4 More Reasons Why ATT Sucks

. . . More on how AT&T slammed my DSL and made my email cease to function.

My DSL (high-speed internet connection) was slammed by AT&T (taken over without my permission) on or about November 23, 2009. The minute it was slammed I had no internet connection. Two days later ATT's robot said my "new service" was "up" and it wasn't. That day I spent two hours on the phone with ATT pinheads getting my connection back up, but my email still did not work.

(See my post on November 28, 2009 for more on this 2-hour phone call.)

Well, time passed, the holidays came and went, and I tackled the problem again on January 7, 2010.

This time I was on the phone with them for over four hours (well, in a chat room for half an hour, then on the phone for three and a half hours).

And guess what? It still does not work. Not only that, but the workaround that the Level 3 tech set up for me does not work, either.

Date: January 7, 2010

Start Time: 6:54 pm

I went to the online tech support chatroom that was emailed to me by AT&T to talk to an AT&T tech person to try to solve my email problem again.

Talked to Ryan. I said: "Hello, Ryan. I am a DSL customer and I was told I would be able to use the email address I have had for seven years, but can't get it to send."

He said, "Ms. Foss, I am sorry you are experiencing this issue and will be happy to assist you. Do not worry, I will provide you all the information. Do you have AT&T provided e-mail address?"

I said, "yes, I do, and I have already tried to set it up, but missing something in the settings."

He said, "Ms. Foss, what is your e-mail address?" I gave him the ATT email address I had just set up, that I never had any intention of using, which I shall refer to as "P~".

He said, "I will provide you all the information" and asked me for the answer to my security questions. I answered.

He sent me to a website and told me to log in. I said, "Okay, but it wants my yahoo ID. Am I giving it my yahoo name or my ATT name?"

He said, "No, please use your AT&T provided e-mail address." I did so.

"Are you able to login there?" Yes.

"Now try to send a test e-mail to your own e-mail address and let me know the result."

I said, "okay, where is the email feature on this page?"

He said "click on the mail tab."

I said, "sorry, i don't see a mail tab. which corner is it in?"

He said, "What options do you see there?" I listed a bunch of them.

He told me to sign out, then sent me to a new website

I asked, "Do i log in as P~ again?" Yes.

I got an "Invalid password" message.

He said, "Please use P~ there and password of this account."

This time I got "Invalid email" message. Tried again and it worked, must have typed it wrong.

He said, "check your email folders."

I said, "it says i have no emails in my inbox" and added: "well this is a new email address i have not ever used. it was kind of forced upon me. what i want to use is the email i have had for the past 7 years, which is gwenfoss@netrek.net. currently it will receive but can't send. this need to be configured to send."

He said, what email client am I using? (Boy, if I were a computer newbie that would be too much freakin' jargon.)

I said Eudora. (Part of me knew that at this point I knew he would say that he can't help me with Eudora).

He said, "I need to inform you that we do not have any tools to configure your e-mail client in Eudora, However I will provide you all the settings to configure the e-mail account."

He then said, "You need to use the SMTP server of AT&T and POP server of your "gwenfoss@netrek.net""

I said, "not good enough. i was promised that my old email would still work after you took over my DSL account. I did not sign up for ATT. this has to be fixed."

He came back with, "Please note down the SMTP server address: smtp.att.yahoo.com"

I said, "yes, that is the setting i have."

He said, "And for further information we have a dedicated department for this Support+. Please call us at: 877-831-2880. They will provide you all the information and help you out."

I said, "no, i was already on the phone for 2 hours with them." (After this conversation I realized this is the heavenly "fee-based" Level 3 support that I had not yet tried.)

He said, "I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. I am sorry, we do not have any tools to provide you all the information on this. Please contact them, they will help you out."

I said, "okay, i guess i'll try them again. Expletive deleted. bye for now."

Talked to this guy over half an hour. No effin' help.

7:30pm

ATT's customer service survey popped up on my screen, which I filled out. It was only two questions and a comment. I gave both questions a NO, then put in comments: "Ongoing problem. Changing settings in email software so it can send and receive. I did not sign up for DSL from ATT. You took over my DSL without my consent. Now email will receive but not send."

I tried to type more into the comments field but it would only erase my text after that, so I assume the box had a character limit in force.

7:35 pm

I called the tech support number that Ryan had given me, 877-831-2880, got the same stinking a phone maze, and it said, for DSL support, hang up and dial 1-800-288-2020, but I just ignored that and pressed 1 for "advanced technical support." Got put on hold.

7:45 pm

I heard sound of a phone ringing and got a live human after about 10 rings. I could not understand her name, India accent. I gave her my name, phone, zip code, and so forth, and we discussed the problem, and she said it would be a $99 fee. (I'll admit, I was expecting $30 or $40, not $100!) but get this: she promised their techs could fix it. She actually used the word "promise."

I argued about the fee and lost. She took my cc info. Back on hold.

7:53 pm

She said we had to wait for a ticket number. While waiting for a ticket number, she read me the list of rules that she said she was required to read to me. I did not jot them all down, but these two stood out:

1) I am liable for any lost data, etc, if I proceed to this service.

2) Even if they can't fix it they will still bill me $99 for this service.

(First she promised they could fix it, then said it would be $99, then said if they can't fix it, it's still $99?? If this is not illegal it should be.)

Well, this is when I hit the roof and started yelling. Problem ongoing for weeks, I did not sign up for this, I was promised my email would work, ATT slammed my DSL, been on the phone already for hours trying to get it fixed, and so on. I also said that I know it's not her fault, she's not a supervisor, and so on. She said she is required to say all the rules. I pointed out again that she just promised me they could fix it, then said, maybe we can't, but it's $99 either way (!).

Well, since I can't fix this mess myself, I said let's go ahead, and she gave me a ticket number and said to give that to the technician when they come on the line. She added that if I need to call her back, the number is 888-930-3330. She then said, please stay on the line and put me on hold.

7:58 pm

On hold. Wow, but they have some really crappy primitive on-hold music!

8:42 pm

After being on hold for 44 minutes (!) I finally got to the $99-tech, whom I shall call A~. She asked for my ticket number, asked me the problem, and by now I had it down to three words: "Eudora won't send."

Tech A~ had me launch Internet Explorer, go to a specific website, put in a code number, and download a utility called "Premium Support" that allowed her to see my desktop on her desktop and take control of my mouse, etc.

I watched as she looked at Eudora, tried to send email, no go, looked at the browser, checked some settings under Windows Device Manager and Intel Network Connector, which were all normal, I assume, since she changed nothing.

8:48 pm

Tech A~ again looked at Eudora, spent a few minutes looking at all the settings, said she was not familiar with Eudora but would try to figure the problem out, put me on hold, said she was going to find a tech who understands Eudora, came back and said she thinks it's a port problem, and I watched as she checked the port settings in Eudora, making all the changes I had already tried, then trying new settings.

9:02 pm

Tech still "looking around" my computer, made changes to the SSL settings (Secure Socket Layer, a security wall), still no go, changed it back, still no go. She then said she has just learned that a lot of other people have had the same problem.

9:06pm

A~ said another customer who also uses Eudora tried all sorts of instructions but never found a solution, said Eudora "does not like" the SSL that ATT uses. She continued to try possible solutions, kept trying to send an email with Eudora but just got error messages. She then said she was going to write down and investigate the error message more closely. She checked the SSL Certificate Information Manager, clicked on a certificate, tried several times to solve the problem that the certificate was not being authenticated, and so on.

9:16 pm

Tech A~ imported a certificate, tried many other settings, tried changes to certificates and SSL and a slew of other settings. Still no go.

9:23 pm

More attempts to fix, then she tried logging in to yahoo mail using my Netrek name and password, no go, she changed the port settings again, no go.

9:32 pm

Tech A~ started explaining to me why the incoming mail still worked but the outgoing mail did not work, but stopped herself in the middle as if she had a new idea, and made more changes to the settings. Next she theorized that the problem was with the web-based part (Yahoo), in that she did not know how to "connect" Yahoo to 2020comm (my old internet service provider) or Netrek (my old email domain name). I said I also have an ATT email handle and why don't we try that. She entered that into the Eudora settings, and also the password for that, then put me back on hold.

9:40 pm

I saw my mouse moving around by itself again, and watched as she checked all the settings, tried to send an email, no go, she pinged the ATT server, looks like that worked, continued to try different settings.

9:46 pm

As I watched her move my mouse around I asked about the old router / new router, and she said the router is not the issue; the problem she's currently trying to solve is getting the SSL settings in Eudora to update or recognize or something like that. Eudora doesn't seem to have standard SSL but something called TSL, perhaps it's an old version of SSL that is too old to function, or something like that.

9:52 pm

I watched as tech A~ followed links from Eudora to OpenSSL online, I assume in an attempt to find upgrade info or a fix, no go, she then said that I have a 10 year old version of Eudora and she could set up Outlook for me. (Oh, yes, I knew she was going to tell me to use Outlook!!) I explained that I have used Outlook in the past and really hated it, it was very hard to use, but told her to go ahead and set it up for me, let's see if it works.

9:58 pm

I watched as she set up my ATT email with my "real name" and it worked fine, then she set up the Netrek email to see if it would work, put in my old ISP server name, no go, I looked through my old notes from when I set up Eudora, found a different email server, she put that in and by golly it worked! She then set up Outlook to handle my ATT email and my Netrek email and put them all into the same inbox, or at least that's what I expected would happen.

10:16 pm

I told tech A~ that I had been promised a solution, not only prior to today, but earlier today, by ATT personnel, and that after I was told of the $99 fee, I was then told, by the same ATT person, that even if they can't fix it, it's still $99. A~ said she would be happy to transfer me to sales so I could let them know that their own personnel are making impossible promises because Eudora is simply incompatible with ATT email, and they can't support Eudora or fix the problem, the problem (apparently) lies with the SSL in Eudora.

10:36 pm

Tech A~ said, "Sorry it took so long, nothing else I can do for you." I thanked her for trying her best. She transferred me to sales. I went on hold at 10:37 pm.

10:44 pm

I got to a live human (India accent) who asked for my ticket number, which I gave, he said he was a sales rep for "Connect-Tech," then I explained the problem, in that ATT continued to promise me they would fix my email and they simply are unable to, and that they should not be making this promise, especially to Eudora users.

He said he can't give me a refund of my $99 but he would ask the supervisor for permission to give me a refund. I also asked what to do with the duplicate modem, he said he can't help me with that, put me on hold, 10:51 pm.

10:53 pm

When he came back to the phone I told him that, legally speaking, if a company is liable, the fact that they say they're not liable doesn't make them not liable, they're still liable. He said the best he can do is give me full credit for the $99 fee, then charge me a $29 fee instead, thus giving me a $70 reduction on the fee, which he termed a "partial refund." That still stinks, but I agreed to take the partial refund.

He then gave me a transaction number (order reference number) for the current charge, and also gave me the transaction number (order reference number) for the original $99 charge.

10:59 pm

Call ended. Counting from my first contact today with ATT via the chat line, that makes four hours and five minutes total time spent on this today.

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Date: January 8, 2010

The next morning, after the day I spent four hours on the phone with ATT, during which they supposedly set up Outlook for me, guess what? Outlook is not sending or receiving my Netrek mail.

Expletives!

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Date: January 9, 2010

A moment of silence for my dead email, thank you.

It is no wonder that consumers like myself who are treated like dirt by these giant, faceless, multi-national, evil corporations (with the exception of Tech A~ who was super) are taking their business elsewhere.

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Please help a starving bookdealer.

Sincerely yours,
Gwen Foss

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The Demming List

. . . 22 aliases used by the notorious internet scammer Margaret Demming, 191 27th Ave, Brooklyn NY 11214, between 2002 to 2006.

Her ploy was simple. She would contact a used bookdealer, be very friendly and chatty, tell the bookdealer all about herself and her many children, order a few inexpensive books and send cash in the mail. Soon she would contact the same bookdealer again, order a few more inexpensive books and again send cash. Then she would place a large order, sometimes for as many as 20 or 30 books, but never send payment. Often she would still get the books because of a longstanding tradition among used bookdealers of sending the books immediately, rather than waiting for the money to arrive, if the customer is known to the dealer.

Online bookdealers began privately sharing this scammer's address and her multiple false names some time prior to January 2005. An intrepid bookdealer reported her to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office in early 2005 but, as far as I know, no action was taken to prosecute her. In April 2006 she was banned from ordering through Abebooks, and the security division of Abe even sent out a general alert about her. I have not heard about her trying to scam any used bookstores since July 2006.

So, without further ado, the 22 fake names (plus fake emails and fake charities) she invented to scam innocent used bookdealers, as seen by me or reported by other bookdealers:

1. Margaret Demming or Deming

2. brooklynkid7@juno.com, brooklynkid14@juno.com

3. Margrette Delning

4. astroaquarious7@hotmail.com

5. ConeyIslandRules@netscape.net

6. Mellfantler FM, Library and Tutoring Advisor, Avis Teaching, propergander714@yahoo.com

7. E. Douing, Assistant of Department for Elder Care, WindWood Hospice Home for Elder Care

8. E. Douing, Library Assistant

9. Margaret Melander or M.F. Melander, Director, Brooklyn Study Center, silenceofmind7@yahoo.com

10. Sister Margretta Dewing, Hospice Home Care for the Aged

11. Miranda Mecklander, Fairpoint Rehabilation Care Center, Brooklyn, dewung77@yahoo.com (note the misspelling of Rehabilitation)

12. Miranda Mergrander, Mercy Cares Charity of Brooklyn

13. Michael Cervisio, Veteran's Advisor, Harway Veterans Group

14. Dewung

15. Donning

16. Meadlaner

17. Meadlender

18. Mejarnder

19. Melrandra

20. Melwandler

21. Merklender

22. Nermandler

END

My bookstore http://www.gwenfoss.com/

My colleagues http://www.tomfolio.com/

My collection of Dumb Questions Too Often Asked in Used Book Stores http://tomfolio.pbworks.com/Dumb-Questions

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How Not To Handle Customer Complaints

-- Excuses Given to Customers by Mega-Listers When They are Unable to Fulfill the Order

Collected and Arranged by Book Doctor Gwen

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Before we proceed, one defintion: a mega-lister is a rip-off fake bookseller who inhabits an otherwise legitimate online used-book portal, listing items they do not have in stock and fulfilling orders by having other dealers send books directly to the customer with no receipt.

I have collected these excuses from actual feedback left on corporate websites by angry customers who were ripped off or lied to by mega-listers. Spelling and grammatical errors have been corrected to improve readability.

Excuses given by mega-listers are in quotes.

Excuses reported by unhappy customers are not in quotes.

My editorial comments are in italics.

Please note: Sometimes the excuses listed below are indeed true. Occasionally a genuine, real-world, honest bookdealer, who actually has the books they offer for sale, ends up in one of these situations. If you are given one of these excuses do not immediately assume that the vendor is trying to rip you off. Repeat: Do not immediately assume that the vendor is trying to rip you off.

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1. POST OFFICE / CARRIER

The mega-lister's first line of defense: Blame the carrier. No one will question an excuse if it involves dumping on the US postal service. Who likes them anyway?

"Book got lost the mail."

"Item was ruined by the post office."

"The book was returned damaged by the post office." (Mega-lister lying: the US Postal Service ships packages even if they become damaged; they do not return them to the sender unless they package itself is not correctly addressed.)

The package was lost but they resent it.

Blamed Xmas post.

They contacted me to let me know that numerous other packages sent on the same day had been lost in the mail system.

The day my book arrived I got an email saying it wasn't coming. They said that the post office had damaged and returned the book to them. (Mega-lister caught in a lie.)

After 22 days I inquired as to where my item was and they said it must have been "lost" and promptly refunded my money without even looking into where the item was.

"The package had been crushed and sent back to the sender."

Some excuse of the book being returned in poor condition.

"They said it got wet in the post office and was in unusable condition and refunded the cost."

***

2. ADDRESS ERROR

In these examples the clever mega-lister has decided to blame both the carrier and a difficulty with the customer's own address.

"Item had been returned as undeliverable."

"Ship-to address is not useable."

"Mailing label was partially torn off during transit."

"Book was accidentally sent to someone else."

They said that the package had been returned to them and they sent it out again.

The seller kept sending it to wrong addresses.

"Order was resent due to faulty address."

***

3. CUSTOMS

A highly specialized category of excuse.

They claimed it had just been returned that day because of English customs.

"Sometimes things can take time through customs."

***

4. DAMAGED / DO YOU STILL WANT IT?

A cowardly excuse but unfortunately a common one.

After I put in the order, seller downgraded condition of book and asked me if I still wanted it.

My order did not arrive by August 8th, I emailed them for an explanation, they just wanted to know if I still wanted it.

The book they had listed was not in good condition, so they didn't want to send it.

The condition of the item was inferior so they were canceling my order.

Damaged in the warehouse so they could not fulfill the order. They promptly refunded my money. They did not have another one to send.

The seller ordered another copy that was in better condition and had it shipped out to me.

After I paid, [the seller] waited to see if I still wanted it.

Seller saw that merchandise was not what they advertised.

The book had been damaged in their warehouse; [the seller] canceled the order, and immediately refunded me with no hassle.

***

5. INVENTORY ERROR / COMPUTER GLITCH

Another popular field of excuses involves the computer, the internet, the inventory system, the website, or any other piece of technology that might be handy.

"There was an error in the inventory."

"An error in filling the order."

Their database was slightly behind.

"Item listing was invalid."

"A mixup in stock numbers."

Order cancelled due to computer glitch.

The seller had problems with [their website] account and was unable to ship the item.

A computer error caused the book that I wanted to be sold to someone else.

The copy we had in stock had already sold and [their inventory] had not yet been updated.

"Due to a crash of the PC the order was accepted although item was out of stock."

They had failed to update their stock information.

"A computer listing error."

"Our inventory levels are current on our system, but due to [the website's] data upload system, our data is not live and in certain cases, where the quantities are limited, the actual availability will differ."

"My Explorer browser was down."

The book was listed incorrectly by [the website] and he didn't have book I ordered.

They said they had to "refund hundreds of sales due to a glitch."

***

6. IT'S ON THE WAY

Telling the customer that the item is on its way will only work for a few days. The savvy mega-lister must be ready with some new excuses after using this one.

This item did not arrive as promised. The seller stated that they had posted another item.

After I sent 4 emails, I received one answer which was "wait for book."

They kept on extending the day of delivery of the book.

[They gave me a] tracking number [but] did not signify who the carrier was.

They lied to me about shipping me a second book.

They said I should receive it very shortly.

They first said to wait; that only 1% of orders are not received. Then they needed my address again. Now they want to know the name of the book.

"We shipped out a replacement copy at our expense."

***

7. NITWIT IN CHARGE

Fun fact: mega-listers don't care how stupid they sound as long as they can put off the customer for a few more days.

The company lost track of the order.

"Book was listed with the wrong price."

"Book was sent to someone else."

"Extensive mixups in shipping dept."

They claimed they had no record of the shipment.

They said they were not able to find the book after a move.

Seller forgot to mail my item.

"The person in charge of books left our company and took this book."

Disorganized. Seller cancelled my order and said he shipped books to the wrong customers and did not know where my book was.

I first received a message on my e-mail that I did not "win the bid" for the book and that I had to re-order. I then received the book from someone in Texas. A week later I received a second book from someone else!

***

8. THE RUNAROUND

A time-honored technique of dealing with the victim, er, customer. Be vague! Give your customer useless or conflicting information. A clever mega-lister can string a customer along for weeks with this approach.

They were experiencing shipping problems.

Seller would not refund; kept asking me for proof of address.

When I emailed them asking about the status of my order and for a tracking number they kept telling me to use a different customer service email. And every time I used that email I got no response.

The book never arrived [but] they said they would not refund my money until I sent the book back.

The book that I ordered was a hardback; the book received was a paperback in only fair condition. On contacting the seller I was informed that they had no hardbacks.

I was told the book was shipped to [a third-party seller] and to resolve it with them.

Circumstances beyond the seller's control prevented them from sending the book.

I was given the wrong tracking number.

I asked questions about this item which the seller answered yet when I purchased the book he told me that it had been sold months ago and that it should have been removed by [the website]. How was he able to answer my questions about the book?

***

9. "S.O.L."

When a customer receives one of these master strokes from a mega-lister, they know they are Simply Outta Luck.

I received a check in the mail with no note.

"Item lost."

"Listing withdrawn."

My order was cancelled.

My order was taken, then reversed.

Cancelled without notification.

Seller was unable to deliver the item.

[Seller said] they "do not guarantee all orders." What?

[Seller] discovered they did not have the book.

[Seller] decided the transaction was no good.

Seller couldn't ship book.

Seller stated that her daughter had just died in a car accident. I waited a few days and inquired again and got a totally different excuse.

Order cancelled 27 days later.

Seller said it was an off-site item. (This excuse serves well when a customer makes an inquiry about a specific book and the mega-lister simply can't answer it because the book is not on hand.)

Seller was having credit problems, so [the website] refunded my purchase.

***

10. BAIT AND SWITCH

In rare cases the mega-lister is caught red-handed playing their re-pricing game. Message to mega-listers: If you are going to bump up the price after canceling the order, don't re-list the book the next day!

Seller offered item at a very reasonable price but then said book was sold but lists a copy now at a much higher price.

Purchased book, no communications, refunded book as not available, book available later at 25 times purchased price.

Item was "out of stock" and the next day listed again 4 times the original price.

***

11. STOCK OUT

Of course, all sales of used books online are subject to prior sale. But the really bold mega-listers abuses this excuse with no excuse!

"Item could not be found in stock."

"Item is on backorder."

3 days after ordering, seller confessed he did not have it!

"Sorry, we never had this book in stock."

"Your order could not be shipped due to non-availability of the item."

Took ages to tell me "the book was not available."

I bought the book, paid, then found out that despite my being able to purchase and pay, it was not available for sale.

Seller said item may in stock again soon.

"This book is no longer in print."

Said "publisher does not make any more."

I was told it was backordered and might ship next week.

They ran out of stock just after I ordered.

"No product in stock."

They cancelled [my order] because they didn't have any stock or any money to buy stock. (I wonder just how many books this apparently broke, inventory-free "dealer" claimed to have!)
After waiting several weeks after being noticed that the book was shipped, I had to write to them to find out where was my book, then I got a message they are out of stock.

They sold the last one.

Advertises stock that doesn't exist.

"Stock-out is a rear situation for us." (Whose rear?)

The seller realized that he did not have any copies of the item.

The book I thought I ordered was already sold, so I bought a fluke.

"Product not available."

"No longer available and cannot be shipped."

"This is an 'obtain title.'"

***

12. BITE ME

The worst mega-listers ignore customer complaints. The boldest reply with sarcasm and insults. Emulate these mega-listers at your own risk.

Seller didn't care at all and gave no answer.

"Buyer too lazy to read pertinent info."

"I'm sorry that we could not fulfill this order, but we expended uncounted hours of time and effort searching through our stock of literally many thousands of books to try to fill this $9.95 order."

"It surprises me someone would complain about an 11 cent book."

"You bought a 3 dollar book, not a first class ticket to Uranus, so quit acting as if you expected to get champagne with your coach ticket."

"Customer confused."

[Customer is] "a true amateur."

"Know where you live before ordering."

"The book was [graded] in good condition because it was worn, and what he did not share [is that] he paid 9.75 for the book when he could have paid 22.95 for very good. If he wanted a better book then pay for it."

"We at [vendor's name] are certainly not going to take your nit picking and third rate spelling seriously."

"Hey, Dr. IQ? If the product is clearly unopened . . . how in the heck would I know that it was a mislabeled single? Am I supposed to open it and listen to it a few times first?"

"This so-called 'buyer' is far and away the rudest, most hostile, not to mention impatient and immature, that I have yet encountered in my almost 10 years of selling on [this website]. Sellers beware! No future orders from this souse will be honored!"

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Thank you for visiting this page. Please avoid the mega-listers and go to TomFolio.com for all your used book, periodical, and ephemera needs.

Please note: TomFolio.com never has and never will allow mega-listers to sell through our site.

Content copyright © 2009 by Book Doctor Gwen

Click here to find more fun book facts from Book Doctor Gwen

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