Centurylink They slipped "Centurylink @ease Standard" onto my account fraudently - without my knowledge - extra 9.99/mo Nationwide
Centurylink put me on a promotional package for phone and internet last summer (2014) in early June. What they failed to tell me was that they were also slipping in a charge without my knowledge. I only found out about it end of April 2015 when a rep stated something called @Ease was on my account - which had to do with helping you with your computer if you had one (viruses and such). I told the rep I never ordered it and never would order it - as I was hardly ever there - as it is for a rental cabin. They stated that they could only credit back 3 months. I stated that that is insufficient - as the charge was put onto my account fradulently by a rep without telling me about it. Their response? Well - you can review your bill and you might have found it that way. I said really? It is in tiny print at the bottom of a page under Broadband Cost recovery. They hope that no one notices it or questions it, and I certainly didn't. The only way I knew that the extra charge was on my bill that I never ordered was when I asked a rep about "how can I reduce my bill?" They said the best they could do was credit me 3 months (even though this fraud had been going on for about a year). That is insane. If it was fraudently put on - it should be credited all the way back to the beginning. So I am out 80-90 bucks because they slipped it on without my knowledge. Then I called back to "customer loyalty" and discussed how I could reduce my bill. She said she could reduce it by about 20 bucks a month - including a $10/mo discount for auto-pay. I told her I have been on auto-pay for over a year - why am I not getting a discount for it now? She said - because the rep of the program you went into didn't tell you about it. Then she hung up on me or we got disconnected (from their end - not mine.)
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
Irvine,California,
USA
Standard reaction..
#4Consumer Comment
Sun, May 03, 2015
Oh yes when someone says something they don't like you take the standard reaction of "Well you must work for them". Well sorry to burst what ever dillusion you are under but I do not now or have I ever worked for this or any other cable company. In fact if you actually took the time you would see how dumb your reaction actually is.
I think it is pretty important as to how the charge got onto the account.
- No it is really not at this point. I didn't go into it because I wasn't on the phone call, and unless you have a photographic memory where you can remember every single conversation you had over the last year there is no way at this point you can prove that it wasn't offered. Yes, you are going to swear up and down that you didn't. Perhaps you didn't. Perhaps it was offered as another bundle? Perhaps they explained it differently. The point is what happens after that.
I don't even live at the property so why would I order a "computer support" package which I obviously would not need? I didn't.
- Why is it obvious? You most likely purchased the Internet connection so one could figure that you would have a computer there as well...right? So not it is not as "obvious" as you may think.
Do you really call the companies you get bills from and ask them about every line item?
- Not for every line item, but if it is a line item I don't understand you can be sure I call them. In fact I have stopped may fradulent charges this way.
Why would I ever assume that a company would put on something that I didn't order behind my back?
- Why does it always have to be a companies "fault"? What if there was some other fraud? Sure if a company does something by reviewing your statements you can catch it almost immediatly, and as I said had you caught this after a month or two I would be right with you. But you can also catch other fradulent activity as well. However, after this period of time you must then take a majority of the responsibility. Which is why even the Government limits Credit Card disputes to 60 days.
Really?
#4Author of original report
Thu, April 30, 2015
Really? You are obviously a Centurylink rep.
You stated: "I am not going to go into how the charge got on your account, as after a year who knows what really happened."
I think it is pretty important as to how the charge got onto the account. A CL employee put it on there without my knowledge or consent. I don't even live at the property so why would I order a "computer support" package which I obviously would not need? I didn't.
You stated: "However, it is YOUR responsibility to review all of your statements every month for inaccuracies."
It was not "inaccurate" -- it was simply pure fraud to put on something that I didn't order. As I stated - it was in fine print at bottom of a very long billing statement for misc taxes for this and that etc. I doubt that 99% of consumers as such would even figure out what it was. Do you really call the companies you get bills from and ask them about every line item?
Why would I ever assume that a company would put on something that I didn't order behind my back? Do you think that is fair or ethical? I trusted CL. It was wrong to trust CL obviously. Re: the credit - it is certain that that is all I'm going to get....They insist that is all they are going to give - despite the fact that they know that I never ordered it.
Thus - I'm out about 90 bucks for something I never ordered - that was slipped onto the account - with CL full well knowing that the chances of anyone detecting it would be slim to none.
Robert
Irvine,California,
USA
Statements
#4Consumer Comment
Thu, April 30, 2015
I am not going to go into how the charge got on your account, as after a year who knows what really happened.
However, it is YOUR responsibility to review all of your statements every month for inaccuracies. It doesn't matter if you are on Auto-Pay or never there you are still paying it right? Say you had a Credit Card bill with a fradulent charge. If you don't review your statement you have only 60 days(or 2 billing cycles) to dispute it. After that it doesn't matter if it is a fradulent charge or not. Legally the credit card company doesn't have to do anything except expect you to pay it.
Now, you say that well a credit card is different than a cable bill. At the basic level that is wrong and short sided. They both provide statements and they can both have errors.
Had you found this out after 1 or 2 months, I would probably be right with you. But after this amount of time you must take a majority of the responsbility. So them offering you a credit of 3 months is actually very generous and while not certain that is probably all you are going to get.