Complain about a product or service

Qwest Billing and Credit

Nancy of Ivins UT (08/28/08)
I am retired from Qwest and I have had service with them for over 40 years (US West and Mountain Bell)I decides to get their internet service when they offered a lifetime plan for 26 dollars per month. My billing has been a nightmare since then. They bill mr double then I get it strait a few months go by then they bill me double again. They say they are billing me a month in advance and catching me up, but they have done this 4 times. Plus when they do this cath up, I dont get the 26 dollar price I contracted for, they charge me 44 dollars.

I am retired and a cancer patient I do not need this stress. I am on a very fixed income and to have an 80 dollar bill come when you are expecting one for 28 is really bad. I cant just not pay it, it comes right out of my checking account.

Marlene of Tucson AZ (08/25/08)
I had service with Qwest that included phone, Direct Tv, broadband. I called April 10 to rqueste that my broadband be discontinued but was told that I had committed to a contract and that if I broke the contract that I would have to pay a 200.00 fee. I agreed to Pay and told them to discontinue all my services as of the 15th of April. I have spoken with several persons to close the account and send me a final bill as to the balance since payments had been made but not applied to my account they have turned the account over to collections stating that I owe but they can't send me a bill with the actuate balance, they are saying that I still have a balance of 211.00. They split the account into 2 accounts and left one account open and charged me for 2 months before closing it leaving a balance of 64.05.

the account is still in collections for 211.00

Yvonne of Seattle WA (08/20/08)
I have had Qwest Broadband with MSFT since 2003. Through the years Qwest has contacted me to upgrade, etc, with no explanation that I was locking into a new contract with a termination charge due to disconnecting early.

I disconnected two months early of two years since the most recent bundle and upgrade and got charged $200. Shameful. There's no loyalty to a customer who collectively has been with them for 17 years of Qwest/USWest service. Never again in my life will I use them. Never!

While moving to a temporary location was not desired, I get penalized when expenses are already great in the current economic climate.

Kim of Cedar Rapids IA (08/07/08)
I contacted QWest to add the Anonymous Call Rejection feature to my line, so I could prevent incoming calls from blocked callers. I initially dealt with them via their website chat feature,where I spoke with representative David H. He explained that this feature is free by either subscribing to Caller ID or Last Call Return. Since last call return was half the price, I went with that. Throughout the course of a very long- due to delays in his answering- chat, we determined it is available to me, how it works, and what the monthly fee would be and whether or not there was an installation charge. He assured me it would be working by 8 a.m the following day, and if not to contact the repair number.

I waited till mid afternoon the following day and when I tried to activate the feature on my line, I got a rapid busy signal, indicating it was not working. I called repair, as instructed, and a rather snippy woman there informed me the feature was not available to me, therefore nothing was broken for them to repair. I asked why a person in their Customer Service would sell me something unavailable and lie to me about it. her reply? They do that all the time! They get people to take services that aren't available and then those people think we can help them.

So I called back into Customer Service and I tried to summarize what happened. This women interrupted me and said It's not available with Last Call Return! She was very hostile. I said Listen- I am sitting here looking at YOUR WEBSITE where it specifically says it IS free with Last Call Return.... and before I could continue she interrupted again and said I don't really give a [expletive] what the website says! I then requested a supervisor and she said they are all in meetings all day! So I demanded to speak to whoever was in charge - and she hung up on me.

I was employed by Qwest back when it was USWest, and worked for them for 10 years. I have seen poor customer service firsthand and I know that quality enforcement is LAX! Not only was I employed there- my father retired from there and my families history - from my grandfather to grandmother, to greatgrandfather has been with the Bell System! If anyone should be a dyed in the wool fan- it is me! And yet, I think I am switching to another provider, because although I can accept mistakes and delays- rudeness and this level of ineptness and passing the buck is not what I deserve as a customer - and it is NOT what I provided when I was employed there.

Jl of Bloomington MN (08/04/08)
After going on line to view my past month's billing and credits, I discovered that the forms were not available. According to their customer service, there is suppose to be 18 months of records available. I e-mailed the problem with no resolution. I called the customer service department which transferred me to credit department which said that it would have my papers available for me on Monday (it was Friday) and that someone would be able to fax them to me as soon as I called in for them.

Today (Monday) I call in and no one knows anything--and no one will send anything. A person who claimed to be a manager refused to even mail them out to me unless I approved a $5 a copy charge. I explained that I was not going to pay for something that was suppose to be provided for free on the internet. The entire crew at Qwest was rude and arrogant and kept telling me to be quiet and that they weren't going to talk to me until I stopped talking. When I stopped talking, no one said anything--as soon as I asked them to talk to another manager, they told me that I was interupting them again and that they were not going to talk to me any further.

How can you deal with people who can't even type a letter and are not authorized to act. Qwest has about the WORST customer service of any company I have EVER spoken to. I spoke to many creditors on Friday and I must say that all others were especially nice to me and very cooperative. I was able to obtain the information I needed (maybe not as fast as I'd like) in a very friendly, respectful manner that is totally lacking in the Qwest culture.

I may not be able to apply for special treatments due to this negligence. My husband and I are also seeking approval on a loan for a new home (closer to where I can receive treatments of choice).

David of Phoenix AZ (07/23/08)
The problem began back in February 2008. I had been late with a wireless bill, which I was finally able to pay but not before my service was disconnected. On reporting my full payment, service was restored, but now was activated as a new account (but same wireless number). I recieved a credit, which was applied to subsequent billing.

Now, just this past month, I ran into some financial issues again and was unfortunately late with payment. I had a service interruption, and in contacting a Qwest representative immediatly was informed of the past due amount, which is reflected on my bill .Today I paid that amount (which was also reflected on my current billing) and reported it with the belief that that would restore my service (I was told this by two different Qwest representatives).

I was told today that I owed a deactivation fee of $200+dollars for the OLD account and serviceon the current account could not be restored until it was paid. In my contact with Qwest the past 2 weeks I was NEVER told of this effecting my reactivation, and it is not in fact reflected on my CURRENT billing. I take full responsibility for any monies I legitamately owe, it just seems like a very underhanded way to conduct business.

In frustration I called Qwest financial services today, and the representative even tried to get that 'deactivation' fee taken off (he considered it in his opinion to also be unecessary). But, they would not budge. Now, I have to cough up an ADDITIONAL $200, even though I have satisfied the past due amount that caused the interruption in the first place.

This is the number I use for business (I am self-employed). It has been a very rough summer in the first place (causing me to fall a little behind anyway), but this makes it more problematic for my students to contact me. Had I been informed that this would figure into my current account, it would be differnet. I am disgusted with Qwest, and I will also be filing a report with the Better Business Bureau. Thank you for your time!

Jacques of Mesa AZ (07/02/08)
Been over charge atleast since the last 10 mounth from Qwest Wireless for internet access do not even use the voice mail and they have used a 3rd billing from ESBI for residential email for a total charge of $234.55,,,, when I call them it was from 1 operator to as many of 6 differrent people to tell me they dont have to ask me if I deal with a 3rd party but will collect the charge with threath of cutting my phone line

you have to check your bill every mounth and waist a couple of hour each mounth to argue your bill,, the 3rd party ESBI dont even have a address just a phone number that tell you they cannot do anything about it, this is FRAUD FROM QWEST

LOST $234.55 WITH QWEST IN THE LAST 10 MOUNTHS

Jacques of Mesa AZ (07/02/08)
I been over charge atleast since the last 10 mounth from Qwest Wireless for internet access do not even use the voice mail and they have used a 3rd billing from ESBI for residential email for a total charge of $234.55, when I call them it was from 1 operator to as many of 6 differrent people to tell me they dont have to ask me if I deal with a 3rd party but will collect the charge with threath of cutting my phone line

never use the internet with a phone but they do charge you for it, you have to check your bill every mounth and waist a couple of hour each mounth to argue your bill,, the 3rd party ESBI dont even have a address just a phone number that tell you they cannot do anything about it, this is FRAUD FROM QWEST

LOST $234.55 WITH QWEST IN THE LAST 10 MOUNTHS

Elaine of Aurora CO (06/29/08)
About 13 months ago, I signed up with Qwest for their Price for Life DSL at 26.99. Last month I was billed 39.99 for the service. After a lengthy phone conversation with the Service Rep, named Mike, he told me I had been entered as their 12-month promotional price.(why would it be promotional, if it was advertised as price for life?) He said he would credit my bill with the 13.00 dollar difference, change it to price for life status and entered copious notes into my file.

This month, I was charged 29.99 for the DSL service (their new price for life offer) After making another call to the Service Rep, Brad, I was told that they could no longer revert me to my original offer because their price for life is now 29.99. Apparently Price for Life means until Qwest decides to raise their prices! I will be canceling ALL of my services with QWEST!

They leave you on hold, forever, hoping you will hang up! Which I did! I have better things to do with my lunch hour than to be subjected to their customer service (Or lack of)

George of Tucson, AZ (05/03/08)
We live in a rural area just outside Tucson. We rely on sattelite T.V. and wire dial-up telecommunications. Last fall (2007), Qwest extended it's DSL service to our area. They offered a Bundle Service including Direct T.V., cell phone, DSL, and local phone for a reduced price. Our bill was to be Sattelite Televion: $49.99, Local phone: $6.88 (minimal usage, no long distance), Cell phone: $12.62 (no long distance, no Mexico useage, limit 30 minutes); DSL (w/ free AOL)$21.99. We were to receive a free DVD player, and rebates of $100.

We never received any DVD player, the rebate forms were to be obtained on their website, but none were over $50 (one per customer), and when we called about it, they sent us another form which was outdated. That wasn't a huge concern to us, but then Qwest began billing us for a usage package of 500 minutes a month, along with full charges for land phone, both to include sevice to Mexico (we have absolutely no need to call Mexico), for both my husband and I.

First, our billing jumped to $395.00, and we call C.S. (customer service) and they agreed it was a mistake, and we also called our credit card regarding the error, who also agreed it was in error. However, the billing continues to grow and every month we have to call and correct it, taking hours of our time and frustration. The bill continues to grow monthly, to over $800.00, and this month it is over $1000.00. Our credit card company took our complaint to investigate, and Qwest sent them their billing saying that we signed up for the big package (when we've signed nothing), and yet when one looks at our usage of phone time, we have never gone over 50 minutes of cell phone usage.

Whenever we would exceed the 30 minutes, we were to be charge by minute... we never have gone to 500 minutes as per the package they are charging us for. My DSL modem failed to work, I made 8 calls to the Phillipines (their Tech center) to techs that barely spoke English, and was put through unplugging, replugging, pinging, turning cables around, and nothing worked. On my nineth call, I finally made contact with a tech who knew what he was doing and he provided a Qwest owned password for my modem to start it up! Now it works, but I was without DSL service for a month. Of course they still charge me for that, too. Please help us.

My husband and I are seniors. We are raising three small grandsons, one of whom is disabled. My husband had just finished a course of cancer treatement when we stupidly bought into Qwest's promises of saving money on a bundle. My husband has gone throug a lot of stress with this and it is delaying his healing. I am fed up. I would like to just tell Qwest to get out of my life and I'm through with them. But we rely on our DSL for communication with family. I am researching other services. This has most probably damaged our once perfect credit.

Elisha of Seattle WA (04/23/08)
We have been using Qwest services for about 3 years. Our billing due date has always been the 21st. Our trouble started when we moved and decided to cancel our home service since we really only used our cell phones. On March 18th I paid the last bill for our home account. The charges included $67.75 for our cell phones. We then received another bill that was for another $125.00 for our cell phones, due on April 6th. I called in on March 24th to ask why in the world we were being charged again for our cell phones and why our billing due date had changed. I was told it was becuse we moved. I explained that it was impossible for us to pay by the 6th of the month because of our rent being 2x as much as our previous apartment, and because of the way we get paid. I was told there was nothing they could do, and I go transferred to a nice lady to make payment arrangements. She was nice. I was at work and on the phone to her and my boss walked by and had to talk to me and she actually let me put her on hold.

The only thing was that she messed up. Instead of noting on my account that I was going to pay my bill by April 21st since I had just paid a bill on March 18th, she noted that I would pay my April billing by March 21st. OOPS! I found this out when I had to call in again on April 8th. Our serivice was cut off not even 3 weeks after we had paid almost $70.00 toward our cell phones. My boyfriend called in and he told me a lady was asking him how much he was going to pay and when so she could reactive our service. I was livid. I had just spent an hour on the phone with these people on March 24th to make sure this didn't happen, and by the way I was told I had to call in every month as soon as I got the bill to make payment arrangements since they could not change my due date back to the 21st and now our service is cut off!! I wonder if thats even legal?

While I was on the phone ready to make a complaint to the supervisor a gentlemen told me how I could save money by switching plans. I asked him about how much our bill would be, and he told me $98 with tax imagine my surprise when I opened the bill today (April 23rd) to see a total amount due of $125!! I called in again and I was told by a representative that there was an $18.00 pro-rated fee for changing my plan. I am planning on disputing this charge since that is not what I was told. I then told him I was fed up of calling qwest every month for something stupid and I wanted my due date changed back to the 21st. I asked him if he could tell me why it was changed to begin with. He told me that it had something to do with the pre-fix on the cell phone and maybe we could change the cell phone number so we could get our due date changed and transfered me to a wireless representative who denied that what the customer service represenative just told me was true and said he couldn't help me then transferred me to billing.

I was then told that yes, the billing due date had something to do with the pre-fix on the cell phone, but that there was no guarantee that the due date would be changed. I told her I wanted my due date to be changed back to the 21st or else I didn't want my service anymore. She told me that I could always pay early and why don't I go online to pay my bill. She told me that I could not pay on the 21st because thats much too long of time between payments. I was sooo mad. Because lady, I don't want to pay 3xs in just about one month for your crappy service!!! And besides that when we moved, your company deleted my internet account and now I can't find the stupid secret code thats supposedly on some letter I never got from you so I can't create a new one! I just simply said I am sorry you can not help me, I see that you do not value our business and I hung up. I don't know what I am going to do now. I don't want their service anymore, but I don't want to get stiffed with a bill for breaking my contract.

Diane of Corrales NM (04/07/08)
I canceled my business phone that also had DSL computer service. I order a residential DSL-only service. My bill had been around $67/month. By dropping service my bill rose to $126/month.

I have been on the phone with at least 8 people for 20-50 minutes each time. I wrote a letter. Part of the problem is they are charging me for MSN service ($49.99/mo) which I did not order and do not need. Once someone muttered that they were charging me for a second phone. Each person puts me on hold for 15-20 minutes to talk to their expert. Each time they say they will call back. No one calls back.

I am retired on a fixed income. I dropped my phone service to save money. Now I'm paying double for less service. I'm very frustrated.

W of Pueblo CO (03/18/08)
We ordered internet service with Qwest after seeing an add on the internet and on TV about the bundle and save program and price for life. We found out that it is a come on, and it is false advertising. We were promised a free modem and a price for life with a two-year contract. When the bill arrived, we were charged for the modem; and the service cost per month was a lot higher than quoted over the phone. Speaking to 4 different people from Qwest, we were able to get the price of modem removed (maybe?), but the cost per month was still higher than quoted. Three people from Qwest were misrepresenting the cost of service just to get customers to sign. When asking to speak to a supervisor, we always get disconnected.

Now we are stuck with a higher than wanted internet bill for 2 years. We also feel that we cannot trust anything told to us by a Qwest representative again. We live on a fixed income, and this is just not fair to consumers.

Christina of Council Bluffs IA (03/14/08)
I had home phone and cell phones and dsl with this company until december when i decided since i had cell phones I did not need a home phone and i canceled it this is when the trouble started. They said when a person cancels the home phone it creates problems in their system because the home phone is the anchor for their billing. I have had my service interrupted not for non payment for their errors, then they double charged my bank account for a payment.

they also signed me up for mobile broad band with a free aircard but when i received the aircard it would not fit my laptop so they told me i had a two year contract and if i wanted to use the service i was paying for i would need to purchase another wireless device for 80.00. now i have not received a bill for over a month and i have talked to them repeatedly and have been assured i owe nothing yet i keep receiving a collection notice. today when i talked to yet another rep she told me i was over my minutes because they had made a mistake and split my family plan into two single plans and that i would owe approx 480.00 plus tax on my next bill.

Dhyani of Northglenn CO (03/10/08)
First I was sold a modem that was not compatible with my Mac computer even though it was the first question that I asked Jason. I was told this modem was mine at no charge though I actually was charged for it. I ordered my service (internet & phone) to start on move-in day 1/12/08, and Qwest started my service on 1/9/08. When I called to get this corrected on 1/11, I was told that I would have to wait for my first bill and request an adjustment. On the 12th when I could not get my internet services to work, I spent one hour and forty-seven minutes on the line with tech support and was finally told I should get a PC if I wanted to get the services to work. When I asked for the modem to be exchanged for one that was compatible with my Mac, I was told that the modem could only be exchanged for the same model model. When I pressed the tech agent, I was told that there was a modem that was compatible with the Mac; and it would be $125 or $129 and that I could exchange the one I had for it and pay the balance between that and the $59.95 I had paid for the modem. I told tech I had not paid for the modem, and that is when she informed me that I had.

At that point I told her I was returning the modem, would no longer require the service, and was given an RA number to send it back--which I did via UPS. I was also informed at this time by Nic Miller that because I was canceling within 30 days, I was due a total refund. After the modem was received by Qwest and my phone services were canceled on 1/18/08, Qwest dragged their feet and did not cancel my services until 1/23/08. I was told AGAIN that I would have to wait for the final billing before I could also protest this. After several phone calls to billing to recover my money, I was refunded $59.99 on 2/06/08; and then finally the balance of $45.00 was refunded to my account after another round of phone calls on 2/08/08. Around 2/23/08 I received a bill from Qwest which I didn't bother to open until about one week later because it was nothing of importance.

When I finally opened it on 2/29/08 I realized I was being sent to a collection agency for $34.11. I called Qwest and was told by Mary Waldo that I could ignore it, and it was probably just an oversight. I thanked her and thought I was finally free of Qwest until I got the latest bill. I promptly called them after speaking with the collection agency on 3/10/08, when I got home and saw the notice. The collection agency told me I'd have to call Qwest again which I did. After holding on for several minutes, my call was disconnected through no fault of mine, and when I called back their offices had just closed.

I was referred to a collection agency and received notice of a bill dated 2/18/08 for $79.11. I have spent close to 6 hours on the phone with these people trying to get this straightened out--but to no avail. Please Help.

Charliec of Brighton CO (02/25/08)
Is this fair to you? Substandard Phone Service for the billing level. I have asked Qwest to please respond on many occasions regarding my phone service and billing. I live in a rural area where we see a Qwest truck almost on a daily basis due to the service being intermittent, crossed lines or disconnected by accident, this is all on a regular basis and this is true for our entire service area. So, by Qwest's own admission, our lines and level of service are inadequate so, my question is...why do I and all others in my area pay the same rates as everyone else that can have digital quality when we get 30 year old technology? Cable, hi speed internet etc. are all out of the question since the lines can't handle it, as a matter of fact it's a good day to see 33K connect on the modem or just a phone conversation without background noise. Does anyone else think this is unfair? Again, I will reiterate that Qwest readily admits our system is inadequate so why in the world am I stuck paying the same basic rate when I can't even come close to having the same basic quality?

Larry of Lacey WA (02/08/08)
I have Comcast land line service, internet service, and TV cable service. I also use sprint as my cell phone service. I was told by one of Qwests service sales representatives that I could save about $100.00 per month if I switch cell phone service, cable, internet and land line phone to Qwest. It seemed like a good idea since I am on disability and we are care-givers for my wife's parents. Two hours later after talking to my in-laws, I called up Qwest accounts and checked my account status and cost. I found out not only would I not save any money, but also I would be paying overall more than $60.00 per month by switching. I told the accounts department to stop everything and not to change my service. I called Comcast cable and told them my situation and told them the lie that the Qwest sales person sold me on and they assured me they would do all they could to prevent the problem. Still, because cell phones go through a third party. It was not so easy to stop the switching of cell phone service and the porting of my cell phone lines. The sales person for Qwest told me that my equipment would be no charge as long as I kept the service for 2 years. Upon checking my credit card that I had given Qwest they had already billed me a total of $460.00. I called American Express and that charge was removed. Now I am receiving a bill from Qwest for one of the lines I had with Sprint  which I never used with Qwest. They are now threatening me to turn the account over to collections.

I am being billed $260.00 for services I had canceled the very day of ordering. I am stuck in their system.

Mauricio of Tucson AZ (01/21/08)
I have been a QWEST customer for over 5 years. I had AT&T and someone convince me to change providers. Worst mistake I ever made. Now, it is clear that no one at Qwest reads these, because nothing has changed; they are still taking advantage of the consumer. When I opened this account I was never informed that I could buy extra warranty. I was painted a pretty picture just to get my money! So about a year ago one of my phones was stolen. I called the Spirit of Service (what a joke), was told, sorry....you need to buy a new phone for $200.00--you have no extended warranty. I had a big argument with someone at QWEST, but since I am only the consumer, I lost. So they billed me the $200.00, and I was told to purchase a warranty; I said okay. This phone just went dead, so I called them and  was told that I have no warranty because it has been over a year. They want to charge me again $200.00. What is going on with this company? The person I spoke to today (1-21-2008) told me: sorry there is nothing they can do. The Spirit of Service came to mind....

Have a legal person look into all these complaints. I think Qwest should not be operating any more. They are taking advantage of the American consumer. I am $200.00 in the hole and stressed over incompetant people.

Elizabeth of Seattle WA (01/12/08)
I re-married so asked for a simple change of name and phone number due to ex-boyfriend calls. With the first number I received a lot of calls late at night from wrong numbers; the second phone number was very static- ridden and could not understand the caller. I had also ordered the Broadband internet, but it was not faster than Comcast, and my husband was not happy with it. So I disconnected the phone service and internet service within less then a month of service.

This was in September. I continue to receive a statement with a broadband charge every month. I call them every month and spend hours on hold, and every one of them tells me it will be taken care of. Thank you for letting me share this with you. I feel helpless, frustrated and manipulated by a large company that takes advantage of good people who pay their bills on time.

Machelle of Dundas MN (01/05/08)
I placed an order and they told me one price. They called to confirm price and it was another price (more), so I objected and told them what I was quoted and they corrected it. BThe bill came in the mail for twice the amount, $170.05. I called two different reps. Supposedly it is fixed, but Qwest still says I owe $170.05

This is my first month of service and I am being charged twice the amount I was told on the phone. I have spoken with 6 different representatives. I have lost hours of work.

Kim of Logan WV (12/19/07)
This weekend my husband and I went to TN and when we called home to check about the family, I used the motel phone and put the call on my Visa check card, thinking it would be only a few dollars. Instead I was charged $15 connect fee and then I don't know HOW MUCH per minute. A total 15 minute call came to $44.36. I made 4 calls like this unknowing how much they charged. To me, this is robbery. There was nothing in the room to say how much the fees/costs were, they never told me when I called the 800 number to make the call. Then I tried to find a number or a way to contact them directly, and that is useless as well. In my opinion, Qwest are no better than thieves. I now have to pay them almost $200 for 4 phone calls that total not even an hour.

Aaron of Breckenridge CO (12/18/07)
I moved to Breckenridge, Colorado and tried to purchase internet service through Qwest. Qwest told me that they needed a $120.00 deposit and I could western union the money at my local City Market and then call Qwest to confirm payment and they would turn on service. I paid the money, made the call, and they told me there was a balance of $600.00 charged under my social security number. Not my name or address, my ssn #. Qwest then told me that they wouldn't open an account until it was paid. I told them I wanted my $120.00 refunded and they said that was fine, I would receive a check in 3 weeks. That was on 9/16/07. I have called customer service several times and nobody will return my calls. I have spoken to supervisors and they say the check is in the mail. I also got John's direct office number and he has never answered or returned my calls (approx. 2 a day for 2 weeks).

Not only am I out $120.00, I have also been turned over to collections for $84.00 for my old Qwest service, which I can't pay until I get my $120.00.

Montana of Helena MT (12/10/07)
They allowed BASIC ACCESS Communications to add an unauthorized charge of $7.99 per month to business' phone bill. They made no contact or announcement that the charge would be added and require you to contact them to credit it off the bill. We will not pay it.

Bonnie of Helena MT (12/10/07)
Basic Access Communications started charging $7.99 per month on Qwest phone bill with no contact or authorization.

When you call them they say they will remove the charge. When asked to talk to a supervisor, you get a message assuring you will be contacted within 4 hours--and no call is returned.

Donald of Rochester WA (11/24/07)
Last two months I have not been able to get my account online. They seem not able to help. I have asked about over billing on my account for the past 5 to 6 years. And most recently my internet service charges.They say $26.99 per mopunth for life but I get charged $39.99. I can not get any answers from them what can I do to just get answers to my questions?

I am not well off for money wife has medical problems as I do so every little bet helps and if they over charge someone me what do they do to others?

Kathy of Burien, WA (02/15/07)
In the Fall of 2006 I ordered DSL from Qwest. About a week or two later I changed my mind and cancelled the DSL. I sent back the modem and Qwest confirmed that they received it. Now, come February 2007, I am still getting charged for the modem and the DSL line.

I have talked to 5 people regarding the billing and each person said they would straighten it out but I am still getting billed.  Just recently they sent my account to a collection agency. The last Qwest representative I talked to said she would make sure I didn't get any more disconnect notices but I got one about 3 weeks after speaking with her.

Erin And Matt of Shoreline WA (10/13/06)

We have been loyal Qwest customers for five years and have had the same calling plan.  We re-signed for the same 2-year contract in April 2005, sometime between then and now Qwest changed our contracted plan without our knowledge or consent. Needless to say we went over our minutes and faced a $598.00 phone bill with a disconnect notice. We called to correct the problem as soon as we noticed that the overages were due to the calling plan being changed.

We spoke to a Qwest representative who acknowledged that the plan was changed but he didn't know why or how it happened. He assured us that we would be put on our original plan and be refunded the difference for as long as the change occurred. A week later, we received a credit for $198.00 which was only a third of the overages. We then spoke to several representatives who refused to send us paper copies of our billing history and also refused to honor the calling plan we contracted into.

We had to change our phone company which costs $400.00 to start new; the rest is unknown but the last three months of billing show an amount of $400.00 that we overpaid. Considering they are withholding our statements it could have happened for months without our knowledge since we have been paying electronically and receiving paperless billing.

Barbara of Vail AZ (07/19/06)
Purchased bundle package in Nov. 2005 and have to call about billing every month. Double charge for DirecTV, Nov.,Mar. and again on June statement. Called and nothing resolved. Becky transferred me to DirecTV and they say I only owe one month & can't change Qwest billing, transferred back to Qwest and they say I owe 2 months and they won't remove it. I pay my Qwest bill in full every month and have been billed a month in advance (which is why they say I owe this) twice already and they want me to pay it again. As I explained I am on Social Security and the reason I chose the Bundle package was so I would know what I would be paying each month to budget. I am at a loss as to what to do. Barbara Marchando

None yet but I'm sure they will turn off at least my DirecTV because I deducted one month when making June payment.

A. of Margaretville NY (04/28/06)
Qwest was, without us having ordered it, for one month our long distance provider. A bill that is usually about $20 was $134.56. I paid that bill on 1/20/06. Nevertheless we ahve a collection agency calling us. I prooved to both Qwest and the collector now 7 times via fax that I have paid that bill. Qwest ackonowledges that this money (and an overpayment) is there, it was just booked to an old CLOSED account and stayed there (they did not bother to inform us that there was a closed account with a credit)and the other account went to collections. Qwest actually acknowledges that they owe us something like $62. Now we have a lawyer calling us.

We never had any collections. We have negative consequences in our credit report beside the fact that it is nerve wrecking to get these calls and not being able to end it.

Jeri of Flagstaff AZ (04/12/06)
I bundled services to include home phone service,dsl internet and Directv.I never received the internet service,but am still being charged.I was not informed that by bundling service, my home phone service would increase by about $10 and that there is a Billing Resource addition of $14.95.Qwest claims I owe them $170, which I did not pay,because I have never recieved the internet service, and I do not know what billing resource is. None of the representative can or will give me an address to send copies of the corrected bills with payment history to resolve this issue. Qwest claims that the $170 is for Directv, but this is only so they can keep the money and not pay Directv for services during the time it was bundled under Qwest. Bundling services does NOT save the consumer any money. They claim to have saved me $10 per month, but between the raise in my home phone service cost and the Billing resource, it actually costs over twice the claimed savings, besides the fact that they still charge me for internet service I have NEVER received!!

I have been diligent about paying my bills to get my credit rating back up. If this goes to collections, it will be an unwarranted scar on my credit.

Amber of Brigham UT (02/04/06)
I signed up for the bundled service after being told that my phone bill each month for home phone service, dsl, direct tv and long distance would only be 100.00 dollars a month. My first bill was 354.00 and my second bill was 289.00. Not one of my bills have been even close to one hundred dollars but all over two hundred. When I call I can never find anyone to help me figure out the problem. I have called every month and spend about 2-3 hours on the phone only tho get nothing accomplished. My parents have the same problem with their phone bills.

Weston of Jerome ID (01/17/06)
I signed up for long distance service with Qwest even though I never foresaw using it simply because they had a plan with no monthly fee and 5 cents a minute up to a $20 maximum every month. Shortly after I signed up, they sent me a notice that they were going to start charging $2.99/mo for this service. I was annoyed and planned on canceling, but never actually got around to it (by not immediately canceling, I acknowledge that I implicitly agreed to pay $2.99/mo for long distance I wasn't using).

A few more months went by and then I got a notice from Qwest that they were raising the rate again to $4.99/mo. I decided that I was definitely not going to pay $5/mo for a service I don't use. Within 3 or 4 days of receiving that notice, I called Qwest to request that they cancel my long distance service and after sitting through the whole procedure, I was notified that I would be charged a $5 cancellation fee. I called back and explained to the customer service rep that I had never even implicitly agreed to long distance service at $4.99/mo and therefore a cancellation fee is completely bogus. She adamantly disagreed and said that every long distance carrier does this, etc.

Finally, when I threatened to do whatever necessary to resolve this, including filing a complaint with the FCC and getting a lawyer, she relunctantly backed down and said that IF I called back after I get my bill, they'll most likely reverse the cancellation fee just to be nice and just this once. Now... I understand raising rates on services. I also understand charging a cancellation fee if that was the agreement from the start. But it seems like it ought to be illegal to charge a cancellation fee for me not agreeing to continue service at a higher rate than I originally agreed to. If it's ok for them hike the rate by $2 and then charge me $5 for not agreeing to continue the service, then why couldn't they hike the rate by $200/mo and then charge me a $1000 cancellation fee if I want out?

I have been notified that I will incur financial damage of $5. While not a significant amount, I believe the principle is significant.

Charlie of Kuna ID (01/02/06)
Qwest has never been great with billing. Everytime I sign-up for something or change it they screw with the bill for months before somebody fixes it correctly. I just signed-up for DSL and found out that what they advertised and what they said was going to happen came no where near to the truth. I was quoted 29.99/month and free modem rental with my qualifying home package. The Customer service rep I chatted with online and the guy I called both said my basic line with caller-id worked fine as a qualifying package. I didn't sign-up until I found out for sure.

After I got hooked-up and dumped cable I recieved my first bill which looked nothing like my verified sign-up page. I was charged another 5$ for not being a quailfying plan and I was also charged for the modem that was supposed to be free rental for the same reason. When I called to get it corrected Qwest reps told me I was out of luck unless I wanted to change to a more expensive plan that qualified. I tried that plan before and it took over 6 months to get the bill straightened out. No Thank You. I feel bad for getting screwed but even worse for telling other people about the deal they could get. Please don't give Qwest any more money.

I was charged more money than advertised. I had to go through hassle of stopping previous service and restarting it after I cancelled DSL. I was charged for shipping on Modem that was part of bundle. $$$$ lots of it.

George of Vancouver WA (11/22/05)
For the last 2 billings Qwest has charged me for services I did not use. Luckily I could prove that no one was home at the times they tried to charge me for and they removed the charges. How many people don't check their bills? I had them put a block on pay for services. Today they called me and told me the services I hafd asked for were now available?

J. of Tumwater WA (10/27/05)
I sent a certified letter to the CEO regarding billing problems Qwest created. The regulatory anlayst mailed me their internal accounting statement, which proved my point (that they were over-billing and not posting correctly). I have emailed her twice. She responded the first time, but after I told her that the statement she mailed me doesn't reflect the two payments I had made, she has not communicated back with me.

While on a call with a internal Qwest accounting person earlier this year, some information leaked out on what could turn out to be a major design flaw in their billing system. I am a professional software tester and Quality Assurance Analyst and can see how my problem could result in millions of dollars (or tens of million) when multiplied across Qwest's customer base. After I terminated my service with Qwest in July 2005 (with Qwest's even sending me a $2.62 refund check), then on Oct 3, 2005 - out of the blue - a collection agency notice appears in my mailbox. Not only is this notice bogus, but Qwest made no effort to contact me - and remember, they just refunded me!

While the billing problem is a small amount, it has taken a lot of my personal time. I have let Qwest know that I plan on billing them at $75/hour for my research. This has affected my work, my cell phone charges and general health (I can't get as much rest as I need).

Meredith of Phoenix AZ (10/20/05)
I signed up the best bundle service this company has and I ordered 2 wireless phones for my daughter & her husband to use. We were informed that our home-cell 1 & cell 2, cell 1-cell 2, cell 1&2 - home calls would be free & that the cellular service plan minutes would not be deducted from the account, turns out that was a lie and now we have an extremely high cell phone bill for the wireless services. I have not called the company to complain yet but just thought I'd let everyone else out there know that watch out with Qwest Wireless if you don't already know, make sure your account is noted by the rep about your services and the exact details of the contract because if you don't they'll get you with hidden fees.

Now I am in the hole and it is going to take me quite some time to get out.

Yurii of Woodbury MN (3/2/05):
On January 04 2005 I was offered the Qwest local service phone plan by a representative. They told me the service would be less than Comcast, it would be installed quickly, and Qwest has excellent customer service. I thought this sounded great, and signed up online. I received a letter welcoming me to Qwest, with my new phone number. I called the number from my cell phone, but it didn't go through. So I figured that Qwest hasn't got around to hooking it up, and I let it alone waiting for a technician to show up or to get a letter letting me know everything is set up.

A month and half later, I received a bill for $58.96 for two months of service. I called Qwest, telling them I never actually had any service installed. They told me they connected a line to my house, but "sometimes our equipment doesn't work", and "your case is one of those times." I tried to reason with Marti, a manager at the Dallas location, telling her that I will gladly remain a customer, and pay for the current month, if they would reverse the fees for the two months I received no service for.

Marti was subtly rude on the phone, and her general response was "It is your duty to make sure our equipment is working, and then call us, and for a fee we will have a technician come and fix it." This makes no sense, essentially, I am supposed to quality check Qwest’s equipment, and when it doesn’t work, I have to pay another fee to fix it? No fees were reversed, so I closed the account. I ended up being billed around $58.96 for two months of no service, and another $26 for the current month, even though it's only the 2nd.

Les of Boise ID (10/02/03):
I called Qwest to inquire about long distance service and was informed I had an outstanding bill of $87.34 and would not qualify until the bill was paid. I had photocopies sent to me concerning this bill. In the photocopies it shows an amount that I paid separated out of the rest of the ordinary billings and assigned another number. I have not received another such statement in five years concerning this.

After looking at the regular billing sheets there is no explanation for the amount being separated out and closed for collections. At that same time I had been disputing an ATT billing and the slamming of another company that was charging for calls and Qwest was paying them. After repeated calls ATT finally adjusted the account some and Qwest had said they adjusted the account but only sent the adjustment to another numbered account and now down the road 5 years it crops up again with a new group of people to deal with.

Karen of West Jordan UT (8/28/02):
I am going to have my phone service shut off because some people used my phone to accept a lot of collect calls from someone in jail. I called the Qwest people and they say I still have to pay the charges and the people who owe me money are not about to pay. The charges are not mine and I did not authourize them.

My phone service is going to be terminated and Qwest will not work out a payment arrangement with me, even though I was told I have a good payment record. I will lose a lot of business opportunities as well as my son has the need of the internet for his school work. He is an honor student in 9th grade and we cannot do without our phone. I am expected to pay a bill I do not owe and I am extremely upset as my children who are 10 and 14 need a phone as do I. I just need an extension and Qwest will not give me one.

Jonathan of Vancouver WA (6/10/02):
I cancelled my service with Qwest local and Sprint long distance. I received a final bill two months later for $49.15. I called Sprint as the charges were for them, not Qwest. Sprint told me there were no charges. I called Qwest and they (Jeff) said okay. This weekend I got a call from a collection agency. I called Sprint back, still no charge. I called Qwest, two different people, one was Mary, a supervisor who argued and shouted at me and said it was my obligation to pay them.

I called Sprint back, they checked and said they sent a refund to Qwest but it was returned because my account was closed with Qwest. So because Qwest are inept and cannot except a valid payment they refered it to collections. I have paid the collection ($49.15) to hopefully stop it going on my credit report, Sprint said they would try and send me a check. Qwest don't even have a complaints dept.

Ralph of Salt Lake City (5/10/02):
This is in regard to a telephone service that I had canceled. I called Qwest on December 6, 2001 and told them to cancel my telephone after December 6, 2001. We moved on December 8 and no longer had access to that telephone. My work sent me to England, and I was there from the 13th of December until the 14th of April 2002. When I returned I opened my mail and was surprised to find that a. Qwest had not canceled the service on 8 December like I asked. b. I was billed until 8 April 2002. c. Qwest had terminated me for non payment.

What I owe is 6 days in December 2001. I call their customer service number and I explained to four different people over the space of 2 hours. None were helpful or even willing to listen to what I had to say. I do not like feeling as if I were a liar and a cheat. None offered to help. So I wrote them a letter and included a check for $91.57 which would have paid the telephone bill through January 2002. I felt this was fair.

Since then I have received two bills for $193.00 a week a part last part of April, first week in May. Yesterday I got a call from a collection agency demanding payment of $74.00 for Qwest. When I return to Utah in June, I will penalized for being delinquent on this bill and I will have to pay a deposit for continued service.

Michael of Pacific WA (4/10/02):
At the beginning of February 2002 I requested a telephone be hooked up at the new address we were moving to. On February 23rd 2002. We were not told up front that we did not qualify for access to long distance service without a deposit at that time. When the phone was on and activated which took about a week after the 23rd (this is an unrelated line problem that I will address if I need to later) we realized that we did not have long distance services.

My wife then called to speak to a representative about this and at that time was told we did not "qualify" for long distance because we had not been a Qwest customer in the last 2 years (as we lived out of their service area. The representative then stated that it would cost a $100 deposit to just have access to a long distance line than later in the conversation he stated $75. Needless to say I felt as if he was bargining with me. I asked why do we have to pay a deposit anyway, that is when I was told a credit report was ran on my wife's social security number and it was determined that we did not qualify for access at that time. I was very angry and disconnected the call. ...

I then received my April 1st 2002 phone bill and there was a charge on the bill of $2.00 that showed up in the section "Optional Services" -- this is a charge that is a monthly charge. The name of the charge is "Toll restriction services Individual & key lines." When I called to inquire about what this is the representative stated that this is a charge that will be charged every month in leau of choosing to pay the deposit for access to a long distance line. I was apalled. Not only have I been denied acess to a long distance line, I am being charged for them blocking the account EVERY MONTH!