Is there any reason why a free email address from Yahoo-Hotmail-Google wouldn't serve the same purpose...at least for the purposes of testing? If such an address is troublesome for other reasons...you don't have to use it. Just check it occasionally and delete the junk.

I too live in rural America with limited resources so though I do not have your concern I do understand it.

Having never heard of TDS I assume it is a regional/local provider. If my assumption is correct they most likely have limited resources,both financial and as to equipment, so they will enact a lot of conservative policies to maintain maximum bandwidth. Available bandwidth is simply the bottom line to customer satisfaction. These policies will seem far fetched, but tend to be in response to causes created by users, and reported to the provider or by information shared within the industry.

I agree with AZ that the most convenient and direct way to resolve your frustration is to utilize an on-line client.

DA

My problem: TDS does not allow me to email anything to myself. I have three different mailboxes and they can't email to each other.
Would it work if you set up a junk mail email addy, maybe with Hotmail, and then send the 'stuff' to Hotmail and bcc (blind carbon copy) the stuff to the addy you want it to 'really' go to?

Maybe I am not understanding you.

Sue...just thinking out load.

I never use the email addresses provided by the ISP, never have, I use hotmail and a few other free web based email clients that way no matter where I am I can get to my email.
I am with comcast now and I have checked those email accounts I think 2 times in the past year or so, have never used them for anything.
I really like the free gmx.com email they are constantly adding new features and updating it to make it better and I do not get any spam. And it is so easy to add all your other email addresses there so it fetches all your mail to that one location.
GMX Mail

The ISP provided email addresses can be a pain when you change ISP's. I use gmail and hotmail. That way when you change ISP's you can keep the same email addresses.

Thanks for the responses and suggestions. I am told I will not have another ISP in my lifetime because no other provider will come to my area since it is so rural. After I established an acouunt with Yahoo (I really don't like the clutter and advertising that comes with the mail) it occurred to me that all I ever had to do was check the archives. Duh! I have always been able to go to my ISP's site and read my mail there, so vacations aren't a problem.
Nancy

fwiw, TDS email IS G-mail, at least in my area (also the only provider in the area). They switched well over a year ago I have absolutely NO problem emailing from 1 account to another.

Have you discussed this with their customer support? It sounds more like a g-mail issue than a TDS issue.

The problem is ALWAYS TDS! I did get a fourth account, this time with Yahoo, and I can send mail from TDS to Yahoo.

Another example of the lousy service from an ISP when they know they don't have any competition so they don't care what the customer thinks of them: I got my monthly email that my TDS bill was available on line and ready for payment. My payment is taken automatically from my bank so I really don't need to do anything when this alert is sent. I do look at the itemized bill that is for my home phone, my DISH and my DSL service. From the time I moved here and established phone service with TDS, I specifically did not take long distance service. Almost all my LOCAL friends are considered long distance from my TDS home phone, so I use an MCI pre-paid long distance card that costs less than 3 cents a minute. There should NEVER be a long distance fee charged to me by TDS. So--this month I have a $5 and change fee listed as long distance. I immediately called customer service and eventually reached a rep who found the problem. The story I was told was that once in a while a lot of customers who don't have long distance service DO get charged. They said that since I had called to complain they would apply a credit against my next month bill. Duh----Apparently, even though TDS knows they have said "glitch" that charges unnecessary long distance fees, they don't bother to audit their records and automatically fix the problem. My invalid fee will be addressed only because I caught the "error" ?????!!!!!! I wonder how many unsuspecting customers just pay the fee without noticing it. I have automatic withdrawal for their fees and if I trusted TDS I would not have taken the time to log on to my account and find my itemized bill! My cell phone reception, first with AT&T and now with Verizon, often drops calls at my house so I feel I have to have a land line with TDS for security reasons. Also, their DSL is the only way I can get high speed internet except for maybe Hughes Net, which I am told is not a good company either.
Nancy

I wonder how many unsuspecting customers just pay the fee without noticing it.

Probably lots. I seem to recall that Verizon had similar incident not too long ago.

Your best bet is to file a complaint with the FCC and folks in your state who regulate public utilities.

Has anyone called the customer service folks (of any company) and been told by the representative that they're having computer problems or their computer is a little slow today?

Yet the billing department's computers always seem to work. Have you ever gotten a notice saying that the billing computers were down so we'll be sending you a bill next month? Even more fascinating is that when the billing computers make a mistake, it always seems to be in favor of the company... Anybody ever get a credit card bill where the company "forgot" to charge you interest? ;-)

Good one Mike! I suspect that if the billing system goes down, it's an 'all hands on deck' situation until it's repaired.