CenturyLink...horrible customer service

[SeabeeMan]

I went to pay my bill for 3mb internet last month on the 12th and saw a big flashing thing saying there was an upgrade to 4mb in my area, so I clicked on it and starting an online chat with their customer service. At the end of 2 hours (she kept putting me on hold...on chat) I was set to be upgraded to 4mb for an appropriately higher price and a 5 year price guarantee. That should all have been effective the 17th.

Today I went to pay this months bill at the higher rate, along with some prorated service from the time the speed increase was supposed to kick in, and ran a SpeedTest. There was nothing faster about my internet. I started another chat and was told that unfortunately, the available upgrade was in my area but due to a known glitch, it couldn't be applied to my account. She said she was sorry and tried to end the chat. I asked her why this glitch was allowed to happen if it was known and asked that my billing be reverted to what it was before the non-upgrade since I wasn't receiving any additional service.

She stated that since I was on a 5 year price guarantee, I was locked in at that price. I managed to avoid going ballistic at this point and eventually she told me that I would have to call the customer loyalty center to see what could be done. At this point, I am paying a higher price for services never delivered.

I called the customer loyalty line and repeated the story. His recommendation was that I enroll in automatic payments to save $10/month and that would help offset the cost increase I was experiencing. Again...***.

Eventually he was able to apply $20 worth of "loyalty discounts" for 6 months, at which point I can renew said discounts by calling customer service when they expire.

So to summarize:

- I agreed to pay more for an increased internet speed and a 5 year price lock
- That speed couldn't be delivered after the fact (I had to call to deal with this, they would have happily charged me more)
- They will not undue the price increase on my account
- They are compensating by offering 6 months of discounts to slightly more than offset the increased charges
- It has taken over 6 hours to deal with this and who knows how much it will take to renew these discounts in 6 months

Unfortunately, they are the ONLY internet provider other than satellite in my area. I cannot believe how a company like this can survive with service like that. I just hope that charter runs a line by our house at some point soon.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Almost like calling a phone sex line. They keep you on the phone and all that time you are being charged. Sorta sounds like this that they did to you, and no gratification at the end of the call.Robert

[Smoke4320]

Sounds just like Alltel/Windstream .. They used to call and offer me DSL service and I would ask (knowing the switching station is like 1500 yds from my house ..
IT is only GUARANTEED to work like 1000 FT away IIRC) They would always say yes sir lets get you signed up right now..
My answer was you send out the crew to hook it up and test it then I will sign up.. After doing this about 6 times in 3 years they quit calling

[square butte]

Call your states Atty General

[marlin39a]

We have CenturyLink here in AZ. They are known for terrible service. I've never heard anything good about them. I have Speedconnect here in the high country. Works good for me. Keep looking. You'll find better than those thieves.

[Lance Boyle]

Sounds like consumer fraud to me. I second the state's AG office. Or if you have an attorney friend, send them a demand letter demanding they undo the contract that they're not living up to.

Document the date and time of the conversation that there is a glitch where they cannot deliver the service even though they say it is in the area. They burned themselves right there I believe. later they will say it's your line or your hardware that's not up to speed.

[merlin101]

Sounds like consumer fraud to me. I second the state's AG office. Or if you have an attorney friend, send them a demand letter demanding they undo the contract that they're not living up to.

Document the date and time of the conversation that there is a glitch where they cannot deliver the service even though they say it is in the area. They burned themselves right there I believe. later they will say it's your line or your hardware that's not up to speed.

Or contact your local news channel, chance are your not the only one that got screwed and the company won't want the bad publicity.

[Tackleberry41]

I wonder if there is such a thing as a good internet company. They all seem to do it, as they know you have few options, you gonna call someone else. You can almost hear them laughing. I had Windstream in KY, the internet would go down, they drove out to reset something on the line. A day or 2 later it was out again. They reset that box, dozens upon dozens of times over a years time. Then they finally actually fixed it. How much did it cost them for all those half butted attempts vs just fixing it the first time? Always knew when we had some rain it would go out, not hard to figure out, for months a section of the lines dangled there in the weather they had started working on then just never finished. The phones were out in the area for a couple days, before they got enough complaints to go and at least reconnect the wires.

People wonder what happened to everybodies work ethic? Can't have anything to do with the way business is run anymore. Seems your pretty much a shmuck anymore to have a work ethic. Not like your going to get a raise for it, usually get a talking to from the boss for not sticking to company policy, which is generally the opposite of a work ethic. So everybody just collects a check, does just enough to get by.

[SeabeeMan]

Everything is documented. I do online chat with customer service agents whenever possible so that I can have a transcript. I've already filed a complaint with the BBB and I am looking into what there is for consumer protection in WI.

[CT-shooter777]

Call your states Atty General

He probably sits on the CL board and a major stockholder, makes one wonder, what ever happened to all this monopoly busting they were always yacking about to benefit the consumer.
CT. has the same one size fits all or nothing as far as cable, dependent on the county location.

You can try to resolve it through the .Gov legal recourse, good luck with that.
Of course they may sue Century-link and then keep the fine......................

[CT-shooter777]

BBB and I am looking into what there is for consumer protection in WI.

Hate to break it to you but BBB ratings are bought, not earned.
IF you are really aggravated, try to find as many CL customers who been abused similarly and consider a class action suit.
You will get no remedy from any governmental agency.

[Geezer in NH]

Call your states Atty General

That's the ticket. Do not screw with morons go right to throat

[MaryB]

Small claims court for the price difference plus damages. Limits depend on state, MN is $7,500.

[A pause for the COZ]

Yup thats how they roll.
Years ago we had a sweet sweet deal on long distance For life. In the super fine print it states that those offers are only good until when and if you make ANY changes to your plan.
We ordered dial up internet through a local provider even though it was more. ( this was a while ago)

Plenty of stories about a retiree bennifit they had of free local phone for life after retirement.
Even after that was taken out of the contract. The ones who already had it. It was grandfathered in.
It took a few retirees loosing the free phone before they caught on.
It was only grandfathered in if they did not make any changes to their service.
I.E. Change you long distance provider. Boom you get billed for the local. Order call waiting, boom, Dial up internet, Boom.

Old game.

[MT Gianni]

Don't mess with the Ag, in most states this is regulated through the Public Service commission. Do call them.

[CT-shooter777]

Don't mess with the Ag, in most states this is regulated through the Public Service commission. Do call them.

http://psc.wi.gov/

http://psc.wi.gov/apps40/complaint/c...Complaint.aspx

[SeabeeMan]

Thanks!

http://psc.wi.gov/

http://psc.wi.gov/apps40/complaint/c...Complaint.aspx

[David2011]

I've had to deal with them for commercial "service" if you can call it that at some of the locations of my employer. They are not stellar. If a company makes a binding contract with you to provide a service that they as a company know that they cannot provide that sounds like consumer fraud. Some states allow awards of triple damage for consumer fraud cases.

https://www.reportfraud.wisconsin.gov/RptFrd/

From a Wisconsin lawyer's website:
Fraud & Deceptive Sales Practices

Many companies and salespeople will do and say anything to make a buck, including lying about the products or services they sell.

Wis. Stat. § 100.18(1), Wisconsin’s main misrepresentation statute, however, prohibits companies and individuals from making false representations in the sale of products or services.

To have a claim under Wisconsin’s misrepresentation statute, you must show that the company or salesperson 1) made a misrepresentation to the public with the intent of inducing a sale or obligation; 2) the representation was untrue, deceptive or misleading; and 3) the representation caused damages.

A representation can be communicated in a variety of ways, including:

• Television, newspaper, radio, and internet advertisements
  
• Oral representations made in private conversations, i.e., representations made face-to-face, including those made to only one person

Statements made after the sale (i.e., after you sign the contract or purchase the product or goods), however, are usually not covered by the statute.

The representation must be an affirmative representation of fact, and not puffery. An affirmative representation of fact would be when a salesperson tells you that the television you are looking at purchasing is high definition. Puffery, on the other hand, is a quality that cannot be proved or disproved, such as when a salesperson tells you that a television is the world’s greatest television.

The representation must cause you a pecuniary loss, i.e., to lose money. This is usually found when you purchase a product or service based on the untrue representation.

If a company or salesperson made an untrue representation to you about a product or service you bought, you may be entitled to damages, along with the costs of bringing suit and attorney’s fees.

[.45Cole]

They kept adding services to my account without my consent. I would get emails confirming my enrollment at 1am, and then fight all the next day to undo them. The customer service sucks, and I finally had them add a "do not add services to this account" tag noted on my account. This of course didn't stop them. As you are stuck, so am I: no other provider. It sounds like I'm making this up as you would think this can't happen, but it does - try it "downgrade to century link now!" Oh yeah, before I step down, 60 megabits/sec = 15 megabytes/ sec. Just like a politician.