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'NicG' Thank you for contacting EarthLink LiveChat. How may I help you today?
lornamatic@earthlink.net: How do I cancel my DSL account?
'NicG' I can assist you with canceling your account. For security verification purposes I will need the last four digits of the credit card or bank account that you are paying the account with and, if you don't mind, a reason why you are leaving us today.
lornamatic@earthlink.net: ok, great
lornamatic@earthlink.net: I'm moving, so I don't need dsl access anymore =)
'NicG' I currently show your account is in the midst of your one year contract for DSL service. If you choose to cancel today, you will be charged an early termination fee of $149.95.
lornamatic@earthlink.net: is there any way to waive that?
lornamatic@earthlink.net: I'm kind of stuck
lornamatic@earthlink.net: I would definitely consider using earthlink again
'NicG' No, the early termination fee cannot be waived as this is a fee that Earthlink has to pay. If you move your DSL service to your new location we can adjust the fee to only $99 when it is reconnected, but that is the most we can do.
lornamatic@earthlink.net: hmm, ok, then I guess I won't consider using earthlink again
lornamatic@earthlink.net: you can go ahead and cancel the account...
lornamatic@earthlink.net: how much is the cost per month?
'NicG' You wont consider using EarthLink again because of a fee that you agreed to when you started the service? We would like to be able to waive the fee for you but it's not possible for any company to stay in business if they do not charge necessary fees.
'NicG' DSL is $49.95 a month. This is the standard price for DSL service.
lornamatic@earthlink.net: yes, I think it's really excessive, and I understand your position, but there are other companies I have heard good things about
lornamatic@earthlink.net: so I would rather go with someone who doesn't lock me into a contract and charge high fees if I leave
'NicG' All broadband providers have a contract.
lornamatic@earthlink.net: and I have more than 3 months left on the one year contract, so it probably makes more sense to cancel
'NicG' You agree to the contract upon signing up.
lornamatic@earthlink.net: right, so please cancel the account and charge me the $149 fee
lornamatic@earthlink.net: but I won't recommend earthlink
'NicG' If you are considering DSL service again then you should consider reconnecting with Earthlink to get the $50 off of the term fee.
lornamatic@earthlink.net: but it's still a $99 charge?
'NicG' You do not have to recommend Earthlink, but in not doing so you would only be doing your friends a disservice.
'NicG' Yes, there is still a fee, we are kind enough to take $50 off if you reconnect your service.
lornamatic@earthlink.net: ok, would you be kind enough to cancel the service outright?
'NicG' A company cannot stay in business if they waive fees simply because the members dont wish to pay the fee.
lornamatic@earthlink.net: right, I don't really want to argue with you about the benefits of a capitalist society
lornamatic@earthlink.net: I just want to cancel my DSL
'NicG' Ok, I have set the account to close at the end of this billing cycle for you. Was there anything else I could help with today?
lornamatic@earthlink.net: thanks, that's all I wanted
lornamatic@earthlink.net: I've been trying to cancel this for a while
lornamatic@earthlink.net: I spent over an hour on hold the other day
'NicG' You are welcome.
'NicG' Good day.
lornamatic@earthlink.net: back atcha

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posted by Lorna Brown at 2:28 PM

Apartment pictures!

For some reason, in LA, it's very uncommon for rental apartments to include a refrigerator. In fact, of all the apartments I looked at, only one included a personal comestibles refrigeration unit.

[That apartment was beautiful, and it also shared a common courtyard with the new Calvin Klein underwear model (read: sunning deck), But, after spending several minutes talking to the landlady, I began to get the impression that she wasn't the type of person I wanted to get into a legally binding contract with. As Mike put it, if you forgot to water one of her many exotic plants, it would probably appear on your credit report.]

At any rate, I asked my new building manager (who has to be the nicest landlord ever, of all times) about this strange So-Cal phenomenon. His explanation: So many tenants were showing up with their own refrigerators, that the building managers had to keep removing the ones in the apartment, and eventually just stopped providing them altogether. Either there is some chicken / egg thing happening here, or LA really is the strangest place on earth.

I guess it could be both.

posted by Lorna Brown at 10:08 PM