Advice needed... Who do I contact?

[weebiscuit]

I'll try to make the background info short here.... A year ago I got an internet connection through US Cellular. It's just a little modem I plug into my USB port. When I signed the contract they told me I had a "download" limit of 500 gigabytes per month. If I went over that, I had to pay over and above my $49 a month fee. I asked the salesgirl how I'd know if I was going over my limit and she said, "When you upload the modem software there will be a window you can open and it will tell you exactly how many gigs you have used for each online session and will give you a running total for the billing month." She also told me that if I wasn't watching movies online or downloading a lot of videos I wouldn't come near using my 500 gigs.

So, for exactly 11 months everything was fine. I never even used ONE gig a month, much less 500 of them! Suddenly, this March my monthly bill was $200 MORE! They said I went over my allotment. I called and complained and said I had not changed my online viewing habits at all in the past 11 months. How could I go from one gigabyte a month to over 500? Then I checked my modem's download log, and it showed I did NOT use more than one gig that month. US Cellular said, "tough luck." So I paid the bill, and then in April I was charged another $200 over my monthly bill!

I called and complained and said my log showed I used under a gig. they said they'd look into it and call me in five days. They didn't. After 9 days I called them, and they again said they'd look into it. Four days later I got a call from a "tech" and he said their equipment was not faulty, and if it said I went over then I went over. I got very upset and told him that my connection log said I used under a gig, and he said, "Oh... those logs are very faulty and unreliable. You just can't go by them!"

Well, I was told that's what I went by when I signed the contract! It's right there on my computer. It's part of the modem software. There's no way I can manipulate it. They ended up taking off the $200 charge for April, but told me that I had to call their company once a week and ask them how many gigs I'd used so far in the current billing cycle! I kept telling him that if I got the modem from them, and the modem's connection log is faulty and not reliable, then there's something wrong with the way they are doing business. He said, "Well, that's just the way it is."

So, I want to lodge a complaint, and obviously I can't do it with US Cellular because they think that the tools I was given to monitor my usage are not reliable tools. How can a company operate like this?

Do I contact my state's attorney general's office? Do they handle things like this and look into this sort of thing? Do I contact the Better Business Bureau? My state representative? Someone needs to look into this because I have a feeling that I am not the only person with a US Cellular internet connection who is being billed for usage they did not use.

 

[Ashley]

I dont think there is a lot that you can do other then switch your service. However, here when people dont get what they need they go to the local news and they look into it, normally fixing the problem.

 

[ohmt]

That is absolutely ridiculous. 500 gigs is a massive amount-i could download song after song, watch youtube video after youtube video, and play WOW (online game) for hours every day and still not hit even close to 500 gigs. I know this because my friend does it and he rarely gets close to 4.

Any way someone could have hacked your account and is using it (do you have close neighbors)? Do you have it locked? I would start there. If that's not it, you need to demand to talk to someone higher up and definitely complain like heck about the people who were so rude to you. Then tell them you're taking your business to Verizon and get their plan instead.

 

[Katiean]

When I have a problem and over the phone is my only option, I ask for a supervisor. I tell the person (who always insists they can help me) you do not want to make me mad and I want to talk to a supervisor. I just went through this with a 3rd party billing on my cell phones (I have 5 lines) and I ended up with $120 extra on my phone bill. My carrier gave me the numbers for the parties that did the 3rd party billing. Anyway when the person would not give me a supervisor I went crazy on him. Then in a very calm voice I said "See what you made me do.? Now give me your supervisor!". Again he insisted he could help. Again I went nuts on him. I told him all he had to do was give me to a supervisor. We went through this about 3 times before he gave me to a supervisor. In my case I was just calling back with some verified information and needed to talk to the same supervisor. She had told me to ask for her when I called back. I got double my money back.

This most likely won't help you. But, Do go to a supervisor. But let me tell you, some of the companies do not even have acostumerr service room. It is either a Company that does thecostumerr service for several companies or it is someone sitting in theirfamily roomm with a headset on and there really is no supervisor for them to transfer you to. I would change carriers if I were you. Clearwire has been acceptable for me and there are no additional charges. It is $39.95 a month flat fee. However, I think I am changing to Charter because it is cheaper.