Background information: About two weeks ago, I called Qwest and ordered phone service for our new house. At the same time, I ordered DSL. The guy took my information, and then completely ignored it and placed an order for MSN DSL. We moved in and discovered a dead phone jack, and Qwest saying they might not make my DSL due date (December 6). Then I got my first phone bill, which was for $72, which is shockingly high, since we don’t have long distance. So today I called up Qwest with the intention of addressing the following problems:
- Removing extra items from my phone bill.
- Getting the dead phone jack fixed.
- Checking up on my DSL order.
Qwest Rep #1 (male, somewhat helpful): Two of the extra services on your bill you can have removed no problem. The third one: “Toll Restriction Service, Individual & Key Lines,” you cannot. That is the $2 that we charge you every month for not having long distance service. We will only stop charging you that if you pay the $100 deposit to turn on long-distance service. Now I’ll transfer you to the service-removal department.
Qwest Rep #2 (female, helpful): I can remove Call Rejection and Call Waiting if you want, but you get them for free. The bill you got is an error. Since you have DSL service, you get Call Rejection, Call Waiting and Caller ID for free, which the first salesman you talked to failed to mention. Now I’ll transfer you to the bill-sending department… ask for an updated bill.
Qwest Rep #3 (female, irritated): No, I can’t send you a new bill. We only send bills at the end of the month. Your next bill will tell you how much you really owe, and if we overcharged you, your account will be credited. I don’t know why the last woman transferred you here because we don’t do what you want. I’ll transfer you back to her. What? Yeah, I can transfer you to the repair department instead.
Qwest Rep #4 (male, somewhat helpful): A repairman costs $85 for the first half-hour and $25 for every extra half-hour. We can have someone at your house in 20 minutes. You don’t have the money right now? Yeah, I can transfer you to the DSL service people.
Qwest Rep #5 (foreign female, not helpful): No, we haven’t made any progress on your account in the last week because MSN still hasn’t canceled your DSL order, and until that’s done, we can’t get anything going. Yes, I can transfer you to the MSN department.
Qwest Rep #6 (female, somewhat helpful): Yes, your order is marked for cancellation. That takes between 10 and 20 business days. The only thing I can do to speed that up is put a priority flag on your request, but there’s no guarantee that will help. MSN is sorry to be losing a customer, but I hope that I was helpful with your customer service needs. Have a nice day.
Final standing: I have one piece of good news (that the questionable items on my bill were just a billing mistake, and they’re really free), but I can’t get a new bill (or even a corrected balance), I can’t afford to get my dead phone jack fixed, and my DSL account may or may not be delivered on time depending on whether or not MSN gets around to canceling my order, which was a Qwest mistake to begin with. HATE
