To whom it may concern;
My desire & prayer to anyone reading this is that they would NEVER consider Bell as their service provider for anything they offer... Let me explain why..
In February, 2010 I cancelled my Internet service with them as well as my Express-Vu (satellite) service. I paid off whatever was left over on my invoice, & in March 2010 I switched to a different company who provided better quality service. I was NOT under any contracts with Bell, so my termination of services with them did not incur any additional charges. Everything appeared to have gone smooth until today (February 22nd, 2011) almost exactly 1 year later since I cancelled my Bell services. I made a call in the morning to the Bell office, wanting to use them as my Internet service/ ISP provider. The customer service representative took all of my information & happily completed my request to have me signed up for an activation of Internet service starting on March 1st, 2011. As he confirmed my order, he mentioned before they can complete the installation on my order I would have to call an 800 # so they can approve my installation. I said -OK- that is strange.. Immediately after his instructions I called the number he provided, & to my shocking surprise the number I dialed was a collections agency number for Bell. The lady who answered the phone asked me for my info & claims I owe Bell $800.00 for Internet & Bell Express-Vu (satellite) service. She was EXTREMELY rude on the phone with me & she kept on INSISTING & DEMANDING that I give her my credit card number to clear up the outstanding balance. I tried to (very politely & calmly) explain to her that this is the first time ever I am being informed of an outstanding balance to Bell, & I needed an explanation of HOW is it exactly that I 'owe' this $800.00 balance?! I explained that I never once until today received a letter, an invoice or a phone call from anyone at any point which indicated I have an outstanding balance with Bell. She called me a liar, said "I am not Bell, I am a collections agency for Bell, I need your information--how will you be making the payment?" I then asked her do you give your credit card number to complete strangers on the phone because they tell you they want $800.00 without ANY indication/proof of ANY KIND for what it is they are being billed for exactly?! She was above & beyond ignorant, severely lacking communication skills & only continued to show more & more ignorance with aggression towards me. When I requested to speak with her manager or supervisor--she denied the request by saying "I am the supervisor & the manager, you can only talk to me" I insisted on speaking to a manager & she placed me on hold, came back 2 minutes later & asked me what my credit card number is? I then called back the collections number 10 minutes later in hopes of getting someone with some degree of communication skills so I can get more information on this 'outstanding balance', but I got her again! Surprise--she was even more rude this time. After that VERY unpleasant experience I called Bell's billing department & inquired about the alleged $800.00 'outstanding' balance I have with them. After 2.5 hours of phone conversation with a number of transfers from one department to another & investigation of my teaching them how to look at the notes on their own accounts, finally they reached a conclusion; Evidently my service was NEVER cancelled when I made the request to cancel it 1 year ago, in February, 2010. They continued to bill me for services I was not receiving for 5-6 months AFTER I CANCELLED. They never ever ever in any way shape or form contacted me for an entire year to advise me that I had an outstanding active account. Not a single bill was ever mailed to my house, not a letter or a phone call received. My equipment (Bell modem + satellite receiver) were returned to Bell shortly after I cancelled my account with them. They can actually see that there was never any bandwidth used during the time they billed me for service I was NOT receiving & had CANCELLED over a year ago, but that does not stop them from wanting to bill me.. Oh no. No notes on the account indicate that I ever even called in to cancel my services with them in February, 2010--but in fact according to them the notes indicate quite the opposite-apparently I accepted a 'save offer' which dropped my Internet price down by $10.00 a month instead!! To try & make this insanely frustrating experience short-and on point- for the love of God people PLEASE record every conversation/ service change / transaction you make with Bell. They are nothing but scam artists & pathological liars who don't have the slightest clue about what customer service is, & I firmly believe that if they were to read the definition of "customer service" in the dictionary every night for 10 years straight they would learn in the end that it is defined as a drive to push people over the edge with uncontrollable irrational thinking & conclusive thought patterns that lead to a greater abundance of irrational thinking on their part. Trust me people, to them 1+1=$800.00. Not 2.
In short, after SO much wasted time-I will be filing a police report against Bell for frauding me & billing me for services I cancelled and never received. If anyone has any questions please feel free to comment and I will do my best to reply to everyone. I hope what I have shared here today will HELP people be much more cautious & informed when dealing with BELL a.k.a HELL.
P.S. The only notice to date I ever got from bell since cancelling my services with them in February 2010, was a letter asking me to return their equipment--which I did, and they have that on file-yet they still manage to charge/bill me for breathing air in my own house after I cancelled my account with them.
I HATE THIS COMPANY with a passion & will in my spare time over time make an effort to create a web-site contributed to my experience with them that accurately express every frustrating detail of them wasting my valuable time on absolute & illogical greedy nonsense.