Stupid phone company!!

Since I will be moving on Sept 1, I notified the phone company so they would transfer my service to the new apartment.

I just got a response from them today saying that they cannot set it up for Sept 1. I'll have to wait until Sept 16! That means over 2 weeks without phone or internet (since my internet is through the phone line)

They say that they need to send a technician to make sure everything is set up properly. I moved a few times before and they never had to do that. So I asked them about it and all they could tell me is that their records indicate that they need to send a technician.
Gee. Thanks. That explains everything!

I wish I could switch to another company but there aren't any. Maybe I should get a cell phone instead but cell phone companies really scare me. I heard too many horror stories of people not being able to get out of a contract no matter what. And pre-paid phone is just insanely expensive.

I don't think the phone company really does anything when someone moves in a new place-just "flip" a switch.

Basically, yes.

We got a note from ours today:

On Jul 13, 2005, you reported a problem with phone number (205) 123-4567.

We've created a link at www.bellsouth.com with "how to" instructions to help you get your telephone back in service if you experience future problems.

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That was when I ended up going under the house and fixing it myself.

So nice of them to get back to us.

Honestly, I think they're all alike.

Originally Posted by katspixiedust

Most cell phone companies just make you pay a high fee to get out of your contract. All the major ones do - Cingular, Verizon, and Sprint. The amount varies depending on how many months you have left under your contract. The best way to go with a cell phone, I have found, is to do a 1-year contract initially and then don't sign another one. After the year you're simply paying month-to-month which means you have no contract with the company anymore and if you're unhappy, you can leave at any time. Works well for me.

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That doesn't sound too bad. I'll look into it.
Since I don't use my phone all that much, I could probably go with the cheapest plan and the cheapest phone. It might end up around the same price as a regular phone line.

It's just really inconvenient not to have a phone right after I move because I have to look for a part-time job. I can just imagine how it would look on my resume to write "Phone number: none!"

Yup, my phone company (Telus) which I believe is linked with Bell somehow, have screwed up my phone order too. I am currently on VOIP (internet phone) but decided to switch back to normal phone. My phone was supposed to be hooked up on Monday. Well, of course it wasn't, I wasn't even surprised. I phoned them and had this stupid conversation with this man who said "well, maybe it's because your account is not open". I said "well, can you open it?". He said "well, when your account is open, then maybe the phone will work". I said "who can open my account?". He said "yes, when your account is open, the telephone might work".

I am NOT kidding. The conversation went around like that for about 10 minutes. Finally he said "maybe after midnight when they do the computer reset, it will work". Well, two days later, it doesn't work. I phone again, they guy checks and says "well, its either something to do with our office or your house". Um......



I have a cell phone. Fido, pay as you go. works for me.

We had a similar problem the last two times we moved. First time, they switched the phone before we actually moved in the new house, so we had no phone until we could actually move in. Then, when we moved here, they didn't switch it over for a couple days, there was a problem with our loan, and the loan officer had to come to our house to get that taken care of.
But what really takes the cake is when I made a payment to Sprint for our long distance, and they applied it to a Foncard (which we don't have) complete with a different customer number, but our name and address. Then sent us a huge bill, showing that amount not paid. By the time I figured out that they'd put it on the wrong account, and not even our account at that, it had been more than 60 days and there's nothing they could do about it. So I told them where they could shove the long distance! Then they called, were rude, and said I had to write a letter to customer service arbitation, because they think we should pay the $50 again! Sorry, not my fault they messed it up!What a headache! So now I have to use my wonderful Sprint cell phone to call long distance. As soon as my contract's up on that, we're going with a better company. Sprint has awful customer service!

Amber