At&T Saga Continues

The AT&T saga started May 26th. I know that because it became so bad back in June trying to get repairs completed that I started a spreadsheet to track my calls, the work orders issued and what was or was not done by AT&T, BOi, Astound, and CenterPoint Energy.

It wasn't until July 11th that I was left with this mess. By this time I had canceled my AT&T Fiber account and moved not only my internet but phone service to Spectrum for less cost per month plus they responded to my phone call. 

In less than one hour after my call to Spectrum that day to set up a new account, they had a truck at my house and I had internet service within the hour!!!

So notice for AT&T ... May 26th first call all the way to July 11th to get anything done. But it wasn't done.

July 17 an AT&T technician took that box down so he could spice the new fiber cable installed with the fiber cable that was coming from the utility pole. Nothing in that photo pertained to an internet connection. In fact when he opened that junction box, instead of spliced fiber like it should be, it was an empty box full of water from rain.

He wondered why I had not waited before I changed my internet service ... LOL

After almost 4 hours of work, you can read about that day here, scroll down to the point where I start talking bout AT&T. He had completed what his work order had said, so once he closed that out as completed, it would automatically electronically go to the next crew (I was told by them) ... to hang that back with the new spliced cables up on their AT&T cable, where it was before. That was on July 17th.

It hung there to the ground for a few days but I got tired moving it out of the way every time I wanted to mow the grass behind the fence.

So .... one day I grabbed that junction box and threw it into the bushes on the berm, out of my way.

On December 10th I was a little bored and since four months or so had passed, I decided to call AT&T and move through their phone system maze, to get a real person with a voice that spoke English. It took a few calls to get that done that day but my 5th call ends with a new work order number and a time frame (next week) that they would finally come out to hang this box back up in the air on their cable out of my way.

The next day, December 11th I pull into the driveway on my way back from grocery shopping and there sits an AT&T van parked on the street just beside my driveway. That was a good sign. As I unload the groceries from the car to the kitchen my phone rings.

It's the guy in the van telling me he has looked at the situation and "since we are not real busy right now there will be a crew out here next week to hang that back up on the cable".

I thanked him ... but I would believe it when I see it. After all since July I have heard that many times. 

Back on December 10th when I got my new work order number, she gave me an email address to send my story and photos of what needed done. I did that and had a reply within the hour. The AT&T Maintenance Request Center tells me a tech will be out December 16th to get the job done. 

Nobody shows up, no text updates .... nothing ... I give them the benefit of it's close to Christmas holidays and do not send another email until December 28th asking for status of the work order.

No answer.

January 17th I send an email attaching all the emails in the chain for this project, asking again for the status of this work order. Only this time I added if I did not get a response that I had no other choice but to file a claim with the Better Business Bureau. 

January 21st I get an email telling me ... The Work Order was COMPLETED on December 11th .. that day where the man in the van stopped by and called to tell me he was sending a crew out the next week. Did they close it because I threatened them with filing a complaint with BBB ???? Could be. 

By this time, on January 21, I have called four different times in the AT&T phone system. Each time I am in a different mode and it's hard because I do not have an account with them, so my phone number they ask for doesn't show up on their computer.

I ask "can I give you the work order number, would that help?" ...... No.

I hang up and call back immediately. I notice the choices for me to choose are different and some way as I followed the same process each call ... a man from California answers the phone speaking perfect English. I find out later he is from a town about hour and a half east of me. 

He listens to my story ... he tells me it sounds all too familiar. "No need to issue a new work order number since the previous ones have not worked. I will give you the office and mobile number to the local repair supervisor in your town"

What ??? I couldn't believe it. It was like striking gold. I had something solid I could use ... but would I get results.

I call the mobile number and Scott answers immediately. I tell him my name and I was given his number by the AT&T Technical department. He starts to tell me I have the wrong number and I interrupt him and say "hold on ... I really have to talk to you."

Luckily he listens to my story. He says he was not there in December and wanted the name of the van driver that told me I would have help the following week. A name that I didn't get back on December 11th.

He took my name, street address ... "I can't promise you this will be fixed in the next couple of days but if it isn't within a week then call me back".

That is where I stand today. 

Since there was a slight chance they might come out anytime during the next week then I needed to get outside and pull their cables out of this mess ...

The tree and branches fell during the snow/ice storm a couple of weeks ago. I needed to pull those cables and that junction box out from those branches. It was hard. This is what I was doing yesterday when I messed up and Cletus escaped. 

That biggest tree limb will not move but since the smaller branches were frozen and surrounded ice it was easy to break them and pull the cables through them. I laid the junction back to the right of that on the grass for easy access.

Let me tell you something though, something that may be a hang up for them to do their work.

This is from my experiences last summer with storm/cable damage ... THEY will NOT cut limbs or trees away from their cables. I had to do that. So the problem here is, not that their cables are surrounded by those limbs but that is the area they need to sit their ladder that will hook high on their cables to put that box back.

I will wait to see what they do but right now I have no plans of moving those smaller branches, even if the temps get into the 20s later today.

So the AT&T Saga continues here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana after 8 months.