Though I placed an order for residential phone service and DSL in June as of Aug. 28, the service has not yet been connected. I have called numerous service representatives, repeatedly since June, only to be transfered around, and then told that the problem is being examined and fixed.
The problem began when my subletter attempted to switch the service out of her name. She called to cancel the service in early June. I subsequently called to start new service. I was told that the DSL service in her name had to be cancelled and completely shut off before new service could be started. The subletter called again to cancel the service. I called again to re-start the service. I was told that the phone service could be switched into my name, but that I had to make a follow-up request to initiate the service.
At this point, I was already getting irritated that the internet service required multiple calls. As I was out of town, I was not able to call back in the designated one week time period. I called the following week, and was chided for not calling promptly. I explained that I had been out of town and that I would like the internet service connected. I was told that the internet service would be connected, but that I would need an installation CD. Did I have the installation CD? No. Could AT&T send one to me? No, they could not send one to me until after the internet service had been connected - approximately seven to ten days. Then I would have to call back AGAIN to request the CD.
I called back after 7-10 days to request that the CD be sent to me. I was told that it would arrive in another 7-10 days. At this point, I left on a month-long business trip to Asia. I assumed that the installation CD would show up any day, allowing my new rooommate to access the internet, as I promised she would be able to do when she moved in.
After three weeks, she emailed to tell me that the installation CD had still not arrived. This was creating a serious problem for her, as she is a student and was about to begin online college courses. She reported that AT&T had left a 'courtesy message' on our home telephone number stating that we "had not completed the set up" and instructing us to call 877-722-3755.
On Aug. 28 (Aug. 29,9pm Asia (Bhutan) time), I phoned this number, from Asia, where I was on a business trip. I explained the problem in detail to the first representative that I spoke to, who promised to investigate the issue and put me on hold for 20 minutes.
A second representative answered the phone. I said that I had explained my problem to the first representative, who had gone to investigate. She said that he had transfered the phone to her, and she promised to stay on the line with me until the problem was resolved. She said that she was in Billing, and wouldn't be able to resolve any technical issues, but promised to see that I got the necessary help. She transferred me to 'level 2 tech support.' By this time, I had been on the phone for more than 30 minutes from Asia.
I explained the problem a third time to Tech Support. He said that he needed to check with Billing. I explained that I had just been transferred from Billing. He said that there was a discrepancy between my name and the name on the DSL account, and he needed to straighten it out with Billing. He said that even if he just changed the name on the tech support side, it would not match the name on the Billing side and would lead to problems later on.
More than 45 minutes after my call began, Tech Support put me on hold to check with Billing. He eventually returned to the phone to explain that the subletter's name had never been taken off the DSL account, even though she had called multiple times in June to close her account. Because her account had not be closed, no new account could be created. I explained that both the subletter and I called multiple times in June to close her account, and I called repeatedly in July to start my account. He said that nothing could be done until she called back to close her account.
I asked to speak to someone who could help me resolve this problem. He repeated that nothing could be done until the subletter called back to close the account. I told him that this level of service was unacceptable. He said nothing could be done. An hour and ten minutes after the call began, he ended the call, unable to resolve my problem. At this point, the subletter and I have spent a combined total of more than 10 hours trying to change the DSL service out of her name and into my name. This is an issue that should be resolved in ONE SIMPLE PHONE CALL. It should not require multiple calls, to representatives who don't do what they say they will do. Numerous representatives assured me that my DSL order was in process and would soon be operational, but after two months, we are still unable to use DSL.
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