Overdue account at Eastlink
Jeffrey Hinchey
On February 5th, Overdue Accounts at Eastlink called in regards to my
overdue account. I was asked to return the call no later than February
8th. Two hours after the message was left, I received the message. I went
upstairs to check my e-mail, and my Internet was disabled.
I called the office, and the representative said that it was policy to
automatically disconnect the Internet, to "emprompt" the person to call the
office. I was obviously upset, since it was not even a few hours let alone
three days as the voice mail said.
I then told the representative, this is the third time that they have
"pressed a button" to "emprompt" my phone call, in 18 month's, and my
patience was wearing thin. As a single dad, there are competing priorities
at different times of the year, such as oil, emergency visits to the
hospital where medication is required, etc., so admittedly, I am
occasionally slow on my bills. That said, I suspect that I am not the only
Nova Scotia resident to experience this sort of problem this winter, due to
oil increases etc.
After a heated argument, my internet service was restored and in a form of
duress I was "emprompted" to make a promise to pay money before my
scheduled payday, on the expectation I could borrow the money. Little
wonder when this did not work out, and I was unable to borrow the money,
then it just satisfies Eastlinks assertion all along. An assertion that I
had no intention of paying the money, in response to a promise made to a
situation that they "emprompted in the first place".
Ironically I had Eastlink scheduled for their payment the upcoming payday,
but when I told the representative, he felt that waiting until February
17th, versus the 8th was just impossible to do.
What I take exception with is the blatent disregard that Eastlink has for
their customers, in the way that they connect and reconnect services at
will. Eastlink also seems to have complete denial that their billing and
collecting policies are becomming more heavy handed than even Bell Canada,
who for many people Eastlink was the alternative. Personally I feel that
even though a person, or company, has the "ability to do something", does
not mean they have the "right to do something".
Just to up the stakes a little, now Eastlink has a new policy that once you
have your phone disconnected, then you no longer can have you old number
back. They give you a new phone number, even though the old number is
available, apparently to comply with new CRTC rules. How convienient. I
was almost thinking that it is a little roughing up there, just to ensure
that you do not get behind in your bill in the future, but I guess that
Eastlink is just doing the right thing, none the less.
So now I am in a situation that I must diversify my services, so that I do
not owe too much money to any one provider at any one time. I will put my
internet with Bell, my television services with Satellite and give Eastlink
their $28 a month for phone. Then I am sure Eastlink will be happy, since
I will not owe the company a large sum of money, or be 60 days behind on
any one bill, etc.
Then Eastlink will have the cash in the bank to spend on advertising to get
more customers like me. I am not sure how that really benefits Eastlink,
but it sure is the impression of what the company wants me to do.
Now, maybe I am the only person in Nova Scotia that is behind on a bill or
two. Maybe I am one of the few people who will admit in a public forum to
such a problem. However in my opinion there are a few things that are
pretty standard for many people, and in a perfect world everyone would
always have money for everything their heart desires. I feel however that
many people are like me, and try to balance their wants with their
abilities, and say, well if I get cable I can't party this month, yadda,
yadda, yadda. They try to find a balance that will work, and keep their
sanity, and sometimes we are successful and sometimes not. Maybe a friends
birthday comes along, or the car breaks, or you have an accident. No
matter what the malody, in the end however it usally all works out
eventually, and I do no think that people are trying to be mean by not
being on time with a bill, etc..
So I think it might be good for Eastlink to remember certain things:
* Most people get paid regulary, and have unexpected expenses. If they need
to change their priorities to pay a bill earlier under duress such as this
Eastlink Problem, they need one pay period to do so, not three days after
bringing it to their attention.
* Not everyone has an abundance of credit, or uses credit, or the ability to
'rob peter' to 'pay paul', as many people are forced to do these days.
Just because it has become the norm, does not mean that everyone should be
expected to do so.
* Eastlink charges up front one month for their bills, and before the
services are actually consumed. So when Eastlink says you are say 60 days
behind, you are actually 30 days behind, 90 days behind 60 etc. Actually I
think rent is about the only thing you pay up front for, besides cable, and
that is hardly a service.
* I can accept not having Internet or phone for a week or so, no big deal,
and actually I got no hard feeling over that. Kay Sera Sera. But from
Eastlink view think about this. When Eastlink plays little power games
like this to consumers, then Eastlink really must lose in the long run. If
a customer is not running up a bill at their office, then they are just
leaving money on the table for their competitors, etc. I use very little
credit and pay cash for just about everything, so in a week or two, I can
restructure my services to eliminate these kind of problems. Heck maybe I
can use the $20 I am forced to save due to Eastlink disconnecting me, for a
movie or something. Hey, yeah, since I got no service, why make them a
priority next week? Maybe I can catch up on my power. Ummm, thinking
here. Get the idea?
* I have never taken exception to paying the interest in my bill, or saying
that Eastlink does not deserve to charge interest or a sevice charge for an
overdue account. Is Eastlink really hurting that bad that such power games
have to be made by the employees, to ensure adherance to the law?
The reason I have posted this, is to see if anyone else here has any issues
with Eastlink. If there is and you can post them as well, maybe we can
start a little discussion thread and see if there is some business
practices here that are not quite respectable.
Maybe we can drop a little email to David Caldwell over there are Eastlink,
for his opinion. I just did an internet search and apress release shows
his email as dcal...@eastlink.ca, so I cc'd him on this post. Anyone
know if this is indeed his address?
Heck, maybe Mr Caldwell really is not aware of some fo the heavy handed
treatment over there at Eastlink, so maybe we are doing him a favor after
all.
Drop me a line Dave, or anyone, ah next week after my services are back up.
(J)
JH
your services were cut off, you would have been 60+ days past the date in
which you had agreed to pay for your services when signing up with the
company. That means, you would have received two bills that you did not pay
as well as probably a payment reminder notice in the mail and the phone call
you received. You have to understand that utility companies are not in the
business of giving credit and charging interest and then letting you pay
back whenever you want. That's what banks and credit card companies are
there for. That causes them all kinds of extra administrative costs and the
like and ends up raising the rates for those of us who pay our bills on
time.
Also, power service is an essential service and to some extent you could
also argue that phone service is also essential. However, high speed
Internet access and cable television are basically luxuries and can be
easily substituted for using rabbit ears and dial-up Internet if money is an
issue. That's why I don't think that cutting off someone's cable or
Internet should require as much due process as cutting off someone's power
would. If you can't afford the bill for these things at certain times of
year due to other expenses, you should consider voluntarily getting them
disconnected temporarily or cutting back on services. Either that, or use
credit cards or loans to temporarily charge off the payments. At least that
way, your credit rating is also left intact and you probably would wind up
paying less in interest and late payment charges.
"Jeffrey Hinchey" <jef...@hinchey.com> wrote in message
news:x%b2a.254892$C8.9...@nnrp1.uunet.ca...
resqtech
Dave is an Ex MTT engineer...... Things are either black or
white.........there is no grey with those so educated.
Norma DeViller
"Donna Whitman" <book...@NOSPAM.hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote in message
news:3e4a851c...@news.eastlink.ca...
>
>
> Very simple solution. You can't afford the service, don't have it.
> If you can afford to pay for the service, enjoy. Don't expect Eastlink
> you give you a freebie. I suspect there's more here than meets the
> eye. I've carried as much of a balance as $300 + and never received
> any threatening phone calls, e-mails or dropped services so long as I
> paid SOMETHING every month.
I know that having been through similar situations myself, it's easy to fall
behind. I've now managed to get most of my bills on a budget plan, so there
are no surprises.
However it's difficult to get on a monthly budget while you're in arrears,
so the best course of action is to pay something every month. As long as
you're paying something (20 percent I think) on a regular basis everytime
you have money and call them with a confirmation number each time you make a
payment you keep them happy. One thing to remember when dealing with any
creditor is to be firm, and tell them when you CAN make a payment, how much
it will be and stick to your word, then call and tell them when they can
expect the next payment. Or do without a luxury...I haven't had cable in 5
years. The internet is the one luxury I afford myself, and I have it built
into my phone bill.
One side note. Bill collectors are mean. Maybe I should state some bill
collectors are mean, nasty, and lacking severely in people skills. It's
their job, anything to get you to pay your bill in full or in part. I found
the collectors at MTT/Aliant and NS Power are much more reasonable to deal
with than those from a collection agency, some of them are downright nasty
and lacking in common decency. I'm glad I don't hear from them anymore.
On a positive note, you'll never have to deal with bill collectors if you
keep your bills up to date. For those of us who have slipped up just do
your best to get the money train back up on the rails, and watch for the
switch lights. ;-)
reg
PingPong
>Subject: Overdue account at Eastlink
>Newsgroups: hfx.general
>EASTLINK SERVICES
>On February 5th, Overdue Accounts at Eastlink
>called in regards to my overdue account. I was
>asked to return the call no later than February
>8th. Two hours after the message was left, I
>received the message. I went upstairs to check
>my e-mail, and my Internet was disabled.
sorry buddy, nobody at eastlink gives two farts
about you or anybody else and the same deal with
aliant . you dont pay them on time, they jerk
your around . do what lots of people do; call up
aliant and open up new service . when you cant
pay it, let them pull yur plug . then go back to
eastlink with another name . your a smart puter
guy, use photoshop and doctor up a scanned pic
of your driver permit, viola; new id . dont use
it for anything but opening up new service, you
can float 4ever that way . hassle? ya, but worth it?
you betcha it is .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This message was posted via one or more anonymous remailing services.
The original sender is unknown. Any address shown in the From header
is unverified.
santos
problem is here, if you cant pay, you cant have it, very simple.
Why in the hell would you possibly be mad at eastlink when after 60 days
without a payment they want their money? You *did* use their services up
until that date, so you owe them. Pay up!
P.S. People that use oil as an excuse are full of shit, you think that a
tank of oil costing you an extra $15 this year really makes you unable to
pay all your bills, etc etc. Bullshit.
"Jeffrey Hinchey" <jef...@hinchey.com> wrote in message
news:x%b2a.254892$C8.9...@nnrp1.uunet.ca...
Norma DeViller
>"santos" said:
>People that use oil as an excuse are full of shit, you think that a
> tank of oil costing you an extra $15 this year really makes you unable to
> pay all your bills, etc etc. Bullshit.
I don't think the price of oil is a cop out. I've experienced the price
fluctuations before I was on a monthly plan and after. Thank heavens I've
moved to a home heated with electricity, and am on a budget plan. My former
residence cost $2300 to heat last winter. This winter has been colder and
the prices higher. If prices stay where they are...my oil bill for this
winter would have been around $2700. That's quite a chunk out of a family's
budget. The last time the prices were around the levels of today it really
messed up my budget plan, three months into the season the oil company I was
with increased my monthly payments from $150 to $220. (part of that was my
oil company had underestimated the amount of oil my home would need for the
winter) That $70 difference meant I had less money for groceries, power,
phone, childcare and rent. (I didn't have internet or cable). Calls for
quite the juggling act.
When your income is steady, but your bills (gas/heating oil/insurance) keep
increasing, or something unexpected happens like a filling falls out and
needs to be replaced right away, and your dental plan will only cover 70
percent, but you have to pay it all up front, where is the "extra" money
supposed to come from?
Yes we're all supposed to have six months salary tucked away for a rainy
day, but how many of us can honestly say we do? (Show of hands.) Fact is
many people do live paycheque to paycheque, and while internet is a luxury,
calling your creditors before they call you and making payment arrangements,
and good faith payments is always better than ignoring your bills.
As I mentioned in a previous post some bill collectors are mean and nasty,
but some are quite reasonable. You usually get a reasonable person if you
call them and make arrangements, rather than leaving your bills sit, and
ignore disconnection/collection notices and wait for them to call you.
However, even if you are in arrears you should be treated with some level of
respect.
Being financially strapped is stressful enough, to have someone call you
names, swear at you, tell you to sell something, or borrow the money from
someone else is just rude and uncalled for. I'm pretty sure most people
have sold things or borrowed money to pay their bills at one time or
another, I think most people can figure this out on their own and don't need
a collector to tell them.
In any case, if you do find yourself swimming in debt I recommend you do
something about it, and not allow yourself to get any further into debt.
I've been there.
Once upon a time I went to Access Nova Scotia. My marriage had just broken
down, and I was swimming in debt. It took almost a year to realise I just
couldn't maintain the juggling act. A near nervous breakdown, stress,
depression, anxiety attacks, insomnia, therapy, and denial, finally I just
couldn't take it anymore. I just couldn't keep up with the bills, and the
collections people were getting nasty, they weren't listening, and didn't
care that my life was falling apart. They just wanted their money. If that
meant belittling me, and calling me everyday that's what they would do. The
solution for me was bankruptcy, but that's not the only answer, it is a
drastic measure for a fresh start.
Here's a site that might help you decide what your options are:
http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/consumer/debtor/default.asp
If you think bankruptcy might be the answer I recommend Charles Wackett.
Charles, Therese, and their staff will help you decide whether a consumer
proposal, orderly payment of debt, or indeed bankruptcy is your solution.
Lots of good information on his website.
There was an online pamphlet about consumer rights a couple years ago, I
can't find the link at the moment, but I'll keep looking and post the URL if
I find it.
Good luck!
Norma DeViller
Agencies, and what they can and can't do:
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/ca01485e.html
Norma DeViller
Topics covered include:
Recognize the danger signals
Possible solutions
What you should know
Where to go
Assessment and Counselling
Consumer proposal
Bankruptcy
Appendix I - Excerpts from the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act concerning
bankruptcies
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/br01035e.html
I hope this helps anyone who may be having financial difficulty at this
time.
gorgonzola2924
<jef...@hinchey.com> wrote:
>EASTLINK SERVICES
>
>On February 5th, Overdue Accounts at Eastlink called in regards to my
>overdue account. I was asked to return the call no later than February
>8th. Two hours after the message was left, I received the message. I went
>upstairs to check my e-mail, and my Internet was disabled.
Is internet how you make a living? I can see why you would need
Eastlink in that case, but otherwise, it's a luxury.You can get 56k
service in Halifax for $100/yr at Chebucto Community Net.
gman
> your services were cut off, you would have been 60+ days past the date in
> which you had agreed to pay for your services when signing up with the
> company. That means, you would have received two bills that you did not pay
> as well as probably a payment reminder notice in the mail and the phone call
> you received. You have to understand that utility companies are not in the
> business of giving credit and charging interest and then letting you pay
> back whenever you want. That's what banks and credit card companies are
> there for. That causes them all kinds of extra administrative costs and the
> like and ends up raising the rates for those of us who pay our bills on
> time.
At 28% or higher interest on overdue accounts they more then make up
for any 'administrative costs'. The most profitable part of Sears in
their credit card business....not their actually sales !
> Also, power service is an essential service and to some extent you could
> also argue that phone service is also essential. However, high speed
> Internet access and cable television are basically luxuries and can be
> easily substituted for using rabbit ears and dial-up Internet if money is an
> issue. That's why I don't think that cutting off someone's cable or
> Internet should require as much due process as cutting off someone's power
> would. If you can't afford the bill for these things at certain times of
> year due to other expenses, you should consider voluntarily getting them
> disconnected temporarily or cutting back on services. Either that, or use
> credit cards or loans to temporarily charge off the payments. At least that
> way, your credit rating is also left intact and you probably would wind up
> paying less in interest and late payment charges.
Agreed, don't buy something, subscribe to something if you can't
afford it.
What does kill me though is that these utility companies charge $20 -
$50 to install cable / phone / power when all they do is switch
billing information or screw the cable wire into the back of your
TV...BS
GARY P STONE
pay our bills and are happy for what we get. I think it's just horrible
having to tell somebody to give up something that brings pleasure. I can
take it that most who responded were never behind on their bills or live
with Mommy. Frankly if nobody has noticed almost everything has risen in
price. Electricity, Gasoline, Oil. Also it's not just the basic price, but
the HST will climb as well (it's a percentage thingy). How we agreed to a
15% tax is almost comical and sad at the same time. Some democratic foul up
no doubt. Like the Super city idea. I always have images of people out West
or anywhere else but here laughing at us and saying "How did they ever get
sucked into a 15% taxation"? So if it's not the new price of the service, it
will be that 15% around our necks that will produce a tidy sum out of your
pocket as well. Just take a month (do it in March) and tally up all you paid
in HST. Now you know why the Government won't regulate things like gasoline
and oil. Same reason why cigarettes are so highly taxed (I don't smoke).
Nicotine is highly addictive and the Government has you by your addiction. I
mean if the stuff is so dangerous and deadly for your health. Why is it even
legal? It kills people so stop it's production. Simple and less tax
involved. Anything else would be banned by Health Canada. A drug proven to
deform babies in the late 1950's was banned because babies were born without
arms or legs or parts of. Check your search engine for Thalidomide. Now
people why would the Government bite the (HST) hand that feeds it? Also
raising the price of tobacco products to get somebody to quit is such a
stupid premise. It's like raising the price of gas to rid the roads of bad
drivers (Hmmmmm maybe I figured it out).
I'm not in dire straits or behind bills, but I do find what I am just
existing and got a pittance for myself to spend. A far cry of what it used
to be. Remember years ago when there was no HST on heating oil? Remember
when there was no GST period? Also try to remember Electricity just went up
in November 2002. So if you are electric heated don't think you are immune.
If you are on a budget plan I am willing to bet you are going to feel it
when it's budget renewal time. You're kidding yourself by thinking
otherwise. It's like rushing to the gas station filling up to save some
pennies a litre before it goes up. You are going to pay the new price
eventually (unless you plan to buy a horse). You are going to pay and pay
you will. Finally I was watching on the ATV news last night that people are
getting less for what they produce employment wise and that was according to
Larry Haiven SMU Professor of Industrial Relations. Let's face it your net
income isn't as powerful as it used to be. Remember everybody wants to make
a profit and it's your dollar that's going to do it. Oh and only an extra
$15 LOL. Does that include or exclude the HST? Must be a small place to
heat.
I totally agree with Norma a chunk more here and there will diminish us all.
"Norma DeViller" <njv...@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:Bdm2a.1$Ky....@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca...
Marilyn E. Burford
Beat me to it; I was going to suggest the same thing :).
Marilyn