BELLyACHE

Telecommunications companies around the world are all crap. Why this is I don't really know but I have a theory that any company or industry that makes far too much profit tend to skimp on the quality of what they do because it doesn't really matter as there are millions of more suckers lining up for their services. They are also safe in the knowledge that because their competitors are also crap that there is going to be a guaranteed influx of new customers who have left other providers.

In New Zealand I've had equally bad service from Telecom and Vodafone.

Vodafone, when there is a problem is almost impossible to contact in a reliable form. You can't email to get your query/complaint across. You have to telephone and then be at the mercy of one of their temp. Operators who work off a script. The results, for me, we're always unsatisfactory. I've one cancelled my account with Vodafone and still have a $20 credit for which I get monthly statements. Can I get these people to put the $20 into my bank account and zero the account? No.

Telecom has been a nightmare for years and as most people know they have fucked up in a major way with internet services, email security and phone services but they are still the largest provider.
Recently, before leaving NZ I made arrangements with Telecom to close the land-line account but to keep the email (xtra) account going. I telephoned, texted, emailed and physically visited to ensure that all was OK right up to the time I was leaving. I was assured that all was Ok.
Just before I left for Canada Telecom cancelled all my accounts including the essential email ones (my lifeline when I was changing countries). All of my travel arrangements, immigration details, banking etc was locked into these accounts. After a frantic 14 hour to and fro (engineering difficulties you know) I got my two email accounts reinstated just in time.

In Toronto The Old a Girl has her phone with Rogers (kind of like Vodafone) and I have mine with Bell and we have an internet-line Bell account.  I have had a couple of annoying hassles over billing but generally Bell has been OK.
Last week, 4 days before we were to travel I want to the local Bell shop to arrange overseas 'roaming' for my phone. The glamour boy, all hair and teeth organised it for me at the customer desk. We selected the voice and text option in UK which costs $45 per month. He said that as I had a credit limit on my account (which is $200 and each month I only spend $70 which always leaves $130 spare!) he would have to contact head office accounts. I suppressed what I felt like saying and said instead that by all means he should do so. He rang accounts and passed the phone to me - obviously the glamour boys don't talk to the trolls. I explained what I wanted and gave credit card details to process the $45 charge in advance (bastards). This went through as I checked my on-line Bell account and my bank account. 'Hair and teeth' assured me that when I arrived in UK that the phone would connect.
It didn't. And 5 days later it hasn't.
I contacted Bell Toronto (using a borrowed phone) and went through their help(?) desk. This took several calls with phone backs and the answer was that they could not do anything.
Pissed off? You bet. I trawled the net to find a contact for Bell complaints and found one titled 'complaint escalation' with an email address. I wrote a long explanation of the situation, the problem and my desire for an urgent remedy. 12 hours later I received a long email answer that basically said that Bell complaints had reviewed this and suggested I call - ie telephone - Bell customer services. They kindly provided a telephone number ( for me to dial on a phone that's inactive).

Needless to say some Bell executive is going to get a face to face blast from me when I get back to Toronto  and secure a meeting.

Dickheads!