Below is the email I sent to SBC, since they don't want to help me after numerous phone calls. I have tried and tried... Maybe this will work:
Dear SBC Management,
Please take this letter seriously and get back to me as soon as possible. I am tired of the bull I have been subjected to and if it keeps up much longer, I will take my complaints to a higher authority if needed. That includes the FTC, a lawyer, your headquarters, the media, whatever it takes.
I am shocked and appalled by the horrible experiences I have had with your company since I attempted to set up service at the beginning of September. I have had at least SEVEN aggravating telephone conversations without a single resolution, and in fact, everyone I speak to seems to either have no knowledge of the situation, or makes the situation worse.
1. I set up an appointment to begin service on September 3, the first available appointment. It was a Friday. When I spoke with the operator, I let her know what services I wanted on the phone and we ended the call by her asking if the property was accessible, without any locked gates or dogs. I assured her that I was not yet living in the residence, and that there was no lock on either gate nor were there any dogs. (It was important to me to have service set up as soon as possible because, despite the fact that I didn't plan on moving in until the first week of October, I was spending lots of time on small repairs, having contractors visit, etc. I needed to have phone service in order to feel safe as a woman alone in an empty house.)
2. When I returned to the house the following Wednesday, to do further repairs, I discovered the phone did not work. I had been told by the previous owner that he was experiencing problems with the DSL prior to his move, so he had changed out some wires. I assumed the phone did not work because of something he did, so I called out an electrician. For same day service, I had to pay a $90 service call. When he finally arrived, he told me that there was nothing wrong with the inside wiring, that there was no service connected from the outside. I tried to bargain with him on the price, since he didn't have to do anything, but I had to pay him the $90 for his time anyway. I was extremely upset.
3. Again, I called Customer Service and was told that phone service was not set up because, according to the technician, the backyard was not accessible.By this time, I was livid. I explained that the technician had to be either lazy or stupid, because there was no reason he could not access the rear of the property. I offered to take photos of my gates to prove it. I had paid for an electrician for services that I didn't need, all because of a technician who didn't do his job. I was able to set up another installation appointment, for the 15th of September.
4. When I finally had phone service, I discovered that the services I requested were in fact NOT on my phone. I called Customer Service and after being passed from one person to the next, I was finally able to speak to a Supervisor. I explained the whole situation, and he assured me that because of what I experienced, I would not be paying my entire first bill. When I asked him to add the other services, he also said there would not be a set up charge for those services. He was the only person I spoke with that was the least bit apologetic. I finally thought it would be straightened out.
5. About the same time that I spoke with this gentleman, I also received the Lifeline application in the mail, which I promptly returned. I assumed everything would be fine from that point forward.
6. I finally realized things were NOT ok when I received my first bill, dated October 2. That bill did not have any credits on it, in fact, I was billed for everything.
7. I called the Customer Service number yet again, and complained about my bill being sent out when I was told the whole bill would be taken care of. I was told that all the notation said was one month of service would be covered. I told her it wasn't correct, and it wasn't what the Supervisor had told me would happen. The woman I spoke with said she would request an investigation, that the person who fouled up the original installation would need to be spoken to. I told her that since a Supervisor had told me that I would not be paying one dime of my first bill, that I wasn't going to send any payment. She didn't seem to think that was an issue.
8. I called back several times to check on whether this investigation was complete and no one had a clue what I was talking about. One guy said that the only investigations he was aware of was fraud investigations. Another person said she didn't see any notation on my account, but then she said she would request an investigation. This time I asked again to speak to a Supervisor, but was told she didn't have access to a Supervisor. I asked for the phone number of the person who would be investigating the matter and again, I got nothing.
9. I waited to see if there would be a resolution and instead, I got two notices in the same day!
A. One notice, dated October 27th, said that my bill was past due and my phone would be disconnected.
B. The other notice, dated October 26th, said that since I had not sent in my Lifeline paperwork, that I would be charged the regular rate. On the back of this notice, there was a long list of charges, including new connection fees totaling $14.25 and $23.01. WHAT??? This was the first I had heard that they didn't receive my paperwork, even though I did indeed send it.
10. Again, I was extremely frustrated and aggravated. I called in to dispute both notices, and the gentleman I spoke with said that the investigation was complete and that I would get one month of service, not my whole first bill. I asked who investigated this and why I wasn't contacted. He said he didn't have any further information for me. I also asked what happened with my Lifeline paperwork and he said he could reinstitute it for me, and send me a new form.
11. The latest notice, dated November 4, says that I will now be receiving Lifeline service, but it appears that I was once again issued a connection fee, in the amount of $7.12. Another fee? What?
I am so frustrated and upset that I am at a loss as to how to resolve all of this. I tried to log in to the SBC web site to figure out what all these charges are and what should or shouldn't be paid. All I can see is that I now owe $107.43, which is outrageous for a disabled person on Lifeline service.
The last call that I made ended with me asking for a Manager to call me back. Someone did call, more than 48 hours later, when I wasn't home, and didn't leave me a phone number to call her back. She said her name is Michelle.
PLEASE, I AM BEGGING. Tell me what I can do to resolve this and not keep racking up bogus charges and fees, and making telephone calls to your supposed Customer Service number that do not get me anywhere. As far as I am concerned, I owe nothing for the first bill or for ANY of these fees.
It feels like I am being singled out and picked on and I don't deserve this. All I want is telephone service, not a constant headache. I am having surgery next week, one of many surgeries I will have to endure. I don't need these problems, especially because I cannot afford to pay all these bogus charges. I want someone to resolve this within 24 hours. I don't think that's too much to ask.
Please call me as soon as possible and if I am not home, LEAVE ME A CALL BACK NUMBER. I don't think that's too much to ask. I have been through hell and none of this is my fault.
Heather
Placentia, California
U.S.A.
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