UPDATE: 3:20p TUESDAY: HotWire was reportedly supposed to have a representative at the Boca Falls Clubhouse on Tuesday but the person never showed up, raising more concerns about HotWire’s customers service.
UPDATE POSTED TUESDAY MORNING. CLICK HERE.
Boca Raton, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) Boca Falls, a gated community between Palmetto Park Rd and Glades Rd, west of 441, is dropping Comcast Cable in favor of “Hotwire Communications,” a company that provides television, internet, and phone via fiber optics. Basic cable through Comcast is included in HOA dues.
While home owners have been frustrated by Comcast’s poor quality of service and outdated system that dates back to Adelphia Communications, some are fuming, saying that the switch to Hotwire will be disruptive, counterproductive, and expensive, resulting in a significant increase in HOA fees. Other communities, including Boca Isles, report service problems, construction issues, and inexperienced customer service representatives from Hotwire. Communication review websites are full of complaints about the service.
“Hotwire Communications is the Worst Co. I’ve Encountered Where do I begin? Horrible, horrible company. They provide the cable and internet in my building. If I would have known that hotwire was the cable company, I never would have purchased this condo.I feel so stupid now. No way I would have bought this place if I knew they were the cable and internet company. I have tremendous buyers remorse. Beware of Hotwire.”
Here is another:
“Hotwire Communication is the worse internet provider
My internet have been down for last three days and i called hotwire atleast 6 or 7 times still no show.I work from home and now i have no work for last three days.
And now i am trying to cancel and still getting a run around.”
Comcast, others are quick to point out, has serious problems as well, but some argue is a national company with national recourse. Comcast is a partial owner of NBC. Comcast’s service in the community has reportedly been poor, with video on demand services working just a fraction of the time.
It is not uncommon in Boca Raton’s gated communities for homeowners associations to make deals with utility providers in exchange for discounted “bulk” rates. These bulk rates are included in mandatory HOA dues whether a homeowner uses the service or not. While some homeowners say the switch to Hotwire is a good move towards future technology, many are concerned with what happens more immediately. The so-called new economy has given way to many telecommuters who rely on Comcast’s Internet connection to work. There are many reports of the transition to Hotwire resulting in widespread and lengthy service disruptions.
Below is an email forwarded to BocaNewsNow.com from the Boca Falls board of directors to homeowners. (If you have news about your HOA, please forward it to us at news(at)BocaNewsNow.com.)
Share your experience with either company below.
Dear Boca Falls Residents,
As many of you are aware, the cable television agreement that Boca Falls Home Owners Association has with Comcast is ending in November 2011. The Board of Directors has spent many months reviewing options for a provider and has entered into an agreement with Hotwire Communications for cable television and internet service.
Hotwire offers fiber-optic service for both internet and cable television, and will be hosting several information sessions at the Clubhouse to answer all homeowner questions, the dates of which will be posted on the message boards as well as e-mailed to our residents. This would be a good time to update your contact information including telephone numbers and e-mail addresses with the Management office. A copy of the Resident Information Form is attached for your convenience. 11-10-28 BF Resident Information Update Sheet.pdf
Hotwire will be laying the fiber throughout our community beginning in November 2011. Once the fiber is installed, each homeowner will be able to schedule a time for the Hotwire technicians to come into your home and activate your cable and internet individually. A good time to get all the details of this installation will be at the Hotwire information sessions.
Since the Association will be providing internet and cable service, all homeowners will be able to cancel their current cable and internet provider, once their individual home is activated by Hotwire. We are still exploring different alternatives to deal with the transition from Comcast to Hotwire in the least disruptive and most cost effective way for all our homeowners. This is in conjunction with our efforts to finish our budget for the 2012 fiscal year. Expect a copy of the preliminary budget for the 2012 Fiscal Year through the mail (US Postal Service)
We hope you will take advantage of the informational meetings Hotwire offers to learn about the technology investment we are making in our community.
Sincerely,
Board of Directors
Boca Falls Home Owners Association
My name is Kristin Johnson Karp. I am the president of Hotwire Communications. Hotwire has brought state of the art fiber optic networks to many communities in the Boca Raton and West Palm Beach area. Hotwire currently has an A+ Better Business Bureau Rating in Florida. We have thousands of happy and satisfied customers and communities. Hotwire has a local office located in Boca Raton with local customer service and technicians. For anyone wanting to find out more information about Hotwire, please contact me at kj@hotwiremail.com or 484-572-6003. If you are a Boca Falls resident who has questions about the transition to Hotwire, please visit our local Hotwire concierge who will be at the property to answer questions starting on the week of November 7th.
Kristin,
Thanks for the post. We appreciate your contact info and insight.
All bull Kristin. Your service in New Jersey is horrible also. I know of 3 communities ready to get rid of Hotwire and bring in a different provier i.e. Verizon Fios
As a member of Boca Isles South and current President of the Board of Directors I would like to give my opinion of the services provided our community by Hotwire Communications. It should be noted that our service provider was going out of business and we were about to lose TV and internet completely. Hotwire did an emergency service cutover in a matter of days that avoided our community losing service completely. Yes, we had some problems but minimum considering they did the cutover in days and not weeks as we planned. In a matter of days the entire community was operating under Hotwire and within a few weeks most individual problems were fixed. Most of those problems were related to wiring inside the home as digital and digital HD systems are extremely sensitive to technical requirements and require very accurate delivery systems. Our inside wiring is 15 years old and today’s digital systems did not even exist at that time.
Upon system activation, Hotwire provided a Customer Service Representative two days a week for many months and currently does so for one day each week for face-to-face interaction with our residents. She responds to emails daily and calls residents when necessary to assist in any unresolved issues of service, billing, etc. Hotwire is now the TV and internet service provider for numerous Boca communities and that growth created the need to expand their ability to respond to customers, including Boca Isles South. We worked with Hotwire to address those customer service issues and a new Customer Service office has now been opened right here in Boca.
No, Hotwire is not perfect but I can say they have been significantly more responsive to BIS than any of our previous providers. Our internet is extremely fast and dependable and the TV signal has been of a high quality, with only occasional pixilation or freezing on an individual channel.
I cannot address issues other individuals or communities feel they have experienced but have written this only to give another side of the coin. My experience and knowledge gained regarding Comcast, ATT U-verse and Verison services makes me very happy we have Hotwire and the overall responce from our residents has been highly positive towards Hotwire as our service provider.
To the Boca Falls board, I know the many hours it takes to research and make the best decisioons possible for your community. People must study this subject and understand the systems and options to make good decisions. It seems you have made your decision and you have joined Boca Greens, Boca Woods, Boca Isles, St. Andrews and others in this area by selecting Hotwire. While I’m sure you will have some issues arise, I’m betting the greater majority of your residents will be very happy with Hotwire.
My name is Fefe Madray. I am the Account Manager for Hotwire in the Boca area and the representative for Boca Falls. I was in the clubhouse today from 2pm until 4:30pm with the property manager until she left. I will be at the clubhouse on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10am – 4:30pm. Please stop by, I am looking forward to meet the Boca Falls residents.
BocaNewsNow.com has seen the preliminary spec sheet with offerings for BocaFalls. We are impressed.
As a resident of a community that signed with Hotwire a year ago and the fact my sister and Brother in-law live in Boca Falls, I had to post something when she told me the news and then showed me this blog.
First things first. Yes I am a fan of Fiber to the home and yes I think somewhere down the road it will be the norm. At this point in time there are many services that both At&T and Comcast provide that Hotwire simply does not. The only thing Hotwire was able to do that the 2 big guys couldn’t (AT&T & Comcast) was provide analog channels. Long story short, we “future proofed” our homes so we can go backwards in technology to get analog channels. This might appeal to elderly communities but the rest of the world has moved on from analog. These are the same people that would walk into a Blockbuster Video and complain about the lack of VHS tapes. I just can’t believe we locked ourselves into this for a decade!
Ok so I told you the benefit of Fiber to the home , no boxes because it’s not digital and somewhere down the road there might be something that actually requires fiber to the home. Remember folks no matter how much fiber you install, the wire inside the house is not fiber and you can’t plug fiber into your TV.
Just so everyone is clear , all providers have fiber optics up to a point usually various points in your community. It’s from that point to our homes that was supposed to be the game changer.
We were told we can get Internet Speeds up to 100mbps yet for some reason my community isn’t being offered anything above 50. Comcast is already offering 50 and 105mbps to their customers. The sales person at our meeting even went as far to tell us we were all getting 20mbps included as part of the bulk. Once we probed a bit they told us it was 15 mbps download and 5 mpbs upload. What??? Who adds the 2 numbers up? That’s like saying my car goes 300 miles per hour, 200 forward and 100 backwards.
Sorry for the length of this post but it’s incredibly frustrating to see Board members that think they know something about tech and entertainment make these kinds of (long term) decisions. IF your community is thinking about making this move and the average age is less than 75 please be cautious of the following 2 types of people.
1) The guy that’s not on the board but swears he knows about technology just because he fixed one of their computers once.. He tells board members that they have to get fiber because it is the future. Fiber has been around a LONG time…just think of going to Epcot Center as a kid.
2) Any board member that still records TV shows with their VCR or has an old analog TIVO. This one doesn’t care about the community one bit. He just cares about getting more mileage out his antiques.
What my Board and my sister’s Board should have done is go with a provider that gives us what we want to use today and not a pipe dream of what might come down the road.
People want Anyroom DVR (thanks At&t), tons of On Demand choices (thanks Comcast), Watch TV on your laptop or iPad, 3D , Remote DVR programming, high definition, etc. For this we have to go elsewhere and basically double pay since we still have to pay our HOA dues. Oh and your dues will go up. Our old cable deal which was signed with Adelphia had us paying somewhere in the mid 20s. We now pay 65-70 per home. I swear the number changes at each meeting.
I just read this back to myself and I realized how negative towards Hotwire it sounded. Look, I think they’re a decent company and i’m all for someone new driving competition. When it works it’s ok and when it doesn’t it’s not. Service could be quicker but whose couldn’t. They do offer HD and digital channels but it wasn’t part of our deal. Those options were however included by the other bidders.
If you are a Board member, I urge you to just think realistically. You haven’t purchased a Hydrogen or electric car yet have you? Why not? One of them will be the wave of the future. You want to see how it develops or if it catches on right? When Fiber becomes a necessity or when you walk into a BestBuy and that new gadget or TV needs a signal from Fiber, i’m sure there will be someone there waiting to sell it to you.
I live in Boca Falls. When I heard the news that not only our Board decided to sign a contract worth over 4.5 million with Hotwire for 7 years for our basic (analog, what a joke) service, but that we the homeowners were also getting charged for internet in our dues, I was disgusted to say the least.
Why did our board even need waste their time to negotiate this service? Why do we need to be treated like children, and not be allowed to vote on a multi-million dollar contract. Where is the benefit of this contract to homeowners? Our dues are currently $250.00 per month. Of that amount, roughly $30 is for our Comcast basic cable service. With the new Hotwire Communications deal, our dues will increase roughly, $37.00 per month due to the forced internet charge.
To the Boca Falls Board, I speak directly to you now, I sent you a letter over a month ago. Out of the 9 of you, only 2 had the decency to respond. The Director of my subdivision did not even answer, but he is the same person that did not seek my or anyone else’s opinion when inking this deal. How dare you cram internet down my throat. I have had my email address for 9 years, and I have no issues with Comcast as my internet provider. Why must you include internet, and why choose a company that Castle Management recommended? Are you getting a kickback, or some other monetary compensation? I just don’t get it. You have gone backward in technology and believed the word of a very small company with terrible reviews. The above letter from a Boca Isles South Board member does not convince me that Hotwire is the way to go.
In this very tough economy, the Boca Falls Board of Directors should have been looking for ways to REDUCE our dues, not force unwanted services upon us. The $67.00 per month for 2nd rate internet and analog cable is RIDICULOUS. If I want any digital channels on my TV’s with Hotwire, I must hook a box to each one. So currently, I have 5 TV’s that are connected to Comcast. The first box is free with Hotwire, the rest are $6.95 each, which adds $27.80 to my so now I am up to a $94.00 charge. For BASIC digital cable with HBO only and minimal speed internet. Now let’s not forget the $13.95 I MUST PAY for DVR service (to be able to record anything) to use the Hotwire boxes. So now that is up to $108.00 But wait, that’s not all. In order to enjoy the HDTV’s we currently own, that is another $9.95 per month, putting my monthly now at $118.00. And to really compare what I would be giving up if I switch to Hotwire, I currently am subscribed to all channels, premium and otherwise, which to get that with Hotwire, (their package called the works) I would need to add another $39.99 to my Hotwire bill, which now totals $158.00
So gees Boca Falls, please tell me how you saved me ANY money whatsoever. I am floored at the obvious lack of understanding regarding technology and what else is available on the market, for TV and Internet. Plus, if I were to go with Hotwire Communications, I no longer can use my iPad app for Xfinity (Comcast), not have ANY pay per view channels, plus I lose my email account I have had for 9 years.
The bottom line is that my current deal with Comcast, is a MUCH better deal than I am being offered, scratch that, forced into with Hotwire. I have been told I can opt out, but that’s not really true, since my dues will be going up and I will have to pay for Hotwire whether I want it or not.
So here is the bottom line. With my current Comcast, I have extremely fast Internet, all the premium channels, pay per view, my iPad app that I can view movies/TV shows, plus program my DVR, my HD channels, etc And I pay about $95.00 per month for ALL of that. So now, Comcast will add the $30.00 no longer being included in my homeowners dues, which will increase my Comcast bill to about $125 (still cheaper than Hotwire for all the services mentioned above) BUT, thanks to the Boca Falls Board of Directors, I now have to pay an additional $67.00 in Homeowners Dues for a service I DO NOT WANT AND WOULD NOT HAVE CHOSEN, bringing my monthly TV/Internet Bill to $192.00. WOW, just WOW
Thanks for nothing Boca Falls Board of Directors. Next time you want to sign a 4.5 million dollar contract, for a bulk contract that benefits NO ONE, please think twice. You could have let us fend for ourselves and find our own deals without forcing us to pay for a contract none of us voted for, and MANY of us do not want.
http://www.gethotwired.com/documents/bocafalls/RateSheet.pdf
I just want to tell anyone who is interested that hot wire is a joke.First of all most of the issues that many customers face is because they employ inexperience installers.I worked for hot wire in many different places all over south florida from Boca Isles,Stone brige,Boca Woods,Sherbook .They are undermanned and have only a handful of experienced qualified technicians with are scattered all over south florid which is why the must sub conract work to people with little to no experience.I am one of the few with experience having worked with direct tv, aT&T U-verse among other companies and i was shocked at how hot wire handled their jobs.Even those that are directly employed with hot wire have very little clue to what is going on.The reason i say this is because any time i had any problems in installation i would get no straight answer for example why do the higher analog channels get horrible reception,why is the internet so slow and so on it a joke. When customers start to question the experience of the very people working in there homes hot wire supervisors advise there workers to say that they are employed directly by hit wire and not some third party sub contractor. During the times i have worked for this company i generally was sent to homes with only pat of the equipment there were days that there there wasn’t even enough cable boxes for the customers home despite it clearly being in the order on numerous occasions i was sent to a hole with only the address and nothing else not knowing what i was going to do. IN my 2 1/2 years working with this company i saw people walk up to the on-sight office and star working immediately with non background check i would be so stressed out because i would go in to peoples homes with guys who were visible drunk or hungover were clearly illegal immigrants. I also saw and knew numerous workers smoking on the job including actual hot wire employees and one guy who offered me cocaine.I also witnessed guys who would pee on the customers property it was just an awful enviorment to work in which is why i no longer do. To any one who is about to make a move to hot wire dont do it optic fiber is the future but hot wire is not the company to do it they have no clue they also have numerous situaions of non payment to there sub-contractors. If you want to talk or mor detail and perhaps even names send me an email at tonystarks2333@aol.com
As I am part of the new Hotwire team, I can assure you that training has been put in place and we are all working toward changing the customers perception of our company. I work many overnights (along with many of the new employees) upgrading our system and implementing new features to not only compete with the other companies but advance our technologies above what is currently offered by most of the other companies.
Not happy with my Hotwire service. My internet is not faster as promised, in fact, it is WORSE than before and I’m on the phone with customer service at least THREE times a month because my cable is messed up — always when I want to unwind and watch a movie. Also, the selection of movies on demand is lame. The TV remote control is ridiculous; tiny buttons I can barely read, and it’s impossible to get to the full information for the TV programs via the remote even with the useless tutorial they offer on one of the channels. The guide needs major improvement!
I’m not happy with Hotwire.