Forgive me for a moment while I rant against Telus. Feel free to skip this entry, and come back another day, when perhaps my sense of humor will be restored.
Good thing that Christmas cheer crap is over, eh? Otherwise, I’d have to stuff all this infuriation into Mom’s Christmas Cake Cookies and my sister’s Frosted Eggnog Cookies and my friend’s Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies, and then I’d never be able to fit into my adorable clothes.
I just got a text from Telus saying I have almost reached my credit limit* (again!) and need to “make a full payment now” or they’ll shut off my phone.
Frankly, this makes no sense. Since the last time they shut off my phone, I’ve been religiously watching my usage, and as of yesterday, I’d used about 2.75 GBs (I’m allowed five per month), with an overage charge of $40-something.
So I’m naturally wondering how the heck I used 2.25 GBs and spent $160 overnight – especially since I haven’t been able to get on the internet for the past two days.
I called their “customer service” (in quotes because that’s what they call it, though personally I think “customer f***ers” is a more apt description).
He assured me they weren’t going to shut off my phone because my balance owed was zero (which matches what their website shows), and it sounded like he was about to hang up.
“Wait!” I said. “Why did I get the text message if I don’t owe anything?”
He didn’t know. It didn’t make sense. He’d have to look into it.
Turns out, I don’t owe zero (despite what their website and their “customer service” guy say). I owe $175.
He kindly broke it down for me. $55 for my basic plan, $18 for add-ons (Caller ID and International texting), about $10 for taxes, and $40-something for data overages.
None of this was a surprise – though it does gall me to pay the data overage charge since the reason I go over is because I’m tethering my laptop to my phone to access the internet specifically because my internet service (also through Telus) doesn’t work — despite the fact that I’m paying $45 a month for it, talking to their tech support guys several times a week, and have purchased a $400 machine that was supposed to fix the problem but didn’t.
So … yeah. Because my Telus service, for which I pay $45, doesn’t work, I have to pay Telus an extra $40-something.
But … whatever. I already knew about that. I can let that go.
… Or …
Yanno what? No, I can’t let that go. I have to point out one thing.
You remember last month when I didn’t have internet service at all for two weeks, despite the fact that I paid for it? Paid for it twice? Once through the Smart Hub and once through the phone?
Turned out that was a mistake. When they turned my phone back on, they should have also turned my data. But … oops! They didn’t.
So, OK, fine. Somebody goofed somewhere. That’s not the part I’m pissed about.
What I’m pissed about is that they charged me for data access for those two weeks. Yanno, the two weeks I didn’t have data access.
I tried to convince the customer service guy (not in quotes because that guy really did try to help) to credit me for two weeks of data usage, but he said he couldn’t.
He did search for what he could do for me – and the best he could do was give us unlimited data usage for two months on the Smart Hub.
What a great deal, right?! For the first time ever, I can stream movies and preview music on iTunes and listen to NPR online, and maybe even Pandora and RadioIO, though I imagine the skips that come from the reduced signal will drive me crazy. Still, what a great deal, right?! Unlimited cruising!
Except … you may remember, the house internet doesn’t work. At all. Even though we’ve spent an extra four hundred dollars on a signal booster. So what we got was … wait for it! … a big, fat nothing.
BUT! That wasn’t the surprise. I already knew about all those times I got screwed over by Telus.
The surprise was that the math doesn’t add up. $55 + $18 + $10 + $40 = $123. Not $175. I asked what the remaining charges were.
His response? “Air time.”
Air time? Really? I never talk on this phone.
He tried to convince me it was because I haven’t set up my favorite ten numbers — except … hello! … I don’t talk to ten people because I don’t have ten friends in Canada. And I talk to my US friends on either the US phone or the landline.
I could not built up that much in excess air time. Unless thy’re charging me air time for using the Hot Spot, which is basically charging me twice since they also charge for my data usage.
They wouldn’t double-charge me, the “customer service” guy said. Maybe it’s something else. He continued, clearly thinking aloud. “It can’t be texting. You have unlimited texts.”
Finally he admitted he didn’t know. The bill was just “printed,” so it won’t be available for four days.
Wait! What?! If I don’t pay my bill immediately, you’ll turn off my phone, but you can’t tell me what the excess charges were for?
At that point, I went into a tirade, and he didn’t handle it well. He said he’d call back in four days, when he could access the bill, and we’d figure it out. And he ordered me not to call again in the intervening four days.
I went into an even bigger tirade, after which he said (clearly meaning it to be a rhetorical question), “You were clearly upset. What could I have said to calm you down?”
I said (and yes, my voice was pitched a little higher than usual), “You could have said, ‘I’m sorry!’”
And he said (thus proving himself to be a man because any woman would have known better), “I couldn’t say I’m sorry. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
At which point, my pressure cock blew, and there was no stopping the tirade eloquent and insightful statement of emotion that followed.
“Yes, you could,” I said. “Saying ‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t necessarily imply fault. Sometimes it’s just a way of connecting, one human to another. What you could have said was, ‘Wow. Sounds like you’ve really had a tough time. I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with that. I want to help fix it, but unfortunately, I can’t even see what the charges are for, not for four days. But I’ll call you in four days, and we’ll figure this thing out, OK?’ That is what you could have said instead of saying, ‘It’s obvious you’re pissed, and I don’t want to have to deal with you, so I’ll call you in four days, but don’t call me.’”
At that point, he apologized very sweetly, and I (as sweetly as possible, but less sweetly than he) accepted it, and now I have to wait four days before I can figure out why they’ve charged me so much.
What do you wanna bet they turn off my phone tomorrow?
*You may remember that my credit limit is based on that fact that I have no credit in Canada — nor any status. More and more, I just don’t think the country wants me here.
Tags: Internet access, Telus
January 10, 2012 at 10:53 pm |
JFC why is Canada so crazy to you?
If the ‘Customer Service’ guy has that kind of power, I think you might have scared him into keeping your service. Fingers crossed!
January 11, 2012 at 7:59 am |
No flippin’ idea why Canada is so crazy for me. It doesn’t seem to be universal (though bad service from Telus does seem to be). Here’s hoping you’re right about the “customer service” guy.
January 10, 2012 at 10:53 pm |
It’s a hellish economy when you have to put up with all that you’ve put up with for the sake of Dear Husband’s job. I’m assuming moving to Canada was a necessity, and maybe that’s not correct. But I feel very badly for you if it was, and you have no choice but to stay. Because it all stopped being “fodder for the funnies” when Mad Scientist was bullied.
January 11, 2012 at 8:06 am |
Yes, we moved to Canada because of Mars’ job, but it was a great opportunity rather than a necessity. And indeed, he’s going quite well here (though he’s a bit overwhelmed at the moment).
Regardless why we moved here, though, indeed we have no choice but to stay. Moving was far more expensive than we expected, but moving back would be prohibitive. Nor would his former job be available. And I agree that “fodder for the funnies” ended when I started worrying about my son’s life and emotional health.
Having said all that, though, I still believe we’ll get through this. I’ll find my place here. I’ll eventually build a support system and make new friends, and someday I really will be happy here. I believe this.
I believe it’s also true for Mad Scientist, as long as he doesn’t make any permanent decisions. If we have to, we’ll pull him out of the school and either homeschool or try something else. We’ll do whatever it takes to help him find his equilibrium.
What I’m not sure about is whether he has enough faith in us and in the future to stick out the short-term pain. And if he doesn’t, it’ll take me much, much longer to find my own equilibrium, much less joy again.
January 10, 2012 at 10:54 pm |
OMG! I would have an ulcer by now if I were in your shoes! I’ve been following all of the moving/money/phone saga of problems (and sharing them with my husband) and it’s unbelievable what you’ve had to deal with!
I hadn’t realized how spoiled I’ve become living in a town with fiber optic cable. I grew up in the country, but that was before the internet, so I didn’t have to worry about that. (However, my grandmother, whom we lived with for several years, had a party line. The phone company actually made her get rid of it – evidently she was the last person in the area who was willing to share a line. It was really fun as a kid to pick up the phone – old ladies on the party line would start screeching at you to get off the line.)
Anyway, I’ve gone off on a tangent. I sincerely hope that the phone & internet fairies visit you and work their magic soon, because your other options aren’t sounding too hopeful.
January 11, 2012 at 8:10 am |
I don’t have an ulcer yet, but I have plenty of other psychosomatic problems, like this weird rash-type thing on my face that I’ve had since June (it was almost gone when this business started with Mad Scientist, but now it’s flared up again). The sage is unbelievable even to me, and I’m living it. Every now and then, like last night when I was talking to the “customer service” guy, it shocks me what all we’ve put up with. How, for instance, did I ever accept that I’d pay twice for a service I still barely have?
LOL about your grandmother. I vaguely remember party lines, but I was pretty young when we got a private line.
January 10, 2012 at 11:40 pm |
Every post just becomes more unbelieveable! I honestly couldn’t put up with it and don’t know how you do…except you have no choice, I know. Have you talked to your neighbors to see how they handle the phone/internet situation? Surely there has to be something that will work in your location. I get SO frustrated having dial up but that’s nothing compared to what you’re going through and you’re throwing so much money down that sinkhole, too!
BTW, have been reading but not commenting….glad you had a good holiday and things are going better in the family department.
(((Katrena)))
Hang in there. It will be a bestseller someday!
January 11, 2012 at 8:23 am |
No choice. You got it. We have no choice but to put up with it.
Although … I asked the guy how much it would cost to buy me out of my three-year contract with Telus, and he said $420 (or so). After I hung up I did the math. If we canceled all our contracts with Telus, sent back the equipment we’ve purchased from them, built a seventy-foot tower with another internet provider, and switched to a new provider for my cell service, we’d still come out ahead in three to four months even if Telus refused to unlock my iPhone and I had to purchase a new one. And if we went with dialup instead of the big tower, we’d come out ahead even sooner.
What does that tell you?
Most of our neighbors are higher than we are (we’re tucked in a little wooded valley), and they can reach the fixed wireless signal. The two closest neighbors are in exactly the same situation we’re in, but the internet is less central to their lives than it is to mine and/or they work in town and just do their online stuff at work.
Things are a little better at home, though it’s still very much touch-and-go. Mad Scientist was much happier over the holidays, but the first day back at school, he came home very upset. Among other things, the boys called him “stupid” for bringing a laptop to school. But yesterday, he came home very happy and bubbling about his school day. He’s downloaded some pretty high level animation software, and he was sharing it with a friend, and apparently they had a blast. So … woot!!! But every time the phone rings, I catch myself praying, “Please, let him be all right.”
January 11, 2012 at 7:52 am |
Sorry to hear you are going through such a difficult time. I remember being frustrated & upset when we moved to Alberta; for me, it was culture shock, coming from a very artsy community back East and leaving behind family, friends, and familiarity. Trying to adjust was difficult, I even went for a few counselling sessions in order to articulate and process the experience for myself. Parenting, celebrating holidays and special occasions, and trying to find footing in what had been daily routines seemed even more stressful, or thrown into a negative light because of a major life change. Luckily, you have your blog to help you make the transition. It is never easy, even if the move is for positive reasons.
I have also been following your blog about bullying, and having 3 boys who have also endured this form of abuse, I asked my youngest boy, age 10, what advice he would give to your son. He said that the best thing is to walk away and glue yourself to your true friends. My 23 year old son, who dealt with a lot of bullying, is now a wonderful, well adjusted, creative, loving and thoughtful young man who brings insight into all his relationships. As parents, it is horrific to watch this happen to our kids, but I think that is what parents are for: to guide our children through these life lessons and be their soft place to land. Bullying never goes away, either – my husband recently left a job he liked because of bullying in the workplace. It is so pervasive, there was a seminar presented in Sylvan lake a while ago on bullying in the workplace. The bullies will always be with us, and maybe the best we can do is teach our kids (and ourselves) skills to cope and not let ourselves be defined in a negative way by this. Best of luck, Katrina!
January 11, 2012 at 8:28 am |
Thanks. I’m actually thinking about doing a few sessions of counseling. Mars thinks I’m showing signs of PTSD, not to mention Depression.
Mad Scientist has done well, walking away from the bullies (and in some cases, literally running away), but he has no “true friends” to glue himself to. We haven’t been here long enough to make them yet.
But we’re all working on it, both on teaching him the skills to deal with the jerks and trying to stop the bullying as much as possible.
January 11, 2012 at 7:53 am |
It’s not Canada, it’s just Telus. There aren’t any answers that don’t involve high explosives, so just hang in there, please. Many of us Canadians are quite happy you’re here.
I assume satellite internet is prohibitively expensive? I’ve never looked into it but maybe it’s an option?
January 11, 2012 at 8:34 am |
Satellite Internet is NOT overly expensive.
January 11, 2012 at 8:41 am |
High explosives do have some appeal! That’s why I wrote the novel I wrote in November.
We had satellite when we first moved in, and it wasn’t prohibitive. It just didn’t work. It worked great for the first month (which I understand is typical), but then it never worked right again. I couldn’t even load web pages, much less do anything harder like use secured pages or preview music on iTunes. Even my email came in twelve hours late or more. Dialup does better than that!
But thanks. I do have to say, I really love most of the Canadians I’ve met.
January 11, 2012 at 8:33 am |
I had a similar problem when I moved here. By the time all was said and done I spoke to a manager – not a flunky – and I let the know what I was gonna have my lawyer do. It was resolved to the satisfaction of BOTH parties! Good luck!
January 11, 2012 at 8:47 am |
As far as the tech support folks, I’ve gone through two levels of them — past the flunkies and the real genius. The guy we’re working with now totally knows what he’s doing. He just hasn’t been able to solve the problem yet.
As far as customer service goes, they’ve screwed me over so consistently that I think it’s a corporate mindset, not a flukey situation.
But I will wait the four days and see what they say. Unless they turn off the phone, in which case, I’m done with them.
January 11, 2012 at 6:59 pm |
Darling, welcome to the “I hate Canada” club! I said that not so many years ago when I worked for Carlile. I hated that their customs people seemed to change the rules every.single.F’ing.week! It drove me up a wall. Do you know how many times I’d have a driver stuck at the border on a weekend? Neither do I! I can’t count that high! Or rejected loads because they didn’t like the paperwork, which was done the way they told me to do it the week before? I can’t count that high either!
I am so sorry that they are treating you as crappy as they treated us shippers. (((HUGS)))
January 11, 2012 at 7:00 pm |
Ok, maybe my potty mouth was more like “F*** Canada!” than “I hate Canada!” Just trying to be polite here. I’m sure you appreciate my sentiments.
January 11, 2012 at 8:57 pm |
ROFL!! I appreciate them even more now.
January 11, 2012 at 8:57 pm |
One of my friends used to live right next to the border, and often crossed it to buy groceries. What you could bring back literally changed every day. Every. Single. Day. Crazy!!
The good news is that it’s only the government and corporations that treat me badly. The people are wonderful.
January 12, 2012 at 9:42 am |
So if it’s ANY consolation, they are thinking of removing credit status for non-employed people here…at least it was floated around one of the states, so you may have been SOL at some point here in the states too.
I think you should get entrepreneurial and open up your own phone or internet company. If you can’t blog or tweet, you can at least make some money.
GOOD grief. I do feel your pain, I’m so sorry this ridiculous stuff has been bogging you down. Praying it gets better!!
January 13, 2012 at 7:57 pm |
It’s not just you – Telus is generally horrible for customer service.
February 6, 2012 at 9:05 pm |
Phone Couples Therapy…
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