Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  01/29/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Early Termination fee for $400.00.with com pany over 15 years. I haven't had phone service due to hurricane ***** for 4 mounts. Phone lines were down,here in ***********payments were up to date.

  Business response

  01/30/2025

  We have reviewed and due to the long-standing loyalty of this customer we have credited the *** fee. The account has a small credit balance that will be submitted for refund within the next two weeks. We apologize for any inconvenience.

  Customer response

  01/30/2025

   
  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

  12/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My Mom and Dad cancelled their Lingo telephone service in July 2024. Lingo was going to charge a $400 cancellation fee but the company waived the fee because I sent them a death certificate for my Dad who was the account holder. My mom paid $69.60 for service in July. The service was shut off on July 8, 2024. On the last bill, it shows a credit of $47.70 for July 9, 2024 - July 31, 2024. When i asked the company for the refund, they said it went toward the cancellation fee. However, I was already told that the fee was waived. They have stopped answering my emails about the matter.

  Business response

  12/10/2024

  We have reviewed the account and confirmed the customer was advised the *** fee would be waived. The account prorated back to 7/09/24 so when the credit for the *** was applied the agent credited the account back to a $0 balance instead of the full *** amount. We have applied a credit of $47.70 and will submit this amount for refund within the next two weeks. We apologize for the confusion and the inconvenience. 

  Customer response

  12/12/2024

   
  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

  11/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Predatory practice taking advantage of elderly individuals living in rural community with little/no access to land-line communication services. My parents lived in a rural area where cell phones dont work. As land line companies stopped serving their area they turned to Lingo whose service is hit and miss plus charged a high fee for their service. Through the years, they dealt with the price and the outages. However, Lingo had a service outage that affected Dad from late August to second week of October 2024. Every time called, would be informed would be back up at this date or that date which would pass with no service. Dad paid for August and ***************** of which he only received part of August. Now he cancelled service, Lingo sent him a default early termination bill of $265.10. Lingo informed us contracts are automatically renewed and theirs was renewed in September when Lingo was unable to provide service. My parents were customers for years and no one informed them of such. This is a company who takes advantage of elderly customers on limited incomes with very few companies in rural communities to provide needed services. My father is scared because of their tactics and doesnt understand. Two warning letters in two weeks. We have tried discussing with Lingo and are at a loss.

  Business response

  11/05/2024

  We have reviewed the account and see that this customer was affected by an outage with the ***** Bell carrier in their area that affected multiple customers. We do apologize that it took them so long to clear the outage. We do value all customers and work diligently to ensure our customers do have working service. Since we are a reseller, we are at times at the mercy of the Bell carriers in any given city. That was this case with this customer. The customer has already been credited for the time without service. We have issued a courtesy credit for the Early Termination fee due to the length of time the customer was with us. This has created a credit balance that will be refunded to the customer in the next 30 days. If the refund is not received within that timeframe they will need to contact our customer service department to advise. Again, we apologize that we were not able to resolve the issue prior to the customer leaving.   

  Customer response

  11/09/2024

  I accept their response once we see if they follow through on sending refund and remove the termination fee.

• Initial Complaint

  11/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My Moms phone service has been out for over a month. Lingo has been contacted several times and state the phone service has been fixed. Lingo has been told on several occasions the phone service is still not working. Lingo has never been out to her home. My Mother is 70 years old and has no way of dialing 911 or contacting her children if something was to happen.

  Business response

  11/05/2024

  Per our response to the customer's previous complaint the line is part of an outage with the Bell carrier in that area. We did make multiple attempts on 10/31 and 11/01/24 to reach this customer on their last open ticket to confirm if the service was restored on 10/31/24 as we were told it would be. We were never able to reach the customer via the contact number provided nor has anyone called back to let us know the service is still not working. Someone will need to call in for us to get a new ticket opened and provide a valid contact number so that we are able to communicate regarding the repair of the service. We are working diligently to ensure this service is restored, but we cannot be successful in that endeavor if we have no way to reach the customer and no one is updating us as to the status. Please have the customer call into **************** to have a new ticket opened. 

  Customer response

  11/05/2024

  ************* was restored today 11/5/24. No other complaints as long as service is restored in a timely manner. Thank you 

• Initial Complaint

  10/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Acct info: **** ******* Phone number ************ My mother's phone service has been out the entire month of October. It has been reported several times- Oct 3 and Oct 14 by me alone. The give an expected time frame but the service has not been fixed. This is the second time they have had issues with this company. Can they please get service back and a refund for October since they had no service.Lingo ***********************************

  Business response

  10/31/2024

  This customer is part of a cable failure with AT&T that is affecting multiple customers. We apologize for the inconvenience, but the resolution is beyond our control and is being escalated. We were previously advised by them that the issue was resolved, and we issued a credit to the account on 10/24/24 for the down time. The customer called back that same day to report the issue was ongoing and a new ticket was opened. We did escalate again and have been advised that the issue was to be resolved today 10/31/24. We have attempted to reach the customer earlier today to confirm if the service has been restored but have not been able to reach them yet. That ticket is on hold awaiting a response from the customer. Once that ticket is closed, we will apply additional credit to the account. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and are working diligently to have the service restored.

  Customer response

  10/31/2024

   
  Complaint: 22491876
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The phone service has not been restored.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *******

• Initial Complaint

  10/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I HAVE CALLED MULTIPLE TIMES, WROTE WHO I SPOKE TO & EMAILED ABOUT A BUSINESS PHONE SERVICE THAT DOES NOT WORK AT ALL. I WAS HOPING AND ASKED IF THE CAN AT LEAST FORWARD MY BUSINESS NUMBER TO MY CELL & NO ONE HAS BOTHERED TO CALL ME, LEAVE A MESSAGE OR SEND AN EMAIL OR EVEN SEND ANY CORRESPONDENCE BY MAIL. I HAVEN'T HAD A DIAL TONE IN ALMOST A YEAR , BUT THEY KEEP CHARGING ME FOR MONTHLY SERVICE. I WILL SEEK CHANGING TO ANOTHER COMPANY IMMEDIATELY AFTER MONTHS OF TRYING, BUT DESERVE TO HAVE SOMEONE CONTACT ********* SHOULD CREDIT ME FOR ALMOST A YEAR OF NO SERVICE. YOU ARE WELCOME TO CALL OUR BUSINESS NUMBER AND SEE WHAT YOU GET **************. OUR BUSINESS NAME IS *****************

  Business response

  10/09/2024

  We have reviewed and show this line was moved to AT&T on 7/15/24. Lingo no longer services that line. I do not see that we received any notification that the line was moved when this took place, so the line remained active on the account here. We have submitted an order to close the account here and backdate charges to 7/15/24. Once that order completes and the backdating is applied, it will create a credit balance on the account that will be refunded to the customer. Please contact AT&T for any updates or changes needed for that line

  We apologize for the inconvenience. 

  Customer response

  10/09/2024

   
  Complaint: 22393184
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  I have not had a working line since at least April of 2024, but I have been notifying Lingo since May, that I do not have a working number.  The 23rd of May I called Lingo & gave a formal complaint to *****, letting Lingo know that I did not have a dial tone.  He gave me a ticket no. 00301765.  I pleaded to please at least forward this business number to my cell phone, so I didn't miss more calls while you figured out the problem.  After a month of NO response to the issue from anyone at Lingo, which for a business is negligent, I called again on June 24th & spoke to *******, which she said this issue was being given to management.  Again, I asked to please call forward the number to my cell, as I kept loosing business calls & again zero response to my issue.  I later emailed & no answer for the 3rd time. Yesterday I emailed again & let them know I was going to switch to a new provider & finally someone wrote back & said after opening I opened an account in AT&T, that my business number which we have had for more than 20 years was ported away in June. In the meantime, they have kept billing me every single month with no one taking care of me at all.  How can you loose someone's very important decades old business phone number for a service they have been paying regularly with you since 2019? I have to say this is negligent & I hope I can recover my business number, but in the meantime you need to refund my account all the way to my first call with no service in May 23rd 2024, not July. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ********

  Business response

  10/10/2024

  We did review the account again. We did not receive any previous notification to close the account, however the account is noted that the customer contacted us on 5/23/24 to state the service was not working. I do not see that we were able to resolve the issue prior to the customer porting out in July. We have applied an additional credit of $299.34 for the charges from May to July. The account will backdate and apply the remaining credits on the 11/03/24 invoice at which time a refund will be issued to the address listed on the account. If this is not the correct address for refund the customer will need to contact us to provide the correct address prior to 11/03/24.

  We apologize for the inconvenience.

  Customer response

  10/10/2024

   
  Complaint: 22393184
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I never cancelled my account with **********************, because I never opened a new phone account elsewhere, I kept waiting for Lingo to resolve the issue, so I did not port my number to anywhere in July, which is why I was still paying Lingo for it's service. If my number got ported in July, maybe it's because you guys stopped paying for it, I don't know, but I am very upset about this & you're acting like all you need to do is credit my account because you stopped servicing my account for many months of no service, while you automatically withheld the funds from my credit card. YOU MAY HAVE LOST MY BUSINESS NUMBER WHICH WE HAVE HAD FOR OVER 30 YEARS & LINGO may be responsible for that. 

  I first sent an email to customer care on May 12th, which I have a copy, when it was not answered, I called in on May 23rd, then called again called on June 24th & sent another email to customer care on August 7th & the last one on October 7th, which is the only time your company bothered to respond, first time in months!! 

  Two days ago I contacted AT&T to see if they have access to my established business number & I haven't heard back about that yet. I hope they are able to retrieve my 30+ year old business number & if not, I might have to I have to seek legal council for negligence.

  Yes do send me a refund for all the time I have no service & which I have paid faithfully every month.  I first sent an email on May 12th, so that should be the first date.  How can you let a client's phone number that they are paying get ported without written authorization or in the least a notice to it's owner, which has had it for more than 3 decades? Do you think your company is not responsible for loosing my number? Please respond to this, it's not just a credit for no service.

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

  Business response

  10/18/2024

  We have located a decommission letter that was sent to this customer in May 2023 advising that underlying network Lingo currently utilized to provide services would no longer be available after June 9, 2023, since it requires the use of outdated remote terminal facilities and would no longer be supported as there is no replacement equipment available. The letter advised to choose another provider prior to 6/09/23 or they would lose service. The customer did not complete this task, so they did lose service on that line. However, the account here was not closed either so the customer continued to be billed for that line and continued to pay the charges. We have recalculated the credit amounts to credit back to 6/09/23. The manual piece of these credits has been applied, but there is also a system generated credit that will apply once the 11/03/24 invoice is generated. Once this invoice generates, we will request a refund be sent to the address on file. If this is not the correct address for the refund the customer will need to call into our service department to provide the correct address. We apologize for the confusion and that this account was not closed out when the decomission deadline was passed. 

• 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.

*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. ↩