Sage Telecom - Texas

Sage Telecom - Texas

I have been an A+ rated customer with Sage Telecom in Texas. I've always paid my bills in full and on time. I wanted unlimited long distance, and Sage could not offer it to me. So I had to switch to another company for that feature. Starting the day after I switched, I started receiving daily automated phone calls telling me that my account was seriously delinquent, and that if I do not pay my overdue balance, that legal action will be taken. Shocked, I called the customer service number and a lady told me that she saw my check for $88.01 had arrived, but not yet posted. She assured me that the calls will stop, assuming it was a mistake. As it was, my final bill had not even been compiled yet at that time. I continued getting those calls each day, so I finally returned a call to the pre-legal department and spoke with someone who called himself Corey. We got into it, because he said if I don't pay my bills, I'm going to get messages like this. He said I owed $21.31. I was beside myself. I told him I recalled the lady I spoke with the week before figured out that I would have a refund coming. He demanded to know her name, but of course I did not remember. When I raised my voice (my language was always clean), he laughed at me and said that I will continue to receive those messages every single day until I pay my bills. Demanding to speak with his or any supervisor, he said none is available. After repeating my demands perhaps about 6 times, he transferred me without my permission to a voice mailbox that was anonymous. I left a lengthy message anyway, requesting a callback, but never received a call. I then contacted one of the other customer service numbers and after another couple of requests, finally got to speak with a supervisor, Rhonda Morris. However, she could not do anything about the pre-legal department, except to email this Corey's manager to call me. I have never received a call. She also said she had no idea why a lady told me the week before that my check had arrived, since there was no record of it. This conversation took place on January 24, 2005, and I had sent my check in the mail from the post office on January 7, 2005. She said I needed to research the matter. I found my online statement showing the check had been cashed by Sage Telecom on January 11, 2005, and faxed a copy of that statement to her immediately. After leaving several more phone messages over the 26th and 27th, she finally called back on the 27th. I asked if she received the fax, and she had not, inquiring if I had the right fax number. That night, I faxed to the same number again, with a copy of my fax confirmation of the previous fax, and this time, January 28, 2005, she did receive it. Then she said she still cannot do anything since Sage's system shows no payment. At her request, I volunteered to call Smith Barney and get a copy of the check, front and back. She did say the recorded calls should have stopped. However, I had received another one of those calls in the middle of a meeting the evening before, and before 8:00AM that morning, waking me up. After that phone call, still on January 28, 2005, I ordered a copy of the check, front and back, and I received another recorded call threatening legal action. I then went to my mailbox, and found a letter from the legal department formally giving me 7 days before legal action will start. The letter said that I never made any attempt to contact Sage about this seriously overdue account. Furious, I filed a complaint with the Utility Commission online, and then called the pre-legal department at about 4:00PM. They closed at 3:00PM, and they leave no outlet to leave a message - so there is no proof that one even tried to call. Still furious, I called Rhonda Morris, who left for the day, and left a message on her phone. I then left 2 messages on their general mailbox. I then called the 24-hour Customer Service Department, wanting to speak with a higher-up manager to stop this harrassment.

The supervisor I spoke with, Annette, said she could do nothing - that Sage's Departments were closed. This was still about 5:00PM. I demanded to speak with a higher manager. Mr. Blair also said that once I resolve the $21.31 debt, and once Sage can figure out what's going on, there is nothing he can do, and no one to whom he could refer me. I asked him if the building burned down, would there not be a manager to be contacted? He said if the building burned down there would be nobody left to contact. He said I would have to resolve the phone calls with the Pre-Legal Department. I told him I could never speak with a supervisor in that department. He said he had no connection with them. He did say that the recorded calls will continue coming, and there is nothing that anyone can do about their system. Now you may ask why I don't just send another check for $21.31. As I told Mr. Blair, the money is not the issue. It is the way I have been treated as a former customer. I know the money is in their account. What I REALLY want is a massive apology and an admission that Sage Telecom has a long, long way to go to significantly improve their Customer Service Department. I am sure anyone reading this complaint would agree - hands down!

Steve G

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