Complaint Review: MCI - The Neighborhood Built By MCI - Iowa City Iowa

I just wanted to say that I have followed all of the wonderful suggestions. I did get further in some areas, and just more upset in others. I am glad you all posted your comments as it will surely help others that are or will be in the same boat as I was. Yes, I did give in and just paid off the bill. I did send registered mail to their headquarters, and I did not receive a dang thing from them. Yes, be nice on the phone with them, but it is hard sometimes when they just will not work with you. It is correct they do not like us to be on hold, as I remember very clearly that I was constantly being put on hold even while they were waiting for their computer systems to boot to the screens they needed. Many times they do not even tell you they are going to put you on hold and you think they disconnected you. The truth is they can hear every word your saying, but you can't hear a peep from them unless they want to be heard. Well, I hung in there as long as I could (months). I gave in to MCI because it truly did a mental job on me. I can say now that I learned alot from this experience, and thank goodness for Rip Off Reports because it kept me going. I learned is its all about money, power, and last words. You will not win against MCI unless you put a lot of work into it. If you get a rep that is willing to work with you, you just might get lucky. As one reply stated they make note of the customers attitude, and with that type of system, it surely hurts your account! They need to do away with that because everyone is entitled to a "bad day". I end my complaint with this. If you do not keep on top of the situation with MCI they will win PERIOD!

As a previous employee at a call center I think I may be able to give you a few tips to help you get to someone over the phone without being on hold for an hour..first after dialing the company's 800 # don't input your phone number or any other info on your key pad just hit zero a lot of times that will put your call at the top of the queue and make sure your wait time is cut down. 2nd don't confirm any of your info until you ask your rep to raise their hand to notify their supervisor that they have an escalated call...then confirm your information as the reason it takes so long on hold is that most call centers are shaped like a large wharehouse that have several hundred computer stations and only a few floor supervisors each rep must wait their turn for a floor supervisor at least instead of being on hold for the whole time you can talk to your rep while they are also waiting 3rd I can tell you that the Rep doesn't want you on hold after taking your call any longer than about 5 minutes (raises, bonuses, etc..) are based on call times in call centers so the longer you keep your rep on the line the more her call times increase which is not a good thing. This is the reason you are transferred from place to place and rep to rep so much. As long as your call is in the queue no rep is having their call times raised. 4th always document your calls, the date, time, name of the rep you spoke with and their ID #, as they are not required to give a last name only their first name and ID or Badge #. Either record your call or write down as much as you can verbatum (if you listen while your waiting in queue you will be advised that your call may be monitored for quality assurance) only difference is that you will also be monitoring the call as the only reason those calls are monitored is to give promotion points, or ratings on the rep. 5th as hard as it is please try to keep calm, as the nicer you are the nicer the reps notes will be...each call has to be noted by the rep and your nice level affects how your account is noted (I can recall reps discontcting from a call and completly noting the account incorrectly as to the nature of the call just because the customer pi**** them off) also be sure to get the supervisors name and ID/Badge # Even if the supervisor can't help you directly he/she will be able to direct you in the correct direction with a direct line to the corporate office or the address where your complaint can be sent...(and as stated in the previous post make copies of all info you send and make sure you send it certified return receipt, signature required and get a physical mailing address not a PO Box as you can not send certified return receipt mail to a PO Box) Lastly..large corporations send their business to call centers in foreign contries to save money, if they are paying an employee in the US the min is $6.15/hr and most as an incentive offer at least $.50 more per hour...if they give this business to call centers else where they are not required to pay the same wages as most call center employee's in india make around $2/hour..if you get a rep that doesn't speak good english or speaks broken english immediately request a rep that does...this will also lessen your stress level as you wont have to keep asking the rep to repeat what he/she is saying. They are also rewarded for their short call times so they will not waste your time by keeping you on hold because you are no longer in queue but are coded to their ID#. Also, don't give in as long as you are not using profanity, or screaming at the super./rep they are not legally allowed to hang up on you if they do they can lose their job. If you do have to call back ask for the same rep and use their ID# --then call everyday until you get some satisfaction the rep will get tired of dealing with you as you are increasing his/her call time and fix the error correctly. Hope some of this info helps you and goodluck.

As a previous employee at a call center I think I may be able to give you a few tips to help you get to someone over the phone without being on hold for an hour..first after dialing the company's 800 # don't input your phone number or any other info on your key pad just hit zero a lot of times that will put your call at the top of the queue and make sure your wait time is cut down. 2nd don't confirm any of your info until you ask your rep to raise their hand to notify their supervisor that they have an escalated call...then confirm your information as the reason it takes so long on hold is that most call centers are shaped like a large wharehouse that have several hundred computer stations and only a few floor supervisors each rep must wait their turn for a floor supervisor at least instead of being on hold for the whole time you can talk to your rep while they are also waiting 3rd I can tell you that the Rep doesn't want you on hold after taking your call any longer than about 5 minutes (raises, bonuses, etc..) are based on call times in call centers so the longer you keep your rep on the line the more her call times increase which is not a good thing. This is the reason you are transferred from place to place and rep to rep so much. As long as your call is in the queue no rep is having their call times raised. 4th always document your calls, the date, time, name of the rep you spoke with and their ID #, as they are not required to give a last name only their first name and ID or Badge #. Either record your call or write down as much as you can verbatum (if you listen while your waiting in queue you will be advised that your call may be monitored for quality assurance) only difference is that you will also be monitoring the call as the only reason those calls are monitored is to give promotion points, or ratings on the rep. 5th as hard as it is please try to keep calm, as the nicer you are the nicer the reps notes will be...each call has to be noted by the rep and your nice level affects how your account is noted (I can recall reps discontcting from a call and completly noting the account incorrectly as to the nature of the call just because the customer pi**** them off) also be sure to get the supervisors name and ID/Badge # Even if the supervisor can't help you directly he/she will be able to direct you in the correct direction with a direct line to the corporate office or the address where your complaint can be sent...(and as stated in the previous post make copies of all info you send and make sure you send it certified return receipt, signature required and get a physical mailing address not a PO Box as you can not send certified return receipt mail to a PO Box) Lastly..large corporations send their business to call centers in foreign contries to save money, if they are paying an employee in the US the min is $6.15/hr and most as an incentive offer at least $.50 more per hour...if they give this business to call centers else where they are not required to pay the same wages as most call center employee's in india make around $2/hour..if you get a rep that doesn't speak good english or speaks broken english immediately request a rep that does...this will also lessen your stress level as you wont have to keep asking the rep to repeat what he/she is saying. They are also rewarded for their short call times so they will not waste your time by keeping you on hold because you are no longer in queue but are coded to their ID#. Also, don't give in as long as you are not using profanity, or screaming at the super./rep they are not legally allowed to hang up on you if they do they can lose their job. If you do have to call back ask for the same rep and use their ID# --then call everyday until you get some satisfaction the rep will get tired of dealing with you as you are increasing his/her call time and fix the error correctly. Hope some of this info helps you and goodluck.

As a previous employee at a call center I think I may be able to give you a few tips to help you get to someone over the phone without being on hold for an hour..first after dialing the company's 800 # don't input your phone number or any other info on your key pad just hit zero a lot of times that will put your call at the top of the queue and make sure your wait time is cut down. 2nd don't confirm any of your info until you ask your rep to raise their hand to notify their supervisor that they have an escalated call...then confirm your information as the reason it takes so long on hold is that most call centers are shaped like a large wharehouse that have several hundred computer stations and only a few floor supervisors each rep must wait their turn for a floor supervisor at least instead of being on hold for the whole time you can talk to your rep while they are also waiting 3rd I can tell you that the Rep doesn't want you on hold after taking your call any longer than about 5 minutes (raises, bonuses, etc..) are based on call times in call centers so the longer you keep your rep on the line the more her call times increase which is not a good thing. This is the reason you are transferred from place to place and rep to rep so much. As long as your call is in the queue no rep is having their call times raised. 4th always document your calls, the date, time, name of the rep you spoke with and their ID #, as they are not required to give a last name only their first name and ID or Badge #. Either record your call or write down as much as you can verbatum (if you listen while your waiting in queue you will be advised that your call may be monitored for quality assurance) only difference is that you will also be monitoring the call as the only reason those calls are monitored is to give promotion points, or ratings on the rep. 5th as hard as it is please try to keep calm, as the nicer you are the nicer the reps notes will be...each call has to be noted by the rep and your nice level affects how your account is noted (I can recall reps discontcting from a call and completly noting the account incorrectly as to the nature of the call just because the customer pi**** them off) also be sure to get the supervisors name and ID/Badge # Even if the supervisor can't help you directly he/she will be able to direct you in the correct direction with a direct line to the corporate office or the address where your complaint can be sent...(and as stated in the previous post make copies of all info you send and make sure you send it certified return receipt, signature required and get a physical mailing address not a PO Box as you can not send certified return receipt mail to a PO Box) Lastly..large corporations send their business to call centers in foreign contries to save money, if they are paying an employee in the US the min is $6.15/hr and most as an incentive offer at least $.50 more per hour...if they give this business to call centers else where they are not required to pay the same wages as most call center employee's in india make around $2/hour..if you get a rep that doesn't speak good english or speaks broken english immediately request a rep that does...this will also lessen your stress level as you wont have to keep asking the rep to repeat what he/she is saying. They are also rewarded for their short call times so they will not waste your time by keeping you on hold because you are no longer in queue but are coded to their ID#. Also, don't give in as long as you are not using profanity, or screaming at the super./rep they are not legally allowed to hang up on you if they do they can lose their job. If you do have to call back ask for the same rep and use their ID# --then call everyday until you get some satisfaction the rep will get tired of dealing with you as you are increasing his/her call time and fix the error correctly. Hope some of this info helps you and goodluck.

I feel your pain when the MCI Rep if you wish to call them that said that they have blocked your number for long distance. When you placed your request they may have added what is called a toll block(I have found in many areas there is a charge for that). For it to work what the represenitive has to do is change your long distance options to none. The key work is none not set to MCI. Your calling plan will have to change for that to work but it will be a lower cost plan. That will stop your long distnace and also stop your directory assitance calls. I live here in Iowa were MCI has a center and I have friends that work there and what they tell me is that even though MCI and Verizon have merged not all of there systems have merged.

I feel your pain when the MCI Rep if you wish to call them that said that they have blocked your number for long distance. When you placed your request they may have added what is called a toll block(I have found in many areas there is a charge for that). For it to work what the represenitive has to do is change your long distance options to none. The key work is none not set to MCI. Your calling plan will have to change for that to work but it will be a lower cost plan. That will stop your long distnace and also stop your directory assitance calls. I live here in Iowa were MCI has a center and I have friends that work there and what they tell me is that even though MCI and Verizon have merged not all of there systems have merged.

I feel your pain when the MCI Rep if you wish to call them that said that they have blocked your number for long distance. When you placed your request they may have added what is called a toll block(I have found in many areas there is a charge for that). For it to work what the represenitive has to do is change your long distance options to none. The key work is none not set to MCI. Your calling plan will have to change for that to work but it will be a lower cost plan. That will stop your long distnace and also stop your directory assitance calls. I live here in Iowa were MCI has a center and I have friends that work there and what they tell me is that even though MCI and Verizon have merged not all of there systems have merged.

I feel your pain when the MCI Rep if you wish to call them that said that they have blocked your number for long distance. When you placed your request they may have added what is called a toll block(I have found in many areas there is a charge for that). For it to work what the represenitive has to do is change your long distance options to none. The key work is none not set to MCI. Your calling plan will have to change for that to work but it will be a lower cost plan. That will stop your long distnace and also stop your directory assitance calls. I live here in Iowa were MCI has a center and I have friends that work there and what they tell me is that even though MCI and Verizon have merged not all of there systems have merged.

To the person in New Jersey. I signed up for MCI's unlimited long distance. Each month the bill was screwed up, and each month they assured me they'd fixed the mistake. You are lucky to have gotten as far as you have. All numbers I have found are answered by someone in India who hardly speaks English. I would suggest 1) contact the BBB, and 2) file a complaint with your state Attorney General. I know that in my state (Texas) the Attorney General is pretty active, and doesn't play games with such companies. Especially those with the reputation of WorldCom.

Just a short response to the dreaded issue of dealing with MCI. I Sh*t canned MCI over 10 years ago, they create more problems than they solve. Michele, the steps you need to take next are as follows: Gather up your bills with the disputed charges and highlight everything you shouldn't be billed for. Pay for your legitimate charges as you have reckoned them to be. Gather your proof of payment on all bills you have paid to MCI. Make copies of all this stuff along with a direct, firm, but not hateful letter to MCI (an address for customer service is to be found somewhere!). Send this certified, heck even send a copy to the CEO!. Make sure you note in this letter that you are filing a formal complaint to the FCC. Take copies of everything and your letter and write a letter of complaint to the FCC, make sure you document all attempts at contacting them via phone and email as best as possible. At some point and time you will get a resolution if you stick to your guns. In the meantime, change phone companies with local only service and buy phone cards, it will save you headache in the long run. Good Luck, and remember phone calls mean squat, but good notes and certified mail means everything! It seems like a lot to do, but it will get you somewhere. Always reading,

Today, I replied to a comment, and not an hour later MCI called my home. Not saying either has to do with another, just saying MCI and I are on the same wave today. First, I made my account with MCI online so I could pay my bill. I received confirmation email, and went on my merry way to log in. ERROR, account not known ... not sure of exacts, but I had made sure i used the correct screen name & password and yes it was case sensitive. I've tried several times with no luck. I just said heck with it. Well, MCI called me and told me I had a past balance of 114.00. According to my checking a few days ago I had a balance of 65.14. In just a few days my balance went from 65.14 to 114.00 (48.86 difference). OK so I just assumed my next month bill popped up with this all. I currently have LOCAL DIAL TONE for 14.95 a month. Add taxes and my line protection it shouldn't be much more then 25.00. According to this my bill is about 50$ a month. Hmm, so I of course called MCI again. Well, I have to say this was another comical phone call. I asked the woman how could my bill jump in one month as it did. She went on to say that it did. I told her my concerns and she told me I needed to speak to someone else. I did. This had told me I first need to resolve the online sign in issue. This gentelman was kind, but what I learned shocked me. He asked for my name, address, birthdate, and last four digits of SS#. He said, I'm sorry, but your social does not match our records. Can you believe it? I basically lost my temper and raised my voice telling them I'm tired of MCI and I want everything fixed NOW. It seems MCI had the last digit incorrect. He fixed it. Now as to the question of my balance I was forwarded to another rep. She confirmed that I did in fact owe 114.00, and here is the kicker ... She said I am STILL being charged for the Neighborhood 200 plan @ 29.99 a month. It is still active on my line. Now, I do NOT have long distance, as I only have "Dial Tone" and I was told it was 14.95 + tax each month. Why am I still being charged for the long distance? I'll tell you why. I called MCI in October to CANCEL that plan, and to add blocks to services. What they did was BLOCK my long distance PERIOD. The woman somehow screwed up (maybe she was a new rep) but I believe all this stems from her doings. Somehow she really screwed up my account. So, now I have to get back on the phone with MCI (the department I was speaking to does not handle that), and go through long wait times to CANCEL something I've canceled several times OVER. I cannot believe that Feb bill is showing charges for the Neighborhood 200 plan. MCI is ripping me off. I do not know what to do as they would only give me a 30$ credit when I called ... I am due 29.99 + 3.05 x 4 now (132.16). OK lets give them the 30$ credit they gave me last month but that still leaves me with 102.16 of charges that really needs to be recalculated against my TRUE bill. I've paid 125.00, 50.00, and 49.000 (224.00) since November for LOCAL DIAL TONE service only. I make NO long distance calls at all. I dont even have caller ID! Something is WRONG!!! I have to call MCI back and work through this, but I just know I'm going to get upset. They get me shaking, and to the point I'm losing sleep over this. I'm going to send the Utility commision copies of my report and hopefully they can help me. thank you!

I requested the past 3 months bill, however I received my past 6 months bills because thats what MCI automatically sends/offers. As for me watching. I did. I signed up with MCI in the very end of August/beginning of Sept. I started calling them in October when my first bill arrived. I spoke to them each and every month. When my bill arrived from Oct, to Jan I called each time (just making that clear). Each time MCI said they "resolved" the issue. As for paying the bill ... I had no choice to pay the bill and I stated that. If I didn't pay it I would be disconnected (No dial tone). To sum it up I followed my account from the first bill. I contacted them each billing cycle. They so called fixed the problems ... but the problems however did NOT get fixed because I was later told they "cannot" block the features ... it comes with a service (a service I canceled). I was still being charged for a service I canceled which I noticed in Oct, Nov, Dec ... and each time I was told it was "Fixed" when I called to ask they why I still have the service, but this last time was in Jan, when I told it was NOT fixed at all. I was then told they had no record and I TOLD THEM that the rep from the beginning screwed up when she told me I was set to dial tone only ... which obviously was NOT true. My problem is I trusted she knew what she was doing. I have no choice but to pay off this bill. I will not let MCI ruin my credit ... This is a perfect example of how MCI gets away with this. People don't want their services shut off so they pay. People don't want their credit rating ruined so they pay. People do not appreciate sitting on hold for 60+ min's to resolve billing issues. Its just a shame!

I requested the past 3 months bill, however I received my past 6 months bills because thats what MCI automatically sends/offers. As for me watching. I did. I signed up with MCI in the very end of August/beginning of Sept. I started calling them in October when my first bill arrived. I spoke to them each and every month. When my bill arrived from Oct, to Jan I called each time (just making that clear). Each time MCI said they "resolved" the issue. As for paying the bill ... I had no choice to pay the bill and I stated that. If I didn't pay it I would be disconnected (No dial tone). To sum it up I followed my account from the first bill. I contacted them each billing cycle. They so called fixed the problems ... but the problems however did NOT get fixed because I was later told they "cannot" block the features ... it comes with a service (a service I canceled). I was still being charged for a service I canceled which I noticed in Oct, Nov, Dec ... and each time I was told it was "Fixed" when I called to ask they why I still have the service, but this last time was in Jan, when I told it was NOT fixed at all. I was then told they had no record and I TOLD THEM that the rep from the beginning screwed up when she told me I was set to dial tone only ... which obviously was NOT true. My problem is I trusted she knew what she was doing. I have no choice but to pay off this bill. I will not let MCI ruin my credit ... This is a perfect example of how MCI gets away with this. People don't want their services shut off so they pay. People don't want their credit rating ruined so they pay. People do not appreciate sitting on hold for 60+ min's to resolve billing issues. Its just a shame!

I requested the past 3 months bill, however I received my past 6 months bills because thats what MCI automatically sends/offers. As for me watching. I did. I signed up with MCI in the very end of August/beginning of Sept. I started calling them in October when my first bill arrived. I spoke to them each and every month. When my bill arrived from Oct, to Jan I called each time (just making that clear). Each time MCI said they "resolved" the issue. As for paying the bill ... I had no choice to pay the bill and I stated that. If I didn't pay it I would be disconnected (No dial tone). To sum it up I followed my account from the first bill. I contacted them each billing cycle. They so called fixed the problems ... but the problems however did NOT get fixed because I was later told they "cannot" block the features ... it comes with a service (a service I canceled). I was still being charged for a service I canceled which I noticed in Oct, Nov, Dec ... and each time I was told it was "Fixed" when I called to ask they why I still have the service, but this last time was in Jan, when I told it was NOT fixed at all. I was then told they had no record and I TOLD THEM that the rep from the beginning screwed up when she told me I was set to dial tone only ... which obviously was NOT true. My problem is I trusted she knew what she was doing. I have no choice but to pay off this bill. I will not let MCI ruin my credit ... This is a perfect example of how MCI gets away with this. People don't want their services shut off so they pay. People don't want their credit rating ruined so they pay. People do not appreciate sitting on hold for 60+ min's to resolve billing issues. Its just a shame!

I requested the past 3 months bill, however I received my past 6 months bills because thats what MCI automatically sends/offers. As for me watching. I did. I signed up with MCI in the very end of August/beginning of Sept. I started calling them in October when my first bill arrived. I spoke to them each and every month. When my bill arrived from Oct, to Jan I called each time (just making that clear). Each time MCI said they "resolved" the issue. As for paying the bill ... I had no choice to pay the bill and I stated that. If I didn't pay it I would be disconnected (No dial tone). To sum it up I followed my account from the first bill. I contacted them each billing cycle. They so called fixed the problems ... but the problems however did NOT get fixed because I was later told they "cannot" block the features ... it comes with a service (a service I canceled). I was still being charged for a service I canceled which I noticed in Oct, Nov, Dec ... and each time I was told it was "Fixed" when I called to ask they why I still have the service, but this last time was in Jan, when I told it was NOT fixed at all. I was then told they had no record and I TOLD THEM that the rep from the beginning screwed up when she told me I was set to dial tone only ... which obviously was NOT true. My problem is I trusted she knew what she was doing. I have no choice but to pay off this bill. I will not let MCI ruin my credit ... This is a perfect example of how MCI gets away with this. People don't want their services shut off so they pay. People don't want their credit rating ruined so they pay. People do not appreciate sitting on hold for 60+ min's to resolve billing issues. Its just a shame!

MCI also known as WorldCOM INC have in the past had several lawsuits filed and settled in the process of being bankrupt later to be bought by Verizon. Phone company charges are getting cheaper by the day, all it takes is a simple Google search ;) MCI ripped you off very very badly, but think about it: you had several chances to choose your provider, choose the services, and you were guranteed you can MODIFY your services any time. The hold time at MCI is ridiculous only because there are many people just like you who have been ripped off by the money hungry bankrupt company. You say you requested 6 months of previous bills which had Neighborhood service charges, so for the past 6 months you kept paying each bill without even checking it thoroughly and calling them right than to remove the service instead of waiting for 6 months for a credit which they wont give because of prolonged time period AND their situation. As far as they are concerned, you used their services for 6 months and have no bases to ask credit for the past 6 months of service usage. And in court their argument carries more weight. Be smart, go google cheap phone services providers, Verizon offers "dial-tone only" service (unlimited regional calling) for less than $15 a month (and this is a very reputable company thats easy to deal with) Good luck!

When the rep has asked me "Are you even a MCI customer?" ... That did make me take a step back to make sure I had the correct information. I always and only get bills from MCI. I have never received any bill from Verizon. I've never been told I need to speak to Verizon or any other company about my account. Here a kicker ... You say MCI & Verizon has merged? Well, I received spam snail mail from Verizon to sign up with their long distance plan. It seems pretty good to me (unlimited long distance in the US for 29.99). I called the number (toll free) and CLICK. I just thought that was so funny. I cannot even connect LOL. Sheesh, well I sure hope they get their act together soon, because I'm so tired of wasting my time with them. Thanks for your reply :) It was very helpful!

The Neighborhood, in 99% of areas, is a reseller of local service. Find out who the main carrier is, being in Jersey I would guess Verizon, and call them to have your existing service migrated to them. I know that MCI and Verizon merged, but Verizon is the main company most likely and all of the lines are theirs so its easier to get stuff done.

The Neighborhood, in 99% of areas, is a reseller of local service. Find out who the main carrier is, being in Jersey I would guess Verizon, and call them to have your existing service migrated to them. I know that MCI and Verizon merged, but Verizon is the main company most likely and all of the lines are theirs so its easier to get stuff done.

The Neighborhood, in 99% of areas, is a reseller of local service. Find out who the main carrier is, being in Jersey I would guess Verizon, and call them to have your existing service migrated to them. I know that MCI and Verizon merged, but Verizon is the main company most likely and all of the lines are theirs so its easier to get stuff done.

The Neighborhood, in 99% of areas, is a reseller of local service. Find out who the main carrier is, being in Jersey I would guess Verizon, and call them to have your existing service migrated to them. I know that MCI and Verizon merged, but Verizon is the main company most likely and all of the lines are theirs so its easier to get stuff done.