- Report: #203054
Complaint Review: CBCS - BELLSOUTH
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| CBCS - BELLSOUTH P. O. Box 69
Columbus, Ohio U.S.A. |
|
CBCS - BELLSOUTH ripoff multiple agencies none succesfull Columbus Ohio
*Consumer Comment: What exactly was the problem
*Consumer Suggestion: Very Well Put!
*Consumer Suggestion: A Couple of Questions
*Consumer Suggestion: 9pm
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Several years ago I decided to subscribe to high speed internet. Bellsouth being a very large company with a good reputation at the time seemed like a good choice.
I subscribed to their Fast Access DSL Service.
They sent me a modem, several filters, and some telephone cables, which I installed myself and activated the service.
BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!
Occasionally the service worked as promised. Most of the time it did not, and I had to spend several hours every week trying to get the service to operate as stated.
They even sent one of their techs to my home to find out what was wrong. The connections I made were all correct and the the signal coming to the modem was of the proper strength. He could find nothing wrong.
But two days later I was back on the phone trying to get the system to work. Again my efforts were futile.
After two months of this I finally decided that I had enough.
I called Bellsouth and cancelled the service and offered to return the modem and filters to Bellsouth.
I was told that they did not need the modem returned, and for me to keep it.
Since that time, I have received many attempts from Bellsouth and many collection agencies to collect payment for the price of the modem. CBCS is only the latest of about fifteen total agencies.
Each time I receive a notice I compose a letter expaining that I refuse to pay for a service that Bellsouth was not able to deliver succusfully.
Sometimes the letters stop. But most times they continue, even to the point of them calling as late as 9:00 PM.
I even ask them to take me to court to attempt to collect, but warn them that I will counter sue for my costs of going to court, including court fees, attorney fees, time of work lost and harrasment awards.
I have had no takers.
If there is a class action suit being organized to stop this kind of frivolous action, I would be happy to participate.
James
Greenacres, Florida
U.S.A.
I subscribed to their Fast Access DSL Service.
They sent me a modem, several filters, and some telephone cables, which I installed myself and activated the service.
BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!
Occasionally the service worked as promised. Most of the time it did not, and I had to spend several hours every week trying to get the service to operate as stated.
They even sent one of their techs to my home to find out what was wrong. The connections I made were all correct and the the signal coming to the modem was of the proper strength. He could find nothing wrong.
But two days later I was back on the phone trying to get the system to work. Again my efforts were futile.
After two months of this I finally decided that I had enough.
I called Bellsouth and cancelled the service and offered to return the modem and filters to Bellsouth.
I was told that they did not need the modem returned, and for me to keep it.
Since that time, I have received many attempts from Bellsouth and many collection agencies to collect payment for the price of the modem. CBCS is only the latest of about fifteen total agencies.
Each time I receive a notice I compose a letter expaining that I refuse to pay for a service that Bellsouth was not able to deliver succusfully.
Sometimes the letters stop. But most times they continue, even to the point of them calling as late as 9:00 PM.
I even ask them to take me to court to attempt to collect, but warn them that I will counter sue for my costs of going to court, including court fees, attorney fees, time of work lost and harrasment awards.
I have had no takers.
If there is a class action suit being organized to stop this kind of frivolous action, I would be happy to participate.
James
Greenacres, Florida
U.S.A.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 07/26/2006 02:42 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/CBCS-BELLSOUTH/Columbus-Ohio-63216/CBCS-BELLSOUTH-ripoff-multiple-agencies-none-succesfull-Columbus-Ohio-203054. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
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Search Tips#1 Consumer Comment
What exactly was the problem
AUTHOR: David - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, September 15, 2006
James, you stated, "Occasionally the service worked as promised. Most of the time it did not, and I had to spend several hours every week trying to get the service to operate as stated."
What was your perception of how the service was to work, and how did it not work?
As Jennifer has pointed out, DSL is a best-effort service and there are no speed guarantees for standard service. BellSouth as well as other DSL providers do offer guaranteed speeds. In these cases they have to condition the cable, and the monthly cost for this type service is much higher.
Also, if speed was the problem, their are other factors, such as slow servers, multiple access to same web site, etc that affect throughput, but have nothing to do with the DSL service.
Not saying the DSL service itself didn't have a problem, but you have not made a case that it was the problem.
What was your perception of how the service was to work, and how did it not work?
As Jennifer has pointed out, DSL is a best-effort service and there are no speed guarantees for standard service. BellSouth as well as other DSL providers do offer guaranteed speeds. In these cases they have to condition the cable, and the monthly cost for this type service is much higher.
Also, if speed was the problem, their are other factors, such as slow servers, multiple access to same web site, etc that affect throughput, but have nothing to do with the DSL service.
Not saying the DSL service itself didn't have a problem, but you have not made a case that it was the problem.
Respond to this report!
What's this? #2 Consumer Suggestion
Very Well Put!
AUTHOR: Patricia - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Monday, August 14, 2006
Jennifer, this is a very well composed consumer response! I could not have done it better!
Respond to this report!
What's this? #3 Consumer Suggestion
A Couple of Questions
AUTHOR: Jennifer - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, July 27, 2006
Is BellSouth charging you for the modem or early term fees or both? According to their "Terms and Conditions" which you had to accept when you activated the service, if you cancel within 12 months, you will be charged for an early term fee. Also, if you cancel between months 1-6 and return the modem, you will not be charged for it, between months 7-12, you will be charged 50%. It also states, that there is no guarantee that the service will work as described, ie: speed, and that they are not liable if it does not. The only thing they are liable for is to issue you a credit if your service is down for more than 24 hours. This is pretty standard across all the carriers.
I provision DSL all over the country from all the major and some minor carriers. None will guarantee speed. If you subscribed to 1.5M X 384K, there is no guarantee you will get it. The speed you get is determined by a number of things, first and foremost, distance from the CO. The further you are from the Central Office, the greater the possibility that your speed will be reduced. You may get full speed sometimes but not all the time. There are several websites you can go to and enter your address to see how far you are from the CO. Even cable companies do not guarantee speed but rather advertise speeds up to...blah, blah, blah.
One more question, were these charges on your bill and you chose not to pay them each month or did they just hit you with a collection agency a few years later? If they were on your bill and you did not choose to dispute them, you may be out of luck legally. (I'm not a lawyer) The carriers will take disputed charges all the way up to binding arbitration. If they never notified you of the charges and then just all of a sudden sent them to collections, you may have a chance. (again, not a lawyer)
And for those folks out there who I'm sure will say it, I don't work for BellSouth, never worked for BellSouth, my husband does not work for BellSouth. I've never worked for any major carrier. I'm a Telecommunications Analyst, contracted to a major, nationwide employment service to provision DSL for their offices.
I provision DSL all over the country from all the major and some minor carriers. None will guarantee speed. If you subscribed to 1.5M X 384K, there is no guarantee you will get it. The speed you get is determined by a number of things, first and foremost, distance from the CO. The further you are from the Central Office, the greater the possibility that your speed will be reduced. You may get full speed sometimes but not all the time. There are several websites you can go to and enter your address to see how far you are from the CO. Even cable companies do not guarantee speed but rather advertise speeds up to...blah, blah, blah.
One more question, were these charges on your bill and you chose not to pay them each month or did they just hit you with a collection agency a few years later? If they were on your bill and you did not choose to dispute them, you may be out of luck legally. (I'm not a lawyer) The carriers will take disputed charges all the way up to binding arbitration. If they never notified you of the charges and then just all of a sudden sent them to collections, you may have a chance. (again, not a lawyer)
And for those folks out there who I'm sure will say it, I don't work for BellSouth, never worked for BellSouth, my husband does not work for BellSouth. I've never worked for any major carrier. I'm a Telecommunications Analyst, contracted to a major, nationwide employment service to provision DSL for their offices.
Respond to this report!
What's this?
A collection agency can legally call you until 9pm, any day of the week. The FDCPA says that a collector can call between the hours of 8am and 9pm. That goes by your time zone, so an agency in California can not call you at 9pm their time, as that would be way too late to speak to you.
Also, generally most collectors will not sue over a balance under $1000. It is not financially viable. I have seen legal efforts made for balances under $1000, but they were special cicumstances.
Also, generally most collectors will not sue over a balance under $1000. It is not financially viable. I have seen legal efforts made for balances under $1000, but they were special cicumstances.
Respond to this report!
What's this? 
