Unbridled greed spurs societal collapse.

Most Faithful Readers,

The CenturyLink trilogy ends here (see part one, CenturyLink Triggers My PTSD, and part two, CenturyLink is Damned, posted earlier in this blog). 

I received this bill and that is when I knew:

CenturyLink, I don’t need you!

And here’s what else is true:

They sold me a modem, they charged me an installation fee, and my monthly charge went from $59.00/month to $79.00/month (minus the sweetheart deal of $10 off/month for 12 months for being a loyal customer) when all I asked for was (1) the first name on the account to be changed from Gunda to Marie and (2) the sweetheart deal they promised.  How can you give a Loyal Customer Credit on an allegedly new account? They even charged $5.00 for the name change.  This now $296.09 bill is in addition to the previous bill of $219.08 I paid just 16 days before, which equals $515.17!

I used my comcast.net email to email CenturyLink and let them know that they charged me $219.08 to cancel a service I never ordered.  Further, I cancelled within the first 30 days, in accordance with their cancellation policy.  I received a response on March 16, 2017, stating that my account has been credited in full.  However, I have not received even a single penny back from CenturyLink as of April 3, 2017. 

I cancelled all of CenturyLink’s services to my address, both by email and phone call, and within the 30-day guarantee period.  They promised to send me a mailing label to return the modem they sold me without my consent, but I have yet to receive anything but bills from CenturyLink.  [Note added later in the day on April 3, 2017:  I finally received the return packet for the CenturyLink High-Speed Internet equipment.  Now I have to mail the equipment back and hope I get my $99.99 back someday for that.]  [Note added on April 22, 2017:  I received a check from CenturyLink for $219.08 in an envelope postmarked April 11, 2017.  I tracked the receipt of the modem, which was successfully delivered on April 6, 2017.  I am still waiting for the refund for the modem and additional unused services.]  [Note added May 11, 2017:  I received a check for $47.03 from CenturyLink, dated April 17, 2017, in an envelope that was postmarked May 2, 2017.  This is a credit for account # 303 936-  647, but I have no idea which part of the erroneous $296.09 bill this is a reimbursement for.  An 800 number is listed on the check stub for any questions.]

Monopolies are forbidden because absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I am publishing this story online by tethering my computer to my T-Mobile cell phone service.  So cool!  And as you can read, it works, too!

I love you!

Note added March 31, 2021:  A class action lawsuit involving the billing practices of Century Link has resulted in a $15.5 million Settlement fund. I received $464.17. I wonder how much the lawyers got paid? The lawyers probably made more per hour than my total amount. I wonder how critical my documentation was to the case? Judging by the timing of the webpage usage statistics for this blog post, I would guess that all my work here was critical for at least one attorney. I would even speculate that it was my documentation that enabled the class action lawsuit in the first place. This just shows how these big corporations are allowed by our legal system to inflict huge amounts of pain and suffering without any fear of retaliation. It needs to end. Another victim of Century Link billing practices was taking a dance class with me at the community center when she had a similar experience. She was extremely upset one evening because she was unexpectedly charged hundreds of dollars she could not pay and Century Link turned her over to a collection agency. She had to go to court without a lawyer because she couldn’t afford one. She could not dance or stop crying one evening when she told me the story, even though she loves to dance and dance was her release from a horrible job.