Your premiss that BEV is unaware of their billing problems is absurd.
do you honestly believe that the person in charge at BEV actually knows how a CS rep handles a billing question on a call...which screens to access, how to determine if a credit is applied...i can guarantee that if you place the president of BEV on a phone, he would be lost and would not know what to do to help that customer...it is quite possible that the senior managers at BEV are not aware at the scale of the problems...if they "only" get a couple of calls a week about billing issues, that doesn't put up any red flags...if they get sent several issues from the executive office, it certainly does...the executive office has the power to do ANYTHING they want to help resolve the situation (obviously within reason)...if it means skipping the proper procedures to figure out why the credit wasn't applied, and to simply apply the credit immediately, then so be it...a CS rep does not have that power.

Can someone do the group a favor by forwarding the link of this thread to the so called executive office email address? I think the BEV brass need to read these postings. These are 'free' focus group / voice of customers input for BEV.

it is quite possible that the senior managers at BEV are not aware at the scale of the problems...
Snap out of it guy your in denial.

When the Bell executive called to apologize and to apply the $290 'satisfactory adjustment', these are the points she made when explaining why it took 6 months.

when my account was changed from French to English, it necessitated a change in account number. This is where my credits were 'lost'
the billing software is run on macros, implying that no one in billing or customer service can bypass the 6-8 week lag time
and in my case where only 1 of the 3 promotional credits was applied, these macros can't account for it
she acknowledged this has affected 'a group' of customers
they are 'working on' the billing system
and the customer service rep erred by sending the credit request to the rental department instead of the billing department


So I come to the conclusion that the Bell exec knows there is a problem in the software, and in the customer service handling of it, but I question how much urgency there is to rectify it. After all, just think of all the customers who are getting ripped off and are unaware of it!

When the Bell executive called to apologize and to apply the $290 'satisfactory adjustment', these are the points she made when explaining why it took 6 months.

ent


So I come to the conclusion that the Bell exec knows there is a problem in the software, and in the customer service handling of it, but I question how much urgency there is to rectify it. After all, just think of all the customers who are getting ripped off and are unaware of it!

OK so I brought my lack of credit to their attention over 12 weeks ago, and still it has not been corrected in the bills coming out, and the lost credits have not been applied either. So much for the 6-8 week time frame. They want us to give them the extra money so they can make interest on it while they sort out their problems. I'll bet that more than 10% of affected customers don't even realize they have been over charged. Their billing system is a mess!
I just deduct the amount of credits I should of recieved from the bill, and pay the rest. You can bet if I change my package to a costlier one that it will show up immediately. Even if it really did happen after 6-8 weeks, that is totally unacceptable from a customer stand point. BEV should be ashamed of their billing system!

I'm in the same boat now..
I signed up for Bev in December during the promotion that included free rental of 4 4100's for 24 Months. Since the first bill, I have been charged $10/month with no credit to offset it. My Wife called immediatly was given the same song and dance about the billing system and was assured the problem would be fixed. 2nd Billing..another $10 and no credits..3rd Billing same deal so now we are tracking $30.00 worth of credits. When we called on this again, the Customer Rep said it would take 3 - 4 weeks for the credits to work it's way into the system. That same rep also gave us another credit which basically covered one month of programming which I feel was generous.
Now I'm just waiting to see this month's bill so I can track more "phantom" credits. What a fiasco based on everything I've read here.

I'm crossposting this from my post on DSLReports....

It's barely worth my time to be complaining over $5 but it's sorta stupid.

I got my ExpressVu service back in July. The agreement was for the first two recievers to be free and $2.50 for the extra reciever.

Anyway, come November the promotion stopped showing up on the account. I called in to ask why we're not getting it anymore and they said it was a billing system error and they were "escalating it".

January rolls around, still the same issue. I call in and the CSR credits me for the two recievers since November. I'm happy - I mean, it's only $5 but I would like to get what was promised to me.

Anyway, February rolls around still not getting the credit. I call in and the next rep said they're giving us a credit for it. It shows up as $2.50.

Now, my latest invoice (March) came in and it's STILL not there. I call in and the newest rep that I got said that we weren't eligible for this promotion because we activated when these recievers weren't on promotion.

Does anyone else have a problem with Bell and how one hand doesn't tell what the other hand is doing. It's annoying!

I'm in the same boat now..
I signed up for Bev in December during the promotion that included free rental of 4 4100's for 24 Months. Since the first bill, I have been charged $10/month with no credit to offset it. My Wife called immediatly was given the same song and dance about the billing system and was assured the problem would be fixed. 2nd Billing..another $10 and no credits..3rd Billing same deal so now we are tracking $30.00 worth of credits. When we called on this again, the Customer Rep said it would take 3 - 4 weeks for the credits to work it's way into the system. That same rep also gave us another credit which basically covered one month of programming which I feel was generous.
Now I'm just waiting to see this month's bill so I can track more "phantom" credits. What a fiasco based on everything I've read here.

We got a call today to pay up or face a $25 admin fee. My current bill was not due to be payed yet, but I am showing as overdue due to not paying my full bill because I have deducted the credits they owe me. There is no way I am giving them my money until they sort out this mess! So I called, and asked them why they have not fixed it yet. They did not have much to say other than saying they will fix. What will they do next? Disconnect me? What a mess they are making of things!

I have yet to sign up with BEV until I move into an apartment unit facing Southwest (June 1st). Since I have not had the best experience with many companys I sign up with *cough* *cough* CIA *cough* Rogers *cough*, I thought I would take a dip into these forums and read all positive and negative feedback from BEV before joining.

So I have spent the past day reading all 8 pages of this thread in particular. One might think after reading this that the best thing would be to stay away from BEV. But I dont think I will. It certainly appears BEV has major Billing Issues and I dont doubt it. But I believe it is having the experience and knowing what to expect and the way to handle CSR and who to speak too should make the experience a positive one.

First thing I will definently do is make a copy of the promo that I am signing up for. As its been seen said that CSReps are denying certain promos ever happening

Second, I will be documenting every conversation..names/employee numbers (I assume if I was really frustrated I might start recording conversations..(letting the CSR know of course :D )).

Third, it is definently a good idea to have some sort of exective contact (email/phone number etc) incase you need to escilate an issue that cannot be resoved by a regular CSR.

Lastly, not to be frustrated when speaking to a CSR that you cannot get anywhere with.....

Dr. Phil/Jerry Springer Moment...

Most regular CSRs at bell (I will even say the same @ dell.. yes I work for dell) probably can not do any more than what they actually say (limitations). And they most likely have scripts (you will have to wait 6-8 weeks) on what they should say when handling a negative escilation or if they cannot do more than what they are trained to do (ie.. apply immediate credits were credit is due). Getting angry or upset with the CSR will not get you anywhere (not even at dell..lol). It will just get the CSR on the defense and he/she will try to rush you off the phone as fast as they can. If you make threats like "I will sue" is a quick way for them to just release the call (trust me.. I have done this myself on customers :D ). It is always best to take the positive start to a call and get the CSR on your side "I know you have limits on what you can do for me today, but its really been frustrating to not see the credits been applied month to month. I dont blaim you personally as you have been really nice to talk too, but I just wonder if there may be a glitch in the billing software. I would feel better if I could personally speak to a manager (as he or she may be able to do something that you are limited by doing". If I were the CSR on the other end I would definently bend over backwards to make sure that customer was happy (as I have done at dell). If you start the call in a negative way and just start spitting off with all your frustrations with BEV, you can bet you wont get anything out of it and it will just be a waste of your time.

Though one thing I really think is completely wrong is it taking a company 6-8 weeks to do anything. This day in age, that is completly insane for anything to take that long. I would understand them wanting to wait 6-8 weeks to apply credits if this were NOT on a contract basis, but they do have the customer for 2 years, so this does not make sense to me I have been paying close attention to BEV promos over the past 6 months and they seem to change on a monthly basis. Perhaps their billing system is unable to handle such frequent billing codes/promos that with existing customers get the shaft.

This would be all I would have to say. I thank you all for sharing your experiences with BEV, I at least now know what to expect.

djino you now know more than most csr good luck and enjoy your service.

I don't get the 6 to 8 week thing!

This is normal when they have thousands of mail-in rebate forms to go through and write cheques, but when it relates to credits being applied directly to your bill, what causes such a delay?

unfortunately, the people on the phone do not issue credits...it is handled by the billing department...i think that is why there is such a lag...in the case of other areas of Bell, the CSR has access to the billing system, so most mistakes (that involve a credit) can be applied instantly...i don't think that is the case with BEV...i believe they have to "request" a correction, which is then sent to another department.

I don't get the 6 to 8 week thing!
foxfan I will look for your post here in July saying I did not get my efin credits yet.

I signed up on Mar. 16, and can't wait to see the new bill to see how many mistakes I have to call in to get corrected... lol

The problem I have is that I will not give them money and let it sit there unitl they sort it out. I have been subtracting the missing credits at each bill, and my unpaid amount is growing, collecting interest, and causing them to phone me, and threaten $25 admin fees. I would not be surprised if I don't receive a disconnect threat soon even though I have paid everything I owe. This is the frustrating part. Also, my theoretical non-payment could eventually make it to my credit report. This is the stuff that really bugs me as a customer. If they could let things ride until they work out their issues without causing me a lot of grief that would be fine. I have been working with them for more than 12 weeks on this issue with absolutley no resolution yet. I can see that applying credits might take awhile, but once I point out the missing credits, I would expect that the next bill would show them for that month. No luck!

...Done...ended up being huge, guess I had a lot to say. Hopefully something will come of it.

Happy to say that my bill has FINALLY been credited the $100 I was owed!

Happy to say that my bill has FINALLY been credited the $100 I was owed!
But Its only been 7 months!Aren't you the luckey one.

But Its only been 7 months!Aren't you the luckey one.

hahaha, your telling me. just make me think twice about signing up for something with bell when they promise me credits down the road

I'm laughing and having fun at your expense this morning I get my bill and its screwed up, again they forgot my 2 year price freeze.I called them up and they will give me a $26.93 credit next month for the $5 mistake what a joke.I'm about 16 months into a 24 month contract and my bill has been right only 3 or 4 times.The only good thing about it is the extra credits you can get to listing to that sickly how can I provide you with excellent service dribble.

my $5 Bell Bundle discount was missing for about 4 months in a row...it was finally resolved after escalating it to the executive team...manual credits were added here and there, but the problem was never fixed until it was escalated...obviously, the reps on the phones are limited in what they can do...this is why i encourage you people to escalate the issues so they can give the front line reps more power to fix your problems on the first call...this is the company's goal this year, so hopefully we will see this change soon.