I am someone that prioritizes my credit account bills so that my credit score remains high. The only time a regular bill like utilities and cable will appear on your credit report is if you walk away from an account and leave an unpaid balance of more than $50. So with a company like Cogeco, who charges a month ahead, I usually let the bill slide awhile. I end up paying like $7 a month in service charges for being a bit behind. I always felt that what you for your $155 per month for tv and internet was a rip off. You don't get many channels at all and the internet service is good but has quit on me for days at at time in the past. They also now cap their internet service bandwidth usage level--I don't use it that much so it has not been a factor but it's still an annoyance. So I always kind of paid the bill last in my list of bills.
One Friday afternoon I came home from work to find a fluorescent orange notice on my door that said. "It is now too late to pay any other way than by personal cheque to our tech." who will be out next week and blah blah blah. So I walked to my computer and paid the full balance online. I read on a bill previously that this may happen and that Cogeco would charge me $40 dollars for this friendly collection call. Who pays for anything by cheque anymore? It's just a way for them to nail you for more money. I realized that this is the end for me and Cogeco. I called their customer service rep. (so-called) and informed them that I wanted to cancel my service. After handing me off to someone who tried to talk me out of it, I was returned to Cindy, who said that she would assist me with this. I knew that I read some-
where that I would need to do so but I figured it's less of hurdle to dump these clowns, so fine. She then asked me if I wanted to cancel my service early and get a refund cheque for the balance, I said sure. She said that since there was going to be a collection call next week and someone was going to be coming out anyway, we could shut it off then. I said fine.
That day came and went and my service was shut off that morning. I told my wife who brought back the modem and HD cable box/ remotes. The lady at the store said. How come you're bringing this back today? You have paid for the rest of the month. She put the equipment in the back of the store and would not give it back. So my wife called me to let me know this. I called Cogeco and was told that 30 days notice is required to cut off services and that my service was shut off remotely and that no tech came to house. I was told that my service was cut off at my request even though the bill was paid.
After being told there was no manager available for about 2 or 3 tries, I finally got a hold of one and was told that since there has been a "misunderstanding" I would be refunded a whopping $50. This did not happen.
I have switched to MNSI internet and still don't have cable tv. My kids now play outside when they get home instead of asking to watch tv.
It's nice not to have that big fat bill every month now with the feeling that I'm not getting much for my money and being harassed for payment. I know I made the right decision after being blatantly lied to by this company.
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