Danger Updated 6/11/00. Do Not Enter: RIP OFF Central
Jan 14 '00 (Updated Feb 16 '01)
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Pros
56k connection speeds
Cons
Restricting, cluttered, Automatic Internet Disconnection after short delay with noway to turn this feature off.
The Bottom Line
To many restrictions. There are free ISPs out there that provide better service than this.
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| Full Review |
(The 6/11/00 update is at the bottom of the review.)
Never have I felt so bad in a purchasing decision. I feel like a sucker! I did one of those $400 Internet Rebate deals from CompuServe. This was before I was introduced to Epinions. The only fear that I had was the fear that CompuServe would be a bad Internet service provider. If I had known about Epinions sooner, I would have never even signed a three-year contract with CompuServe.
I installed the software and got running. I had a list of three local numbers that I could use. My first disappointed was that I couldn’t make a dial-up network setup for my CompuServe numbers. CompuServe has its own setup to get onto the Internet. This setup doesn’t have the little icon on the task bar to tell me how fast I connect like I’m used to. In fact I have yet to find any way to check my online speed, the only place that is ever indicated is at the first moment of connection where a message of your connection speeds blips on and off the screen. You better pay attention to catch it.
I usually connect between 49333 bps and 50666 bps, which is faster than my old ISP. This, unfortunately, is the only thing that I like about CompuServe.
CompuServe opens up its own browser to let you surf the web. The browser is cluttered at first with at least three windows, one being the CompuServe Main Page, another full of gossip links, and the other asking you to setup your instant message program. When you open up new windows in Explorer or Netscape the pages are indicated in the taskbar making it easy to go from one page to the next. Using the cluttered CompuServe browser the windows just stack over each other. If you minimize a page the window is reduced to a small rectangle and placed at the bottom of the viewable browser, which is not the task bar. It is very hard to track your windows conventionally. The address bar is more of a history bar, your back button list. I don’t like it. The browser is a mess, cluttered and restricting.
You can not customize your browser and the features. There is one feature that automatically kicks you off the Internet if you are idle for ten minutes. Why ten minutes?!!! I will be reading or writing Epinions when I get kicked of the net. I pay for unlimited access and I expect unlimited access. There is a warning that pops up in the CompuServe screen silently for 30 seconds. There is no audible warning to let you know to jump to the CompuServe browser to select Stay Online. I absolutely can’t stand the CompuServe browser and always use Explorer. I can’t see the warning unless I’m using the CompuServe browser, which by the way has to be on all the time. If you close the browser then you disconnect, so you have to minimize it.
I emailed CompuServe about how to turn that Auto Disconnect feature off. They wrote back in a happy response saying that I should realize that I can’t change this feature or delete it and should check back with the browser every now and then and make sure I don’t get disconnected. It was such an animated response and didn’t feel like I was dealing with a real person.
I have emailed CompuServe on other occasions complaining about other things but I always get a frustrating, “Thank You for your patience. You are a valued customer here at” BS message!!! I want to hear, “I realize that you are upset. We are making the needed changes to make CompuServe a better place for you.” Also when you connect to CompuServe you hear a woman voice say, “Welcome to CompuServe” and she’ll tell you if you have mail. When you get disconnected she says, “Thank You for using CompuServe.” It is so polite that it is sick. I’ve heard those messages too many times in the past month and am going to figure out how to change them.
I absolutely hate CompuServe. There’s no customizable control and freedom. It is so restricting that I feel claustrophobic using it. As for the rebate, none yet, but it hasn’t been 10 weeks yet. I’ll update as soon as I get my rebate. I’m stuck with service for 35 more months. These guys better shape up before I go nuts. Don’t make the same mistake that I have. It will just give you a big headache. Do not try CompuServe.
Update (2/5/2000)
After just a little over a month of CompuServe, I have called it off. I will use www.freewwweb.com for a couple of years to make up for the lost $400 rebate. Freewwweb gives me better internet service anyway. CompuServe also charges me $50 for a cancellation fee. I'm just glad that it is gone now. I'm Free!!!!!!
Update (6/11/00)
Notice above that I quit early in February. They immediately rushed me the rebate check. It's a confusing process to why they have to send you the rebate check and then charge your credit card $400, Why didn't they just keep the rebate check? Well, they are hoping that you don't cash your check. Many people hold on to their checks for until they make sure their credit card has been billed correctly, making sure that the company didn't add any hidden charges. If the check isn't cashed then the person doesn't have to worry about the company using it in some kind of defense, such as "Hey, you cashed our rebate check. Our end of the deal has been reached. Now you have to pay the amount of the rebate plus X and X amount extra." This scenario, of course, is just hypothetical. CompuServe charges a $50 cancellation fee, but I do not believe that there are any extras, but a cautious person would hold onto their check just to be sure and then try to bring to the company's attention that the settlement has not been reached.
Well I didn't bother trying to hold my check until I was billed. I
cashed that check as soon as I could, within a couple of days of receiving it. I did notice that the check said, "Void after 90 Days". So a person has 3 months to hold onto that check and wait for CompuServe to bill his/her credit card.
When do you think CompuServe charged my credit card? The first month? No. The second month? No. How about the third month? Nope. I had no bill by May, keep in mind that I cashed my rebate check in February, which doesn't seem to place me on top of the billing list. After 3 months I said, "Hey, these guys aren't going to claim this money. It's been in my possession for three months now. If they aren't going to claim it, I'm going to spend it as my own now. It's my money now." I'm not sure about billing laws, but I spent the money early in the fourth month. As luck would have it, I get a CompuServe bill notice for $450 the following day of my spending decision.
Why did CompuServe what four months to bill me, you may ask? I believe I know why. They were waiting for uncashed checks to expire. Say a person was holding onto their rebate check until they got billed and lost track of the check during the wait. That person loses $400 from the uncashed check, and then gets billed an addition $450 on the fourth month. That person is now at a loss of $850! Maybe their is a legal process to protect that person, but good luck.
I'm outraged that I didn't get billed until this week in June! If they aren't going to do things in a timely fashion, I'm going to claim what they will not. I'm even more outraged that they do this on purpose, (an accusation of course)to rip off ex-customers an extra $400. This has to be illegal! I'm hitting the law books to find the laws that they are breaking, Epinion readers are welcome to help out. And when I find these laws:
WATCH OUT COMPUSERVE! I'M GOING TO BRING YOU DOWN!
Update (2/15/00)
Well CompuServe was supposed to bill my credit card last June. They never billed my card. They waited another 4 months to contact me about the money I owed them. All they had to do was bill my card, but they forwarded the problem to a collection agency. I argued with the lady for a few days, they were going to report my refusal to pay $450 to the Credit Agencies. My argument was that CompuServe took too long to take my money, that they were waiting for unchashed rebate checks to expire. I was determined to file a lawsuit, so I went to my attorney, and found a disgusting answer to my problems.
Businesses have up to three years to collect their earnings. They don't have to tell you a thing for a couple of years and they can come out of nowhere and slap you with a bill. The timing may not be pleasant. I had just paid the majority of my savings to my school loan. Three days later I got the phone calls from the collection agency. I think they are psychic.
Look how much I have written.... This is just scratching the surface of my entire frustrations. You don't want to go through this, avoid CompuServe.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 21 per month
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Epinions.com ID:
glennhanna
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Member: Glenn Hanna
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Reviews written: 34
Trusted by: 64 members
Glenn Hanna of Eugene, Oregon. Born 1980.
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