Note to feed readers: I had to edit this post (although I probably should have just deleted it) because it's been coming up on various search engine results and random people are commenting on the blog. I didn't really mind until today's commenter was a bit too nasty, so there you go.
By the way (regarding this last commenter) . The problem really is NOT the cancellation of the account, is the fact that when they switched us to the new "data only" account, we were put on a one year plan, which we were NOT informed about. This is the biggest problem now -- they refunded the months we didn't use service, but want us to pay a cancellation fee because of the "one year contract" that I didn't even know existed!!! I guess other companies are beginning to do that (which has been standard in wireless phone service for a while) -- force you to be with them for a certain period.
In May or June last year, when we we switched to VOIP, we already knew we were going to be moving in September, so if I knew there was a one year plan, I would have just dumped V3rizon and gotten another internet provider. Oh well... too bad I couldn't remember all these details when I wrote this post and now as I result I'm getting nasty comments. Well, that and having used the company's name without the disguising typing.
Never again. I just wonder how long it is going to take for the change to take effect and this post not to come up in search engine results anymore... Sigh.
May 11, 2008.
~ ~ ~ ~
I am SO angry right now I shouldn't even be posting on the internet. It's just that I feel so small, to helpless, so utterly defrauded by these big corporations that run our lives nowadays that I have to vent a little bit, so bear with me. I promise to soon post again with more interesting subjects and in a better mood.
Can you believe that back in September 2007 before we moved I called our DSL provider, V3rizon, to cancel our services but we never did? We had already removed the call-in-only landline that we had (for 14 bucks a month, I may add -- a good thing to have if you use mainly your cell phone) earlier in June when we got our VOIP phone service, so I couldn't even access my account online anymore because V3rizon is weird that way (not that I had ever used their ridiculous email services or anything).
Anyway... we found out about the non-cancellation because we had automatic billing on our credit card and they kept billing us, but we didn't find out until early December when we promptly called them, very angry about this problem. The only thing they helped us with (I had my husband call because I was so MAD that I couldn't even talk to them on the phone) was removing automatic billing (and they did ask for our new address). Because we wanted to cancel the account but also receive a just REFUND for the months we had not even used it because we weren't at that house and address anymore They kept transferring K from person to person until he got disconnected without the problem being solved. This was a few days before all our holiday travel took place, so we didn't do anything else about it until we received a bill in the mail today.
I just CANNOT believe this. I mean... I'm certain that I called to cancel, and if I didn't by any chance on earth, the service wasn't USED, how in the world can I be billed?
In the past month I caught a snippet of a NPR (Talk of the Nation?) story about this woman who had to endure ENDLESS and almost unbearable psychological pain because of wrongful billing from her cell phone provider (if I'm not mistaken). I'll try to find it and link to it here (as well as listen to the whole thing). There was this one costumer service representative who "saved her life" being so courteous and helpful that she even cried over the phone with him several times.
Why oh why do we have to be screwed by big corporations like that? (and I don't even like to use the kind of vocabulary I'm using in this entry, but I don't know what other "polite" words to use to convey my anger). K is on the phone with them again, but I know it's going to take many hours to try and solve this and we may never see this money again -- as if we had tons of it to give away!! And we have another internet provider now (another big corporation unfortunately, why can't consumers have more choice of providers?) .
Any horror stories to share?
Bring them on because they're surely going to make me feel better right now!
Ai Lilian, sobre a Verizon nao tenho até pq não tem Verizon aqui, mas eu já passei MUITA raiva com ligações pra companhia de telefonia (aqui é a Fido), inclusive nessa última viagem quando eu gastei nada mais nada menos doe $400 dólares só falando "mãe, to chegando", "me encontra aqui", tipo assim...
ReplyDeleteé de matar mesmo!
Verizon was the worst when I was in the states...I never had an account -thank god- but every single solitary one of their public phones I ever found didn't work, and my heart sank every single time I got a Verizon operator instead of AT&T, who may not be angels, but can at least do the job.
ReplyDeleteGRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
and sympathy.
I am so so sorry about this. I don't have horror stories to share (no problems with Verizon for us) but I have heard others complain.
ReplyDeleteI love Verizon... lol. no, not really. They do pay well, and give their employees VERY good benefits... I mean, we have better health benefits, dental, ortho than most people I know... BUT... last week I suffered the same story. I added a second line to my main line, the lady told me was going to be 10/month... yeah right... my first bill...53 dollars. how is that ten a month? well, she explains they pro rate one month... sTILL!!! way over and beyond. I called and complained and it was reduced to about 40 a month... but not what they promissed. They suck!! Except for hiring my husband, of course, they are great about that... lol
ReplyDeleteI mean... 40 dollars for the 2 month bill.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry. :-(
ReplyDeleteI'm still pissed off at TAM for completely losing my luggage and offering me less than 10% of it's estimated value. And then K and I were just cheated again tonight. I'll blog about it soon.
I'm a few days late on this, but if they are billing your credit card (not check card) then you can contest the charges with the credit card company (that is not pay that charge) until the matter is settled. I also highly recommend http://www.clarkhoward.com. I used to listen to his radio program and he is so great about helping people from getting ripped off. He is also one of the most courteous radio personalities I have ever heard (I guess he leads by example). I have to use podcasts now because he isn't on the air where I live now. Anyway, you can probably find some information on his site.
ReplyDeleteWe just had Verizon screw us too! I signed up for a 2 year contract at one price and they auto billed us more than the agreed on price. We called to complain, got transfered tons, and they said they could not help so we canceled. Now, we are being charged a fee for backing out of the contract. Yet, they couldn't uphold their end of the contract. We've spoken with supervisors and spent hours on the phone. It's just ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteVerizon sucks, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteI have just got off the phone with Verizon the next time i need to call them for something i am calling my lawyer to deal with it instead. i googled verzion sucks and saw you lol. To get any credits i was meant to i threated to call my lawyer and took everyones name i spoke to and said i was going to name the personally for mental anguish. That lit the fire under their butt!!! Me calling to settle this has been going on for 1 year now. I am done!!!! NEVER AGAIN WILL I GET VERIZON!!!! Also on a lighter note I am Brazilian too. My father was born in San Paulo. We live near Philly too small world!!!
ReplyDeleteI called Verizon FIOS to order phone, internet, and cable prior to my move in. My Consumer Order Summary was dated 3-28-08, and the scheduled installation date was 4-7-08. I reviewed the e-mail and all looked well. I move into my new house and install date comes. They setup an 8 AM-noon window. I already had the Optical Network Terminal unit (ONT) in my house, so I figured this would be cake for them. I am a Sys Admin at an ISP, so the internet stuff I could do myself with ease.
ReplyDeleteOn install day, no one showed, no one called. I had my mobile with me at ALL times. So around 1:30 PM I called Verizon to see what was going on. If something came up, I had a week off to move in and if they needed to come by in a day or two, I was totally cool with that. After about an hour on hold I got in touch with a “state level” dispatcher. That said that there were “no facilities available for my order” and I was called. Nope, I wasn’t called; they did have my cell (which I had with me all of the time) in their records. I wanted them to come out later in the week if possible since I was home. They said that their next available time for me was 4-12-08, which was a day where I was going to a wedding. The next available time after that was at the end of the month, on a work day for me.
Basically because they did not show up, or even notify me with a reason, they put me at the back of the line. I was trying to escalate my request and the support only gave me unreasonable dates and that “no facilities available for my order” BS. I later wanted to get my copper line put back so I could at least get phone service, and after a long wait in hold they gave me the end of the month as a date. Basically I was being run around in circles and being shoved to the end of the line because Verizon screwed up my installation. I was told the only way I could get it sooner is if I “knew an installer who’d do me a favor,” and I was pretty much screwed with the window of time I had to get the service installed. The salesperson fed me a load of bull and the installer didn’t even call me with a reason. I tried to figure out what “no facilities available for my order” meant, and why this was such a problem since I already had the ONT in my house. Half of their work was already done.
The same day, I called a local cable company who installed my phone, internet, and cable the next day. They showed up on time and did the normal pre and post appointment verification. I unplugged the ONT in my house and let the battery go out. Verizon gave me such a lousy customer experience I swore I would never do business with them, and be sure to let other people know about their awful customer service and commitments they setup and do not honor. Verizon screwed up prior when they bought Bell Atlantic, and screwed up our perfectly find DSL service I had around 98/99. My money is going to a competitor, and Verizon won’t see it because they have abysmal customer service. I am certainly interested in fiber optic lines connected to my house, but so long as Verizon is the only provider, I will happily do without.
James
Herndon, VA
I love Verizon. We switched from Nextel about four years ago, and we've never had any problems. We have seven wireless lines, and it is very cheap (not much money, not bad cheap). We switched because we moved to the middle of nowhere, and Nextel doesn't have service here. Verizon always has at least 3 bars, and I've never had it say it lost service. We also cut our bill in half from Nextel. Nextel never covered any phone damage, and if you take your phone into verizon to say that it's screen is scratched, then they replace the phone.
ReplyDeleteYoure certain that you called to cancel? Oh please. You failed to cancel the service and now youre mad at them for YOUR mistake. All kinds of services that you dont USE go to bill, like insurance.
ReplyDeleteGet over it and learn to take responsibilty yourself instead of pointing fingers.
V3rizon is guilty of screwing their customers over many many times.
ReplyDeleteI am a 8 year cell phone customer of theirs that had bought a new phone from them, got signed on all the add on packages that the salesman got spiffs for and got totally screwed when the bills came.
I finally started looking at all the EXTRA charges they add on to every bill and called Customer service. After a 3 week fight (which included a billing "audit"), they gave me a $1200 credit for overcharges- and that was just for the last year and a half of the latest contract.
I now am on a $99 a month plan and STILL get $120-200 month bills. I havent gone over my alotted minutes and get charges like this.
Cliff notes- V3rizon is VERY good at overcharging thier customers and if you dont watch all the details in the billing you will be overpaying EVERY month.
Customers BEWARE...
They cannot even commit to their own appointments. I called and verified everything was in order, then on FIOS install day no one showed up. When I called them they gave a half ***ed excuse and put me in the back of their line. While it might be the consumers fault sometimes, I assure you that it was not in my case. I was really looking forward to FIOS, but the screwed up by not doing something they committed to. There is a common theme I read about Verizon, their customer service is abysmal.
ReplyDeletewow, this post totally struck a nerve with people... I guess there was no need to edit the title.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to you is OUTRAGEOUS, James, and I totally agree that their costumer service is awful! Thanks for commenting again.
I guess that the dissenting voice here is of that commenter who doubted that I had canceled the account when my problem was not at all with the cancellation. Blah. I guess most of us agree that V3rizon does suck.
No matter what anyone else says, the truth is that Verizon really and truly DOES suck. I won't even waste another minute complaining about all the ways they violated their end of the contract with me---after all, I faithfully paid my bill every month----they however, didn't deliver on their promise to provide reasonable service. I've spent way too many hours on the phone with them to want to waste one more moment talking about them. However, I would like to address something else, and that is etiquette.
ReplyDeleteThe title of this blog pretty clearly lets the viewer know what this post is about. Mostly it's for people like us to voice frustration with a company that makes so many feel SMALL as someone else said---and cheated and voiceless. SO, for the rude person that intervened this blog and told the blogger to "get over it," I say to you GET LOST. You don't belong on this post.
Here is a post the experience of my friend James.
ReplyDeleteWhat Verizon knows...
You can copy and past the entire URL in your browser to view the post.
my v3rizon experience
ReplyDeleteI wanted a reliable home internet connection for my new apartment. relying on the neighbors' wireless had turned out to be too touch-and-go (though free).
in my area i have only 2 choices for getting wired, concast or v3rizon. i had already heard evil things about concast, what with their job ads for an "intercept engineer" to handle "reconnaissance and analysis of subscriber intelligence," etc.[see URL http://technorati.com/posts/xjqOJ0AY0TSZ3CdwE6Soq%2FBy0cnCpsBSi%2Fekym7G5BA%3D]--in other words someone to tap peoples voice and data communications for the feds ! sign of the times in the new ussa. but i digress...
concast had also been reported to have limited customers bandwidth at peer-to-peer bit torrent downloading sites...Nice.
Concast was therefore out. So i turned to the one remaining alternative, V3rizon.
heres what happened. i ordered online, choosing local plus long distance, specifying a ld carrier. presto, next day i got an email asking me to please fax ID, pay stub, etc. within 24 hours. OK. I did. next i get another email saying i had to contact the 'welkome center.' a problem with my papers? i called the given number and got a recorded message asking me to please call back during working hours. it was tuesday 11a.m. same thing at 3:30 p.m. And the next day too. they re not taking calls at the welkome center. thats what i call a warm welcome. So i searched online for another contact number and managed to get thru to a breather. seems there WAS a problem with my papers. the fraud squad had raised a red flag. "the ss# on my paystub didnt match the one i'd entered online." i pointed out that the half-x'ed out number on the paystub was my bank account number, for direct deposit, not my ss#. dumshits. dont they do this everyday?
red flag lowered. installation date scheduled for just a few days later. my slot? 8 to 5. at least they d narrowed it down to one day.
on the appointed day i stay home from work and wait for the doorbell. no v3rizon. no phone call. no email.
i call. they tell me my service is already on. i tell them i have no dial tone. they insist. i decide to check with another phone and cable. same deal.
i call back and get a new date for a technician to visit. this time they show.
building terminal needed rewiring. got a dial tone. tech drives off (leaving some of his gear on the lawn!). i try my first call to a number two towns over. i get a recording "please enter carrier code."
i dont have one. turns out two towns over is long distance. my online choice of long distance carrier did not register.
i call v3rizon again on my cell. they ll call me back. 5 minutes later the new phone rings. must be them. but its ringing abnormally--a continuous ring without any interruption. it never stops ringing, til i pick up. no voice on the line, just a strange, loud, interference like a distorted chopper. everytime i hang up, the phone rings immediately. i pull the cables.
back on the cell to the office, im put in contact with a repairman. i describe the trouble. he says the lines already been repaired. just this morning in fact. i explain again that its just been turned on but doesnt work. he insists its been taken care of. i ask him what number i need to call to cancel my order.....end of story.
so now im back to the neighbors' free wireless..not so bad really.....compared to concast....
Verizon's operators will get snappy with you, I've had them be extremely rude to me before because I didn't know EXACTLY which department I needed to get to.
ReplyDeleteCustomer Service is dead at Verizon store on Vine in Hollywood! So, if you haven't seen what Verizon has done lately...they installed kiosks in the store that you have to enter your name into before you can speak with anyone. The system would be fine if it actually worked. I ended up waiting longer than if I was able to just go right up to the person at the counter (who wasn't helping anyone by the way). If you want to feel "herded" into getting service or making a purchase, then go to Verizon. They make you feel like a number and I've had it. Cell phone service is a commodity. You would think cell companies would compete on service since everything else is pretty much the same. I'm switching to a different company where you can speak with people not touchscreens and where customer service is not dead. Down with Verizon on Vine.
ReplyDeleteActually, it appears to me that all phone service providers are attempting to out do each other in socking it to the 'public'. You must remember, these are not charitable organizations. They are for profit of their CEOs & shareholders. The end-users(us, the public) are not in their equations.
ReplyDeleteMore to the point: I was forced to get Verizon in a rural area where no other company had a signal. The first lesson I had to learn was that if you are NOT locked into a monthly automatic thievery of your bank account, they will CANCEL your service and you then FORFEIT the balance you have ALREADY PAID!!! Honest--that happened to me and when I called to tell them, hey, I was only 24 hours overdue for payment, they said--TOO BAD!! So, I had to start all over again, this time with AUTOMATIC withdrawal for bank account. Now, I rarely use that phone because of another 2-phone plan. So I call them(and go to a local 'kiosk') and say: can I transfer the HUGE amount of money from an 'old' phone to a new phone? They say "NO--YOU LOSE THAT MONEY" Honest, not joking---is Verizon the worst? Possibly--since they are also in on the conspiracy (along with scumcast)to turn the Internet into a high-priced pay-as-you-go ghetto.
Also, they are now forcing me to call them to cancel out this service since their "web page" wont recognise my LOG IN!!!! and I believe they now charge for "service" phone calls....I dont expect any of this to change since we live in a CASINO ECONOMY where the 'winners' are paraded around like heroes and the 'losers' are sent to bed in the chicken coop and told to shut up and quit your whinning, whimper, whimper.....
I've read the entire blog, and did find some similarities with regards to verizon loosing my order. However, they did show up on the scheduled day and all went well. My problem with verizon is a little different. Read my email to their Cuntstomer(New word related to their automated answering service) service.
ReplyDeleteOur DVR box will not allow us to order payper view movies or events. Sounds like someone is missing out on some revenue, and it's not me.
When we try to call in for help, it's impossible. Because verizon hands down has the absolute worst customer support we have ever encountered. Your automated answering service sucks so bad that you could suck bowling balls through a garden hose. We will soon be moving out of the area, to an area that does not have Verizon service. It's kind of too bad, because when your equipment works, the service is great. But I won't miss calling into your automated lines. Thanks for making it difficult to contact a human being! Discontinuing service soon,
F8Ck verizon! they are the highest margin earning telecommunications company and they seriously overcharge! I had a 17.99 dsl promo that I signed up for never got, they charged me 99.99 for this month because my roommate canceled the voice to the house, and I continued to pay for dsl. since they charged me his cancellation fee, I made the switch to comcast and am getting 8mb for 24.95 thats a deal. F you verizon you snobby overcharging bastards!
ReplyDeleteverizon fucking sucks. i hate them so much. i don't care what facet of the company we're talking about, it all sucks. but my big beef with them is when i called in, trying to fix a problem, but they magically created more problems and after 10+ hours, 12+ agents, a DSL cancellation (aka no internet access), different and inaccurate information every call, and 2 dropped calls later one agent was ignorant enough to be condescending towards me about the whole matter. WTF!? our office was defunct for a week because of the whole matter, the entire fiasco started because lines were installed improperly, no one could give me a straight answer about anything that was going on and they had been sending emails to us at a non-existent email address. but NO ONE offered to comp us on ANYTHING. not for the first, second, third...or ANY of the problems that were created due to the incompetency, poor communication, and anti-quality service of verizon. instead of the voice recording disclaimer that says your call will be recorded for quality reassurance, they need to change that to a disclaimer warning customers that interactions with verizon customer service may induce feelings of nausea, homocide, suicide, stress and a host of other absurd and hostile emotions that are indescribably extreme.
ReplyDeletehere is a conglomeration of words expressing my experience with verizon.
the agents were incompetent, confused, self-righteous, indifferent, unsympathetic, annoyed...
the results were few, problematic, nonexistent, insufficient...
and a whole slew of other expressions that make me think of verizon: FUCK!, are you fucking serious, WTF, please-don't transfer me again, i'm not getting off the phone with you until this is fixed, so this is the 4th person i've talked to today..., *crying*, *feeling helpless*, OMGGG, pleeeeeeeeeeeease just FIX IT, but i made my payment last week...why did you turn my internet off, why didn't anyone tell me this before, why did they say (insert what previous agent said) if you say (insert what current agent is saying)...
the disclaimer also needs to note that these effects could last anywhere from 2 hours to 5+ weeks. and that towards the end of the said time frame, the most pervasive feelings will be pure rage mixed with helplessness and a loss of words either due to the fact that you have explained your situation so many times you are unsure if you can possibly repeat it again or that your rage and helplessness are so pure that they are absolutely inexplicable.
spread the shit! fertilize the hate for verizon!
I cannot believe they actually give you a ticket number. This is what I am dealing with now also!
ReplyDeleteYes, Verizon DSL does suck--big time. I've switched to Comcast permanently. The reason I switched: I have this friend who works as a network specialist for Verizon. And he told me that if I gave him the name an address of anyone within his area he could run a report on their surfing habits and give a copy to me. I didn't believe him so, I gave him the address of several of my co-workers. Low and behold! The things you can tell about a person from their surfing habits. I learned that one of my co-workers, a woman of 45 is trying to get pregnant by using a sperm bank. Who knew? The way she rejects the guys in the office, we though she was a dyke. She has been doing online searches for sperm banks in the area. She even placed an online ad for sperm donors. Why must they always have a high IQ? Anyway, my boss, he is 65, wears incontinence pads. Now I know what was in the paper sack he carries into the bathroom. And he orders them wholesale online. These surfing reports were becoming addictive. So I gave my friend at Verizon my neighbors names and addresses. I discovered that the couple next door visits all sorts of dirty porn sites at night, one was dealing with bestiality. Although, it could be just the him, because his wife works most week nights. My neighbor to the right of me, so sad, I believe she has pancreatic cancer. We can tell because she is constantly searching for treatment articles on the internet. She has always looked sickly to me. Now I know why. Yes, I am a hypocrite. Albeit I like the reports, I would not want to be spied. My friend tells me that half of the network specialist at Verizon are running these reports for their friends and many are doing it for money. For the record, Verizon's policy is that they do not engage in this sort of thing. Off they record, maybe not Verizon, but their employees sure do. The thing of it is, I don't think it is against the law, though it may be unethical for the employees to do that. I must admit this is addicitive. Now I want to know about my shady pastor and if only I knew the address of the rude cashier who works at the WaWa not far from me. What a bitch! I would like to know her secrets. I guess after all Verizon is good for something.
ReplyDeleteFinally I was able to disconnect my FIOS service. I was kept on hold for hours on three separate occasions until I gave up. So finally I had to cheat and use a different route in the voice response menu to get to the right tech. She was really nasty talking lady who was saying basically that I was lying about the wait. ENOUGH! I am happy now that I am done with Verizon. NEVER EVER VERIZON IN MY LIFE.
ReplyDeleteHi Lillian and All –
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your Verizon experiences. For any of you who live in California, I work with a law firm that’s investigating Verizon Wireless’ practice of charging California consumers a flat $5 late fee and whether the practice violates California’s consumer rights laws.
Customers are charged a late fee if they don’t pay bills on time but according to California state law there may be some issues with charging a fixed late fee as a penalty. There may also be issues with charging all customers the same flat fee, regardless of the cost of monthly plans.
As part of the investigation, Hagens Berman wants to hear from any Verizon customer living in California who’s paid at least one late fee in the past four years.
You can contact the firm at info@hbsslaw.com or (206) 623-7292. More information on the investigation is on the firm’s Web site, www.hbsslaw.com.
may want to see:
ReplyDeletehttp://pissonverizon.blogspot.com
;-)
I'm working for a big Corporation, we've got 320 sites and we are redesigning our network.
ReplyDelete300 of those circuits are Verizon.
It's funny, I'm so pissed I googled this to make a post.
Billing: 80% of the billing dates are incorrect and they refuse to fix it due to reasons that don't match logic.
Circuit Delivery: out of the three carriers we have, 75% of all Verizon ciruits have issues. Latency is the biggest (Per route mile they have the highest millasecond out of all providers)
But they refuse to credit your account even if they take the circuit away due to a 80ms from IL to GA and redesign the circuit stating 'latency isn't on contract'. They TOOK IT AWAY, you accepted responcability.
Project originization: 320 sites, 3 people on the project on Verizon side. Questions can't be answered, circuits very rairly given with correct circuit info.
Price: While claiming to be cheeper, pricing is much cheeper point to point then any of our other carriers.
----------------------------------
Verizon is my bane; I will never ever ever buy any products from verizon. They act as if they're the customer then become stone walls when you have an issue.
Trust me, if the option exists, never trust Verizon. Qwest is good (though a bit unrelyable) Level 3 is VERY VERY good, AT&T sucks, but they're better then Verizon. Time Warner is pretty good.
Again I stress.. Never buy verizon.
I have just had an experience very similar to yours, Lilian.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, while looking at my credit card statement, I found out that Verizon has been charging me for DSL, which I called them to cancel back in August. I moved from my apartment and waited until August to cancel in order to avoid the early termination fee, which I was reminded about when I called them back in July.
I spent a lot of time and energy dealing with them on the phone yesterday, only to have them essentially tell me I was crazy and that I never canceled the account. They have no record of anyone going into the account to cancel it in August. They also have no record of anyone looking at my account in August or looking at my account in July, when I first called to inquire about canceling and found out about the fee. When I asked if every time an agent looks at a customer's account, the system creates a log, they claimed the system logs all activity history of an agent on a customer's account (does anyone know for a fact that this is true? or if there's a way for an agent to bypass it?). How, then, is there no record of the call in which the agent told me about the fee, while looking at my account? Is Verizon coming to me in my dreams? Are these phone calls fiction?
I have an entry on August 28th, 2008 in my planner with their 800 number, a note reminding myself to cancel, and with a number written below all that in different colored ink, which I labeled "confirmation of cancellation." I recall the pleasant conversation I had with the agent (yes, pleasant...), in which I even explained why I was not going to transfer the service to my new apartment (ethernet service already provided through the University I attend). I remember confirming... "So that's all I have to do? I won't be billed anymore." And he told me that was the case.
When I called them again today after finding the planner entry and the "cancellation number," I thought I would finally make progress in getting a refund for the months where I was automatically billed...but no. I was simply told that the confirmation number I had was from a change made to my account back in 2007. It was not a cancellation confirmation number. Why on earth a Verizon employee would give me an old confirmation number and claim it was the confirmation number for my cancellation that day, I do not know. Incompetence, perhaps? All I know is Verizon is refusing to give me a refund for months of internet in an apartment I don't live in, and they have been unbearably rude in the process, denying that any mistake on their end is possible.
I have since taken all my accounts off automatic withdrawal, as convenient as it is, and I plan to terminate my Verizon cell phone account when the contract is up in March. Never again, Verizon, never again.
The lesson is, watch your credit card statements like a hawk if you're enrolled in automatic billing (that was certainly negligence on my part). Even if you keep immaculate records of when you place a call to change your service, and you've written down a confirmation number that an agent claims is for a termination you just requested, they might be completely wrong and the number might be entirely worthless when you need proof. So call twice. Once to make the change, and once again to confirm with a different agent the change is on the record. Sounds fun, right?
Verizon has no concept of what good customer service entails, and they are fraudulent liars, plain and simple.
Verizon sucks.
ReplyDeleteI have been dealing with their incompetent billing and customer support since July 2007.
They did a bait and switch with me. I had their FIOS internet service only. They convinced me to do a bundle with TV and phone and said it would be only $10 more a month than what I was already paying comcast and my VIOP phone service and it would all be on one bill. It took from July until Jan to get it all on one bill. They also gave me 3 DVRs I didn't ask for and then started charging me for each one at the rate of 27.99/month per unit.
If they don't get my billing straight next month I'm dropping them.
I hope verizon crumbles. They take your money and give you shite! If you are considering giving verizon "a shot"....forget it. It is not worth it.
ReplyDeleteBelieve me...it is not worth it. Do not waste your money or time...
Ahhh...I remember the good days when I could use the phone, internet, or watch T.V. and not worry if it would work every time. Now, I dread if there is a problem. Spending 2+ hours on the phone with these shysters - any time there is a problem that a 4 year old could have avoided - is not worth $200.00+/ month.
Down with verizon!
for your information verizon is amazing. i have it myself & the service is great. suck my balls if you dont like it !
ReplyDeleteTo all the fan boys. Do a search for "verizon sucks" using quotes and you will find over 20,000 results. Compare to others like cox or att that have around 4,000. Yes, Verizon really does suck. I have had multiple problems with Verizon and it's only been 30 days since signing up with them.
ReplyDeleteYup, Verizon FIOS sucks indeed.
ReplyDeleteFirst, if you call for customer service expect to wait on hold for a good long time.
Next, we caught the tech that came to install our Verizon going through our medicine cabinets... red handed. Called to complain. I was told several weeks ago that an agent would get right back to me. Never happened.
Called back about reporting the thief. Was told by the rep that it's a "union job" and they can't report one another. Complete bs. I work at a union job as well. If one of my co-workers is stealing, he makes the rest of us look bad and therefore needs to be rooted out.
Moving on, I called about HBO and Cinemax being added to my account. When we activated the acct. we asked that it not be included. It was included regardless and we were billed for this. Called to report this. They "generously" credited back half the charge though we never used those channels. Then they asked if we wanted another free month of HBO/Cinemax, or some gaming service, or two weeks of downloads of music and movies or the wrestling channel.
The long and the short of it is that VERIZON SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS. They blow. Their FIOS is nothing special. Never thought I'd see the day when I'd be glad to go back to Cablevision's Optonline.
Chillvision: Feel free to suck your own (or a Verizon exec's) balls if that's what you're into.
ReplyDeleteV3rizon did the EXACT same thing to me. I signed up for a plan, and then later got an email that sais I was signed up for TWO years! When I signed up, they conveniently never mentioned anything about it. Apparently this is standard business practice for them now.
ReplyDeleteWhen I called to complain, they said they could reduce me to a one year plan, but that's it.
Yes, they SUCK!
If you have a problem with Verizon - call a manager directly:
ReplyDeleteDiane Danielson 412-497-1725
Yes, it does...go to comcast if you can!
ReplyDeleteMy 2 cents: Verizon really blows ass. They're trying to charge me for going 778 text messages over what my plan allows. I barely text (average 1 or 2 a day). I spent 3 hours on the phone with various agents and finally they agreed to give me HALF my money back. HALF? Come on! I'm gonna cancel these bastards when my contract is up (and I told THEM that too). And hopefully they will do their job and CANCEL me instead of continuing to bill me for something I don't use.
ReplyDeleteCall FCC at 1-888-225-5322 or file a complaint online with FCC. We can't subsidize Verizon executive bonuses.
ReplyDeleteLike countless other people, I have had numerous problems with Verizon. I moved to a new city so I set up my phone and DSL with Verizon. My DSL wasn't working. I ended up on the phone with Verizon for 3 hours. I was transferred to at least 5 different people who I had to re-explain my situation to. After 3+ hours some genius finally figured out that my DSL service had been activated at an incorrect address- by no fault of my own!!!
ReplyDeleteI moved one year later so I called to cancel my service with Verizon. The representative gave me the address to where I should send the DSL modem. I sent it back to them and thought everything was fine until I got a DSL bill a month later. I called them up and the representative said, "Oh yes, you're absolutely right. I see here that you called to close your account, and we received the modem on such and such a date. It appears that your account was simply not closed properly." What the hell is that supposed to mean?!?! Either you close the damn account or you don't! So this guy tells me he will credit the money back and I should receive one final statement indicating that I don't owe anything. I got a statement, I had the online bills/adjustments reflecting all of this and guess what happens? 2 months later I get a call from a collection agency. I have never had credit issues in my entire life. Verizon had handed my account over to a collection agency. I sent all of my documentation and a formal letter to the agency and they didn't contact me again so I thought that it was case closed. Nope. Over the course of another year and a half I was turned over to FIVE DIFFERENT COLLECTION AGENCIES. This saga didn't end until a close friend who has a HUGE corporate account with the company spoke to her contact and actually threatened to pull her account from them. Low and behold I received a formal apology from Verizon on their letterhead saying that they had made an error, all agencies had been contacted and there would be no negative impact on my credit. Let's just say that I've saved that letter in a very safe place because I still don't believe that the BS is over. A new collection agency will probably try to contact me when I'm dead in a coffin, so I think I'll asked to be buried with that letter for when the time comes.
I feel the pain of my fellow Verizon victims. It sucks that us "regular joes" don't have the clout necessary to get Verizon representatives to do their jobs. (And to those Verizon employees who do actually do their jobs- this is not directed at you.)