Complaint Review: Verizon Wireless

Actually, I have the same problem with the telemarketer calling from "unavailable" number and I can not do anything about it either, except keep changing my phone number.

I am new to Verizon, am on my second number already, I do not share my phone number with anyone but family, yet Verizon recycles their phone numbers, I have been told there are no new ones so I have to have someone else's old number, thus for causing the problem.

I do not have the telemarketer problems with my old Cingular numbers, only the new Verizon phone number, so why keep changing the phone number only to irritate my family members who have it.

So to all the people that share their cell phone numbers with every body and their brothers, I thank you for what you for the problems you have caused me, I am annoyed all day and all night with unwanted calls because of you.

As an average person, I like to read this site. There is something wrong with that too? Too bad.
There is clearly something wrong that YOU did as proven by those who also have the service and have nowhere near the issues you do.
No one needs to be a company shill to prove you wrong and that you don't know how to use your phone.

For someone who allegedly sees so much more alleged shilling going on, you really don't pay much attention to see that some people post on multiple topics to help others.
But that lack of attention would also explain your own problems in life.
And where are my paychecks from all these companies I allegedly work for? I could use the cash.

No ripoff as this site is actually intended for-not people's incompetence.

You've been proven wrong, and have nothing else to say. I have nothing to do with Verizon, at all, but they're trying to show you WHY you're being charged for the calls, whether you intended for them to call you or not. If you pick the call up, whether it be UNAVAILABLE or an unknown number to you, they'll charge you minute usage. It's not only Verizon that does this, as your carrier isn't going to monitor every call you make, to verify if it's a telemarketer or not. If they began doing that, you'd be whining because they were monitoring your calls.

Either way, the point has been made. This is basic business practice for any PCS carrier, not because they don't WANT to help you, but because they CAN'T monitor every single call you receive. They don't have the man power, and frankly, you're one of the very FEW I've ever seen complaining about this.

Well I'm just an average person, though you probably won't believe me becuase you seem to think everyone is out to get you, but here's my thought. You are the one that didn't ask the Verizon person what you were going to be charged for and what the airtime rules were. As far as I know, every cell company is the same, so go ahead and switch companies, but if you're getting that many calls, that's your own problem and you need to fix it. Whether that means changing your number or not is up to you. Personally, I choose my phone company based on the phone I want, not based on the plans becuase they all seem to work the same where I live. Somewhere along the lines you gave out your phone number for whatever reason and brought this on yourself. It's not that hard to go online and check how many minutes you've used each month.

I recently had my credit cards stolen and spent over an hour each night on the phone with my bank, and before I knew it I was over my minutes. I called Verizon right away and they added 500 bonus minutes and I upgraded my plan. I still had to pay for the minutes I went over before they added the bonus minutes. I am a beyond-broke college grad and my bill jumped to over $85, when I usually pay $40, but it was MY mistake and I paid it. You were the one that answered the phone when you didn't know who was calling. If its such a big deal, throw the stupid phone away and spare us your sob story crap.

Monitor your remaining limits. Since it appears your dissatisfied with the idea of watching your account on line, you can call #646 from your cell phone and verizon will text message your phone (FREE-NO CHARGE for text messages from Verizon) with your account "minutes used" information-pk, off pk, and number of calls. When your getting very close to going over your limit, stop making and accepting calls.

Call customer service at 611 from your cellphone, explain the problem and request your phone number be changed. ALSO, request that the NEW number be UNLISTED. That should solve your incomming problems.

Be very careful, not to publish your new number. Any time you give out the number, at work, friends and family, remind everyone that it is an unpublished number and that you do not wish them to give the number to anyone else.

This technique has worked for me for several decades (for all my phone lines I've had.)

I will tell you what strikes me as strange. I no sooner file a complaint and several verizon shills appear on this site. I know that there are people out there like you who shill for these big corporations.

Its to bad because i think this site was probably designed for the little guy who is always getting walked on by big business, however, the big corporations have found a way to counter this by simply having shills scroll this site then respond to complaints.

I see this happening more and more on this site, otherwise would 3 or 4 people immediately appear and begin attacking my complaint? I mean why would just the average person out there care about this and why would the average person even bother to take out the time to post a response? The reason is you are shills for a big corporation, you may fool some people but you are not fooling me.

Im done with responding to you shills.

Sounds like you didn't actually read the rebuttal at all, John.

This complaint brings up two questions:

1 - if you are using this as a personal cell service, why are you getting so many "unavailable" solicitations? Where on earth did you broadcast your number to?

2 - if you are using this as a business phone (which would explain the large number of solicitation calls), why did you pick the cheapest package with lowest minutes?

And yes the original rebuttal is correct, the moment you answer an incoming call during anytime minute hours, you get charged a minimum of one minute. And unless you block the number (when you can), answering those calls will be charged on any cell carrier's plan.

If you are using this as a personal phone and have not broadcast your number, then you might want to consider changing your phone number. It may be that the old user of that number had broadcast it. Most solicitors are using lists that are 3-4 years out of date, so if a previous user of that number had say put it in a yellow pages add, that may be why you are getting those calls.

Also, if you are using this as a personal use cell phone, why would you actually answer calls from numbers you don't recognize?

Go to www.donotcall.gov. You can be put on a no call list and if you are called by telemarketers, you can file a federal complaint. That should take care of at least part of your problem.

every CONNECTED call, whether it's incoming or outgoing. It doesn't matter if you say anything or not. If you or the party you're calling answers the phone, the connection is made and you will be charged a minute of air time. This is not an unusual practice in the telecom industry.

I'm old enough to remember the old ma bell - make a long distance call and you got billed by the minute for the connection regardless if you talked or not.

By your logic, Verizon should monitor all your calls and start the clock when you say something and stop it when you stop talking. That's not gonna happen for a host of reasons.

Another issue is how the blazes did you get over 80 unsolicited calls with a new cellphone (and assuming a new phone number?)

I've had my cellphone with Verizon since the company was formed, and I've been happy with the service and never had the problem you've written about.

If unsolicited calls are really as frequent as you claim, call Verizon and request the phone number be changed and when they do - be careful who you give the new number.

I've had the same cell phone number since 1994 and the only time I get a call from someone I don't know, it is either a wrong number or the week before election day.

Also, Verizon Wireless mails you an ITEMIZED telephone bill - it shows the outgoing and incoming calls

I have had Verizon for 8 years without a problem. I have had 1 or 2 calls as "unavailable" and a few from some telemarketer in NY but never got charged for them as i never answered them. If they bothered to leave a message, it went to voice mail which I - and I think pretty much every Verizon customer - has for free so that doesn' cost anything. If you don' recognize the number - don't answer.

this is a rebutle to your rebutle. Your rebutle almost sounds like you work for Verizon, do you? Because that sounds just like what the Verizon flunky told me.

My problem is not what you try to make it sound like, the problem is not the fact that when you use the phone to talk to someone you are billed and you should be billed, thats common since.
the problem is that phone solicitors call and weather you talk to them or not you are billed for 1 minute time. sometimes a call will come in when i say hello and theres no one there, i hang up and am biilled for that hang up by one minute. also many of the calls come from UNAVAILABLE, which means they do not have to identify themselves, theres no phone number to identify them, yet i am billed for their bogus call, i cant even have them blocked because i dont know who they are?

I was told if i called verizon and explained this to them they would void those calls, but the did not. The funniest part was when the flunky told me i should have the calls blocked, i asked him how do you block it when its listed as a UNAVAILABLE, he could not answer me, he didnt know what to say.

This is a system set up by the wireless companies to make money, they dont care who calls you or for what reason, they dont care if you didnt talk, its a one minute billing to you the client.

It is a set up system meant to rip off the customer and they are very successful at it, all you have to do is type in the search engine here at rip off reports the words Verizon Wireless and you will see all the unhappy customers.
Verizon is a ripoff...or they would do something about this injustice to their customers.

You think Verizon Wireless has unfair billing but the other wireless carriers., i.e., AT&T (formerly Cingular & AT&T Wireless), Nextel/Sprint and TMobile all have the same policy. The carriers all charge for airtime except for calls to the carriers themselves, i.e., you are not charged when making customer service related calls to Verizon Wireless if you are a Verizon Wireless customer.

Regarding the incoming calls from solicitors, I can only guess that you must have provided your Verizon Wireless telephone number to one or more merchants and thus you are on a major contact database. Did you fill out an entry for a free prize somewhere? I have been a Verizon Wireless customer for many years and I never received any solictor phone calls except from those that i knowingly gave them my phone number.

I suggest you ask Verizon to change your cell phone number.