I was in shock today when dealing with the reps from Surewest.com, first of all I had a bill in my hand that said due date of 3-2-2011 and decided to pay most of it today, made the payment online and then within hours my cable was turned off. I called and asked why in Earth they had shut my cable off when it wasn't due until the second of March and they sounded surprised too, then was told I would be charged a restoration fee because even though I made my payment today it may take 48 hours to process so I am being penalized because their bill pay system takes 2 days and even if that is the case the payment wasn't due until 3-2-11 I am so mad that I switched from Comcast, it has been one problem after another, they missed my first appt to install my internet and cable, they always charge me more than we originally agreed upon and they are really pissing me off by not giving the service they promised, not keeping appointment times and on top of that turning off my cable 3 days before its due...good thing my internet stayed on so I could share this AWESOME review of their crappy service.

A work crew accidentally cut through my cable tv/internet/phone lines a few days ago and I called to have the lines restored by Surewest, my provider. The customer service rep immediately told me they could restore my phone and internet but not tv, because I was not paying for tv service. I insisted I had signed a contract with them 3 years ago for all three services and have been receiving them since, although I admitted I don't itemize my monthly bills. I just pay them. He insisted I should look at an old bill. I did and saw he was correct, tv wasn't listed. But why was I receiving service? He didn't know but scheduled the lines to be restored and got off the phone. He never offered me tv service, which is what I had thought I was paying for all along. He additionally insinuated I shouldn't say anything when the person came to fix the line, because maybe I would find I still had tv service. The whole interaction had a heavy tone of reference that I was somehow a thief of services I was not paying for, and presumably should have known all along.

The next day my internet and phone were restored, but not my tv... which I had not been paying for and technically shouldn't be still on.

So, Monday I called to find out the price for tv service to be added. The rep quoted a price and then gave dead silence on the phone. I asked if he was joking. There isn't a bundle price for an existing customer? This is twice what the competitor offers. He transfered me to someone else. The next person quoted a HIGHER price than the first and said no there isn't a bundle price, I'm paying more than the competing service because I will receive better customer service. Well, if this is the case, where was my customer service when my line was cut and I was talked to like a thief? Where was someone to suggest I keep my tv service but now pay for it? That is poor service, if you ask me. It's horrible to be a customer for years and then one day be told you are having service cut, that you didn't pay for it in the first place, and having the company NEVER refernce that it was THEIR error, not mine. I insist she pull my call and review it from when I first called in and stated I wouldn't add tv service for such an outrageous price if the company isn't even willing to try to fix what was done poorly by their staff over the prior days. That evening I also sent an email of complaint to customer service.

Today I got a call from their office. The person started by saying they reviewed the call and the intital rep I spoke with did nothing wrong, handled things by the book. They asked what I still wanted. At one point the person even referenced that I had been receiving over $1200 in services free of charge for the past few years. This made me boil over! I don't know of any single parents who have time to work, live life, raise children, and then sit and itemize bills like that. I have the service, I pay my bills, if the service goes out I call. Why did they bother to review the phone call and call me if they are only going to insist that they have done everything correct in this situation? Why tell me the dollar amount of service I received if they accept that I was not in error?

Bottom line... They kept my service on and never drove a truck through my area to turn it off. I deserve an apology for their error over the years which led me to believe I was a tv customer. I deserve an apology from the customer service rep who thought it more important to insist I find an old bill, insist I never had paid for the service, and not have a shred of compassion or care in how they talked to me... someone who now didn't even have telephone service. I also deserve apology for the rude manager who thought it more important to defend her staff and her company than to keep a customer or try to make me feel better about the whole interaction. I didn't expect a superb deal necessarily, but I did expect someone... anyone I interacted with on the phone to care about keeping me as a customer and stop treating me like a deadbeat who stole cable.

To be fair, I wrongly ended the call/series of interactions by cussing out the last rep on the phone. I shouldn't have done so. But her quoting the dollar amount of services her company gave me and received no payment for... well, that just set me over the top. I could not believe that this was the person they were sending in to FIX this whole matter.

Surewest is losing my business over this and if keeping a strong stance on such things and making the customer feel wrong is important, I would guess they will lose many more customers other than just me. Bottomline after all this... I do not see any functional reason to pay more for the same service 3 other companies can provide, if I'm not even receiving customer care that is top notch. Forget it. I'll save my money, pay for cheaper service and an automated system, and use my savings somewhere more important in my life.

SureWest was my local provider for phone, internet and cable. I had signed a contract with them to provide me these services. When I bought a new house and was moving, I called them to see if they provided service in my new area (same town) and they said they did not. They canceled my subscription (at my request), said they were sorry to lose me as a customer and told me where to drop off the cable equipment.

I was told the drop off was open on Saturday and Sunday and given the hours. I went on a Sunday within the hours I was told and the place was closed. There was a sign that said 'Closed Sundays'. I had to return on a Saturday to drop off the equipment and was told that the phone support is open but not the drop off. The woman apologized for my time.

My main complaint, however, is that I shortly received a bill from SureWest and was charged for 'early termination' of my contract... I called the SureWest office and explained that they did not provide service in my area so how could I continue with their services?? I also said that I was not told of the early termination when I canceled. Of course, I wouldn't have sold my new house so I could move back into their area... It just seemed illegal to hold someone to a contract when they move and the service is not provided in the new area. The customer service rep told me she would check with a supervisor and call me back later with the answer. I was called back shortly and was told that I had signed a contract and they had a right to charge an early termination fee even if I had moved to an area where they do not provide service.

So, rather than face collection charges, I went ahead and paid the bill. I also told them I would let anyone and everyone know what a ripoff the early termination fee was... so here I am.