Anyway, I should have known from the get-go that this was not a good idea.  The installer showed up and drove over the bank beside my driveway.  I had to pull him back up on the road with my truck.  Then, while using a ladder to do the install he allowed it to slide down and put two long, deep scratches in my newly installed vinyl siding!  At this point I was just really pissed.  However, I was in need of a good internet service so I allowed the install.  Oh, but the installer was not done screwing with me yet…He didn’t have a piece that he needed to complete the install!  Then why the hell was he here?  He would be back in two days because he was off the following day.  (Note to self: This is an Omen, run like hell!)

The installer did return in two days, before the scheduled time.  They put this gigantic antennae on my roof.  I was not present to see the install, but arrived as he was climbing down the ladder.  Ok its finally up.  Lets start surfing!  The installer hooked up my computer and everything seemed to work ok.  It connected and we received decent service.  The installer had me sign the install papers, not explaining that there was a two-year contract.  Ok, my bad, I didn’t read the fine print.  I just needed the service and if it worked I didn’t really care.  The install was completed on a Friday.  By Sunday I was unable to connect via Wave2Net.  I kept my dialup so I could try this new service for the 30 day period.  Of course there is no technical support on Sunday, so Monday I called.  They had me go through the reboot and unplug scenerio several times and it did seem to work.  By Tuesday it was down again.  Another call.  Same scenerio and it appeared to work.  Wednesday…Absolutely nothing!  I called again.  I was told that their tower had been hit by lightning and it would be a few days to get it back up.  I was assured by Rudy, who passed himself off as a technician not the owner, that they would have it back up by the following Monday.  Monday came and went.  Still no service.  I started an email campaign with them from my dialup connection so that I would have a log of events.  They refused to put anything in writing and would call to “discuss it over the phone”.  I felt like they were trying, so I continued.  This went on for two weeks.  I told them I didn’t want their service anymore and to come and remove it.  Rudy tells me that they are installing a new antennae the following week that will boost the signal and give me better service.  He promised it would be up and running by the next week.  I stupidly believed him and agreed to keep the service.

Once the “new tower” was “supposedly” installed we tried again.  Service still sucked to no end.  But, they did offer a free month of service for my trouble.  This is where they got me!!!  This extended the service beyond the 30 day trial period!  The service never got better and depending on who you talked to in the office it was either the rain or the dry weather causing the problems.  I had had enough after two months and told Rudy to come get his crap off my roof and to terminate my service.  He refused.  He said the 30-day period had passed and that I was tied into the 2-year contract.  I gave him the option to come get his shit or I was going to deliver it to him the following Friday.  Well, I delivered it.

I was very proud of myself as I did not allow the confrontation to escalate.  Rudy could tell that I was not a happy camper and tried to continue to piss me off with his rude demeanor. This is when I found out that Rudy is the ownder and not a “technician”.  He met me at the door and told me that I would not be allowed to return the equipment as it was mine.  I told him he was going to keep it because it was useless.  I gave them a $100 check, as was stipulated in the contract and informed him that he would get no further.  He refused the check, but I put it on the desk and told him was going to take it.  He threatened to take me to collections and sue me.  I told him to go ahead and left.

The following Tuesday I had made an appointment with a lawyer.  He advised me to just ignore the bill and force him to take me to court.  If I sued, I would have to pay court costs and would lose due to the way the contract is written.  Rudy (Wave2Net) would have to pay all the fees if he sued me, which would be a net loss to the company.  So I followed the advice and did not pay.  I contacted the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and tried to resolve the issue as cordially as I possibly could.  Long story short, the BBB sent me a list of lawyers to contact if I decided to pursue a legal lawsuit against Wave2Net.  The BBB tried for three months to resolve the issue with Wave2Net, but once I mailed them all my documentation and records they felt that the issue was unresolvable and could be of no further assistance.  I sent them the emails I was able to get out of Rudy, that contradicted the stories he was telling them.  I caught him in so many lies that the BBB decided the issue was unresolveable.

Ok.  The end of my story is this.  It is now April 6, 2010.  I have been dealing with this [edit] guy for 4 years!  I have been through three different collection agencies and they call at least 2 times a week.  This is all over a $500 bill!!  I tried to work with them as long as I could, but I had already laid out $600+ for two days of service and I’ll be damned if I was going to give him any more.  Hopefully this new provider will provide me with the service that I am being promised.  At least there is no contract to sign.  If so, then I will never have to hear “Trena’s” voice on the answering machine again telling me that she has something very important to talk to me about.  If this new service does provide me the internet as promised my telephone will be disconnected in a couple weeks and “Trena” can just call somebody who cares!!

Please dont forget to send yours in by filling out the form on the contact page.

Like most of us, I had no standard broadband options (dsl or cable). I actually found out about wave2net through the ValPack coupons. I scored a free site survey if I ended up signing up with them (a $25 dollar value – that i would regret for a long time to come).

I signed up when we were living in Clear Brook, VA. I wasn’t actually there when they came out to do the site survey, but they left a nice detailed report of the survey when I got home that day. I think the excitement at the thought of a broadband connection for my start-up business clouded my judgment when I questioned and then signed that 2 year contract. 

Installation when pretty smooth, all aside from the installer talking about porn the entire time… it was up and running. At the time I was a full time network administrator and knew exactly what was going on during the setup and static IP assignment.

So apparently they have a few different antennas they choose from to install.  They installed it and I had a horrible experience and eventually I ended with a different antenna with no better service (in total i’ve had 3 different antennas – the service SUCKED on all of them)

It was bad from the start, but i sucked it up – I am a very easy going and reasonable guy… so i waited thinking it would get better! I mean I did have a few good moments of usage! After a while I was on http://www.speakeasy.net or http://www.speedtest.net/ every moment before wasting my time at trying to get my computer on the internet!

So i called and called… same ole thing: reboot your computer, reboot your router, bad router, reboot the antenna! NOTHING worked… I even went through 3 different routers mainly because they say in the ‘welcome packet’ that their stuff doesnt work with Linksys! (that should have been another warning). We all have preferences so I overlooked it  – whats another $60? and then another??? I started with a Linksys, whet to a Netgear and then finaly a buffalo router. They all had the same problem.

The problem was, if i could even manage to pull up a web page it was slower than dialup!!! I enjoy the occasional youTube video from time to time – even on good days it wouldn’t be worth it. But why was there a connection issue to begin with? I would sit at my comptuer, whisper a prayer and hope wave2net would work for me today! Most of the time I got the wonderful your not connected message I would then ‘rinse and repeat’ the steps listed above.

I’ll try to shorted my story up, but I moved to Stephens City. Paid $150 to have my antenna re-installed and faced the same crappy issues! I called and called, wrote emails for help and it was all the same – reboot this and that – essentially it was as if it was only my problem not theirs!

So I was done – I demand good service! Especially living in a new house that had great broadband options. I know I signed up for crappy internet and at a horrible price, but I didn’t have any options like I do now! I was paying $60 for a 2MB connection (they wont tell you that on their site – one of these installers told) I was willing to honor my word and signed contract IF THEY WOULD GIVE ME SERVICE!

So my thought was they aren’t giving me service, I’m not giving them money! So i just stopped paying them and signed up with Comcast. They eventually sent it claims where I settled it, but had I known what I know now I would have taken them to small claims court and handled things a bit differntly.

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I want to post resources, tips and overall advice. I have a few things I’ve been able to gather, but if you have any please send them in!