I was a Qwest customer for many years (both residential and business) but after my experiences with them I would NEVER sign up for their service again! First of all, when we moved we signed up with Qwest for both internet and home telephone service. We bought the internet modem outright (they said that would save us money in the long run versus renting it), however every month they would charge us a 'rental fee', which would mean we would have to spend 1/2 hour on the phone with customer service every month to get this removed! The internet service was terrible and very intermittent. We had some financial hardship due to a death in the family and got 30 days behind on our Qwest bill (we were going to catch the bill up the following month), but without even so much as a letter of warning they sent our account to a collection agency and tacked on a $250 'cancellation fee'! We just got off the phone with the collection agency and they were EXTREMELY rude and unwilling to work with us, citing that they could not send us a copy of our original contract (which is in direct violation of the Fair Debt Collection Act) and my husband ended up in a scream-fest with them. We were trying to PAY them, not weasel out of the bill in bankruptcy like most people! So RUN, don't walk, from Qwest! Side note: we signed up with Comcast and so far they have been good.

We requested to have Qwest come out to install a telephone line and the day before they came, had to cancel our request.
The next day the service technician comes out and we explain that we have canceled the request and he leaves.
This was 3 months ago. The first time we called Qwest, they said they would correct their error.

The 2nd time we called, on Sunday, 12/7/08, the friendly female representative said not to worry -- they would correct the problem and we would be receiving a bill with a zero balance. Now, tonight an aggressive debt collector calls from Allied and is demanding that we pay this bill, which Qwest apparently turned over to them.

There is no way to communicate with Qwest to report problems via e-mail. Lisa, the Qwest representative that I spoke with tonight said that the billing department is closed, but that she would send them an e-mail explaining the situation and they would contact me tomorrow.

Why is it that I don't really believe them?

This is the 'worst' customer service I have encountered in my life and I would NEVER choose Qwest as a provider -- friendly doesn't count. Customer service agents need information and access in order to serve us -- the customers that choose this provider over others. One of the reps said that they 'just' began being able to search for a customer using 'name'. Hello? You represent communications and you're that far behind the times!

Now we have to worry about this being on our credit report! Beware of Qwest! I'd hate to be a steady customer that got a little behind on my bill!

I moved to a rental house in Bellevue from Bothell on 1-Jun. On Tue 16-Jun I called Qwest to order a land line/DSL bundle. They said that there was already an active line (from the previous renter)but promised they would call my landlord, take care of it and that both services would be up and running on Friday the 19th. Friday I get the DSL modem in the mail. I hook it up but it does not work. I hook up a phone to the line and it works, but when I call my cell it comes up as a different number than I was promised. Also the long distance does not work. Saturday night I call Qwest. They say that they can't hook up the line until the customer calls to disconnect the existing line. No one, including the landlord, knows who or where on Earth the guy on the account is (the name doesn't match the person on the previous lease). For the second time I give them my landlord's phone number and for the second time they say they'll call him and get permission to remove the ac!

tive line.

Monday rolls around. Still no service, so I call in the morning. They tell me that they cannot make outgoing calls so I have to call the landlord to have him call Qwest. I refuse, telling them it is not my problem, they've broken their promise and it's really their problem anyway. Monday evening I call again, finally get to a person who again takes my landlord's number and ABSOLUTELY ASSURES me that he'll have me up and running by end of day tomorrow, and he'll take care of everything. I was so ecstatic I told him if he gave me his address I'd send him twenty bucks and a thank you card.

Nope. Nothing.

Thursday the 24th and I call in the morning. Again they tell me they cannot make outgoing calls to contact my landlord. After over TWO HOURS on the phone with them, they finally call my landlord and add him to the conversation. He cannot do much except confirm that I am the official renter and he doesn't have a clue who the person on the existing account is. I am also told that the person owes them over $800. So, basically, I ask them: So you WON'T turn the phone off of someone who not only doesn't live here and you cannot find but owes you money, and at the same time, you won't turn on my service that you promised and I WANT to give you money.

While on the phone with them, they attempted to call the old renter and left a message. At the end of the conversation it was made clear to both my landlord and I that a)if they hear back from the old renter they will immediately turn off his service and turn mine on, or b) if they don't hear from him in three days, they will put some kind of order on the account (apparently closing it) and ten business days later my service will be activated, so the latest date would be the 15th of July. Also, the DSL line will take three extra days after that. The next day the existing line was shut off.

Now it is the 18th and no service. It's been over a month.

Verizon also offers land lines and DSL to my house address but I'm apparently, despite being a mile (line of sight) from a major Microsoft campus in Bellevue, in a dead zone. I've had their service since 1999 and currently have three cell lines with them, but they refuse to fix the dead zone. Naturally, I cannot in good faith reward them with more business, especially when the only reason I'm getting a land line is because there's no cell service there. So I am completely without communications at this address. Now I am on an extended trip for work and I can't even talk to my girlfriend at home.

This is beyond absurd. It's actually become more comical than anything else. In short, I signed up with Qwest for cell service in May but decided to cancel (within the 15-day rule they have, so no penalties). When I signed up, they required a $200 deposit which I paid up front, but after canceling, to this day, I have yet to receive even a simple apology, let alone my money.

Incidentally, this is AFTER filing cases with the Better Business Bureau, the Attorney General, and the Federal Communications Commission. **Note: everything written in this report is absolute fact, with the exception of the first two sentences, and the final two paragraphs (those are my opinions).

In May, I signed up with Qwest for wireless service, providing my own equipment as opposed to having to purchase anything additional. As such, my service was to be on a 'month-to-month' basis -- no commitments or contracts. However, I was still required by Qwest to make a deposit in the amount of $200.00, despite the lack of any commitment for service, but Qwest assured me several times that my deposit, upon discontinuance of service, if any, would be returned to me without 'early termination' or any other such penalties, inasmuch as no contract existed to begin with.

After a couple days, I contacted Qwest customer service via phone. The rep informed me of my option to receive up to a $150 credit towards my bill from if I agreed to switch from a MTM arrangement to a contract of commitment. I was assured that, as is normally the case, if I decided to terminate the contract within 15 days of the initiation of the new contract that no early termination fees / penalties would apply, and I ultimately did agree to enter into such a contract with Qwest effective immediately.

After using the service for a week or so, I decided to discontinue service with Qwest, and therefore did so on before 15 days had passed (to avoid any penalties). 30 days after I canceled, I received a piece of mail with Qwest's name on it (which I presumed was the refund of my deposit). Enclosed, however, was a letter entitled 'COLLECTION AGENCY REFERRAL NOTIFICATION' stating 'legal action' if 'payment of [my] delinquent account... [was] not made immediately,' and that my credit 'has been negatively impacted.' Attached was a bill stub which read: 'Total Amount Due: $99.40'

I returned to where the original retail location & asked the Qwest sales reps for an interpretation of the situation, and was told to contact customer care via phone. I did so, and they referred me back to the store, who again referred me to customer service, etc. Customer service said the store was responsible because that's where I made the initial deposit (for the month-to-month agreement); the store's statement was that corporate (customer service) was responsible because the actual contract itself was initiated over the phone with them. I ended up filing a complaint with the BBB in August after forming the opinion that my money was not going to be returned to me otherwise. My desired resolution submitted to the BBB was as follows:

-start-

'The monetary amount of compensation I'm requesting from Qwest... is $2,290.40 and is based on two factors. The first being simply the amount of the original money owed ($200.00) to me.

The second... include[s] the amounts of $90.40 along with $2,000, with the reasonings as respectively follow:

- The alleged amount I owe... and,
- ...In regards to the inaccuracy of my credit worthiness caused by what appears to be blatant gross neglect on Qwest's behalf and the denial(s) of credit, etc., incurred by me as a result thereof,... it's my opinion that everyone deserves a second chance..., and this is no exception to that, giving Qwest the benefit of the doubt. Thus the amount of $2,000.00, which is half what the court system believes is fair.

...In the interest of justice and humility, however,... I'm requesting one more thing from Qwest: immediate payment of the $200.00 Qwest has that belongs to me,... an immediate reversal of any and all negativity on my credit records (coming as a result of the above situation) and also... a simple apology. If Qwest is willing to fulfill these final requests..., I agree that I will cease to pursue any other additional compensation, and that I will terminate any pursuit for a settlement beyond $200.00 in compensation.

To finalize, my ultimate request for settlement is simply my rightfully-own $200.00 back, the removal of anything negative on my credit..., and a simple apology... Otherwise, without exception, my originally stated request will stand...

Thank you for your time in addressing this issue.'

-end-

After another month, and after more than one notice from the BBB, Qwest finally responded with: '[Rep from Qwest] has been communicating with [myself] via email to resolve his complaint.' I did in fact receive one e-mail from Qwest, as they stated. My rebuttal to their response was: 'Contact was made, but nothing beyond such within the last 30+ days.'

After another month, and again after an attempt from BBB with 'No response from Business re: Consumer Rebuttal', Qwest responded with: 'Qwest continues to investigate the missing deposit for [myself].'

Again I responded (becoming frustrated at this point), and my response was labeled by the BBB as: 'Consumer rejects business' final offer'. I failed to recognize anything even resembling an offer, let alone a final offer, and the BBB docket says nothing about any such offer anywhere prior to me 'rejecting their offer'.

At present, the time had now reached late October, and I then resorted to submitting a case to the Attorney General's Office in regards to everything that took place, and I also updated the BBB case docket to reflect so. The following day, BBB updated the case docket, stating they had judged the case 'Administratively Closed', and publicly made it known as a statistic that Qwest did in fact make a 'reasonable effort' to resolve the matter, and yet I remained dissatisfied. BBB further notated on the update that 'it appeared as though some laws may have been broken', and suggested 'seeking legal advise' and 'filing a federal complaint'.

In mid-November, I received an email from the Atty General, informing me that a response was received from Qwest and that my complaint with the Atty General was to be closed.

Attached was a copy of Qwest's response, in which Qwest stated,... our Executive office has been corresponding back and forth with [myself] since August of this year,' one of several falsehoods stated by Qwest throughout the duration of this on-going matter; as of this writing, the only correspondence I've gotten from Qwest is that same original email listed above. So unless sending me a single e-mail constitutes 'back-and-forth' correspondence, there's no truth in the statement Qwest gave to the Atty General.

I subsequently filed yet another case, this time with with the Federal Communications Commission, and have attempted to do the same with the Federal Trade Commission but have been unsuccessful. To this day, nothing further has transpired from any of the parties I've mentioned in this report, dated 12-14-07.

My attempts to contact the FTC have also included my feelings on the matter, in that I felt the BBB's actions were biased and unacceptable, and that their public declaration that Qwest was not only in the right, but that the company made all efforts to satisfy my request was a complete lie, and furthermore, a blatant obstruction of justice.

I feel I have been more than reasonable towards all parties throughout this whole process, but as I originally addressed with Qwest and the BBB in my initial complaint, this could have easily been settled had Qwest done no more than live up to that which they're responsible for, accompanied (on principle) by a simple apology; neither of which have yet to occur.