neutrino
join:2008-04-16
Pompano Beach, FL
edit:
April 20th, @07:29PM
|  Have standalone DSL? Can you pay your bills, etc online?
To avoid adding even more clutter to this thread, please only reply to this question and add any pertinent details...
Can you manage your Bellsouth/AT&T account online(pay the bill, etc) at their website?
This can be once you switched to standalone or ordered standalone from the get go.
Thanks in advance. |
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Mizzat
This space for rent
Premium
join:2003-05-03
Atlanta, GA
 ·AT&T Southeast
| Re: For those with standalone DSL, can you pay your bills online
said by neutrino  :I've had Bellsouth/AT&T DSL 2 times in the past with local phone service and always signed up right away for online billing. This 3rd time I heard about standalone DSL and just ordered that. Now they are telling me that I can't pay my bills at bellsouth.com. Surely this can't be right as I have seen a screenshot someone posted here with their account page and he had standalone DSL. I just need confirmation here before I reply to the email telling me I cant pay my bill online. Thanks I pay mine online, but I had phone service before downgrading to standalone. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to, you still have an account number assigned to your line. Simply use that to sign up for online billing. I may not be aware of something tha the consumer billing group might know though. |
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neutrino
join:2008-04-16
Pompano Beach, FL
| I have tried to sign up.
They changed something a while back. They are now required by the FCC to send you an online registration code so as to verify the person signing up is actually the customer. I am presented with 2 options when I do this.
1. Send the code to my phone.
Why would it give me this option if it's a standalone line? My phone cant receive calls! Obviously their system lacks some programming sanity checks because that option should NEVER be shown to a standalone DSL customer.
2. Send the code via postal mail.
This is what I have been trying to get with no luck.
If you dig a little deeper in the FAQs it mentions sending it to the email address on file (but only if it's been on file for 30 days).
I am not presented with this option...yet. I presume I will be after 30 days.
Anyways, like I said in the OP. The residential specialist is telling me I am not eligible for "eBill" but I suspect their information is wrong and I would like to hear from more standalone DSL customers so I can pile on the evidence.
Thanks |
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anonyjane
join:2008-02-10
Billingsley, AL
| said by neutrino :1. Send the code to my phone. 2. Send the code via postal mail. This is what I have been trying to get with no luck. If you dig a little deeper in the FAQs it mentions sending it to the email address on file (but only if it's been on file for 30 days). I am not presented with this option...yet. I presume I will be after 30 days. Anyways, like I said in the OP. The residential specialist is telling me I am not eligible for "eBill" but I suspect their information is wrong and I would like to hear from more standalone DSL customers so I can pile on the evidence. Thanks Is it a billing agent or technical support rep? I know technical support agents are not trained on eBill, so they wouldn't really know for sure. I'm fairly certain, that regardless of whether you are eligible for eBill or not, the only way you can get that code is from the two methods, so you will still have to wait until they can send it to the physical address on file or the email address. |
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neutrino
join:2008-04-16
Pompano Beach, FL
| said by anonyjane :Is it a billing agent or technical support rep? It's a Residential Specialist.
Customer service forwarded the issue to them after not being able to figure it out. |
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davoice
join:2000-08-12
Saxapahaw, NC
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to neutrino
Once you get your first paper bill, you should be able to sign up. That's unless something changed in the last 3 months. I ordered SAFA virgin when it became available (and I have TWC RR). I pay my bill online.
With your bill in hand, you should have the needed phone number and code for your account. (As you know each SAFA account has a "phone" number attached to it.) On the bill beside the number will be a 3 digit code.
}Davoice |
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neutrino
join:2008-04-16
Pompano Beach, FL
| Got my 1st paper bill last Thursday but I've already had my phone number. It was given to me when I signed up. Without it, I would not even be able to deal with them as that's the first thing their system asks you for when you call them.
All the rsite asks you for is phone/acct #, SSN, and Zip Code.
The emails replies from the Residential Specialist have stopped so I presume they are now ignoring me. Shame on you AT&T!
I found out what department handles that. It's the Electronic Payment Claims Center @ 1-888-822-2828 (in case anyone else needs to contact them).
After speaking with them and having them assure me that of course standalone DSL accounts can manage their accounts online, they are resending the registration code via mail.
Hopefully 3rd or 4th time's a charm because I have done it twice myself and I think they also did it on one of my previous calls. |
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anonyjane
join:2008-02-10
Billingsley, AL
| reply to neutrino
Did they confirm the address on file with you? Just to make sure it is being sent to the right place, since you have done it several times already. It does take about 7-10 business days for it to arrive via snail mail. Another thing you want to be sure of: was your account activated after Feb 18th? If so, make sure that you have gone through the online registration process (where you select your bellsouth email address and password) as that can also cause issues. |
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neutrino
join:2008-04-16
Pompano Beach, FL | Of course.
They wouldn't be able to come out and hook me up without the correct address.
I wouldn't be able to post this without setting up my email/password. |
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anonyjane
join:2008-02-10
Billingsley, AL
| said by neutrino :Of course. They wouldn't be able to come out and hook me up without the correct address. I wouldn't be able to post this without setting up my email/password. It's not as obvious as it may seem. There are good reasons why I asked those questions.
In the database, each person has a service address and a billing address. The service address is where the techs are sent (and sometimes even that can come up incorrectly and must be manually corrected) and the billing address is where bills and other correspondence is sent. Other times, one or both addresses can populate incorrectly and if that happens and they don't verify the address with you, then you won't get what you asked for. Sometimes Suite or Apt numbers are left off of the address as well and that can cause issues.
You could still get online without going through the registration process. The way it is now, the installation wizard CD configures a modem for a generic username/pw so that you can get online to go through the registration process. At some point in the reg process, your modem is configured with the username/pw that the user selected. If you are still connected with the generic info, you are still online, but if the reg process did not complete, your account information is incomplete in the system. |
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neutrino
join:2008-04-16
Pompano Beach, FL
| I appreciate you trying to help but you really are not.
I know both how those things work and though I disagree with some of what you said, I know everything is fine. I wont bore you with the details.
I would just like to hear from people that either have downgraded to standalone or people that had standalone from the get go...
Can you manage your account online (pay your bill, etc)? |
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Snicks
@bellsouth.net | reply to neutrino
I have DSL only service with AT&t/BellSouth and I have no problem paying my bills online. I did have to request an online access code which I had sent to me by mail. It took about a week but once I got that code there was no problem registering. |
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anonyjane
join:2008-02-10
Billingsley, AL
| reply to neutrino
Fine, disagree if you want, I'm merely telling you of some things that could possibly affect you getting that code. You ARE eligible for online account management. If the address they have for you is correct, you should receive your code in the mail. If you cannot receive your code for whatever reason, good luck with getting access to the online billpay. Do you think the person you are replying really cares that you are eligible for the online billpay? Even if they did, there is nothing they can do to give you access to it. You've got to have the code. You already have your response, so what's the point in responding to the email? You'll likely get a pat automated response that you won't get any satisfaction from. |
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Snicks
@bellsouth.net
| reply to neutrino
Re: Have standalone DSL? Can you pay your bills, etc online?
Well OBVIOUSLY you're not going to be able to use the online billpay if you don't get the code and you can not get the code from anyone on the phone because the code does not come from the customer service department and they have no access to it.
Stop making a mountain out of a molehill. |
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Zigba
@sbcglobal.net
| reply to neutrino
Just got off the phone with AT&T about the same issue. You can do it however your only option as you don't have a land phone line is to get the number via the Postal Service. I agree with you that the process is cryptic and difficult to make any rational sense of. Once you get to the point where you can register to get the code choose the mail option.
I am surprised out how poorly this site is designed and how archaic the process. Big companies operate like big stupid animals. |
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neutrino
join:2008-04-16
Pompano Beach, FL
edit:
April 24th, @06:45PM
| I really had no problems understanding the process though I agree the site needs some changes(Hello! more sanity checks in your programming please!!). My issue is just getting them to send the registration code. They have sent me around 10 other letters/bills just fine.
Today, they finally escalated it. Something must be amiss in the database. I suspect the 30 day flag is set wrong but the site isn't acknowledging it...
Why am I unable to request another Online Registration Code?
In order to protect your privacy, AT&T can only send you a limited number of online registration codes per 30 day period. If you receive a message stating you are unable to request another Online Registration Code, you must wait an additional billing cycle before requesting a new online registration code to view your bill online.
I don't get that message but that's the only thing I can think of.
Zigba, if you wouldn't mind coming back here in a week and posting whether you actually received it in the mail, I would appreciate it. |
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Zigba
@sbcglobal.net | Will do. |
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neutrino
join:2008-04-16
Pompano Beach, FL | Any word Zigba? |
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