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© Copyright 2003, Jim Loy
Qwest is currently my phone company. Back in September 2002, someone signed me up for voice messaging with Qwest. Then, instead of my answering machine answering with my recorded message, callers got a message saying that I had not set up my voice messaging mailbox. What people told me is that they couldn't leave me a message. I was already dissatisfied with my answering machine, sometimes it answered after two rings (beating voice messaging to the punch, as it were), even though I had set it to four rings. So I bought a high tech answering machine. It took me more than six months of complaints from my friends before I called myself and listened to this message (which said that I had not set up my voice messaging mailbox). I thought my answering machine was giving this message. I could find no mention of this in the user's manual. My answering machine never cut in after two rings now, so I never got any messages, which was a mixed blessing. I tried to set up the mailbox on my new answering machine, and failed. I followed the user manual over and over, and it was pretty simple, every time. Then people would tell me that they couldn't get to my answering machine. To confuse the issue, we had a power failure just before my mother told me that she couldn't leave a message, and so I figured that the answering machine got reset somehow.
It is now a year and a month later. I took my answering machine back to Wal-Mart, and they bent the rules (they claimed) to give me a refund. And I bought a cheaper answering machine. And the problem persists. Same message, same voice. Finally, it was obvious that the problem was not my answering machine. That was yesterday. Today, Qwest tells me that they will undo the voice messaging, and give me six months credit, which is their limit. I am stuck with the other seven months that I paid ($6.95 a month, for a total of $48.65 + mental anguish). They are cheating me.
I will be sending Qwest email, and showing them this page. We will see if they are interested in straightening this out. Until then, they are not getting any money from me, and there is a good chance that they will be disconnecting my phone eventually, and good riddance. They cost too much anyway. I can save money with high speed Internet access.
Here is a paragraph from Qwest's reply to my email:
After researching your account our records indicate that you ordered the Voice Messaging Service on September 2, 2002. Your account is noted from one of our Telemarketers on that date. Each month for the last year we have printed the charges on your bill. We also sent a confirmation letter and instructions for the service. We have taken partial responsibility for the Voice Messaging order. It is your responsibility to read your bills and confirmation letters and notify us of any discrepancies. I am unable to adjust any other charges to your account for an order that was placed over a year ago.
He got me there, I didn't read my bill with adequate attention. There are plenty of other charges that I don't understand, or see the need for. But I should have figured them out. I never read their stupid letters, and they seem to have sent me one that mattered. By the way, I do not ever talk to telemarketers, except to tell them, "I'm not interested." I'm not sure why "Telemarketers" is capitalized, above.
The idiots who I complain about insist on making their stories more interesting, by keeping my temper at a constant boil. The same day that I received the above, I got a telemarketer call from Qwest (really) asking me to sign up for a free offer of services which I don't want. He caught on, after my second "I'm not interested." During his spiel, he said, ". . . since you already have voice messaging . . ." I didn't catch the rest. Now, it seems that either I still have voice messaging, or he is looking at an old printout. Of course he's not looking at a printout; he's looking at a computer screen. Might be old data. Today (a day later) I called myself, and sure enough, I still have voice messaging. I will be sending them more email today. Stay tuned.