Bell Canada Still Sucks!

Bell Canada still sucks, even with a new logo.
I know, I know, everyone knows that Bell Canada still sucks. There’s nothing new about this statement. I’ve bitched about Bell Canada 611 before and I’ve complained about ExpressVu and Mobility also.
Well, after receiving my latest bill from Bell Canada, I was painfully reminded yet again that Bell Canada still sucks.
Background of the Problem
In mid-December I decided that I had paid too much for my Bell Internet for too long. It was time to can their ass and move to Primus. Bell was charging me $47.95/month while Primus was/is offering pretty much the exact same DSL Internet for $34.95/month. Oh, and I would also be able to purchase the modem so I wouldn’t keep paying that damn $2.00/month “modem rental fee” that mysteriously showed up on my bill one month a while back.
The Offer
Yeah, so I didn’t actually dump Bell Internet like I should have. I managed to get to the “retention agent” pretty quickly and that’s where I got conned. I was offered a deal – $36.95/month for 12 months and my home phone would be reduced to $9.95/month for the first 6 months and then go up to $14.95/month for the last 6 months.
Damn, that’s not a half bad deal considering I was just calling to cancel so I could get a better rate for high speed internet with Primus. I figured that staying with Bell would save me the hassle of actually switching and I could put up with one more year of their crap.
The agent even went the extra mile and emailed me a confirmation number with a summary of the offer. Swell.
What Went Wrong?
I wish I knew!
I received my Bell bill today and popped it open to check and see what my new monthly charges would be. Well, when I saw a bill for almost $250 I nearly lost it. I didn’t even have to look at the bill to know they had really screwed it up considering my “normal” bill is less than $150 and with the new offer, it should have been very close to $100.
I immediately grabbed the phone and called 310-India. Oh, no, I mean I called 310-BELL. While swearing like a trucker at automated Emily to get to a real person, I discovered why my bill was so high. For some reason Bell had decided to active the second phone line that goes to my house. I’ve never had that second line active since we bought the house and I have never made a request to activate the line. Now I’m paying for two phone lines and the activation charge to setup that second line. On top of that, they had changed my internet so I was now paying $50.95/month!
Needless to say, the offer I was given by the retention agent didn’t quite show up on my bill.
I spent almost an hour on the phone with three different agents getting dicked around. Even with my confirmation number, they couldn’t figure out what I was talking about. They were able to see when I made the call and everything but apparently they couldn’t figure out how to read the numbers on the screen in front of them.
I did finally manage to get the second line removed and apparently I’m going to get a retroactive credit for it. Unfortunately I have to wait until next month to find out if that actually happened as Bell is apparently unable to generate new bills on any day other than your billing date. In the mean time I’m supposed to over pay due to their screw up this month.
As for the offer I was given, I still don’t have that. I’ve got an “investigation” number though and supposedly I’ll receive a call within 5-7 days to inform me of the results of the “investigation”. I think I already know the response I’m going to receive. Something like:
The offer that you were provide was not properly documented so we are unable to extend that offer to you. Instead, we’ll give you a token $5 off of your bill for a couple months to try and keep you happy. Oh, but we’ll still charge you $52.95/month for internet that you can get elsewhere for $34.95/month, just because we think we can. Oh, and for making us look bad we’re going to say that you agreed to a 3 year contract at some point too.
Here’s hoping they don’t end up canceling both phone lines at my house. That would be just classic Bell Canada.
What’s Next?
Once this is fixed, I’m switching to Primus. Bell Canada still sucks and I don’t want to give them any more of my money.