Verizon SUCKS

[danaeris]

OK, so last December, unseelie and I went on down to a Verizon in Daly City and added him to my account.

When I did so, I was very careful. I asked a lot of questions, and the rep there told me in no uncertain terms that MY contract would still expire June 5th 2004, but that Unseelie's would remain for a full 1-2 years depending on which contract we signed him up for. He explained to me that at that point I would be on month to month until I renewed a contract, and as long as I stayed with them or remained on month to month, Unseelie would still be on my account, except bound to stay with them. If I left, he would have to start paying the full amount that I paid monthly before I added him. (about $50/month)

Now they're singing a different song. No, ma'am, whenever you change your account you are extending your contract. It doesn't expire until Dec. 26, 2005 (although I am still eligible for a new spiffy phone April 5, even though they don't carry the phone that I want).

I sent them :
I'm sorry, but that is just not acceptable. I would not have added my now EX boyfriend to my plan if I had been told the truth. I am very unhappy with how Verizon has handled this, and I am equally unhappy with your selection of phones. Before this exchange I was waffling about whether or not I would be leaving Verizon when my contract expires but this ridiculous incident tells me just how downhill your customer service has gone. Your representative at the Daly City store either lied to me, or was too incompetent to know what would happen to my plan when I added my ex boyfriend. So either this is a case of fraudulent practice or gross incompetence, and there is no reason why I, the customer, should suffer for that. I would like to speak with a manager about this matter. I'm sure all my friends and the readers of my blog will be interested to follow the course of these events as they unfold.

Sincerely,
Questioner
Freelance science and technology journalist


. Hopefully it isn't pushing too hard. Maybe it was low of me to pull out my status as a science and technology journalist, but *shrug* I'm pretty pissed, and this IS pretty low of them.

Comments

[kaidevis.livejournal.com]

I don't think you're pushing to hard. But in the future, always, always, get things pertaining to contracts in writing. If the rep had been explaining the truth, he should have been able to whip out the customer contract and shown you very clearly where what means what. If you can't get someone to do that, then ask them or their manager to write it up in a letter so you've got it in writing. That's when the truth tends to come out.

Sorry for the suckage though. And it's not just Verizon; most companies are evil about their contracts. And reps get commissions, and aren't always interested in telling you the truth if they can just get your business.

Even *Verizon* know they suck:

[davetoo.livejournal.com]

So many people hated GTE that when they changed their name to Verizon (and many think they did so to get away from the bad rep they had as GTE), they pre-registered hundreds of protest domain names like this one:


Registrant:
Verizon Trademark Services LLC (DOM-382944)
1320 North Court House Road Arlington VA 22201 US

Domain Name: verizonsucks.com

Registrar Name: Markmonitor.com
Registrar Whois: whois.markmonitor.com
Registrar Homepage: http://www.markmonitor.com

Administrative Contact:
Christian R. Andersen (NIC-14209143) Verizon
600 Hidden Ridge Drive HQE03H14 Irving TX 75038 US
christian.andersen@verizon.com +1.9727187621 Fax- -
Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
DNS Manager -(AQKUABCKBO) (NIC-14209145) Verizon Communications
919 Hidden Ridge Irving TX 75038 US
sysmgr@verizon.com +1.9725074902 Fax- +1.5094717731

Created on..............: 1999-Nov-11.
Expires on..............: 2007-Nov-11.
Record last updated on..: 2004-Mar-05 10:53:50.

Domain servers in listed order:

NS13.WORLDNIC.COM 216.168.225.143
NS14.WORLDNIC.COM 216.168.225.144

[emmett-the-sane.livejournal.com]

Welcome to my world. I have been told conflicting things by Verizon on more times that I could recount. Every time you call to say "hello," they'll write you in for two more years.

Actually, when I first signed up, I signed up on a one year contract online, just because it was no better a deal for to go for two years. I got the same assortment of accessories. When my phone arrived, the invoice said two year contract.

Furthermore, my accessories didn't show up. I called and asked about that, and the rep said they'd be there any day. Two more weeks went by, and another rep said that that was odd, and that it'd be there any day for sure. Another two weeks, and they said I'd need to call a different department, which was only open very short hours. Calling that dept, I was given yet more runaround... and so forth.

Eventually, about 6 months passed, and I called again. I was told it was too late, I wasn't eligible for any such thing. They didn't even have records of the promotion! I threatened bloody murder until they sent me a "free gift" of the very accessories I'd signed up for.

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

It's very reasonable of you to write and complain. But IMHO, your letter would be stronger for being written in a more calm tone, with fewer "hot" words like 'ridiculous,' 'incompetent,' etc. Those kinds of words may lead them to focus more on "ooh, irate customer" and less on "customer who is making a legitimate case for how we mishandled her account." I'd suggest focusing on behaviors moreso than labels - "on such and such date, I was told this information by Ms. X. Currently, I am being told conflicting information. I would like to know how you are going to address this issue."

[dicedork.livejournal.com]

I will never ever again buy any product from Verizon for similar "money above all" tactics. I bought a phone from GTE right before it was bought out and the way I was treated was--well based on the class action lawsuit that I was nearly a part of--it must have bordered on criminal if not crossed that line.