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Is there any way to fight these people- Verizon wireless


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A few months back I got into an argument with a Verizon rep over a contract/billing issue. I withheld payment and demanded to speak with a supervison. They told me that no supervisor was available- they would have someone contact me. No one ever did and my service was immediately disconnected as soon as it it hit the past due column incurring a series or reconnection charges- 15.00 per phone. Long story short- I have had several conversations with the low dollar customer service morons- there is no notation of these conversations on my account history. So today I said the heck with it- I told them I would just pay the disputed amount and change carriers. I am not under contract- I have had this service for 3 years. So now they are telling me that i Am under contract until Jan 2010 because of a "free phone" that I received a while back when my other POS died. I still have the box and the recipt showing where I paid 320.00 for the phone specifically as not to extend my contract obligation. I feel sure that I will prevail as I have the papers in my posession. We have some really smart people on this forum so maybe somebody has an idea of how to voice my complaints or report these jerks in a manner hat will cause them trouble. Suggestions??

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I would go see them in person with ticket in hand. I'm month to month with AT&T and buy my phones on Ebay. That way there is no confusion and no underhanded contract extensions your unaware of. Also call and make sure your month to month before disputing something.

Now I have gone into a car dealership and helped sell cars. You could try that one. It will either get you satisfaction or they will call the police.

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Fighting Corporate America

The song says, “I fought the law, and the law won.” It is possible to fight the lumbering giants that provide our everyday services, but it is like tying down Gulliver all by yourself. It can be done, but you have to catch him sleeping.

I had a similar problem with my cell phone company – they tried to tell me I was on a contract also. Be prepared to return the cell phone. In fact, tell them you are doing it. They don’t want it back.

After two years of trying, I finally got some automatic charges reversed from my credit card recently. One of the things that helped was I spoke to the BofA fraud department. They didn’t remove the charges, but they did say that since I changed credit cards, the companies could not automatically ding my account each month without my explicit permission – that is fraud.

I wrote the companies a letter. I wrote that I did not agree to the charges; that I did not make any verbal or written agreements; that “I am not receiving any product or service…I dispute these charges. I want them stopped and the charges reversed. I want all my money returned to me….I am reporting these charges as fraudulent business practices to my credit card company and my local state attorney general. I am consulting an attorney.”

I copied BofA fraud department and the state Attorney General. Then start asking the advice of any legal friends. Maybe even go see a couple of attorneys. One or two choice words from them might be all you need to solidify your legal ground.

Also, while you are at it, better get the forms for filing a small claims court case. You should know how, and be prepared, to file a case in small claims court. They might actually send an attorney to dispute your claim, but it is more likely that they will:

1 – cut off your service without returning any money

2 – cut off your service and return some money

3 - not return some money

4 – return some money

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Some states have phone utility regulators who might give V/W a hard time and get their attention. Try to find out if there's one in your state and write a fully documented letter w/attachments. It might be worth trying even if they're little more than a toothless PITA.

I got some sort of attention-getting action laid on Verizon by the Maryland state utility commission a few years ago. Verizon denied trying to slam me into their long distance, and it seemed like they didn't want the commission fussing at them.

Unfortunately, it seems to me NC is excessively protective of its corporations.

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My wife and I had used verizon for years (she's been deceased for 3 1/2 years now), but I decided a couple of years ago to switch to AT&T, mainly because they use GSM technology instead of CDMA. They told me they would charge me $150 perline to cancel my contract. I was pi$$ed, for sure. I went ahead and waited until I could dump them.... bye bye!

I wanted a GSM carrier so I could more easily travel overseas and have phone service on my own phone. With GSM, I get a local carrier SIM card for whatever country I am in. It is way cheaper than paying the $3 a minute AT&T would charge. To do that, I purchased my own unlocked phone.

I already had the phone, and used it on AT&T's Go Phone plan, which is a pay as you go plan. It works out pretty well.I also have a much better signal at my work place.

I HATE Verizon, but they all get you one way or another.

Bruce

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just get the contact info for corporate customer service support. be prepared to fax copies of proof of the 320 (if in fact that particular transaction extended your contract).

going forward, I would avoid the characterizations (everyone is a moron and an idiot, no need to remind your participants of that), and to protect your rights, any disputes need to be followed up in writing with proof of receipt. once a written dispute is received, the disputed amount is on hold until the investigation is completed.

you have no such rights with verbal disputes done over the telephone.

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Actually, looking up the regulations and notifying the regulatory body of a violation gets a very quick response. When energy prices shot up last year, my automatic payments on my three-month average electric bill fell behind. My local utility is a state regulated monopoly. They shut my power off without any notice of any kind. The law not only requires some kind of notice, but several advance notices. I emailed them and the state agency. Power was restored instantly! The power company called several times to make sure that I was happy and would not pursue the complaint.

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Hi Winchester

We seem to move around a lot and have both Verizon and Brighthouse. Both companies can be a real pain from time to time.

Regarding your question, if you are correct in that you are not under obligation I would:

1) Not pay any fees

2) Request a copy of the contract that they indicate binds you, likely they can't find it.

3) Write them a letter saying unless they provide a contract you are witholding these fees. This is useful if you need to provide it to a credit agency down the road or show a judge in small claims court. Tell them in the letter you need proof of a contract.

4) Switch carriers and get on with life.

5) It's a pain but take notes, get names, record dates and communicate billing problems that don't get resolved in writing. They will probably lose anything you send them, that's to your advantage. If it's a big $ amount get a delivery receipt.

6) YOu have leverage when you are terminating, even more when installing, otherwise they have it as they can cut you off.

I won't go into all the issues we have had moving around 5 times in 3 years. Suffice to say they aren't bad people but their systems just aren't as accurate as they would lead you to believe. You can call again right after a call and get a different answer. Documentation pays off. They lose returned equipment. Get receipts. They will try some intimidation and threaten.

One of the dumber things recently was we had a modem and cable box, they said return it. Had to goto a special store about 10 miles away. So we found the special store drove there. The guy in the store said, nope, we don't want that back. We begged him to take it and he refused. Then we got a bill for lost equipment and my wife went ballistic. They eventually sent a prepaid mailer after trying to intimidate us into driving back to the store again. I used my see you in court one that time. It's very frustrating so I feel for you.

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Unfortunately all the carriers are like that. It's the nature of the system. I've worked for Sprint and there is absolutely no benefit for the employee to really do some research and help a customer out. You have quotas you must meet and if your average handle time is high you will get fired. If you give away too much in the way of doing what is right by a customer you get fired. The name of the game is sell plans upgrades and contract extensions and you are rewarded for that, so guess what there are people that will take advantage of that system and screw the customer over. By the time it is figured out by the customer you already have your commission or bonus. The company has the customer by the short hairs and no one will help you.

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Not much really to add other than to say that I've had to deal with VW over billing errors and I feel your pain. Ironically, the 8 or so years I was with them, I had great service as far as making/receiving calls.

When I got married, the wife was with (under contract) Alltel and I was with VW and not under any contract. After doing some comparisons, I went on my wife's Alltel plan, we up'd our minutes slightly, and our total monthly bill (VW + Alltel) dropped by around $100. Honestly, the Alltel folks here are awesome. Seriously - I've not dealt with better customer service folks anywhere. In fact, the guy we dealt with said that the "company line" was to sell me a new phone but that since he knew my old Verizon Motorola was a CDMA, he'd make an attempt to get AllTel's system to "recognize it". After accessessing some phone menu's and calling his "geek friend", he got it to work. He went way above what he had to do and could've just spouted the company policy, but he didn't. Anyhow.........

Keep at 'em winchester.

Tom

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OK after a 2 hour long fight at the store and a conversation with some customer care supervisor in Fla- they finally admitted that they wer wrong on the contract issue and I am now oficially listed as month to month- no contract. Still have disputed charges over another matter concerning my contract. They offered no good will gesture to cover my having to waste my time at the store fighting to prove them wrong. I have kept my language and have dealt in a businesslike manner but it has been difficult. Verizon uses the tactic of playing stupid in an attempt to wear you down until you give up if there is any type of disagreement. They either hire very stupid people or train everyone to act dumb to frustrate people with complaints. I would urge anyone considering verizon out of need to keep your contract as simple as possible and skip any of the extras as i can promise you that billing issues will definitely occur and the mistakes will not be in your favor. I fully intend to pay my highschool vacation son by the hour to file complaints against these crooks. i will most likely end paying the disputed charges to keep these morons from screwing up my credit.

Never again- Verizon can jump off a cliff.

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A few months back I got into an argument with a Verizon rep over a contract/billing issue. I withheld payment and demanded to speak with a supervison. They told me that no supervisor was available- they would have someone contact me. No one ever did and my service was immediately disconnected as soon as it it hit the past due column incurring a series or reconnection charges- 15.00 per phone. Long story short- I have had several conversations with the low dollar customer service morons- there is no notation of these conversations on my account history. So today I said the heck with it- I told them I would just pay the disputed amount and change carriers. I am not under contract- I have had this service for 3 years. So now they are telling me that i Am under contract until Jan 2010 because of a "free phone" that I received a while back when my other POS died. I still have the box and the recipt showing where I paid 320.00 for the phone specifically as not to extend my contract obligation. I feel sure that I will prevail as I have the papers in my posession. We have some really smart people on this forum so maybe somebody has an idea of how to voice my complaints or report these jerks in a manner hat will cause them trouble. Suggestions??

Suggestions??

your only weapon is to cancel service.

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