Hello again fred78-ga,
I’m sorry to hear that you are having trouble getting satisfaction
from SBC Communications. Unfortunately, you are not alone. My research
shows that in the past few years complaints about the telephone
companies have been increasing. I also found lots of reports of
individual customers being dissatisfied with SBC along with many class
action suits against this company.
I’ve organized the results of my research so that you can review how
others have dealt with trying to get their problems resolved with SBC.
I’ve included links to discussion boards and organizations that are
involved with consumer protection and specific instructions on how to
file formal complaints if you can’t get satisfactory resolution of
your concerns from SBC. I’ve also provided samples of the press
coverage for the class action activity against SBC.
I hope that all the background information I’ve collected will help
you develop a strategy for getting better service from SBC.
Wishing you success.
czh
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HOW TO CANCEL SBC DSL SERVICE
=============================
http://www.sbc.com/residential_customers
SBC Residential Customer Portal
http://www02.sbc.com/DSL
SBC Yahoo! DSL Home
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/sbc/dsl/premium/premium-05.html
What happens to my SBC Yahoo! Premium Services if I cancel my SBC
Yahoo! DSL service?
The information is summarized in the SBC Yahoo! Terms of Service,
which was presented during the installation of the SBC Yahoo! DSL
Service and accepted by the you.
http://sbc.yahoo.com/terms/
SBC Yahoo! Terms of Service
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http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,7916212~root=ilec,swbell~mode=flat
Cancel SBC DSL contract
***** This is a very recent discussion thread that discusses problems
that seem very similar to yours.
-------------------------------
http://www.bensbargains.net/ktalk/1044187322,97979,.shtml
SBC Yahoo! DSL 1.5Mbps for $40/month from SBC Communications
***** This is another discussion board that presents ideas about how
to deal with SBC when you want to cancel your DSL and get out of your
contract.
=================================
INDIVIDUALS COMPLAINING ABOUT SBC
=================================
http://www.planetfeedback.com/sharedLettersResults/1,2933,,00.html
http://www.planetfeedback.com/consumer/
PlanetFeedback (Intelliseek)
Shared Letters
***** This is a service that collects feedback (Complaint – Compliment
– Feedback - Suggestion) from consumers. You can search for a company
and see what feedback others have posted under the Shared Letters
section of the website.
http://www.planetfeedback.com/sharedLettersList/0,2941,104608-97-0-0-20-0-fb_date-desc,00.html
When I searched for SBC I got 6 matches for various organizations
under the SBC corporate umbrella. Clicking on SBC Communications
results in 124 feedback items. Most of them are complaints and many of
the complaints are about SBC DSL. You can read through these letters
to see how your experience compares with that of others and use them
for composing your complaint letter.
---------------------------
http://www.ratethis.com/dslbash.htm
WARNING!! THE FOLLOWING MY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR DSL EXPECTATIONS. :-)
Reporting DSL trouble to PacBell is a two step process: 1) Call
maintenance @ 1-888-900-9933 and report the outage. They give you a
ticket number for YOU to give tech support. Average wait time before
you talk to someone 45 minutes, if you get to talk to someone. This is
the number that sends you to a full mailbox after your on hold for an
hour.
2) Call tech support @ 1-800-506-2599 and give them the ticket number
to start the work. Average wait time 45 minutes. Not as often, but you
get a full mailbox with this number too.
-------------------------------
http://www.newsmediaconnection.com/sbc.htm
CONSUMER TAKES SBC-PAC BELL TO COURT
OVER 6-WEEK DSL NIGHTMARE AND WINS
Small Claims Case Based on Negligence of Untrained Technicians,
Repeated Shipments of the Wrong Equipment, and Incorrect Billing
Today SBC-PacBell may want all the good PR it can get to promote its
recent PUC-approved new long distance service. But now SBC faces a
hard-fought win in Small Claims Court in Oakland by a consumer who
went to court, after her claim for damages due to a nightmarish
wireless-DSL installation was lost, delayed, and eventually turned
down.
Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D., a writer and business consultant, just won
in full on her suit against SBC, Pacific Bell, SBC Advanced Solutions,
and Ameritech for $3200 plus costs, decided on December 16 by Judge
Winton McKibben. Scott received her check the day before the appeals
period ended January 16.
http://www.giniscott.com
-----------------------------
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,7754033~root=sinbin~mode=flat
Forums » Broadband Discussions » Rants Raves and Praise
SBC DSL Customer Support Is Worst In Industry
==================
HOW TO TAKE ACTION
==================
http://www.patheticbell.com/
PacBell DSL Customers: Fight Back!
While the main focus of this site is to expose pathetic, Pacific
Bell's over-marketing, over-promoting, over-promising and
under-delivery on DSL, it is open to all complaints.
File formal complaints with the Public Utilities Commission, the FCC,
and Federal Trade Commission.
Test your DSL line to see if you have the speeds PacBell promised.
Take legal action.
Express yourself in chat and public forums.
http://www.patheticbell.com/filecomplaint.shtml
How to File Complaints
----------------------------
http://www.ucan.org/
Utility Consumers Action Network
------------------------------
http://www.turn.org/
The Utility Reform Network
Experiencing problems with your telephone, electric or gas service?
Use this site to file a complaint with the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the
regulatory agencies that oversee your utility services.
***** The site offers full instruction on how to direct your complaint
and provides the necessary forms.
======================================================
GENERAL PUBLIC AND CLASS ACTION COMPLAINTS AGAINST SBC
======================================================
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/techcorporatenews/2003-07-31-complaints_x.htm
7/31/2003
Phone bill gripes ring off the hook
Consumer complaints about phone bills have soared in the past year
amid industry cost cuts and intense competition.
Phone company billing complaints jumped 5,523 in the first three
months of 2003, up 65% from a year earlier, the Federal Communications
Commission says. Also, phone bill complaints make up a much larger
portion of submissions to consumer site PlanetFeedback.com than in
2001, it says.
SBC says it spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year to improve
billing. In some states, it has simplified bills. It is hiring more
people to resolve disputes that arise when other companies, such as a
long-distance carrier, put charges on the SBC bills that go to
customers.
-------------------------
http://www.isp-planet.com/news/2002/cpuc_020211.html
February 11, 2002
California PUC Investigating Pac Bell
DSL customers could get major refunds if the state PUC probe finds the
local ILEC under reported consumer complaints of overcharges.
Overcharging by telcos is known as "cramming."
--------------------------
http://www.isp-planet.com/technology/dsl_prime/2002/prime_letter_020205_pucs.html
February 5, 2002
DSL Prime: PUCs Strike Back at Empires
Across the United States, Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) are
beginning to fine and regulate the baby bells, who are accustomed to
flouting the law and not paying for crimes.
Another false claim?
SBC has just been fined $25M for deceiving customers in California,
and $6M by the FCC for making false filings and then trying to cover
them up.
---------------------------------
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-832794.html
February 8, 2002
Probe launched into Pac Bell DSL flap
update A California regulatory agency is investigating whether SBC
Pacific Bell overbilled customers of its broadband services.
The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) said Thursday that it
has opened an investigation into charges that Pacific Bell--owned by
SBC Communications--overbilled customers for DSL (digital subscriber
line) and other services.
---------------------------
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-872932.html
April 1, 2002
State commission takes on DSL troubles
Dissatisfied DSL customers in California now have a state authority to
turn to.
The California Public Utilities Commission announced last week that it
will take regulatory oversight for high-speed DSL (digital subscriber
line) Internet services in the state. The decision is seen as a small
win for consumers who have suffered through service failures, high
prices and other frustrations from companies including BellSouth and
Verizon Communications.
------------------------
http://www.isp-planet.com/news/2002/cpuc_020211.html
February 11, 2002 -- California PUC Investigating Pac Bell
DSL customers could get major refunds if the state PUC probe finds the
local ILEC under reported consumer complaints of overcharges.
Overcharging by telcos is known as "cramming."
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Friday says it will
investigate claims that Pacific Bell under
---------------------------
http://www.ucan.org/law_policy/teledocs/dslpr.htm
April 25, 2002
Watchdog says SBC/Pacific Bell cover-up could cost it more than $100
million in penalties
700-page report documents rampant bill errors and internal cover-up of
problems in high-speed DSL service
Today, the Utility Consumers Action Network (UCAN) released a 700-page
report that details the nightmarish ordeals faced by consumers and
Pacific Bell employees in the sale and billing of Pacific Bell/SBC’s
high-speed DSL service. UCAN estimates that over 100,000 Pacific
Bell/SBC customers may have been harmed in 2001.
------------------------------
http://www.ucan.org/law_policy/telecom.html
Pacific Bell/SBC DSL Billing Abuses: On January 6, 2002, UCAN filed
a complaint against Pacific Bell/SBC alleging a series of billing
abuses of its DSL customers . On July 3rd, UCAN finalized a
settlement of its complaint in an Agreeement that was filed on that
day.
To review the details of the Settlement, click here.
http://www.ucan.org/law_policy/teledocs/DSLsettlement.htm
-----------------------------
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m3535/28_23/89394677/p1/article.jhtml?term=class+action+lawsuit
July 15, 2002
Pac Bell settles suit on DSL gripes.(Pacific Bell settles consumer
class action lawsuit)(Brief Article)
SBC Communications Inc.'s Pacific Bell unit has agreed to pay
California a $27 million fine to end a lawsuit filed by consumers over
billing errors for its digital subscriber line service.
United Consumer Action Network of San Diego sued Pac Bell for faulty
service on behalf of thousands of the telco's estimated 800,000
customers. The dispute was turned over to the state's Public Utilities
Commission, which helped negotiate the settlement.
-----------------------------
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/static/announcements/announcements+archive/settlement+agreement+takes+effect.htm
September 30, 2002 PUC: 90 Docket #: I.02-01-024
Media Contact: PUC Press Office – 415.703.1366 – news@cpuc.ca.gov
PUC JUDGE APPROVES SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH PACIFIC BELL AND
SUBSIDIARIES OVER DSL SERVICE
An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) for the California Public Utilities
Commission (PUC) late last week approved a settlement agreement with
Pacific Bell Telephone Company (Pacific Bell), Pacific Bell Internet
Services (PBI), and SBC Advanced Solutions, Inc. (ASI) that includes a
$27 million fine for admitted wrongdoing concerning the companies'
billing for Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service.
--------------------------------
http://telephonyonline.com/ar/telecom_states_start_pushing/
Telephony, Apr 8, 2002
STATES START PUSHING BACK IN DSL REGULATORY SCUFFLE
Subscriber complaints, FCC changes lead to PUC involvement
Recent actions by public utility commissions in Ohio and California
signal that state regulatory bodies are taking the reins of DSL
regulation in response to the FCC's laissez faire approach.
Since the start of 2002, both the California and Ohio PUCs have
returned rulings that, if unchallenged, will give the state
commissions significantly greater say over DSL regulation.
-----------------------------------
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,43202,00.asp
March 01, 2001
DSL Lawsuits Multiply in California
Local carrier Pacific Bell sued over promotional practices, hookup
delays.
Dominant California local carrier Pacific Bell is battling at least
three class-action lawsuits over its mass-market digital subscriber
line offerings, part of a coast-to-coast wave of disgust over DSL
promotional practices.
---------------------------------
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/news/7oys/082803_7oys_sbc_dsl.html
SBC Settles With Thousands Of Consumers
Aug. 28, 2003 — Thousands of consumers who've subscribed to SBC's DSL
service may be getting a refund.
SBC has agreed to a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit.
That lawsuit accused the company of misleading its customers about the
speed and accessibility of its Internet service.
Current customers could get up to two months of free service and
former customers up to $20.
=======================
SBC PERFORMANCE RECORDS
=======================
http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/mcot/SBC_AIT/
SBC/Ameritech Merger Compliance
The Commission staff has established a team composed of members of the
Common Carrier Bureau and the Enforcement Bureau to monitor SBC's
compliance with the conditions associated with its recent merger with
Ameritech.
***** This site offers a variety of reports including Service Quality
Reports
---------------------------
http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/mcot/SBC_AIT/service_quality/CU1.pdf
SBC Service Quality – Customer Complaints per 1 Million Lines
***** This page shows a graph for each state where SBC has operations
reflecting both business and residential level of complaints for July
1999 to May 2001
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SEARCH STRATEGY
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