painful Story of a Single Line Small Business Customer

[georae]

Here we are again.... unable to check my bill.  Is it because I recently changed to Business Anywhere? ha - that would be the excuse - is it because my browser doesn't work? tried Safari, IE, Chrome, Firefox so far - nope - is it because I don't know my login? hasn't changed for years and as of just a few days ago it was confirmed that I simply go to my old barely functional Single Line "Third Class" Business customer login and sign in.  Worked a few days ago... now? nope.

How did it all start?

2008:

a. I pay $70k to have the inside of my brand new industrial unit have mezzanine built, services all installed, everything hooked up.  I agreed and was notified of the account setup fees - no problem - explained that everything was hooked up and good to go.  First single line business bill? $180+ for "labour and parts".... I call - eventually manage to get through someone who will talk to a single line business customer and was told what date and that they had to install the equipment and wires for the telephone line to my unit from service room... which I confirmed with the builder was already done. How did you do it I ask? What date? huh.... I was there all day and never noticed.  "You maybe just didn't notice the 2 service technicians in your unit"- wow. Single female. ONLY person in the whole area at a brand new business park and I failed to notice 2 men in my unit.  "Yes - or maybe they just went into the service room and did it from there to your unit" which is almost at the other end of the building... weird... its a locked door and even I don't have a key and the strata management and builder both confirmed no one had borrowed the key and there was no sign of a break in.  I wish now I had carried out my threat to call the RCMP to report they broke and entered but being 25 years old at the time I was afraid when they said they would take me to collections and report my non-payment to the credit agencies if I didn't pay up.

b. Mission, British Columbia.  Part of the Fraser Valley. If I call the next town (Maple Ridge) - or anywhere in the lower mainland via cell phone or home landline - local calls.  Not so for small business!!! LONG DISTANCE! I can't call a 5-10minute drive away and have it local.  I can only call Mission and Abbotsford locally.  Seriously?  I ask Shaw whether they have the same policy - I got a confused response - Mission is not technically Lower Mainland but charging long distance to Maple Ridge was baffling to them. 

2009 -> present day (note: no more single line small business customers added 2009 to use the single line business login but existing ones never transferred anywhere)

Website login for pre-2009 single line business customers.

1. You used to be able to find it via google or from the email link on the bill notification emails or even from the main Telus website. But over the last couple of years sure enough the email link to my bill is broken.  Google link? broken. www.telus.com -> NOT JUST THE NEW WEBSITE -> you still can't find it - please try and let me know if you can.

2. Last summer I had to talk to Telus SEVENTEEN times - I was told I didn't have the right browser, my computer didn't work, I didn't know how to use the computer/browser (I've been using computers for 25+ years).... FINALLY I get a copy and pasted email with my bills.  It was great.

3. For over a year if I was logged in and hit "contact us" and I was referred to a phone number. I dial the phone number and I get a recording " You have reached a non-functional phone number for US CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION" - did I dial a wrong number? Apparently the 3 other people I had try to dial the number got the same thing. A telephone company with a wrong number on their website? 

4. Any link I try for small business single line directs you to Home services or Mobility - don't tell me this is the new website - this has been YEARS - YEARS I have told them - nope I am told either I don't know how to use the site or it is being fixed. Now with a new website all shiny and pretty again the excuse is that it is a new website.

5. I recently switched to Business Anywhere -  part of the deal that made it so attractive was I would deal with mobility and say "GOODBYE" to the landline small business - however, sadly, that was not true - back to the single line small business website to see my bill, a few days ago I was able to login and see the bill -> there were some billing problems so I call and sure enough I will continue to get my bill via that site and login.  Everything all sorted out - great!

----> today? the website no longer exists? a few days ago it worked.... not so now apparently.  

---->can I see it via my older personal account? Nope - but can see the data/talk share plan for our business cell phones we added to Business Anywhere - but no bills but at least I can see other info such as minutes/data usage.

6. So I call the SUPPORT phone number for Small Business on the website.... nope - the poor woman can't help because I have to use the chat function for website support?!?! So I go to chat - nope! I can't because it is home services and mobility.....

I cannot possibly be the online single line small business customer (SMALL BUSINESS is crucial to note because apparently medium and large businesses dont have these same problems and the have real contact information because I tried those numbers and the first time I was informed "You are ONLY a small business customer. I only deal with medium and large customers so I can't help you" - she gives me a number to call - yup, US CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION ).

(note: yes I have looked into other options for landline - which we need for alarm - but despite years of contacting Shaw they aren't there - so long distance charges apply for my alarm but not enough charges to justify an over priced long distance package)

[Nick_TELUS]

Hi georae,

Sorry to hear about all your issues. Let's work on getting those problems sorted out.

I see that you mentioned that you recently switched to Business Anywhere. Unfortunately the online billing portion is not available to Business Anywhere clients. The only option currently is a paper bill. You can still use the online portal to view the mobility side of things, such as data, or minutes used and call logs etc. but the landline bill will not be available.

The online billing system that we have in place currently for business client is very outdated and has problems. We know this and we are currently working towards an online billing system that will be available for all business clients and will work correctly, as well as have all the features that would be expected of an online portal. I don't have any exact dates as to when the new online portal will be live, but look forward to it in the near future!

As for your issue about getting charged for an installation that never happened: I can look into it for you if you wish. Just private message me a contact phone number so we can talk about the issue (I would need to get your account info to bring up the details).

To make a call from Mission to Maple Ridge is indeed long distance, but it is long distance for everybody, not just business clients. I'm not sure why this would be shocking to Shaw, because even for a Shaw client calling from Mission to Maple Ridge would be charged long distance. You can visit www.localcallingguide.com to check if a call will be long distance or not. Even though the two areas might be located close to each other geographically, there are other factors at work that determines if a call will be long distance or not, such as CRTC regulations and local government decisions. 

One alternative that you can explore if the long distance charges are proving to be costly is getting a North American calling feature added to your phone line. This would allow you to call anywhere within North America with no additional charges. Typically a feature like this would be around $15, but it can vary depending on the package you have already (it could even be free in some cases). If you would like to private message me your service telephone number, I can look into it for you. 

The link that I found for single line business' online was by going to telus.com, then clicking on business, then clicking on the silhouette of a man in a circle at the top right corner. Once you click on that you will have the different online logins, one of them would be "single line business" which I assume is the one you're looking for. Here's the link: https://manager.telus.com/amserver/UI/Login. Once again, the option for online billing is not available to Business Anywhere clients currently.

Would you be able to provide me with the URL of the page with the incorrect contact number? Could you also provide me with the number that was shown? I would like to investigate and get the issue corrected. 

The website is a work in progress. We realize that the web portion is not up to par and we've embarked on a challenging journey to redesign our site and our online portals. If you happen to notice anything we've missed regarding the website, or happen to have an idea that would improve the site, there are "share your feedback" buttons at the bottom of the page that will allow you to directly contact the team working on the site.

In terms of contact numbers, most of them will bring you to the same place (not all of them). Most of the general inquiry phone numbers that you see on our website (whether it is marked for business or home service) will bring you to an interactive voice recording that will first ask you your service telephone number. From there, it will route you to the appropriate department whether that is the business side or the residential side. If I look at the business telus.com site, I see that the contact number for business wireline support is 1-800-361-3311, which is a valid and working number. 

If you could post the number to which you reached US customs and immigrations, I would appreciate it. I'm genuinely curious on to how such a number got on our site. 

I hope this answers some of your concerns. Please feel free to reach out to us or myself directly if you have anything you need. 

Regards,

Nick