Earthlink Debuts Corporate Blog

Earthlink, a major ISP, today debuted its first corporate weblog. The TypePad-powered blog site provides information to help consumers stay safe while they're surfing the Web. Chris Brandon, the blog's Managing Editor, wrote in an email to me ...

"This is a brand new endeavor for us, and we're doing it to communicate with customers and non-customers in a new way. We also think it can play an important role in building our brand as the online advocates."

Wow. That's great. Can I get an ayyyymen? The Earthlink blog - at http://www.protectionblog.net - has comments and trackbacks turned off, at least for now. Too bad. However, it does at least have an RSS feed and the site is written in human speak by real individuals, not in corporate-speak. Congrats to Earthlink for joining the blogosphere and doing it properly.

Comments

[Chris Holland]

Aaaaayyyyymen!

[Rob Barac]

Just checked it out, and it is indeed a great “innovation” for earthlink. Seriously though, it is great to see the increasing uptake of the technology.

In fact I’ve been looking at ways to incorporate a blog into two of our company sites. My only question is whether or not it is really feasible for an industry that still predominantly relies on paper, fax and phone calls for most of its business.

[Pete Blackshaw]

Nice move by Earthlink. I think we'll start to see more corporate blogs evolved dedicated to genuinely helping consumers with real issues. This is an example. Things will really start to get interesting when the corporate blogs fulfill the promise of being a real extension of customer service.

[Bianca]

To: Earthlink Corporation
1375 Peach Tree street NE
Atlanta,GA 30309

Re: Account # 7221409
Issues, clossure of account, afterward charges, access charges
for UNLIMITED ACCESS wireless card

To Whom it may concern!

I been customer with Earthlink aprox 3years. Never in my mind will i think
that i will go through emotional stage, to the point where i had to seek
medical assistance over closure of my account and accusations of
abusing account and privilleges. If i have abused privileges then i
did unknownly.. I am a woman in my late 50's
and i am not a child or a hacker, but unfortunately i been
categorized that i am one.I have tried to settle this issue with
customer service as well as wireless dept
and tried to explain that i have used my privileges to
access internet in normal manners as i always did in the past. No one
was willing to listen. Finaly they directed me to corporate office.
When i signed contract 3 years ago i signed contract for
unlimited downloads
and megabytes and that i can stay online all day 24/7/365
There was nowhere in contract stated that i am limited to
kilobytes i am downloading or hours i spend on internet. I was
told that i have boged network and caused other
customers problem and that my account is closed as well i been charged for
excess of usage $100 from my checking account yesterday
february 22nd 2005 and account was closed today february 23rd at
3pm est. I be willing to disclose all my info from my laptop to
specialist for examenation if neccessary including my laptop
that card was operating on.
I am asking Could it be faulty card? Could it be that i was in the area
for last 3 months that earthlink dodnt have signals
(which i beleive was a problem)
so it was using someone elses towers and crossed signals somehow
caused this problem? Could it be i was singled out for no reason just
because earthlink feels i am using to much
time on internet at their expence? Could it be that Earthlink now realize that
accounts like mine are liabilities more then assets to earthlink?
All of those questions need to be answered.....and what i am willing to do
is following:
Trying to resolve this issue within a Earthlink corporate offices before i
will seek legal help outside Earthlink. Would you please be so kind to
investigate what has happen to my account and why?
If this issue is not resolved within Earthlink corporate offices,
i will be forced to contact, Attorney general, FCC, BBB,
Consumer Affairs, Hot action news
local TV station as well post a BLOG on internet about Earthlinks illegal
practices such as this
UNLIMITED MEANS UNLIMITED and no restriction
on usage.Obvisouly this is not case in my case.
Buyers be AWARE of using EARTHLINK
At one time i was in favor of earthlink and introduce it to many of my friends,
i regret i did
I will contact my bank tomorrow to remove charges from my account and disclose
copy of the contract i signed with earthlink 3 years ago. There will be no charges
for excess usage as that is not stated in my contract. And BTW what will i do
with a crad that i paid $399 dollars 3 years ago...as that card is only for usage
with earthlink? is that how earthlink is screwing general public?

One very unhappy customer
Bianca

[Blair]

I too am having problems with Earthlink. I am trying to close an account for a man who has been dead for 4 months. Earthlink is refusing to close his account even though I have sent them a copy of the death certificate and a copy of the legal documents stipulating me as the executor of his estate. I have been told he has to close his account. Gee, if only he would have done so before he hit the floor and died of a heart attack. Earthlink is continuing to debit the trust account every month for the monthly fee even though the computer was sold two months ago and his phone service and cable service were canceled in January. I contacted the PUC, the FCC and filed a complaint with the FTC. I am on my way to filing complaints with the BBB and the Consumer Protection Agency. I will also be closing my personal earthlink account and recommending others do likewise.

[screw you2]

You are wasting our time earthlink! We are only trying to create a civilized educational web based site for children and adults, and it is apparent that you do not care about your customers. WE WANT OUT!

[jay]

Is there someone from earthlink that can activate my dsl.
Been waiting for several weeks.

The customer service support from foreign countries have provided what I consider to be lame excuses---such as--an outage in California migrated to Chicago, I didn't provide the location of my telephone, repairs are in order wait 3 to 4 hours, my phone is bad, the modem is too close to my cpu, etc. etc.

All I want is a dsl hookup and to be serviced by someone who actually knows how to do it.

Any help for me out there?

Jay.

[antonia cedrone]

After getting daily lists of political events for years from riseup.net, earthlink is now blocking them. Why?? What to do??

[Bonnie]

I too am having problems with Earthlink. I have VOip service and Linksys box is defective. They would send me a new one that I would receive in 5 - 7 business days or 6 -8 business days depending on who i was talking to. I said that's not acceptable since I would be without phone service for that length of time. I need my phone. They would overnight a box for a charge $39. I said that was unacceptable also because I shouldn't have to pay for the box. No one was at all sympathic. They just said that was the charge and basically too bad. they will loose my phone service and interent service service. My daughter will also discontinue her Earthlink phone and internet service. They will loose 4 accounts because they refuse to send me a box overnight for free. I hope they have a great sales department because if I'm any indication of the way they treat customers, the sales department is going to have to work very hard to replace all the customers that are lost because of poor judgement. My accounts (phone, internet and anti-virus) aren't worth the $39. charge. Big Corporation bad insight.

[Beatrice]

I have been through hell during the past month and a half trying to deal with Earthlink. At points I felt as if I was going to have an anxiety attack while on the phone with them. After being an Earthlink DSL customer for 9 years, I made the mistake of answering an Earthlink email ad for bundled DSL and phone service. Nothing has been right since. I have spent close to 40 hours on the phone with Earthlink customer service located mostly in India and the Philipinnes. Each time I call I get transferred 6-8 times and one department does not seem to know what another is doing or can do. I have been hung up on and the agents seem unable to understand and answer simple questions. They adhere to maddening scripts. I have repeatedly been given wrong information and been without the service I ordered for days and weeks. I ordered a separate VOIP line to transfer my existing home business phone number and it has NEVER worked. I tried to cancel my service 4 times and was not allowed to do so, spending hours on the phone with cancellation department agents who swore they would fix the problem and then either hung up on me when I insisted on cancelling or transferred me to other departments to begin continue my Brazil/Alic in Wonderland bureaucratic ordeal in hell. Finally, yesterday after having to scream at a cancellation agent I was told my account would be closed. However I am very concerned about reports I have discovered about cancellation nightmares with Earthlink. I have filed a complaint with the US. Consumer Protection Agency and am looking for an attorney who would be willing to file a class action lawsuit. If anyone in charge at Earthlink reads this thing, you need to do something NOW! Your system is broken and you are abusing your customers. Your service centers in India are completely incompetent and there is no accountability.

[r taylor]

This has been cut and pasted from my conversation with Earthlink's "Live Chat". It all began a month ago when we received an e-mail that I needed to update my credit card number which is on file and happens to be paying for my parent's monthly DSL account which serves Earthlink's mail station. It became so ridiculously complicated to simply update our credit card number, that my husband and I decided to close the Earthlink DSL account. This took approximately 11 phone calls. I would call to give the rep our new credit card number. They would ask for the password. I didn't know my parent's password, my parents are old, they don't even know their password. I would tell Earthlink's rep, you sent us notification that our credit card needs updated, what more verification do you need? How many people do you get calling wanting to pay for someone's monthly DSL? Why is it so difficult to simply update our credit card number? Finally, we closed the account, but then my parents called me a week later telling me their mailbox is full and how do you empty it. Since mail station is an Earthlink product, I am still an Earthlink customer in that regard, so I called tech support and here's the transcript from the "Live Chat" and subsequent phone call:

Thank you for choosing our secure EarthLink Sales chat. All agents are currently assisting other customers. Thank you for your patience. You are number '1' of '1' customers in line. Your estimated wait is '0' minutes and '4' seconds.
Hello and welcome to EarthLink's secure live Sales chat. You are chatting with Jessica N..
r taylor: jessica, the number thomas b gave me leads to nowhere. call 866-874-2071 and you'll see what i'm talking about.
r taylor: who can help me with my mail station?
Jessica N.: Unfortunately I do not sell or support that service. The Mailstation department can be reached at 1-866-874-2071 and they will be able to assist you with that.
r taylor: call that number. it's not working?????!!!!
r taylor: give me a phone number to a supervisor for mail station, please.
Jessica N.: I am sorry. I can offer you only that number to get connected to the Mail station department.
r taylor: then offer me a supervisor.
Jessica N.: The Sales department supervisor is not available at the moment.
Jessica N.: I'm sorry to hear that you're having that problem.
r taylor: So, who's available?
Jessica N.: You need to try the number after some time. You might get connected to the mail station department.
r taylor: Why would I keep calling a phone number that says it's not in service?? I need to empty my mail box on my parent's mail station. Who can walk them through it. They are old and need someone to guide them.
Jessica N.: I am not technically trained on this issue. You need to contact the above number or the technical support at 1.888.327.8454 .
r taylor: dialing tech support now. . . .
r taylor: where are you located?
Jessica N.: Earthlink is headquartered in Atlanta GA, but I'm in India
r taylor: ok.
Jessica N.: To see what high speed options I can offer you, let me start by getting your name, phone number and complete physical address at that location.
Jessica N.: Please ignore the last message.
Jessica N.: Are there any other questions I can answer for you today?
Jessica N.: I haven't heard from you for approximately 3 minutes now. This chat session will disconnect in approximately 1 minute. If you have any further questions please feel free to begin another EarthLink Sales chat session at any time Monday-Sunday from 6:00am to 12:00am EST. Thank you for using Live Chat. Have a great day!
r taylor: i'm on the phone with a senior tech support person, also in India. hopefully he can help . . .
Jessica N.: Okay!!
This Sales chat session has ended. If you would like to start a new Sales chat please click the chat link any time from 6:00am to 1:00am EST. Thank you.

Update:
I remained on hold with a senior tech support person who was going to assist me with emptying my parent’s mailbox, but, since we’d cancelled our Earthlink account effective May 30, 2007, he was no longer able to help me.

The conversation went something like this:

R Taylor: This is the same kind of service I received from Earthlink when I was a paying customer. There is no difference between the assistance I receive when I am an Earthlink customer and when I am not accept that I no longer pay Earthlink to receive this kind of treatment.
Senior Tech: You can sign up again with Earthlink.
R Taylor: I would never sign up again with Earthlink based on my experience.
Senior Tech: You cancelled and you expect me to assist you?
R Taylor: I bought your equipment! I am still a customer! I cancelled your monthly dial-up service because Earthlink was so difficult to work with whenever I needed to update our credit card number. I do not get this. You have the opportunity to turn this around with a disappointed customer and you do not take it. I do not understand. Do you have an online manual on your website, I only need to empty my parent’s mail station mailbox?
Senior Tech: When you bought the mail station, there was a manual in the box.
R Taylor: Which is at my parent’s home in Kansas, I am in California. Even if they have the manual, they are not computer savvy and would want me to handle it. Can you walk me through it?
Senior Tech: I am sorry, I cannot help.
R Taylor; Yes, I am sorry you cannot and will not help, too. This is unbelievable.
(hang up)

[Paul Luchter]

earthlink has to be one of the worst corporations imaginable.

Here is my problems. I have free web space with my DSL account. I get 8 email addresses, and each is allowed up to 10 MB of free web space/ The most in any of them is around 4 to 5 MBs, so this is not a problem. I am allowed by the contract "at least" 1 GB of downloads of my pages. Fine, somehow my research sports history/statistics site of mostly text, tables and html reaches this 1 GB about a week before the end of a given calendar month and is taken down. I understand this. It is taken down for the rest of the given month. Fine. It replaces the pages with a "Sorry, this page is temporarily down" page explaining the downloaf limits.

Here is problem 1) 9 months in teh last 13, beginning last July, teh site does not come back as it is supposed to on the 1st of the next month. I call and most of the support personnel know nothing about it, I have to explain everything to them. They sometimes try to feed me flse information, like that teh site goes down for 30 full days, not as is true for the remainder of that particular month. I call and the best they do is "escalate" the issue. Nothing happens, I certainly never receive email about it, why this happens, why it is so hard to solve, no progress reports, no updates.

So I call again. Sometimes it goes on for two weeks. Once some engineer called my phone and left a message, he saw my site haad the page about the overdownloading so he couldn't do anything. This, of course, this page was the problem, it referred to THE MONTH BEFORE.

The last three weeks this has gone on, I get repeated phrases about how they feel sorry for my inconvenience and repeated lines overa nd over about escalations and they always claim it will be remedied soon. ANd it never is. After the 9th time one would figure they knew teh problem (I don'y mean the chat support, they know nothing at all about it, why it happens, why it takes forever to fix each time) and one would figure after the 9th time, tehy'd remember what the solution was all the other months this happened. Or an explanation as to why these two things aren't so, why it is so difficult to fix. I think they just forget to turn the site back on on the 1st of the next month and they give lowest priority or no priority to free web space.

This past week a new thing occurred: I was given an email address service@earthlink.net that was useless, no one looks at it. I was given three numbers, 4 numbers that supposedly would get me to the engineers and to corportae headquarters. Theya ll returned me to the same lame recording and to teh chat people with impossible to understand accents who seem to have no appreciation how aggravating this is to our country's people who are denied access to people with knowledge of this.

earthlink has no public relations people to contacr, it is impossible to get out of the support loop to talk or chat with anyone actually in charge of earthlink, there is no one to complain to. No one ever contacts me ever after contacting them maybe 100 times this past year, probably more as this month now is nearly 30. I am getting furious but there is no one to get furious aat. this is like 1984, like the twilight Zone, like a horror movie version of Groundhogs Day. mindspring was much much better. This problem rarely if ever happened and if you needed to tehre was a place for input and top people could be reached.

I really should get together a class action lawsuit of others who get insulted with this problem, contact teh better business bureau in Texas or wherever earthlink is, who knows, they don't want to tell

It is now the 20th day of this month without this web space service. You know this would never happen to pay space. My pages are down, this should embarress earthlink but they don't care, they probably know nothing about this.

earthlink sucks so much

[Jack]

I too have come to realize that earthlink is like all other big corps that have outsourced jobs to india or whereever, they just dont give a f$%^!

But my comment is for all you idiots still voting for blood sucking REPUBLICANS who continue to screw the avg american to further corporate interests at the cost of american jobs and national security.

Impeach BUSH and Cheney and give corporate america notice!!!

[Jack]

I too have come to realize that earthlink is like all other big corps that have outsourced jobs to india or whereever, they just dont give a f$%^!

But my comment is for all you idiots still voting for blood sucking REPUBLICANS who continue to screw the avg american to further corporate interests at the cost of american jobs and national security.

Impeach BUSH and Cheney and give corporate america notice!!!

[Jack Payne]

A case of the "faceless" corporation.
Having nobody to take out your wrath on is worse than having an individual to clobber.

The lack of public relations here is puzzling. But, in this absense it behooves one to find a competent consumer protection agent who can fight this battle.

--Jack Payne
www.legalthriller.blogspot.com

[Tracy Reed]

I feel your pain. We have been an Earthlink satelitte customer for over 5 years. We have spent 20+ hours on the phone to Earthlink (in india, most of the time) trying to get a new modem after ours went belly up. They keep telling us a new one shipped, but are unable to give out a tracking number "wait 24 more hours and see if it shows up". It has now been 20 days and counting without internet (oh, they did provide us with unlimited dial up - woo hoo!) It's a nightmare!!!! They tell us they will call back and never do, don't have any record of the previous conversation with one of their techs or customer care. Trying to escalate the problem and talk to someone really in charge is a joke. They do not care about their customers.

[James Craig]

I to am sick and tired of earthlink I have never been a customer of theirs. I have had my phone number for 1 and a half years and have received countless phone calls to update my billing info I have called customer service and corporate offices to get my number removed as this is harrassment and they call up to 9 p.m. at night. They have promised time and again to resolve this issue it works for a couple of months sometimes not even a week and then they start calling again I need peace of mind. Then today I get threatened by the callcenter manager from india that my credit report will suffer. The only thing they have to attach me to this account is my phone number not my name on the account or address just the phone number I was assigned in june of 06 when I moved here. They see all my notes where I have called but tell me they cant or wont remove my phone number like I am that stupid My next option is legal help possibly this could be class action as it cant be just happening to me.

[Debra Thomas]

My name is Debra Thomas and I just moved to Atlanta. Somehow my name and telephone number is being used for Earthlink and they continue to send me messages on my phone. I tried several times to tell them I have no internet service or computer. And they are trying to stick me with a $79.00 bill for Earthlink.

[Debra Thomas]

My name is Debra Thomas and I just moved to Atlanta. Somehow my name and telephone number is being used for Earthlink and they continue to send me messages on my phone. I tried several times to tell them I have no internet service or computer. And they are trying to stick me with a $79.00 bill for Earthlink.