Apparently I Owe nearly $1000 on my Internet

[Solauren]

First, let me get the swearing out of the way
*(&(*&(&#$(*&(*#@@!$@!$@!%*@!()$*)@!
Sympatico.

Now then.

Apparently, my high speed Internet provider, Bell-Sympatico, has been trying to get ahold of me (via Email only) too say they've been trying to debit my credit card and can't. No phone call, no snail mail. Just email, addressed to the wrong person with the wrong snail mail address.

Long story short, cause they didn't call me until now, I owe the price of 19 months for my internet account. Approximately $850

Because of my contract with them, nothing can be done, blah blah blah
Even with the 'okay, we should have called you, etc', they will not lower the amount owing. I asked I be BILLED when I moved instead, they said yes, no record of that.

In short, I'm paying them the money (I did use the service), but I am planning on switching providers. I also plan to switch my phone provider from Bell to Sprint, and save $20 a month.

Bell and Sympatico be damned.
Long live Sprint and Rogers@Home

[Chardok]

that does suck shit, but you did the right thing. You did sign a contract, and it is your responsibility to assure that your credit card is properly debited, if that is the payment method you chose.

Proper customer service guidelines dictate they should offer some modicum of....niceness. They SHOULD have tried to call or something. Or discontinued service after a certain period of time. To let it rack up so many charges while allowing you to continue is fucking ridiculous.

My suggestion:
Do NOT be nice to these people. Call their customer service. Do NOT talk to a regular representative, talk to a supervisor, then, Ask for THEIR supervisor. They will try to keep you from speaking with them. Don't let them. don't say a fucking WORD to a regular rep or their "Team leader" tell them you want a manager. (The rep's supervisor's supervisor.) Customer service HATES escalated issues. Raise fucking hell. Threaten to call the Better business bureau, run an ad in the paper, whatever it takes. The fact that they did not relent AT ALL is fucking poor as hell. it is a well known fact that dissatisfied customer tell on average 16 people about shitty service. you just upped that Ante by at least an order of magnitude. Don't fuck around, dude. get serious. Get them to admit they did something wrong. at the very least, demand a personalized letter of apology for not billing you or notifying you of the problem properly, no form letters. and, probably when you raise enough shit (especially if they ADMIT they didn't attempt to get ahold of you by any other means than a shitty Email.) they will do something to sate you.


this will work, I promise you will get something. (I work in customer service. You want some more advice on how to handle stupid fucking call-center representatives, you just update this post. I'll tell you allllll the dirty little secrets.)

[Worlds Spanner]

As it happens, e-mail is a legal form of "notification" where a phone call isn't. Obviously they had the wrong e-mail address, but the point is that they were trying their best to follow the law.

[Chardok]

As it happens, e-mail is a legal form of "notification" where a phone call isn't. Obviously they had the wrong e-mail address, but the point is that they were trying their best to follow the law.

no, they were doing the bare minimum required by law. They had his phone number. (Hello? Bell?) They could have called. they could have mailed him a bill. they could have discontinued service after 1 or two months non payment. This is just piss-poor customer service. Best they could my ass.

[Solauren]

Snip

Did all that before I posted the Poll. (I used to work at a customer service center....)

They will not budge. I talked to the supervisors supervisor, etc. Hell, I had my lawyer call them (he he'd gotten to down, I would not have vented). The will not budge because as they said 'It was my responsiblity, not theres"

Fine. I can afford it. I make about $760 a week. I'll just wait a few more weeks before buying that new sword I want from SwordsOnline.com

Fuck'em.

I just switched Telephone providers, and I'm calling them on Monday to chance the account (after I mail payment, I did use it), and I'll say simple: why? You let my bill run to $900 without CALLING me, I don't care if you only do email, you did not tend to this customers needs, and my new ROGERSCABLE account is costing me $20 less a month, and I want to be on there do not call list. And then I hang up before they try to win me back.

And if they call back, I sue there asses off

[Natorgator]

Did you not realize that you were getting free internet for more than a year? Did the thought not ever occur to you, "damn, why haven't I gotten a bill?"

[Tsyroc]

Did you not realize that you were getting free internet for more than a year? Did the thought not ever occur to you, "damn, why haven't I gotten a bill?"

It sounds like it was supposed to be coming directly from a credit or debit card so if he didn't check his monthly statements closely he would have missed it. I usually look for stuff that I'm being charged for so It would take me longer to catch stuff I'm not getting charged for. In the case of a provided service I don't know that I would catch it unless they shut off my service.

[Solauren]

Did you not realize that you were getting free internet for more than a year? Did the thought not ever occur to you, "damn, why haven't I gotten a bill?"

My phone bill suddenly jumped, so I figured charing to the phone line

[InnerBrat]

It seems that you haven't been charged for anything except the servce you used, so there's not a lot legally you can do, as their service has only bee poor in the billing department.
Pay it and move providers.

[Vertigo1]

Thats a load of horseshit. THEY failed to contact you via mail or telephone. THEY let the service run for so long without payment, so its their damn fault. Either sue them, or pay it off in small increments.

Hell, run a damn page ad in the newspaper anyways. The bigger a stink you make, the better it'll be for you. Get on the radio if you can.