Lumen Technologies

FRAUD ALERT

Beware of this company.

CenturyLink is facing class-action suits for fraudulent billing. On August 2, 2018, the corporation responded to the suit with an 11-page brief in U.S. District Court in Arizona, in which its lawyers maintained that it is simply a parent holding company, and is therefore not responsible for the practices of the dozen contracted companies (Qwest, etc.) that do business in their name.

Here is an excerpt:

"Plaintiffs have made a fundamental error by choosing to sue the wrong defendant – a company that had no role whatsoever in the predicate acts underlying their claims.That sole defendant, CenturyLink, Inc. (“Defendant”), is a parent holding company that has NO customers, provides NO services, and engaged in NONE of the acts or transactions about which Plaintiffs complain.There is no valid basis for Defendant to be a party in this Proceeding."

Now, here's my personal experience:

Prior to moving across country in January, 2019, I called CenturyLink to cancel my wi-fi account. It took several attempts and more than an hour to get through to a representative on the phone. Then, in the middle of the call, he put me on hold and the line went dead.

So I went online and opened a chat. After providing all the same account information, I was informed that the service cannot be canceled online or by email, only by phone or in person. Since I was days away from a cross-country move, this was not at all feasible.

It was only after I entered these words in the chat...

“It would take me less time to file a class-action suit than to cancel my service"

... that a different agent came online, canceled the service, and gave me a confirmation number, which I took a screen shot of. The account was already paid in full, so I thought it would end there.

No such luck.

A week later, CenturyLink attempted to withdraw approximately $60 from my bank account through auto-pay. Fortunately, my bank sends me daily emails with new charges, so we caught it in time to stop payment and block the company from further transactions.

Soon after, CenturyLink sent a bill for four times that amount in unspecified charges. I've since communicated with several reps by phone to no avail. I finally messaged their Facebook account, and the rep, after receiving the screen shot of the cancellation, looked into it. She got back to me a day later confirming that the cancellation had, in fact, gone through in January, and it was all just a billing error that would be corrected.

Four months later, I am still receiving calls from their collections department.

I recommend not doing ANY business of ANY kind with CenturyLink — or their subsidiaries —under ANY circumstances.

I contacted Centurylink to check if they serviced my address. The young rep I spoke with kept over-talking and interrupting me. He had no respect for me. He asked for my name, which I provided, but when he wanted me t provide much personal info, I said I preferred to provide that after he confirmed whether or not he serviced my address. He became hostile and not only insulted me, but verbally attacked me. He screamed at me for several minutes. I kept trying to request his supervisor, and he refused. I believe he was high at the time. He continued forcefully over-talking and would not stop for second. He laughed out loud and insulted me. I hung up nd called back a different rep and reported it to a supervisor. The supervisor just told me to send an email to Centurylink. When I pointed out that there is no email address she became difficult. I asked for her supervisor, and she said sure, an promptly hung up. Since there is no email address to report to, rather only a facebook or twitter link, I opened a facebook account to send a note to the unresolved issues office at Centurylink. The rep simply ignored the issue I reported and struggled to confirm whether or not he serviced the address I provided. He kept asking for info about the address, and I said I preferred he addressed the issue of the customer service. I stressed it was not just impolite, it was verbal abuse.

I moved to Troy New York in July 2018. Before moving we already have the address of our new residence. My spouse contacted the Century Link Office in Roswell New Mexico to try to get the Router turned in. The office told my spouse that they would not pick the item, that they will sent us an UPS label to our new address and with it we could send the item back to them. On August, 20 2018 I received the first letter indicating a balance of $107.82 for the unreturned Router. I contacted them at 844-212-0179. From the beginning the customer service was rude and condescending, stating that we owed the money and that was it. They explained over the phone also that I could get the UPS Label in their website. I could not because the according to them , it was more than 30 days. I contacted them several times, inquiring about the UPS Label and I kept getting the letters in the mail. Finally I got the UPS label in December 2018. I sent the item in January 2019 with UPS Tracking Number ***. I just found out that in March 2019 I was sent to the collections agency for the $107.82 Balance. I do not have the equipment, I sent it following their practices, and I have all the documentation about it. They do not have a clear handle of their own business but is me who has to pay the price with a bad entry in my credit report.

My issue is as fallows, I went to order internet at the address I am planning on moving out to, I was told due to exhausted lines that I could not get internet but I could get phone, I proceeded to order phone service through them and thought with a little more talking that I could maybe get internet or could maybe go through another company, After calling many other companies in the area I found out that they do not have any lines in my area due to being a competitors area, I then contacted Century Link online support and mentioned the exhausted lines, I was then informed that they were wrong at first, the lines are not exhausted they are just not there. I contacted my cousin who lives on the back side of the place I am moving to just to see who he has internet through and was told it was "Century Link". A friend of mine who's parents have internet through *** telecom live 8 Miles out of Barron Wisconsin and 6 miles from Ridgeland Wisconsin and just 1 Mile off of Highway 25 and I might add that they live on a dead end Dirt Road making them more rural than my new location. The property that I am moving out to is "2 MILES" out side of Barron Wisconsin 1 Miles off of Highway 25 and they have not run any lines out there? Just up the road there are customers of *** telecom but still they have not run anything down to my location, I was told to just get a dish but I refuse to get a dish due to data caps and just how slow and expensive it is.

Century Link provides terrible service. There are not responsive to complaints about phones being down. We changed to Century Link- Level Three about 18 months ago and we have struggled with having reliable telephone service since.
They are costing us business.
Our telephones are usually down for at least a day and sometimes 1 1/2 days at a time.
They always blame the local carrier. But other businesses in our neighborhood have service.
So frustrating. Do not use this company. You will definitely be a bad decision that you will have to live with.

My Internet service speed is either not working at all or it has a speed of 0 to 1. I pay for faster internet but do not receive it. My internet hasn’t worked since Friday and they are saying that they resolved the problem. No they haven’t and now they want me to wait a week and a half for someone to come out and fix it it. Their service is way to heavy in my area and they refuse to upgrade their main hub at the end of our street. We have a new house plus a company that just moved in and is taking our service.

I do not understand why it is okay for this company to function as it does. It should absolutely be a crime the way they handle business and lie to there customers. All I want is internet that works! They always tell me to call in for promotions at certain times and when I do they put me on hold for 20 minutes before a representative answers and then they take another 15 minutes claiming that they are researching the best deal they can get me and then they start telling me things like you can only get a promotional deal if you sign up for a phone line as well. They go on to tell me that perhaps there "colleague" can get me a better deal and transfer me to another rep for another 15 minutes round of "deals" to tell me the best deal they can get me is $45 dollars per month for 20 mbps when my friend down the street is paying them $30 dollars per month for the same exact service. I tell them this information and they say let me do more "research". The reps ends with I can get you $23.50 per month for 12 months. Oh really now that's ten dollars cheaper than what I'm currently paying. I ask what is the price for life price because I do not want to go through this process every year to call for my next promotion so that my bill doesn't doesn't double from what I was previously paying. The rep proceeds to tell me it is a price for life option and I say you just told me it was 12 months. And she says it is. I'm like that doesn't make sense, how is it 12 months and price for life? She is silent and says let me do more research. She then ends the conversations with I can't offer you any promotions at this time. I said you just offered me $23.50 per month and she says no you need to call back next month when your promotions ends in order to get a new promotion. This is all after being on the phone with them for about an hour now. Months ago I bought a new modem from them and they told me to specifically to call on May 6 for my next promotion because it would be my 11th month in a 12 month promotion. In years past they have told me to call a year later, I put these reminders in my phone and call and they give me this run around of deals and no deals and leave me so completely frustrated. Why is this company allowed to offer whatever they feel like on a given day? They tell me my internet service will go up to $67.00 per month next month when my friend is paying the exact same service down the street from me for $30 per month Price for Life option. It is a complete disgrace the the way this company functions by running people so frustrated that they end up paying the hirer price. I refuse to pay more than double for the same service someone else is getting. I am extremely disappointed that I ever have to deal with this company and unfortunately I do not have a lot options in my area. The CEO of Century Link should be ashamed, reported and convicted.

I was a customer of Century Link until December 2016. I decided to change internet providers when I moved homes due to service interruption issues that were not resolved. I called to schedule a shut off date with the company. The internet was shut off inadvertently prior to the scheduled date discussed with the representative. As I was a full time student in the midst of finals week I called and was able to correct the issue again emphasizing a shut off date for the following week. After finals I moved to a new home. I was called by a collections agency approximately 6 months later and informed that the internet service had been continued after I had moved out until it was shut off for non-payment with a balance of $130 due in collections. I spoke with the collections agency and Century link at that time and was informed that the issue was resolved. I received a collections call today due to the same account issue. This is fraudulent charges that I did not authorize

I contacted CenturyLink to start phone/internet service in Sept 2018. Twice they did not show up for scheduled appointments(Sept 27th and Oct 6th). I then called to cancel setting service with CenturyLink (Oct 8th) and returned the modem that was shipped to me (Oct 11). In Nov 2018 I received a bill from CenturyLink. I called and they assured me that the account was cancelled, I had nothing further to do. May 2019 I received another bill $318.05 with a warning that if I do not pay by May 13th my account will be referred to a Collection Agency. CenturyLink in Oct and Nov 2018 told me the account was cancelled.

In April I placed an order for new internet service to be established with centurylink. I have had multiple issues since that point which centurylink has been unable to resolve despite multiple call-ins.

Issues:
1. Account was created with the wrong name. My name is ***, but my account shows ***
- My name was provided to the agent via an online chat. There is no excuse for having it incorrect.
2. The agent who placed my order incorrectly told me that my own modem and router were compatible with centurylink service, so I would not have to rent their equipment. I have since found this to be false.
3. I have had multiple technician visits on May 2nd and May 9th, both of which failed to establish service at my address despite full access to the premises.
4. Company refuses to assist with expunging the credit evaluation that occurred in order to establish service from my credit report - I want this removed if I am going to discontinue service with them.
5. Company places me on extended holds whenever I indicate I have an issue. When I ask for a manager I am told that their systems are down and they cannot assist me.

about 2 years ago I upgraded my internet to 20Mbps. I got the new modem and new wiring. and paid $70 or more for the installation of items. received a bill this month the price went up by $34.68 I talked to centurylink online in a chat and they told me 20Mbps is not available in my area and is now only offering me 10Mbps. So without notification and a raise in price they did not inform me of dropping to only 10Mbsp or they have been lying to me for the last 2 years and I have been paying WAY to much for the internet and if I did not talk to them I would have been still paying for 20Mbps at an increase rate. How many people are they ripping off by doing this poor business practice.

I own a business and for the previous year I have been going down about every other day. I call every other day and a technician comes out to tell me that it is fixed. I have emailed the CEO on a few occasions. I would avoid this company at all costs. Unfortunately in my area, they are the only provider. I am considering invoicing CenturyLink for lost wages.

Let me preface this review with the following: I work from home as a telephonic interpreter. Therefore, I am acutely aware of how well the internet is working every single day, throughout the day. Also, when the internet fails, it costs me money very rapidly and if I continue to have consistent dropped calls it could result in my termination from the company I work for. So I take my internet VERY seriously. Now on to what I hope will be the most detailed and critical review of what I believe to be the absolute worst internet service provider that exists. I would give them ZERO stars if I were allowed to.

The nationwide CenturyLink internet outage back in December was the beginning of my problems. I have now had a CenturyLink technician out to my place at least 6 or 7 times just since January due to failing internet. Out of the three different technicians that have come out, only ONE has ever communicated with me in a professional manner. The other two either 1) didn’t communicate with me at all or 2) had very limited communication. This includes not informing me of when they’re coming, not informing me of when they will disconnect my internet so I can finish my phone call (and they are aware that I work from home over the internet), as well as not telling me what they are doing or what the problem is. The last one that came out didn’t even actually come to my home and didn’t send me one single message as to what he was doing or what the issue was.

Having said that, the level of incompetency of these techs is astounding. Not even once have they reliably fixed my internet. Oh sure, it may work once they’re gone (although one time, the tech was driving away while waving through his door window and I STILL didn’t have working internet) for a few hours, a few days or even a few weeks. But it WILL fail again within the month. As I stated before, in the last 4 months I have had to call for repairs 6 or 7 times, and yet, I still have absolutely horrendous internet service.

Now on to the customer service reps. For the most part they have been friendly. But they tend not to believe me when I tell them I’m having internet outages. The one I called last week said “we don’t have any indication of an outage in your area”. Well lady, I am TELLING you that I have NO INTERNET RIGHT NOW so THERE’S your indication. They have also repeatedly informed me that if a tech has to come into my house they may bill me for repairs. I have told them in no uncertain terms that I will not pay one red cent for ANY repair that their incompetent techs have to do as it is clearly an issue with their equipment since I had ZERO problems before their debacle in December. I even told them to make a note on my account that I will NOT pay them ANY money for repairs.

I have now gone so far as to remove all financial account information from my CL account so they cannot take any more of my money without permission. I have also made an appointment with another ISP to come to my home to see if they can provide me with reliable internet. If they are, not only will I fire CL but I will make it my mission in life to inform anyone who inquires of me about internet providers just how atrocious CL and their service is. I will also be investigation if there is any class action suit being brought against them that I might be able to participate in. Finally, I will rejoice if the day ever comes that another company puts CL out of business and into the ground where they belong.

I updated my payment information on May 5th the day my payment was due. My service was still shut off and their online payment system was down for more than 20 hours. As of 9:00am on Monday May 6th. I still cannot make a payment on my account and get my service restored. I have been told servers are down! I need one month of comped service for losing out on work, I work from home and this is not the correct way to do business. I am being scrutinized as a consumer that wants to pay my bill so I can continue to work from. I am losing wages!!!

I've been a customer for at least 6 years and just recently upgraded to the Internet only 80 Mbps plan. I'm paying $50 a month but I'm not getting the upload speed I'm paying for. I've even rebooted my router several times without seeing a great difference in speed. To check my speed I've run Speedtest by *** 9 times over the last 8 days. My average upload speed over those days is 33.67125 Mbps. This affects my Wifi streaming my *** doorbell and camera, *** and *** movies, especially during evening hours. I had Centurylink Techs come to my house and check everything all the way to the box in somebody's yard only to be told there is no problem.
Well there is a problem and it's called Throttling. I'm being charged for 80 Mbps and getting less than half of that and I call that THEFT.

Worse than 1 star!
Their phone and internet service is garbage, both quit working when it rains, veerrryy slow internet when it works are all.{less than 1mbps} Called in multiple times for service, serviceman very nice but says there is nothing he can do, the line need to be upgraded, the current ones are not capable of high speed internet. They disconnected my service with no warning, when I called in to ask what was up they claimed I had called in and told them to disconnect it! Then they charged me a disconnect fee and a fee for not returning the dsl modem! Finally after an hour or more(yes it was that long) on the phone and multiple transfers, they got me reconnected and credited the disconnect fee but not the modem fee, I guess I own it now instead of renting it. Their customer service is very rude and unhelpful. I have NEVER had such poor service from any company in my entire life!

I have contacted CenturyLink corporate, spoken to multiple people from the company and have documented everything. We are in CenturyLink territory and have our phone with CenturyLink yet they refuse to provide us internet service based off the fact we are 3 miles from their last "hand hole". They could redo their service to accommodate us but they refuse to based off the fact it "not economical". We have been waiting for service for 8 years and we are tired of it. We don't live on a mountain top and for a "fiber build out" they quoted us $196,000 for 3 miles. They want us to pay for service they should already be providing. I have done everything in my power to get the service and the answer continues to be "it's not economical". We intend to contact the media, our state legislative, and file a lawsuit if this is not resolved. 3 miles is simply not far enough for this to not be fixed.

CenturyLink has very poor customer service and has made multiple mistakes on our accounts, so we canceled service with them. We moved to an apartment temporarily and they assured me our monthly rate would stay the same. It did not, so I called and spent an hour on the phone correcting it. They had to create a new account for the move. In the apartment, internet service speed seemed to slow down as we were unable to watch streaming TV without intermittent buffering of the programs, which we never had a problem with before. We scheduled our move to our new home. They shut off our service 2 weeks early. When I called (the same day), it took 2 hours to fix as they could not simply reactivate our account.....and they had to create another new account. They assured me again our monthly rate would be the same. It was not, so I spent another hour on the phone to correct it. In the new house, we got another new account number. And of course the monthly rate went up again, AND they charged us $150 for a new modem which we did not need. I called and spent another hour getting the monthly fees corrected and the modem purchase reversed. We continued to have problems with the internet speed and intermitten streaming TV buffering. This is when we decided to change internet providers. We got a $2 refund check from them, paid our final bill, and were done with them (or so we thought). A few weeks later, we got a letter stating 1 of our 4 accounts would go to collections since we didn't pay a bill from 2 months prior (which we never got). The customer service woman on the phone was very rude when I was asking her to explain what happened with our accounts because I could not view this particular account online. She kept asking me how I was going to resolve it before she would explain why we were getting yet another bill from them and threatening to send it to collections. We have excellent credit and pay our bills and I don't appreciate being treated like this when I was simply asking for help understanding what happened. I paid the bill, and hopefully we are completely done with them now.

Wow, if I could give this company negative stars, I would. They pushed back my service start date for over a week. Then when it was supposed to start, suddenly they figured out my modem wasn’t compatible. They send me a new one, and low and behold, the service start time keeps changing. I have been in contact with customer care and technical support for DAYS with all of this. Over a week later, I finally get told that I actually do need a technician to come out, even though I had been assured multiple times that I didn’t. They wouldn’t work with me on technician times (I’m a student, so my life is not very flexible). So I finally went into *** and got set up with Internet that day. Centurylink took nearly two weeks to get ANYTHING done. How is it that they never had the right answers and couldn’t get anything accomplished?
Long story short: they were unprofessional, unhelpful, and absolutely useless all around. I wish I could fully explain just how infuriated they made me.

I used to have an account with CenturyLink start in 2018 November 15 and they keep charging me for no reason I do have an account with them for $35 a month for three Mega Bites that's the service they have to provide me and I have to pay $35 a month I did pay the account and fall and now they're sending me a final bill for $53.99 and what I can see by the bay the whole service off so I don't know why they keep sending me this and after that they said they going to send it to collections because I didn't pay the final bills what I can see here from the other charges by the bay my account off before I close it in January 13th so the total service is if I said technically four month for $35 that's not coming up to the total they are asking me for so I'm trying to explain for them but they try to ignore all the time I'm not telling me everything about my account I'm trying to ask them for the total 4 month how much they have to charge me for $35 a month it's coming up $140 maximum I don't know if that would the tax or without the text but I'm asking them just to remove this because I didn't pay my account off but they are not responding