Business ProfileforAllstream

We have tried to work directly with Allstream regarding their exorbitant increase in monthly fees. As a loyal customer of ******************** from the time of our initial service agreement on 02/17/2017, we appreciated the ********************* of services. However, the billing changes dating back to May 2023 left us questioning the integrity of their business practices. We were shocked to discover the 300% surge. While Allstream states we were provided "proper 30-day notice of rate increases" on our April bill, the notice did not stand out & blended into the other promotional information listed on the invoice. For an increase of this magnitude, we would have expected a separate written notice or email notification at the very least. Since we had trusted the *********************** of billing, we had set the account up on auto bill pay as the bills had been a consistent amount since our initial term. As soon as we became aware of the exploitative & dramatic increase, we secured services through another vendor & provided notification of intent to to disconnect services on 11/07/2023, well within the termination guidelines listed in the master service agreement.The final demand we received dated 03/01/2024 for payment of a delinquent balance in the amount of $1,942.43 is unreasonable & unethical given the inflated amounts we paid, without pushback, for services following the May 2023 rate increase. As soon as Allstream received our notification of intent to disconnect services, our IP Access Charge increased by an additional 150%, *** by an additional 250%, SIP by an additional 150%, EIP DID Block by an additional 150%, Network ************* by an additional 90%.The initial fee increases were not adequately communicated, nor were the subsequent increases assessed in January. These fee surges resulted in an consequential increase to our monthly operational fees and created a substantial financial burden.