QWEST Cell Phone Nightmare

I have been with QWEST for 8 years. I had my home phone line, a shared cell phone plan with two cell phones, and high speed internet through them.

In August of 2005 I broke my cell phone. I called to buy a new one to replace it. I did NOT want to change anything about my plan, just wanted to simply replace a phone. The representative informed me that I could get a phone for a cheaper price if I extended my contract. I SPECIFICALLY asked if anything would change about my plan, and he assured me that my plan would remain EXACTLY the same. Later, I discovered that this was a total lie and that I was slammed.

When I received the next month's bill I had huge overage charges. I discovered that this was because the representative changed my plan from an older plan (shared loyalty) to a new plan that was more expensive and had fewer minutes, causing me to go way over on my minutes. At that time I spoke with a manger who credited off all the extra charges. She then, supposedly, changed my plan back to the old plan I was on (the one that I expected the contract to continue as).

However, I soon discovered that neither phone in my shared plan now had voicemail. After calling QWEST they told me that my voicemail which had always been free would now be $5.99 per phone per month. After repeated calls they explained that while they were somehow able to "build back" my old plan that I could no longer get voicemail on my cell phones unless I paid these new charges.

I spoke with two different managers about how unfair this was. I wanted my voicemail put back on free, as it always had been. Simply buying a new phone did not give them authorization to change my plan, particularly without notifying me. These two different managers (one named Will and the other's name I forget) promised that they would send a request to the "back billing department" to add the voicemail on for me and then have it credited off every month. They told me that this back billing department would call me by a certain date to let me know what was happening. I received no call.

I called QWEST again and spoke with a manager after the date passed. This manager said he was going to research it and would call me back. Two days later and no call. I called again and spoke with another manager who said he was going to research the problem and call me back in 15 minutes. Three hours later I had still received no call back and had to call QWEST again. This is horrific customer service and completely inexcusable.

Finally, a new manager told me there was nothing he could do to get my voicemail back as I'd always had it without being charged these new fees. I told him I then wanted to deactivate my three services from QWEST (home line, cell phone package, and high speed internet) and to transfer me to deactivation.

I spoke with Tamra in deactivation. She (again) said that she would send a request to the "back billing department" but we would have to wait a few days to get an answer. She claimed there was no way for her to simply CALL the back billing department and straighten out this ridiculous problem over the phone. Tamra said she would call me on Friday to let me know what the final outcome was.

Thankfully, Tamra did call me on Friday, January 13th, but told me that the back billing department was unwilling to complete the request. I told her I was extremely angry, felt lied to, slammed, tricked, etc. I then asked her to deactivate my three QWEST services. She then proceeded to tell me that I would have a $200 deactivation charge for leaving my "contract" early. This is completely unethical, as I NEVER agreed to a contract that changed my plan. I do not feel that this contract was valid, as it was not the contract I agreed to. The QWEST representative slammed me and changed my plan when I agreed to the contract. I was agreeing to the contract if I got to keep my old plan and all its features, including the free voicemail.

I am extremely upset with QWEST and their unethical business practices. Not only did they slam me and trick me into an invalid contract, but now they are charging me $200 to leave a contract I never agreed to in the first place!!! In addition, I feel that I was strung along, as numerous QWEST managers, the back billing department, etc. did not return my calls as promised.

Today (January 13th)I have deactivated my three QWEST services (cell phone, home line, and high speed internet). I am extremely disappointed to have to do this, but feel I have no choice. I would like to at least see some recourse so I am not charged $200 for leaving a fraudulent contract.