text: CenturyLink is the epitome of the kind of company I avoid giving my business.  \n\nI signed up for CenturyLink prism and internet for a promotional price in exchange for agreeing to a 1 year contract.  It wasn't until installation they told me that I would not be able to get more than 1 HD station at a time because of my location.  This was after I made a 1 year commitment.  \n\nThe internet was very flakey.  Over the 1 year I spent as a customer, the internet went down on average about once a month.  Almost every time I called there was an automated message informing me that my area was being upgraded and I should expect internet outages.  Do they really expect me to believe they did major upgrades that many times in a single year, and really they just can't keep their network from crumbling on a monthly basis?  The one time my internet was down and it wasn't because of \"upgrades\", the problem turned out one of their installers unplugged me at the central box while installing another customer.  They did not offer me a credit or any other compensation for my outage caused by their tech.\n\nOver my 1 year contract, the price the sales person guaranteed me during the sale only lasted a few months before I started seeing small increases.  Every month or two it seemed my bill would go up by a small amount, and by the end of the year my bill was a good 20% more than the promised price.\n\nAt the end of my 1 year, I cancelled my service.  I paid a pro-rated bill for my last month and was happy I was done with this horrible company for good.  \n\nNOT SO FAST!!\n\nI received a bill in the mail for 17.32 for a \"service order charge\".  I called to inquire and was told that it was because they had to send a tech to their central box to turn off my service.  I'm not sure why I have to pay for that, and I doubt it is actually true.  I asked the service representative if such a charge is approved with the public utilities commission.  She said that it is, but I think i'm going to contact them anyway to make sure before I pay the bill.  They really have the nerve to charge me $17.32 to turn off my service?!?!?! I guess they know how bad their service is, and that customers that leave are never coming back.