I've just had the worst run of service (or lack of) from Bell. Wondering if anyone has had similar and/or gotten compensated or found the secret to getting some service from these bozos.

- Moved into brand new House (Nov)
- Bell installed satellite, phone, internet
- Internet great, satellite great, phone sounded like snow storm
(Brand new DECT 6.0+ phone with 2 handsets)
- Had a technician miss an appointment to come out
- Then technician came out (rude), fixed problem, but recurred after a week
- Called again they blamed my equipment (they always tell you if it is your equipment
and they come out a service fee of $130 applies - they try to sell you equipment insurance)
- Couple months later - My phone (only service) went out completely
- Called a technician and they fixed that but not the static
another month - I lose it call them in
- The guy actually fixes the issue but then after he leaves (less than 30 minutes) phone goes out completely

- I call angry, technician (nice guy) comes yesterday and actually fixes the problem and explains the cause of the problem AND explains what the other guys did wrong

Frustrated I call Bell and ask for compensation for the huge amount of time I've wasted and phone that has been unusable

After waiting 20 minutes +they offer me a $15 dollar credit on my next bill and will not discuss any further.


Previously (about 13 years) I was on Rogers, home phone for about 5. I had one issue once with channel 6 not coming in on the TV and it took 3 technicians 3 visits to fix. It was some weird issue with a rusted part on a box farther away or something. The difference was Rogers was much easier to work with and they compensated me the entire time the channel was not working :) immediately.

$15 from Bell is less than half one months home phone service

I would call Bell, ask to speak with a customer retention agent, explain calmly the hoops you had to jump through and ask if they felt $15 was just compensation for your inconvenience, because if they believe that to be fair, you will be left with little choice but to seek the services of another phone provider who cares about its customers. Stay calm and polite, but 'disappointed' in Bell's service and you may very well get a resolution that better suits you. I have done this before with Telus and had immediate satisfaction and even a six month long reduction in my phone bill.

Sorry to hear about your experience. If you are in a new house the chances of static being caused by internal wiring or your new phones are virtually zero. Static is most often caused by the cable pair feeding your home being corroded somewhere along the path between you and your serving central office. The fact that your line went out of service likely means the corrosion literally ate through one of the two copper wires needed to feed your home.

It used to be a very easy thing to diagnose and repair but Bell has really cut experienced outside plant staff in recent years and your situation is a result of this.

If you want relatively quick action I would document everything that has occurred and get the names of Bell employees you have spoken with. Look up "Office of the President" either online or in the phone book and compose an email stating the facts and also mention that you have switched from a competitor. When you are contacted by the assigned Bell employee state the facts again and mention that you have lost work time over this episode. They will usually relent at this point. If they do not relent to your satisfaction state that you will be writing a letter to the CRTC and that you are exploring alternative service options given Bell's poor service.

They are desperate to maintain telephone customers so I'm pretty sure you'll have your way.

Let us know how it goes.

My horror story with Bell (might be slightly different than this but this is how I remember it now)
Was using Bell for about two years when the phone service started dropping out every so often but the DSL would remain on most of the time.
Called Bell, and they sent out Tech #1: he replaced the demarcation (or however you spell it) outside my apt.
Problem fixed; then returned by the next morning. (every other tech resolved the problem for a few hours to a day max)
Tech #2 and #3: did not show up; but said that they did. We were home the whole day and no one came.
Tech #4 installed a grounding wire from the box to the metal pole on my hydro meter (I was told after it's a no no)
Tech #5 came and re ran the wire from the apt on the third floor down to the ground floor box.
Tech #6 replaced the wire from the ground box to the box next to the telephone pole.
Tech #7, #8, #9 came and replaced various parts
Tech #10, 11 said they came, but never showed up
Tech #12 changed the pair from the box on the pole to the main station a few streets over. He was a tech instructor so he took his time and told me for sure that the problem would be fixed. It last about two days.
Tech #13 did not know anything..
Finally Tech #14; showed up around 9:30 in the evening and told me exactly what was wrong and how to fix it. She told me the issue is inside the apt and that Bell was trying to get us to get the wire maintenance program thing. She told me to go to a local hardware store and buy some telephone wire, and a new jack. She showed me how to connect it to the demarcation point. She came into my apt and followed telephone lines all over my apt to find some had been cut, some went nowhere, others were just stuffed into the wall. I connected it as she mentioned and presto it worked like a charm.

Bell offered one month free service and then we switched to Videotron the following month...

I will never use Bell again...

RtC

That's quite a story RtC, how did you remember it all? :D

Good to see you posting, BTW. ;)

That's quite a story RtC, how did you remember it all? :D

Good to see you posting, BTW. ;)

It's one of those hate stories that you just can't shake.. my wife will remember it also...

Makes you wonder when companies cannot figure out why they are loosing customers....

Was just reading a globe and mail article about Rogers and how all the wireless and cable sectors are slowing in sales.. duh.. treat your customers like crap and they will go elsewhere..

RtC

duh.. treat your customers like crap and they will go elsewhere..

RtC, the trouble is, in Canada there is nowhere else to go! All three are cut from the same cloth.

Cheers

RtC, the trouble is, in Canada there is nowhere else to go! All three are cut from the same cloth.

Cheers

I do agree... but if you can.. support third party providers.

I've migrated away from the big three and haven't really felt dire consequences...

Rogers won't suffer long.. in the article they've mentioned intelligent parking meters as a new revenue stream... I can feel the pain already!

Sorry for slightly hijacking the thread.. I'll stop now ;)

RtC

I never had any real issues with Bell, but I ended my satellite tv service since I didn't feel it was worth the $80 a month, and then moved to teksavvy for Internet since they were cheaper for the same thing.

I had an old unlimited bell plan for Internet and they kept bumping it up by $5 a month for no reason, and then I had $3 a month for modem rental for a modem that I had been renting since 2004... I don't have many Internet options, but have the exact same service for $30 less a month with teksavvy, which is just reselling the same bell service I had.

I just don't understand why the big three seemingly don't offer services which users need. Bell tried to keep me for Internet and tried to lower my bill but all they had were services with caps of like 80 GB a month. They were willing to add in another 120GB for free, but I have some months where I I'm up over 300 GB and by the time you considered the overage fees it was no cheaper than my expensive unlimited plan. The bell guy trying to keep me even admitted there was no point in me staying with Bell.




Sent from my iPhone