Review by rebeltaz
(review was emailed from domain robotsandcomputers.com)
lodged 308 days ago
 Shelby,Shelby,AL
 $149 per month- (24 month contract)
 "absolutely nothing" "lying sales staff, inept service" "Do not even attempt to switch over to U-Verse. Not if you value your sanity."
| Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
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My troubles all started two weeks ago, on July 6th. That was the date of
my ill-fated appointment with AT&T to initiate the long-awaited
switchover to U-verse Service. Little was I to know that that was to
become the Day the Internet Died.
To begin with, the sales associate who convinced me that U-verse was the
end-all-and-be-all of Internet Services promised me the moon. I was to
receive a DVR, a static IP address and returning to DSL (henceforth
affectionately known as Old-Faithful) would be no problem. Right...
I should have suspected trouble when, four or five hours before the
technician arrived to install the new service, another technician
arrived, unannounced and without warning, to disconnect my original DSL
line in order to make way for the new U-Verse service.
When the scheduled technician arrived, the U-Verse modem was installed
and he moved on to the DVR. After failing to get three separate DVR
units to initialize, the technician called Tech Support (and,
incidentally, had to wait on hold for fifteen minutes as if he were a
customer (their own people do not have a direct line to Tech Support!)
only to find out that I was not set up to receive a DVR. The plan that I
was on only allowed for a standard set-top converter (which he couldn't
get to initiate, either, by the way. Not exactly a deal breaker (I'd
just cancel the TV portion in a month or two) but note that I was lied
to by the sales department.
So I go to configure the new modem with the IP address and the internal
server port that I required only to find out that the new modem does not
allow these changes which were no problem under the old DSL modem. I was
informed that there were no U-Verse modems capable of this simple feat.
This meant that my web server would not function with the new U-Verse
Service equipment. Not only that, but the service had been created with
a dynamic (ever changing) IP address when I specifically requested,
several times, a static (never changing) IP address. OK... fine. "Cancel
the service and put me back on DSL," I said.
Yeah... After three two-hour calls to Tech Support and Billing every day
for a week (with no internet connection this entire time, mind you) it
was finally decided that the only way to reconnect my DSL service was to
provide me with a new physical dedicated line on which they could then
run the "new" DSL service. I would then be able to register the new
service with my existing email address and password. Fine... "Do it."
In the meantime, come to find out, the billing department had canceled
my original DSL contract, along with the promotional discounts that I
received for signing that contract in the first place. When I canceled
the U-Verse Service, they failed to cancel that new contract along with
it and re-instate my original DSL contract. This had the completely
undesired affect of jacking my bill up to double what I had been paying.
That in itself took a good two hours to get straightened out, with two
"specialists" operating on it.
The next Monday (still no internet over the weekend) the fourth
technician (number three had to come out over the weekend to repair my
voice line that was damaged during the swap-over) came and installed the
new line. You'd think that my problems would be over, right? Wrong.
Seems that my original credentials were still associated with the
(canceled) U-Verse Service and it had no intentions of releasing them
anytime soon. The only solution, I was told, was to create a totally new
account, whereas I may or may not lose my original email addresses
(which I have had for over ten years), depending on who you asked. And
still no static IP address, but that would be taken care of as soon as
the new line is registered to your new account. Fine... "Whatever."
Three days later without the promised static IP address (without which
my web server is like a ship lost at sea), I made yet another call to a
number I now know by heart. Two Tech Support "specialists" later and I
am FINALLY back online.
Every agent with whom I spoke over the past two weeks said the same
thing as soon as I mentioned that this all started with a failed U-Verse
installation - "Oh, Lord." Seems I am no where near the first to have
issues with this wonderful new service.
This whole ordeal has lasted two weeks. I was completely unable to get
any work done as I was unable to do parts look-ups or to place any
orders. I now have a second physical line that I never needed. I had to
rework my entire internal network after the "technician" who attempted
to install the service screwed some setting or another up. And I'm out
the cost of a bottle of aspirin and a case of beer.
Oh, and I am now inexplicably receiving between 50-100 spam emails a day
from AT&TAppsBeta@att.sbc.bellsouth.juno.in, an email address that,
after a little research on the net, appears to somehow be associated
with U-Verse installation. Of course, AT&T has never heard of this
problem, but they're... "looking in to it." Yeah, right.
Long story short (yeah, I know, it's a little too late for that) do
not even attempt to switch over to U-Verse. Not if you value your
sanity.
Comments:
 | |  And this is their fault?
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|  | | | Re: And this is their fault? As a matter of fact, if you could read, you would see that I DID in fact REQUEST and was PROMISED a STATIC IP address prior to the attempted switch. Plus, I never said that this was a HOME account. This is a COMMERCIAL account for which I pay COMMERCIAL pricing. Look up this phrase somewhere: Better to be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. | |
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| | User misrepresented their situation?
Wondering if they are paying for commercial usage, in which case this is a terrible case of very poor support.
If not, they got what they deserve. | |
| | | | Re: User misrepresented their situation? Wonder all you want... This is a COMMERCIAL account for which I pay COMMERCIAL pricing. Still think I got what I deserve? | |
|
othas3
join:2002-07-15
Los Angeles, CA | Yes, it is AT&T's fault I've had most of the same experiences the OP had with some good and some customer service fails
1. On 12/23/10, two guys came to my door to sell me U-Verse, promising super-speeds and static IPs (I am one of those 'not most' people running their own server). I agreed had the installer over on 12/27 and after 3 hours...guess what....IT WORKED....but......
2. The modem guy forgot the 5 static IP block. Like when your BigMac is not in your McDonalds bag, it wasn't on the receipt. Someone came back on the 29th, made adjustments to THE RG THAT THEY ORIGINALLY BROUGHT SO I COULD HAVE STATIC IPs, and once again....IT WORKED.....
3. In January 2011, the vDSL would interrupt at random periods, but at least once in a 24 hour period. I ran AT&T's diagnostic tool, and its response was "Yeeeaaaahhhhh....you need to call this in with this code number". I called it in gave the code number, and the CSR's response was, "Yeeeeeaaaaahhhhh....can we come to your house on Saturday.". The tech came by (late), installed the 2wire3801 (replacing the 3800 that he abandonded like Picard abandoned the Stargazer), and...............wait for it.....IT WORKED. Well, he forgot the static IP set up, but I was paying attention on 12/29 and programmed the RG myself.
....and it's worked ever since.
I have a similar fail to the OPs DSL loss. 2 years earlier, I had DSL at a different location tied into my line that had come from the pacbell.net and the !yahoo days. The secret problem was that I got yahoo web-hosting and had it billed to my phone bill. I changed the phone number and they (claimed) that I could not carry over the billing. I wasn't really using the web-hosting so I cancelled it. GUESS WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT?
1. I call in from work to cancel
2. 5 minutes after I hang up, my e-mail client says it can't read my e-mail from my PRIVATE HOME server.
3. I try the webserver...fail
4. I ping the private IP....fail
5. I call the FAX machine on the other line.....pass, the power is still on in my apartment
6. I call AT&T back and j'accuse them of cancelling my DSL when they cancelled webhosting
7. The CSR happily and flippantly gives me a "Oh that would never happen because it's two separate sys...." while she checks my account. "Oh my! Your DSL IS off! Let me just turn it back on and....hmmm it's not letting me....can I put you on hold?"
8. She comes back and the only way to restore my DSL is to start up a new service which will activate in 4 days. The only way I can regain my @pacbell.net e-mail, however, and the e-mails trapped within was to reactivate webhosting. I did long enough to evacuate their mail server and said goodbye to an e-mail address that I had since dialup!
...but all that happened 4 years ago. It's been aces ever since! | |
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