Letter: Problems still plague FairPoint billing system (Printed March 5, 2010)
To the editor:
FairPoint Communications recently filed for its long-awaited bankruptcy. As a former FairPoint customer, this was never as urprise – just a matter of time.
In December 2008, I became a customer of FairPoint. I needed a land-line in my home so I could also have its mucha dvertised, cost effective, Internet service.
After only 30 days I cancelled my account because its customer service and technical support was impossible to deal with. If only I had known how bad this nightmare was to become.
I soon became aware its billing department was even worse. Three months after canceling my service I continued receiving bills. I called the billing department and explained my problem and representatives assured me they would quit sending me invoices. I asked them what they wanted me to do with the equipment and they said to throw it away.
No wonder the company has lost so much money.
After a year, I wrote to the Maine Public Utilities Commission regarding the continued bills from FairPoint. The PUC was kind enough to respond to my letter and an official said that the commission had spoken to FairPoint and had been assured this matter would be resolved.
I continue to receive invoices for services I do not have from FairPoint Communications. I am sure I am not the only former customer who has had these continuing problems. What is the state going to do for former FairPoint customers like me? How many former customers out there are having the same problem?
Please contact your state representative or thePUC if you are having similar problems. I would like to see a public servicep oll regarding what Mainers think of their service from FairPoint Communications and if the company should be banned from doing business in the state.
Kris Archer
Kennebunk
Write their HQ's at
Fairpoint Communications
521 E. Morehead St #240
Charlotte NC 28202
And specify in detail how long you'd had their service, when your service was terminated, etc and tell them they need to immediately stop sending you invoices for services you have not had for X months etc. If they continue to send invoices then you will file harassment charges. Being harassed by mail repeatedly is no different than by telephone or any other means. Then I'd tell them I wanted a $75 cash-able refund check mailed to me within 2 weeks for wasting my time and their repeated errors. :-) Who knows? You might just get what you want if you try it. It can't hurt.
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I would like to add NH as a state to ban them from. I cancelled service in February of 2009. It is March of 2010 and I still receive a bill every month. Granted they stopped charging me for phone service 6 months ago after many calls. However I still receive a internet bill every month despite calling every month and talking to managers that assure me the problem will be taken care of. Can you sue someone for billing you every month when they know you don't owe them anything?
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John:
Just send them a firm but detailed letter to their HQ. It took me MONTHS of basically yelling at them and writing down the date, time and every person I talked to for every call for them to finally straighten it out for me. I would just automatically call their HQ every time they told me wrong information or screwed up my bills again. Finally I asked for and received a large refund check. My relatives still have problems with this company and always call me to deal with their problems cause they hate Fairpoint. LOL They kept lying to me telling me they couldn't make their computer print me a corrected final bill, I told them that if I went over to their office I could make it happen cause I can build a computer! I'm not stupid. Funny how a bill showing no balance owed came to me in the mail from their VERMONT office within 4 business days after that call....Gotta love it. It never hurts to send a copy of the same letter to your state's PUC either. PUC tries to say that they have no control over Fairpoint, but I think thats a crock. At least if you mail them or email them a copy of the same letter they can't say they never knew about any issue.
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BTW, their HQ phone number is
(704) 344-8150
Tell them in writing as well as by phone "Look, this is what the errors are,this is how long you've dragged it out without correcting the issue, the entire world knows you can't straighten out your problems, which is precisely WHY you're BANKRUPT right now, this is how long I've had this issue and I want the following taken care of: 1. I want my billing for (insert service) stopped immediately and an updated zero balance final bill sent to me within 7 business days from the date of this letter.
2. Due to the stress and harassment of being billed for services I don't owe and the wasting of my time dealing with your company, Fairpoint needs to send me a $75 refund check (NOT a credit on my account) within 14 business days from the above date.
3. I understand the definition of harassment according to the USPS is as follows: Harassment:* A course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress in that person and serves no legitimate purpose (including words, gestures, and actions that tend to annoy, alarm, or verbally abuse another person).
This includes erroneous billing harassment by mail.
Make sure you sign and date the letter stating at the bottom after the signature "copy retained" and "copy forwarded to PUC" (if you intent to send it to your state PUC as well.)
When I called them, I made sure the letter was in the mail before I picked up the phone.
Good luck!
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