I usually don't do this, but I really have to vent before I explode. Here's the story:
On March 16, I cancelled a DSL account with Telocity because, IMO, the service was abysmal. Telocity tells me that they sent the release-of-line order to Verizon, my local carrier, on the 16th.
On March 23rd, I put in a request to be connected to Earthlink DSL. I'm still not connected.
Of course, I've called Earthlink many times to find out what's going on. Repeatedly they told me that Verizon was holding up the works. Finally, on Monday, I called and mentioned my lawyer and federal regulations. On Tuesday, I got a call from Earthlink (a minor miracle itself, to be called by a provider) and they told me that the problem was that Telocity had not yet released the line, so I had to call Verizon to have them get the OK from Telocity.
So I called Verizon on Tuesday. Verizon tells me that they can't do anything untill they get notice from Telocity, and that I have to call Telocity to see what's holding things up at their end.
So I call Telocity, again on Tuesday, and it's then that I discover that they had sent the release form on March 16th. I explain to the guy at Telocity that according to Verizon they had not received the release order. He promises that he'll send another release order to Verizon.
So today, Thursday, I call Verizon. They tell me that they can't speak to me about the whole business, that they can do nothing at all until they receive the order from Telocity. I explain that I'd spoken to Telocity and that they were to resend the order--could the Verizon folks please check to see if that had happened. I'm then told that they can't do that, that in fact it is illegal for them even to be talking to me about the whole business, that everything has to come from Telocity. I repeat that all I want them to do is to check to see if Telocity had sent the release order. The lady from Verizon then goes into a spiel about this that and the other thing, at which point I hang up.
I just finished speaking to another guy from Telocity, who says, again, that the order to release the line was sent on the 16th of March, and that the same order was sent again this past Tuesday, and that there's nothing they can do to force Verizon to release the line.
Earthlink, meanwhile, says the same thing--nothing they can do until Telocity releases the line and that they can't get in touch with Verizon to force them to do anything.
To bring this to a point--what the heck (not to use a stronger word) am I supposed to do at this point? I think that someone--and I think it's Verizon--is breaking the law, but on the other hand the idea of making a court case out of this seems ludicrous. Do I just wait? Screaming at the folks you speak with when you call the various companies is pointless--it's not their fault, after all.
Anyway, if people are wondering why DSL services are dying all over the place, I think my experience is probably a good contributing factor.
Top