praXis: July 2004

July 08, 2004

e-pistle » Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless:

On my previous bill, there are several questionable charges, almost all of them made from Phoenix, AZ. They are questionable, primarily, because not one of those calls was completed in a satisfactory manner.

My wife was, indeed, in phoenix, and she did take our phone. While there, she met many people will cell phones (obviously), and most people there had no trouble whatsoever using their service. But our Verizon service made the "Can You Hear Me Now" advertising seem more of a joke than it already is.

Most of the calls made while in Phoenix were either to or from me, in Spokane. Most of them lasted under 1 minute. Eventually we discarded the use of the phone. We ended up spending 82 poor minutes on calls in Phoenix, either checking messages or saying "no, I can't hear you now." Then we'd try again. Obviously we tried again too many times. We resorted to using the hotel phone. But why should we have to when we've already paid for service? We ended up going 85 minutes over our plan amount, and I can't tell you how frustrating that is, and I am very close to canceling my service altogether, regardless the cost to me.

I specifically signed up for Verizon service because of its extended service area, so I could use it when traveling. So far it has failed us on two major trips (once to Phoenix and once to New York, though the New York trip was somewhat better connected).

I would like some portion of my calls to and from Phoenix reversed, and I would further like an explanation regarding why on earth I couldn't use my phone there.

Sincerely,
Terry Bain

July 04, 2004

e-pistle

I'm tired of anti-consumer activity in the business world. So I'm writing letters whenever my ire is up. In the past, I've written my letters, and I may receive a response or I may receive silence. Instead I'll post my letter here, and any response to it under the heading of e-pistle. If it seems useful, I'll keep doing it. If it doesn't, I won't.

My first letter here is to catalog.com.

I am currently trying to remove all my domains from catalog.com, and my current troubles are related pricisely to my reasons for doing so. That is, it appears I've been charged for a dns everything plan, even though I've already paid for the hosting club as of 4/1/04. It is my understanding that hosting is included in the hosting club plan.I attempted to transfer domains before renewal from catalog.com, but received little warning that my credit card was about to be charged. Since this is a cash card that I only put money into when I'm about to pay a bill of some kind, there is rarely money in it. In any case, Catalog rejected my transfer, which is unfortunate. I don't want to have any more ill will toward your company than I already have. Unfortunately every time I've made the effort to call catalog.com, I've encountered some pretty rotten customer service.

Please remove the everything plan from my bill, and tell me what you can do about the fee for my domain name. And also please release my domain so that it may be transferred.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Terry Bain