Sometimes You Have To Ask For What You’re Entitled To
My phone and internet connection have both been problematic since last Thursday. We at first thought the phone problem was something to do with our own phone receiver, but then realized that it was affecting the internet as well (we have a bundled phone/internet/cable package all from the same provider) so, it being a service issue, called our provider to fix it. They came on Monday morning, and thought they fixed the problem, but in fact, ended up making it worse. Eventually they realized it was a bigger problem than just our house, and by Tuesday afternoon it was finally fixed.
The problem started out being intermittent outages, but by Monday became a continual problem that gave us zero service for the next 36 hours. When I talked to the service representative on the phone, I asked if we were going to get a credit on our bill for the time we were without service. She said yes, BUT. To receive a billing credit, we would have to call the billing office and request it with our ticket number from our repair request.
We wouldn’t just get a credit automatically, even though they knew there was a problem, and I found that incredibly annoying and somewhat deceptive. I am sure this is so that they don’t have to give out credits very often. Most people probably wouldn’t call and request a credit on their bill for an outage, because they wouldn’t know they needed to. But I am not fond of paying for service I am not receiving. So call I did, and after a short discussion was credited for 5 days of phone and internet service (from when we reported the problem until it was finally resolved).
So if your service is interrupted – research your options. Don’t pay for what you don’t have.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
We always call and get credits when our internet doesn’t work. I’m paying a lot of money for it, so I deserve a refund when it’s out.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I’ve had to do that several times with my cable provider (Time Warner). I don’t care if it is only down for a day – I call them and get the credit. It’s not as much about the money as it is about me trying to make a point. Every time I call them I ask the same question – “If you were aware of an outage in my area then why did I still get billed for a service that I did not receive?” They never have an answer for me – Never. They just credit my account and try to get me off the phone as soon as they can.
Service providers (Cable, Internet, Cellular, etc.) seem to get away with a lot and it amazes me how many people out there are just willing to accept it. Cellular service providers are by far the worse offenders – they practically get away with murder. The whole contract thing coupled with ridiculous misc. fees ticks me off to no extent. My favorite maneuver is when they force you into a new contract when you want to make changes to your current service. I can’t wait for the day when enough people out there start standing up for themselves and say “Enough!”
February 19th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Yikes! I’m ashamed to say that I’m one of those people who just stands there and takes it. It never even occurred to me that I could get credit for days when my phone/internet was not working. I’ll keep that in mind for next time…
February 19th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
We have done this for our internet/cable provider as well. Luckily, we haven’t had an outage for a while, but I report one as soon as it occurs so that they have record of it “officially”
The changing their rates every 6 months is what gets me. It’s really wearing after a while, so that you almost don’t even want to deal with/keep fighting.
February 19th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
I dread calling customer service and getting passed around from tier 1 support to tier 2 support and back again. I’ve been dealing with At&t on so many issues it makes me want to get rid of my cable and put up a pair of antennas. I can’t believe we pay full price for something that works just ok.
February 21st, 2009 at 8:06 am
I with you– I won;t pay for what I don’t get. We have gotten credits before, but they do make you work for them.
February 22nd, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Thank you! This is how corporations get away with ripping people off: they make you jump through hoops to extract the most basic customer service. IMHO, reimbursing you for dropped connectivity comes under the heading of “basic customer service.” Most of us have come to understand that the punch-a-button runaround is more painful than being out a few bucks.
Think of how much these outfits accrue when hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands of customers just let these things ride. Argh!