Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  St ******************* has been utilizing Fusion Connect/MegaPath for the past 7 years (contract was signed March 2016). Their service is spotty (will drop service for days at a time), their customer service is lacking, and their bills are outrageously high compared to competitors. We decided to discontinue using them for our internet/phone. When cancelling, we were told we have roughly $3500 in early cancellation fees. The original contract signed in 2016 was for 36 months. The FINE print says that once the original term is up, the contract rolls over for the same term unless otherwise requested within 30 days of the end of the term. 1) They provide no notification that the end of term is coming - not even buried at the bottom of an email most people would ignore. 2) They say our current contract is until March ****. Their own math does not work. If these terms are for 36 months a piece, the renewals have been 2019, 2022, and, therefore, the next would be in ****. We seek to have our early cancelation fees waived. We acknowledge what the terms state; however, making those terms nearly impossible to find and not notifying the customer of any opportunity to discontinue service is a shady business practice.

  Business response

  09/08/2023

  Fusion Cloud Services, LLC (Fusion) responds to a complaint submitted to the BBB Serving ********************** and Northern Coastal ********** by *********************** on behalf of St. ******************* (Complainant), in the above referenced matter.  Complainant disputes early termination fees resulting from Complainants termination of a service agreement prior to the agreement termination date. While Complainant acknowledges the applicability of an early termination fee if not cancelling service prior to the contract termination under the service terms and conditions, Complainant maintains that the account is not subject to an early termination fee due to lack of agreement termination notice and an incorrect agreement termination date.  Complainants basis for seeking waiver of early termination fees are misplaced.
  
  Complainant is Subject to Service Terms and Conditions. When entering into a service agreement, Complainant agreed to be bound by the applicable terms and conditions as set forth in the agreement.  These terms and conditions establish the agreement renewal process as Complainant acknowledges.  Further Complainant implicitly acknowledges that the agreements were subject to automatic renewal over the course of seven years and three years after the initial 36 month service term.
  
  Legacy Megapath service terms and conditions are posted at ******************************************************** and specifically at *************************************************************************************************************************** 8, Term and Termination, explicitly establishes that:
  
  Unless Subscriber provides notification in accordance with the Fee Schedule and Service Exhibit at least thirty (30) days, but no more than forty-five (45) days, before the end of a Service Term ( that Subscriber does not intend to renew, or wishes to cancel the Agreement; or whishes to extend the Term of the Service for a multi-year term or on a month-to-month basis, then the Services will automatically renew  for subsequent terms of one (1) year
  
  Complainant now effectively seeks to be absolved of responsibility over the accounts agreement terms and conditions by maintaining that because Fusion did not affirmatively notify Complainant of an upcoming renewal date the terms and conditions no longer apply.   Subscribers ultimately bear responsibility of managing the contracts they agreed to. Further, subscribers may contact Fusion at any time to address questions regarding their accounts.  There is no record of Complainant having contacted Fusion regarding the contract terms until the Complainants termination notice.
  
  Complainants ***** Services Agreement Automatically Renewed on April 1, 2023.  Complainant maintains that the service agreement for which the early termination fees applied does not end until 2025.  Complainant apparently believes that the automatic renewal period is for 36 months.  Complainant is mistaken.  As noted above, the automatic renewal period is twelve months.   Complainant maintains two separate Fusion accounts, account ****** and *******.  Separate voice,Ethernet and ************ agreements apply under each account.  Account  ****** includes a voice service agreement that was automatically renewed on April 1, 2023 and prematurely terminated by Complainant, and is the subject of this complaint. 
  
  Complainant is ultimately responsible for management of the account service agreements and remains subject to the agreement terms and conditions.  Complainant cancelled service prior to the March 31, **** voice service termination date and is subject to early termination fees, under the applicable terms and conditions, accordingly.   

  Customer response

  09/08/2023

   
  Complaint: 20491607
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I want to call attention to the fact that the information regarding service terms is hidden deep within their terms of service. I had to have a representative guide me through several internet pages to even get to the portion regarding service terms. It's deceptive. These contracts were not signed by me or anyone still working here; in fact, the original signer is deceased. They make absolutely no attempt to notify their customers when the end of a service term is approaching. While that is not technically illegal, it does not encourage any type of customer-first relationship. I am not in the minority. Googling this company, the reviews overwhelmingly sound like mine. 

  Additionally, in those terms of service that their own representative lead me straight to, the contract says "Service will automatically renew for subsequent terms of the same length as the *************** Term". Our initial service term was 36 months. In their response through BBB, they say I'm mistaken and it's 12 months which is just another example of their deception. 

  I know not caring for one's customers is not illegal, but the apparent company line is just disrespectful. There is no acknowledgement that there is room for improvement in their policies. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  09/15/2023

  Fusion Cloud Services, LLC (Fusion) responds to **************(Complainant) rejection of Fusions September 8, 2023 response to her original complaint in the above referenced matter. 
  
  Fusion acknowledges ************** concerns regarding understanding the terms of the accounts service agreement under the specific circumstances she describes.  Nevertheless, her characterization of these circumstances as being deceptive is entirely misplaced as there has been no effort by Fusion to obfuscate the terms and conditions of its service agreements at any time. 
  
  Service agreements enable subscribers to benefit from lower cost service in return for subscriber term commitments.   In return,service agreement terms and conditions are intended, among other things, to ensure subscriber term fulfillment.  That the original signer of ******************** agreement is deceased does not absolve the account from the agreement terms and conditions.  Nor does a lack of understanding of the applicability of terms and conditions absolve the account from those terms and conditions. And although affirmative reminder of agreement renewals may be a helpful enhancement to the renewal process, it is impractical to provide such reminders to thousands of Fusion subscribers with multiple agreements and multiple renewal periods.  Further. Fusion customer service representatives are available to address subscriber inquiries and to assist subscribers with service-related matters at any time. Ultimately, Complainant appears to have contacted Fusion to address her questions.
  
  Regarding the auto renewal period, Fusions renewal period has remained 12 months. Complainant is correct that the accounts original Megapath terms and conditions carried an automatically renewing term equal to the initial contract term.  Upon Megapaths incorporation to Fusion, all Megapath subscribers became subject to Fusions terms and conditions, which include a 12 month automatic renewal period, as reflected in the attachment. 
  
  Contrary to Complainants characterization, Fusion cares deeply for its subscribers and readily acknowledges that there is always room for improvement.  Fusions has not, however, been in any way deceptive,but rather has acted strictly in accordance with its publicly posted service agreement terms and conditions under which Complainants account has saved considerable expense over the years since the account was served by Fusion.
  
  Fusion maintains that it has now fully responded to Complainants complaint.

  Customer response

  09/18/2023

   
  Complaint: 20491607
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  You say that Fusion cares deeply for its subscribers, but that is certainly not the case, something that we as dissatisfied subscribers have experienced for years. You say you made no effort to obfuscate the terms and conditions of the ******* terms, but, without a doubt, you werent forthcoming about these terms either. They are not on the original contracts, but because you have a link to the terms of *******, you consider that transparent enough.Case and point: I have brought up the incorrect ******* term date several times and you are JUST NOW pointing out that when MegaPath was incorporated into Fusion,all MegaPath subscribers became subject to Fusions terms and conditions. That was not something ever said to me in any conversation I had with your customer ******* agents when I asked about the ******* terms directly and when your customer ******* agent walked me directly to the terms of ******* page.
  You say that a lack of understanding of the applicability of the terms and conditions does not absolve the account of those terms of *******.While that is true, instead of caring deeply for your subscriber, you are questioning my intelligence and ability to understand basic written English.
  You say that we have saved considerable expense over the years by being a customer of Fusion-that I can disprove easily. Fusions ******* costs are astronomical compared to their competition- one of the reasons we decided to go with another company (cutting out monthly expenses by 50%).
  While you did not defy your own terms and conditions, you absolutely do not care about your subscribers. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

*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. ↩