Dear Ed Mueller

March 10th, 2008

QWEST
1801 California St
Denver, CO 80202
Attn: Edward A. Mueller, Chairman & CEO

Do Not Call

Dear Edward A. Mueller,

I need a good Internet connection. I used a cable modem from Comcast for about 3 years, with less than terrific results. There was an intermittent problem with the reliability of the connection. Most of the time I could “fix” the problem by re-booting the modem and the router and my computer. I estimated it took 15-30 minutes of my time to do a complete system re-boot. And while I might be able to go a month or two with no problems, there were (too many) times that I had to re-boot 3 or 4 or 5 times a day.

I also used Comcast for my phone service.

In about June of 2006, I changed to QWEST for my phone service and DSL Internet. The good news is that the QWEST DSL Internet has proven to be reliable – I am happy with that part of the service.

I don’t get a large volume of telephone calls on my 720-282-3376 telephone line, but when the phone does ring, I know (from experience) it's about a 90% chance it’s a telemarketing call – someone (or frequently a machine) is calling 720-282-3376 hoping to sell me something. It might be a credit card, or an automobile warranty, or it might be QWEST trying to sell me their Internet service.

I can remember at least 4 times in the past 6 months that someone has called 720-282-3376 and tried to sell me something from QWEST – either phone or Internet or both. In every case, I tell the caller in very clear, simple, and direct language – don’t ever call me again. They always agree, as if this is no problem. But of course it has happened (at least) 4 times, so from my point of view – there is a problem.

Do Not Call. How hard can this be?

My phone rang at about 10 am on Monday, March 3rd , 2008. I stopped what I was doing and walked across the room to the phone. The caller ID said “Toll Free”. I decided it was probably a telemarketing call. My first line of defense is to not answer the phone, which is what I did in this case.

This same situation happened several times over the rest of Monday and Tuesday. They (the unknown caller) were calling about every 2 hours. At about 2 pm on Tuesday, it happened again, and this time I decided to answer the phone. I hoped I could put a stop to these annoying calls by asking the caller to please stop.

I was amazed at what happened.

When I picked up the phone, there was about 2 seconds of silence, and then there was a 2 second song. A (presumably) live person (human) sang a short tune. The lyric – “it’s Friday night”. Then they hung up on me, before I ever said a word. I encourage you to listen to this and hear for yourself – it’s posted on the Internet at:

http://www.mkgappraisal.com/audio/firday02.mp3

At this point, my frustration level was high. My phone is being attacked. I don’t know who is doing it. If I don’t answer, they (probably a robot) just keep calling. And even if I do answer, there is no way for me to stop these annoying calls.

It happened again at 10 am on Wednesday March 5th, 2008. The phone rang and it was the same caller – “Toll Free”. I answered the phone, and (again) heard dead silence for about 2 seconds. I said “hello” loud and clear, and after another 2 second pause, a human being comes on the line. It is immediately clear this is a “low rent” telemarketing call, because I can hear background noise of about 50 other people talking. It’s a boiler room. The TSR starts reading the script – trying to sell me Qwest Internet service.

This is particularly annoying because I already am a QWEST DSL Internet customer.

I encourage you to listen to this phone call – it’s posted on the Internet at:

http://www.mkgappraisal.com/audio/qwest02.mp3

I am very angry about how hard it has been for me to stop these annoying calls. Four (4) times I have told the QWEST caller to stop calling. They say they will stop, but experience shows they are lying. The calls just keep coming.

Ed – this makes you look bad. It calls into question your ethics, your integrity, and your competence. I encourage you to step up and fix this problem.

Do not call. How hard can it be?

It costs me about $10 and eats up about 4 hours of my valuable time to publish and mail this kind of letter – and I am very angry that it has come to that.

Don’t call 720-282-3376 ever again. Don’t call 303-353-6672 ever again. If there is something you want to tell me, send me a letter. Don’t call on the telephone – ever again, for any reason.

Is that clear?

This “do not call” request applies to QWEST and Focus Services – and all of your affiliated entities.

Please have an authorized representative of both QWEST and Focus send a reply letter to confirm your receipt of my “do not call” request and acknowledge that your company will comply.

By copy of this letter, I am advising several agencies of my concerns, and ask that this letter be treated as a formal complaint.

Sincerely,

Philip G Rice
11268 E Linvale Dr
Aurora, CO 80014
720-282-3376
phil.rice@mkgappraisal.com

This letter is published on the Internet at:

http://www.mkgappraisal.com/letter2008_01.htm

-- End of Letter --

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