| 4500+ Great Links | My Negative Verizon Wireless Experience |
| Copyright © 2006 by Zack Smith. All rights reserved. The situationIn 2006, I requested to Verizon that they suspend my account for a few months while I travel. This is not a new concept for Verizon Wireless. And indeed, the customer service representative, named Chad, said it was easy and that the suspension would be free.Alas, I learned later, after my account was suspended by my request, that it was not free, because they charged me $15. Chad also said that he would remind himself to suspend the account on the last day of the billing period, so that I would not have to pay any taxes for next month or lose minutes for the current month; in fact it appears he did not do that, because I was charged about $11 in taxes. So I received a bill for $15 plus one month's taxes totalling about $26. Call them up and refused to pay, since obviously I was misinformed, and possibly lied to. Plus Chad clearly screwed up the timing of the suspension, which was his mistake, not mine. What should have been simple and pain-free had become a nightmare. Note, they were now charging me $5 a month in late fees. Subsequent to my learning of Chads' mistakes, Verizon's customer service people have all been jerks. They have refused to admit Chad misinformed me, they refused to waive the $15 fee, and they refused to even meet me half way. Even AT&T Wireless was never this bad. What is most outrageous is that they even claim that in the "notes" for my account it says that he informed me of the fee: an obvious lie! I have ended my service with Verizon Wireless. I suspect Chad intentionally lied to me, because the behavior of subsequent representatives has been so aggressive and arrogant, and of course they have confirmed that Chad lied in the account "notes", claiming he told me something he never did. One rep even arrogantly told me that I had to pay the fee because it was mentioned in the fine print, somewhere or other. I've never even seen that fine print. And anway, does the word of their employee count for nothing? And why am I expected to memorize every detail of their fine print? At this point, I have no option but to complain to the Federal government about their fraud and other abuses. I strongly suggest that everyone avoid Verizon because it is a business that will screw you, sooner or later. Have you had a similar experience? You can file complaints with the FCC and FTC. Here are the links: UpdateI made my two complaints with the Feds about Verizon. After maybe 3 months, Verizon got back to me to say that they will waive the fee. Apparently they realized I was in the process of going hog-wild on their sorry asses, and that our skirmishes had developed into an all-out war. Well, that's fine. However I must still learn whether this has affected my credit report, and if it has, I must contest any negative mark from Verizon. Still though, I won. And never again will I give them my money.Related linksLinks
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