I Hate You!!! (1 Viewer)

[bclemms]

Ojo, thanks for all the usefull info. I live in the country and cable is not even an option here so going that route will not work. The only person within 2 miles of me that has a wireless network is me, so that will not work. I work out of the house and I have to have reliable high speed internet and live just a little too far our to rely on cell service. However, my business line is my cell phone and I forward it to my house.

I guess I am stuck with Bellsouth's internet for now. At least I cut my spending down from $1k a month with bellsouth to $50 a month. Now I just need to figure out how to get the business back that I will be losing.

 

[BullDawg]

One thing to be aware of with Vonage (and like VoIP providers)...no electricity = no phones as well.

 

[bclemms]

One thing to be aware of with Vonage (and like VoIP providers)...no electricity = no phones as well.

I know. It isn't that big of a problem because I could just my cell phone then. I just wish there was other companies that would offer remote call forwarding lines so I could replace them, but again, oh well.

 

[kevin from buffalo]

One thing to be aware of with Vonage (and like VoIP providers)...no electricity = no phones as well.

thats right..and obviously if the cable goes out you're in the same boat. That's why we didn't have phone service up here for awhile..thanks to the October Surprise.

anyway..it's tough to beat the 24.99 a month that includes free long distance.

p.s.-also,the wife had no problem with getting our bill re-adjusted due to not having service for over 10 days. I guess our bill for next month will be 14.99 instead of 24.99.She said they have great customer service..unlike Time Warner.

 

[BullDawg]

Good deal on the reduced bill Kevin. I'm waiting on CableOne to offer their VoIP solution and I'll be moving off BellSouth at home. With what I'll save, I might actually be able to afford a cell phone. Although that would mean breaking my streak of 6 years of no electronic ball-and-chain.

 

[gboudx]

One thing to be aware of with Vonage (and like VoIP providers)...no electricity = no phones as well.

UPS man.

bclemms, go with SunRocket man. Not Vonage.

/biasinvolvedinthatstatement.

 

[Ojo]

You might fine this useful for testing your DSL line for VoIP:

http://www.testyourvoip.com/

 

[BullDawg]

UPS man.

bclemms, go with SunRocket man. Not Vonage.

/biasinvolvedinthatstatement.

UPS only last for so long bra.

Hey...what does SunRocket's coverage look like?

 

[gboudx]

No idea. You may find that info on their website. I don't work for them. I work for the company they buy some of their VoIP equipment from.

I conceed the power issues with VoIP. UPS helps, but certainly doesn't provide the same level of reliability as a landline.

 

[theSpaniard]

<----Smiling

/BellSouth'scompetition

Same here. Go CLEC if you want better service.

 

[Severum]

BS service fits their name well. I don't care that much about the poor voice quality, but it would be nice to have internet service faster than 21.6 kbps.

 

[Redlands Saints]

Bellsouth you make my life a living hell. Your customer service sucks, your prices go up non stop, you try to squeeze every type of penny out of your customer instead of treating them LIKE A CUSTOMER!

Your business lines are garbage, you can't seem to handle anything, anytime at any place. Your hold times are too long, your billing department can't distinquish their head from their ***.

Your advertising department is full of money hungry thieves that will lie, cheat, steal and do everything possible to increase their commission rather than try to earn your business.

Your collections department is a disgrace and can't keep track of records, or more than likely don't care to for their benefit.

Your internet service is always changing, every month your premiem internet service gets "faster" when it actually just gets more expensive.

You guys take on combined billing to get a home phone, a fax line, internet, cell phone and Directv bills all on one bill. Sounds great but if you can't get one bill right how are you going to get a combined bill correct?

I have never dealt with a company that is as crooked and inept as yours and will never be doing business with any of your companies again. I know you don't care because you can just screw the next guy but **** ***!

bclemms, I feel your pain but have to laugh. at work I have to deal with three different phone companies, two cell companies and the cable tv company and they are all the same. I know its a little more money a month but maybe you should check out satellite broadband, but their customer service probably sucks too

 

[Ojo]

bclemms, I feel your pain but have to laugh. at work I have to deal with three different phone companies, two cell companies and the cable tv company and they are all the same.

I chimed in yesterday becaue from what I can tell BellSouth's repair line (at least residential wise) has went to a fully menu/computer driven system that essentially tells you to fix it yourself. I am not kidding-- try it. It does mention something about someone contacting you via phone in a couple of hours, but I have yet to get a call back.

If you use their email repair request you get an automated email to this effect:

"This automated response is to let you know your message has been received on 11/8/06. A BellSouth Representative will contact you within
the next 5 hours. We appreciate your patience."

Which is soon followed by this automated email in which they do not care/know that the person has wiring/equipment maintenance:

"Dear Valued Customer,

We have performed a preliminary test on your line that indicates your
trouble may be caused by a telephone set or piece of equipment on your
line. Following are suggestions that may help you to clear your
trouble. The small gray box located on the outside of your house
usually located near the power meter is the Network Interface Box which
can be opened on one side with a flat head screwdriver or similar tool.
A standard phone can be plugged directly into this box once it is opened and the inside wiring has been unplugged for at least one (1) minute.
If you get dial tone at this box, your trouble is more than likely
inside your home."

Yes, they are telling people to go troubleshoot in the NID now.

 

[bclemms]

I chimed in yesterday becaue from what I can tell BellSouth's repair line (at least residential wise) has went to a fully menu/computer driven system that essentially tells you to fix it yourself. I am not kidding-- try it. It does mention something about someone contacting you via phone in a couple of hours, but I have yet to get a call back.

If you use their email repair request you get an automated email to this effect:

"This automated response is to let you know your message has been received on 11/8/06. A BellSouth Representative will contact you within
the next 5 hours. We appreciate your patience."

Which is soon followed by this automated email in which they do not care/know that the person has wiring/equipment maintenance:

"Dear Valued Customer,

We have performed a preliminary test on your line that indicates your
trouble may be caused by a telephone set or piece of equipment on your
line. Following are suggestions that may help you to clear your
trouble. The small gray box located on the outside of your house
usually located near the power meter is the Network Interface Box which
can be opened on one side with a flat head screwdriver or similar tool.
A standard phone can be plugged directly into this box once it is opened and the inside wiring has been unplugged for at least one (1) minute.
If you get dial tone at this box, your trouble is more than likely
inside your home."

Yes, they are telling people to go troubleshoot in the NID now.

I did this last week because my fax line wouldn't get a dial tone. I had my fax machine (only phone on this line) disconnected for a day and when I plugged it back in I got nothing. I called them to complain and they said it would be a charge for them to come out and troubleshoot since the problem was coming from inside the house. I finally got it through their thick skulls that it couldn't be because when I plug another phone in that works on my other line it still does not work. So then they tell me to go out to the box on the side of my house with a screw driver and try to fix it. Of course now they want me to work for them for free. The sad part is I have been paying $5.99 a month for a inside service plan so they should have came to fix it @ no charge anyway. BTW, I never ordered the inside service plan and somehow it shows back up on my bill every couple of months and then I call to cancel it.

Now Vonage can't transfer my phone number because bellsouth says I have a pending change on my phone service (request to fix my line) when they refused to come out unless I paid them and I ended up fixing myself. All this foolishness wasn't even part of the reason I started this thread, just a typical day in the life of a bellsouth customer.

 

[bclemms]

Today was the best day of my life. I got my vonage hooked up and my numbers switched over and I got to call Bellsouth and tell them to kiss my ***!

Cingular contract ends in T-minus 18 days.