Last September we got AT&T Broadband cable -- and had some similar problems. Right off the bat, like Sinsull's, the work order didn't have login or password. No firedrill, though. Instead, the installers hadn't known how far from the pole we were and didn't have enough cable and had to wait for another truck & more guys. Anyway, it was late on a Friday and without the information that was lacking on the order, we couldn't get it set up and working until Monday. (They have nobody who has a clue about anything working on weekends.) Then we ran into a hassle because we were attempting a non-standard installation -- meaning I didn't want to have to re-install IExplorer which I was already using, and I DID NOT under any circumstances want to use Outlook (which was the only e-mailer they support) instead of my Eudora. After dealing with several techs, Tom was ready to go ballistic. So we did the only civilized thing -- we had lunch on the deck. Then I called and finally got a tech who not only understood what we were asking, but knew her way around Macs as well. Finally we were up and running. (Just in time for Tuesday, Sept. 11 . . .)

Then came the billing problem. They billed us for over 3 times what they said they were going to -- and trying to reach a real person to straighten the matter out was impossible. (Well, we did get one -- tech support, not billing since you can't actually TALK to billing -- who when we told him about the promotion we had taken advantage of -- over the phone, by the way -- told us we should have gotten it in writing.

Well, Tom was about to go ballistic again. Then we realized that the ultimate arbitor (according to the back of the bill) was our town government (the municipal authority is the regulator). Tom contacted the Town of Nottingham Selectman's office and was not only given immediate advice, but within a half an hour we had been contacted by AT&T and the matter resolved. (We didn't have to pay another bill for 3 months.)

Linn