CenturyLink
Reviews and Complaints

So, I gotta say, CenturyLink is not the best internet provider out there. They advertise this sweet deal of $34.95/month for internet, but then they go and change it up on you without even telling you. My first bill was $52, which was already more than I expected, but then it just kept going up and up. My second bill was $63 and my third bill was a whopping $91! All for the same $34.95 internet package I signed up for.

I spent hours on chat with them, trying to figure out why my bill kept going up, but they just kept giving me the runaround. Finally, they admitted that they had signed me up for $56/month instead of the promised $34.95. That's not cool, man. That nulls and voids any contract we had, but they still want to charge me a $200 termination fee.

I'm not having it. I'm sending everything to the BBB for review. I don't want anyone else to fall for their false advertising. If you have another internet provider in your area, go with them instead. I went back to Bright House/Spectrum after having excellent service for TEN years, and I'm relieved to be back with them.

But CenturyLink is still trying to get me to pay those termination fees. I'm not going down without a fight. And to make matters worse, I'm Deaf and on a fixed income, but they keep telling me to "call their retention line." Like, hello? I can't hear you! They don't care though. They just keep telling me to "get someone to call for you." Like, what kind of customer service is that?

Honestly, I'm so frustrated with CenturyLink. If I could afford it, I would sue them for violating the ADA as well as false advertising. So, take my advice and stay away from them. If you want to know more about my experience, just ask. I'll answer anything you want to know.

This company is not just bad, it's criminally bad. I wish I could give them negative points. When I moved to a new apartment, I made an appointment for CenturyLink to come out and connect service. However, they never showed up. When I called to see what happened, they put me on hold for an eternity. I was living in a brand new apartment that never had service before, so when the bill arrived for services I never received, I tried calling multiple times. Unfortunately, I either got someone who pushed me off without solving the problem or I was put on hold for up to 2 hours. When I didn't pay (because I never had service), they just kept billing me. It's ridiculous that they would bill me every month for something that never existed.

When I was late on a payment prior to my move, they just cut off my service, but not this time. I'm not sure how you cut off something that never existed, but it makes more sense than billing every month for something that never existed. I tried writing everything down on a bill and sending it back, but nothing happened. I tried calling again, but I was put back on hold. Finally, they sent me to collections, which I obviously contested. Their response was "we only have 2 calls in our records and they indicate you had service."

Of course, they only have 2 calls in their records. Every other time, it was a never-ending hold loop. And saying I had service when I absolutely did not is ridiculous. Now I have to try to get a letter from my landlord because the next tenant had to install everything because there was never service in the apartment.

This is absolutely ridiculous. Now they're calling themselves Brightspeed. Do NOT deal with anyone associated with these people, no matter what they might change their business name to. They are trying to charge me almost $1000 for zero service and hours of aggravation. They are an absolute nightmare. I can't believe how terrible their customer service is. It's like they don't care about their customers at all. I would never recommend this company to anyone. Stay away from CenturyLink/Brightspeed if you want to avoid a headache.

CenturyLink is a company that provides internet and phone services to its customers. If you're considering using CenturyLink, you should know that it's not the best option out there. In fact, it's one of the worst. The employees at CenturyLink seem to hate their jobs and the company they work for. They do the bare minimum to keep their jobs, and they don't care about providing good customer service.

I once went to a CenturyLink store to try to fix my internet connection. The employees there were unfriendly and unhelpful. They didn't even greet me when I walked in. The employee who tried to help me couldn't fix my connection, and his own internet connection crashed while he was trying to diagnose the problem. It was a complete disaster.

To make matters worse, the employee called someone to come and fix the internet connection, but they said it would take several days. The employee shrugged and said he couldn't help me. Then, everyone in the store, including the customers and employees, left. They turned off the lights, locked the door, and never reopened the store.

Now, the space is occupied by a hypnotherapist. It's clear that CenturyLink is not a company that cares about its customers or its employees. If you're looking for internet or phone services, you should look elsewhere. Don't make the mistake of using CenturyLink.

I have to say, my experience with CenturyLink has been nothing short of a nightmare. The internet speeds are so slow that I could make a cup of coffee and still have time to spare before a webpage loads. It's like watching paint dry, but slower. I mean, the company name is CenturyLink, but it feels like it takes a century just to get anything done.

Despite the terrible service, I was a customer for over three years. Why, you ask? Well, because I was able to lock in a promotional rate of $29.99 instead of the regular $59.99, as long as I renewed my 12-month contract every time. It was a good deal, but it turns out that the renewal process was a complete disaster.

After six months, I noticed that I was being charged the regular rate of $59.99. I called customer service to ask why, and they told me that the employee who did the renewal process mistakenly entered only six months of promotional rate for the 12-month contract. I asked them to correct the mistake and charge me the promotional rate for the next six months, but they refused. They said that I had "agreed" to the terms, even though I had made it clear that I only renewed if I got the full 12 months of service at the promotional rate.

I was so angry that I decided to cancel my contract with CenturyLink early. The customer service agent warned me about the $200 early termination fee, but I didn't care. I was done with this terrible service. Of course, CenturyLink sent me a bill for $200 plus some other charges for my early termination, but I have no intention of paying it anytime soon. I plan to pay that final bill at the speed of CenturyLink.

Overall, I would not recommend CenturyLink to anyone. The service is slow, the customer service is terrible, and the company seems to have no interest in keeping their customers happy. If you're looking for internet service, look elsewhere. Trust me, you'll thank me later.

My experience with CenturyLink was a complete disaster. I wish I had recorded it, but my phone is already cluttered enough. The robot that answers the phone is deaf, dumb, and blind. It never hears me correctly and its responses are completely inappropriate. One night, I spent four hours trying to pay my bill, but it was a complete nightmare. And when I needed them to send me a router, they lied to me for three days straight. The first person I spoke to said, "All set, your router will be there tomorrow." The second person I spoke to the next day said, "I'm sorry, the tracking details have not been created yet, you will get it tomorrow." The third person I spoke to on the third day said, "I'm sorry, your router will be there tomorrow," and gave me a fake tracking number. Of course, the router never came.

But that's just one experience. The internet constantly buffers and kicks me off every five minutes. It's a complete nightmare. And the fact that CenturyLink has a monopoly in my area is disgusting. The router I leased from them broke, and I needed a new one. But the website they directed me to didn't work, and I haven't been able to log in to my account once since I signed up. Not once. It doesn't recognize my account number or my email address, so I can't pay my bill easily at all.

So I called back for the fourth time, and the recording kept me on hold for an hour before hanging up on me. And when I finally got through to someone, they gave me a bogus tracking number for the router that never came. It's a complete scam. I can't believe that they're still in business. It's illegal to take people's money and not provide goods and services in return. If everyone dropped CenturyLink at the same time, maybe someone better would step up and do a much better job.

In conclusion, I would advise anyone to pay more elsewhere for better internet service and better customer service. CenturyLink is a complete joke, and they don't deserve your money.

I recently had an experience with CenturyLink that left me feeling frustrated and disappointed. In July of 2022, I was contacted by a Lumen technology consumer Advocacy analyst named Jamie Carr via email. He assured me that my issues were being escalated and that he would keep me informed. However, a week later, I received another email from Mr. Carr stating that my issues had not been escalated and that I would be getting 100 mbs for $50 as originally agreed to. He even said that my services would be installed on July 5th. But when I called CenturyLink on that day, I found out that it wasn't scheduled at all!

I'm tired of the lies. When corporate analysts lie to you, who can you believe? It's frustrating to deal with a company that can't seem to get their act together. I was then contacted by Vanessa, a customer supervisor, who told me that I could only get 60mbs for $60 monthly. I was forced to pay more for less speed, which is ridiculous. I've been trying to get CenturyLink internet services for three weeks now, and it's been a living nightmare.

I agreed to a 100mbs plan because I was getting a fiber optic wireless modem and router, but then I only got 60mbs. When I called CenturyLink, they told me that it was the fastest speed available. I asked to disconnect and then spoke with Trisha, who spoke with her supervisor and said that I would be receiving 192mbs for $60 because of the way CenturyLink had treated me and the fact that I am a disabled veteran. However, my speed dropped to 30mbs, so I called and disconnected and sent the equipment back.

On June 23rd, I called CenturyLink and spoke to Roy in connection services. He assured me that I could only get 60mbs, but if I came back, I would get a free modem and router, and the services would be connected on June 24th. However, my services did not get connected on that day because they were not scheduled with CenturyLink!

I'm left wondering how CenturyLink can still do business. Is lying to consumers about plans they offer and don't deliver, saying when services will be connected and then not happening, the new business norm today? It's frustrating to deal with a company that can't seem to get their act together and provide the services they promise. I hope that CenturyLink can improve their customer service and provide better communication to their customers in the future.

This company is the worst! I switched from Comcast to Directv and had to add Centurylink as my internet provider. They promised to send me my modem within three days, but it never came. I called Centurylink multiple times, but they were no help. After three weeks, my neighbor came over to tell me that he had three modems addressed to me, but delivered to him. I don't understand why they kept sending multiple modems and why they were being delivered to the wrong address. My correct address is on file, but they still messed up. And why would they be delivered to a back door instead of the front door? It makes no sense.

When I finally got my modem, it didn't work. I was told that a technician would come between 8-5 on Tuesday, but no one showed up. I spoke with a "manager" in Phoenix who promised that a technician would arrive at 1pm on Wednesday, but again, no one showed up. I have now been without internet for a month, and I guarantee that I will still receive a bill. This has cost me at least $500 because my financial advisor was unable to deposit money into my account, and all of my bills that I paid out will be returned.

This horrible customer service can affect someone's life in a dramatic way. What has happened to customer service? Doing what you promise? I will never recommend this company to anyone. They need to understand that the damage is irreparable. If a manager of a company is that incompetent, it's no wonder all the other employees are as well. Please do not give them your business. This is my first review ever because I felt compelled to write it.

Kathleen Lehman

1720 NW 38th Ave

Ocala, FL 34482

Lot 125

[protected]

Where to begin, oh my...

This has been the worst experience ever! CHAT IS NOT WORKING, so had to call. When I did, automation told me I owed $197.00. NOT TRUE. MY ACCOUNT IS CURRENT AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN. This was an error on your part and Rep finally got it straightened out. Then transferred me to Tech, who promptly told me there was an error with my account and could not help me. Transferred me back to Accounts, who said, no problem with the account and transferred me back to another tech. Tech said he would check to see what problem existed with the internet, then hung up on me, and even though he had my number did NOT call me back. THIS TOOK 1 HOUR AND 45 MINUTES! NO RESOLUTION...

Had to call back and finally got someone from the tech dept. to check. She said you have put an ALERT ON MY ACCOUNT, because of High Bandwith because of so many devices. If that were true, why have I only been having this problem for the last two weeks as I have had these devices since I have had this service? Speaking of this service, when the rep talked me into this $45 a month for life she "MISREPRESENTED" the service. She told me it would come with a higher speed. IT DID NOT! Isn't that fraudulent? ANOTHER 35 minutes wasted.

AND no, I am not going to upgrade my service, giving you more money for something you promised me and did not and will not deliver. My internet is still not running correctly. For the last two weeks it has disconnected, reconnected, and disconnected on MULTIPLE occasions along with incessant buffering. I would appreciate getting my service repaired and or alert taken off and letting me know what the (actual) problem is since non of your reps seem to be able to do their jobs.

ALSO, I think (since your service was clearly so poor), you owe me. See Tracfone hours used today between the hours of approximately 11:00 to 1:15 05/26/2023.

In total: You have cost me (1.45 + 34=1.79 or 2.19 hours) that's 219 minutes. You can reimburse me through TracFone or send a tracfone card to the above address.

Kathleen Lehman

1720 NW 38th Ave

Ocala, FL 34482

Lot 125

[protected]

Where to begin, oh my...

This has been the worst experience ever! CHAT IS NOT WORKING, so had to call. When I did, automation told me I owed $197.00. NOT TRUE. MY ACCOUNT IS CURRENT AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN. This was an error on your part and Rep finally got it straightened out. Then transferred me to Tech, who promptly told me there was an error with my account and could not help me. Transferred me back to Accounts, who said, no problem with the account and transferred me back to tech. Tech said he would check to see what problem existed with internet, then hung up on me, and even though he had my number did NOT call me back. THIS TOOK 1 HOUR AND 45 MINUTES! NO RESOLUTION...

Had to call back and finally got someone from tech dept. to check. She said you have put an ALERT ON MY ACCOUNT, because of High Bandwith because of so many devices. BUT, if that is true, why have I only been having this problem for the last two weeks as I have had these devices since I have had this service? Speaking of this service, when rep talked me into this $45 a month for life she "MISREPRESENTED" the service. She told me it would come with a higher speed. IT DID NOT! Isn't that fraudulent? ANOTHER 35 minutes wasted.

AND no, I am not going to upgrade my service, giving you more money for something you promised me and did not and will not deliver. My internet is still not running correctly. For the last two weeks it has disconnected then reconnected then disconnected on MULTIPLE occassions along with incessant buffering. I would appreciate actually getting my service repaired and or alert taken off and letting me know what the (actual) problem is since non of your reps seem to be able to do their jobs.

ALSO, I think (since your service was clearly so poor), you owe me. See Tracfone hours used today between the hours of approximately 11:00 to 1:15 05/26/2023.

In total: You have cost me (1.45 + 34=1.79 or 2.19 hours) that's 219 minutes. You can reimburse me through tracfone or send a tracfone card to above address.

Kathleen Lehman

Called over three weeks ago
Sent texts, chats. Phone calls, etc.
After two weeks service person arrived.
vv893290 May 15
Showed completed
Person never left truck
Said they needed to send another truck
Another truck never came
Called again
Service call scheduled again
Vv897314
Due Wed May 24
Over three weeks no service
Service is terrible to non existent.
Phone service has specific hours not 24 /7
Waiting for phone person takes hours waiting
When you finally get someone they don’t speak English well
Online chat take hours to get someone.

May - 22, 2023

CenturyLink contractors placed Fiber Optic cable in my HOA subdivision in Feb-Mar 2023. On May 19, 2023, we activated our irrigation system main line and noticed a large flow of water through the ground. Our system 3" main line appears to be damaged. We are concerned with digging as we don't want to damage the century link fiber conduit. Our main irrigation line is about 4 feet deep. Who can I contact to report the damage and arrange repairs without damaging CenturyLink fiber conduit?

The area of concern is located near SE 162nd Ave and SE Henderson Way in Portland OR 97236. Our HOA is the Lexington Hills located at Hawthorne Ridge. We have our landscape company performing repairs and they will attempt to not affect CenturyLink new installation. I would prefer that the contractor that bore the hole for cable installation contact me ASAP so we can review and confirm that the CenturyLink cable installation caused the damage. Please contact me to schedule a meeting to review the situtation.

Thank you

David Marcinko
President Lexington Hills HOA
[protected]
davehoa.[protected]@gmail.com

We are a small business with CenturyLink internet. We have had intermittent DSL connection for over three months. Today my modem reports 283 retrains in the last 24 hours. 45 of these have occurred between 7:30 am and 10:30 am. We have called repair 4 times in the last 3 months. Every time we spend more than an hour on the phone repeating the exact same complaint, going through the scripted repair tree with the CSR and eventually having a technician dispatched. Each time the technician reports that the problem is with a bad spot in the DSL cable between the hub and our office. Each time they conclude that CenturyLink will contact and outside contractor for the repair as "they don't do that." I can see the hub (on the back of the church next door) from my office. In the preceding three plus months, nothing has been done. I cannot explain how frustrating it is for the internet to kick out in the middle of a long government form that I am trying to fill out, only to have to start from scratch when it kicks out again. I am always refused the opportunity to speak to a supervisor as they never seem to be available. Please help with this

My line was cut in my yard due to the city digging for a sidewalk. when i called Century Link they could not get someone to my home for 3 days to get this looked at and fixed. they also stated I would be responsible for the cost. The guy digging stated Century Link was supposed to mark where my lines were (as they had with a few houses on the street) but they did not for my home) so that is why my line ended up being cut) he stated that he had reported it and they they should have some one come out right away. When I called again Century link automated line only gave me to option to keep my original appointment and I could not speak to an actual person about this. I work from home and this is not acceptable . This could have been avoided have they done thier job and marked my line before the digging had been done like they were supposed to and now they make me wait for the fix.

The technicians I have had come twice to my home to install a basic phone line do not have correct orders when they show up. None of them knew what to do. I have them come 2 times in one week. One came 1 minute after they said they would arrive in 30 mins, therefore my dogs were not out away and the man flipped out! He was rude and condescending. I have a written order and he had no idea what to do. I am processing to get the lowest band width and will be switching companies next week after I start my in-home position with my job.. I have never been so furious with a company and the lack of integrity. I will not be getting what I ordered and what was agreed upon.

I've had centurylink email for several years now. It had worked well until recently. They supposedly UPGRADED the service. I've had nothing but problems with it since then. Emails from important sources have failed to get to me. Emails from credit card agencies informing me about my statements or my local library informing me about books on hold or due have been filtered out by this UPDATED email service. I've tried to contact centurylink email support, but they have no phone number and their CHAT line is a JOKE. I go to their email support and get two options. One is to send an email to the support team. I do that. They reply by giving me a list of links to USELESS self help articles or instructing me to contact their CHAT line. I try the CHAT line and am put on a que list that never gets to me. Que being a waiting list to chat. Before the que gets to me, I'm disconnected from the chat. The second option is to join the CHAT line which goes as I described above.

I cannot get anyone at Centurylink who speaks English well enough to understand that my internet is not working. Doesn't matter who I contact it is the same thing over and over again. I am paying for services not rendered and I am getting really tired of the complete runaround I have been getting.

I have tried numerous times today: April 7, 2023 from 2:00-2:30 MDT to get a representative in the United States. I am being told that there is noone in the US that can help me.

I had service with CenturyLink for over a decade and they suddenly disabled my email. Thunderbird gives me the message failed to connect. I log into my web based mail and sent myself an e-mail and got a message (your compose function has been disabled for suspected spam activity) I only sent one e-mail with a [censored]ute video to three recipients. [censored]ute.com/video/7Pto0ixf6gyc/ my e-mail was promptly shut down.

It's now after hours and I have to wait till tomorrow to do call the support. I've had a similar experience with Basic ISP dial up service over a decade ago and dropped them. Reading the above complaint I suspect I'll get the same BS and I'll be looking for another ISP.

Two weeks (14 days) ago CenturyLink “disabled” my email account for “suspected SPAM abuse”. I have had this email account for over 20 years, having originally contracted with Qwest. My use of the system has not changed at all during this time. For the past 14 days I have made repeated requests via the CenturyLink “customer support” web chat feature to reactivate my account, each time providing contact information, i.e. home phone, cell, alternate email. I have heard nothing. No response. Finally, as a last resort, I Googled the CenturyLink “retention department” at [protected] where I actually talked with a broken-English-speaking person. The retention department turns out to be an offshore “support function”. After a few keyboard clicks the very pleasant tech support person told me my account was operating normally. When I told her that I had just attempted to send an email and received an error message she reluctantly said that they do not have access to the “complete database” so she needed to send a “high priority” support request to CenturyLink customer support and they should reply in 24 to 48 hours (as opposed to “up to 72 hours” on their support web site). I’m through with CenturyLink because they simply don’t care. I must now begin planning for a new email provider after all these years. Since your email address is frequently also your user ID for many applications, this will be no small undertaking, believe me.

Unresolved Issue: Case [protected]

I canceled my service on or about Jan 12, 2023. Previous bills were online statements and were paid with auto pay. My only service was internet and the bills were consistent, so I never reviewed my online bills. After canceling, I received a bill for Jan 28 - Feb 04 for $14.78, this period is after I canceled my service. I received a paper bill for this $14.78 and noticed that I was being charged for modem lease. I have not leased a CenturyLink modem since late 2018. I have supplied CenturyLink with a copy of the modem that I purchased from Amazon and a photo of the modem.

CenturyLink claims that they never received a returned modem that I had leased prior to Oct 2018. Due to their billing inaccuracies, I have great doubts that record of the returned modem is reliable. I did not have a leased modem and the only proof of this is the purchase of the modem that I have used for the past 4 - 5 years.

They did not request that I return the modem when I canceled until I pressed them for a refund of the lease money. CenturyLink has even attempted to show me a form letter requesting that I return the modem, but it states IF YOU HAVE LEASED EQUIPMENT.

Here is the last comment from CenturyLink:

"There's no record of the modem being returned. We do have where the modem was shipped to you, but nothing where it was sent back. I've discussed it with my supervisor, and we will not be able to provide a refund. It is outside the 60-day window in our subscriber agreement, and no proof was provided that the modem was returned."

I don't have proof of returning the modem, but I would not of had any need of keeping it.

Centurylink does not honor a request by Safelink to port my phone number a week ago now.
Centurylink admits in an email to me,
"We checked you line and it can be ported out at anytime it has no Local service freeze on it or pending orders so its free to change over to your new company. It is a land line so it has no PIN number and will be released to whoever requests it."
They simply will not do it.
I've wasted dozens of hours with both Centurylink and Safelink. Centurylink’s idea of “customer service” is to wear us out to the point where we give up. But Centurylink won’t let go of us when we try to leave and keep our number. This is very dishonest.