Verizon

I have been a Verizon Wireless customer for about a year. At the time I switched to Verizon I was between jobs and could not afford the smartphone I really wanted, so I got a basic feature phone. My assumption was that when I wanted to upgrade to a phone requiring a data plan, generating lots more revenue for them, Verizon would do everything they could to make it convenient for me.

Not!

Only after I am 20 months into my two-year agreement do I become, in Verizon’s words, “eligible to upgrade with an additional loyalty discount.” Until then I can upgrade at full price. By “loyalty discount” they mean the price anyone who is not already a loyal Verizon customer could get by signing up for a new two-year agreement. And by “full price” they mean the exorbitant full retail price that nobody but the very rich or very desperate actually pays.

For example today, as an existing Verizon customer I could purchase an iPhone 4S for $650. If I were not already a loyal Verizon customer that same phone would cost me just $200. Yes, because I've already chosen to be their customer I get to pay more than three times as much for a new phone!

I have contacted Verizon several times about this, including three letters to CEO Ivan G. Seidenberg. I have made it clear that I am willing to extend my current agreement for an additional two years beyond the end of my current agreement, that I will sign up for a calling plan that would immediately start earning them an additional $50 a month, and that if they won’t bend on their policy they will definitely lose me as a customer when my current agreement ends.

Verizon's response is a consistent and firm "No". Their attitude is, “We already have you locked in to a contract. We don't have to give you good service.”

Apparently nobody at Verizon knows the old marketing truism that it is infinitely easier and less expensive to keep a current customer than it is to gain a new one. They in fact seem to be doing the exact opposite ... throwing time, energy, money and special offers at potential new customers while at the same time angering an existing customer - who actually wants to spend more money with them - to the point of losing him.

We had Verizon upgrade our internet service to Fios 4 months ago. Since then the service is down between 1 and 3 days a month. Customer service stinks. Finally, we got so tired of the endless hours spent on the phone with them (plus going elsewhere for critical internet connections) that we asked for a credit for all the down time (not to mention OUR time and gas). NO DEAL! "Sorry, sir, we can't give a credit for any time down less than 24 hours." Nor for the multiple days down either, it appears. LIARS!
The only responsive people at this outfit are in the sales department. Otherwise, it's wait on hold, no consideration for all your lost time and service (did I mention we've gone through 2 boxes - in 4 MONTHS!).
Verizon stinks. Don't get trapped. Go somewhere else. We're about to dump this oversold albatross.

The service advertized and being recieve are totally out of wack. I can go to a coofee shop up the street with my lap top and get faster internet download speed free, than having to pay for quote "high speed internet service" here at my home. Trying to get a hold of Verizon to have this problem looked at is another story in its self. Have to get someone in the philippines to set up an appointment just to look at your system. Would reall like to have someone look into this problem and provide us with better internet service as soon as possible

The commercials depicting a little girl "Susie" and her lemonade stand has a very destructive theme of man bashing. The little boy in the commercial clearly is trying to help the girl by informing her of a vending machine which is low in product. He works hard to let her know. When he finally gets to her, she informs him that she already knows about him...clearly demeaning him and pretending to be superior. This type of ad demeans little boys and is extremely offensive.

I am writing on behalf of my 90 year old father who called and ordered his cable service to be switched to Verizon in exchange for a 19" LCD tv several years ago. Dad called the day that the flyer came in the mail, and was told after he ordered the service that the tvs were backordered. This went on for several months. Then the story changed to "we dont know what youre talking about". Many months later after trying to resolve this and being told "sorry sir no tvs", he disconnected his Verizon service. After the Verizon nasty notes, the bill collectors began calling. He began receiving nasty calls and letters and explained his case several times to no avail . They explained over and over and over that he still had to pay an early termination fee. When he told them that they didnt live up to their end of the deal, they hung up and then the bills that came increased from well over $200 to well over $400. Several years later he is now incapable of handling this issue and I am now fielding the rude bill collector calls. I explained it to them and they keep calling and calling trying to get us to settle and pay half. Can you please help us? We are at wits end, no one listens to our story. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

I went to Verizon's website looking to order tv throught them. The website sends you to Direct TV. While ordering direct I was told about a promotion that I would get a Free Compaq Mini Notebook for having ordered all 3 (telephone, internet and direct). The manager Alfred gave me an account # to give to Verizon. I then called Verizon. The man that I talked with told me also that I was entitled to the free compaq mini notebook but that I had to call back in the a.m. because the dept that would take my mailing address was closed. I asked if I should just order it online and he said absolutely not. Therefore I called @ approx 8:15 am. The woman that I talked to said that I would have to get it threw the New York office. She gave me the # and connected me. I was transfered to a woman by the name of Jessica. She told me that she would have to check into it. After several minutes of being on hold, she came back on the phone and told me that I was not entitled to the mini compaq notebook. I then asked to speak to a supervisor. A woman by the name of Cellina got on the phone and said that I was in no way entitled to the mini compaq notebook. I asked her then why was I told by 3 people that I was and I was given the account # by Alfred. She told me that she would check into it but I was out of luck. To try back in November when Verizon gets there own tv service. But it was not available to me. I have their home phone, cable and 3 cell phones. They also have a double deal, which consists of home & internet. You also receive a FREE mini compaq notebook. She said that I wasn't entitled to that either because I had ordered the more exspensive internet service. I am very upset that I was told by 1 direct tv manager & 3 Verizon people that I was!

I have been a customer of Verizon Wireless since 2003. In all that time, I paid my full monthly bills on time. When I paid my July bill, the check got lost (either in the mail or at the Verizon offices), so Verizon recorded I was past due on my account. I intended to pay two months on the next billing to remain current on my account. However, Verizon Wireless "suspended" my account on 7/23/11 until the day they received my check on 8/3/11. Verizon Wireless STILL charged me the full monthly amount of my calling plan & texting plan & email-Internet plan. They billed me for services I could not use for 12 days. I communicated my polite request for a credit on my account in an initial letter. A customer service representative responded that I wasn't entitled to a credit, because I could receive incoming calls and dial out 911 or reach Verizon at *611. My second communication was with a Verizon customer service rep who stood by Verizon's "policy" that no credit was forthcoming. I was charged for services I could not use--too bad.
I am complaining to every agency that I can. If a loyal Verizon customer of 8 years, with a prompt payment history, cannot get a credit/refund for services charged and not used, then DO NOT remain with this company. It just shows that the corporate policies that drive Verizon Wireless are more important than human contact and the desire to rectify customer complaints.

I have attached a spreadsheet (as a "jpg") file and it shows a detailed billing of my usage for Verizon voicemail activity. I have highlighted the problems a follows:
(1) In the blue color, I have shown where Verizon has charged me for a caller (who I don't even know) had left a voicemail and at the same time, Verizon charged me for this. Now, traditionally, I have always known that when a (long distance) call comes in to you, the caller is always charged (and NOT the receiver of the call)

(2) Also, in the gold color shows charges (against me by Verizon) for just trying to "clear off" or delete any voicemail messages. One thing more, I literally begged Verizon to disable my Voicemail features and they said "not until you upgrade to a newer and more expensive package". It feels sometimes like they were "punishing me" for not getting a more expensive package or upgrade to their own personal desires but not the Plan that I prefer to have.

I recently completed Chapter 7 bankruptcy and all my creditors were informed by certified mail. I don't know where Verizon Wireless came up with this "bill" and frankly I don't care. I'm going to check my credit history and I had better NOT find this phony bill listed there. I will take legal action and report this to the FTC. Verizon is one of the worst companies that I've ever dealt with and it would give me great pleasure to cause them some grief because they've certainly given me enough of that. I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense.

Verizon-is a terrible company. They are dishonest and falsely adveritse. I was moving and verizon said I could take my service with me. When I move to FL, they claimed they didn't have service there and this forced me to cancel. They charged me an early termination fee of $79 for cancelling because they didn't offer services in Fl. Not only did they do that but they never sent me the bill, and they sent it right to collections with out notifying me. They then sent it to the credit reporting company and now there is a mark on my credit because of their dishonesty. I have talked to all the managers till I am blue in the face and they refuse to remove it. I was doing a credit report and that is how I found out.

Money grubbing crooks! They sign you up for a 2 year contract, sell you a phone that has problems, (and it took 3 times going in there until they replaced it). I get really crappy reception, (and I mean EVERYWHERE), and I pay every month for a mobile hotspot feature which NEVER works...all it does is say 3G is not available. Once my contract is up, I'm dumping these guys!

7-6-2011 I ordered an Iphone from Verizon Wireless (VW). It was the last day they were offering their unlimited data plan for $29.99. I wanted the peace of mind not to worry about data usage even though I was leaving on vacation the next morning. I was assigned phone number: 7206.
7-25 when I returned from my trip I turned on my phone. 7-26 I thought it might be easier for people to contact me if I switched the 7206 number with another number on our account: 3832. I called (VW) to ask if this would affect my data plan, and if not, get assistance changing numbers. The lady on the line assured me it would not affect my data plan and she switched the phone numbers.
By happenstance I found out the next day they switched me to a 2GB plan when they switched my phone numbers. Verizon Wireless gave me erroneous information that enabled them to change my data plan without my knowledge that it was happening.
I have called them several times to try to rectify the situation. I want the unlimited data plan I ordered 7-6-11. It’s the only reason I ordered a phone.
As of yet they have denied my requests. They say they are sorry for the mishap, but there is nothing they can do.
It seems as if Verizon Wireless customer service representatives have license to misinform customers without recourse.

Extreme caution when checking on verizon wireless service. Employees out right lied to obtain our account from their competitor. First they said we would get a 15% discount because my company was with verizon. That turned into a 5% discount. They sold insurance on the phones & told us it would cover the phone 100% with just minor shipping charges. After 9 months a phone got wet & they wanted $180 to replace the phone.
They really messed up the billing and had us paying for one phone twice and created an additional account. It took many hours & weeks to straighten out which still cost us money. Their standard answer to everything is"I am sorry & I can understand your concern" but when it gets down to resolving things, they have no real answer. I fail to understand how anyone can work for a company that values their customers so little & treats human beings with such malice.

I subscribe to a family plan with Verizon. I have my children (college student & recent college graduates) on the plan. This past spring an individual posted on a social network my daughters personal information: phone numbers (home & cell-both unlisted, both through Verizon) and her address. He also posted information concerning her calling plan, in essence, MY information. After this was done, she received approx 200 text messages from the same individual. She did not know who this person was however we later discovered he was a friend of a man that used to work in the same office she did that was fired for behavior unrelated to her. He apparently felt that she should "be his friend" though she wasn't interested in establishing a friendship with him and received her contact information from the "texter". I was outraged and immediately called Verizon only to discover the "texter" was an employee of Verizon Wireless! I was told that they took this matter seriously and would do everything possible to remedy it. They offered to change her number for free. Big deal. I was told an "investigative" team member would be calling me back. That never happened. I called again. Heard the same song & dance. No return call. Called again and inquired as to the status of this employee (also found out that years ago the former co-worker had also been employed by Verizon Wireless). I was told that the ramifications of his action was a confidential issue. Isn't that reassuring? Their employee's behavior is considered "confidential" but my personal information isn't? I advised them that I was very upset over this situation. She is a single young woman that lives alone and her occupation is such that it is not desirable/safe to have her personal information publicized. This situation compromised her sense of security and cost a great deal. I was reminded that Verizon did change her number for FREE. I did eventually receive correspondance from Verizon...my monthly bill. For almost two hundred a month (a 6 year customer) I expect more and I feel I should have received it. Just a bit of advice: Verizon apparently employs some very unstable individuals and obviously more people than I ever thought have access to account information. To top it off, Verizon apparently has no policy in place to protect or reimburse their customers for the bad judgement, criminal behavior, and poor ethics of some of those in their employ.

I have been complaining to Verizon since May 2011 about getting constantly dropped from my DSL internet. I have submitted numerous tickets and it still isn't fixed. Well I recently found out why. Because the 'hub" in State College PA, which provides my internet service, doesn't have enough servers because Verizon keeps extending their service into outlying areas but refuses to get more servers to provide service to these areas. There are people who apparently man these servers and 'move customers around' on different servers all day long. On weekends the service REALLY sucks because no one is manning these servers. Now...this is 2011... GET IT FIXED! I cannot believe this and am outraged at the service provided. I pay you people 300-400$ every month for DSL, cell phones and landline and I am extremely annoyed at this service. Don't tell me the funds aren't there. The trouble tickets aren't going to get fixed if you don't get more servers in this area. Don't be stupid or lax in providing customers the service they pay for. I got dropped less when I had dial up! It took Verizon probably 10 years to finally get new cell phone towers in my area. I don't want to wait that long for you people to get up to date with the internet. GET WITH IT!

This is NOT a moving company, but a broker. They did NOT explain this to me, and even when I asked if the actual movers were company employees they told me they were. Which, I suppose could be construed as technically true since they "hired" them although they don't pay them at all. The way they work is that they over quote you, then take a percentage up front. The amount owed after the move goes directly to the actual movers. So it works in their best interest to over quote you so that the beginning amount is larger, more profit for them. When they were telling me that they wanted to over quote me by several thousand pounds I asked repeatedly if this would mean that I would only pay the actual amount weighed and was assured that indeed I would only pay the amount owed for the actual weight of the move. Why would I accept the over quote up front you may ask? The reason is simple. The first percentage paid can be paid by credit card. The amount owed after the move must be paid in cash, money order or, I was originally told, cashier's check. As I was moving to a new state and did not have access to a bank at my new address it was to my advantage to pay as much as I could ahead of time.

In the end the movers were grumpy, came a day later than I had originally scheduled, and pressured me to show up at the new place, several states away (with 3 children, two cats and not a second of time to clean my old apartment as planned) the next day. They were scheduled to arrive 3 days after the pick up. Then that was changed to 2 days after pick up. In the end they began calling me the day after pick up and requesting that I hurry to the destination as soon as possible.

Further, this is a THREE person company. This is what the movers told me. Strangely I spoke with 5 different people there.

They are scam artists and NOT MOVERS.

They are cheap, but not the cheapest, and while Dina, or whatever her name is, was very polite in the beginning, she was conveniently unavailable starting a few days before my move.
I will never use this company again and will definitely, in the future, go with a more well known company and an actual moving company rather than a broker.

I am pretty patient with people and it takes a lot for me to blow up. Enter verizon agents. I had placed an online order for a new phone upgrade and some accessories. (these items were not in store as of yet, but available online). I received a confirmation email and then I find out later that the order was cancelled without any explanation. I try again with a different payment method. Again, confirmation email and then soon after a cancellation email. I call customer service and the agent has no idea why that happened. (There's nothing wrong on my end with credit card or verizon account - no balances on either one of them). So agent suggests splitting up the order into phone and accessories. A case was out of stock so that would have to be ordered at another time. Ok fine. I place the orders over the phone and advise him of a different shipping address since I wouldn't be in to sign for the packages. Everything gets entered and agent gives me order numbers. Two days later I check the order status online, message states there is no such order number, please call customer service. I finally get tracking number and receive the packages a day later. Content with the shipment.

A day or two later, the case I wanted before is suddenly in stock again so I ordered that online again (a mistake once again). Order confirmed and then cancelled later. I try once more and again order confirmed, then cancelled. I call verizon AGAIN, agent was of NO HELP at all, not like the first agent I spoke to. She made it seem that it was my problem/fault and didn't offer any suggestions or help. I hung up cause I couldn't stay on the phone with this person. Later on, I call again to place an order with an agent. Order confirmed. Package should arrive within two days at the shipping address you provided. Two days pass and I check status online. No such order number. I call verizon again and the agent said there's no tracking number yet but it was shipped today and it'll be there in two days. Agent had no clue why it wasn't shipped out two days ago. Ok fine. no problem as long as it was shipped out. A day AFTER it was SUPPOSED to arrive, I call verizon AGAIN, agent says it was shipped back to warehouse and has no idea why and that I should call the fraud dept. At this point, I've had it with Verizon. I call the fraud dept and agent says it was cancelled and shipped BACK to the warehouse due to fraudulent suspicion because the shipping address didn't match the address on my account. Yes, I am aware of that, I verbally told the agents over the phone to ship it there. They've all verified who I was by asking me questions everytime I called in. Then the agent tells me to call the person who cancelled the order directly. Call goes to voicemail and I am fuming and given up on talking to these people. Instead of contacting me directly about fraud suspicion, they just do without notifying me. I am utterly disgusted with most of the phone agents at verizon. If you can, AVOID CALLING IN and go directly to the store even though there's none close by.

My husband and I purchased 2 HTC Thunderbolt smartphones from Verizon (April 2), of course you have to sign a 2 yr. contract to get the discounted price for the phones. We spent $200 each for the phones. Well the 14 days that they give you to cancel or return the phones, they worked pretty good. On May 12th, there was an update sent out, so I thought great the phone will be better than before. Well this update made them power down and reboot almost daily. And sometimes several times a day. Every time we go to Verizon or email them, we just get the runaround. We stopped in at Verizon in Warsaw, In. and the Representative said that the update was being pushed out now and we should get it in a couple days. He also did a master reset on my phone saying that by doing this it may push the update to my phone quicker. Well this did not bring the update to my phone. I came home and emailed the Better Business Bureau and this is my email to them:
My name is Sandy and I have a serious issue which I have tried to resolve many times with Verizon Wireless by email and going into the store.
On April 2nd, 2011 I purchased 2 HTC Thunderbolt cell phones from the Warsaw, In. Verizon store for myself and my husband. We have had issues with the phones almost since the beginning. The problems are: Rebooting, shutting down and freezing. Each time we contact them or go into the store, the issue is not resolved. The first time we went in with the problems, they said that we were the first to complain about this, the Verizon Representative took my husbands phone and looked at the apps on it and said that one of the apps may be the problem, so he took it off. Well this did not help at all. The second time I went in about the problems the Representative looked it up online and found where people were complaining about the problems. All he did was put a note on my account stating my complaint. My husband went in another time and the representative told him it wouldn't do any good changing to a different Thunderbolt, that many people were having the problem and it was a software problem and they are working on a fix. We went in this afternoon, July 5th 2011 and the representative told us the same thing but told us that they have been pushing the software update for a few days and we should get the update in a day or so. He also checked my phone for updates and there were none, so he said maybe if we do a master reset on the phone then check for the update it will be pushed to my phone. Well I handed my phone to him and he went through what it took to do the master reset, he then completed all that needed to be done and checked for the update, there was none. Since I have been home, I also have been checking, none is found! Well this has been so frustrating to us, we asked about getting out of the contract due to the problems and how unsatisfied we are with Verizon Wireless. The representative today told us we could not break the contract without paying $350.00 per line, we have 2 lines, ($700.00).
They give you 14 days only to cancel your service or change phones. Well the problems didn't start during this time, so we were and are locked into the contract with them for 2 years.
Is there anything you can do to help us just get out of this contract from them without paying such an ungodly amount of money.

I am sending you what I have sent to Verizon Customer service and the response I received back.

My first email to Verizon:

On April 2, 2011 I entered a contract for service with Verizon wireless. We purchased 2 HTC Thunderbolts with the 1400 min. plan. The phone's have had many issues, rebooting, shutting down and freezing. I am very unhappy with this. It has been only 3 months today since I started this service. I would like to get out of my contract without being penalized with a huge payment. I really believe I should be able to get out of the contract and return the phones and get my money back. After all the phones don't work properly. I can be in the middle of a conversation and it shuts down, then it is hard to get it started back up, or it reboots. I can also be using an app and it freezes, then I have to pull the battery. I am wanting to find out if there is some way we can resolve this issue? If not I will go and get council from my attorney!

Please respond!

This is my second email to Verizon:
On April 2, 2011 I entered a contract for service with Verizon wireless. I purchased 2 HTC Thunderbolts with the 1400 min. plan. The phone's have had many issues, rebooting, shutting down and freezing. I can be in the middle of a conversation and it shuts down, then it is hard to get it started back up, or it reboots. I will sometimes not even be using the phone then get it out and it has shut down and not even realized the phone had shut down.
I emailed HTC with the issue of rebooting and shutting down, they just gave me suggestions on a fix for it, none work. I have been in the Verizon store concerning the issue with the phones, they just say to take 3rd party apps off and do a master reset, this doesn't work. They also have said that a lot of people have had this problem and I am stuck with the phones, due to the contract. Is this really the way Verizon goes about their business?
I am very unhappy with this. It has been only 3 months since I started this service. I want to get out of my contract without paying an early termination fee. I really believe I should be able to get out of the contract and return the phones and get my money back. After all the phones don't work properly.
I am wanting to find out if there is some way we can resolve this issue?
I will also be sending the Better Business Bureau this letter concerning this issue.
Please respond!

After I sent the BBB the email I sent the same on to Verizon so they would know that I did file a complaint with the BBB. Here is the response from Verizon:

I am very sorry to learn of your dissatisfaction with your HTC Thunderbolt devices. My name is Roy and I understand how frustrating it is when you must visit a number of different channels (store, then E-mail) to resolve a situation, and for that I apologize. Our Worry Free Guarantee provides you 14 days from the date of purchase to return your phone for any reason and cancel your service with no penalty. As our records indicate this time frame has expired, we do not have the ability to take the phones back and cancel your services with no fee.

I see it noted in your account that you visited the store location on Tuesday, July 5 after writing this E-mail. The representative there attempted to verify whether a new software version is yet available for your device, and at the time it was not. I too can assure you that HTC is in fact working feverishly to develop and successfully test new software to resolve the matter, in an effort to get it pushed out to affected customers. We appreciate your patience while this patch is being developed and approved by our equipment team.

Thank you again for your email regarding the continued use of these HTC Thunderbolt devices. I hope you continue to find the “Contact Us” section of verizonwireless.com

a helpful option to resolve any issue you may experience the first time you email us. We appreciate your business and thank you for being a valued Verizon Wireless customer.

Sincerely,

Roy

Verizon Wireless

Customer Service

As you can read on the response from Verizon, Roy is stating that they are working on a fix. I have read on many posts that the fix was to happen June 30th, well there still isn't any. The Representative in the Verizon store in Warsaw yesterday said that there was a fix, but it hasn't made it to our phones yet. Well I think Roy had it right and it is still in the makings and not completed yet. My complaint is that Verizon holds you to a contract for 2 years even if your phone is not working properly. My husband used his phone for work, well the phone is not reliable. I think Verizon should cancel the contract and refund our money for the phones.
Sandy

In the process of changing cell phone carriers, I suspended my service with Verizon on my monthly billing cycle date, so I would not get charged for another month's service. When I suspended my Verizon service, the customer service rep said my initial advance deposit would cover the last month's service and I would be even. The next day I ported my number to my new cell phone carrier. A few days later, I get a bill from Verizon for $18.58. When I called customer service they said, oh, you have to pay for putting your phone on suspended service. I explained that I did not agree to this, and nowhere in their website, nor did anyone at Verizon customer service mention a word about a charge to suspend service. This is just another slippery Verizon billing trick so characteristic of their deceptive billing tactics. Sadly, much of corporate America uses this strategy of accidentally on purpose leaving out the billing details until the deal is made. They then use a labyrinth of time wasting voice response systems coupled with powerless talking head customer service representatives until you eventually give up. Moral to the story, get somebody else besides Verizon.

If you want to bypass the slight of hand chicanery so characteristic of cell phone carriers, buy an unlocked GSM phone on Amazon, with a SIM card slot and go prepaid. Dont sign up for another overpriced two year contract! This is what most people in Europe do. Europeans aren't nearly so quick to buy into this "FREE PHONE" nonsense that the American cellphone oligopoly crams down our throats. In turn, the Europeans pay a lot less for total cellphone service than we do in the US. Friends, there ain't no FREE LUNCH. Remember the mortgage companies telling you that you don't want to tie up your own precious money, use theirs? Yeah, right.