morose code

I was going to have New Years Eve dinner with my parents on Friday, so I decided to leave work early so I could cancel my Sympatico account and drop off the modem at the Bell store at STC.

The funny thing about that was, even though you can go to the store to pick up the modem and begin service, you can't just swing by there and cancel it. I was told that I would have to call their phone number and cancel it that way. "But," I said, "I'm here right now and I have the modem. I can't just cancel it here? I have to call?"

I was told that, yes, this was the case. The woman called the number for me in the store, but she warned me that, because it was 5:15, there probably wouldn't be anyone there. There wasn't. I thanked her for her help and left.

Today I called the number she gave me and navigated Bell's automated phone system. Reaching the end, I was informed by recorded voice that canceling my Sympatico account can only be done Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, not at noon on a weekend.

I decided to check out their website to see if I could cancel that way and drop off my modem next week sometime. I didn't realize that when I moved out at the start of December that my parents would immediately unplug the modem and not use it for the rest of the month, so I wanted to get this dealt with before January rolled around and I ended up paying for two months of internet no one was using.

On their website I discovered an interesting fact:

To cancel your account, call Sympatico Member Services (310-SURF) and ask to have your account closed. Your account will be cancelled 30 days from the date you called. If you wish to cancel any other Sympatico services associated with, or charged to, your Sympatico account, they'll also be cancelled 30 days from the date you called. You will receive a final paper bill (or a revised final bill) via Canada Post.

So not only do I have to call on Monday, my day off, and hope that there's someone there, but I will in fact end up having to pay for January service after all.