The Consumer Complaints Blog

Fighting the trained monkey in modern society.

August 7, 2012

Bell Canada

Filed under: Service Based — Editor @ 8:02 pm

I have a complaint about Bell Canada. We have recently moved and we decided to cancel our bell phone but keep the internet and television with them.
Bell came in to install the internet, the phone in the house we moved into had primus and we did not want to change it.

We advised Bell Canada that Primus was our home line.
Bell came in and installed a dry loop and made up another phone number so the internet can go thru the number. thanks to this we were left without a phone for a week.
Bell keep saying to contact primus to reconect our phone, I spent at least 4 hours with them on the phone each time I called I was on the phone with them for an hour (mind you I was calling from my cell phone, which now those bills are going to be insane)
They would transfer me from one person to the next and could not resolve the problem and everytime I was transferred I had to explain everything all over again.

This all started last monday march 2nd, by wednesday I demanded to have a technitian come in to fix the problem and ofcourse they said nobody would be able to come not until saturday. I got very angry and finally they sent an express technitian which they will
be charging me $75 dollars on my bill, but then I would have to call back to have the charge removed (so they do not make anything easy for the consumer).

The technitian came in on thursday and he was not able to fix the problem instead he said it would be easier if we just did both internet and phone with bell.

They offered me after all the troubles 2 months of free internet and a minor discount on our internet. But the phone was still not working.

I called primus and asked to reconect us and they came and did it but the line was still not working because Bell had the dry loop to they tied into our phone line and primus could not get in. I had to call yet again to have them remove the dry loop.

Primus sent me the package for internet and connected our phone in no time. I can still use the bell internet with primus, mean while this incompetent company Bell did a a big ordeal because they could not conect us to the internet with out loosing our phone.

Primus said to me that Bell only had to call the to get a circuit number and the internet would have been up and running with no hassle.

I have 3 children and was with out phone for one whole week and bell did nothing at all, nor did they care.

I called them to find out why they did this and ended up getting so angry that I cancelled the internet with them and for sure the TV will be the next thing. I found this company very arrogant and rude.

I wanted to speak to a manager and I had to fight to get a manager they did not want to transfer me to the manager, their excuse was they are too busy and have their own jobs, this is what I was told by Bell.

I told the guy isn’t this why managers should be available to deal with very angry customers. The guy refused to transfer me to the manager, finally I spoke to what I presume was a manager It could have been anyone else just to get me off.

The manager said there was nothing they could do and transfered me yet again for the third time to some one else, I got very frustrated and cancelled my internet because that person kept putting me on hold. every 5 minutes.

Nobody could resolve nor try to calm me down, they did not care I cancelled.
I want everyone to know the type of company that bell is, they tried to take us for fools so they could yet again monopolize everything in our house. All I want from them is to be gone for good and out of my house and warn people about this awful company.

when I called for the last time to have the dry loop disconected, I had to cancel yet again my internet.

During the time we were with Bell we were over charged huge several times in a matter of a few months we had to call back. One time our bill was 300 dollars and when we called it dropped by 200 does this sound correct? They overcharge as well to see
how much they can get away with and their bills are so complicated that you have no idea what they are really charging for.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

BMO

Filed under: Financial — Editor @ 8:01 pm


My name is Bobby, for the last two years I have been going through a nightmarish ordeal with BMO, Bank of Montreal. I am tired of feeling voiceless. Recently, I came across your blog and I would like to submit my story, hope it helps serve as a warning for all those who might be considering getting a credit card with BMO.

August 27th, 2010 I get the offer letter for teaching overseas, overjoyed at the opportunity to travel and teach I quickly begin my preparations. One of my first calls, to my banks, of course! I call BMO and speak with a female representative who, during a 30 minute call, puts me on hold over 7 times. My request had been simple; I am leaving for South, Korea, please put a $500 cap on the amount available as I do NOT plan on using my master card, unless it’s an absolute emergency. At the end of the call, I am reassured that the $500 cap has been placed, and that my accounts have been updated to include my Korean location and contact information.

Summer of 2011 comes by and my parents in Canada get a phone call from BMO saying I owe $725.00. My parents call me to let me know what’s going on, needless to say I was shocked to hear I had such a charge on a card I hadn’t used while living in Korea. So, I bite the bullet and make an international phone call to BMO to find out what’s going on, 45 minutes later, I’m finally transferred to the right department and I quickly realize it’s a fraudulent charge for some company based in London, England. The representative I speak to informs me the $500 cap had never been placed and there were no notes on my account informing BMO I had moved to Korea. She reassures me that she has done all of the above and will escalate to the fraud department.

Weeks go by, no word. I call again, next representative transfers me to the emergency services, who transfer me to accounts management, who transfer me to the fraud department. Fraud department informs me that they will begin an investigation but they need me to sign and send in fraud charge claims forms. They set a date by when I ought to receive the paperwork, a month after their set date, still no word from BMO. Needless to say, this back and forth went on for a while. Till finally in January of 2012 my parents in Canada get a call from BMO to let me know my accounts are being sent to collections unless I make a minimum payment. I make the payment and ask them to send the paperwork to my family in Canada who will forward it through to me. January 7th, I am told by a supervisor at BMO that the paperwork was in the mail and I would receive it in 5 days, February 7th 2012, I call back, still no papers! February, 15th I finally get the claims papers and fax them back so they can be escalated to the accounts management department. I speak with a representative in the accounts management department who informs me that the accounts have been placed on hold and an investigation has begun.

March 5 th, 2012, I return to Canada and call BMO to find out what’s going on with my accounts. The representative I speak with frankly says he does not know, though he reassures me that my paperwork has been received and that I need to call back again in two weeks. I inform him that my accounts have been frozen and I do not have access to my BMO information anymore. I ask him if a payment needs to be made and he says, “no, the account is on hold, which is why you can’t get access to it, once the investigation is complete BMO will be in touch”. March 23rd, I call back again to find out what’s going on and the next representative I speak with informs me that everything has been cleared up, my account will be credited the amount within 24-48 hours, and that I do not need to make a minimum payment since I am in the clear. Tuesday March 26th, 2012 I get a call from the collections agency, I need to make a payment, I’m 3 months late on my BMO payment and my credit rating has taken a major hit.

Three hours on the phone with BMO, and at the end all I’m told is; no one is sure why it’s taken the fraud department so long to open a file for me after receiving the paperwork, no one is sure why the collections agency was not informed about the investigation, and no one is sure why I was told I did not need to make a minimum payment. So, two years, countless international and local phone calls, piles of paperwork, and false reassurances from uninformed representatives later, I still don’t have an answer. And, I am now dealing with collections agencies, I am tired of being transferred from department to department, I’m tired of having had to tell my story over and over to 30+ representative since this all began and I am tired of no one caring enough to follow through on this situation. I just want someone to take responsibility instead of continually passing the buck. I want someone to care!


Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

Hewlett-Packard

Filed under: Technology/Computer — Editor @ 7:59 pm

I ordered a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion dv8 Notebook Computer by phone after shopping their online site. After 3 days the cooling fan went out, the keyboard melted, and other issues affected the computer. I called their customer service line and was sent through several useless steps to try to repair it (they obviously had no idea what they were doing and were reading from a check sheet). I sent the computer in for repair and the day after I got it back a key popped off the keyboard and the internet card stopped working.

After calling customer service and having them try to have me erase the hard drive, I called corporate headquarters in California and was sent to a case manager who told me this model computer has had no problems other than mine. I told him that the internet is full of complaints from other users and he said he knew nothing about that. I asked for a replacement for this lemon and was told that I needed to send it in for repairs and if anything else went wrong they would replace it.

It worked for a while and now the cooling fan went out, the wireless card turns off and on on its own, and a key popped off the keyboard. After once again being frustrated by customer service I asked for the Case Manager line. I was told that they had NO RECORDS of me sending my computer in for repair and would have to prove to them that I had. I found an old email confirming repair from HP and called the case manager back. He said it doesn’t matter that the repairs had been done and it doesn’t matter that I had proof they would not replace the computer.

Now angry with his lying I called corporate headquarters again. I was sent to an Executive Case Manager who miraculously was now able to see all of the repairs that were done and he sent that info in an email to the case managers and had me call them again. After discussing the situation with yet another case manager I was told that they will not stand by the previous case manager’s word and my only option is to get it repaired for the multiple issues once again.

My advice, buy from a company who views their customers as more than gullible sheep. Hewlett Packard lost 44% in profits last quarter for reasons like this. I will do everything in my power to make sure next quarter does the same. This was my 4th HP product that I bought and because their lies it is the last.


Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

April 1, 2012

Rogers

Filed under: Service Based — Editor @ 11:12 pm


My Rogers 3 year contract will be up in May of 2012 and both my phones are still working fine and I have no need to update to new ones. I called Rogers retention department and asked how much my bill would be reduced because the phones original cost had been amortized of the 3 year term, their answer was my bill would not change. When I pushed the agent on the costs of the phones no longer being a part of the monthly bill he told me they Rogers do not amortize the cost of the phone in the monthly bill. This response shocked me and I went on to ask if the phone price is not amortized as part of the monthly bill and I didn’t pay for them in full how where they paid for? His answer was to say the least total BS because he tried to convince me the phones are paid for up front, not amortized but he couldn’t explain how that is covered in my monthly bill. His comment made no sense because we all know that if you want out of your contract before the term ends Rogers charges a hefty cancellation fee that they clearly admit is to pay for the total cost of the phones the gave you in order to get you into a 3 year contract, that means the phones are amortized over the term of the contract.

I went on to ask what would I save if I decided to buy my next phone for cash up front and not sign a new 3 year contract? I was told I wouldn’t save anything and in fact if I don’t sign a new contract and get a new phone my monthly bill would probably go up because I wouldn’t be eligible for many of the special discounts contract customers can apply for. In my opinion this is just plain criminal because I have paid in full for my phone and if I don’t sign a new contract or need a new phone I’m paying for something I haven’t received by default.

I’m no lawyer and it’s just my opinion but it would seem to me this must be against the law and I would be very interest to know if anyone has challenge this intimidating way Rogers tries to force customers to renew their contracts.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

Clear Wire

Filed under: Service Based — Editor @ 11:11 pm

ALERT: Do not do business with this bunch. This complaint has two messages. #1 and most distressing is CLEAR WIRE is like all other cyber-related businesses. Their customer service representative will speak with a thick accent and you will probably not understand what you hear. After two or three conversations with these people, you will know not to trust them either. Confirmation #’s you recieve during your business discussions with them are worthless. Their representatives names are bogus usually using an “All-American” name such as “Jim”, “Jerry”, “Tracy” or some other familiar sounding name to assure you initial confidence. They are obviously unsupervised and follow some COMPANY “Canned program” to settle your problem. Worthless to say the least. #2 They hide behind their own inability to communicate to avoid definate commitments to your needs. As said before their confirmation #’s for account settlements are worthless and their practice of billing and drafting bank accounts for payments are not affected by a properly managed customer cancelation of an account. They will continue to draft an a closed account. Closing the account is the only way a consumer can pick these leaches off their back. It sucks to think a former high officer of AOL owns this abortion and promotes these practices to run his business. DO NOT USE THEM or TRUST THEIR BUSINESS PRACTICES. You will not like the outcome.


Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

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