SCI REMC Internet Service ???

[bwframe]

Thought I'd revisit this thread after receiving an "official communication" letter from REMC today. It was titled "Notice of Incomplete Account Information" Incidentally, I've been paying SCI-REMC monthly, in my own name, for thirty plus years at various addresses.

They wanted a signature on an updated membership application. It was mostly filled out, sadly with my SS# and INDL#. (In years past, didn't think it appropriate to ask if such ID#'s were mandatory for service.) They didn't have a birth-date for me filled in. I guess that's something ID related that they missed, along with my shoe size.

The form had further blank spaces for owner/renter/landlords/tenants/employer/etc. It went on, with legalese, about all the reviews, credit checks and other stuff I was agreeing to by signing.

I called them up and after killing some time running the "pick number blah, blah" gauntlet waited on hold for a bit. Just as I was about to give it up a nice lady came on the line. She back-peddled around quite a bit about how the form really was just for updated phone numbers and such.

I cordially complained to her that the place wasn't the same in recent years, that we were paying much, much more for receiving much, much less. Contacting, service, down times, administration, all have turned into problems where we are treated as if we have no choices in the matter. It did not used to be that way.

Again, she was very nice and I was very careful to not upset any apple carts. She did answer my first question right away; If I don't sign this form and submit it, will you cut off my service? She said definitively, "absolutely not," confirming twice.

The lady said that she would note in my file that this form would not be submitted and that is without a doubt fine with no repercussions.

 

[jkaetz]

Thought I'd revisit this thread after receiving an "official communication" letter from REMC today. It was titled "Notice of Incomplete Account Information" Incidentally, I've been paying SCI-REMC monthly, in my own name, for thirty plus years at various addresses.

They wanted a signature on an updated membership application. It was mostly filled out, sadly with my SS# and INDL#. (In years past, didn't think it appropriate to ask if such ID#'s were mandatory for service.) They didn't have a birth-date for me filled in. I guess that's something ID related that they missed, along with my shoe size.

The form had further blank spaces for owner/renter/landlords/tenants/employer/etc. It went on, with legalese, about all the reviews, credit checks and other stuff I was agreeing to by signing.

I called them up and after killing some time running the "pick number blah, blah" gauntlet waited on hold for a bit. Just as I was about to give it up a nice lady came on the line. She back-peddled around quite a bit about how the form really was just for updated phone numbers and such.

I cordially complained to her that the place wasn't the same in recent years, that we were paying much, much more for receiving much, much less. Contacting, service, down times, administration, all have turned into problems where we are treated as if we have no choices in the matter. It did not used to be that way.

Again, she was very nice and I was very careful to not upset any apple carts. She did answer my first question right away; If I don't sign this form and submit it, will you cut off my service? She said definitively, "absolutely not," confirming twice.

The lady said that she would note in my file that this form would not be submitted and that is without a doubt fine with no repercussions.

Good on you for questioning the form. Seems they have plenty to identify you. Most people when presented with any official looking form from a seeming legitimate authority will cough up all sorts of info even if they don't have to. I always maintain the stance that they can ask for whatever they want, I don't have to give it to them. There can of course be consequences related to my refusal but I'll weigh those on a case by case basis.

Did the ever offer your fiber internet?

 

[AGarbers]

I am looking forward to the service. We are back in the woods and until recently didn’t have cell phone service. We were on their through the power wires internet years ago and as bad as it was, it still beat dialup.
We are now on satellite which beats what we had before, but is still less than great.
Our main issue is phone service. We have ATT landline and 50% of the time it hums so bad we can’t hear the other person. It is worse when it rains. The techs that come out are at a loss what to do because the cable is so degraded there are no good pairs left to switch us too. They claim ATT is going to sell off all their analog lines by 2020 and go all digital. As a result they do not want to invest in upgrading infrastructure.
SCI-REMC is supposed to have fiber to my house by February. They claim we can have phone, Internet, and more.
And they just reduced their rates and are suggesting no they may reduce them again.

As as for their electric rates, keep in mind SCI-REMC does not produce power. They buy it from someone else and distribute it to rural folks.

 

[AGarbers]

Here is another thought for anyone thinking they might sell their home in a few years; a high sales realtor told us that the younger generation demands high speed internet in their home so that they can stay connected and even work from home. He told us not having high speed internet can make a house unsellable, which is what we experienced trying to sell my FILs house. It sat on the market 30 months and we had to drop the price $50k below what the realtors thought it should easily sell for.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Here is another thought for anyone thinking they might sell their home in a few years; a high sales realtor told us that the younger generation demands high speed internet in their home so that they can stay connected and even work from home. He told us not having high speed internet can make a house unsellable, which is what we experienced trying to sell my FILs house. It sat on the market 30 months and we had to drop the price $50k below what the realtors thought it should easily sell for.

Yep. My mom has offered my childhood home to us because she doesnt need a house that big. I had to decline for now because DSL is all we can get, and I know that isnt really possible. I know she is too far from the DSLAM to get anything faster than dialup.