Consumerist
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chatbots
ATT Chatbots (People?) Don't Even Pretend To Help Anymore
This unedited transcript from a recent "customer support" chat is pure, undiluted idiocy. Do not be surprised if after reading it, you feel a little dead inside, or a little stupider. That's how you know the customer service chatbot—or person, which is kind of sad—is doing its job. More » -
tips
How To Avoid AT&T's Connection Fee For A New Phone Line
An alleged insider for AT&T sent us the following tip on how to avoid a connection fee if you plan on getting both a regular phone line and DSL through AT&T. We don't know if it works, but you may be able to avoid a $40 charge for what amounts to "flipping a switch" at AT&T HQ. More » -
verizon
Verizon Changes DSL Without Your Permission, Demands Multiple Fees To Fix It
Reader Kevin wanted to sign up for Verizon's One Bill service, so he called to see if he qualified. The CSR told him that he did, so he signed up for it. Turns out, the CSR secretly signed him up for a more expensive DSL plan because his current one did not qualify. Now Verizon wants an early termination fee for the new, faster DSL and an activation fee to put Kevin back on the plan he used to have. Yuck. More » -
It Takes 40 Verizon Reps To Fix Your Address
You know those Verizon ads where someone is trying to make a call and like 100 Verizon people show up to help them do it? Arelene's story is sort of like that. Except they all showed up to help her change her address. And they were one at a time. And it was over the phone. And it took several days. Here's her tale, and how she eventually won...
More »
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phone numbers
Updated: Reach Verizon Landline Executive Customer Service
Call 1-800-483-7988 and press 3 to reach the Verizon Customer Advocates for landlines and DSL. Other valid executive customer service contact information: More » -
att
AT&T Calls 9 Times In 12 Days Trying To Sell DSL
Would you buy DSL service from a company that either doesn't care about Do Not Call lists or doesn't know how they work? A man in Missouri was harassed to the point where he considered calling the police, because no matter what he did, AT&T wouldn't stop calling. Every time he tried contacting AT&T to get it to stop, he ended up in automated phone systems with recorded messages, busy signals, and disconnections—but never a live person. Only after he wrote to a local consumer advocacy columnist did AT&T pay attention and turn off the telemarketing fire hose. AT&T didn't, however, explain why they were targeting this person, or whether anyone else is facing the same barrage of calls. More » -
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download cap
Frontier Charges Up To $10.80 Per Gigabyte For High Speed Internet
Frontier Communications, a Rochester, NY based DSL provider, has recently added language in their acceptable use policy that caps "reasonable" high speed internet usage at 5GB per month, after which they may "suspend, terminate or apply additional charges to the Service." Metered-internet-hating blog "Stop the Cap" calculated that at Frontier's most expensive price (for those who do not accept a multi-year contract) the ISP is charging a whopping $10.80 per gigabyte. More » -
silly
Earthlink Tries To Sell You Anti-Virus Protection When You Contact Them To Cancel Your Anti-Virus Protection
Sometimes we feel sorry for CSRs who have to try to sell you stuff you don't want or need when you're contacting them to correct a billing mistake. It's just so sad. Reader ajlei contacted Earthlink's chat support to cancel an anti-virus service that wasn't supposed to be included on her bill, after canceling, the chat support rep kept asking her if she wanted a more expensive version of the service. When she said no, the chat rep asked her again, in bold this time... because asking in bold will make customers want more expensive versions of services they just canceled? More » -
show us your verizon face
Verizon: We Can't Set Up Your Account "Because Your Name Has Shit In It"
Meet Dr. Herman I. Libshitz, a retired radiologist and potential Verizon customer who would like DSL. Sadly, Dr. Libshitz was informed that he could not use his name in his email address or as his user name because it has "shit" in it. More » -
success stories
Success Stories: Verizon's DSL Is No Longer "Full"
Verizon contacted us looking to solve the mystery of the "full" DSL and now reader Laurel has an update: More »
dsl
New York, 7:35 PM
Wed Dec 3
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