MSN-TV
Requested access number expired, causing $700 in toll charges

I purchased an MSN-TV receiver. This device hooks up to a phone line and a TV set and accesses the internet. A subscription to MSN is required.

Because of the rural area I live in, there were no local access numbers available to me. I called my local phone company, purchased a phone plan with unlimited minutes and had a separate dedicated phone line installed.

The MSN receiver will not allow the customer to choose a desired access number. It is necessary to call MSN customer service to have a requested access number programmed. I contacted MSN and requested a number for Decatur, AL. With this number, my phone plan and the dedicated line, I would have unlimited minutes and local access. I insisted to the MSN service rep that I wanted this access number and no other.

What occurred next was that after 30 days the number I requested dropped off and the receiver began dialing a different number. This receiver was used by the entire family, children included, and I did not discover the problem until the phone bill arrived.

I contacted MSN to ask why my access number had changed. I could find no one in their customer service with an answer. After several months, faxing phone bills numerous times and making phone calls, I found one employee who knew their product. He told me that requested and programmed access numbers expire after thirty days. He also told me that the customer service rep had made a mistake by not making the number I wanted permanent and non-expiring.

There is not one word about expiring access numbers in their user guide or on their help desk. It took me several months to find a customer service rep who knew this feature of the receiver.

This problem occurred over one year ago, in August. MSN denies responsibility for the toll charges that I incurred, a total of $700.00. I could not get this issue elevated to MSN management until I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the Washington State Attorney General's Office.

Alana Jones of MSN refuses responsibility for a mistake made by their employee. She claims that the number I requested resulted in toll charges. However, she provides no proof, while I have phone records that prove otherwise. I have mailed and faxed these records to her several times. It seems she is not interested in facts, because that would make her company responsible.

On 6-22-04, I received a phone call, a message on my answering machine, from a person named Eric from MSN. He left a message that he wished to speak to me about my toll charges. I have concluded that he does not. Why? Because I returned his phone call about ten times, never able to reach him, and left him a return message. His last name, they could not divulge to me.

I wrote to the chairman's office of Bill Gates in an effort to reach someone other than Alana Jones in customer service. I have written twice to Mr. Gates' office; the last letter I sent was August 16th. I have received no reply of any manner.

MSN says they are not responsible because of the service agreement that you make with them. My position is that I did, in good faith, try to access their service. I requested a desired access number, purchased a phone plan of unlimited minutes and had a separate and dedicated phone line installed.

The toll charges occurred because of a mistake made by MSN customer support, because they do not know and are not trained in the features of their own product.

Company: MSN-TV
Country: USA
State: Washington
City: Redmond
Address: 1 Microsoft Way
Phone: 8003865550

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