In November of last year my boyfriend and I moved in together and were in search of a cable and Internet provider. Since we didn't have established credit most companies wanted a high deposit.
My boyfriend found the number in the yellow pages for Earthlink. Since I had better credit than him, he suggested I call and talk with them. To my surprise the representative told me they wouldn't require any kind of deposit. From my understanding I was told I would be receiving cable and internet thru a satellite. I would be signing up for an 18 month contract to purchase the satellite and receive service.
I was also told that I would have 30 days to try out the service at no cost, if I wasn't happy I could cancel, if I was happy they would bill me January. My cost would be $102.95 a month. The man said he would need my bank account information to establish the account and assured me no money would be taken out until January. He gave me a number to call to set up a date for installation of the satellite. Again that wouldn't cost either.
So I called the number and unfortunately it would cost $125.00 for installation of the satellite. I also learned that this company was separate from Earthlink. At this point this sounded like the cheapest company to go with. I assumed the representative wasn't aware of the fee. So I set up the date for installation.
The man came and installed the satellite on the morning of November 15, I was at work and my boyfriend was at home. When I got home from work my boyfriend informed me that we only had internet and didn't have cable. He thought that maybe someone else would come to do the cable.
I called Earthlink and told them my problem. It was THEN that I was told they don't offer cable for televisions in my area. I told them that I didn't want the service and it was THEN I was told their would be a $500.00 cancellation fee that I would have to pay UPFRONT. I told asked them about the free 30 days and they told me their was no such thing as a free 30 days.
Obviously the representative lied to me about EVERYTHING. So at this point I felt like I was stuck with the service I didn't have $500.00 extra dollars. Then in the next few months they never took the money out of my account on the day they said they would. (the 13) It was either a few days before the 13 or up to a week after.
I ended up getting a prepaid credit card to make the payments. After not paying them for three months they finally disconnected my service. They started calling me 2-3 times a day. I eventually called them back to cancel the service. And the lady cancelled it just like that. She didn't even say anything to me about the cancellation fee. I had to ask her and she didn't know. I assumed I would be billed for it.
Earthlink ended up sending the bill to a collection agency that keeps harassing me. I've tried to set up payment arrangements with them but they want the whole amount up front which is somehow over $700.00. I don't know what to do. They put it on my credit report. But on my credit report it says I only owe 544.
I wouldn't recommend Earthlink to anybody they lied to me about everything. I would greatly appreciate any advice on this matter. My boyfriend and I are broke college students trying to make it from week to week.
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