Complaint Review: Verizon Wireless

Stephen:
Are we pissed?

First, the insurance issue. Did you purchase your phone at a communication store? Verizon is not responsible for the insurance. They just collect the monthly premium via your bill. The insurace company failed you. Their policy is pay a 50.00 decuctible and they will overnight you a phone. FYI..refurbished. You were very lucky that Verizon replaced your phone and free. That was in the interest of good customer service. They didnt have to.

Second, the in-network. If you were advised that you had unlimited in-network on three separate occasions but it was not so, then I will agree that you were given incorrect information and your bill should have been adjusted. When no one called you back, did you call them back? Did you request a supervisor? Did you get a name?

Third, the number change. Verizon does not charge for that except when some one abuses the priviledge. I can tell you what probably happened. The representative forgot to credit the 15.00 charge immediately. Unfotunately, that happens. That is an easy problem to resolve.

Fourth, the pro-ration. Whenever there is any change on the account affecting the plan. There is pro-ration. Days of the month devided by minutes times days service used. Im sure you understand the technicality. The representative should hve advised you. No surprises.

You should have made a stink like you're doing here now. Magic was just trying to be helpful. Not to be condescending. I can empathize with your anger but not you blatant disregard for his/her assistance.

Verizon is not a bad company. Unfortunately Stephen, call centers are notorious for attrition and sometimes stuff happens.

Do what you must to get your money back. You will reach "someone" who will remedy the solution.

And dont be nasty to me. I have not been to you.

Have a good day.

Stephen, I don't understand exactly what your beef is dude. I said that I used to work for Cricket Communications customer service hotline in Tech Support (www.mycricket.com). My response/rebuttal is based on experience with another wireless company. I don't have any exact "rebuttal", but rather a way to address what happened and HOW to avoid it next time.

I understand very well that this is a Verizon post. Don't think that I'm stupid when I thought enough of you to help explain what happened.

The original complaint didn't confuse me at all. I directly addressed your problems and how it should be handled CORRECTLY on Verizon's side. Most of your problems were caused by employees at their customer service call center and at their retail store (actually, saying "Verizon Store" is kind of vague).

Maybe I don't have a rebuttal. All I have is advice on how to avoid these problems again next time should they happen again.

Go search on this site for complaints about "Cricket". You will see all the complaints about Cricket Communications (www.mycricket.com) that people have posted on this site. Again, since I used to work in their Tech Support department, I tried to address customers' problems from what I knew about their service when I worked for them (I relocated in February of this year and they don't have a call center where I am that handles their customer service line).

If you used to work for Cricket (never heard of them) then why are you posting here? This is a VERIZON post. I'm griping about Verizon; currently. I'm sure you can find the Cricket complaints from whenever you were working for them somewhere else - and if there are none, then I'll consider going with Cricket if Cingular drops the ball.

In answer to your other ramblings: please read the original complaint ...closely. If it still confuses you, read it again. Repeat this until you achieve the 'a-ha' experience.

Thank you.

Meanwhile, does anyone have a rebuttal?

Stephen, I can understand how frustrated you are with the situation, but here again, you're blaming lack of training instead of blaming the lack of people not doing their job. Seems like most of your problems resulted from people who didn't know how to do their job, not that they weren't trained.

Also, there are things you can ask for because of certain situations. WHY didn't you ask Verizon to suspend your service until you got your new phone? Even though you would have incurred charges, they would have credited back "time without service".

I NEVER said that it was completely your fault or Verizon's fault. What you DON'T know is that many wireless companies do NOT have their own customer service call centers. They usually contract different telemarketing companies to handle that end.

As for the Verizon Retail Stores, that's directly through Verizon itself more than likely. If you originally bought your phone from an authorized dealer (they sell other phones than Verizon), then it's your fault IF you went back to THEM with a problem. They can do NOTHING about your phone, since they're only authorized to sell them. Only the retail stores can handle service and phone issues directly, and when I used to work in Cricket Communications customer service call center, it was up to the customer to call the insurance hotline in order to get a claim # to replace a phone. Then the customer took that claim # to a Cricket Retail Store to get it replaced. That's the way it was handled at Cricket. With Verizon, it may be different, and it probably is. Again, I'm speaking from past experience on the customer service side with another wireless provider.

With the billing mistakes regarding the IN-Network calling, that should have been credited back to your account all those extra charges for calling, ESPECIALLY if it was included in your plan. A supervisor probably could have fixed that.

I don't see how you took my rebuttal as a condescending accusation. Most of what I said was regarding the VERIZON REPRESENTATIVES' fault, and not your own. The ONLY thing that I said MIGHT have been your fault was on the insurance issue. It's YOU who needs to adopt a better tone. Just because you have "education" means nothing, especially if you're mean other people.

I was trying to help YOU out and explain what might have happened because I used to work for Cricket Communications as a Tech Support agent at a call center. If anything, I should know something about your issues because I used to work on that "side", therefore it wouldn't be far from fact to say that their customer service call center works very similar to Cricket's.

A rebuttal is to counter, disprove, or contradict the opposing party's evidence or presumption by introducing... NEW EVIDENCE. Look it up.

I'll take an honest loudmouth over a congenial snake any day. If I seem like a know-it-all to you, it's because I actually do know more than you, but that's not my fault. Sometimes other people know more than us in life. If I seem arrogant, it's because I'm steamed about having been robbed by Verizon in broad daylight. I never need to prove to you or anyone that I am a pleasant, patient man. I've been putting up with Verizon for two years. I put my money where my mouth is and I left Verizon. I am speaking out here because there is nothing else I can do and the Verizon execs know that; whoever they are. I have no problems with Cingular thus far because their execs seem to be hiring better staff and training them. I have a pleasant tone for everyone I meet, but if the good people at Cingular steal $600 out of my pocket and then refuse or are too dishonest to give it back, then they will not be hearing a pleasant tone; and neither will you for that matter - but that's because we are meeting here of all places so don't take this personally:

Charlie's response (which was not a rebuttal by the way) is really nothing more than a condescending accusation. He arrogantly claims that the reason I had trouble was not because of Verizon's incompetence, but because of my own, and that kind of talk gets on my nerves. The closest thing Charlie came to anything resembling a rebuttal was over the phone number change issue, but he was simply wrong and therefore he did not actually present any evidence to contradict my experience. If he expects a more pleasant tone out of me, then maybe he should adopt one himself.

"I like my phone company and they gave me ice cream too!" Well goodie two shoes for you. Did they pay you to say that? Give me my $600.00 back and I'll at least pretend that I care. Do you want to pay for it? I'll give you my paypal username, a detailed receipt, and a thank you note with flowers. You want to disprove it? Present actual evidence or go annoy someone else.

Last year my phone broke, but since I had the warranty (thank God!) I only had to pay $50 and got a new phone the following day (I had went in shortly before closing so they weren't able to get the new phone programmed for me the same day.) Granted this was done at a Verizon store that had a service center in the back, so I may have had a better experience than others. Yeah you may get someone on the line who is mouthy and arrogant (hasn't happened for me with Verizon, but when it does occur hang up and call back to speak to someone else. Remember if you maintain a calm and polite tone of voice they are more likely to help you--it's only human nature. That's my two cents. Good luck.

I have had no problems what so ever with my Verizon phone or any of the people that I have spoke to there at all. I have found them all polite and helpful.

I guess "Charlie" if you wanted all the politeness etc in the world due to you maybe u should be more polite yourself as you do come accross in that last comment as an arrogant rude know it all.

When untrained employees are allowed to run a large telephone company, something is very wrong with that company. I call it gross negligence. It's also cheap. Hence my complaint. I spoke with more than eight, and probably fifteen people overall. Do the math, then re-calculate the odds.

Insurance only works when someone at the insurance company actually does something. In my case, nothing was done for two weeks. I went two weeks without a phone. I paid for that time. Verizon knew it too. Oops! Hence the new phone.

Not that it matters to me at this point, but "In-Network Calling," is the proper terminology. They did "fix" it finally, in the sense that the charges ceased, but it wasn't ever really "fixed" in the "putting the money back to where it was before the screwup" sense of the word "fixed." I spoke with plenty of 'supervisors,' but the issue was never investigated as promised, and I was never reimbursed. That's called lying.

Verizon allows one free number change the first time for any reason. I'm a Novell CNE with ten years engineering experience in the field and I know what to do in a "Richard Kiel Memorial Abend," so when I'm told how to re-set a phone, I kinda know what I'm doing. I did fine. They messed up. I wanted them to waive my fifteen bucks as promised, and knock off the "pro-rating" nonsense that I was never told about.

I was under contract when I told them where to put it, but I couldn't seem to find anything in that contract that said Verizon is allowed to be incompetent, liars, and thieves. They breached the contract, but at no cost to them, and I am acutely aware of the cost of my decision to leave.

We work hard and pay for the system to work for US. It's not the other way around. We DO NOT work 'for' the system.

Isolated incidents? No. No way. What kind of excuse is lack of training? When untrained employees are allowed to run a large telephone company, something is very wrong with that company. I call it gross negligence. It's also cheap. Hence my complaint. I spoke with more than eight, and probably fifteen people overall. Do the math, then re-calculate your odds.

Insurance; well, it sure looks good on paper. But it only works when someone at the insurance company actually does something, doen't it? In my case, nothing was done for two weeks. I went two weeks without a phone. I paid for that time. Verizon knew it too. Oops! Hence the new phone.

Not that it matters to me at this point, but "In-Network Calling," is the proper terminology. Allow me to clarify something: They did "fix" it finally, in the sense that the charges ceased, but it wasn't ever really "fixed" in the "putting the money back to where it was before the screwup" sense of the word "fixed." I spoke with more 'supervisors' than I am comfortable speaking with, but the issue was never investigated as promised, and I was never reimbursed. Go figure. That's what I call lying, and it sounds absurd because it is absurd.

Nope. You're wrong. Verizon allows one free number change the first time for any reason. *228 send: Yeah yeah yeah. Look; I'm a Novell CNE with ten years engineering experience in the field and I know what to do in a "Richard Kiel Memorial Abend," so when some weenie at Verizon tells me I have to to dial *228, I kinda know what I'm doing there, chief. I only wanted them to waive my fifteen bucks as promised, and knock off the "pro-rating" nonsense.

I was under contract when I told them where to put it, chief, but I couldn't seem to find anything there that said Verizon is allowed to be incompetent liars and thieves. They breached the contract, not me - and I am acutely aware of the cost of parting.

We work hard and pay for the system to work for US. It's not the other way around. We DO NOT work 'for' the system. You and your buddies at Verizon need to think about that. I paid in and out for my right to rant, and I have good reason to. Any more raspberries from you, and I'll send you the bill.

Isolated incidents? No. No way. What kind of excuse is lack of training? When untrained employees are allowed to run a large telephone company, something is very wrong with that company. I call it gross negligence. It's also cheap. Hence my complaint. I spoke with more than eight, and probably fifteen people overall. Do the math, then re-calculate your odds.

Insurance; well, it sure looks good on paper. But it only works when someone at the insurance company actually does something, doen't it? In my case, nothing was done for two weeks. I went two weeks without a phone. I paid for that time. Verizon knew it too. Oops! Hence the new phone.

Not that it matters to me at this point, but "In-Network Calling," is the proper terminology. Allow me to clarify something: They did "fix" it finally, in the sense that the charges ceased, but it wasn't ever really "fixed" in the "putting the money back to where it was before the screwup" sense of the word "fixed." I spoke with more 'supervisors' than I am comfortable speaking with, but the issue was never investigated as promised, and I was never reimbursed. Go figure. That's what I call lying, and it sounds absurd because it is absurd.

Nope. You're wrong. Verizon allows one free number change the first time for any reason. *228 send: Yeah yeah yeah. Look; I'm a Novell CNE with ten years engineering experience in the field and I know what to do in a "Richard Kiel Memorial Abend," so when some weenie at Verizon tells me I have to to dial *228, I kinda know what I'm doing there, chief. I only wanted them to waive my fifteen bucks as promised, and knock off the "pro-rating" nonsense.

I was under contract when I told them where to put it, chief, but I couldn't seem to find anything there that said Verizon is allowed to be incompetent liars and thieves. They breached the contract, not me - and I am acutely aware of the cost of parting.

We work hard and pay for the system to work for US. It's not the other way around. We DO NOT work 'for' the system. You and your buddies at Verizon need to think about that. I paid in and out for my right to rant, and I have good reason to. Any more raspberries from you, and I'll send you the bill.

Isolated incidents? No. No way. What kind of excuse is lack of training? When untrained employees are allowed to run a large telephone company, something is very wrong with that company. I call it gross negligence. It's also cheap. Hence my complaint. I spoke with more than eight, and probably fifteen people overall. Do the math, then re-calculate your odds.

Insurance; well, it sure looks good on paper. But it only works when someone at the insurance company actually does something, doen't it? In my case, nothing was done for two weeks. I went two weeks without a phone. I paid for that time. Verizon knew it too. Oops! Hence the new phone.

Not that it matters to me at this point, but "In-Network Calling," is the proper terminology. Allow me to clarify something: They did "fix" it finally, in the sense that the charges ceased, but it wasn't ever really "fixed" in the "putting the money back to where it was before the screwup" sense of the word "fixed." I spoke with more 'supervisors' than I am comfortable speaking with, but the issue was never investigated as promised, and I was never reimbursed. Go figure. That's what I call lying, and it sounds absurd because it is absurd.

Nope. You're wrong. Verizon allows one free number change the first time for any reason. *228 send: Yeah yeah yeah. Look; I'm a Novell CNE with ten years engineering experience in the field and I know what to do in a "Richard Kiel Memorial Abend," so when some weenie at Verizon tells me I have to to dial *228, I kinda know what I'm doing there, chief. I only wanted them to waive my fifteen bucks as promised, and knock off the "pro-rating" nonsense.

I was under contract when I told them where to put it, chief, but I couldn't seem to find anything there that said Verizon is allowed to be incompetent liars and thieves. They breached the contract, not me - and I am acutely aware of the cost of parting.

We work hard and pay for the system to work for US. It's not the other way around. We DO NOT work 'for' the system. You and your buddies at Verizon need to think about that. I paid in and out for my right to rant, and I have good reason to. Any more raspberries from you, and I'll send you the bill.

Isolated incidents? No. No way. What kind of excuse is lack of training? When untrained employees are allowed to run a large telephone company, something is very wrong with that company. I call it gross negligence. It's also cheap. Hence my complaint. I spoke with more than eight, and probably fifteen people overall. Do the math, then re-calculate your odds.

Insurance; well, it sure looks good on paper. But it only works when someone at the insurance company actually does something, doen't it? In my case, nothing was done for two weeks. I went two weeks without a phone. I paid for that time. Verizon knew it too. Oops! Hence the new phone.

Not that it matters to me at this point, but "In-Network Calling," is the proper terminology. Allow me to clarify something: They did "fix" it finally, in the sense that the charges ceased, but it wasn't ever really "fixed" in the "putting the money back to where it was before the screwup" sense of the word "fixed." I spoke with more 'supervisors' than I am comfortable speaking with, but the issue was never investigated as promised, and I was never reimbursed. Go figure. That's what I call lying, and it sounds absurd because it is absurd.

Nope. You're wrong. Verizon allows one free number change the first time for any reason. *228 send: Yeah yeah yeah. Look; I'm a Novell CNE with ten years engineering experience in the field and I know what to do in a "Richard Kiel Memorial Abend," so when some weenie at Verizon tells me I have to to dial *228, I kinda know what I'm doing there, chief. I only wanted them to waive my fifteen bucks as promised, and knock off the "pro-rating" nonsense.

I was under contract when I told them where to put it, chief, but I couldn't seem to find anything there that said Verizon is allowed to be incompetent liars and thieves. They breached the contract, not me - and I am acutely aware of the cost of parting.

We work hard and pay for the system to work for US. It's not the other way around. We DO NOT work 'for' the system. You and your buddies at Verizon need to think about that. I paid in and out for my right to rant, and I have good reason to. Any more raspberries from you, and I'll send you the bill.

You, like many other people on this site, have had an isolated bad experience with Verizon. Usually what happens is that you might get some "new" customer service reps who may not be familiar with the billing system, so they may mess up your account or when you go to a store, they won't know the policies about how cell phone insurance works.

First of all, for the phone insurance claim, from what I know it's up to the customer to file the claim, then when the insurance rep gives you the claim #, you take the # back to the Verizon Retail Store, and THEN the store will replace your phone for $50. To my knowledge, that's how it works. But, Verizon ALSO says that whenever you have a problem, it becomes THEIR problem...the FIRST time...

For the "mobile-to-mobile calling" feature, that was the customer service rep's fault for not trying to make sure they understood what YOU meant by it. I used to work for Cricket Communications (check their Rip-Off reports on this site), so I know what you meant by "mobile-to-mobile" calling. That rep was probably new and had never heard certain cellular phone plan terminology. If they charged you for calls that were supposed to be under the "IN-Calling FREE", then they SHOULD be able to detect AND correct that. Try speaking with a supervisor to find out what's going on. Remember to get employee ID numbers.

As for the phone number change, usually cell phone companies DO normally allow at least ONE *free* phone # change, but ONLY due to harrassing/threatening calls. WHENEVER your phone # is changed, the system must first deactivate one number, then activate a new # (which also resets your voicemailtoo. Sometimes, this process can get messed up by th ecomputer, but normally it doesn't. If the phone # change fee wasn't waived when you were promised it, speak to a Supervisor to get it waived.

Also, WHENEVER you change your phone #, the very next instruction that any tech support rep should give you is to REPROGRAM your phone (dial *228 SEND). This is the ONLY way that your phone will work because the system will no longer be recognized by the cell phone system as having the previous number you changed from.

If you cancelled your Verizon phone, I hope you weren't under a contract. If you were, be on the lookout for a letter from Verizon regarding an Early Termination Fee because you broke the contract....