Flow fiasco: Customer’s four-month ordeal
Dear Claudienne,
I live in St Elizabeth, and since August 2024 I have been going back and forth with Flow’s customer service about my phone service which has been down since the passage of Hurricane Beryl in July. However, I have not been able to have the issues resolved.
The week after the hurricane I was told by Flow customer service that there was an outage in the whole area and it would take a while before the service could be restored. I explained to the representative that a technician needed to come to my house to fix the problem, as the wires running from the street to the house were down.
I asked about the credit on the bill and was advised that once the service was restored my account would be credited automatically.
On August 31, 2024, I called customer service again and asked how much longer it was going to take for the service to be restored. I also questioned the charges on the bill. At that point I was given two ticket numbers 8146495 (for outage in the area) and 8146494 (for the technician to visit the house to fix the problem).
I was advised that a technician would contact me, within 48 hours of me calling, to schedule an appointment and that the bill would be credited once the service was restored.
On September 2, 2024, I called Flow and complained that a technician did not contact me within the 48 hours as had been promised. I provided the representative with the ticket numbers and she stated that the tickets are showing that they were closed. I asked her how could that be when my service was not restored. She explained that the tickets were closed due to the outage in the whole area. I was once again assigned another ticket number 8162220 and I have been getting updates on Whatsapp and from the virtual assistant Lila.
I called Flow again on October 19, 2024, after I received an e-mail stating that the account was up for permanent disconnection for non-payment of the bill that amounted to $20,325.56. I spoke with a representative in the loyalty department and was told that Flow was currently working in the area and that the service should be back within a week. The disconnection order was removed, and, I again reminded the agent that a technician needed to visit my premises to restore the line from the road to the house that had fallen down. I was again given another ticket number 8285733.
On November 1, 2024, I received a phone call from the technician who stated that he was in the area and would be there shortly to fix the issue. After the service was restored on November 1, 2024, I called the customer service and advised them that the technician had restored the service. I also requested the customer service to have my bill credited. I was then advised that I was not eligible for a credit as they could not locate some of the ticket numbers that the customer service had given me. The agent told me that they could only credit from August 26 to September 2. I told the agent that I was not accepting that I was not eligible for the credit, as the service had not been available for four months. I told them that I wanted to disconnect the service and they transferred me to the loyalty department where I was put on hold for over one hour.
On the morning of November 2, 2024, I called and asked to be transferred to the Loyalty Department. I explained my frustration to the representative and told her that I wished to discontinue the Flow service. She said that since I had been a loyal customer for so long she would go ahead and write off the total bill amount of $20,325.56. She also said that for the next three months the company would reduce my bill payments by 50 per cent. She told me that she was going to remove the disconnection order on the account for non-payment.
On November 25, 2024, I received my bill, and to my surprise it was $27,085.87. I did not get the credit that I was advised I would get. I am also seeing a charge on the bill for $6,000. Could you please assist me to get the matter resolved as soon as possible?
NP
Dear NP,
The
Tell Claudienne column has been in communication with Flow in respect of your concerns and you have informed the column that there has been an amicable settlement with the company on the matter.
We wish you all the best.
Have a problem with a store, utility, a company? Telephone 876-936-9436 or Cell/Whatsapp # 876-484-1349 or write to: Tell Claudienne c/o Sunday Finance, Jamaica Observer, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5; or e-mail: edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com. Please include a contact phone number.