I believe Peoplepc, an Earthlink company, uses unethical practices when consumers try to cancel their accounts. Following is Earthlinks Mission/Purpose/Values statment (I could not find one for PeoplePC).
Our Mission
Anytime, anywhere, EarthLink connects people to the power and possibilities of the Internet. We deliver a reliable and personalized experience our customers trust.
Our Purpose
To improve people's lives by giving them the ability to communicate better than ever before
To enable our employees and shareholders to flourish and prosper
Core Values & Beliefs
What's important at EarthLink? We are convinced that the key to creating a truly great organization is an intense focus on the values that guide its people's actions. These are EarthLink's "Core Values and Beliefs". If we don't seem to be living up to them, call us on it!
We respect the individual, and believe that individuals who are treated with respect and given responsibility respond by giving their best.
We require complete honesty and integrity in everything we do.
We make commitments with care, and then live up to them.in all things, we do what we say we are going to do.
Work is an important part of life, and it should be fun. Being a good businessperson does not mean being stuffy and boring.
We love to compete, and we believe that competition brings out the best in us.
We are frugal. We guard and conserve the company's resources with at least the same vigilance that we would use to guard and conserve our own personal resources.
We insist on giving our best effort in everything we undertake. Furthermore, we see a huge difference between "good mistakes" (best effort, bad result) and "bad mistakes" (sloppiness or lack of effort).
Clarity in understanding our mission, our goals, and what we expect from each other is critical to our success.
We are believers in the Golden Rule.in all our dealings we will strive to be friendly and courteous, as well as fair and compassionate.
We feel a sense of urgency on any matters related to our customers. We own problems and we are always responsive. We are customer-driven.
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With this in mind, you would think that when you cancel their services in good faith, your account would be canceled; however, this is what happened to me:
In June of I contacted Peoplepc to cancel my account because I had signed up for a DSL service. When I tried to cancel my account the Rep offered me a month of free service. I declined, several times, but the Rep was insistent and incessant. I was told that the month of free service would allow me to access any emails that were sent to my PeoplePC account during the switch over to my new ISP. Wanting to complete my cancellation with out further delay, I consented to the month of free service believing I had canceled my account, in good faith, and that the month of free service was just thoughtfulness on behalf of PeoplePC.
In September, I received a call from PeoplePC asking me to pay my September billing. I informed the service Rep, who spoke with a thick accent, that I had canceled my account in June. She informed me that my account was not canceled and I owed for the month of September. I told her that I had indeed canceled my account and that I had no intention of paying a bill I did not owe; furthermore, I always paid my bills on time and my account history would verify that fact. I asked her to take care of this matter immediately. She informed me that she could not handle the cancellation that I would have to call another number.
Believing I had canceled my account in good faith, I did not want to document another cancellation date by making that call. I started receiving harassing calls from PeoplePC, sometimes 3 to 4 times a day. I kept telling them the same story and asked them to assist me in getting the matter taken care of; they refused to help me. The harassing calls continued.in October, I was informed that my bill now included a charge for the month of October.in an effort to stop the incurring charges I consented to called and cancel my account a second time; however, I refused to pay an outstanding balance that I did not owe.
In December, I started receiving calls from NCO Financial Systems Inc.—taped messages informing me that my account was in collection and I now owed for the two months of service plus collection costs. Shortly after that I received a letter from NCO Financial Systems with a payment voucher for me to send in the payment and notifying me that if I did not pay my balance would continue to increase. I now started getting harassing calls from NCO up to 3 times a day, again taped messages, sometimes a man's voice, sometimes a woman's voice. When I would call the number back, I would get another taped message asking me to leave a message. That I refuse to do.
I feel I was defrauded by PeoplePC/Earthlink in an effort to ellicit more money from me by delaying my cancellation without telling me at the time they offered the one month free service that my account would not be canceled after that time period. My credit history and my account history will attest to the fact that I do not have delinquent accounts nor do I make it a practice to have outstanding balances. I am a good consumer and I will not be threatening into paying a bill I do not owe.
Furthermore, I wish to state that I feel that PeoplePC/Earthlink and NCO Financial Services use unethical, fraudulant, and harrassing practices to collect money that is not owed.
Margo
Adrian, Michigan
U.S.A.
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