LONG AND BORING (life as I know it)

In an effort to cut as many expenses as possible, we decided to change our telephone service. Our current provider has both the internet and telephone, and even thought the internet will be higher without the package, we can still do better on the phone. Back in May Gary set up new service, then called the current provider to let them know we were canceling the phone portion of our package. Hearing only his end of the conversation it was very clear that he was not making ANY changes to the internet. What I believe he said was, “DON’T DO ANYTHING AT ALL TO MY WIFE’S INTERNET CONNECTION! IT IS PERFECT AND WE DON’T WANT IT TO CHANGE!”

The date of the change comes and the new provider calls to say that the old provider did not take off the block that they said they would. Another call to the old provider and another week and the new service is up and running. My internet however completely crapped out. I call tech support, and after 20 minutes of shutting down and restarting, unplugging and replugging and rerouting the person on the other end of the phone figures out that the reason I don’t have internet is because it was CANCELED when they canceled the phone. It seems a new order would have had to have been written when they canceled the phone, and no one ever did that.

Now I need to speak to the sales department to reorder my internet and they inform me that it will take at least a week to get going again. I’m a little miffed. Sales lady offers me 100 free dial up hours until they can restore my internet. It is then that she informs me that there is no record of us changing our phone service, other than the June 4^th phone call when they hadn’t taken the block off, and the person who took that call was not only new, but no longer with the company a week and a half later. I wonder why?

We wait, and wait, and wait, (goes with the dial up territory, right?). Finally, the date arrives when I can get my internet back so I plug in. And. Get. Nothing. Call tech support and spend only 5 minutes plugging and unplugging before I get frustrated and tell him that I am not doing this again, and it worked fine before someone on his end disconnected it! He then asks me to hold, and when he returns and asks when exactly did I order my internet? I die. Right there on the floor.

The internet that I waited a week for never got ordered. But it wasn’t their fault. It was the new telephone providers fault! Another week is needed, more dial up hours added, and a credit to my account. And more painful waiting.

Poor Kerry had no television, no long distance calling, and no real internet connection. Hell.

Eventually the drought ended and as I was shutting off the computer to leave for vacation I get an email from the provider that they had billed our credit card for $150 dollars. It was a Saturday morning to boot, so a week went by before it could be addressed, and my frustration grew every time I thought about it.

Gary and I figure that they must be charging us a cancellation fee on the telephone, and if that’s the case then we agree that we will cancel the internet out of spite, because enough is enough already!

So the $150 charge? For the router. I’m still not clear if it’s because I didn’t return it when they canceled on me or if I didn’t pay for the new order. Either way the person he talked to could see how utterly ridiculous this was becoming and not only gave us back the $150, but another sizable credit for putting up with so much crap.

My mental health cannot survive the saving of any more money!!!!