My DSL service was down on Tuesday night, Nov 25. i tried to see if it was my local machine but i determined that it was SBC’s error and i called SBC.
first, i was on hold for exactly 49 minutes! when you are on hold with SBC, they only tell you that you are on hold for “more than 5 minutes”. well, every few minutes i get a message telling me that it will be “over 5 minutes” until someone talks to me.
then, i finally get a customer service person. i ask him if the internet is down in my area. he says no. i said — “are you sure?” he said, “i have not heard anything.” i said “can you check?” but then he disregarded my questions and proceeded to ask me to reboot my machine a bunch of times and reboot the DSL modem (all of which, i explained, i did in that 49 minutes while i was on hold).
i finally convince him that it is not my machine but it is SBC. then … he finally checks the Internet service … and … to his surprise … the Internet is down in my area … and … of course, he had no idea when it will be up again (turned out is was down for many hours).
this makes me want to shop around for a different DSL provider.
suggestion for SBC:
if the Internet is going down and you know about it, inform your customers so that they can plan something else non-internet related
if it goes down unexpectedly, you should inform customer service immediately. instead of me being on hold for 49 minutes and then dealing with a disbelieving customer service agent for another 14 minutes, all one has to do is recognize my number when i call and play a message “we recognize your phone number and we have determined that the Internet is down for you and we estimate it will be back up at 11:30 pm Pacific Time.” that … would solve everything …
——
2006 update:
i’m encouraging people to rate AT&T / SBC on Rapleaf.
rate AT&T at:
http://www.rapleaf.com/profile/Z7HlwtOO
this rates “support@sbcglobal.net”
—–
Speakeasy. Plain and simple. Best DSL i’ve ever had.
ive been a sbc customer for 5 months.i would like someone to tell me why,i”ll be on the internet doing whatever i want.and for 5 months i get disconnected sometimes every 2 or 3 minutes telling me cannot find server.this b…..s….. im tired of,i dont care what your doing on this computer looking at msnbc or browsing all the sudden your into something and bamm…would you like to reconnect.i”ll need a response to this problem or i will break a contract.ive tried customer service but like the guy above i to waited a very long time for a representive,only to brush me off saying its your computer.well i hope sbc customer service can get to my problem soon or i”ll go back to road runner.thanks
I too have had my share of problems with SBC. I have been an SBC customer for 19 yrs. I recently added a second line for my children. On my bill I had a charge for Yahoo dial up. Something I never requested or wanted. While trying to get the charges removed from my bill SBC disconnected my line. It took two weeks before the line got reconnected. When it finally did get reconnected they explained to me that the reason is was disconnected was because I went to another provider. I explained to them that I did not and have had the phone number for a couple of years. They reconnected my line with one problem. When I called anyone from that line the caller id displays YMCA Baundera. I have been trying to resolve this since Nov 2004. Numorous calls to Customer Service with gurantees that this issue would be resolved within a week. The most frustrating part of all this is that my spouse works for SBC.Today when you call from that line it will display YMCA Baundera even though when I call SBC they tell me that it displays correctly with my name. I know that my name is not YMCA Baundera or have any affiliation with them.
I have SBC DSL but this month I noticed that they had charged me twice for one month of DSL. Now I’m on hold trying to talk to ‘the next available representative’ about it, and I’ve been on hold for an HOUR.
I wonder, did everyone get this change this month? If I pay it, will I get one month in which I owe nothing for DSL? I doubt it.
I hate my SBC DSL. I paid $150 for a modem oever a year ago, a modem that NEVER worked. Been on the phone line for hours and many days to get it fixed. They then send a technician to fix it for free, but by the next day, it was not working. It works about 10 minutes, then I have to wait 5 mintues for it to come back on. Now SBC states I have to pay for a new modem. I never had a modem that worked in the first place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello,
Great site – Just one item I would love to add.
SBC SUCKS
my sbc service was order about a month ago and I have not been able to use it just yet. I need a tecnitian to come over and set it up dont try to tell me to call, I’ve try to do that already thankyou.
I have been without internet for about two weeks now and am tired of using my school as a resource. I am so tired of SBC and as soon as I am able to get out of my contract, I am gone. This is no exaggeration: it has taken me over 12 hours to get a replacement part from SBC and they have sent me the wrong part several times. I told them that I should be refunded for the days I have been without internet and they told me that the signal is going to my house and they have lived up to the contract agreement. I even spoke to a supervisor and she told me that there was nothing they could do because they are regulated by the FCC and cannot refund me. Their service agents are very belittling and all I have ever heard from them is “I’m sorry, but there is nothing we can do.” I am so tired of SBC and will not use them ever again. I don’t care if they are the only phone company left. I will switch completely to wireless –and I don’t mean Cingular Wireless which is owned by SBC. I have switched from Cingular to T-mobile just because of the poor service of both SBC and Cingular. In short, the best thing to do is to simply discontinue your involvement with the company when your contracts are up. This is the only way to get them to improve any time soon.
I had SBC phone service for all of two months last year until I finally got broadband internet ad could get voice over IP from vonage. During those two months, SBC charged me for DSL service- a service I never had and never ordered. After many many hours on the phone being transferred from one incompetant customer service rep to another- each one assuring me that yes, it was obvious I didn’t have DSL and the problem would be taken care of…I actually thought it was when I stopped hearing from them. But of course it wasn’t- SBC reported the “debt” for DSL service I never had to a collection agency, which reported it to my credit report and knocked 40 points off my credit score! At this point I am ready to sue them but am having one heck of a time trying to get an address for the legal department to send them a final demand letter.
SBC Has Terrible Customer Service
Terrible customer service — we’ve all been on the receiving end of that before, right? Someone…
I have had numerous problems with SBC Internet service. One of the frustrating things about SBC is that they outsource allot of their DSL customer service to India. These customer service agents are so scripted that you have sit through 10 minutes of poetic gibberish before you can even get to your problem. I think we all want a service that works and when it doesn’t a fast proactive solution to solving it.
sbc rules the world! even if you switch, you are still paying sbc for line access. hahahaha
SBC is a Ripp off !! they market their long distance phone calls for one price.. and they charge you another higher price. That’s Fraud. & Monopoly of telecomunications. . . Somebody is in Control and will do everything to keep this Company running at the top without letting the competition sink in.
Neck Smith
I have been waiting for my SBC Yahoo DSL rebate check since it was mailed out on Nov. 1 2005. It was sent to the wrong address after 7 trys to get them to put my mailing po box as my address failed. Another 6 attempts got my mailing address chaned one and a half months after the check was sent out. Now 18 calls leter, four failed attmepts to get supervisors to contact me and 6 failed attempts at getting a new check reissued, i am still waiting with no avail…..
I made a payment over the phone and i was debted twice for the same payment. now i have to wait five days for my money? you people don’t know what my situation is and for you to take my money like that is outragous
I’m having a great experience with SBC right now.
We had a bad storm about a month ago, after which the phone line was full of noise and internet service was flaky. DSL would totally drop out during rain.
So I called on Jan 11th, waited on hold, and reported my problem. Repairman called and asked about the details. I explained, never heard back.
Called again on the 21st, waited on hold, and reported my problem. Repairman called and asked about the details. I explained, never heard back.
Called again today, waited on hold for 30 minutes and reported my problem. Cust service person has a new twist this time. I’m supposed to go out and check something called a “Network Interface” box outside my house. If I can plug my phone directly into it and it’s fine, the problem is in my house. He says if the problem turns out to be in the house, there’ll be a fee of $30 to fix it.
Okay, I hang up and walk outside, I figure out which line is the phone, follow it along, there it goes into the wall. No Interface box. I go into the basement, there’s the line coming in, and I following it to an ancient transformer with an inspection sticker next to it from 1981.
So I call back, wait on hold for 30 minutes, get a different person, explain the situation, and ask if they can send a person out to install a “Network Interface” box, which I assume I’m *supposed* to have, since both customer service and the SBC webpage both say I need to check it.
Well, she says they can do that, but it’ll be at least $100 dollars for the visit.
WTF!!!
I was happy to see I am not the only customer totally and completely dissatisfied with SBC. I have been forced to be a customer since 1998, and have had more trouble with billing, switching phone numbers, incorrect charges, etc. Contacting them is impossible by phone or e-mail. In fact, I came upon this web site trying to find a mailing address to send a complaint letter!!
I will not waste anymore time writing. PLease add my name to the “constantly dissastisfied customer” list!!
Thank you
LMP-Sussex, WI
I have been waiting for the equipment rebate ($50.00) since installing my SBC Yahoo DSL in July, 2005. By Sept., 2005, I stopped waiting, and started calling — every month and have been told each time that the previous customer service representative didn’t take care of it, but THIS TIME, the representative assures me: (oh, yes they actually say it!) THE CHECK IS IN THE MAIL!
Here we are in February, 2006 and no, I have not yet received this rebate. Small though it is, it has become something of a “crusade” for me, wondering if there are others who are experiencing this same thing. My suspicion is that most people don’t follow up, and SBC pockets $50.00 a pop. That could add up to quite a bit of money for SBC.
This can’t be legal, can it?
I too like the rest have been waiting for my $50 rebate check. I sent my rebate in October 2005, called around the 8th and 10th week and was told that they have not processed my rebate yet. Called them back at 12 weeks and was told that thet never got it. They had told me to fax a copy of it in. I was steaming and told the sbc rebate rep I spoke with that I would’nt have to wait another 8 weeks for my rebate do I? He assured me that I should’nt have to. I just checked the status on the http://www.sbcdslrebate.com site and it says that my rebate has expired. I will try calling them again tomorrow to get some answers.
pretty amazing that so many people have had customer service problems with SBC. it seems all these phone companies continue to have massive customer service issues. i thought for a while that it was all large companies … but some Fortune 500 companies, like American Express, provide excellent customer care …
I to am having problems with the DSL rebate. They failed to send my equipment due to their error and yet since I received it with in my 90 day time frame they are telling me there is nothing they can do. However they say that if their mistake would have resulted in not receiving my equipment in the 90 day time frame, then they could do soemthing. All I asked for was the extension time for which was their mistake. Yet nothing. The first operator Brianna at ext. 20305 refused to even let me speak to a supervisor. She simply stated I know as much about this as they do. Wrong answer when you work in customer service! A $50.00 rebate is not going to break them. However if there are this many dissatisfied out there, and we were to move to a different carrier it could effect them. I would rather pay my $200.00 penalty than continue to pay them monthly. Knowing that I am not worthy of any better service than this! Researching the legal stand point of this, any info please respond.
Shawn Billeter\\ Edmond Ok.
No rebate and I wait and wait and finally I call and I was finally told that you have to send in the peel off coupon. I finally found it and went to the trouble to send it in and now they say, “oh you were a few days late (10) and your opportunity for rebate has expired…hog hockey! what a rip off..
Leonard Landingham
why I have not been sent by rebate
SBC sucks
My phone line went out of service, and they charged me $75 to put it back in service.
Now, phone line is out of service again, just 2 months after the previous outage. I don’t know, how much they will charge me this time.
I’m considering to move to other service provider
I have been waiting for my $49 rebate since Nov 2005. It’s now a family joke that I make my monthly call to SBC to find out about my rebate, so they can issue another check. I don’t believe I will ever get my rebate. I do like their DSL service, but I feel like I have been lied to on the rebate part. I sent them an angry email today, I doubt they will care.
where is my rebate check,
i have not got it yet.i need it thank you.
robert ruiz 559-589-9874
for the dsl modemof the amount 49.99.
I have comcast at home right now. Mostly its ok, except for the price. I’m openig an office in Detroit and have been lured by the propotional price of SBC. However, after reading the above SBC customer comments (thank you), it’s DEJA VUE. I remember SBC and AT&T. I had them both. Two of the worst (incompetant and dishonest) companies I had service with and now they joined forces, we can only imagine. I won’t make that mistake again, thank you.
I have similar experience w/ SBC/DSL after calling 3X and checking my rebate daily in SBCDSLREBATE as instructed. Everytime I called I was transferred between Rebate Department and Billing. I was assured that everything is well, until 5/5/2006 which is beyond the 10-12 wks advertised processing. I called rebate dept. and I was told that they never received my rebate form, and that 90 days has lapsed and was not eligible for rebate. I truly believed that they are determine not to give my rebate. They did not realize that they have not heard the last from me. I called California Public Utilities Commission (800) 649-7570 and filed a formal complain. Hopefully, I will get their attention and get my rebate.
I didnt read threw many of the blogs but I wanted to tell this account of what happened to me just today. I called to find out how you would be able to get a record of incoming calls if someone was harassing you, I got Sacrament customer service And a person named Lisa answered the call. In a sarcastic tone she answered my question, your caller ID. I answered back your caller ID can be erased, and then thers the blocked calls. So here I am getting abused by some one calling I dont even know, and try to get some information on how to find out who it is, and get abused by someone im paying money to for a service. That set me off I didnt cuss her in anyway but my tone went up by x10 I kept asking her full name she kept trying to go back to the incoming calls now, so I asked to speak to her supervisor, she kept trying to go to the incoming calls I insisted on speaking to her supervisor. She finally said ok Mr. Mean one moment. And kept putting me on hold. she returned a few times saying the supervisor had other calls. I told her I would wait. She finally came back on and said he would have to call me back he had other calls ahead of me. I asked for her name again, she said I had her name. I responded there could be 10 Lisa’s there she said no im the only one. So I hung up and called right back to see how busy the supervisor was. This time I was talking to a Tina. And I asked about talking to a supervisor with out going into what happened and she told me it depended there were hundreds of supervisors. She wasnt even in Sacramento she was in L.A. so I asked her how i could get in touch with the Sacramento office. She said hold on she would find out. I waited for close to 40 minutes before I finally gave up, with no answer at all. SBC is SON of a B!TCH CENTRAL daughters in these two cases. It was at 12 noon then its 3:30 now. Still no call from the Supervisor
Hi –
It took me over an hour of getting bounced around to get this URL, so I hope everyone here will use it and forward it on.
SBC link to report service abuse
help.sbcglobal.net/servabuse.php
I too have been given the runaround by SBC/AT&T DSL-equipment-rebate office and customer service staff. My original rebate form was “lost in the mail,” my fax might or might not have been received, and the deadline for my rebate apparently passed. After getting totally fed up with the idiot on the other end of the line in the DSL-equipment-rebate department, I recently called their regular customer service department and patiently re-explained everything. The woman on the other end of the phone put me on hold for a while and has (supposedly) now processed my rebate in the form of a $49.99 credit to my AT&T account. You should all call her and be sure to request to submit a formal complaint about your prior experiences (name: Sofia, employee ID#SS4281, tel# 1-888-767-8287). It is possible for them to look up complete records of your prior calls since they are all recorded. I am going to follow up to make sure that there are problems for the people in the rebate department who mis-treated me so egregiously.
I am also going to call AT&T’s corporate office in San Antonio (1-210-821-4105) and leave a message for the executive customer service folks about my experience (executive customer service – or something with a similar name – is the highest level of customer service staff in any company). The more people who do this, the greater the pressure will be for AT&T to reform its awful practices!
I had the problem with SBC not paying the rebate they owed me on a DSL modem. In the end, the only way I was able to secure my rebate is by calling the California Consumer Protection Agency, whose contact details can be found on your SBC bill. I spoke to the CCPA, they opened a case, gave me somebody at SBC to talk to, and the next thing I knew, my account had been credited the amount of the rebate. No check ever came from the rebate office. In fact, I don’t believe SBC has a rebate office that issues checks.
necesito saber cuando me envian el reeembolso de la contratacion de internet.
I have been waiting for my rebate since April 2006. First they told me that the post office sent it back for incorrect address. This is b.s. because their bills always arrive on time and without a problem!!! They state they were going to stop payment and resend it. Here it is 6 weeks later and they are telling me that the check was never stopped payment on by that department and for them JUST to find out why they have not done so. Thats not including to have it stopped and reissued. So now I have to call in 3 “business” weeks which means 4 weeks just to find out what happened. Does anybody know a good class action lawyer????
HERE IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE:
“CompuServe Rebate Case. Defense of class action in New Jersey state court alleging consumer fraud based upon CompuServe’s rebate program in which it provided a rebate against the purchase of a new computer for customers who agreed to subscribe to CompuServe for three years at premium rates. Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP won a non-binding arbitration of the matter and then achieved a very nationwide settlement of the claim.”
SBC SUCKKKKKKS.
my modem always sucked since we got it 3 years ago, and i called awhile back and they gave me some bullshit excuse that it was my computer.
Now, im living back at my parent’s place, and i just could not take the frequent disconnections occuring with our internet. I called up SBC again, and they gave me some more bullshit – that I should put in new dsl filters, get a technician over for $60.00 possibly pay for new modem. I went ahead and went to best buy to buy myself a new modem without going through the technician, and wa lah! it works now. I was so angry at their terrible customer service, if there was a inexpensive alternative to sbc dsl, i’d definitely switch!
Boy I wished i had seen this web site before ordering SBC Yahoo DSL.
I knew somthing was fishy when I looked the the rebate form. It was is small and thin (think insert for one of those “I want more info please” cards out of a magazine).
I just knew in my gut that this was a set up. I still trusted them and did everything as instructed.
Guess what, after not seeing my info in the system I called and was told that the rebate term expired. Let’s see, they ask you to be patient for “10 – 12 weeks” and dont worry if you don’t see any record of it in our system “Just check back in 5 – 7 days” it’s just long enough for it to expire. Then its sorry charlie there is nothing we can do (except laugh and chalk up another sucker).
WHAT A GIGANTIC SCAM.
This require a class action lawsuit. There isin’t any post card on the face of the planet any smaller and thinner than the one supplied. The kicker is that you hafta use it. No photocopies or exceptions. Why couldn’t it be done online upon activation?
I know why, shhhh “It’s a scam”.
Thanks for the advise. I will contact legal representation and file complaints with any and all of the appropriate government agencies. Enough is enough.
want to know why your dsl is down? Take a look at this issue I dealt with with SBC:
http://www.thegreatpuma.com/phone/idiots.htm
I’ve had SBC for a while now and now everyday from 9-10:30 the internet connection disconnects. I call them and they just say wait. This is really starting to make me mad. Why in the world do they spend all these money in these crappy commercials on TV when they can IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND INTERNET PROVIDED.
I went through much trouble trying to get the AT&T High Speed Internet Equipment Rebate, in some sense and perhaps completely to no avail.
I ordered service in late June 2006, sent in the form in late August (postmark within 90 days after order), and didn’t hear or receive anything.
I initially called in January 2007, then in March, April, May, and June.
I was first told that my card was received on time, but put with the wrong account. That may be correct, but only I have my phone number, so I’m not sure how that happened.
I then heard a variety of excuses for not getting my rebate: I never paid for the modem, I was already reimbursed the 50 dollars, I no longer have that modem, and I was not under a required contract. Those were all false.
After three escalations, I was told the rebate department could do no more and I was told to call the AT&T customer service number.
As I was put on hold, the AT&T representative was also put on hold as she talked to the rebate department, which it turns out is separate from AT&T.
She agreed to credit my account $49.99, but that means AT&T has to bite that bullet.
The rebate department offered to escalate my claim again, but after three failures, would success have resulted? Doubtful.
The lesson: send rebates in promptly, follow up promptly, and make sure the group has no reason to deny you, though as this shows, even that may not be enough.
I am so fed up with SBC and AT & T and now Yahoo. I am still waiting on my rebate as well. According to the web page the check was mailed July 2007. Which I haven’t received yet. I am fed and I feel all customers should file a class action lawsuit against SBC for fraud. Something needs to be done about big business taking advantage of its customers. There isn’t much customers can do, but file a lawsuit. I am.