor the ************** until they expired. The ************** were applied 04/13/2022 and 05/01/2022 and expired 04/12/2023 and 04/30/2023, respectively. On 5/11, we applied Astound offers that are valid for 2 years, no contract for $30/month 300mbps internet, and a reduced, prorated balance of 25.77 is due 06/10/2023
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/09/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Within the last couple of months I cancelled my service with Astound. I was informed that I needed to return my equipment router and erros. I received a shipping label from the representative to send back via FedEx, which I did a few days later at a FedEX drop box. I was following the tracking and saw that it was delivered but I was still getting emails stating that my equipment was not returned. I called into Customer Service and was told that they have to sort through lots of equipment returns and it could take a couple weeks. I waited and was still getting emails stating that I never returned my equipment. I called back in and spoke with another representative who stated that they only received the erros and not the router, I let her know that everything was in the box. She acted like she did not even want to help and said that I was just going to get charged if it doesnt show up but there was already a case opened up and she would also open up a case to find it. She was not helpful so I requested to speak to her manager. She said that one would call me back in 48hrs. That never happened. I called back last night and spoke with a rep who was extremely helpful but no case was ever opened like the last rep stated. So she went ahead and opened a case. I get a call today from someone else who said that the wrong case was opened and that she would open the correct case. I asked how long is this going to take since my account is scheduled for auto pay next week and I'm not paying for equipment that I returned and couldnt really get an answer. She kept asking for the tracking number, I asked why does that matter when they already confirmed that they received half of the equipment and they already had the number. I could not get an actual answer. I asked for a manager again with no luck. This seems like an Astound mistake that I'm being charged for. Based on my previous conversations with Customer Service I do not trust that they are being truthful.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/10/2023

  The equipment was received 04/13/2023 and we have asked the warehouse to remove the equipment from the account. The charges outstanding for unreturned equipment will be reversed within 24 hours and a prorated balance of $53.16 is owed for service provided between March 19, 2023 and Apr 7, 2023. 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/10/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  **** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/09/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 4/26/23 i contacted RCN to dispute a rate increase - after (online) discussion i was promised a rate decrease. Today (5/9/23) i went to look at my upcoming bill and it was not changed to the new reduced rate. I contacted customer service (again online only) and they said there was no record of the conversation. Fortunately I took screen shots and a video of the conversation as it happened. I talked to three different service people - each time getting disconnected. I asked for a supervisor and was told none are available. I am done with them and would not advise anyone to start new service with them.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/17/2023

  The chat was ended before the account discount had been accepted to applied on 4/26. We will certainly honor the 300mbps for 40.00/month including est taxes/fees. This promotional package is valid for 12 months, no contract and backdate this change to 4/26. This leaves a credit of -$19.80 towards the statement due on or around 06/16/2023
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/27/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was originally a WOW customer. ******************** took over WOW. I was grandfathered in with a special price. ** January 2023 I called because my bill had gone up. I was told by the agent on the phone he was going to lock me into a lower price of around $25 a month. Today (April 27, 2023) I received my email with my bill and it says my auto pay will be charged in May for $46.99 which is almost double! I cannot afford this. I live on a tight single income household budget. I don't have any extra money coming in but because someone at your company lied or messed up I'm the one that gets screwed? Is there no accountability in your company? Is this how yo do business? Not only that, I am being forced into a slower mbps service for a higher fee. I just referred this company to my friends and defended them on my local social media group. Guess they were right after all. I want my bill lowered back down to what I was promised before. $25

  Business Response

  Date: 05/05/2023

  We do not grandfather pricing, our pricing is based on limited time promotional offers, and when we transitioned WOW customers, we continued to honor the offers until they expired. The WOW promotion applied 04/28/2022 expired 4/27/2023. When this pricing promotion expired, ***** on social media applied a new discount offer for a monthly rate of $30.00 and an additional $5/month off discount until January 2024. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/26/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Since I signed up for RCN service last week, the company's representatives have made false statements in every interaction and failed to uphold numerous commitments. **************** has been unprofessional and refused to correct or even acknowledge these issues.On April 19, 2023, I signed up for Astound Broadband by RCN over the phone with account specialist **************** ****** provided nothing in writing, but she assured me of the following:- I would receive my first month of service free.- An order confirmation with the terms of my agreement with RCN would be emailed to me by the end of day, April 19.The promised email never arrived. On April 20, when RCN called me to confirm installation, I asked RCN when I would receive this information, and an agent stated I would be emailed after installation on April 21. Again, the email failed to arrive April 21. Instead, RCN sent me an email with a bill for $59.99 due 5/13/23. I cannot access or pay the bill online because RCN insists I enter a **** but I was never provided one. I called RCN to request explanation for these issues and they said I would need to wait for the bill to come in the mail containing the **** and that they were no longer offering me my first month free, but my second month free. When I said I had been offered my first month free, the agent said there was nothing she could do. When I asked to speak to a supervisor, the supervisor (*********) hung up on me before completing a sentence. She later left me a voicemail suggesting I call back, but left no callback number. I contacted RCN on ******** and a rude and unprofessional agent named ***** refused to help, offered a grossly unacceptable non-apology, and copy-pasted an enormous block of text that he claimed I had agreed to (I had not).

  Business Response

  Date: 05/05/2023

  After reviewing the call with the sales representative, ******, she did confirm the $35 one time set up fee $20/mo package and stated the first month would be free. She explained the monthly $5 discount includes an autopay discount so autopay needs set up within the first 60 days. The customer asked for an email confirmation and the agent confirmed he would receive it by the evening. We apologize that no confirmation email was received, it is an automated process. We did apply the 1st month free and $34.99 for the confirmed set up fees is owed 5/13. 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/11/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/20/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was an Astound customer for 2 years. When I moved to a location that they didn't service, I closed my account and the customer service person I spoke with told me not to remove the fiber modem that the Astound installer had attached to the wall. I had service from **** at a previous location where they said the same thing, so I didn't think twice about it. After I had moved and a new tenant had moved in, Astound began to request the modem. I let them know about what I had previously been told, but it doesn't seem to matter.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/28/2023

  We have reviewed the call with a representative 3/1 requesting a disconnection and the representative did state the equipment would not need to be returned. Since the customer moved out, we escalated this to our warehouse management requesting removal of the equipment from the former account.