Journal TechnoLust's Journal: Fucking Phone Company 8
Everyone that thinks MS is a monopoly, that may be true, but I'd much rather deal with them than the Motherfucking phone company. In January, I didn't receive my phone bill. It just didn't come. I don't know if they didn't send it or it was lost in the mail, but it didn't come. I got home from my grandmother's funeral and grabbed the mail, and nothing no bill or anything, but my phone was cut off. I called in and told the lady that I had not received a bill. She said if I had a credit card she could hook me back up. I gave her my card number and she hooked me up. I asked about the reconnect fee, since I hadn't recevied a bill. She said not to worry, she'd waive it. So I get my bill for February and theres a $28 reconnect fee. So I call them and wait on hold for ever. When I finally talk to someone, she says I have to talk to billing, so she transfers me, and I'm on hold for another eternity. Finally, I get this woman on the line. I tell her the situation and she says she can't remove it because they have no record of me not receiving the bill. I told her again that I had called in when they had shut my phone off and told them that I had not received a bill. She said, yeah, but we have no record of that. Well, obviously I called them (from my cell phone) since my phone was reconnected, but they have no record of it. Well, I told her that I hadn't received a bill and I would like it removed, she said we have no record that you didn't receive a bill and we have no record that anyone told you it would be removed. Well, I said, "I'm telling you NOW that I didn't get a bill, so create a record and then you'll have one." She wouldn't help me at all. If there were ANY competition I would switch. It only $28 fucking dollars, but it's the principle of the thing. They are a monopoly and they are fucking me because they can. If there were any competition that shit would never happen. If I didn't have DSL I'd cancel the fucking phone and use my cell. Bastards have me by the short-n-curlys and they know it.
Anybody else get fucked by the phone company lately?
Sprint PCS (Score:1)
Not lately (Score:2)
First, I run a small business. We have ~35 phone lines. Almost zero long distance. I want ONE phone bill, to write ONE check, to ONE company. Bell Atlantic/Verizon couldn't do that. Buh-bye. (We have a CLEC, luckily)
Then, I want DSL. "You need a voice line". "Uhh, no I don't. I want DSL". "Sorry, can't give you that without a voice line."
Okay. So I tell them to install a voice line, I don't give a shit about anything, I want the cheapest, $12/month voice line they can give me. Don't fuck with the inside wiring (just bring it to the demarc, which I am assured is okay. I just need the voice line for (mumble, mumble) so that we can hook up DSL), don't do nothing. A month later, I order DSL, the DSL tech comes out, and has trouble figuring out how to hook it up. Eventually, the fucktard figures out that I don't have a voice line. "I don't give a shit, here is the number, here is the name of the operator I placed the voice line order through, here is the name I placed the dSL order through, here is the name/number of the tech who did the work for the voice line, etc, etc, etc. I don't give a shit what you say, here are the names, here is what they told me. Next thing I want to hear is 'your DSL is working'" A few days later, they finally removed their collective head from their ass.
Yes. They are impossible to deal with. If you really want a horror story, ask me about the T1 setup we have at work. Ask me why it took 6 months of denial for them to admit that they had a problem. (I'd tell you now, but I'm already starting to get really freakin' pissed.)
Sprint PCS (Score:2)
I called up and asked to be switched to the 1000 minute plan. The Sprint representative had a lot of trouble with the computer but finally got it switched. I asked specifically if I would still get free long distance and he said that I would.
A month later I get a bill for about $600. I had been charged for long distance for every single call that I made on the phone. I immediately called Sprint and asked what was going on. I thought this could be resolved pretty quickly since they had obviously screwed up somehow. They told me that I had signed up for a 1000 minute plan WITHOUT free long distance. I asked how much it cost. They said $99. I asked if a 1000 minute plan WITH free long distance existed. They said yes, it also cost $99. I then asked why on earth would I sign up for a plan without free long distance when all of my calls were long distance calls. Especially when I had already had a plan with free long distance. They said they couldn't tell me why I signed up for that plan. I said that it was because I didn't sign up for it. I spoke to managers and managers of managers and couldn't get anywhere. I tried being nice and then I tried being extremely rude and they began to refuse to answer my questions. Finally I told them that I wasn't going to pay it and they were going to lose a good customer if they didn't fix it.
To make a four month long story short somebody at Sprint finally listened to reason and they fixed the bill.
With my luck I'll probably get brain cancer from using the cell phone so much.
The worst thing about cell phone companies is that they are not regulated. They can do whatever they want to you. At least if the local company screws with you you can call the FCC or your state regulatory commission. That is what I would reccommend in your case. Cell phone companies however, answer to no one.
If I had more time I would list how AT&T slammed me and I ended up being charged $600 for $60 worth of calls to England. That took 6 months to resolve and threats of legal action.
Re:Sprint PCS (Score:1)
Anyway, I signed up for a plan that had free Web usage and free roaming. Then they put up a tower where my parents live, so when I visited them I wasn't roaming. I switched the roaming to free Long distance, because I have friends out of state. When I get my next bill, it is 3 times the last one because they switched the Web service instead of the roaming, then I ad to go through the whole thing, because the didn't offer that web plan anymore. She kept telling me I couldn't get it. I said, but I just had it. "It was a sign up promo deal, you shouldn't have dropped it." "But I didn't drop it, I told her to drop roaming!" So I finally convinced her it was THEIR screw up and got some extra minutes out of it, so all is well. I have a feeling it isn't going to turn out so well with these guys, but fuck it... it's $28 bucks, it isn't worth my time to yell at them for that.
Even better than *2 (Score:2)
The moral of this story is don't call them, you'll wait on hold forever. Let them interrupt your call and you'll get them pronto.
Just be glad you live in the US (Score:2)
Actually, this doesn't widen my pages.. (Score:1)