Consolidated Communications

We have been Consolidated telephone customers for 17 years, we added high speed internet service about 4 years ago, and in the last month we dropped satellite TV for the Consolidated phone, internet, TV bundle. The phones and internet and TV works well most of the time. What doesn't sit well with me with this company is the lack of professionalism with the trades that come to the house, and the lack of instructions given to the comsumer when a new service is initiated. It is also a royal pain trying to call in for assistance, their phone tree is maddenning. more

When I originally ordered the combo package from Consolidated, I ordered a 6mb Internet service, land line telephone service and TV (including HD) as a combo package, for 125 bucks a month, what I received was another thing entirely. First off, the installer came to the house, told me, and I quote ""it doesn't matter where we put the main box because of the repeating units"" but failed to mention that it was the TV signal that he was referring to. So in doing that, he placed the main box, that supplies the Internet, Phone and TV to the whole house in the laundry room which is located in the most remote section of the house, therefore instantly degrading the wireless connection of the internet, which DOES NOT USE the repeater units mentioned above, the 6mb internet never achieved over 4.5mb EVER, and most times the service lagged in at 2-3mb with a ping of 150-300 causing so many problems rendering the internet, almost completely unusable. The phone service, was horrible, to say the least, because the phone service is VoIP even though I specifically requested a land line, I got VoIP instead, and therefore adding to my frustration, when I called the customer service phone number, the agent told me that if I wanted the main unit moved to a different location I would have to pay the company 99 bucks to have a installer come out and re-install the box in a different location, which is completely unacceptable due to the installer not explaining the the installation process so that me or someone like me, the customer, actually understands. The next complaint I have is the TV package I ordered, was supposed to be HD, and technically it is, but realistically its garbage, Consolidated's HD service is 720 which is by all standards the absolute LOWEST RESOLUTION that can be called HD. Then you have the channels that are favorites, that the audio is out of sync, rendering the channel unwatchable, or the picture being horribly pixalated or grainy and again making it not worth watching TV. Bottom line, I am completely and totally unsatisfied with Consolidated services, I had them for about 6 months till the headaches became so unbearable, I just decided to change my services, now I have Direct TV, in HD with a DVR for 60 bucks a month and a Charter internet package for 50 bucks a month giving me a 25mb/3mb internet connection averaging 15/3 all day long. I just use my cell phone for phone calls, which is what I should have been doing all along, needless to say, if you want to be ripped off, mislead, and over charged, Consolidated Communications is your pony, if you want to actually get something you pay for, steer clear of these thieves. more

I place a call to have my internet service repaired. I am told my account does not show in their system. I provide all the information on my bill, they still say it is not in their system so they can not fix the problem. \r Very convenient, eh? And yet, they bill me every month on an account that is not in their system...how is that possible?\r I spend hours trying to get my account ""into their system"" so to speak (this is not a new account by the way) before I can even begin to get help with a repair issue. I am assured my account is now in the system.\r The next time I call in, I am told again that my account does not show in the system, and so they can't repair the problem. Again I spend hours on the phone to get my account into the system AGAIN, before I can get help with the repair.\r The next time I call in, AGAIN I am told my account is not in the system and can't get help with a repair problem. Requesting a supervisor does not work - I am told one is not available. I request the name of a supervisor, I am told he is not allowed to tell me who the supervisors are, and he can not link me to a supervisor as he has to request an approval in order to put me through to a supervisor. I request the name of the person who needs to give the approval in order for a customer to reach a supervisor (is that ridiculous) and I am told he is not allowed to give the name of that person either. After keeping him on the phone for an hour - he suddenly finds my account in the system - hmmm, wonder how that happened? We spend another hour on the phone troubleshooting, just for him to say he can't fix it - and then after he has suppossibly been looking and working on my system for an hour, he actually asks if I have dial up or DSL? Now if he had located my ""account"" in his system, and just spent an hour troubleshooting it, shouldn't he already have known what kind of service they are providing me? Unbelievable. Anyway, he says he is opening a repair order and I will receive a call about the problem.\r Next day - I call in for a status - guess what - first they can't find it in the system, and then when he (a different he, of course) says he finds it, he says he can't see any repair order. I am also told that I will need to call back in later to get someone to remotely troubleshoot the problem - (isn't that what was already done the day before?) Again I asked for a supervisor - and I am told I will have to call a different department to reach a supervisor, that I can't speak to one there. I then contact their Corporate Headquarters - explain the situation - they tell me they are connecting me to a representative in their Customer Service Dept. who will give me to supervisor at the location to get the problem resolved. The so-called Customer Service representative they give me too then tells me - again - (of course the Corporate office has now dropped off the line) that I can not speak to a supervisor, that she will send a supervisor an email, and that I need to wait 24 hours for a response, although as it is a Friday, they will not respond until the following week. I still do not have a supervisors name. I call the Corporate office again, tell them I was not given to a supervisor, - they didn't seem to care, and without answering me, I was placed into a queue for technical repair, who answered - right back where I started from in the beginning - and disconnected me without getting anywhere. So, still no service, no response, no supervisor - and corporate does not care. Cons: Bad customer service more

I moved to Conroe recently and decided to go with the local phone company for all of my services (phone, internet, and digital tv) and have been very pleased.\r I was new to the area and asked a few people on my street who they used and they all had positive things to say about Consolidated. I was surprised to read one of the reviews saying the internet was slow. Mine is faster than any other internet I have had. \r I definitely recommend them for all or any of the services they offer.\r Customer service is good. I did have one problem (user error!!) and I called the technical support number around 9pm and they were able to assist me.\r Pros: Fast internet, great phone and digital tv more

Consolidated Communications is an unreliable internet service provider. Not only is their internet service undependable, their customer service is terrible. My internet was out for a month straight yet they continued to bill me for service I was not even receiving. After making literally 10 phone calls to the technical service department, I finally convinced them my internet problem could not be fixed remotely and 5 days later, a repair man was out fixing my house, 32 days after I made the first call. After getting my service back up and running, I am now having to convince them not to charge me for the month I had without servi ce. I have tried 5 times to reach the supervisor to waive my past bill and she has yet to call me back. Talk about lousy service, it's inexcusable! If I could give Consolidated Communications a score with negative stars, I would because that is what they deserve. Make Consolidated your last resort because it is not worth the headache. Cons: Terrible service, internet is up and down more