CenturyLink
reviews and complaints

Charged for nfl ticket and did not order. Keeps charging us after challenging. Have spent hours on phone to resolve over past two months and they have suspended service. Account is current and not due so what is their problem? I will not pay your scam charges that are pending credits. Save your breath "joey". You've had plenty of opportunities and will not waste my time anymore. Century link is on their way to a class action lawsuit. They might understand then. Time to go back to the competition and upgrade the quality of internet service too.

I am making this complaint on behalf of everyone in the San Jaun Islands that are getting " high speed " internet through Century Link. I just returned to Orcas Island from the big city were I had High Speed 30 and I was paying $59.00 a month. Here my mother has been paying $ 52 .89 for 1.5 " high Speed" internet, does this seem fair. On top of all that the internet crashes all the time sometimes for day's at a time along with phone service. This has been going on for to long and something must be done as these large companies get away with to much and they clearly have no intention of making it right. I will be starting a petition on Orcas Island to see how many people are getting ripped off it will be posted at Ray's Pharmacy bulletin board.

So what is my complaint today? The same thing it's been for months, my internet connection! Constant buffering, dropped connections, intermittent speed issues, problem streaming videos, web pages loading slowly or not at all, the list is endless.. It seems to be going along fine for a little bit then BAM I am back to this again.. I call customer support and go through all the same BS every time I call, speed test, reset modem, hard wire laptop into modem etc etc and still nothing has changed...I get told by Customer support that it is not their problem and there is nothing they can do as speed tests are within the limits of what I should be getting and to just keep calling them back, I was even told by one tech that I should be grateful that I am getting the crappy speed I am getting, I've even had techs tell me it is my computer that's the problem, well how can it be my computer when it is happening on everything that is connected to the internet... I have 2 laptops, 1 is a year old running windows 7, the other is 2 months old running windows 8, the TV is 3 months old, the blue ray player is a year old and the Xbox 360 is 2 months old! And before you ask this issue with the internet happens when just one of those is running and online and does not matter the time of day either.. I have even been told by a customer support rep that I had NO problem that I just did not want to pay my bill! Really, this is how customers are treated when calling for help with a service they are paying for and suppose to be receiving and are not.. I have been told that a trouble ticket will be put in and someone will contact me.. Still nothing, call back and no trouble ticket or no record of me calling them.. BUT, today got 2 calls from CenturyLink about the money I owe for THIS month! Seriously? You can't fix my problem and call me back about the issues I am having with my service and not getting what I am paying for but can call me about my bill...I could spend every day calling and complaining but I do have other things in live I have to get done besides spend every day on the phone complaining about my internet and trying to get this issue resolved only to be told there is nothing we can do for you but hey pay your bill for this crappy slow intermittent speed you are getting! I know a lot of the calls I made were not even recorded on my account because when I did call back and referenced the call the tech had no record of it, since this issue started way back in 2012 I have keep a detailed record of the calls I've made dates/times and how long on the phone.. I've had numerous modems mailed to me, when I got the new one and we were finally able to log into with a techs help to update the software it seemed to work for about a month and now I am back to this problem yet again.. I am just so tired of the back and forth and the non existent support I am all of sudden getting from you company let alone be told I don't want to pay my bill... I should be getting the service I paid for and I am NOT getting that not even close..I have spent more time trying to fix this problem then I have spent online anymore..And the laptops or XBox can be hardwired or wireless it does not matter the problem is still there.. I have even tried different browsers and still the same problem... I would like this fixed and some type of compensation for all the trouble I have been incurring and the numerous calls and frustration I have encountered with this.. Thank You

I switched from Comcast to Centurylink, bundle for bundle. Worst mistake I've made in a long time. TV service continually freezes for minutes at a time and audio and video get out of sync daily! It is really aggravating trying to watch a show and the audio is delayed by 5 seconds. Was told when we signed the contract all four tvs would have HD receivers, but they failed to mention that since we lived more then 5000 feet from the closest DSLAM that only 2 hd programs could be watched or recorded at a time. So let me break it down, if I have a program recording in HD while watching another HD program no one else in the house can watch any HD channel! The Internet speed I purchased was 15MB, which continually only get around 11MB testing off their commercial test servers. My business has centurylink DIA with a direct fiber link into their network, which gave me access to their internal network testing servers so latency is not a factor since the speed test stays on their network! 4MB really isn't that much, I agree, but when you have two children continually streaming Netflix or playing games, and my self or wife watching TV trying to do anything on the Internet causes flash backs of Dial-up. Comcast on the other hand, I paid for 15MB and continually pulled 20-25 off of public testing sites from states away and sometimes across the country. I kick my self in the hind end for signing a contract, Comcast never asked us to sign a contract and of course there wasn't a termination fee. Where Centurylink is 50% of the remaining contract, being three months in that means $2, 100.00 to terminate at this point, talk about a RIP OFF. Came home today and Internet and TV are both out called into support and went through the good for nothing tech support..."unplug the router, plug it back in, oh well we can't access the router we'll create a support ticket and dispatch a truck, Is there anything else I can help you with today?" No, besides...get my good for nothing service working so we don't go mad, and oh by the way take some of the money that your making off me and everyone else that says your services stinks and expand your network, ASAP, or get out of the business of TV and Internet!

Consumer complaint blogs reveal thousands of complaints regarding numerous aspects of Century Link service and the general credibility of the company. The company is routinely involved in lying, out-and-out fraudulent scams, stealing money from their customers, and at minimum extremely poor and unorthodox accounting practices. Suffice to say, Century Link has nothing whatsoever in common with "savory business ethics". The underlying problem is that Federal agencies appear to be totally ineffective in regulating the company, to the point that Federal authorities appear to be "protecting" the company. Basically, the FCC, FTC, and U.S. Attorney General offices will tell the public that those regulatory agencies simply collect consumer complaints on any given issue until the preponderance of reports mandate that some action be taken. Telecommunications companies like Century Link know this full well, so the beat goes on. They operate with total arrogance of Federal and State laws, the government in general, and most importantly the consumer. Especially with telephone providers, consumers would be well-advised to heed the following advice:
1. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE should consumers authorize the company to "bundle" services. DO NOT BUNDLE.
2. Whenever possible find providers that DO NOT require any form of contract. There are many such providers.
3. Buy a cheap recording device with a telephone pick-up, and record ALL conversations with the provider. Perfectly legal, and
consumers should assume that the provider is recording the conversation as well. If they refuse to allow you to record (this is a
favorite tactic of Verizon), then take your business elsewhere.
4. If you must file a formal complaint, DO NOT file it directly with the FCC or FTC. File it with your U.S. Congressman.

I am in Broomfield, CO and have been with Qwest/CenturyLink DSL for more than 5 years. I signed up for the priced for life guarantee at 1.5 MBps when Qwest was in charge, now I see my modem has the speed listed at 576 k, and since the switch to CL, I have seen my rates go up. More expensive and slower is not acceptable. I ran a speed test and the results are .5 MBps download and .52 MB upload. I have trouble streaming any video and sometimes even relatively low bandwidth sites have trouble loading. This service is unacceptable. Also I checked into these ads for $20, 5 year guarantee when bundling DSL with home phone for 12 MBps and find that this pricing does not apply in my area, that is totally misleading. Broomfield is not rural, it is a suburb of Denver, there are fiber optic lines throughout the city, Why does our address not qualify for you're advertised rates? CenturyLink, I am looking elsewhere for service unless you can do something about this.

I was an Employee of Centurylink for 8 years and I changed my employment recently. When it comes to Former Employee services they are really really very poor. They don't act or respond to mail, no info on whom to contact for any issues. I have been waiting for my W2 since 2 months and no one is responding. I have sent around 40 - 50 mail to payroll and the contact I was given my Customer care and no Response from them. Its such a pain to get service from them.
I have several mail explaining my situation and the desperate need of my W2 and still no response.. They don't have hearts. Sometimes I feel that I am trying to get service from Stones..
I used hear the Complaints from Customers when I was employed at Centurylink and never thought it would be such a painful thing to get service from Centurylink. Centurylink Please feel the pain of customers and do the needful...

I signed up for centurylink when I moved to Florida and the service was just fine. I ended up moving to NC due to job relocation after about 1 year 3 months. I called and cancelled Centurylink and I offered to stay with Centurylink, but they did not provide service at the new location. I paid the final bill as agreed, but the following month I receive a statement for a cancellation fee. Now, the fee isn't outrageous like some other postings, but nonetheless I don't have a contract, there was no service provided for cancellation and we had no equipment to return. So, I'm a little stumped as to how they can legally charge a cancellation fee. I called centurylink, but the only response I received was that the fee was for canceling service. Additionally, when I signed up I specifically asked about cancellation fees due the fact I knew I might be relocated. Is this legal? I think I will call one more time to ask, then write them a certified letter and contact the BBB and the Florida Dept of Consumer Protection.

Two gentlemen from CenturyLink came to our door with a deal for internet and TV services that would be cheaper than our regular service. They told us there was a thirty day guarantee. We accepted the deal but then found that the service lacked in quality so we canceled within the thirty days. We have been repeatedly sent bills from them. The first was $200 and my husband called to complain and they said they took care of it because they had record of our cancellation. Then a bill for $300 came for "early cancellation fees". My husband once again called and took care of it. Then we got a $600 bill from a collection agency. He is on the phone again. Obviously this company is a total scam with shoddy services.

CenturyLink (after I had paid my bill) charged my debit card, which my social security check is on hundreds of dollars. I called them everyday and they assurred me they would take care of it and debit it back. After three days of talking to them, and they all were dishonest I finally got someone on chat, a girl 20698 is her number, told me that it would be on my card by thelatest on the 25th. it was not back on my card. I am dead broke because of them. They consistently lied to me. Today in St. Paul I got a very rude man who said he was a "supervisor" with this outfit and that it takes 30 days to get things debited back to my account. Every single person there has been dishonest. If you really need to get ahold of them, call the number that says you want new or additional service and then its easy to get a live person to talk to. I am going to every website I can and posting about this outfit...remember...if they owe you money they will tell you what you want to hear and then not follow through with anything. This "Robert" whom i spoke to, when I told him i desperately needed my money back as I had to buy antiobiotics for my husband before his cancer surgery (his ear is being removed from melanoma) he told me "well, we all live payday to payday". This man should be sent away somewhere - he was absolutely rude, hateful and I was actually nice to the man. just asked him to be honest and don't EVER EVER give these people a credit or debit card because you will eventually get it. I have talked to many other people and the same thing has happened - it took months. Now I have to file a dispute because they cannot even tell me why they debited my card these hundred of dollars. The service is not that great, you can only get ahold of someone easily if you want to order new service. If you go on chat, and its a problem all of a sudden they accidentally end the chat and blame it on YOUR computer. consumers BEWARE of CENTURYLINK. I am an honest person, and am telling you the truth about these people. They have serious problems, and never never give them a credit or d ebit card or you will find yourself sorry eventually. they are actually hoping i will give up and that they will be able to keep my money but I am going after them everyday until i get it. My name is Carol Furness White, not afraid to give it out. If anyone in St Paul knows who "your supervisor Robert" is, you need to get rid of that rude awful, HATEFUL man. He has problems.

I am writing to notify Corporate Offices of my complete dissatisfaction with Century Link services. If another provider were available in my location, I would switch in a heart-beat. Unfortunately, Century Link is the only available provider in my zip code so I am trapped.

In September, I signed up for a bundled service of Internet and phone with DIRECTTV for $79.94 total. All three services for $79.94! This quote included the Entertainment package with DIRECTTV, CenturyLink high speed 7 mbps internet, & CenturyLink Unlimited Nationwide Long Distance with Unlimited calling features. I have never received a statement at the quoted rate.

My initial bundled statement charged $86.57 for internet and home phone alone! The DIRECTTV cost was exactly as was quoted to me. I contacted CenturyLink on 11/12; spoke with Rod of the loyalty department who stated the only way to reduce my charges was to reduce my service. He offered basic home phone service, local calls only, with caller id as the only feature for $24.73. He also offered high-speed internet at $14.99/month for 1-year. I appreciated his intent yet it is misleading that CenturyLink quoted services and rates which they could not deliver nor would provide credit for amounts over their fraudulent quote.

I did not receive a statement for November yet did receive a past due notice with charges of $93.30 for internet and home phone with a total of $132.67 due! That is $52.73 over the amount I was quoted for all three services! Not having received a statement, I knew this would likely incur late fees which I intended to contact CenturyLink for credit. However, as I was traveling to regional conferences, I discover on 12/20 that all of my services were disconnected due to non-payment because I cannot contact my child, who is at home with a sitter, at all! I arrived home late 12/21, checked my bank account online from a friends house, where I verified the payment had been received and processed by CenturyLink on 12/21/12 yet my services were still disconnected. I called CenturyLink on 12/22, yet customer service is closed on Saturday. I called DIRECTTV on 12/22. Since services were bundled, DIRECTTV could not do anything to at least restore the television. Holiday guests begin arriving… I have no phone, no internet, and no television! I called CenturyLink on 12/24, while I applaud CenturyLink for providing their employees with Christmas Eve day as a holiday, I am now completely lividly pissed knowing that we can’t track Santa Claus, we can’t watch traditional parades and games… because TV service has been cut off! We can’t make long-distance phone calls to friends and family on the one day we most likely would use long-distance… because phone service has been cut off! We can’t face-time, Skype, or stream movies… because internet service has been cut off! And my payment was processed on 12/21! There is absolutely no excuse, or apology for the “inconvenience” of this gross malfunctions within CenturyLink and complete inconsideration to a “customer”.

I spoke with Cindy on 12/26, after my service is magically restored; who verified my payment had been processed on 12/21. She “offered” to reduce my charges by also reducing my services… the unlimited long distance was reduced immediately to basic home phone service, local calls only. She could not reduce the high-speed internet to $14.99/month yet could “offer” it at 50%. At this point, her rudeness led me to believe that she likely could reduce the high-speed internet rate yet was unwilling to do so. If that is not the case, this provides more proof that CenturyLink lies to their customers by consistently providing service quotes that they cannot deliver. I told Cindy I wanted credit for 5 days of no services. She placed me on hold to “verify with technical that I did not have any services for 5 days”. Even though periodically she checked in with me, I waited on hold for over an hour before becoming so frustrated that I disconnect the call. Immediately, I logged onto the internet to locate another provider, only to discover I am stuck with CenturyLink.

My next statement reflects charges of $172.43 of which $93.45 are internet and home phone! I have to contact DIRECTTV to dispute their charges, which while corrected, I will not receive credit until the next billing cycle. I also have to contact CenturyLink on 1/10 I spoke with Linda, who also could not adjust the charges until the next billing cycle, yet surprisingly could issue a credit of $35.49 immediately, without placing me on hold for over an hour, without contacting technical to verify, for 5 days of no service. $25.00 of that credit is from DIRECTTV. CenturyLink would only give credit for $10.49 which seems more insult to injury as CenturyLink was the cause of all my holiday frustration.

So, I have disconnected the bundle between CenturyLink and DIRECTTV. While I may lose $10 credit for bundled services, at least I will not lose all my services due to the incompetence of CenturyLink. I have been forced to reduce my home phone service so now we cannot call any mobile numbers from home as Montana has only one area code and cell numbers are not geographically assigned so are considered “long-distance”. And still, CenturyLink cannot provide their quoted rate of $14.99 for high-speed internet, which is also posted on the CenturyLink website. While I may be stuck because of my location, I intend to spread my complaints far & wide & never, ever promote CenturyLink as a provider for any service particularly because CenturyLink can’t or won’t “work hard to make services more accessible, more affordable, and less complicated”.

I keep getting phone calls about getting some sort of hardship car buying help. They call numerous times throughout the day, more than any telemarketer is allowed. I told the person on the other line that I want you to take me off your list. Every time they call I keep telling them. "that I don't need another car." So, the next day I get more phone calls from them, my expecting wife answers the call, and they began harassing her about take the number off their list, after that they told her, F*** You, and that I will not." I got on the, "Do Not Call Registry", and put their number on it. When they called today, I put them on the their list, all I got was, How the F***, could you do that, and more colorful words and phrases, and they hung up. And tonight they called again and the same situation all over again.

I have been with Century Link for over 2 years, providing me with phone and internet services. About 35 days ago I switch my TV service also to Century Link from DISH Network. Occasionally we have have rains in Florida and with dish you will lose your Satellite reception during the heavy down pour sometimes. At the moment I am very unhappy with the service, I am sick and tired of calling customer service only to hear that everything seems find on there end, after they run their test on my systems. Today, 5Jan 2013 I call again about my TV Freezing up while watching TV one, kids are upset asking me whats wrong with the TV. I was told today that my Modem should be plug directly into the wall and not into a power surge protector, this is reason giving to me causing the TV to freeze up, "Really". Not enough power is getting to the modem. LOL.. I insisted that a technician come by and look in to this matter, this will be their last chance to fix this problem. I will be more than happy to go back to Dish Network after this experience. Rented a movie on on demand.. movie freeze up, no sound, I had to go to Red Box and rent the same movie, of course it was family movie night.

Moving into an apartment for college, I called Centurylink - one of only two providers to my complex - to see what kind of deals I could get on tv-internet packages. I settled on them because they offered me a "student discount package" with 10mbps internet and DirectTV for an extraordinarily low monthly rate, no installation charges, first time fee waivers etc etc I was even offered a $50 AmEx gift card in my name for being so awesome I guess. And all of this with NO CONTRACT?!?!?! Yes indeed, if I signed up now. So of course I signed up.

Installation day comes, DirectTV says your apartment doesn't face our satellite sorry get TV elsewhere. OK...no big deal but they could have asked me if I faced north/south east/west first right? Internet guy comes to install, has no clue what he is doing. Takes all day and when I am finally up and running I am getting less than 1mbps off and on. I let it go for a few months because I am busy with school and it isn't a big issue. Besides, I didn't sign a contract so I can cancel whenever I want right?

Finally, 2 months after installation I've had it, I can't even run a google search my service is so bad. I call and try to cancel because I can get faster speeds from my current cable company cheaper anyway. I am informed I am under contract. What? After talking to MANY representatives with all levels of knowledge about the company I am told that any special price I got was because it was a yearly contract and I had "signed" it by clicking "I Agree" on some legal mumbo jumbo I was supposed to read when I signed up for an online Century Link account on activation day (while the useless installation technician was breathing down my neck saying click here here and here so I can go home). Ok but I was told specifically it would be month-to-month billing. I wrote down everything that I was told during the phone conversation I had with the salesperson and I still have the notes. Unfortunately they say there is no way to "prove" this is what I was told over a phone conversation (which is true I suppose, if it was unrecorded) and the only way to dispute it is to pay a $200 cancellation fee and then contact the "escalation" office where they may be able to find a recording of the conversation and prove me right. IF I am right I MAY get my $200 back. Of course, that sounds like a complete waste of $200 I may never see again.

So I get someone to come fix my internet so I at least get what I pay for, which is, by the way $10 or so higher than I was quoted even after all the fees I was made aware of. When the guy comes to repair my internet as soon as he walks in the door he says "Well I found some issues 'down the road' that may have been slowing you down." What does that even mean? He couldn't explain it to me. Sounds extraordinarily fishy. Whatever he "found" it must have worked because I thankfully get 9.5-9.8mbps on a regular basis now. After asking around after the incident, however, I've heard other people in my area have been given the same runaround by this company being told they are getting a great deal, no strings attached, and then been saddled with huge cancellation fees when they are unsatisfied with their service and are charged more than they expected.

By the way, no I never did get that gift card. I wonder what their escalation office would say about that.

Man calls me and when I answer he hangs up. I called right back.
First he denied even calling me; said I have his number on my caller id.
Then, keeps asking me for my ssn, stating he has a deal for me.
I continued to refuse. He then says that he does not need the full ssn, just the last four digits.
In a feeble attempt to make me trust him, he spits out numbers and tells me that he just gave me his social security number.
I stated, "I don't feel comfortable with this conversation and I am terminating the phone call."
I hung up.
C r e e p y! W e I r d!

I recently just moved to my new address and have been trying to establish service here with Centurylink for almost a month but keep getting told I am denied service. The excuse is something about exhausted network. My next door neighbor gets service with them 3 days ago and I call to complain about why is it I am denied service, and that is when the lady on the phone tells me no problem we can give you service. I was excited because after a month of fighting it appeared that I would be allowed service so I had everything setup over the phone, had a modem overnight shipped to my house, and expected service to be established on December 7, 2012. On December 6, 2012 at 8am in the morning I get a phone call that went to voice mail and it stated were sorry but we are not going to be hooking up your service tomorrow as planned our network is exhausted. I called them to explain to them how wrong it is to set up someone's service only to tell them a day later that they can't and the people on the phone were really rude and you could tell they had no interest and half the time wasn't even listening to the phone.

I recently signed up with CenturyLink / DirectTV for a three-year bundled package: TV, Phone, and Internet. My monthly bill was supposed to total approx. $99.94.The sales rep said I would receive a confirmation email, detailing the billing. Never happened.

My first month’s bill was @ $165. I knew that some one-time installation charges would appear on the first month’s bill and wasn’t concerned. But my next bill was for $217.32!

I contacted Customer Service. The initial review suggested that the only error was a $45 overcharge for the HBO package. I kept asking for more details. After @ 90 minutes on the phone with two pleasant service reps, my monthly rate had dropped to $126, including taxes.

The primary cost savings resulted from a sharp correction in the DirectTV rate from $121.49 before taxes to approx. $51 before taxes. We were also being charged $45/month for HBO, etc., instead of the three month promotional rate of $0. Someone flagged the wrong item on the work order…multiple times.

I was told that the complexity of the transaction creates all sorts of billing and communication coordination issues between CenturyLink and DirectTV. As a result several months are normally required for the respective service providers to get the correct values entered in our personal billing spreadsheet. I see this as a training issue and a failure to focus on customer service at the outset of the transaction.

And it turns out, the sales and customer service reps are often unaware of whether amounts they quote include taxes or not. On the sales side, the reps are apparently constrained from discussing the impact of taxes on the bill, if only because tax rates vary so greatly from state to state.

The service reps were helpful and responsive. Nonetheless, I wasted far too much of my own valuable time working with them. This just shouldn’t happen.

received a call from global crossing stating If i don't pay them 300.00 now they will freeze my assets. and that I'm being sued by cash for u now. and the only way to resolve or put a stop to the freeze is to pay them. i haven't heard from cash for u now in a year. and I never got a piece of mail or phone call or e mail telling me I'm being sued. They said that i won't receive anything from cash for u now because they don't have to let me know anything. And that i would only have till 5:00 pm to do it.

I have been with Centurylink for about a year and a half now. I just have internet service with them to take some online classes. I have recently transferred my service to a new address and received a bill for $63.99; it says the monthly charge is $59.99. I called to get this corrected as my bill is supposed to be $27.50 a month. After being on the phone for an hours and 20 minutes and being transferred several times she tells me the discount did not transfer over but before she can change it back to what it was before I would need to pay a $25 deposit. When I ask why and if this will be refunded she didn't know. She talked to her manager and they said they THINK that it is because I have transferred services within the state 3 times. This didn't make since to me and I was not going to give them a deposit after I have been with them for over a year and they didn't even know what it was for. She spoke with someone else whom said it was because my SSN and date of birth wasn't on file. After I gave her that info she put me on hold again and then hung up on me. I thought she would call back since she asked for my # at the beginning of the call just in case we were disconnected and of course she did not. I called in to have them fix something THEY messed up and then they want to charge me unexplainable fees? What HORRIBLE customer service!