On 10-16-09 I purchased NetGear WG 111 Wireless-G USB 2.0 adapter ... from the get-go it would not maintain connections to the net. Several hair-pulling technical support calls and downloads later given by speech impaired idiots ... the problems was not resolved. I went thru months of their garbage. Every time you call ... give case # ... they say a new download will resolve. .. of coarse .. it doesn't. Today 2-20-2010) ... was told the product is now not under warranty ... I just blew-up. Told them this has been an ongoing from day 1 .. asked what they were going to do ... got the same old download will resolve. Told them I wanted a refund .. product never worked ... They of coarse won't issue a refund. I contacted the store I purchased it at ... explained the situation ... although well past the return status, they issued me a store credit .. I purchased a Belkin wireless-G (for less money than the NetGear) Lo & behold I'm up & running ... have been on for hours with no dropped connection. The bottom line ...DO NOT BUY NETGEAR products ... their service rots ... their technicians are useless ... I'm now looking for a website to join the class action lawsuit against them.

This is my letter to their Chief Executive:

Dear Sir

Formal Complaint in Respect of Netgear DG 834N and the Complaint Handling Procedure

I am writing to formally complain about the quality and reliability of the above equipment and how the complaint was handled by Amel your Customer Service Manager for the EMEA Region of your company.

I purchased this equipment in January 2007 from a Computer Fair in Birmingham and some 4 months later I started to have problems with it inasmuch that it would not restart if the power was interrupted. In order to establish communication with your Support Desk I had to purchase a Belkin Router which luckily I have retained because the Netgear Router failed on a number of other occasions. Your Support Desk have now confirmed that there is a “hardware problem” and I communicated this to you shortly before Christmas.

Since sending the communication for your attention I have received a reply from Amel your Customer Service Manager for the EMEA Region who has been less than helpful and has now stated that he is copying the correspondence to your Legal Department. This has happened following some research that I did that indicated that many other customers had experienced the same problem and one had been informed that there was a problem with this model.

I find it difficult to understand why a company with your reputation would market equipment with this type of problem and not be willing to do something about it, even if it was out of warranty, and I find it even more astonishing that your Customer Service Manager has acted in such an unprofessional manner. If you wish to go down the legal route I would be more than willing to meet you in the Small Claims Court and for the evidence to be considered there but I wanted to be sure that this was the course of action your company would wish to take.

I look forward to hearing from you as a matter of urgency.

After spending roughly 2 hours on the phone with Netgear's so-called "IT Customer Support, " I have come to a very negative conclusion. What is the point of having Customer Support/Service if every person there doesn't understand what you are saying and mutters comments in their language while you are trying to get help?

We purchased a router from them two years ago and it is an expensive piece of crap. They also offer no technical support for their faulty products. After wasting my time I was informed to purchase another (expensive) crappy router that they manufacture.