Socket Telecom
reviews and complaints

I moved into a new house in Columbia, Mo and needed internet. I tried a few places but Socket Telecom was the only option. The first person I talked to said it would take 15 business days to install on 12/19. After 2 calls, I found out on 01/08 that it would actually take 15-20 business days for the "drop in" in the neighborhood. They didn't tell me that it was done in two days. Then they said it would take an additional 2 weeks for "splicing." I was not happy because I work from home and had to buy a wireless hotspot for $120.00 and my kids couldn't do online school during the covid-19 stay home order. On 01/13 they finally finished the splice and said it would take 2 more days before someone could come and install it in my house. They said it was "policy" to schedule 2 days out no matter what. If I had another option, I would go somewhere else.

I wanna tell you about Socket Telecom, LLC. I gotta say, I'm pretty bummed out by their internet peeps and customer service policies. Can't even give 'em one star, ya know? So, I paid 'em a good faith fee to get Socket installed at my crib. But then I changed my mind and wanted to cancel. A month later, some Socket dude just shows up in my yard diggin' for the fiber line. No heads up or nothin'. Then, they sent a guy to set up the internet and he wanted to drill through the brick outside my guest room. We talked it out and decided we didn't want that. But they didn't tell us how the process worked or what to expect. We didn't sign no forms or nothin'. When I called to cancel, they said I gotta pay a cancellation fee. I told 'em I was pissed about their customer service. I ain't paid the bill yet, so they keep adding more fees. I wanted to talk to a lawyer about their crappy service. So, just be careful with Socket Telecom, LLC. They won't let me post this review without a star rating, so I'll give 'em one star even though zero stars is more accurate.

I like Socket Telecom's fiber internet, but the installation process is too long. I got service at my rural house in Boone County two years ago, but it took weeks to get it installed. When the Tech came to connect it, the splicing wasn't done, so he had to call another Tech to come and do it. It took six hours, and I had to take a vacation day from work. Now, I wanted to get Socket installed at my new house in Columbia, which is not rural. I ordered the service on 1/5/2023, and the Rep said it would take 7 to 10 business days to run fiber to the house and a day or two for the final installation. But it's day 14, and I still don't have service. When I called to cancel, they said the final installation can't be scheduled yet, and it could take another 7 to 10 days. It will have taken four weeks to get fiber internet service to a house that's supposed to be "fiber ready." And they're going to charge me $90 for canceling early, even though they doubled their installation timeline. How can fiber become the dominant service if it takes four weeks to get it?

Socket internet company got the go-ahead from the City of Columbia to lay fiber optic internet in my neighborhood on August 13th, 2022. Nobody told us or asked us about the digging on our property, and I came home to them digging in our front yard with a backhoe to lay the fiber. Three months later, I found out that they put a hole in my main water pipeline, leaving our house. Dirt had fallen into the pipe, clogging it, and water backed up into our living room due to the blockage. A plumber had to be called to unclog the pipe, and our expansion tank on our water heater had to be replaced. Hopefully, our flooring and drywall don't need to be replaced too. The plumber also ran a camera down the pipe and said, "This clog is 40ft away from your home, that's not normal. The hole also could not have been done by natural causes (tree roots, etc.), and someone must have hit it with a backhoe while digging. It's too big for a shovel." We've been trying to get a hold of Socket to fix it for a month now, and there's no answer. Our home insurance company is also trying to get a hold of them to hold them accountable, and they're dodging their calls too. The CITY is also trying to get a hold of them, and there's no response. It's ridiculous how they're not being held responsible for putting a hole in our pipeline and not even INFORMING US that it happened. The repair of the pipe was estimated between $3000 and $6000. We shouldn't have to pay that because the CITY gave consent for them to dig on OUR property. Then they damaged it.

I gotta say, I'm pretty ticked off at Socket and their workers. They've been tearing up my neighborhood since January and it's been a total mess. They've left holes all over the place, with tubes sticking out and pallets thrown on top. They've parked their trucks all over the street and haven't even bothered to come back to finish the job. And to top it off, they've hit gas lines three times! I've been trying to get a straight answer from their customer service, but all I get is the same old canned response. They won't even give me a date for when they'll be done. It's ridiculous. My front yard is a disaster and it's not safe for my kids. And don't even get me started on all the flags they've stuck in our yards. It's impossible to mow! All I want is for Socket to actually do their job and finish up in the next month. I want to see some workers out here, not just empty trucks. And I want to hear from the CEO, not some customer service rep who doesn't care. Socket needs to step up and take responsibility for their shoddy work.

We live off a gravel road in Columbia, Missouri. We've been trying to contact Socket for high-speed internet access. It was a group effort from the residents living off three gravel roads in close proximity. We had flyers, emails, and texts sent to all neighbors telling them to sign up online with Socket requesting service. After a few years, signs were put up on some roads stating Socket fiber coming soon. We figured between the government funding and our collective efforts, we succeeded. Not the case. They installed fiber to some residents, but not to us. I called several times, and the only time I received a return phone call, I was told they have no intention of bringing fiber to us at this time because it didn't have enough requests online. There are several families that live off our road with no phone service, limited cellular service, and virtually no functional internet access. Our children cannot access their online curriculum, parents cannot work from home, and we own small businesses we are trying to run. If there was an emergency situation, and we couldn't get out, we would be cut off from emergency contact. We feel that the government funding for rural areas to receive high-speed internet access is being used solely for profitability. We need answers and deserve more than what we have received. I could only get a salesperson to return my call looking to quote for us to pay for the install. I referenced the government subsidy, but I never heard from them again.

So, I had some trouble with Socket Telecom, LLC. RLM Underground came by and messed up my lawn while burying some fiber optic lines. They left a big pile of dirt that killed my grass and I've been trying to get in touch with Socket and RLM to get it fixed. They said they would fix it once the construction was done, but I haven't seen anyone since May. I called Socket and they said they would fix it when the "area" was complete, but I don't know what that means. I've talked to my neighbors and they have the same problem. We just want our lawns fixed. Why can't Socket give us some grass seed, dirt, and straw to fix it ourselves? Or maybe they could give us some money to do it ourselves. We work hard to keep our lawns nice and we're tired of waiting for Socket to do something about it. They said they would fix it on their construction notice, so they should do it. Socket is a Columbia company, so you'd think they would care about the city and the neighborhoods. I hope they respond soon.

I am a customer of theirs. My internet was down for a week. I called and spoke with a representative. I have been trying to get through with them, but it seems that they are blocking me. When I call, I get a busy signal. When I use another number, I am able to get through. This is strangely odd that this is happening to me. I have had this issue with them for over a year. I stopped in so I can speak with someone regarding a credit for my service being interrupted. I spoke with the call center manager and she suggested to call in.

Socket sent me an invoice for $1000 on Nov. 1, 2020 for a one-year contract that will include an additional year of free service. The invoice was due on Nov. 20, 2020 and it was paid on time. On Dec. 7, 2020, I received a refund check of $250. I called their customer service and the representative explained that the deal is no longer available in their system so they charge $750 for a prepaid one-year contract and issue me the $250 refund. I think they should honor the previous contract because it was paid on time. It is wrong when a bill is being paid for and then the company basically informed you later on and said it was canceled and you have been signed up for a different contract.

Our internet was terrible and slow. We switched when we moved and I thought it was finally over. It was not. Over 2 months later, after we had canceled service with them (and paid the final bill), they suddenly sent a "past due" notice without ANY prior notification. After I contacted them, they claimed it was because we had not returned their equipment. During our cancellation call however they never indicated that we needed to return the equipment. I'll add that they NEVER told us we needed to return equipment. I looked on the ComplaintsBoard.com and noticed they have a C- NOT SHOCKED! I then tried to address with their staff, but the first customer service person told me I couldn't speak with a supervisor. Then the supervisor told me that because I signed a contract 7 years ago, not returning the equipment (even though when we canceled we were NOT TOLD TO RETURN THE EQUIPMENT) was my issue.

We signed up for Socket fiber optic. They didn't ask where we wanted the line ran they just did it. Called and let them know we didn't think it would work and we were assured that it would. Tech came out. Where it is will not work for our house and we cannot use the existing wiring inside our home. We were told they would not rerun the line unless we paid for it and to use the line where it is we would have to hire an electrician to run the cable. Socket's terms of service for fiber optic state " Standard Installation does not include configuring customer's computers, networking Ethernet cables, nor any internal wiring through the house. To use existing wiring within the home, the fiber-optic cable will need to enter where existing power service does today. " So we called socket to have them remove the box on our home. We were told we would have to pay for the installation and early termination of services.

My internet provider, Socket Telecom LLC, constantly provides poor service. My internet access fails regularly, at least once a month, sometimes several time a month. Each time it fails, it takes days to resolve the issue because Socket doesn't own the phone lines and they have to rely on *** for phone line service. I currently reported an outage on September 9 and was informed on September 10 that the repair would not take place until September 17. Again, this is because Socket has no means for providing repair service to their customers. Their customers are left to whim of *** with no recourse. Socket customers are not *** customers and are always a very low priority. I am in a high risk group during the pandemic so the internet is my only connection to the outside world. It's my connection for receiving medications, consultations with my physicians and my healthcare. A nine day wait for repair is a crisis for me.

We were moving homes and decided we needed faster internet. Prior to our move we... 1. Canceled service in October to be effective the end of November 20. 2. On November 23, I paid the final bill 3. They didn't send me an invoice in December at the beginning of the month when they normally send them out. 4. Same for January 5. Then on Jan 24, they sent a "past due" notice (I checked all of my Spam folders, trash, junk mail nothing indicated we had ever received an additional bill from them) 6. When I contacted them, they told us it was for unreturned equipment 7. Except they never told us we had to return the equipment 8. Last time they came out and replaced the modem (I believe 4 years ago), they simply threw the other one away and told us not to worry about it because when they're old they're worthless. Seems like they just try to squeeze random money out of people and I have no idea whether we'll get some other bill from them in like 2 more months for something else.

Summary: Socket provided completely unreliable (terrible latency) DSL internet service for over a year, and then charged us $129 for a damaged router. Details: As far as the Internet goes, Socket Internet speeds were so inconsistent that it was completely unusable for live video, and often too unreliable for even casual Internet browsing. DSL speeds were supposed to be 8-15 Mb/s in the apartment but they regularly (several times an hour) dropped below 1 Mb/s, or to 0 Mb/s, which made the Internet totally unusable. Sometimes the router would totally fail for minutes at a time, and would require a soft reset (unplug) to become usable again. After contacting Technical Support several times, eventually a Tech Rep noticed that the DSL line was delivering speeds slower than they expected, and finally offered to send somebody out to check the line, but at this point I was totally fed up with their service and was cancelling. After cancelling, I was still giving Socket the benefit of the doubt -- I thought the issue might related to the quality of internal DSL lines inside of our apartment complex (maybe old damaged lines?), however, after cancelling Socket and getting CenturyLink, an ISP competitor, DSL speeds have been extremely reliable and fast, which means this was a Socket issue. When it came time to cancel our unreliable Socket internet subscription, we returned the borrowed router, which had minor damage to one antennae. Socket charged us $129 for a used (it had previous owners before us) cheap Comtrend router (I believe the $22 WR-5930). I called Socket Customer Support several times and asked to speak to a manager. Every time, the manager was "out of the office", and I was told I would get a call back from the manager to resolve this issue. One time, we got a voicemail from someone, but after 4 calls, we never got a hold of a manager. Bad internet is one thing, but getting charged for faulty, old, defective equipment is another. Yes, the router was damaged -- that was our fault, but it was not a $129 item. Socket internet sucked for a whole year, and they were unable to fix or address the connection problems within a reasonable time frame.