JONESBORO, Ark. – A press release says Mayor Harold Perrin is seeking help from the Arkansas Attorney General to combat Jonesboro’s problems with Suddenlink cable TV and internet service.
Despite a visit to Jonesboro by executives of Suddenlink and its parent company, AlticeUSA, arranged by Perrin last February to address customer complaints, the problems have not abated, Perrin said.
He expressed his concerns in a letter to Attorney General Leslie Rutledge last week, and the two plan to meet about potential options for action regarding Suddenlink.
“The mayor has reached out to me, and our office has also received several complaints on Suddenlink,” Rutledge said. “And I have assured Mayor Perrin that my office will be looking into the matter.”
Suddenlink’s agreement is with the state, limiting what the mayor can do. Still, it’s not stopping him from trying.
“That said, Gen. Rutledge can help us explore any legal options we might have fighting this problem.” – Mayor Harold Perrin, via press release
Perrin said he considered the effort by Suddenlink staff in their February visit sincere, but the bottom line is that service has not improved.
“Very little evidence of any meaningful resolution has taken place,” Perrin said. “We cannot sit by and pretend that things are OK when they are not. Too many households in Jonesboro do not have options when it comes to cable or internet, and Suddenlink has not proven to be responsive to its customers.”
Perrin said the number of people working from home or quarantined by the COVID-19 outbreak has amplified not only the awareness of Suddenlink’s cable shortcoming, but the reliance of dependable internet needed for those working or communicating from home.
“We get calls and emails almost daily from people are just incredibly frustrated,” Perrin said. “The executives we contact seem to help when I or City staff forward the complaints, but we shouldn’t have to do that.
“At this point, nothing is off the table, including filing legal action, as far as I am concerned.”
press release
Sudden link is way to high on they cable and the internet and they don’t give you what You pay for when it comes to the internet they need to improve a lot
This is true, the internet package is way too expensive, and my internet still buffers during streaming, when I pay over $100 a month…either they lower the monthly costs or give me better internet.
Let me guess, he’s up for re-election.
yup that’s the only reason he’s doing this is because it’s election year.
I have had suddenlink since august of last year and added cable later and cost $150.00 a month and this months bill when I received it was $170.00.
Lost my job too and how can people afford that? Way over priced!!
I have had suddenlink for over two years and hace never had one problem. Their prices are actually wayyyy better than what you find out of state. Oklahomans have to pay almost 250 dollars for the same 150 package we get here.
Well this isn’t Oklahoma…the prices are too high and the service is trash…at best
The rip offs
I’ve had their service for one month and have had 5 tech visits and numerous phone help. Nothing fixes it for long. There are channels I pay for and dont get. The internet goes out several times a day. No help. Terrible service
I live in AZ and have the same problem for years now. Bill keeps going up and service had never improved. I lose Internet connection at least once a day. It’s so frustrating and they are full of excuses.
Does anyone know a better company to get internet and cable cheaper???? Please.
I live in Texas and we have the same issues. A monopoly by a company that knows there are few options so you’re stuck with their prices and bad service.
Perrin should be more concerned about the crime rate and how to make the city a safe place to live instead of a cable company with shitty services.
There’s nothing you can do about the crime rate apparently, fix Suddenlink trying to get over on your citizens…that’s a crime he’s trying to stop…you must be wealthy and you don’t care to pay for these extreme prices
I also live in Texas, Abilene in fact. Most likely like many of you, we here have been having all of these new cables/fiber being installed underground. Altice/Optimum/Suddenlink, whomever is over the contract for all of this mess is difficult to find a number for or what office of which company. At any rate, at least in our neighborhood, we have seen at least Three companies contracted to do this work come and go. One that started digging in my side yard by the fence never told us they were her to work. I went outside to find out what was going on and who were they and I was confronted with (paraphrasing) they were authorized to be here, I was interrupting their work and needed to leave. Of course I responded they were on my property and a back and forth argument ensued. I told them I wanted to speak with a supervisor, he said he could not be reached. I said he’s down the street, he was just at our door earlier. This guy got out of the backhoe proceeding to yell at me, cussing, saying was going to call the police. I said please do call them. He stormed off down the road on the phone, then came back and told me he was the supervisor. Laughing I said no you’re not I am still waiting on the supervisor or police, you choose. Then the supervisor walks around the corner and comes to me. The employee was cussing and told to walk away, tried to come back and supervisor told him to leave and go to his truck and wait. That guy walked off still cussing and saying to his coworker I was probably telling all kinds of lies. He had damaged my yard, had dirt from the hole everywhere, and I was worried about my sprinkler heads since he tracked up over top of them and was digging right by where a head should be, and one of the water lines for the sprinklers. Last time I ever saw them. Then another company now had the contract, but did not see them for weeks. They completed the under ground trenching and pushed thru tubing and fiber, then they disappeared. After a few weeks again there comes yet another company telling us they were the company that come along and complete, repair, and clean up after the previous company. So, lo and behold, one of these guys broke off a sprinkler head in the back yard, and broke the rain gauge unit that tells the sprinkler system to remain off when we get rain. ‘I will get that fixed as soon as I finish this part of the work here”. Friday and still not fixed, Saturday and no repairs, Sunday he stops by before we head to church and tells us he can not fix it until Tuesday. Tuesday rolls around and a no show; have not seen anyone since. What’s worse is that all of there trucks were unmarked. And Suddenlink/Optimum/Altice never told us of changes of contractors. They, of course, had no business cards to give us. Today, after much discussion with a customer service rep with Suddenlink, she finally said she was completing a property damage report to escalate the matter. Yep, let’s see how long this takes.
We also have common Suddenlink issues of being knocked off line, buffering problems, modems and ActionTec boxes faulting. Frankly, I may end up doing as my sister and dump Suddenlink, buy a good antenna, use it for local news, and since needing to get a new TV, use its Roku or other services and our Firestick to get movies and other programs. Cuts cost WAY down.
BTW, I just read an article online that discussed an option to contact Suddenlink customer service and tell them its been a year or more since you have “repackaged” your plan. Note steps I extracted from an NEA Report:
“If you want to save major money on your Suddenlink bill, the key is to “repackage” every 365 days. This is according to Suddenlink representatives, themselves! After one year, your service cost begins to go back up. But if you simply call their customer service line and tell them you’re unhappy paying so much, they can not-so-miraculously decrease your bill by anywhere from $10 to $60, in some cases.”
1. Call their customer service line. The VIP number is 866-659-2861.
2. Explain you have not repackaged in over a year and your bill is too high. “Repackage” is a key word.
3. The customer service rep will either help you themselves or transfer you to “retention.” If you’re not having any luck, ask for someone in the “retention department.”
All said here, I still think its a ‘shot in the dark’. or ‘crap shoot’, whichever you prefer.
Follow up; while I was drafting this, I had also reached out to Vexus, they being the company that is actually running the new fiber. A nice Suddenlink Tech told me about them. Spoke with a CSR that put in an email about the damages to my sprinkler system to the local area Vexus Field Engineer for a large area in and around Abilene. He called almost immediately and assured me he would have a contractor representative contact me, and if I did not hear from someone by Monday to call him back. Later this afternoon a rep. from the contractor company contact us and said they would try to get someone out next week some time. Then, right as I was preparing to contact the Vexus area supervisor, we received a text from the same company rep stating it will all be fixed this weekend. I updated the Vexus supervisor who asked that I call him Monday to give him an update. This kind of response I like. I am looking further into Vexus as they have come in as competition to Suddenlink. Nice!