Qwest
Overcharging, bogus billing, unfair cancellation charges

We have had telephone service with Qwest for many years.in most of that time we had very little trouble with the service and with our billing. About three years ago Qwest started their bundle plan and told us of all the savings we would have. If I had known then what I know now about their crookedness, we would have never made the change. We had basic phone, long distance, internet and Direct TV on our bundle plan to start with. They told us we could also have wireless service through Verizon for about $20/month, including a free phone with a two year contract. Thus began the first of our trouble. The wireless service was NOT $20/month, and when we called Qwest about it, they said there was never a deal for that low, we must have been mistaken. The basic wireless service was more like $45/month, and went up from there. After about 1 years, the cell phone was stolen, and we ended up having to disconnect it. We were then charged $200 for the disconnection. We paid that, reluctantly, but afraid if we didn't it would jeopardize the rest of our services. We also started having billing errors after being on the bundle plan, which we constantly had to call and straighten out.
Another problem came when we moved to another city. Our bill was messed up, services changed and confused for several months before finally being straightened out. Our internet service was upgraded without our request or knowledge (after taking several weeks to even get connected), and the explanation was that the old service was no longer available. So the $26.99/month for life promise on that was a lie also, because it went up. Thinking we had no choice, we continued to pay the increased price, but also continued to have problems with our statement.
The final straw came when we moved again a little over a year later. When I called for the changes, I specifically told the lady to transfer the EXACT same services to the new address. Each time she tried to mention different services or upgrades, I was very firm and specific that the EXACT same services needed to be at the new address. Unfortunately, Qwest seems to think they know what is best for their customers without even asking them, as they consistently have changed our services without our request or permission. They think just because a new service has come out that we automatically wanted to upgrade when we moved. When we received our first bill at the new address, there were MANY problems. They changed our long distance service from a 5/minute plan to a flat $20/month. They upgraded our internet service again which was now running $54.99/month (far from the 26.99 we were promised originally). They charged for services at both residences for the same time period. They charged for new service fees (again for things we did not request to be changed). When I called to get the mess straightened out, the customer service guy was so confused by what had been done, he couldn't even figure it out. He put everything back to what I told him it should be, but it still didn't look right when the bill came. The next bill had more problems, this time with the internet and Direct TV portion.
We are at this point so tired of having to scrutinize every word and number on our bill to make sure it is correct, we decided it's time to make a permanent change. We changed our internet and telephone service to a different provider and have asked Direct TV to bill us directly. When I called to cancel our Qwest services, I was told that we were in a two year contract on the internet and would therefore be charged a $200 cancellation fee. I told them I would not be paying that fee as I had never authorized the changes or contract, but on our final billing the $200 charge is there (along with another error on the Direct TV portion). This must be how Qwest makes their money by imposing these 2 year contracts, then frustrating their customers to the point that they cancel, then have to pay the outrageous $200 cancellation fee. They constantly make changes and mistakes to their advantage on the billing, and the bills are laid out so confusing they are hard to catch. Most people probably pay it, either to retain their remaining services with Qwest or just to get rid of them! Personally, I will not be paying their blackmail charges! Qwest has had nearly a monopoly on land line phone service, and getting by with these unfair practices is an outrage. Other utilities are monitored to make sure they stay in line, shouldn't phone service too? If they can charge cancellation fees for mistakes and mismanagement, we should charge them for our time and frustration spent on fixing their overbilling. I'm sure it would amount to much more than $200.

Daniel
Middleton, Idaho
U.S.A.

Company: Qwest
Country: USA
State: Arizona
City: Phoenix
Address: P.o. Box 29040
Phone: 8002441111

  <     >