Canadian woman in tech support hostage drama

Yahoo UK News ^ | September 4, 2008 | Iain Thom

[Schnucki]

A Canadian actress and playwright has been charged with holding a technical support member hostage after losing her internet connection.

Carol Sinclair lost her connection with ISP Aliant and, by her own account, spent days trying to get the line fixed.

"I was polite the first 20 times I talked to them. But each one gave me the same routine: 'Is the modem connected? Are the lights blipping?'," she told The Globe and Mail.

"And then each one would say: 'It should be working. The problem must be with your computer.' I was a little stressed. I had six days to do a month's work."

Finally Sinclair said she resorted to impersonating a man's voice and got a repairman sent out the next day, a "huge, strapping young man", 21 year-old David Scott.

Sinclair said that when he couldn't fix the problem she asked him to stay until a second technician was sent.

However, local police disagree with the woman's version of the events.

[itsthejourney]

I, uh, cough, believe her. If she’d had a gun, she’d have unloaded it into the very bad computer.

[gilor]

Some people should not be allowed near computers.

[beezdotcom]

Poorly written story - you have to know that Aliant is a Canadian ISP to be completely sure this story takes place in Canada, and doesn't just involve a Canadian living somewhere else.

Meanwhile, I think she should be found 'guilty' and then sentenced to "time served under her ISP's tech support". I'm sure she was getting the standard "Tier 1 Two-Step", and sometimes I think threat of gunplay is all that gets you to Tier 2.

[cyberslave]

Some guys get all the good calls!

Is it possible to post her bail?

[null and void]

Who among us hasn't at least been tempted to do something like this after an experience with tech-no-support?

(Maybe Aliant needs to change their name to Assailant?...)

[null and void]

...or Alibi-ant...

[red irish]

I get frustrated myself with our computers. Right now I can only run a video for about two minutes before it starts making noises like something from the movie of the Exorcist. A friend did something to it last time but right now we don't have the funds to put it in the shop,so we put up with it. There are so many great videos out there and I hate that I can't watch them. We have a virus protection called Dr. Webb and firefox. Nothing ever comes up after running the virus program. Any assistance would be very welcomed!!!!

[rawhide]

Carol Sinclair

[Shery]

We’ve been without internet for 4 months now and Deutsche Telekom is NOT helpful. They don’t do house calls to check on things. We paid someone to look at our computer/modem/airport, etc., which are all working fine. Still no internet, but Telekom says it is not their problem.

[wbill]

People get crazy when their computer won't work. I've never been threatened with physical harm before, though.

I don't blame this guy for leaving, or the company for cutting her off. Not all business is good business.

[wbill]

guilty.

[KarlInOhio]

Meanwhile, I think she should be found 'guilty' and then sentenced to "time served under her ISP's tech support". I'm sure she was getting the standard "Tier 1 Two-Step", and sometimes I think threat of gunplay is all that gets you to Tier 2.

I've gotten pretty good with AT&T in knowing ahead of time what they will want me to do and how they will try to blame it on me. I have multiple computers so they can't blame the computer when they all fail at once. I also know to hook one computer directly to the modem before I call so they can't blame my router. Then I pull the big bomb out... I also moved my modem to my network interface box and it didn't work there either. I say the magic words "network interface box" and they know that I know what I'm doing and they've run out of ways to blame me. I get put through to the line department right away and talk to someone in the US for some work.