i hate mci!!!!:angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:

DO YOU?!?!?!?!

I wanted to pass on a phone number that took me forever to get. It is the corp. office to MCI....1-800-677-6580.... I was told by a supervisor at the high toll department he had to get the "OK" to give me this number so I thought I would pass it on. I have been played with for toooooo long by MCI and I told him I wanted the number to talk to someone that was over ALL departments of MCI and thats the number I got. Ofcourse I dont know if they will help me, its Saturday, and they dont open until Monday morning. You can bet I will be on the phone first thing Monday morning with THIS office. Ill let you know if the number is one where you can get things done without the 4 hour hold time for MCI's instutional services.

mci put a block on my phone today i am so depressed i pay my bills before they are due i do not know what is going on i cant call till monday am too,they are closed..i hate mci

I am very grateful for getting this number. Thank you ever so much. I also am a "hater" of MCI. I have been with them for six years, never paid a bill late, spent thousands of dollars and get treated like dirt, when I am able to reach a live person at all.
They are now telling me my problem is a technical one and yet when I ask for the technical problem they say they have none.
When I ask for a Supervisor, there is none available.
It all started with me last Monday, my husband called as usual and couldnt reach me. MCI had a different recording on. I did as they said and we didnt connect. He tried three times and on the third try, I thought well I would just press what I normally do and voilla we were connected, but just briefly as he had to go in.
When finally able to reach MCI on Wed, I was told the problem is because I have a Non Pub Phone and an Annonymous Call Feature on my phone. Well dah, I have had this for six years. Why is it all of a sudden creating a problem.
Their "fix" on the problem is laying the blame on my local phone company. Well my local phone company didnt change the MCI recording, MCI did that theirselves.
They should be held accountable for their actions. They have to be stopped from not only gouging us by their high costs, but also by their rude behavior when we are able to reach a live person. There should also be someone there we can discuss our problems with and get resolutions to, so I will give this number a try.
Good luck to everyone.
Perhaps if I cant get any resolution, it will be time to get the Public Service Commission involved. Then we will see some rocking and rolling going on to get the problems fixed.

I hate mci too....... Their a rip off......

mci put a block on my phone today i am so depressed i pay my bills before they are due i do not know what is going on i cant call till monday am too,they are closed..i hate mci
I know what you mean e-jays girl. They blocked my phone yesterday too. They have blocked my phone more times this month than I have actually talked to my husband. I think they like doing this because they know it makes us upset. Every time my phone is blocked I stay sick at my stomach until I get the block off. I have been dealing with MCI for almost 5 years and I have never had this much trouble. The past 3 months have been a living hell for me. Not only do I have to deal with the kids, the money stress, the worry of is my husband ok NOW I have to worry EVERY day..is this the day they are going to block my phone for no reason? I know why its blocked this time and its THEIR mistake! Its not because I owe them money. I only get 12 calls a month (because they made me go to prepay after 5 years of paying LARGE phone bills. One was actually a 1,000.00 for one month)and we have only used 11 but they say I have used 23. Thats crap. I used 12 BEFORE they made me prepay, those 12 calls should have gone to my local carrier but the high toll department sent it to the prepay department. Its a big mess and now I have to spend hours on the phone working through their mistake!!! We only get to talk for 15 minutes and our calls are 6.60 and its a local call. 2 years ago they were 1.50. How can they legally do that? Go up 5.10 more per call? Im so sick and now I have to pull myself together because I go see my husband today and I dont want him to see the worry and anger. Since I cant talk to him I have to hold all this in so we can have a good visit.

I absolutely hate MCI too!! They've been "good" to me lately because they haven't shut off my phone in a few months. But they used to shut it off all the time for no apparent reason. And I ALWAYS pay the FULL AMOUNT of my phone bill ON TIME. I am just so sick of having to pay so much each month to talk to my fiance! It is just not right!

I absolutely hate MCI too!! They've been "good" to me lately because they haven't shut off my phone in a few months. But they used to shut it off all the time for no apparent reason. And I ALWAYS pay the FULL AMOUNT of my phone bill ON TIME. I am just so sick of having to pay so much each month to talk to my fiance! It is just not right!

Hunts-girl, what unit is your fiance at? what did you do to fix your MCI problem? I am so depressed!!!!:(

So sorry to hear about your troubles!!! My fiance is at Cummins. There was nothing I really did to fix the problem. Just after a few months of shutting my phone off randomly, they finally looked at the history of my phone bills and said as long as I didn't get over the amount of a highest phone bill I had previously, they wouldn't shut it off. My highest phone bill had been actually over $1000 (from ordering DSL along with calls from my fiance), so I never go anywhere near the point of shut off. Good luck with everything!! Did you at least get a good visit with your husband?? Where is he located?

i also HATE MCI.... they blocked my phone today and i'm pissed off!!!!!! they said my bill is $50.00 mine yall i have paid bills over $1000.00 and you block $50.00 okay they are pissing me off. I should have not switched to them now i have to start all over again..... also their taxes is outrageous !!!!!!! oh i just hung up the phone on the lady as she was still talking MCI is really crazy

Yeah, I know that feeling all 2 well! :mad: But the bad part is we get used to it, unless you can change companies???? Is that an option???

Join us in the Anger Against MCI!!!!! :blah: :blah: :blah: LOL

The number I posted for the corp. office is a GREAT number. I called this morning and they had me on the phone with inmate service in less than 5 minutes. I guess they save all the nice people and send them to work in the corp. office. My phone is still blocked because we DID use our 12 calls already but atleast it didnt take me 4 hours of waiting for them to tell me that. Im still depressed because I cant talk to my husband for 15 minutes until Wednesday but I guess I will make it.

That is great to know, I have filed it for future use. So glad you were able to make a connection. Hey, Wednesday will be here before you know it.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

I now understand your hatred for MCI. They blocked my phone for no reason, I have now been on hold 1 hour after being sent to the wrong department. They said Qwest ordered a collect call block on January 8th (and I've received plenty collect calls since then). Qwest said they didn't order any block and that I am not over my dollar limit. So, yey, I get to wait. Thanks for the phone number though crisnclay. It helped a lot...well, atleast I wasn't immediately put on hold, it probably saved a little time.
Waiting...
-Sierra

Hope all turns out well Sierra! I feel your frustation.

Everybody hates MCI, including me! It took me several weeks to get my block taken off of my phone. I finally had to demand to speak to the supervisors, supervisor and threaten to sue before they got it fixed. I really feel for everybody who has to deal with them. Did you guys know that MCI's contract is up for renewal in December of '06? Everyone needs to go to www.etccampaign.com (http://www.etccampaign.com). There is a letter writing campaign that you can participate in to try to get the phone systems changed. We need to get the state reps and senators to place legal restrictions on the way the prison phone company, in this case MCI, overcharge (price gouge) inmates friends and families. Go check it out and get involved to make a difference. I did.

I was told MCI adds a fee to the phone bill just to bill the collect call. Does anyone know about that? If so, how do I get around it?

I am not sure I really understand your question....but I looked on a recent MCI bill I had.I was charged $6.60 for each 15 minute call I received,and then for Ar Univ SVC Fund Surcharge $3.22, Federal Excise Tax $6.54, and last but not least ,state and local taxes for $19.32.I had rather large bill that month so the taxes were pretty high.But I don't see any charge like what you mentioned.My bill is direct thru MCI not thru my local phone company so maybe that is what you are talking about. Hope this helped somehow:) Kitty

Thanks Kitty,

I was told MCI adds a separate bill processing fee on the local phone bill, I was trying to see if that was true. Did you have to set-up a separate bill with MCI?

MCI called me telling me I had to go thru them if I wanted to continue their services, if I remember correctly.Kitty

Has anyone else received a call from MCI saying they have changed their billing and will no longer bill with your regular telephone service, but send a MCI bill seperate? They told me that some of the AR. units were using MCI some of the units another telephone carrier?

My MCI bill has been seperate from my local comapny bill since 2005 when MCI told me it needed to be.Kitty

I am for the first time in 4 years having to set up a pre-paid account with MCI...I was on hold for what seemed like an eternity and then she couldn't tell me what my original "pre-payment" was going to be. Can anyone tell me???

Mine was $260 I think but after that I got up to 30 calls a month, they applied the deposit to my first month's bill.That was two years ago so I might be wrong on the amount... have slept a few nights since then:) Kitty

Oh my...I really hope it isnt that much still...there is no way I can pay that much, that is just ridiculous!!! I guess I will find out in a few days, they are supposed to be sending me a remit slip. :(

MCI said I had to set up an account separate from my regular phone bill. I have a $100 limit. If I reach $100 and don't make a payment his calls won't come through. Are y'all saying that the pre-paid account is something different than that???

Well, I call it a pre-paid account, because they said that they needed a one time pre-payment (she couldn't tell me how much though) and then after that I would receive a monthly bill. They didn't give me a dollar amount limit, but asked me how many calls I would want to receive a month. I am just as confused as ever about it, but I know that I want to be able to talk to him...I will go crazy if I can't!!! I also hope it isn't as much as kitty had to pay or I really will be screwed!

I just had to do the same thing this past week. They called and said they would be billing seperately and I had a 100 dollar limit. I looked it up online and it showed 100 limit available. So I put in another 100 dollars and my account showed -100 dollars. So I guess the original 100 was credit. I paid online with my debit card.

Like I said it was 2 years ago and they very well could have changed their policies, but I still can have 30 if I want them...
I sometimes would have rathered to have had a $100 limit as at times you let your heart over ride your brain and end up with a HUGE phonebill.....:( Kitty

What I have found is that we are 'allowed' all the calls we want. As long as the 'Current Balance' is below the credit limit (apparently $100 is the default limit!).

The online account management is nice (since MCI's customer service is NOT) because I have been able to catch issues without waiting for my sweetheart to send me a letter telling me there is is a problem.

<begin rant> I know we are stuck with MCI. It would be nice if MCI would acknowledge the fact that we ARE customers. I have not been treated so shabbily on a regular basis by ANYONE or ANY COMPANY since I was locked up over 10 years ago. <end rant>

--cessna

What I have found is that we are 'allowed' all the calls we want. As long as the 'Current Balance' is below the credit limit (apparently $100 is the default limit!).

The online account management is nice (since MCI's customer service is NOT) because I have been able to catch issues without waiting for my sweetheart to send me a letter telling me there is is a problem.

<begin rant> I know we are stuck with MCI. It would be nice if MCI would acknowledge the fact that we ARE customers. I have not been treated so shabbily on a regular basis by ANYONE or ANY COMPANY since I was locked up over 10 years ago. <end rant>

--cessna

I thought global telink is taking over for MCI? Yes we can have all the calls we want as long as we don't owe them more then 100 dollars at a time. Yes the online is much better and no rudeness. I swear the first time I called them to arrange the account, they hung up on me.

UnbrokenONE -- I hope you are right. But after reading an article some weeks back about MCI, Verizon, and GTL and how they are all owned by one another I have to think that MCI will still be our provider.

HOWEVER...I would LOVE to be proven wrong on this because when I talked to GTL they acted like human beings. So I really do hope you are right!

--cessna

I finally got the remit slip from MCI and my first time "pre-payment" is only $50...which is a big relief to me! I am glad about that, but still hate the fact that MCI is putting everyone through such a huge hassle. I can't wait for him to call me though, I am very excited! :-)

Congrads:) Kitty

The new rates were suppose to go into effect 2/17/2007 has anyone seen the cost yet? They have me so messed up till I've been fighting MCI for days now, of course until "they" decide I'm correct in them over charging me last month, they cut me off. But I save every scrap of paper so it's just a matter of time, but I am so curious to know if the new rates went in?

Not yet. Mine are stil 7.20 per call. I check it every day after a call and it increases by 7.20 (or 14.40 if two calls).

Dang dude...why are you at $7.20 when it's at $6.60 ????? You are gettin' ripped!!!! Kitty

I thought about that after I wrote that. I am trying to download the invoice so I can figure that out. But guess what? MCI's website is 'experiencing technical difficulties'...Imagine that!

I'll get back with you on what I find out.

My calls are over $7.oo also. I thought $6.60 and when I realized they were over seven you know I picked up the phone and called. Come to find out the calls are 6.60 but then add tax to each call....Like $6.60 is not enough for a 15 minute phone call you have to add tax???? Give me a break!!! But what do you do?? They know we can't receive calls without them, so they don't care.

I didn't call, I just assumed it was taxes. But I am going to look at my last invoice if I can ever get MCI's site to work.

Miss Kitty -- Do you only pay 6.60 and no taxes?

You know it's really sad that these people can take advantage of us really needing to talk with our loved ones...we need it so much that we let these people rip us off! *ugh* Hang in there guys...!!! Just remember we are all in the same boat...even with the MCI waves crashing into us! lol

HOWEVER....thanks to CURE and pods working so diligently on this issue, the price WILL go down soon. Ok, let me re-phrase that...The price WILL go down sometime in the future.

--cessna

I will have to look on the bill....I am sure there are some taxes added but I never broke it down per call.....I just know every place charges you taxes on everything.Even our local Wal Mart charges two different taxes.I will check....

MCI's site is still not working as it should so I can't verify. All I know is when I check my daily balance online it increases by increments of $7.20 after calls. I will check when I can get their site to work.

**Another symptom of lousy customer service. Most companies would not go for 24 hours with a non-functional site. OH...but the 'Pay Balance Now' button seems to be working fine!**

--cessna

Okay..I have a new MCI rant. Some of the phone numbers on my hubbies list are still not working. I found out that there is an MCI employee who has an office at the diagnostic unit. She is responsible for setting up the inmate phone numbers. Long story short I spoke with her today about the problems he's having with his phone numbers and she told me, "it's obviously something he did wrong, because I don't make mistakes." I guess MCI now employees angels sent from God because they are perfect!!! Of course I couldn't go off on her like I wanted to because she could have wiped out all of his numbers and I'd never get another call again... Just thought I'd vent here. Oh, BTW it's 8:30p.m. on Tuesday and their recent activity and last invoice link are still down. But like cessnadriver said they don't have a problem taking our money. That button works fine.

Well, six days later the phone calls still cost the same and their site is still not fully functional. Big surprise, huh?

O.K. our gracious patient behavior is running thin, I contacted the general info. ADC #870-267-6999 and asked about the new phone rates, I was connected with the MCI employee for the ADC who said, "I don't know, they are suppose to have a mtg. on it" Q. who is having a mtg.? A. I don't know, Q. who would know? A. I don't know... next contact with the AR. Bd. of Corrections (who OK's the contracts) A. I don't know, Q. who would know A. I don't know, maybe consitutent services? Q. please give me that # A. I was given the # to Riverside Vo-Tech... who of course really did not know. Next I call constituent services (finding the # on my own, this time) Q. when will the new phone rates take affect? A. I don't know Q. Can you tell me who would know? A. I don't know, just watch for it in the news. Q. what news? the T.V., Radio, Print, Online? A. I don't know... she took my number and is suppose to be finding out who WOULD KNOW.
My Challenge is... the first one to find out the answer.... (drum roll....) WINS a Free Trip To the "downed MCI website... to pay their BILL!!
Seriously, we are definitely trying to find out about what is near and dear to all of us... the telephone contract.

So the answer of the day is....I Don't know:) Anyone have a question about anything go ahead ask me.......I do have the answer :)But I wish you could hear it from my 3 year old grandson...that is his answer to everything also:)
Maybe we really will find out something soon....we have had to waited to long already for a price cut:)

Well, MCI's web site is functional again after being down for 10 days. I don't know about where y'all work, but if a computer system/application where I work was down for 10 days someone would not have a job.

But anyway, I looked at my invoice and yes, they charge me $6.60 per call and $.60 tax per call so each call is $7.20.

And no, the rate has not dropped yet.

BUT IT WILL!