SBC Sucks Ass

Received this email today:

Dear Customer:

We were unable to submit your web hosting charge to the Billing Telephone Number that you provided as your method of payment. What we show is not a valid local telephone number in our SBC region.

Your Billing Telephone Number, xxx-xxx-xxxx, has been found invalid against the following line items:

N1580941 - 50 NON-OWNERSHIP. RESOLD LINE
R3154240 - 50 NON-OWNERSHIP. RESOLD LINE
R3187042 - 50 NON-OWNERSHIP. RESOLD LINE
R3404074 - 50 NON-OWNERSHIP. RESOLD LINE
R3443142 - 50 NON-OWNERSHIP. RESOLD LINE
R3479114 - 50 NON-OWNERSHIP. RESOLD LINE
R3513197 - 50 NON-OWNERSHIP. RESOLD LINE
R3549008 - 50 NON-OWNERSHIP. RESOLD LINE
R3583330 - 50 NON-OWNERSHIP. RESOLD LINE

Please contact our office as soon as possible so that we may update your billing information. Please remember that if you would like your web hosting charges added to your phone bill, the billing number MUST be a 13 digit valid line in our SBC region (no cell phone #'s).

If you choose to pay with credit card you may add this yourself by going to “Change Credit Card” in your Control Panel, (Edit Account Info screen). All fields must be filled in with the required information (first name of cardholder, last name of cardholder, credit card number, etc.) The credit card information will be immediately updated.
Regards,
SBC Internet Services, Inc.
www.webhosting.com
888-WEB-HOST (932-4678)

Now, last summer (June 03 or maybe July 03- that is, ALMOST A FREAKING YEAR AGO), our DSL provider, Hosting.com, folded up their offices in Chicago. We then were suckers, and signed up for a SBC Webhosting account. After about 2 weeks of back and forth with tech support, and multiple emails/calls with various marketing and tech support people, we got the account to work, sort of. The upload/download speed was atrocious, and the pop3 email was horribly flaky: frequently would time out, or fail to connect at all. After another week or so, we canceled our account, and even took it a step further, and canceled our local phone service to move everything to a fractionated T1 line with Allegiance Telecom. We had a little problem with a lightning strike-electric spike ruining our first modem, but in general, have been very happy with ALGX.

SBC can kiss my ass. I guess I have to go through my old Amex bills to see if I have been charged at any time in the last year for some phantom SBC hosting account. I wouldn't put it past them.

Update from some snotty SBC rep called Erica J. cancellations@webhosting.com

To cancel an account we must receive written authorization from the contact e-mail address on file. Such a request to cancel was not recieved until today, thus the account has been canceled effective today, 7/29/03.

Unless a request to cancel has been received we continue to renew the contract automatically for the initial term specified by the customer. This is what has occured. Our renewal procedures were provided to you when this account was first created. I have included an excerpt for your review:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“2.3 Renewal term(s). If Account Holder wishes to terminate the Services at the end of the Initial Term or any subsequent Renewal Terms, notice of intent to terminate must be given in written form faxed to: 561-999-8215 or emailed from email contact account to support@webhosting.com at least 30 days prior to the termination date. Neither U.S. mail nor phone notification shall be acceptable. If Account Holder fails to notify SBC of its intent not to renew, this Agreement will be automatically renewed for a period equal to the Initial Term (”Renewal Term“) at SBC's then-current rates and charges.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I have done a who-is look-up on your domain name and found that your hosting service is no longer pointing to our servers:

Domain Name: xxx
Updated Date: 08-jun-2004
Creation Date: 02-sep-1999
Expiration Date: 02-sep-2009

However, please be advised that moving your services to another provider does not automatically cancel your previous hosting services. We are not notified that such changes have been made if not by the customer themselves.

Your account was on a month to month contract. Please be advised that there are no refunds offered for accounts canceled after the renewal date. This account last renewed on 7/09/04. No credit will be issued.

If you have a copy of a previous request to cancel, complete with headers, please forward us a copy for review. Once we verify when the cancellation request was originally sent we will gladly issue any necissary credit due.

Otherwise, without written documentation of a previously requested cancellation, we can not offer credit for previous months.

Cancellation/Refund Policy Link:
http://webhosting.com/shared/support/faq/billing.html

You currently have an open invoices for this account.

You will need to contact our Customer Service Department to make payment:

(888) 932-4678 option 2
Monday-Friday 8:00a.m. to 11:00p.m. EST

Ain't that a bitch! So, even though I cancelled my SBC in May (I looked it up) of last year, I'm liable, in SBC's minds at least, for calling them, waiting on hold, and so forth. Dream on. I want to work at SBC's data center, that sounds like a slacker's job by any definition of the word.

{Business}