Complaint Review: Verizon Wireless - New York New York

All of us have heard the stories and some have personally experienced some form of identity theft. It appears that while identity theft is on the rise, other forms of theft are as well. Sadly, new scams are shaping up everywhere and this time, Verizon Wireless has joined in as well. They have also gotten creative with their attempts to steal our money.

I signed on with Verizon for the first time back in 2004. It was my first cell phone contract with any carrier, so decided to try them out for a year. After the year was up, I continued on a month to month basis for the next three years, keeping my Samsung (my dinosaur) camera phone. The phone was fabulous and I never had a single issue with Verizon. My bill was always accurate and I never had to call Customer Service with questions or complaints.

All of that changed this past summer when I made the decision to purchase another phone. I knew my Samsung would not last forever, so opted to engage in the new every two promotion deal and sign the two year contract agreement. I was a satisfied customer after all and sang their praises to anyone who would listen.

I took a chance on an LG Chocolate, which gave me nothing but trouble. I had a problem not only with the phone itself, but with my billing from Verizon. By the first bill, I had been charged for text messages I never sent or received and for going over my allotted minute allowance. When I called to dispute, the representative said the additional charges were related to the fact that I changed calling plans mid way through my billing cycle. A blatant lie. So, I was credited for the minutes I did not use and for the texts that were in question. However, since I did not get an explanation as to how such a phenomenon could have occurred, I opted to cancel my text feature at the suggestion of the representative so that I did not have to worry about it.

The next billing cycle revealed something new. I monitor my minute usage on a daily basis so that I do not go over. That is just common sense, and that is what the #646 feature is for! However, with my text feature disabled, I needed to write down my balance. Mid way through my cycle, somewhere in the course of twenty four hours, 45 unaccounted for minutes had been added to my balance! I had been so careful and could not understand how I had lost nearly an hour on the phone. When I called to check my balance again a few hours later, 12 minutes had been added back onto the previous balance.

At this point I was concerned that something was wrong with the LG itself because I could not understand how a minute balance could go up and down. I called Customer Service to explain my dilemma and to get the text feature put back on my phone so that I would have physical proof of what I was observing. The representative could not explain the minute balance situation, and basically said that if I had the text feature restored, then I was responsible for every message....even if it was in question! She was basically calling me liar. I hardly ever used the text feature, which my history would reveal, but in my attempt to solve one problem, my ability to identify another problem had been hindered as a result. I could not believe I was going through this after four years of total satisfaction.

The representative suggested we change out my LG and monitor minute usage. She said someone would call me to discuss my bill when it was finalized. No one ever did. Ultimately though, this began a series of replacement after replacement of LG's for various reasons until my last and final Chocolate, when I decided I wanted a different phone.

I called Customer Service again and told them what I wanted to do. I was told I could go to a local Verizon store and pick out something else. When I went to a local agent, they told me I had to go to their corporate location. I went to their corporate location, and was told they would not honor the agreement without extending my contract another year. I had to accept a phone of their choice, in their matrix in order to get what was considered an 'upgrade'. Naturally, the only thing available to me was the LG Chocolate III, which I refused. They were rude, condescending and shunned me as though I were invisible.

I called the Customer Service people back to tell them what was happening, while I was in the corporate store. I reached a nice young lady who must have known I was on the verge of making a lot of noise. I stood in the store on the phone with her, as she read me a list of manufacturers and models I was entitled to.....but I had to make the decision on the spot because she was breaking protocol. Whatever Verizon protocol was....and I am convinced now that there is no protocol other than what they determine they can get away with. I picked out a Motorola thinking that nothing could be any worse than this. I also requested my text feature be enabled again. She accommodated every request.

So, I have had the Motorola for two billing cycles. In that time, I have already replaced the phone and the battery for only maintaining 1.5 hours of talk time (2 hours less than the review rating). I kept track of my minute usage routinely again, every day for the entire first cycle. No problems at all.

Today, we are back to the minute phenomenon again. I relaxed a bit the last few weeks, only checking my balance on days I knew I used my anytime minutes. I kept my balance low on purpose so that I could be free to use them the last week of my cycle for important long distance calls. Yesterday, I had a balance of just over 100 minutes. By this morning, I was just under 350, and had only used 120 or so minutes in between. There was absolutely no way this was possible.

I called Verizon again, only to speak briefly to a representative and request a manager to get involved. We went around and around until he finally said there was nothing he could do for me until the bill was finalized. I asked him why we needed to wait when I knew there was a problem now! I got nowhere.

When I got off the phone, I was determined simply to report them to the FCC and the State Attorney General. I went back through my bill details, and tallied my peak minutes used. The total was what I thought it was supposed to be, and nowhere near the ~350 they insisted I had used. I mean, the proof was right there!!!

A few hours later, I called #646 again. This time, I was back to ~230 minutes for the same date/time estimate that showed the ~350! I called 646 again an hour later to see if it had changed again. This time, it was updated for the current date and time, but the ~230 minute balance remained.

I did not get a call from anyone at Verizon to let me know if anyone had reviewed my bill and made adjustments or to inform me of what other strange phenomenon had taken place again to lower my balance....only this time 100+ minutes instead of 12. Now, if I had not checked or disputed....and will I ever get any sort of explanation of what is going on with this up and down minute balance situation??

And this is not even a detailed account of what I have been through with them since June, 2008...if that can be believed. I don't know what is going on with this company, but I am not singing their praises anymore.

Tell it like it is

Conyers, Georgia

U.S.A.

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