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Behind the 8 Ball: What Will Frontier's Magic 8-Ball Reveal To You?
Frontier Communications continues to bungle the implementation of their 5GB usage cap, with continuing reports that a good number of their own customer service representatives are clueless they even have one (despite people reading it to them off their own website.) But once you convince them there is one, in all its red, black, and white glory, then it’s time to play Frontier’s Magic 8 Ball Excuse-O-Matic as to why you can’t leave because they don’t have a cap even if they do!
Please share your experiences on our comment section (link is just below the headline of this article), so we can continue to compile the Many Faces of Frontier: Why They Just Don’t Want to Let You Go. But also read on as to why you cannot simply take their CSR’s at their word.
Frontier Excuse-o-Matic v1.0: The Many Faces of Frontier
“What Usage Cap?”
“Frontier Doesn’t Have Any Usage Cap or Limits.”
“We’re not enforcing that right now.”
“It will be almost impossible to reach that cap.”
“There is a cap, but not really because we don’t have one.”
“Really? I never heard of that and I work here!”
“Wow, you are the first person to tell me that. That’s too low – you are mistaken.”
“We aren’t doing that in your area.”
“That is only for our wi-fi service.”
“The cap is in place to help your computer.”
“There is nothing to opt out from.”
“We aren’t currently monitoring or metering usage so we can’t not apply it to you.”
“There is no one who can cancel your contract without a fee.”
“I’ll have a supervisor call you in 24 to 48 hours.”
Frontier’s chaos theory of customer service notwithstanding, subscribers cannot afford to simply accept these kinds of word salad answers. Because even if their customer service representatives swear up and down it doesn’t apply, the legal department… the ones that actually write the contracts they will then enforce no matter what they tell you on the phone, has made it crystal clear it absolutely does apply and they have taken the action of publishing it, in accordance with their own terms and conditions, in a way that makes it completely enforceable after the 30-day opt out window ends. Nothing precludes them from applying it now and punitively enforcing later… after the opt out window expires, of course.
Now Frontier can make this boneheaded bungling of a PR move go away in just minutes. And Stop the Cap continues to call on Frontier to remove the 5GB usage cap language from their website. After all, if they aren’t planning to enforce it, then why is it there? Just to inflame customers and tie up customer service lines?
Insist on cancellation with no early penalty fee and specifically follow the instructions, step-by-step, to make the case. If you are on a contract with an early cancellation policy, Frontier must honor their own terms and conditions. They have three options:
1. Give you a written guarantee no usage cap will apply for the remainder of your contract
2. Honor your request to terminate the contract today with no penalty because you do not accept their changes.
3. Rescind the cap language and remove it entirely from the website.
Please also consider going to the Executive Office customer service department, and continue to report your experiences to us. We have now contacted both the Attorney General of the State of New York and the Public Service Commission regarding this matter. We have reported Frontier’s attempts to trap customers with a material change to their service contract without allowing them to exercise the right to opt out of that change within Frontier’s own specified window. Please also continue to watch this site – it may be necessary for you to file a formal complaint as part of the investigation that may be undertaken. We will help you with that procedure if it comes to that. Others have reported they have been able to successfully cancel, so it’s a matter of reaching the right CSR or making the case in a way that gives them no other choice.
Other stories of interest:
- Frontier CEO Tells Customers To Stay Home This Summer (But Stay Offline)
- Frontier Tells Customers “Not to Worry”; The Cap is a “Guideline”
- Frontier Usage Cap: “A Response to Illegal Resellers”
- Opting Out of Frontier’s Usage Cap: Cancelling Your Contract
- Read Your E-Mail At Blazing Speed; Because We’re No Good For Anything Else!
I called on Sunday and was given the general “I don’t know anything about that” from technical service. When I was transferred to customer service, she said she was aware of it and that she wasn’t sure “how it got on the website.” She also stated that they were working to take the wording down.
I called on Friday Sep 19th and spoke to customer service, was on the line for 25 minutes but talked to a supervisor and got my contract canceled. I followed the instructions on the site and was firm but polite. I kept reading there terms and conditions back to them off the site. Finally they relented and canceled my account.
I did the same but got a supervisor with an attitude who refused to cancel and said even if I did cancel I still have to pay a $450 early termination fee. They would not let me out for anything.
The deadline has probably passed to get out now anyway. You only have 30 days I believe from the modification date. These changes were made in late July.
I FINALLY GOT OUT!! I filed a complaint with the CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission) and Frontier called me as a result and said they would cancel my contract with no termination fees due to them not telling me about any contracts when I signed up for service. I now have 10MB/10MB fiber coming from Surewest on the 7th!