Institutionalized Incompetence

This spring we moved to a new office at the BSU TECenter (Technology and Entrapreneurial Center http://www.bsutecenter.com/). As we've grown and evolved our focus we've moved a few times. Our previous office was a sublet that we shared with a partnered business - when we moved in we had an existing Qwest line moved there.

After the move (done 2 days late and taking that line down for half a day after several promises that wouldn't happen), we got our first post-move bill. We made a mistake - we paid it electronically and I used the wrong account number for two payments. The nightmare begins.

When we got the third bill and noticed that we hadn't been credited for the first two payments we called to see what was going on. Afterall, our bank records clearly showed that Qwest had accepted our payments. We discovered the account number problem and we were asked to get records directly from the bank to show the payments so it could be resolved. That was in June of 2008.

In the following two months we received calls from four different Qwest reps who gave us four different FAX numbers to send the bank records to them. No phone numbers, ever. The phone company apparently does not have phones, so we can't call them to confirm that they received our FAX. Each time we dealt with a new rep we asked about the previous rep. 'Never heard of him/her'. Each new call results in a new 'Payment Investigation' because there are never any notes in our account about the previous one, two, three investigations. Great.

Fine, they have the records, they have the money, it's their problem to fix for themselves. Phone bills show we have an outstanding balance, but we still have dial tone.

Three months later they call again. We owe money? No, dear *you* owe our account money. You want me to FAX everything again? This is getting tedious. New FAX number, but I got a promise of follow-up. Two weeks later, wonder of wonders I got a phone call saying it had been resolved and I would receive an email showing that. Got the email, it shows that we made the payments that they had already credited, but not the ones they lost. Apparently they did nothing as a result of Payment Investigation FIVE. Sent email to complain/clarify/get action - nothing.

We still have dial-tone, so forget about it. Then ten months later we get a letter immediately followed by a phone call from a collections company. <Insert explitives here> we do not owe Qwest money, they owe us!

Two weeks later a call from a new rep at Qwest, who never heard of the previous five reps. There are no records. New FAX number, new email address, request for a new type of document from our bank, but it's been 16 months and I have no idea if we'll be able to get it. I've been to this corner of purgatory, the scenery sucks. So now we're on payment investigation SIX. Qwest owes our account about $375. They show that we owe $190 (we've paid ahead a month since the beginning of this fiasco).

You know what makes the whole thing worse? I get two mailers a week and two phone calls per month asking me if we want to switch to Qwest (the problemed account is one of four telecomm services accounts for the business).

Short of torture, Hell on Earth is not being able to escape incompetence.