taxes on Premier if I add it?

[notech]

I understand completely. It's funny, I have not had any of the handset issues that everyone else seems to have, no battery, alarming, or software. It works great for me.

I have been trying to ditch Frontier for weeks now. I called and told them I wanted my second line discontinued and the first line to be local only for my wifes business. Its been 2 weeks and the line still rings. Called them back and they told me that I had 6 mo left on a contract, so they just decided that I should continue. No call back, no nothing - they decide. So I sicked my wife on them, and they said that the best they would do is prorate the contract. She told them she would cancel the second line - nothing. So she hung up on them. I may NEVER get free lol. Ill try again next week. I am surprised that they are not on the community blacklist - or are they .... OOMA wont pass out the list lol

lol i bet a LOT of former phone companies are on ooma subscribers blacklist they are like AOL used to be years ago and never want to let you go.

i love that you sicked your wife on them. I've handled all those issues for 34 yrs of marriage too I think businesses dread the wife getting on the line heheh. she's a smart lady to threaten cancellation of other services. just keep trimming all extras until the account goes poof.

ATT made SUCh a mess of a simple land line install in Jan that we ditched our cell with them too after 6 yrs. I should have known it was going to be downhill on their install when they installed my phone to an address in the wrong city! when corporate said they were going to credit my bill for a phone # i didn't recognize, it turned out they had billed me $160. for the install at the wrong address when they KNEW it wasn't my house. How insane is that? that's what i love about Oooma. The insanity ENDS here.

I called my contact at corporate on friday and told her to handle the am calls. I know she will. sad when you have to contact corporate to cut thru the BS.

i'll keep reading about premier features and the handset and go with it if it looks like i need it. thanks for all your input guys.

[EA PA]

Ill let you know how it ends. I cant stand all the surcharges and taxes and taxes and taxes and incompetence ... its disgusting. I let her take over when I heard the word "contract - to save ME money" and my blood pressure went postal. I'm going to dismantle this bill a buck at a time till it's zero if it kills me.

[lbmofo]

I heard the word "contract - to save ME money"

It's been so long since I signed up to a landline but how is there a "contract?" How does that work? Is the monthly fee cheaper or is there a contract every time someone signs up for landline?

[notech]

I'm going to dismantle this bill a buck at a time till it's zero if it kills me.

lol yep. it really works. read your contract and call them daily with plan changes if you have that option

Ill let you know how it ends. I cant stand all the surcharges and taxes and taxes and taxes and incompetence ... its disgusting. I let her take over when I heard the word "contract - to save ME money" and my blood pressure went postal.

the taxes they charge on landlines must be based on thin air. down the road they surface as class actions against the phone companies. i think we signed up for the last one against ATT 'if you have had service between these dates" ones.

since i heard about ooma i've gotten on a roll to save $ haha. it's amazing how much waste is added to bills and service. I couldn't figure out where an extra $200 came from last month at bill pay time = trimmed services! i love it

i'm disabled and don't sleep well, so i usually sleep till noon. you can imagine my blood pressure from that ring ring every morning at 9 am from ATT. i need to setup my google voice to not let my phone ring before noon. funny how free services like ooma and google voice offer more features than the phone companies

[EA PA]

I heard the word "contract - to save ME money"

It's been so long since I signed up to a landline but how is there a "contract?" How does that work? Is the monthly fee cheaper or is there a contract every time someone signs up for landline?

Its a disease that they have had for the last 5 years or so - we called up and added a second copper line. They tell you your bill is going to 75 / mo. After you gasp they offer 65 / mo if you sign a 2 year contract (which I found out my bride did).

THEN, they actually called a few months ago and offered something less for another 2 years - I think it was 45 or so. But then they would try to add on more services to jack you higher yet... bla bla bla. They got all kinds of stuff to peddle. At that point I had OOMA on the mind so I gaffed them off telling them I was going to get a cheaper service to see what they would say. They just scowled and hung up... Anyway that is the present day scam

[notech]

good for you lol. i've found that phone CS is deplorable no matter what the phone company. They make it up as they go along and never back anything up in writing. I used to tape biz calls for that reason, but i've gotten lax in recent years. i seldom deal with ppl on the phone in business, because so much is taken care of online and it's right there in black and white for documentation.

luckily the voice sales ppl screw up SO badly most of the time that they can't deny it and eventually straighten it out if you bark loud enough. it's too frustrating to deal with on a regular basis though.

when we had Dish installed about 4 yrs ago, i declined their free installation so i could go w/o a contract. never bought into upgrading my cell phone every year so those contracts lapsed. That's what i love about Ooma. Upfront with the costs and no contracts. That's how you build a great customer base from the onset and they'll stick around as loyal customers.

With the current economy the new business model for many companies seems to be nickel and diming you to death and hoping you won't notice.

lol i gotta think of a way for you to ditch frontier EA PA! worse comes to worse you only have 6 months left

[nn5i]

Some time ago, I signed up for Sprint DSL, and the monthly bill was twice what I had been led to expect. I called to cancel and got only a bunch of guff. So I wrote to the president of Sprint, with copies to the FCC and the Florida Public Service Commission. Amazing! Sprint reversed course, canceled the line, and refunded all moneys that I had paid. Here's the letter I wrote:

Mr. Gary Forsee, President
Sprint.
1321A Center Drive
Medford, OR 97501
Certified, no. 7003 3110 0005 6800 3966

Copy:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs
Consumer Inquiries & Complaints Division
445 12th St NW
Washington, DC 20554
Certified, no. 7003 3110 0005 6800 3973

Florida Public Service Commission
2540 Shumard Oak Boulevard
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0850
Certified, no. 7003 3110 0005 6800 3980



Dear Mr. Forsee

This letter is written for several purposes:

1) It is a complaint;
2) It is a notice of contested billing;
3) It is a request for corrective action; and
4) It is a proposal for what that corrective action ought to be.

My telephone number: xxx-xxx-xxxx

My service address: xxxx xxxxxx xxxxx
Tallahassee, FL 32303

My customer number: xxx xxx xxxx xxx


Until several weeks ago, I had two residence lines at the above service address: xxx-xxx-xxxx and yyy-yyy-yyyy. At that time I called Sprint to inquire about DSL service. After an extended conversation with the person who answered the telephone, I ordered DSL service, including Internet access, with the following understandings:

(1) The total monthly cost, exclusive of minute-by-minute charges for long distance service, would be $39.99 plus taxes. This would cover the voice line, DSL, and Internet connection.

(2) The connection charge (that is, the charge for making the change to DSL), would be $49.00.

(3) The connection charge would be entirely offset by a $50.00 credit, offered as an incentive to me.

Because the total of $39.99 plus taxes was a bit less than I was paying for two voice lines (from Sprint) and dial-up Internet access (from another vendor), I ordered DSL.

My first Sprint bill after the change arrived some time ago. It was for a part of a month. It included the charge I mention in (2) above, but not the credit in (3) above. I paid it promptly, assuming the credit would show up on a later (full-month) bill.

Recently I received the first bill that was for a whole month. In addition to the $39.99 agreed-upon charge, it contained some unpleasant surprises:

(1) A charge of $31.75 for “Sprint Solutions”. This charge was not mentioned during the call during which I ordered DSL service. Had it been disclosed, I would not have made the change to DSL.

(2) A charge of $4.00 for “Data LineGuard”. This charge was not mentioned during the call during which I ordered DSL service. Had it been disclosed, I would have refused it, because I have always maintained my own inside telephone wiring and intend to continue doing so.

(3) A charge of $4.00 for “LineGuard”. ”. This charge was not mentioned during the call during which I ordered DSL service. Had it been disclosed, I would have refused it, because I have always maintained my own inside telephone wiring and intend to continue doing so.

This bill also included a credit, apparently a one-time credit, $47.99 “DSL MOVING PROMO”, and a $10.00 “FASTCONNECT DSL PROMO. CREDIT”. Perhaps these represent the $50.00 credit I was promised.

Taken all together, it appears that my monthly charge, before taxes and long distance, will be $31.75 “Sprint Solutions” plus $39.99 “Data Services” plus two $4.00 LineGuard charges – a total of $79.74, which is about two bits shy of being twice the $39.99 I agreed to when I ordered DSL service. Had I known that the charge would be more than the $39.99 I agreed to, I would not have ordered the change to DSL.

I protest. During my telephone conversation in which I ordered the change, I asked several times, using varying wording, for assurance that the $39.99 monthly charge was to be the total charge, including data services, voice services, and Internet access. I was assured repeatedly that that was the case. These assurances appear to me to have been fraudulent, and I protest that portion of my monthly bills, both this month and last month, resulting from charges not agreed to.

On receiving this bill, I dialed 811 and (after an unpleasant sojourn through your automated answering system, infuriating in itself), I spoke with a young man who offered no relief, but threatened me with exorbitant charges if I terminated my DSL service early. These threats appeared to me to constitute an attempt at extortion.

As you may guess, I am quite annoyed at Sprint. I believe myself a victim of wire fraud, mail fraud, and attempted extortion. I have been lied to, and I have been threatened. I don’t like it.

WHAT DO I WANT YOU TO DO?

I propose two alternate ways you can correct the situation:

(1)You can supply me the services I ordered (voice line xxx-xxx-xxxx; DSL data services; and Internet access) for the $39.99 monthly charge that Sprint and I agreed to over the phone. You would not add any other charges not related to long distance service, but would of course add the appropriate taxes; or

(2)You can terminate all services, charging me nothing, and I will either obtain services from other vendors, or do without. In this case you may send someone to pick up the DSL modem you supplied. You must also guarantee that you will publish no derogatory information to any third party anywhere at any time, and we must agree that this paragraph and the following paragraphs constitute the whole agreement between us.

In no case will I agree to, or pay, any “early termination” charges, for these were not mentioned or agreed to during the telephone call during which I ordered DSL services. I heard of them for the first time during my unpleasant conversation with what I believe you call “Customer Service”. Had their prospect been disclosed, I would not have ordered DSL service, because I knew then, as I know now, that I plan to retire in June and will probably be moving out of the service area. This option will be an inconvenience to me, but at least I will no longer feel myself the victim of fraud and attempted extortion.

Should you elect option (2) above, you may continue, or not continue, the Sprint cell phone services that I have contracted for. Should you discontinue my cell phone, you must buy back the transceiver I purchased, and you may not charge me the $150.00 early termination charge that I agreed to when I obtained the cell phone and services from Sprint. I agreed to that early termination charge only because I probably can take my Sprint cell phone service with me, wherever I move, and I do not intend to terminate these services early myself.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely

Moral: make your complaints to someone with the power to act, and be very clear what you want.

Cable is better than DSL anyway.

[EA PA]

This story is disgusting and an unfortunate reality. There are gobs of people, who would complain by phone, get threatened with additional charges to disconnect and simply continue on paying these additional ridiculous monthly charges. I applaud your efforts. I have successfully used the States Attorney General with great success as well, in other situations.

Unfortunately in my case, my bride agreed to the contract. Therefore, I do not have much leverage but to simply threaten them with a total disconnect. Based upon my bride’s intent to maintain 1 copper line for her business, it will be a short toothless conversation. I will simply have to pay the prorated contract amount that they offered and add this to my OOMA basis for payback calculations .

[notech]

So I wrote to the president of Sprint, with copies to the FCC and the Florida Public Service Commission. Amazing! Sprint reversed course, canceled the line, and refunded all moneys that I had paid.

that's exactly what i did too. i tried for 2 months with endless calls to get the landline installed properly and when they started blowing smoke to cover their tracks, i googled the CEO of ATT, the corp officer that handles FCC complaints and i cc'd them a mouthful along with a screen shot confirmation of my FCC complaint that i filed online. Got a call the next day from corporate and it was a joy to finally deal with someone with a brain attached to their head.

sadly, most ppl will just pay up because of the hassle to get things straightened out. I've always taken care of the business end of running a household and years ago my husband would say, "you'll never win that" when i would fight an unjust bill, etc. Every time I won lol. Now he just smiles and says good job lol.

for anyone that does need it, here's the quickie online FCC complaint wizard. Well worth the small inconvience and as nn5i said, follow up with emails to corporate.

http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm

they handle many different communications complaints. I got a snail mail letter within a week of the online complaint that they were investigating it, so they don't drag their heels in getting you help.

* Disability Access to Communications Services and Equipment
INCLUDES:
o Closed Captioning
o Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS)
o §255
o Hearing aid compatibility
o Emergency broadcast information
* Junk Fax
INCLUDES:
o Unwanted/unsolicited fax to your residential or business fax machine
* Telemarketing, Prerecorded Messages and Do-Not-Call
INCLUDES:
o Do-Not-Call
o Wireless spam
o Calls or messages to residential lines, business lines, wireless devices, emergency lines, patient rooms, and toll-free numbers
* Wired Telephone
INCLUDES:
o "Slamming," which occurs when your authorized wireline telephone company for local, local toll or long distance service is switched without your permission. Learn More
o Telemarketing (including Do-Not-Call)
o Prerecorded messages
o Billing
o Service
o Privacy
o Identity theft
o Disability access
o Number portability
o Unlawful advertising
* Wireless Telephone
INCLUDES:
o Telemarketing (including Do-Not-Call)
o Prerecorded messages
o Billing
o Service
o Privacy
o Identity theft
o Disability access
o Number portability
o Unlawful advertising
o 911 calls
o Tower Light outages
o Signal interference to other devices
o Cell phone jammers
* Broadband Service and VoIP
INCLUDES:
o Unsolicited emails on cellular phone
o Billing
o Service
o Availability
o Number portability
o Unlawful advertising
o Disability access
o 911 calls
* Broadcast (TV and Radio), Cable, and Satellite Issues
INCLUDES:
o Obscene or indecent programs
o Unlawful or illegal advertising
o Disability access
o Emergency alerts
o Unauthorized/unfair/biased/illegal broadcasts
o Cable modem or signal issues
o DTV issues
* Tower Light Outages or Signal Interference

[EA PA]

Ill let you know how it ends. I cant stand all the surcharges and taxes and taxes and taxes and incompetence ... its disgusting. I let her take over when I heard the word "contract - to save ME money" and my blood pressure went postal. I'm going to dismantle this bill a buck at a time till it's zero if it kills me.

UPDATE:

SUCCESS! I finally shed Frontier. I had my bride attack them for the third time to get out of this contract. She is RELENTLESS. She went thorough several front layers of "can’t do" CS and she kept at them. She was on the line for over an hour (mostly on hold). Finally she got some manager on the line and the manager simply threw in the towel and canceled the contract! I am now reduced to 1 copper line for local calls only for her business that her company is picking up the tab for, and OOMA of course! Two lessons learned for the forum; 1. Let the bride handle it, and 2. Get to a manager. WHOOPEEE

*** MONTHLY BILL SHED ***

I’ll be updating my break even date tonight.