I want to start off by saying I have been a customer service rep, and I don't blame the reps in this case, except maybe those who are working on commission and are willing to spin/and or lie about a product in order to get people to buy it (Not saying people who work on commission are evil; just that some are very willing to do devious things.)

I use the Washington Telephone Assistance Program, which is basically a government-sponsored discount for poor people. It includes a lower price for service and no The only company who accepts this service is Qwest (Isn't that convenient?). Though I'd heard bad things about them, I figured that if it were government sponsored they'd have to honor it, and so I wouldn't have as many problems.

Upon first calling, I was told my price for local service would be $2.00. I might have balked at the price, except that government services I receive give me a lot of other things that seem equally amazing. So I happily signed up. While signing up I was told I could choose three features for a lower price as well (I believe I chose caller ID as one of them.)

As it turns out, the WTAP program is supposed to have local service cost $8.00, and I don't know if that charges tax. It doesn't cover other items. If I had known that, I wouldn't have trusted the other rep who told me that it could cover long distance. Instead of the $17.00 promised, I ended up paying about $30, more after tax. I called to cancel, and was informed that there wouldn't be any more charges related to the long distance service.

My most recent bill came, with a price tag of $27.00, along with listings of charges. There was a cancellation fee, which I wasn't informed of. A list of long distance phone calls is also on the bill, which shows why I'm being charged for long distance. However, as I was told there would be no further charges, I'm rather pissed off that there are charges.

I have now complained thoroughly, and the problem is being escalated. Which will doubtless do little, but it's worth a shot. I never complain for refunds. In this case, however, if I had known of any of the charges I would be receiving for any of this, I would only have paid for the local service. I can't say I'd have gone with a different service, as my main complaint is their inability to inform me of what I will be charged.

In conclusion, I don't recommend Quest, especially not for use with the WTAP program. However, if you will use them, stick with the local service and don't bother with the extras.

I won't go into all the details of my nightmarish relationship with this company. Suffice it to say they are on a mission to destroy decades of good credit for unauthorized charges to my account. I want to share who you might want to complain to if wronged by them.
Landline & Internet: Your state Public Utility Commision, Attorney General
Cell phone: Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications
DirectTV: not sure, but I know there have been problems with them too (try PUC, FTC, & FCC)

There have been less than satisfactory outcomes with Better Business Bureau with this company. I personally feel it's a waste of time. They claim that all cases must be "arbitrated" by their arbitration firm but I wouldn't let that intimidate you. I plan to initiate a small claims case regardless. It usually gets a response.
If you have been charged early termination fees on a month to month plan go here:
http://chimicles.com/case/qwest-communications-early-termination-potential
Cell phone article: google qwest+ oregonian+ Jennifer Palmquist

You must play hardball with this company to get your money refunded. If you're not willing to do that they will continue to abuse their customers. Remember that someone didn't fight, and now you're the one holding the bag.

Best of luck from Washington state :)

I switched from Comcast to Qwest as the sales person was incredibly persuasive ...well ...the technician came and installed and left on a Thursday night (LATE!) and on Friday morning nothing worked; after being on the phone with the tech depart who was sending me around to several people and each person would try to sell me a new service for four hours and when they said they could not do anything but send a technician out on saturday and gave me an 8 hour window. That second I canceled Qwest and went right back to Comcast (they were the devil I knew) ...so nothing worked I was told I would be credited for lack of service WRONG! ...i also sent back the modems they installed (NO CREDIT CAME THROUGH) ...i spoke with jsut about every specialist in the billing department (they are sugary sweet) who all promised they were helping me and that it would be credited (for 2 mos) -- THEY LIED. I got a call from collections yesterday and I told them that I was told that Qwest Collections was sending them an email to the collections group to not collect against my account a credit was coming through. The collection agency (Qwest is their client) said that they lied and that they cannot do that and they will do whatever they need to do to get the $$ from me ...they said that I should call back and ask for a supervisor at Qwest to get my account credited; I tried that and surprise they were all in a meeting. So I called again today and as of now I've been on hold for 15 minutes with no supervisor on the line ...they are Satan's representative on earth.

I had a DSL internet & phone bundle with Qwest from Nov 2006 - Apr 2008. I switched over to another Internet provider(Charter Cable) in mid-April 2008 and also switched over to Vonage, the VOIP based phone service. They have the number portability service where they can transfer your existing phone number to their service. To do this, they(Vonage) directly do the switch and let me know once the switch is complete. My switch was complete by April 15 2008.

Then I called Qwest to cancel my phone AND DSL internet service. The customer service rep confirmed all of this and told me I'll receive a prepaid box for sending Qwest back the DSL modem I had rented from them and I'll get a 'final bill' within 2-4 weeks. The prepaid box for the modem arrived, I duly shipped the modem back and I thought the matter was closed.

Imagine my surprise, when I start receiving bills for a COMPLETELY NEW phone number with fresh monthly charges(for Broadband, Long Distance etc). I called Qwest that there has been some mistake and that I never had this NEW account. I told them about the cancellation, the mail-back of the modem etc. with details about my old account. The rep confirmed the receipt of my DSL modem and said that she'll make sure that there's a back office request put in to cancel this new account and that I'll receive a 'final bill' for this new account.

I even paid some outstanding charges(which I never understood; My bills were autopaid from my bank account; I had paid my bills in FULL for April AND May; I disconnected service Apr-15; yet I never received a final bill with a credit for the months of May and half of April). But the bills kept coming(with increasing amounts) for the new phantom account. The funnier thing is that these are all disconnect notices threatening to disconnect service yet Qwest never seems to disconnect, but only hit me with a larger bill for an account I never had.

I kept calling about Qwest twice a month(never could get the same customer service rep, always had to repeat my story); they'll say that there's been a mistake and will promise that it will be sorted out very soon. I got tired of calling them with absolutely no response other than a bill. Now it is Nov 2008, 6 months since I first disconnected from Qwest.

I've gotten tired of calling Qwest and am at a loss as to what to do. I'm not sure if I want to sue them for the $300 or so for the they're hitting me with an account I never had, as well as the $100 or so they owe me. Any advice for me? Qwest doesn't seem bothered by my calls so I'm not sure about my course of action here.

I have excellent credit and don't want it ruined by an unscrupulous company reported fraudulent charges.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks for your time & patience.

FRAUD VICTIM. THESE ACCT... IS NOT MINE.