Poor Home Telephone Service from the New AT&T

Posted Fri June 29, 2007 12:00 pm, by CINDY B. written to BellSouth Telecommunications

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I live in Springfield, TN. My father, who lives with me, but has a separate home phone line, has been in the hospital or nursing home since the end of March. On June 13, 2007, I placed an order to have his phone service suspended with a recording that states "This number has been temporarily disconnected at the customer's request. Please call xxx-xxx-xxxx (my home number) for more information." or something to that effect. However, the recording that is now played states, "This number has been disconnected." Unfortunately, anyone who calls will now think my father has passed away and I now have to call all of his friends (most of whom do not have my number). There will be a considerable amount of calls to make (approx. 30) as well as 20 to 30 minutes of explanation per call (giving them my number, updating them on his health, etc.). I work full-time & with visiting my father on a daily basis, I do not look forward to a day or two on the phone due to the "new AT&T"'s inability to get an order placed properly. On 6/25/07, I found out the recording was wrong. I have since made calls to Customer Service on 6/25/07, 6/27/07, 6/28/07 and today, 6/29/07. Today I was advised that although the order had been completed, there was a problem because the phone was already in suspension! I then spoke with a supervisor who told me it would be taken care of, apologies, blah, blah, blah, & she of course did not know whom I had spoken to. When I offered to give her the names, she told me they had over 45 offices & did not want the names. I wonder how many of those offices are in the Phillipines or India???? As far as the Loyalty/Word of Mouth feature on Planet Feedback, how can I say I won't use them in the future -- it's pretty much the only phone company.

Get the job done right! I really do not believe it will ever be done properly and heaven help me that at such time as my father is able to return home, it will probably take 20 calls to have his service restored.

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Re: Poor Home Telephone Service from the New AT&T by S. Brown Posted Mon July 2, 2007 @ 3:09 PM I deal with The New AT&T everyday (as well as all other local exchange carriers) and they do not offer the option of custom recordings. You either leave the phone service active and use your own device (answering machine or whatever) to provide callers information or you disconnect the service and have them put a standard referral message on the number (The number you dialed - - XXX-XXX-XXXX - - has been changed. The new number is XXX-XXX-XXXX). Don't get me wrong - - I detest AT&T as much (or more) than the next person, but your request is not possible as it is something that simply is not offered. Reply I didn't think so.. by Harleycat Tue July 3, 2007 @ 8:57 AM Re: Home Telephone Service (The "New AT&T) by Harleycat Posted Fri June 29, 2007 @ 4:18 PM I've never heard of temporarily suspending service and getting to put a recording of your choice on. The most I've ever seen them do is suspend service and use a canned recording. The best route to go on this would have been to either forward the calls to your number or put an answering machine on the phone directing callers to call you. I believe, even if you suspend service, they will only do it for a short time and then they start charging you again. Better to put a minimum basic plan on the line if you really need to keep the number. Reply Message for Suspended Service by Razor Sun August 19, 2007 @ 1:44 AM Re: Home Telephone Service (The "New AT&T) by RedheadWGlasses Posted Fri June 29, 2007 @ 3:36 PM Could you instead have that number forwarded to your own home phone line, so at least calls will come directly to you? Reply