Teaholic not quite anonymous

Ok, this is your public service announcment (disclaimer) --this blog entry is a complete vent session. So, if you don't want to hear me complain, stop reading now.

That said, let's get on with the venting! Let's start from the top, shall we?

We had Cox Cable Phone service, High Speed Internet and Direct TV for Television. Verizon Fios came to our area about a year ago or so. Yeah! Matt was thrilled. Fiber Optic Service is really cool, I guess. The Internet speed is really quick; the cable is digital and really nice (not to mention, it would use our digital TV).

So, we started with getting the internet installed. That installation went fine. The installer knew what he was doing and everything got switched over without a blink of the eye.

Our next installation was phone. This is where things started to go funky. We had an install date given from Verizon but they never showed up that day. When we called them at 4 pm they informed us that they weren't planning on coming that day because Cox refused to give up our phone number. They had cancelled the install. Well, that's fine and dandy except it would have been great had they called us to cancel the install too! They never apologized, realized how inconvenient this was or anything of the sort. So, we get another install date and they tell us to call Cox to give up our phone number. Well, if they needed us to do something about Cox, shouldn't they have called us when they knew they had issues so it could get fixed? So, we called Cox, took a deep breath and waited for the next install date.

This install also came and went without them showing up. Once again, we call them at 4 pm and they say that there was an issue with the install department and that once they get that corrected they will be out. ?!?! So we complain that this is the SECOND time they have canceled on us without calling and what seems to be the issue here?? So we get a third install date set for a Tuesday.

The Saturday before that Tuesday our phone dies! Turns out Cox did give up our phone number starting Saturday but because Verizon hadn't installed yet, we didn't have phone service for three days!

Matt calls to complain (on our cell of course) and they apologize for the inconvenience and will credit us $50. We never see the $50 and they say that they never said they'd give it to us in further calls.

OK, against my best judgment we decide to get the TV service. We have it installed and it goes ok. There's something funky about our network and the cable and as soon as Matt gets home he should be able to get it to work. He gets home and says it's not the network it's the hardware they left. So we call the Fios department and this call goes TRAMENDOUSLY well. The guy is helpful, knowledgeable and is sending someone out to fix it the next day. The service tech comes out the next day and fixes the issue and gives us a whole lot of hardware because he felt bad that the last guy left it the way he did. Ok, Verizon just moved up a notch in my book!

But... we don't like the service. I don't like the DVR and the remote so we decide to get rid of it within the 30-day free trial. So we call them, they cancel it and come to pick up the equipment. The schedule tells us that they will be there within a three-hour window to pick up the stuff. Matt says, "I can't be around for three hours waiting for you!" (Maddy and I were in WI.) The guys says, "That's all I can do." So Matt says, "Fine, then you'll find it all on my front porch waiting for you. If I were you, I'd tell your tech to get here ASAP before it disappears. It is no longer my responsibility." The guy says, "I don't think that's a good idea sir." Matt says, "Well, I already told you the better idea, but you didn't listen, so that's all you get!"

He comes home later and it's gone. So, Matt pays the bill in accordance to what the cancellation person tells him to pay with the 30-day free guarantee out of it. We get our next bill and there is a LATE FEE for not paying the right amount from the last bill. Turns out that the billing department prorated our cancellation and charged us for the 15 (or so) days that we had the service instead of the 30-day free trial. ARGH. Now I'm really mad! I mean, first they don't credit us the $50 they say there were going to and now they are charging us for what should be free!

Matt calls and the rep says they've 'never heard of a 30 day free trial and we don't do that sir'. She says her manager will need to call him back today. There still has been NO WORD from them yet. But I tell ya, if they screw with our credit by applying this late charge they will lose our internet and phone in a heartbeat! I am royally ticked off at the way this has turned out.

So buyer beware! One had at Verizon doesn't know what the other hand is doing and YOU are the one who gets screwed over because of it!!!