Centurylink Nightmare-The Whole Story

Being electrosensitive, I can not tolerate any wireless equipment or wifi.  Thus I require a wired landline and wired DSL.

I have severe symptoms such as but not limited to heart palpitations, dizziness, brain fog, vertigo, burning itching skin, TIA[mini strokes], headaches, vision problems, when exposed to RF frequencies. I have been looking high and low to find a place where I can park my trailer that does not surpass RF levels I can tolerate.  I am very astute about doing my homework to make sure, DSL and landline is available. I am bedridden over half the time and can not go most public places even when I am not, so I depend on the internet and phone to meet my basic needs: ie: food, personal and household products, living assistance help and support, as well as other basic needs. I turn down any place that does not have DSL and phone and have done so with many places. The new landlords of my current place want me out and are due to issue me a 30 day notice any day: they have let me stay so far, as I am perfect at paying timely rent and a good tenant. I had a place picked in Arizona and had confirmed with Centurylink 4 times that they had a very slow DSL there and only after renting it, did they inform me they did not. They also lied to me about having DSL service in Huachuca City, AZ at a place also. I contacted Arizona PUC and they referred me to the Arizona Attorney General to file a fraud complaint.

After this I decided it was too big a risk to spend hours driving to look at a place unless Centurylink performed a loop test on the line for DSL and I had a set order for service placed and a time set for the tech to come out and do the install, especially with running out of time to find a new place, w/ out risking being put on the street. My health is too bad to look most days. At this point I was having to scramble to find something, which means accepting a place in NM [if need be], but can not take anything without DSL and landline.

On 10/2/15 at 5:30 pm mtn time I called Centurylink and spoke with Julia:  I told her the address in NM, I was wanting to move to and asked her to do a loop test of the line for DSL on the possible space numbers I might rent. She said she tested space 51 through 59. According to her they all had service. Then I placed a phone order with her to set up service there. At that time I set up the activation date of 10/9/15 and was given the time range of 1-4 for the tech to be at my location and I was to call them with the exact space, probably 51 later.

Email Confirmation of Order for Services

On 10/5/15:  I went to the park where the space was and rented space 51.  This entailed paying a membership fee [required for all permanent residents], monthly space rental, 4 hours of time and a lot of money in gas and wear and tear on the car.

Later on that day I spoke w/ Randolf in Centurylink tech support to verify the loop test for space 51 and to ask a question about my modem. He did again verify there was DSL service to the space.

Before moving my trailer there I spoke w/ reps at Centurylink 2 more times: to get the space number 51 added to my order and to change my billing address.

Sheet With Notes Of People I Spoke With About The Confirmed Service [Can’t say I did not confirm this enough]

On 10/7/15:  I paid to have my trailer hauled to space in New Mexico, from Arizona:  There would have been no towing bill if I had kept it where it was.  Added to this was more gas for the round trip and 5 hours of my time, plus wear and tear on the car.

More Call Notes

On 10/8/15 I called Centurylink again, as I had it arranged w/ them that I was using my own modem and had received an email dated 10/7/15 that they had shipped me a modem. The CS rep was rude and I spoke with a supervisor who then said they could not do service as it did not show up in the 911 list and I was going to have to contact the owner and get the section, township and range number off their deed.  I was told I would need to give this to the tech to get service! No small task.  This Eric-Centurylink mgr, was angry with me for verifying the same thing too many times over again. I see now it was not verified enough.The owner of the space, is distant, the mgr of the property is never at the property and so the people in the office had to do back flips to get this from the owner! Upon getting me that info, they mentioned that they thought it was a weird request and that Centurylink should be responsible for getting that information.

Still More Call Notes

I confirmed 3 more times w/ Centurylink that I would be set and had what I needed and got a return RMA for the mis-shipped modem. The last person told me to call back and speak w/ customer care on the following morning of the 9th, so that I would be able to have the same name and PW on my modem as I do currently, so I could go back to where I live now without having to spend 3 hours on the phone w/ support to use my computer till the date of my move on the following Tuesday.

On the morning of 10/9/15 I called customer care and found out the appointment with the technician was cancelled as they were doing everything from the office. I informed them that there were no phone wires to my trailer, as I have stated all along to them, and I needed a tech to provide them as promised and set up my modem.  They told me I never had an appointment to begin with and made me a new one for 10/9/15 between 1-5.

I left my house at 11 am on 10/9 as I informed Centurylink several times I would have to do to be there on time. I arrived at the address around 12:30.  The tech never showed. I used a cell [that I have bad physical reactions to] to call them at 4pm and they said the tech was definitely going to be there by 5pm.  He did not show. I called them again from the cell to tell them I needed the service set up right away and that I need to make this very quick as I have severe health reactions to using a cell. The rep stopped the conversation several times to give a sales pitch for some wireless product that I had already stated caused me severe health issues. He put me on hold for a very long time: I had my cell on speaker across the room: I ended up with a severe headache, burning face, red spots on my arm, dizziness, severe problems speaking and bad brain fog-yes I had to drive home to my town after this. Barely made it home without an accident. This rep informed me the tech had come and that he was not able to get access to the box, as no one was in the office and he could not find anyone.  I can see the driveway to the park and did not see any Centurylink vehicle pull in! The rep told me he could set up for a tech to come the next day between 12 and 4. I was to call the park and make sure he had access to the box.

Again this trip to have the tech not show up cost me the bill of another round trip in gas and 7 hours of my time and wear and tear on the car.

A little before 2 am on 10/10  I found a msg left by some Centurylink tech at 11:44 the day before that there were no facilities for service at the address-note I had told them several times I needed to leave my house at 11am to be on time for the appt. and would not be at the landline number I gave them.

10/10/15: I call the office of the park to make sure the tech can get access to the box:  they inform me that they spoke to the tech and that there were no facilities for service there. Another party also spoke to the person at the park who was in charge that day to be told the same thing and advised me not to go.

First I did my homework before renting this place or moving my trailer and would not have even considered doing so had I thought for a minute that Centurylink would not provide me service as promised. Second the cost in time, delay, physical energy and lots of $$ has been tremendous.

At this point I feel like Centurylink has gutted my life and finances with an ax!  It has also taken an incredible emotional and physical toll on me.

In my case I am on a small disability income and do not have money to throw out on long road trips, wasted rent for places I can not live at, and for expensive out of state trailer tows.  They have done this to me 3 times now!  It is very evident that the CS reps at Centurylink are only interested in making that sales commission and care little about whether they give misinformation that people make life decisions based on. They do not care if what they say is not true as long as they get the immediate sale. This is an ongoing repeating thing that Centurylink is doing.  I will now have to pay several hundred dollars to move my trailer from the space where it is now, that does not have phone and DSL, to a storage lot and pay storage and then back to AZ where it came from after I find a space to live that does have services. This will cost hundreds!

Except for one offshore rep I spoke with and the tech, Centurylink has shown NO remorse what so ever.

I really need a warmer climate for my health: S. Arizona, but this area is serviced by Centurylink.  I now have no option but to chose a colder northern climate that is serviced, by Frontier or Windstream. I am too afraid to look at anymore spaces that are serviced by Centurylink, even if they are in the area that is best for health, as I am about sure they will do this to me again!

Besides you know what they say about making the same mistake twice and expecting a different result.

I have made careful records of all my calls to Centurylink: dates, exact time where the rep was located, ID numbers and names of reps. They claim that recordings are made of all the calls. I have tried to get assistance from the New Mexico PUC, Attorney General and Legal Aid. None of which cares to do anything about it, except let them get away with this. So far I have noticed, that in New Mexico, there is NO recourse for a person on a low, normal, or fixed income, but to let these companies get away with it.

There are no movers in my area and my window to have moving help is now gone. The good news is, I have until at least the end of December to stay here. I will need at least that, as I have to save back all the money I lost and sell more of my belongings, to be able to afford another space and costs to move the trailer again. I am also looking into what it would take to set up some kind of “Wireless to Wired” phone and internet system, that would be suitable for someone who is electrosensitive. This of course would be costly, but not as costly as trying to deal with Centurylink. This whole nightmare with Centurylink, has not been the first one I had with them, but it is going to be the last.

Space Search Roller Coaster Part 2

Since time was running out and my moving help would be gone the end of October [there are NO movers available in my area of New Mexico, so it’s DIY or leave the stuff behind], I gave in and rented a space in an area, of New Mexico, that I have nicknamed “Resurrection County”. Yes the nickname for this creepy area, came from the movie of the same title.

Being bedridden half the time, along with being electrosensitive, means I would be staying in the park at my trailer 99% of the time. So my chances of having something horrible happen would be lessened, as I would not be traveling about in the area. Still it gives me the creeps. But hey, it’s a place to live and a bit better for RF radiation than here and I would only have to stay till I find something over in Arizona. Also it’s less risky than staying in my present place and having more mini strokes from the neighbors’ wifi.

The park was really pretty. Very rural and you could see stars at night. I moved my trailer there and half the time I have been over there, I got NO reading on my meter from inside the trailer. It cost a fortune to prep my trailer to be placed in such a rainy climate. It had to have new sealant put on every last seam, window, crack and fixture. Then it was a small fortune to tow it to the spot.

On October 10th it all feel through and it had to be moved to storage the following week. Centurylink promises to provide services there were empty lies! I am trying to extend the time where I am now and using that time to recoup funds so I can move to an area that has landline/DSL services by a different provider.

Space Search Roller Coaster

Being electrosensitive one thing that is necessary is landline/DSL. Ok if you are healthy and can get around maybe not. You can just drive to where-ever and get what you need. You don’t need help, as you do it yourself. But, when you are in poor health and homebound most the time, landline/DSL are requirements to meet basic survival needs.

The best of the places seen so far, still had too much RF radiation to be safe, but better than where I am now. I had confirmed with centurylink twice before going to see it and twice after going to see it, giving them the exact space numbers the last 2 times. They confirmed the space had landline and DSL, but the DSL was the slowest out there. OK with me, as it would allow me my basic needs. With not finding anything else and time going by I rented it. I set up all the services and spent days of time to prepare for my move to that spot. When I placed the order for phone/DSL with centurylink, they informed me there was no service there and that the first 4 reps had lied. I asked for a supervisor and was refused the request, as what happened was no big deal. “No big deal”. I had rented the space and spent a great deal of money and time for travel to go see it to begin with. I then asked them if they could set up phone service at another address, where the reps had previously told me there was 12 mbs of DSL. You guessed it: again there was no service.

I knew how lucky I was to get my money back for that space I had rented. Not so lucky in that I was left scrambling for something else with time to move running short. I had gotten some calls from people with spaces, but they were all false leads. The people did not have spaces they could rent, though they said they did, but they did have a wild goose chase to go on.

I learned my lesson with the previous space I rented and, am no longer willing to travel to see any space, if I do not already have an active phone/DSL order placed for that exact address. When you place the order they also do a loop or line test to see exactly what DSL speed is there. I set up accounts with Frontier in N. Arizona, Windstream in NM and even placed an order with Valley Telecom. The Valley Telecom one had to be cancelled without considering what probably would have been an awesome space, as they refused to make reasonable accommodation, in allowing me to use my own DSL modem for DSL service, instead of their modem that could easily blast me with wifi and that I can not have. Also my modem can plug into the low EMF solar that I require for my living space. Theirs can not. My solution there seems easy. Just file a case with the ADA for denying reasonable accommodation. I did that but it could take 4 to 6 months or more to resolve. To long to have to wait, when I need a place now. This is now new. Many businesses and organizations in New Mexico feel they do not have to follow the ADA laws.

The following weekend, I went again to Arizona to see the progress on my RV at the new shop and space hunt. The best thing I found was and overpriced space that is about the same in RFs as where I am now, but everything else was a huge improvement. Warmth, space and a great environment and NO 24 loud train. I had already set up phone service and the centurylink box was nearby. It was far more than I wanted to spend and would be a stretch each month, but great while I wait till the hot season and find something cheaper. So I went with that. My big mistake there was asking if I could pay 3 months in advance and get a reduction in rates. Two days later they called, they were not going to do a 3 months reduced rate or rent to me at all.

I had already done research into some of the other places that centurylink did not serve to see if I could get services through a cable company and that did not work out either. I did find a modem by zoom that can plug into 12 volt DC and does NOT have wireless capability. This zoom modem was compatible with the companies I spoke to had they had service.

The other spaces I was looking into either turned out to be too close to towers or had a large power company transformer by the property or had very high RF readings-too much to tolerate. So my only option left was a space in New Mexico, in the dreaded “Resurrection ” county. I had already asked centurylink to do line/loop tests at all the spaces I was considering and had an order for service at one of them.

Pretty trailer spot in Tucson includes view of stars

So minutes after getting the rejection call from Tucson I headed off to Deming, New Mexico…To be continued in part 2

Help Animals While Parking The RV

I really want to live in warm sunny Arizona. I decided to expand my search to colder, gray New Mexico, as I was having a hard time finding anything suitable, so far.

I cam across this in Truth or Consequences, NM. First it is outside of town. A good thing, as the center of T or C [as the locals call it] is very noisy. Louder than NYC’s worst construction zone. Also way too many drugs and NOT peaceful. But, just outside of town is another story. The people around T or C are all quite nice, but what drew me to this was the rural spot and the price and the unique type of spot.

This RV park is really an animal shelter. They find homes for animals that they have rescued, animals that would otherwise be put down. They adopt animals out to good homes and raise funds by donation, running a thrift shop and RV space rentals. They have work campers there and everyone seems nice.

Desert Haven Animal Refuge and RV Park

It was worth having a look, as I could get phone and internet with Windstream, and had postal delivery and beautiful location.

Pet Cemetery By The Park

Did not turn out so great. The park had a very strong wifi and was in direct hit from a cell tower half a mile away. The readings were too high to think of staying past a couple minutes. Sad, as I love the concept of paying for a space to help an animal get a good home. Had it been the right space, a cat probably would have landed in my trailer.

Sad this unique spot was not doable, but really Arizona is my first choice.

Trip To Arizona To See My Trailer And Look At Parking Spaces

Last Tuesday I went to Arizona and saw my trailer for the first time, since July when I bought it. It was a very long trip and a very long day. I cannot stay in any hotels, as they all have wifi, so I must make a straight round trip. On the way I pulled over at my favorite rest stop and shot this video. I cannot walk well enough to use any of the facilities at this rest stop, as they are quite far from the car.

My first stop was to see the progress on the trailer. It was a big disappointment.  One of the exterior repairs on the corner was only half done and the solar is going to have to be redone. The installer had agreed to make the frame per my design and I confirmed this with him 3 times.

My Solar Stand Design

I ended up getting something else. The manufacturer of these panels informed me that this frame would cost me about 10% efficiency!  The installer was angry that I could not have the panels, on the roof, due to the fact, I can NOT take the emissions, and I guess this is my punishment.  There are more options on the ground: tilting them for the sun and being able to get solar, while parking in the shade. I deducted the frame from the bill and will be taking it elsewhere to have the adjustment bars changed to something that does not shade any of the solar cells. A few other things are going to have to be redone elsewhere, as well. Renogy gave me a name of someone they recommend.

Pieces sticking up will cast shade on panels!

Those wires will be the perfect play and chew toy for the first cat that comes along!

After that I felt kind of down. I then traveled 3 1/2 hours away to look at spaces in another area. My mouth stayed numb for a couple hours: there was a lot of RF radiation at the shop where the trailer was, though their wifi was off, the neighbors’ wifi was still going.

I had picked three very rural half empty parks to see, but only actually was able to consider one.  The other 2 had no wired internet service available period. This is a requirement, when I can’t get to stores or even go in them, if I did. My food comes by fed-ex and UPS and so does every other necessity. Homebound people need some internet access.  I drove for what seemed like eternity to see this park. It is out there. It felt calming to be away from the sprawl.  The spaces I looked at were far from neighbors and would have been perfection had the power lines in the park not been hooked to the smart grid and were now RF antennas.  After checking the most remote spaces, I tried some of the ones closer in. They were further from the lines, but still not good. The best one is about the same or better, than where I am now.

I am seriously considering it, in case my current landlords do not agree to give me more time. If they do not then I will go with this to avoid ending up in something worse, as it’s hard to find a place as good as the unsafe place I have now. Over time I can pay off the bills and continue to look for something further away from frequencies. It will be easier to find something if I am living in the state and do not have to drive a day each way to see these spaces. My goal is to get my own land to park on. This is also a bad time to find parking in Southern Arizona, as fall is, when all the snowbirds are after spaces. People tend to stay one last winter and give up their great long-term spaces in the spring.

After leaving the park, one of the other parks that had no internet service was on the way, so I stopped and checked it out. That way I would know about it, if the phone company ever expands their DSL area. This second park was far worse.  There were smart meters on each post, pulsing away.  The park itself was less densely populated and further away from anything. It was a very nice park.  Too bad it was blasted by the smart meters.

So I will have to see if I can have till spring or if I will have to make a lateral move, as far as RFs go and take the best of what I saw today so I can be out in October. Outside of RFs it’s a big improvement: No blasting train, a nicer area, more peaceful and a better environment.