Consumerist
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interviews
Verizon C.E.O. Ivan Seidenberg Reveals The Telecom's Future
The future of Verizon lies in bundled apps and global domination, according to C.E.O. Ivan Seidenberg. Verizon's head honcho appeared last week on Charlie Rose to chat about a range of things, including FiOs, the decision to build a CDMA network, and the future of your cellphone service. If nothing else, it's nice to put a calm, seemingly rational face to the grotesque anti-consumer corporate monster that we all loathe. Hit the jump for the full interview. More » -
csrs
Verizon's New Marketing Pitch: Squirrels Eat Old Phone Lines So Upgrade To FiOS For Guaranteed Service!
Verizon told Debbie that upgrading to FiOS was the only way to guarantee uninterrupted phone service because apparently, Verizon's old copper lines are no match for the insatiable appetite of copper-munching squirrels. Never mind that FiOS doesn't work during a blackout for more than a few hours, or that Debbie's problem had nothing to do with hungry squirrels... More » -
comcatastrophe
Comcast Credits Your Payment To The Wrong Account, Disconnects Your Cable
Reader Adam wrote in to let us know that he's switching to FiOS after Comcast credited his payment to the wrong account number, accused him of not paying his bill, disconnected his cable, lied about it, then couldn't get it back on for several days. More » -
errors
Time Warner Cable: You're Not Getting HD Because FOX Stopped Broadcasting It
Reader Dave has graciously shared with us a tragic series of emails he sent to Time Warner Cable, the highlight of which comes when he tells them about the time that he called in because the New York City FOX affiliate wasn't working (he wanted to watch the NY Football Giants) and was told that FOX 5 had decided to stop broadcasting in HD. More » -
fios
FiOS Installer Drills Through Wife's Wedding Dress
A Verizon FiOS installer showed up yesterday to install the service in Sam's house, but misjudged the location of the laundry room by 4 feet and drilled directly into the closet where his wife kept her wedding dress. More » -
verizon
The Verizon Website Is Surprisingly Honest About "Upselling" You
Reader Beth is impressed with the honesty Verizon displays in the title of the webpage where they try to sell you bundled telecom packages. More » -
time warner
Time Warner Cable Expands Metered Billing To Four More Cities
If you live in Rochester, NY, Austin or San Antonio, TX, or Greensboro, NC, your broadband access from TWC is about to be capped. The company is expanding its trial run from Beaumont, TX to these additional four cities, where TWC broadband customers will have to choose one of the company's tiers of service—anywhere from 5GB to 40GB per month. DSL Reports notes that all five markets lack Verizon's FiOS as an option, and TWC faces little to no competition from other providers.
"Time Warner Cable Expands Metered Billing" [DSLReports] (Thanks to pezhore!)
(Photo: Willrad) -
verizon fios
New Jersey Sues Verizon Over "Free LCD TV" Disaster
The State of New Jersey has filed a lawsuit against Verizon, alleging that its marketing, sales, billing and customer service practices for its FiOS television, telephone and internet services are deceptive and misleading. The lawsuit is partly in response to the now-infamous "Free LCD" disaster. More » -
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free wifi
Comcast Using Free Wi-Fi To Keep You From Switching To FiOS
Comcast is testing WiFi service at about 120 NJ Transit rail stations in an effort to retain broadband customers who might otherwise be tempted to switch to FiOS. Will it work? More » -
hd wars
Comcast Says FiOS HD Is "Mundane," Verizon Says They Kick Comcast "In The Teeth"
The war between Verizon FiOS and Comcast is heating up as Verizon moves into Comcast's home territory of Philadelphia. The main point of contention? Verizon claims to have more HD than Comcast, but Comcast says Verizon's HD programming sucks and shouldn't count. Yes, really.
The Philadelphia Inquirer says that Comcast is upset that more than 250 of Verizon's HD "choices" are "mundane" and to count them is "misleading and irrelevant to consumers." More » -
baby come back
Cablevision Wants You Back, Promises "Free 911"
Ever since switching to FIOS a few months back, reader GiteEmSteveDave has been pestered by his old provider, Cablevision. Like any other jaded ex, Cablevision is losing it's mind in well-meaning promises - like, offering "411+911 FREE". Gitem, you have to be firm - you had good times together, but you're with FIOS now, and Cablevision needs to move on and accept it. If they don't get the picture, then maybe a little tough love is in order. -
show us your verizon face
"It's Been 35 Days, Can Someone PLEASE Properly Install FiOS?"
Reader David has been trying to get his Verizon FiOS installed and running for 35 days now. He's escalated his complaint to the highest level and it seems that Verizon is simply powerless to fix the problem. We'd ordinarily suggest he cancel and use another company — but he's locked into Verizon by his homeowner's association. Even if he doesn't use it (and currently, since it's not working, he's not using it) he has to pay for it. More » -
verizon
When 9 Phone Calls Can't Get Your FiOS Installed, Email The CEO
Reader Bill was getting the run around from Verizon— but he wasn't even a customer yet! His dramatic ordeal started on October 9th, and by the 16th he'd taken a full day off of work, called Verizon nine times and still he was without FiOS. More » -
verizon
Verizon Told Me Their FiOS Gift Card Promotion Never Even Existed
Reader Jacob says that he's been getting the runaround for months after signing up with Verizon during their free $200 Circuit City gift card promotion, but he finally reached his breaking point when a Verizon rep told him that the promotion never even existed. Too bad it did exist, and we wrote about it. More » -
verizon fios
Dear Verizon: I Am Canceling FiOS Because Of Your "Ridiculous And Unacceptable Billing Practices"
Reader Rob has cc'd us on the Executive Email Carpet Bomb that he launched on Verizon due to the fact that he has been unable to get them to send him a bill. Each month (for the past 3 months) Verizon has been deducting random amounts of money from his checking account, and when he asks them to send him some sort of bill (electronic or paper) they assure him they will — and then they don't. By his calculations, Verizon has overcharged him $117.68 over the last three billing cycles. More » -
fios
Most Verizon FIOS Installations Violate National Electric Standards
A two-year investigation has concluded that most Verizon FIOS installations fail to meet national safety standards, and could cause fires or electrocutions. FIOS is famous for house fires, but New York's Public Service Commission first started its investigation back in 2006 after several inspectors discovered improperly grounded installations. More » -
comcastrophe
Comcast Disconnected My Verizon, What Should I Do?
Here's an odd situation: Reader Stephen says that Comcast (his old cable company) disconnected his new Verizon cable. He's not sure what exactly he should do about it and would like your advice. More » -
time warner cable
Time Warner Cable Customers Can't Play World Of Warcraft
Update: The Director of Digital Communications at Time Warner Cable has responded.
We don't play World of Warcraft, but if we did, it looks like we'd have to cancel Time Warner Cable and install FIOS in order to guarantee a connection to Blizzard's servers. That's what some East Coast WoW players are saying—they've been suffering disconnections and game-killing lags for months now, and Time Warner Cable seems unable to solve the problem. They swear they're not doing anything to disrupt or throttle gamers, and say that "customers who are having problems on the local level should contact customer service." Based on the 24-page thread on Blizzard's forums, TWC's customer service has yet to resolve the issue. More »
fios
New York, 1:21 AM
Mon Jul 6
6 posts in the last 24 hours
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