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chazpaw
Premium Member
join:2007-03-28
Terrell, TX

chazpaw

Premium Member

Too many surprises

I tried to switch from AT&T to DSL Extreme beginning September 13. I had an very long email thread with Billing on the 22nd, only to get a call on the 23rd because of a mistake involving my address. I was checking out at a pharmacy at the time and after confirming the correct address I asked the caller to call me back as I had some other issues. I never received a call back. Originally my installation date choices were September 25 and October 2 as an alternative. It was rescheduled to October 2 or October 9. I was informed via email on October 8 that an installation date of October 14 was scheduled and I would have to be available all day from 8 to 5. The previously selected dates, at my choosing, had windows of 9 to 11 am.

As well, sometime on October 8 my credit card had a pending charge, and the charge was more than I was told the final charge would be. I did not authorize any one at DSL Extreme to use my credit card of record. This morning, October 9, I received a call from Billing confirming the installation date of October 14. At this time I asked about the credit card charge and I was told automatic payments were mandatory- I suppose on the plan I had chosen. I asked why was there an option to opt out of auto pay on the account summary page, which I had done. I chose to be billed via email. I was informed that auto pay was mandatory, and I replied that that was not an option suitable for me. I then cancelled service altogether. Of course the charge is still pending, but my DSL Extreme user page is already cancelled. One thing that did take me by surprise is there was no attempt to retain me as a customer.

There have been many surprises thrown my way such as modem rental, installation fees, and mandatory automatic payments. Perhaps my reading apprehension needs improvement. Perhaps my expectations of customer service needs to be lowered to the least common denominator. Perhaps I expected too much and DSL Extreme provided too little. Perhaps I should have hired a lawyer to help me navigate through the enrollment process. Perhaps it is for the best that I stay with my current ISP.

dslx_gm
ISP Employee
join:2002-12-26
Chatsworth, CA

dslx_gm

ISP Employee

Hi chazpaw See Profile,

I sincerely apologize for any mis-communication that you may have experienced on your order. We were able to find you account and show that you placed your order directly online through our website. The order was for our DSL Direct service and not our trueSTREAM service. In areas where trueSTREAM is not available and a client would like dry loop service we can offer them DSL Direct. The process and options between the two services is a bit different. Fortunately most areas have trueSTREAM available though.

The dispatch appointments that are offered on DSL Direct are all day appointments vs the trueSTREAM packages which does have time frame or windows. During the initial launch our site did reflect the shorter windows for DSL Direct in error. That has since been updated. We sincerely apologize for the oversight on that.

With regards to the fees, with DSL Direct a professional installation is required at this time but that professional installation does have a fee a $100 fee associated with it which is displayed and agreed to during the ordering process. We do now also offer the ability to choose if you would like to lease your modem or purchase your modem outright which gives the client the choice of which they prefer.

All of our services do require an automated monthly credit card payment. We don't have an option on the site to choose to opt out as that is a requirement and term of having the service. We find that from a billing perspective that works best for the clients and of course makes the billing and collection process much smoother which is good for both our clients and us.

Sorry again that it didn't work out for you. Happy to help if you would like to give it another try.

Thanks!

chazpaw
Premium Member
join:2007-03-28
Terrell, TX

chazpaw

Premium Member

Thanks for the response. I say never say never, and I had a good reason to switch, but this old dog likes to wag the tail, not the tail wag the dog. Thanks, once again.