My connection has been VERY flaky lately, and SBC support was poor. The support folks I spoke with when I called can't do anything but follow a fixed script; giving them information about the symptoms I was seeing was useless; they refused to pay any attention. They also had no information about my previous calls regarding problems with my service - no access to information about past service calls, etc!

LYING IN WRITING TO ME AND THE GOVERNMENT

Before that, I switched from legacy DSL to the SBC/Yahoo Package, and was getting overcharged. They refused to fix it until my 4th appeal (2nd to the PUC). During the appeal process, they lied, to the PUC, in writing, about what they had charged me - i.e. bald-faced lies about what was on the bills they sent me.

News server logs me off sometimes (e.g. when reading net-abuse groups).

Online order process contradictory about whether existing customers can order online.

Their SMTP servers are periodically blacklisted because their abuse department (google 'Hey SBC Techs, what's with abuse@pacbell.net?') seems to have ~0 employees. Their support folk not only won't do anything about it, but even refuse to understand what it is to be blacklisted.

Yahoo and SBC support ping-ponged me back and forth about who was responsible when I tried to get them to fix a bug in their mail system. (Yes, it really was a bug, by any reasonable definition; SBC level 2 eventually (after 10 phone calls back and forth) asked Yahoo level 2 to look into it, and they said a few weeks later that they'd fixed it, but they hadn't.)

See my mpower review for more about SBC's unethical business practices.

The employees do seem to try to do the right thing; the problem is probably short-term profit-maximizing middle and upper management, with the staff not willing/able to stick their necks out by doing the right thing, and labor management not taking a stand.

It's poor value primarily because of the time I have to spend to get them to reverse overchages from attempts at ripping me off!

THE FRIEND MOVES EPISODE

2 friends, both with SBC moved and attempted to have the DSL service move with them, so as to avoid the early termination fee, and SBC insisted on charging one $50 for the move.

PacBell was unable to provide the terms for the service documenting the charge - 2 floor supervisors were unable to provide any documentation (tarriff or terms of service in ANY written form - online or by fax or mail) for the $50 move fee they required if I didn't want to extend the contract; asking what fees will be charged results in different answers from different reps; no this info isn't at »sbc.yahoo.com/terms/. They couldn't take the entire order; they required me to call back after the new line had been activated to order DSL at the new place.

For the second move, they also lost the order, disconnected the phone line completely, overcharged her, and more... the line still isn't up, nearly a month later.

They refused to honor the terms stated (because I asked about them) when I got DSL; the terms were: if I move, no problem: if the new place can't get DSL, there's no termination fee, and if it can, the contract term continues. Nope: have to committ to another year, they claim, and won't process the order otherwise. This is called bait and switch and is illegal. (IANAL)

PROVIDING SUPPORT SERVICES TO SPAMMERS.

It's because their Executive Management knowingly provides these services to criminals that I call SBC an Organized Crime Syndicate.

They're the biggest spammer hoster in the world, other than MCI. They do so knowingly - their senior management (e.g. the head of IP services at SBC) is aware of the details of the problem and refuses to resolve it. I have contacted him personally, so I can state this as fact.

(A CLEC is any telecommunications provider that isn't a state-protected monopoly.)
(Public Utility Commissions are supposed to regulate these state-protected monopolies.)

You can find other reviews on the web at dslreports.com/reviews/311

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 17