NOS Communications -- A Phone Co. Horror Story

NOS COMMUNICATIONS -- A HORROR STORY
Summary of My Worst-Ever Customer Service Experience

In 1998, NOS became the very satisfactory provider of long-distance service on the six phone lines and two toll-free numbers associated with my home and home-business. We had no problems until, in early 1999, they began to offer local service as well. Thereafter:

*NOS seriously overcharged us (more than double old rates) and took three months to correct that problem, even then after multiple phone calls and faxes from us. Problem finally corrected after we called a consumer news reporter in Las Vegas.

*NOS promised to easily switch our local service to a new residence in an adjacent city and then backed out at the last minute, claiming they hadn't worked out how to do that with the local phone company, but promising that they'd allow us to switch to them AFTER the move and rebate our installation costs.

*NOS customer service representatives were almost never available by phone and, when they were, repeatedly failed to keep commitments, to including reneging on agreement to allowing us to switch local service back to them and get installation costs from other company rebated. The "first level" reps we did reach always tried to pass the buck to a supervisor, which usually resulted in contact with voicemail. Three different supervisors told us they'd personally hand-carry the issue to the right person and get things straightened out. Never happened. One customer service representative admitted they had taken on more than they could handle when they decided they could get into the local phone service business and were having lots of problems.

*After dropping them as both a local and long-distance provider, we were billed for service AFTER the switch took place and they never corrected the problem. We had left our toll-free numbers with them, but they dramatically increased the rates, so we dropped them too. We finally paid the incorrect bill in disgust and protest after again, repeatedly, trying to get supervisors to correct the problem, but not wanting to hurt our excellent credit rating.

I also sent a fax to, and left voicemail, for NOS's head of customer service in Las Vegas, who never returned my call.