sincere: DGM: Lenalee's back to the viewer ([dgm-kanda] BOOT TO THE HEAD)
Kay ([personal profile] sincere) wrote2008-08-23 10:28 am

Incompetence?! The contract overrides all!

God, I never thought I would say this, but I desperately wished we hadn't switched from Comcast. Yes, they were pricy, unhelpful, and had spotty service, but Qwest is all of those things with a dash of deceit and incompetence.

When I ordered their service, I signed up for the "Qwest Price for Life" to lock in the good deal that I'd gotten. It was going to save me $20/mo on my bill, forever. I was very excited about this switch.

Only then I get my first two bills.

Then I am suddenly told that not only did I not get the prices that the woman on the phone told me that I would get (no one can say why she would have promised me those amounts, nor do they care that she did) but that this "price for life" doesn't include their TV service. I should've read the fine print, I was told. Even though the woman on the phone lied to me (because I made sure to say, "This means my bill will be $70~/mo, unless I change plans, forever? Right?") well, she was under no obligation to tell me the truth, as long as the piece of paper I signed the day they installed everything said otherwise!

Oh, and by the way, now that we're in a contract with both Qwest and their TV service, so in order to break it off with these fuckers, we'd have to pay two contract severance fees.

And now? They sent me a bill saying that I still owe them the money that I've paid them for last month's bill. Fortunately, I have the confirmation number for the payment right here, so I can call them (on a weekday, of course!) and tell them where to shove their $180 bill.

It's incredible. Why isn't there an incompetence clause that allows me to get out of a contract with lying thieves who try to take my lunch money twice in a day?


P.S.: While I was shouting at people on the phone, they signed me up for a 12-month $10 discount on my TV service. It goes without saying that this is not reflected on my bill.

P.P.S.: It also goes without saying that they did not send me a copy of the contract, the way they said that they would.

[identity profile] abrogate-nadir.livejournal.com 2008-08-23 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, what a bunch of bastards! I wonder if they all do a group evil laugh type deal when they got off the phone with you? I bet they did -_-

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[identity profile] kay-willow.livejournal.com 2008-08-23 05:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I swear they did. :\ It's an especially mean trick to play on someone who isn't working right now. Like I can afford that extra $20/mo.

[identity profile] maladaptive.livejournal.com 2008-08-23 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
And the worst part is, pretty much all the companies do the same shit. Some are a little more fair than others, but goddamn sometimes I think they're all just one company with a gigantic monopoly.

And an incompetence clause would be a godsend. No really, I have never ditched a company because I felt like it, or because I found them too expensive-- it's always for the same sort of run-around they gave you. Oh, and I've had contracts in writing, and they still try to charge more, and it takes a few days every couple months to convince them hey I have this goddamn contract.

Actually, severance fees should just be outlawed. Yes, it really costs them oodles of money that you dropped their plan. Uh-huh. Really.

[identity profile] ryanookami.livejournal.com 2008-08-23 06:48 pm (UTC)(link)
A lot of places outsource their subscription and tech centers so that when stuff like this happens they can always go ahead and say that they're not responsible for the promises made by those representatives and so that makes it okay for them to give you the shaft. It's a really sneaky business tactic, but unfortunately perfectly legal, though it really shouldn't be.
It also means that after hearing these wonderful promises you were less likely to read all the fineprint, and of course no one in the company was going to warn you to read all the little details they stick into the contract until after you've signed.
I'm not sure these days if it's cynical or practical to distrust all companies from the start.

[identity profile] kalorii.livejournal.com 2008-08-23 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Ugh, sadly, I'm going to have to say "welcome to the wonderful world of cable services". I know exactly what it's like. |D; The main difference is that at least you have a choice. I have one cable company in my area and that's it. They can handle my phone, TV and internet all on one bill but they can charge whatever the hell they want. Thank you, CRTC.

Other people have put it better than I could. I'm just really sorry you have to deal with this as well. DX It's really goddamn annoying and yet nothing can be done about it.

[identity profile] angrybabble.livejournal.com 2008-08-24 06:14 pm (UTC)(link)
having worked customer service for multiple telco type companies (not qwest, but smaller places lease their lines anyhow since qwest is just ex-bell and still owns evarything), I can tell you that efforts are made in customer service to TRY to head off shit and make things provable, and one of those things is: all the calls are taped, esp. sales shit. Next time you call, suggest someone review the sales call tape and play it back to you (they CAN do this... the whole point of it is to play it for people to say 'no look, you DID agree') and if you were not told the whole truth or lied to outright, it's there.

Also threaten to report them to the BBB (hell, report them anyhow >_>). Also try to not take it out on the CSR, because I dunno if you've ever worked that sort of job, but being blamed and yelled at for the incompetence of others (even coworkers) makes you want to be as unhelpful as possible to people. >_> I personally have never done anything BAD, but I have definitely neglected to offer assistance or suggestions I could have which would probably have been useful, because customer was being an asshat to me, even if it was justified. XD;; I have to say I've definitely seen accounts before where everything was screwed up, and it's just like, how the fuck did that even happen? I didn't know we could even DO that.

Comcast hasn't been too bad to us though. Or no worse than any large corp, anyhow.

[identity profile] angrybabble.livejournal.com 2008-08-24 06:17 pm (UTC)(link)
oh and if all else fails, try crying. XD there's nothing more pathetic than someone who is not exactly angry, but SAD! SAAAADDD!!! that your company has failed them! I JUST WANTED HIGH SPEED INTERWEBS, WHY IS MY LIFE SO HAAARD