Ok, so yesterday I wanted to cancel my Internet service with my ISP (PeoplePC) and this is how it went… Not surprisingly canceling was much more difficult than signing up! First, I call their "customer service" number, which is not a number at all. It's a bunch of letters which is cute because it spells something (1-866-PPC-MBRS) but somewhat frustrating for a person that just wants to dial a number not hunt and peck for letters on the telephone.
After navigating my way through several prompts, I finally get the one I need to cancel my service only to hear a recording that says, "We are currently experiencing a high caller volume (I don't doubt it!)…" or something of the sort, (aren't there enough people in India to answer all their calls???) and then it asks me to call back later!
YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING! I'm sure they are hoping I'll hang up and never call back.
I chose to hang on – put the phone on speaker phone and listen to the music while I worked away. After a while a human answers my call…
The first thing she wants to know is the phone number I'm calling about. I kid you not, I had to repeat the number VERY slowly 4 times before she could get it right! Then after answering a series of other questions there was the "security" question (to verify the account) – "What are the last 4 digest of you credit card?" I said, "Which credit card?" It's not like any of us own only one, right? Well, of course, it was the credit card the account is billed too – I knew that, but that was years ago when we set up this service and I had no idea which card we set the service up under and she couldn't even help me out to tell me even if it were a Visa, MasterCard or what – at least that would have narrowed it down a bit for me.
So, I ask for another "security" question. A week or so ago when I had to call technical support about a matter and was unable to give them the answer to the credit card question they verified my account with "another" security question – my address. That, I can answer.
Well, she can't give me another security question so I ask to speak to her supervisor. She puts me on hold and comes back only to say that I must answer the security question to cancel my service. I tell her I cannot without knowing which card she is talking about. She puts me through to someone in customer service to "verify my account".
After an extended time on hold – THANK YOU for "speaker phone" to whom ever invented it! – I speak to someone in customer service. I go through all the questions I've gone through before and then the dreaded "security" question… I explain my dilemma that I don't even know which credit card they want the last 4 digits to and ask if they can at least, somehow, tell me what kind of card they are looking for and miraculously this person CAN! It's a Visa – why the person before couldn't give me that little bit of info I don't know but that helps me considerably! Now I know it's not one I have, it's got to be one my husband has. SO, in a cruel turn of events I put THEM on hold… he he he he…. I call my husband, get the last 4 digest of his card and give that to the person ON HOLD at PeoplePC – finally, the account is verified – that only took about 30 minutes!
Now, he connects me to someone in the "cancellation" department. On hold I am for several more minutes – no doubt they are very busy! After several minutes on speaker phone someone answers – the third person I've spoken with, the first that didn't sound like they were in India.
So, I go through all the normal questions with this third person that I did with the first and second – verify the account with the last 4 digits… so on and so forth… AND THEN YET ANOTHER SECURITY QUESTION! "What was the color of your favorite car?" YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! I say, "Green" – just a guess, of course it was wrong…
By this time I am livid! I'm like standing on top of my desk and about to throw the phone through the window – well, not exactly but I felt like it!
I pleaded with the girl on the phone, told her what all I had been through so far and that all I wanted to do was to simply cancel my ISP service.
Then she starts telling me all about how they have this special deal with EarthLink and I could get high-speed Internet service at a reduced rate for a certain period of time with them, etc., etc., etc.… I was very polite and I told her I had already signed up with another ISP. She continued to go on and on about what a great deal this EarthLink service was and how reliable they were. I just paused and listened (I don't know why – I guess I was still being polite). There was a long silent pause as if she were waiting for me to say something (accept her offer maybe?) – I had already said all I need to say. Finally, I said it again, "I have already signed up with another ISP for DSL." Then she starts again telling me all about EarthLink and how great they were and all about how ALL she wanted to do was SAVE ME MONEY – RIGHT! She must have been working on commission.
NOW, my patience had completely run out! I said VERY FIRMLY, "I HAVE ALREADY SIGNED UP WITH ANOTHER ISP. I DO NOT WANT TO SIGN UP WITH EARTHLINK. I JUST WANT TO CANCEL MY SERVICE WITH PEOPLEPC." I think she got the message. She didn't say anything else except just to reiterate that she was JUST trying to "save ME money" – RIGHT!
A few more details, a cancellation confirmation number and it was done. It almost took an hour! WOW! What an ordeal!!!
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