Home › Forums › West Seattle Rants & Raves › Rant: Century Link
- This topic has 61 replies, 22 voices, and was last updated 8 years ago by anonyme.
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March 5, 2016 at 11:36 am #836121
miwsParticipantFWIW, In support of those here having/have had trouble with Century Link, instead of simply tossing the promotion I just received from them in postal mail in the recycle, I ran it through the shredder.
Mike
March 5, 2016 at 2:34 pm #836147
anonymeParticipantBe on the alert, Arbor Heights residents. One of the CL mercenaries is parked outside, and just headed off through the neighborhood. Hmmm, the litter box needs cleaning…
March 12, 2016 at 7:30 am #836858
anonymeParticipantUnbelievably, I’m experiencing new Century Link horrors. Discovered this morning that my landline is dead (don’t have a cell phone). Went online to troubleshoot/schedule repair. Monday is the earliest they can come out – with a caveat. They will charge me $95 to diagnose the problem; actual repair will be an additional, undisclosed amount.
The last time I renewed my bundle deal it included ‘Linebacker’ service, which covers inside repairs. The message online stated that I have no such coverage. I already know it would be futile to try and contact CL – even if I had a way to do so.
With so, so many people having the same experiences with Century Link – experiences that would justify legal action against any smaller company employing such devious, anti-consumer actions – it seems like there must be some way to bring this company down. Or at least get it to behave responsibly. I just don’t know what that is, as I’ve already tried the Attorney General and been told tough luck.
March 12, 2016 at 7:57 am #836860
FranciParticipantAnonyme,
Check your statement. When I was still a customer and had someone out in the last year to fix my phone line the technician warned me that I would be getting a bill. I explained that I had line-backer, but it was not on his paperwork anywhere that I did, I pulled out an old bill and showed it to him.
March 12, 2016 at 9:28 am #836866
aaParticipantIf you are a low income person you can get a sprint hotspot for $10/month through interconnection in Fremont. Also virgin Mobile has a hotspot. Don’t need CL to have internet at home.
March 12, 2016 at 9:30 am #836867
miwsParticipantanonyme, have you tried contacting the FCC? Someone I know is having her own set of issues with CL and has talked about contacting the FCC over it. Don’t know if she’s done it yet.
Maybe, just maybe it could be one of those situations that if enough people contact the FCC, it will get their attention that there are widespread issues with CL
Mike
March 12, 2016 at 12:05 pm #836881
suzanneParticipantDid you know that we have a Cable Customer Bill of Rights? I didn’t file a complaint with the city, but it might not be a bad idea in the future.
http://www.seattle.gov/cable/2001_Bill_of_Rights.htmMarch 12, 2016 at 5:51 pm #836902
anonymeParticipantWhat’s a hotspot? I am not tech savvy at all.
Century Link isn’t cable, but I wonder if it’s covered by the same rules. If so, how is it enforced? Part of the problem is that CL provides no written proof or breakdown of any offer, any conversation, any promise, so it’s virtually impossible to nail them on anything. They are deliberately ambiguous, leaving no paper trail of evidence for customers to point to as proof of a failed contract.
The FCC might be the next step. Meanwhile, I’m stuck with this nonsense.
March 13, 2016 at 9:51 am #836943
aaParticipantIf you want to learn about WiFi hotspots just google it and start reading. You don’t have to be tech savvy, just read and learn.
April 12, 2016 at 3:53 pm #840271
HowardParticipantWe could just take over their lines and turn it into a public utility
April 13, 2016 at 6:31 am #840311
anonymeParticipantHoward, someone else mentioned that the fight for municipal broadband might not be over after all. I’m thinking of meeting with Lisa Herbold, or starting some kind of petition. Some of you may be too young to remember, but phone service (before the internet) used to be a public utility. IMO, it should be again – or at least be an option.
April 14, 2016 at 2:15 pm #840448
anonymeParticipantSo far, I’ve hit dead end after dead end.
Visited West Seattle Computer today and they did not have a combo modem/router. I don’t want an array of equipment. Last week I visited a Comcast store, and was told that it would cost about $500 to run cable to my house (which I don’t want anyway).
Meanwhile, my CL service went out a couple of weeks ago. No phone, and intermittent DSL. They will only credit me for two days, as it took several days to be able to reach repair. I had three chats previous to that in which I was told I would have to pay $95 for a repair visit, plus anything extra. When I tried to send myself transcripts of the chats, they never arrived. Haven’t had that problem with any other company. The repair guys were nice, although 2 hours late. I tried to buy a modem off the truck from them (a perfectly legitimate practice) but was told the guy had an urgent personal issue and couldn’t do it just then. He promised to come back the following day with the modem. We all know how that turned out. I am just stunned that a company can get away with all this. I’m planning to write to the FCC, but not expecting much.
We’ve got to demand municipal broadband and put these criminals out of business.
April 23, 2016 at 2:52 am #841380
buddhaheadParticipantI’ve posted this several times in different neighborhood blogs etc…. You need to read this…. it’s the cities office of internet customer complaints. Read the Bill of Rights…. I filed a complaint about them restoring my out of commission DSL. They had originally said it would take 3 weeks…. I followed the rules and finally filed a complaint… My service was repaired the NEXT DAY!! Tell everyone you know. You have Rights!!
http://www.seattle.gov/tech/services/cable-service/cable-customer-bill-of-rightsApril 23, 2016 at 7:03 am #841381
anonymeParticipantFrom the website linked above:
*cable internet and cable phone services are not under City regulatory authority. These non-cable TV service issues can be sent to the Federal Communications Commission at FCC Consumer Help CenterI don’t see anything about non-cable phone and internet. Maybe I’m missing something…?
April 23, 2016 at 6:11 pm #841438
EgopotimusParticipantBeware of verbal contracts that they do not honor. Called Centurylink to get Prism TV added to existing internet service – got quoted $199 a month inclusive all costs. They had trouble with internal systems so I got a call back an hour later and they offered me $168 a month inclusive. I said yes. I called them last week as I had received no email confirmation as promised. I was told that I will be charged $380 a month.
April 24, 2016 at 6:32 am #841479
anonymeParticipantThat is typical for Century Link. If any other business were to employ such practices, it would be considered bait & switch – or outright fraud. How CL gets away with it is beyond me. I am writing to the FCC, and I encourage everyone with similar experiences to do the same.
April 24, 2016 at 5:27 pm #841520
FranciParticipantThanks anonyme – I just filed an FCC complaint too.
April 30, 2016 at 11:13 am #842170
KarenParticipantI won’t rehash my CL nightmare which I thought had been resolved 6 months ago with my cancellation and confirmation that my account balance was zero.
Not so fast, they decided I still owed them, although they never sent me another bill. Instead they sent my account to collections. This showed up on my credit report. Instead of calling CL, I shamed them on their Facebook page which they responded to immediately. The account has allegedly been corrected. We shall see.
When dealing with them, go straight to social media. Best way to get a response.May 1, 2016 at 8:01 pm #842320
pupsarebestParticipantHere’s one more reason to hate CenturyLink, and by extension, corporate America: starting last month, they’ve added a $3.50 “convenience fee” for calling in and paying the landline bill with a credit/debit card.
Convenient???
Yes, I have no doubt, when tens of millions are charged this fee, somebody is QUITE convenienced.
The idea private enterprise will do the right thing by consumers is laughable.
They have us all over a barrel and couldn’t care less whether we are satisfied or not.
Unhappy?
Want to leave CenturyLink for another “provider”?
Go ahead—their strategy is “out of the skillet and into the fire”—no one is really any better, plus the whole rigamarole of discontinuing old service/starting anew with another “provider” is a colossal pain in the butt.
This is what deregulation has wrought.
Communications, airlines, you name it.May 13, 2016 at 3:09 pm #843933
FieldSupParticipantHello All,
My name is Todd and I’m a Field Supervisor in Seattle at CenturyLink. The problems that you have experienced and that I’m reading about are very concerning to me. I’d like to take this opportunity to assist in any way possible. I can help with any field issues (poor service, slow speeds, etc.) and I can help escalate billing issues and get them the visibility they deserve. Please feel free to contact me at Gig.Seattle@centurylink.com with any problems.May 13, 2016 at 3:24 pm #843935
PangolinPieParticipantThe above from Todd is a tactic businesses use when dealing with complaints: ask the unhappy customer to take the conversation offline. Todd would like people to stop airing their grievances here, in a public forum, because a. it prompts other people to join in and share their own experiences, and b. these comments can be found by search engines, adding to the negative information available online.
What Todd should do is to address these concerns here, in public. He should acknowledge and reply to each of the complaints above with specific answers. And those who do contact him directly should report back here whether, and how, he was able to solve their issues.
- This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by PangolinPie.
May 13, 2016 at 5:54 pm #843952
anonymeParticipantThanks, PP. A wise observation. Wonder how Todd came across our little discussion? Or why he ‘cares’, given the seemingly well ingrained policy of CL to not give a turd about customers or their concerns?
I think I will contact him, then take your advice and post every detail of the transaction. I’d be both pleased and amazed if it were either legit or helpful.
May 13, 2016 at 9:53 pm #843974
JKBParticipantOr a customer could simply get things sorted out. Then maybe post back here concisely: “it all got fixed”, or “CL is of the devil, here’s why”.
May 14, 2016 at 8:59 am #844024
dhgParticipantCompanies are getting wise to social media and have people who will respond to complaints. They won’t actually help anyone, but they’ll respond to negative messages with “We are so sorry, Please contact me directly to resolve your issue.” It leaves the impression that they are responsive. In my experience, it is for show only. You do not get satisfactory resolution. Social media is powerful, you can use it to make your issues known, but follow-up. Let people know if something useful happened or was it all for show.
May 14, 2016 at 9:42 am #844038
FieldSupParticipant@PangolinPie – I post pretty regularly in the Ballard Blog, and I linked to this Blog from that one. I am no Social Media expert, but if there is any way that I can assist, I most certainly will. What I would like to do is put a local face and contact out there to assist.
@JKB – Good Plan -
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