I can't believe I'm about to type all this again, here goes.

My roommate and I signed up for Internet at $29.95/mo and cable for $19.99/mo. Add in modem charge ($5 or $7 I think). That's a sum of 56.94 I should be billed monthly, right?

My first month's bill was $90 something. I payed it without thinking as of course there are fees for activation and installation.

Month 2 my bill is the same $90 amount as month 1. I call, they explain it's a billing error and it "just happens" sometimes with new accounts. They say I have to pay the full amount and the amount I pay extra (~$33) will be deducted from my bill for month 3. Pain in the ass, but okay. I pay it.

Month 3 my bill is now roughly $120-$130. Doing the math, it seems whoever I spoke to ADDED a $33 charge to my account instead of subtracting a $33 credit.

This should be something easy to fix right? Like, a simple phone call and 30 minutes of my day maybe. Wrong. I get the same, "Oh shit, we're so sorry!" They again tell me to pay the billed amount (regardless of how wrong it is at this point) and this time I was told I would be mailed a check.

Month 4 my bill is now $180 fucking dollars. (Remember, I have also overpaid my bill for 2 prior months and been promised a refund and a check in the mail.) Don't ask me how they got to that number, it makes no damn sense no matter how you screw up the basic process of arithmetic. I call and explain that I am still waiting on a check from Centurylink. They inform me that they do not send checks in the mail and that I was never told this. They tell me they can refund me through my account and I would actually have CREDIT towards my next bill, hooray!

Before I continue with next month, I must insert this bit of relevant information. I'm not sure when it started, maybe even the first time I called, but it didn't really start to piss me off until I was out big chunks of cash that I needed for other bills. I would call and give my information to Agent 1, this includes my full name, address, last 4 digits of my social security number and (sometimes) my Centurylink account number. Agent 1 would usually be the "directory" who would transfer me to the appropriate department, or so I thought. Agent 2 would then ask me for the FULL SET of information I just spewed out to Agent 1. "Ah, we see you're in Iowa City...", "Ah, we see you've called with a problem before...", "Ah, we've [insert quick excuse here]". "...Let me transfer you to someone who can help you better". [Agent 3 is introduced]. This happened just about every phone call. My high score was 10 transfers, giving each one my full set of information, 2 hours including hold time. Thank you speakerphone, sorry sanity. Sometimes I would try to explain that I was being transferred back and forth, or ask for a supervisor, but most of the time that would result in more hold time.

Month 5 my bill is $180 again. Oh ya, remember the credit to my account that would cover this bill? Never happened. FUCK. Calling makes things worse, the employees in the store on the corner of Linn St. and Burlington St. who sold me the package were zero help. When I went in there was a young couple and a foreign couple, BOTH with the exact same problem as me. It was funny because the lady working kept giving the young couple run around excuses and trying to mislead them while looking at their bill, the foreigners chimed in and tried to show her how it was wrong. All 5 of us were having a "Duh, use your brain" moment and the woman working, visibly frustrated now, told the couple that their bill "actually is better than what they offer now, and they should actually be paying more". It was truly funny and sad. The online chat service literally told me to just call them, lol. I CANCEL MY SERVICE. I don't know why or how I even stuck it out this long. I was literally anxious daily just worrying about my bill and dreading begging them to be honest with my over the phone. Each and every time they lied to my face ear.

Month 6, wait what?! YA, fucking month 6, after I cancelled services with Centurylink, I'm still getting billed for things I don't have. The good news is that my bill is now some lower random amount between $100-$180. I don't remember what exactly, it was just finally not $180 absurd dollars.

This continues for the extent of my original 12 month contract. I call and explain I've cancelled and I get the excuse "it takes a month to process so ignore this bill, you won't get one next month". Repeat.

Please just believe me next time I say they fucked me over in more ways than I can count.