ComplaintsforLingo Communications, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  08/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Case #: ******** I am compelled to write this review after an extremely disappointing experience with the service provided. The core issue that prompted me to reach out for support in the first place was that the phone lines, a crucial component of their service, were not working and still not working. This malfunction has not only been a significant obstacle in terms of communication but has also severely hindered my ability to resolve urgent matters that required immediate attention.Despite my patience and repeated attempts to seek a resolution from their customer service team, the problem persists. This lack of functionality and the company's inability to rectify the issue in a timely manner have considerably impacted my overall experience. It is disheartening to see such a critical service falter and even more so when there seems to be a lack of urgency in addressing customer issues.The situation raises concerns about the company's commitment to providing reliable customer service and its competence in managing and maintaining its infrastructure. In today's fast-paced world, the ability to communicate effectively is paramount, and when a service fails to deliver on such a basic premise, it undermines the trust and dependability customers place in it.In conclusion, the ongoing issues with the phone lines, coupled with the disappointing response from customer service, have led to a significant decrease in my satisfaction and trust in this service. I had hoped for a swift and efficient resolution, but the lack of progress and accountability has unfortunately led me to question the value of continuing to use this service. It is my sincere hope that this feedback will prompt a re-evaluation of how customer issues are handled and lead to the necessary improvements that will prevent others from experiencing similar frustrations.

  Business response

  09/03/2024

  We have reviewed the account and show that the repair of the customer's lines was being affected by the strike at AT&T. We sincerely apologize for the timeframe in resolution but unfortunately this was beyond our control. We do show that a technician was dispatched yesterday 9/02/24 and stated the issue has been resolved. We are awaiting confirmation from the customer to confirm. We will issue a credit for the time the customer was without service once we have been able to confirm resolution. Again, we apologize for the timeframe in resolution.

  Customer response

  09/04/2024

   
  Complaint: 22198963
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  No, it's still NOT working. I'm doubtful a technician ever showed up. I explicitly noted on the ticket that the tech should contact me before coming out. Knowing Lingo, they are probably going to the incorrect address or are not showing up at all. LINGO should seriously consider getting out of the people-facing communication world. They are endangering the safety of our community. 

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  09/10/2024

  I do apologize that we have not been able to have a technician out to resolve the issue. We have been provided with multiple dates that resulted in missed commits with the most recent being given a date of 9/02/24. We were then given a date of 9/09 and that was also a missed commit. We are currently awaiting a new time for a technician to be dispatched and are unable to request escalations through AT&T due to the ongoing strike in the area. Generally, a missed commit on any date becomes the first appointment for the next day but due to the strike that is not currently happening. Unfortunately, customers are the ones who are made to suffer in these situations, as no CLEC carriers are able to provide the requested repairs in a timely manner. It is of no benefit to Lingo for our customers to be without service. We sincerely apologize for the timeframe in resolving your issue and are working diligently to have a technician dispatched. We will apply a credit to the account once we have been able to restore your service. 

  Customer response

  09/12/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  ********* did a GREAT job by hanging in there to get this resolved. I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  08/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In early June 2024 I cancelled my landline telephone service with Lingo. My Confirmation # for this was *******. I maintained my phone number for nearly 40 years, origionally with Michigan Bell. Lingo aquired my account without my knowledge or consent. I signed no contract with Lingo when they aquired my account from Michigan Bell. I paid a final bill of $82.19 by check on 6/18/24. I have since been billed $267.30 becaue Lingo claims I terminated my "contract" with them early. I never had a contract with them. I want them to honor my last payment and retract any further bills that claim I need to pay an early cancellation fee.

  Business response

  08/12/2024

  We have reviewed and see this customer began service with us in 2010 and has been a loyal customer since that time. With that being the case, the Early Termination fee was waived and the account balance brought to $0.00 on 8/07/24 when the customer questioned the charges regarding her billing. 

  Customer response

  08/12/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  07/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Lingo has left my elderly parents without a phone line for over 2 weeks, while lying twice about a two separate work orders. Nobody ever showed up to correct the problem. Now they won't even give me an estimated time to fix the phone line and refuse to let me speak to a supervisor.

  Business response

  07/25/2024

  We have reviewed and show the customer is currently being affected by a cable failure issue in their area affecting multiple customers due to the recent hurricane. We have been advised that the issue will be resolved by 7/29/24. We have been in communication with the customer's daughter via email and will continue to update her with any new information received. We are working diligently to have the service restored for all customers after the damage caused by the hurricane and apologize for the inconvenience.  

• Initial Complaint

  05/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  May 11, 2024: I have thought many times that I should report the fraudulent activities of Lingo, but since they had stopped trying to take money from my bank account (i.e. they stopped trying to evade a block on my account) and since I was very busy, I let it go. Today, this filthy company had the gall to have a letter sent from a collection agency for $79.04!!! If anyone owes someone something, Lingo owes me for its unethical behavior and abuse of my time. I wrote what is below some time ago. Now is the time to let the world know of my experience.Written in summer, 2023: July 8, 2022, Lingo disconnected my landline with absolutely no warning whatsoever. The next month this company charged me $76.18 for service when I was completely disconnected and had no service. I had to dispute this charge with the bank. Lingo was blocked from my account. This company has put me through untold h*** trying to find a solution to having no telephone service with no prior notice. Now this company is charging me monthly ($4.05, $5.56, $5.59, starting February 2023) for a line which I never authorized them to install, and which provides no service whatsoever. Lingo changed its merchant ID number in order to get into my bank account again (the bank told me this) and it keeps changing the monthly amount by cents in order to evade a block on a specific monthly amount (the bank told me this too). I am disputing these charges with the bank. The bank told me that, if Lingo continues to try to charge my account, the bank will report Lingo for fraudulent activity. When I have communicated with Lingo, I have been told not to cancel with them until my phone number is ported to another carrier (a complex issue which I was never able to figure out). But I have had no service with them since July 8, 2022. They continue to charge me for NO SERVICE WHATSOEVER AND A LINE WHICH I NEVER AUTHORIZED THEM TO INSTALL. Now my bank has blocked them again. Perhaps they will change their merchant ID number yet another time in order to get into my bank account. ********************** has caused me to waste untold amounts of my time and it has scammed me. I received this message on August 7, 2023:On Mon, Aug 7, 2023 at 1:35PM ************* <*****************************************************************> wrote:Hello, Thank you for your response. Looking into the account, I do not see a request for cancellation as this account is currently active. If you would like to proceed with cancellation, this account is currently on contract from 06/07/2023 06/07/2024. If you wish to proceed with cancellation, an early termination fee of $199.75 will be applied to the final invoice. Please advise if we may be of further assistance. Thank you,This company, Lingo, put me under contract when I had no service with them and had not had service for almost a year! I consider Lingo to be a highly immoral company which should not be in business. In common terms, I consider Lingo to be nothing but a filthy, scamming, trash company. The world needs to know, and to boycott this company.

  Business response

  05/13/2024

  We have reviewed the account and see that this customer was affected by a loss of service that was beyond our control. We were forced to work quickly to have all affected customers set up with a remote call forward line to a temporary number until we could get their original line migrated off the platform that had dropped services. It does not appear that this customer's service was completed as it should have been. We sincerely apologize for that. We have issued a credit of $79.04 to clear the account charges and notified the outside agency so that the customer does not receive any further contact. 

  Customer response

  05/13/2024

  To the BBB:  I accept what Lingo is proposing to do, but it does not nullify all that has taken place up to this point in time.  The BBB needs to know about all of the attempts to get into my account as stated in my description (changing merchant number, changing the amount charged, etc.).  In addition, I firmly believe that, when Lingo terminated my service, it installed, OF ITS OWN VOLITION, an extra line in an attempt to hold me hostage as a customer, and to be able to try to charge me a "contract termination fee" when, in fact, Lingo terminated me on July 8, 2022, when it terminated my service.  This line did NOTHING WHATSOEVER FOR ME and I DID NOT REQUEST IT.  I believe this is a tactic on the part of Lingo to manipulate its customers and to get more money from them.  I accept this resolution, but I believe that Lingo is an extremely immoral company.

• Initial Complaint

  04/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I operated a medical practice called ************************ MD. I had telephone service for my office through Lingo. I retired on January 31, 2024 and transferred the telephone line to a different ******* ********* Womens Health, using Lingos transfer of ownership form. After that, I never received any bills because the account was transferred. I was then contacted and told the account was overdue. I paid the bill, but then noticed I paid January, February and March 2024. My business was closed as of January 31, 2024. When I realized my mistake I contacted Lingo and asked for a refund of the February and March payments. Lingo refused. They claimed that once I made payment I could not receive a refund even though they acknowledged the account was transferred out of my business name as of the end of January. I would like a refund of the February and March charges.

  Business response

  04/05/2024

  We have reviewed the account in question. This customer did originally request a transfer of assumption requesting the transfer of the service to a new owner. They then called back and requested to cancel that request as one of the lines would remain active. The customer then forwarded that number to the new owner's number. The new customer never requested to have the service moved to their new address so the account remained active with the line forwarded. There were no payments being made on the account. Once the account was submitted for a non-pay disconnect, we did begin receiving calls regarding the service not working. The payment on the account was made after the disconnect request was submitted so we are now in the process of reinstating the service and have agreed to waive the reinstate fee. We do apologize that the service was disconnected, however we did follow instructions on what was being requested. We were never notified to transfer the service to a new address. The payment information that is attached shows the customer information for the new customer we have on file now. Unfortunately, we would not be able to refund and monies as the amount posted here was due for the services. The old and new customer would need to resolve the issue amongst themselves, as Lingo processed orders as requested. Again, we apologize for the confusion related to the account but are working to reinstate the service for the new customer.

  Customer response

  04/05/2024

   
  Complaint: 21519634
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Lingos response admits they improperly received payment and wont refund it even though the new owner of the line is responsible for the bill and they have the new owners information and are capable of billing them. Lingo never explains why they cant refund the money they took from me, only that they wont refund it. This is a dishonest way to do business.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business response

  04/09/2024

  We apologize but we are not able to process a refund to the previous owner who made a payment on an account that no longer belonged to them. The customer will need to work with the new owner to resolve the issue.

  Customer response

  04/09/2024

   
  Complaint: 21519634
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  03/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Had been using this company since it bought the previous company. I never had a late payment. They lost my monthly payment in July 2023. Received a Suspension Notice 8/13/23. I called their number and spoke to an operator who was from an overseas office. I Received a Service Termination Notice on 9/2/2023 for termination on 9/11/23. I cancelled my local land line, so I did not need their services. I called again on 9/12/23 and explained everything to "******", who tried to tell me that my previous call was "dropped". It was not dropped, and I was very clear. Every month since then I have received a "Final Notice" stating "Lingo wishes to avoid denying and/or disconnecting the services provided to you" even though they terminated service of 9/11/23. Every month I have responded with this same information. After reading all of the other complaints listed on the BBB website, this appears to common.

  Business response

  03/21/2024

  We have reviewed the account and see that we did receive a partial payment on 7/06/23. A suspension letter was sent out on 8/13/23. We received a call from the customer on 8/25/23 stating that a payment was mailed for the amount due on 7/25/23 but that payment had not been received. The suspension was processed on 9/01/23. A letter advising of full disconnect without payment was sent on 9/02/23. We received a payment on 9/05/23 which closed out the collection activity on the account. The customer called us on 9/12/23 requesting to disconnect the account and that request was processed on 9/19/23. We received an additional partial payment on 10/03/23. I did not show that the account was credited back to the original date the customer requested to close the account on 9/12/23 so a credit of $10.35 has been added to the account. The customer is responsible for the remaining charges of $44.92 as they were charges incurred prior to his request to disconnect the service. If the customer can provide us with a copy of the front and back of the check that cleared their bank for the 7/25/23 payment, we will be happy to remove the balance on the account. That verification can be sent to ****************************************** for processing. 

  We apologize that the customer feels this way.  

  Customer response

  03/25/2024

  Lingo lost my payment mailed on 7/25/23, in the amount of $ 37.46.   I made my August payment on 8/27/23.  Then Lingo suspended my service, which I cancelled on 9/12/23.  I paid my pro-rated portion of the September payment on 9/28/24 which covered 9/7/23 to 9/12/23.

  Lingo is attempting to add the balance of their September invoice onto the payment that they lost.   Lingo provided no services since I terminated my land line on 9/14/24, and *******'s billing also ended that day. 

  Lingo's statement about providing copies of the front and the back of the lost check makes no sense.  They lost it, so it was not returned to my bank.

  The stop payment fee for the check is $ 30.00.  If Lingo wishes to credit that amount, I will pay the $ 7.46 balance to end this matter.

   

   
  

  Business response

  03/25/2024

  We will be more than happy to credit the account for the disputed amount, but since we have not received the payment, nor has the customer provided any confirmation that we have deducted that amount from his bank account, we are not able to remove the disputed amount. If we receive confirmation that we withdrew that amount from the customer's account via a copy of the front and back of the check, we will gladly remove the disputed amount. I apologize that this is an inconvenience, but at this time we have nothing to show that we have received the disputed payment or that it was taken from the customer's account. We cannot issue a credit for a stop payment. 

  Customer response

  03/25/2024

   
  Complaint: 21462300
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  02/12/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Our phone line was disconnected by Lingo without any warning we had not paid our bill. No one called. No one emailed. Just turned our line off. We immediately contacted the company and paid the unpaid balance and were told our phone line would be turned on in 72 hours. It has now been over that time and our business line is still disconnected with no communication from Lingo on when it will be reinstated. We are losing revenue because people can not call us in orders. And our customers are concerned our line has been disconnected. This is extremely frustrating and has not been dealt with professionally in any sense from Lingo

  Business response

  02/15/2024

  Our apologies for the delayed response. We have been working to restore service to the lines that were not working. We have confirmed with the customer this morning that the service is now working. 

  We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. We have issued a credit of $72.03 for the time without service. 

  Customer response

  07/30/2024

   
  Complaint: 21279199
  
  I am rejecting this response because:In February Lingo cut off our business phone line because of missed invoices. We weren't getting them in the mail from **** because of their issues as a mail carrier. We never even received an email or phone call to warn us of the issue, even though they had that on file. One day they just cut it off. It stayed off for OVER a week and we lost business as a result. From that experience I decided to switch phone carriers. I called in advance to understand what I needed to do to finalize our cancellation process. A customer service rep said, "Oh just call us when you're ready to cancel and you'll just have to pay for past months' services rendered until your cancellation date." We did that but now they've told us we have to pay for our phone service for THREE MORE MONTHS - even though we don't use the lines (we ported 2 to our new carrier). They admitted an issue on THEIR end but somehow we're still being held responsible to pay until they get their internal issues sorted. How is this legal or ethical business practice?
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Business response

  08/07/2024

  We have reviewed the two lines in question and see that the disconnect was not completed for those two lines. We have corrected the issue and backdated the billing. The 8/17/24 invoice will clear the balance. We apologize for the inconvenience. 

  Customer response

  08/07/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me under the following conditions:

  Lingo admits their error in the final termination / disconnection process and ensures we're not charged for their error and any previous billing will be addressed as it relates to that error.

  I'd expect to see a credit in August for erroneous billing when we called to cancel our service in June. If not, I'd expect to see language stipulating the reasons why we continue to pay for a line we terminated.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  01/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Dec. 13, 2023 our business phone line stopped working correctly...we decided to go to VOIP with a different company. They assured us that it was no problem to port our current phone numbers over and we would be working again in a few days. We have been without our phone since then...it's Jan. 5th, ****. We are a small business and we are LOSING business because Lingo Communications will not allow our numbers to be ported out. When I call them, they say there is NOTHING wrong, our lines are not disconnected and there is no issue. The new company gets a rejection stating our lines have been disconnected and our account is not active. (yet I've paid the ***** This has happened 5 times. Lingo is not communicating with us or helping us figure out what is wrong. We have called multiple times and left messages and emails to please contact us and have heard NOTHING back from them. They say it's the new company's fault and they can port any numbers they want. Yet we continue to get rejections. This is absolutely unacceptable.

  Business response

  01/08/2024

  We have reviewed and show no reason why a new carrier should not be able to process a port out request. We have no pending orders open on the numbers in question and the account here is active. All of the billing information provided on the order must match what is on the account here or the order will reject. We are sending the customer a document directly to her email that she can provide to her new carrier to have them dispute the port request rejection through AT&T. The order itself is sent to AT&T for processing. 

  Customer response

  01/12/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  BUT...it should have NEVER taken this long and having to report this company....they literally held our phone numbers hostage for 5 weeks.  We are a small business and lost business because of their negligence.  Unacceptable and I would NEVER recommend this company to anyone.  I do appreciate your help.  Thank you
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Customer response

  03/05/2024

  Our phone lines were finally released from Lingo Communications on Jan. 12, 2024.(after 5 wks of them not releasing to the new carrier and our business had ZERO phone service) I had paid my bill with them thru Jan. 16, 2024. I just received another bill for a full amount for services AFTER their services were discontinued. This place is the biggest scam I have seen lately. I will not pay for services I never used.

  Business response

  03/06/2024

  We are happy to hear that you were finally able to work with the new carrier and AT&T to resolve your porting issue. The losing carrier regardless of who that *** be cannot hold a line, so the responsibility lies with the communication between the new carrier and the carrier responsible for the physical changes in that area.  The account here was back dated once we received confirmation of the date the customers service was ported away, however it did leave a small balance. We have applied a credit to bring the account to a $0.00 balance. We are sorry to lose you as a customer but happy that you were able to get your issue resolved. 

• Initial Complaint

  12/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In early November 2023 I contacted the company after once again having problems with our phone service. Specifically, the service would come and go and when we did have service there was so much static that you couldnt hear or be heard. The phone was unable to be used at all. This issue was not corrected until the end of November. I specifically asked when I made the report and the repair made for a credit to be applied for the lack of phone service. I was told it would be applied once repaired but it was not. When I called in late December, I was informed that because there was a dial tone that they would not give me credit even if the phone service was not usable. I explained multiple times that the phone service was unable to be used due to the incredible static but it did not matter. Because the credit was not applied and a new bill sent, my service was suspended. I had to pay for ***************** which I did not technically receive and a reconnect fee. I requested a waiver of the reconnect fee but to cover that they gave me credit for a phone issue in August-September. This is really unacceptable and I would like credit for the time in November when my service was unable to be used.

  Business response

  12/28/2023

  We have reviewed and did not see that this customer received the promised credit for their loss of service in November. We have applied a credit of $78.25 for the time the customer was without service for the month of November.

  We apologize for the issues experienced and the credit not being applied previously. 

  Customer response

  12/28/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ********************************************

• Initial Complaint

  12/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  10/30/2023 I called to have my service plan changed on my phone line. The service rep said that I could go to a Phone # for Life plan because she could not reduce my fees for the current plan that was getting to be to expensive. The only document I signed was to give authorization to change the plan. There was NO mention of a "charge" to have the plan changed from the existing "gold line plan" to the "phone # for life" plan that would be $27.99 plus tax. Document was signed & received by CSR 10/30/23 at 11:19am. Nov 7, 2023, new bill for $83.59 was issued for the "Gold Line". **** clearly shows Start date of 11/07 to 12/06. I did not pay this bill because I was expecting a credit to be applied to my acct for not using this plan anymore. 12/07 bill was issued; $83.59 as past due, with the new "phone for life" service plan for start date 12/07 to 01/06/24 for $27.99. But then there is a non-reoccuring charge for $29.58 for state date of 11/07-12/06 for $29.58 for "phone # for life". This is a double charge; once from the Nov 7th billing for$83.59 and now again on Dec 7th billing. When I call Lingo they say they don't make us pre-pay that the charges each month are for the prior month usage. That is not correct based on the "start & end" dates they have on the billing. But with their theory, how can I then be charged for two different service plans for the prior month then? Then the agent said that the $29.58 is the charge for changing my plan. Again, that wasn't stated when I change the plan that I would be charged for doing so. This is a CROOKED company. I have to pay it otherwise they will send it to collections that would affect my credit score if I refuse to pay.

  Business response

  12/26/2023

  We have reviewed and show the customer did request their plan change on 10/30/23, however it does take 5-7 business days to complete the change. The change took effect on 11/08/23 which was the day after the account billing cycle. That is why the old plan charges appeared on the November invoice. The December invoice applied the new plan charges and prorated back to the 11/07/23 billing date. We have issued a credit of $75.24 for the old plan charges that appeared on the November invoice as the customer has charges for both billing periods on the December invoice with the new plan. 

  We apologize for the inconvenience. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩