David has been chronicling his ordeal on his website, and here's today's update:

Update Friday 10/31/08 (Day 35):
No surprise updates today, another day of the same BS. I get a call back from the above person I’ve been dealing with (Barbara Bell), telling me that the main problem was the original people did not actual close the service from the previous owners. They took care of this, and literally once it propagates into the system, it will automatically put mine in and everything will start working.

Then around 3:30, I receive a call from dispatch saying they have a tech coming to the house to fix the video part of the order. I was confused, Barbara told me that everything would just start working. I felt like there were two separate stories going on, so I asked the dispatch lady to call Barbara and ensure they are on the same page before I waste my team by leaving work and potentially waste a tech’s time coming to my house.

Dispatch calls back and says that Barbara agreed to send the tech out. Ok. I go home and wait. The tech comes, goes downstairs, looks at the yellow light on the router, and turns to me saying “this won’t work”. Ahhh, of course not. He said that the order flowed through the system, but on the last step there were errors, so it didn’t actually go through all the way. He goes back and forth between the house and truck a few times, and the last time he just says “I have no idea what to do, your orders are just completely jacked up”. Of course they are, they only told me on the phone that everything had been cleared up. Apparently people had been ordering and canceling and ordering and canceling and changing names, etc that everything was just a huge mess.

So I get on the phone with the HOA Verizon group, who can’t do anything because everybody is home. Even though they are open until 8pm, they apparently can’t actually do anything. The tech was just amazed at how ridiculous the situation was. So after being on the phone for another 45 minutes of getting nowhere, I just told the rep I would call Barbara in the morning since she told me to. I call her around 9am, she’s on the line with somebody else and will call me right back as soon as she’s off. It’s over an hour later, still no call back yet.

I can’t wait to see what happens today.

David has already sent an EECB — which clearly didn't work. We wish we could tell you to cancel, David. Maybe you should consider small claims court? Or sending an EECB every week like that guy in the Shawshank Redemption?

Is The Verizon Fios IT Team Completely Incompetent? [DP]
(Photo: TeachingThomas )

My in-laws lost their house to a fire in January. Rebuilding went down to the bricks in some places, and wall studs in others. Complete loss, complete rebuild.

When they tried to move their phone number to their temporary apartment abode during home reconstruction, Verizon wouldn’t do it. This was a Verizon land line they’d had for maybe 25 years or so int two different homes. The Verizon rep told them they only thing they could do was forward the old number to the new number.

OK, said my father-in-law, accepting that he’d have to pay for two phone lines for the duration. Forward that number.

We can’t do it, said the Verizon reps, only you can do it. Get this: they were told to call from their old phone to request the forwarding service. Yes, the phone in a house that burned down. Yes, calling on phones that had turned into lumps of melted plastic with metal bits sticking out.

Maybe it's time to write a "What To Say To People Whose House Burned Down" script?

Sadly, the story doesn't end there. The in-laws are now having trouble getting Verizon to hook up the phones in their rebuilt house.

Verizon Sucks [Technology is Broken via Networkworld] (Thanks, Charlie!)
(Photo: The Joy Of The Mundane )

He tried his best to escalate the complaint with Verizon, but had little luck. First, he called the help line:

"We called their help line, and got a wonderful young man in the Philippines who told us:

" 'We can't install it because your name has - in it.' "

I asked the doctor how I was going to print that. He said, "Just say it's a word contained in Libshitz."

He had no luck with a supervisor, so he called the billing disputes number and reached another supervisor who promised to investigate and have someone contact him because " the only person who could help was in Tampa, and that man would have to call India to get them to change the computer code." No one called back.

Finally, he got a letter informing him that he could not use his name as a username because it didn't comply with Verizon's policy.

It took calls from the Philadelphia Inquirer to get Verizon to deal with Dr. Libshitz and his "questionable" name, and that's what bothers him. He told the Inquirer that what he wants "is for these people at least to stand at attention to explain themselves. I don't know if you've ever tried to get to Verizon. . . . You cannot get to them. They are insulated from things like this." Unless you work for a newspaper, that is.

Here's Verizon's official response:

"As a general rule (since 2005) Verizon doesn't allow questionable language in e-mail addresses, but we can, and do, make exceptions based on reasonable requests. The one from Dr. and Mrs. Libshitz certainly is reasonable and we regret the inconvenience and frustration they've been caused."

Daniel Rubin: When your name gets turned against you [Philadelphia Inquirer] (Thanks, Will!)
(Photo: Maulleigh )

Numerous Verizon customers have reported that they were not sent the "reward letters" that they needed to redeem for the LCD TVs they were owed. We suggested that people start filing complaints with their state's attorney general.

Verizon says they stand by the promotion and that consumers who still have not received their "reward letters" should "please call your local Verizon business office; the phone number is listed on your monthly bill."

For more information about the promotion and details about when you can expect delivery of your TV, click here.

HDTV Promotion [Verizon Policy Blog]
(Photo:BILLBINNS)

Mary writes:

I am one of many people that have had this problem with Verizon—-

At the end of November 2007, I signed up and ordered Triple Play Fios with Verizon, as a promotion they were offering a Free LCD TV or Best Buy gift card. It is now March 2008 and I have not received the special offer letter or TV from Verizon. I have called many times and still get the same run-around, "Your letter will be coming in the mail in a few days"—-

Consumerist, if there is any way you can bring this problem to the forefront an behalf of the many customers who have not received their free LCD TV or Best Buy card from Verizon, that would be greatly appreciated.

Here are some highlights:

Joe and Lisa say:

My fios was connected on nov 20,2007. After being on hold with verizon a total of 6 hours in two weeks and speaking to numerous idiots i've gotten no where. Everyone I spoke to gave me a different story until I finally reached a supervisor, so I was told. He told me I couldn't register for the TV over the phone and that I needed to go on line which i've tried with no success. I again called verizon with another hour wait and when I finally spoke to another idiot I laid it on the line . NO MORE BULL%#@! I will not pay my bill until I receive my TV, AND IF THERE IS NO TV REAL SOON I WILL CONTACT ALL THE TV STATIONS AND INFORM THEM OF THE FALSE ADVERTISING BY VERIZON. THEY CAN THEN TAKE THERE FIOS AND SHOVE IT. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, I CAN NO LONGER BE PATIENT AND MADE A FOOL OF

Janet asks:

I signed up for the triple play on Nov. 24. I've called several times & I've been told each time to wait for the letter. FOR HOW LONG? Has anyone received their TV yet? Has anyone contacted ASA?

Jesse says:

In November 18, 2007 I signed up for Verizon FIOS TV and FIOS Internet service. After a read in a newspaper about the Free 19″ LCD HDTV, I called Verizon to switch to Triple Play to get the offer. On November, 20, 2007, Verizon came and installed the FIOS Triple Play. They told me that I will be receiving my letter to redeem the free gift in two weeks, then thereafter I should be receiving my HDTV after a week later. In detailed told me what the letter is going to have such as the url to the website, a username and password. Once signed in I will have the option of three offers from HDTV, $200 Best Buy and Wireless Phone. Today is January 9, 2007 and still no letter. Yes, I tried several times to get connected, busy signals. Finally, got someone and they told me that I am not on the rebate list, but they do notice that I had the Triple Play, so they ordered for the letter but will take 4 weeks from today to get the letter. Let's see what happens. The offer has been extended til February, 2008. Although, if the offer is expired by then, they have to render the gift as promised. This can lead to legal action for false advertisement. Peace!

Mary says:

i am having the same trouble. i signed up for FIOS- had a terrible experience during installation- spent over 7 hours on the phone getting issues resolved and then 2 hours on hold the next day trying to get someone back out to my house. issue was finally resolved but when i tried to call back- on 3 separate occasions with other questions i could not committ to waiting that long on hold- just ridiculous to think my time is worth so little. I also cannot log on to the rewards.verizon.net website-their cust svc # is not manned evenings or weekends- how convenient-also- i was promised either the mini camcorder OR $50 to Best Buy- no mention of that in the promo letter- i as well as many friends were also told we would receive a $50 Target gift card which we have received absolutely no additional information on. i am extremely diasppointed in the level of followthrough i have received so far.

John says:

My install was Nov. 28,2008 and as of this date I still have not recieved the promotional "confirmation number" The reabate center also shows no "confirmation number.
In December I checked w/ the rebate center as to the whereabouts of my Sharp LCD or $200.00 gift card from Best Buy. They advised me there was no information entered on my account. They took the necessary info that day and said I would recieve the confirmation number by mail in 3-4 wks. Called the rebate center again in late January and again nothing showing. They asked for my info again and advised me the process would start all over again (3-4 wk. wait) So I did not provide my info and gave it some more time. Feb. 5 I called Verizon Billing. Billing looked up my records and asked if I had agreed to the Terms of Service. I said I'm sure I did, I've been billed 2 months already for the package required to qualify for this rebate offer. She then suggested and assisted me with going to the Verizon website TOS logging on to my account and again agreeing to the TOS, which now I did again. ( Incidentally, I asked does this mean my 2 year contract for this Triple Freedom Pkg. starts as of Feb. 5, and yes she said it starts again. To me it now is a 26 month contract). I was advise to check in 1 week to make sure a "confimation number" is entered onto my account. I did call today and the rebate center still has nothing. I called Verizon Billing and there is nothing there. I was told to wait 3-4 wks. again and if at that time nothing showed they would start the process all over again.

..by signing up, he was to receive a 19-inch flat-screen TV.

"I said great, I don't know anything about it, but I'll be happy to take that." he said.

But that was more than three months ago, and despite numerous phone calls he says he has made to Verizon, still no TV.

"They keep telling me they will send a letter with an authorization code, but I haven't gotten the letter," he said.

"Of course we wanted the TV, because it was just an incredible deal," Verizon customer Bryan Vincent said.

Vincent signed up for the triple-play package too. He says after numerous phone calls, he was also told he would get a letter with an authorization code. Weeks later, the letter finally arrived.

"So I wait all this time, I get the letter, and it's the wrong letter," he said.

If you're a Verizon customer who is running into problems getting your TV, we suggest you contact your state's Attorney General and submit a formal complaint. If enough consumers complain, the AG's office may get involved and Verizon will have to "take it seriously."

What was your experience with this promotion? Tell us about it in the comments or at tips@consumerist.com.

(Photo:i'm george)

Joan launched an EECB and cc'd us so we could listen in:

I am a Verizon telephone, DSL and wireless subscriber [redacted].

I have been dealing with an erroneous billing situation and its severe customer service consequences for over six months. In September 2007, the owner of a telephone number I once owned (and disconnected 15 years ago) ordered FIOS. Since then, that person's FIOS charges have been appearing on my bills, despite different account numbers. The new owner's account number shows up on my bill as [redacted]. Since discovering the error, I've contacted customer service six times - once per month, beginning on September 21st. During those calls, I spoke to [redacted] and a few others whose names I've misplaced. Each of them assured me that the problem would be corrected immediately and that my bill would be credited immediately. In each case, this proved false.

My latest bill, dated February 7th, shows an overdue balance of $149.35 for this FIOS service, as well as a new $39.95 charge for another month of another person's FIOS. In understand from the bill that I not only am I being charged for the other account's FIOS, but I am being charged interest on an overdue balance that does not belong to me. Further, I have worked hard to ensure my excellent credit standing, and I am concerned that this issue is being reported to credit bureaus. This is clearly unacceptable and should be rectified immediately.

Satisfactory resolution of this issue would include the following:

1. All erroneous charges removed from my account
2. Separation of my account from the other person's account so that the charges do not reappear in the future
3. Assurance that this mistake has not been reported to a credit bureau (and if it has, assurance that a correction has been filed with the bureau
4. A credit on my next bill for the exceptionally unreasonable amount of time and energy I've had to expend in my efforts to have these charges removed.

Given that I have been pressing this issue for six months now, I will expect appropriate resolution within 48 hours.

Sincerely,

Joan

(Photo:JohnMarino92)

At this point I just about needed a new pair of pants because I felt like dropping a steamer. I thought "no freakin' way, they are here to fix the lady that lives two doors down and has not had it for TWO days?!" so I just responded "Do you want to fix mine too?" and he laughed. Then I said "No, I'm serious, mine has been broken for two months." He then realized that I was serious and asked what apartment I was in. I told him and his co-workers a bit of my story and they were kind of shocked that they were there for my neighbor and not me. They told me if they had time they would come by my apartment and try to fix mine also. I immediately ran into my apartment and called Verizon and spoke with an actual competent person named William. He actually cared about my situation and he made several calls and eventually got in touch with the local dispatch out here in Boston (Quincy) and confirmed my info and gave it to them. He then left a 'help' ticket open because he told me that the 'trouble tickets' are complete BS and 99% of the time they get lost in a void for a few months and then someone just closes them. With the open 'help ticket' whoever looked at my account next would see that first and have to close it out (or something along those lines). All of this took about 1.5 hours to complete. I thanked him for his help and began to patiently wait for my phone call from them. Today I get into work and around 9am I get a phone call from Verizon and the man on the other line tells me that he wanted to get in touch with me to tell me someone else will get in touch with me... Yes, a phone call to tell me that someone will give me a phone call. It literally was that long. About 15 minutes ago an account executive called me apologizing for the fiasco. She asked me if next Tuesday would be good for me to have the contractors and techs come out. I explained to her that I have already invested too much personal time and work time into this matter and that it must happen on a weekend. I then told her I would out of town from 12/22 - 1/2 and she said the next possible date was 1/5 for a weekend install. I then explained that I thought I should talk to someone about being compensated for all my time I have wasted on this issue. She said that I would "absolutely be compensated". When I asked about the free LCD TV she said that was out of her power because I did not have a phone line with them (the triple play) and I just restated how I was upset by this whole ordeal and she then said "Well.... Tell you what, after the install goes I will call you back and we will discuss the promotional deals." I figure even if that goes bad, I'll at least get a few months of free service for all this garbage.

I called my better half and informed her of this and she was still pretty upset. She could not understand why they would not make us an absolute priority and come in the night after work. I just write it off as Verizon caring about an individual customer, but not caring that much.

So, here is to waiting ANOTHER month to get FiOS. If Comcast didn't didn't suck I would just keep them... But for the same price I am getting HD TV (FINALLY! My Sharp Aquos has been longing for it) and much faster Internet service.

Hopefully this will be the end of this hellish saga.

-Thomas

Let it all out. The internet is for catharsis.

(Photo:wsh1266)

We were sold on the 20up/5down internet package and just the normal TV with HD service. We were passed to a salesman with at least two cell phones in his hands at all times who was constantly having either us or someone on the phone wait while he paced around the place. Very odd to say the least. Once we had filled out the paperwork we were then given one of his phones to speak with a Verizon rep. I explained that I wanted a weekend install and the rep on the other end said that just was not possible as they do not install on weekends. So we settle on the following Wednesday, I would just take off of work. Before I knew it a week had gone by and I was waiting for the Verizon tech to come and install my lovely FiOS package. Around 8:30 a man looking like someone that just got off of a three day crystal-meth bender shows up at my door. He comes in, has me take down ALL the clothes in my closet so he can get to the access panel that is right above the inside part of the door.... This did not make any sense to me either, but whatever.

I leave the room and go to my computer to do some work and about 5 minutes later he walks out without saying anything and then comes back after a 10 minutes absence. He does this about three more times until he comes back with a woman. This is when I realized they were either going to use my bedroom for something immoral or there was a problem with my install. They both go in and I hear muffled voices. They both come out and he explains that he broke the 'pull string' that is used to get the FiOS into the apartment and says "You won't be getting FiOS today." I understood that problems happen and asked what would happen from here. He and the woman explained that they would need the contractors who originally routed the Fiber to come out and snake it through again. I then asked if they did weekend installs because I can't afford to miss another day of work. Both the man and woman said "Oh absolutely! Did they tell you we don't?" He then said I would have someone call me very shortly and then they left.

I immediately called Verizon and informed them of the mishap. They were very pleasant and noted everything I had said (or so I thought) and the rep told me that someone would contact me by the end of the day. This did not happen, go figure.

Two days later on that Friday, I stayed home from work because I was under the weather and I get a call from what I imagine was the foreman and he says that he only has an appointment for the following Wednesday and that he "absolutely promises it will be installed that day!" because he was going to have a team in the basement (where the fiber comes in) and someone in my apartment. I reluctantly agree to the date. I then informed my girlfriend of the plans and she said that I should not have to take another day off of work because of their screw-up and I agreed with her and called Verizon to demand a weekend install. I spoke with another polite rep and said that I do not care how long I have to wait, I need a weekend install. He said they only have one for December 1st and that is the closest date he can get me, I agree and being to wait over a month for my tech to arrive (again).

Before the December 1st install date an actual real, red blooded, person called me to confirm the install. I explained to her what had happened the first time and she said that she had notes on it but was going to make more notes on it (wtf?). I did not understand why she would make more notes on the exact thing she had notes on but I confirmed the install date and got off the phone.

Come December 1st a tech showed up promptly at 9am and he comes in and to my shock, he did not ask me to remove all the clothing from my closet (thank god) and he goes to the access panel. He then comes out and says "Did someone come to re-route the fiber up?" and I told him that I had no idea and that no one besides him and the first tech had been in my apartment.

He then leaves to have someone go to the basement to snake it up. He comes up and goes back down about 4 more times and informs me that the fiber is stuck on something and that he needs to get the contractors out there to get into the walls to get it out... So basically said what the first tech had said! He was baffled why they even let him come out since this had not been done yet. He then tells me that when Verizon is giving someone the 'run around' like they are doing to me, they usually offer a 3-month free service package and possibly an lcd tv. He gets on the phone with the foreman and the foreman suggests $100 worth of gift cards for my troubles. I just laughed when the tech told me this. He then told me that the foreman would definitely call me on Monday the 3rd (yesterday) but could not give me a number to contact him. So the tech leaves and I have wasted yet another day of my time but this time was worse because I needed to drive to central New York from out here in Boston so leaving without having my FiOS installed left a rather displeasing taste in my mouth.

While in New York (on Sunday) I get an email on my iPhone that my Verizon FiOS install has been rescheduled for Monday the 3rd of December between the hours of 8am and 5pm. At this point I lost it. Not only do these incompetent people not know what the hell they are doing, but they are scheduling ALL DAY appointments without even seeking approval from the customer! At this point there was not a phrase in the English language that could express my utter disdain for the ineptitude of this company.

On Monday morning I make yet another phone call to tell explain the exact same thing I have to everyone I spoke with. The rep said that I did indeed have an appointment for Monday and I demanded the number to the foreman in my area to which he was unable to provide. He did however put in a (completely f*cking useless) "Trouble ticket" to my local dispatch for them to call me. Keep in mind, the foreman was supposed to call me this same day too. Come Monday night no one has called and I am still FiOS'less.

It has been about two months since I originally signed up for service that was supposed to be installed within a week. I have no clue who to call to not have wade through there completely useless automated machine garbage (although I find it cute how every time I call it tries to connect to my set-top box... the set-top box that I don't f*cking have!). Excuse the poor grammar, sentence structure, etc... and feel free to clean up the expletives I've included in this rant about the sh*ttiest company on the face of the f*cking planet.

-Thomas

If you're not into that, try sending this email to Verizon's CEO. We hear that gets results.

(Photo:wsh1266)

Bloomberg says:

Vonage settled the infringement suit on Oct. 25 after Verizon won both a jury verdict and an appeal in the case. The accord left open the amount to be paid until the appeals court decided whether to grant Vonage's request for reconsideration.

Legal costs have eaten into Vonage's cash flow and may increase its risk of bankruptcy. The Holmdel, New Jersey-based company said yesterday that it may not have enough money to pay $253.5 million in debt due as early as December 2008. Vonage, which generated cash of $22.5 million in the third quarter, will try to restructure the debt.

Vonage's Appeal Refused; Verizon Owed $120 Million [Bloomberg]

PREVIOUSLY: Vonage Settles With Verizon For Up To $117.5 Million
Vonage Settles With Sprint For $80 Million
Vonage Loses Verizon Patent Infringement Appeal, Downplays The Damage

If they do, Vonage will pay $80 million to Verizon. If they don't, Vonage will pay $117.5 million. They've also agreed to pay $2.5 million to charity.

While it sounds like awful news for the VOIP provider, the settlement includes the right to use Verizon's patents and the stock market is optimistic. Vonage's shares soared 70% in after-hours trading... to $2.60.

Might as well just pay the $117.5 million. Verizon's robot super-lawyers can not be defeated, Vonage. Forget about it.

Shares Rise as Vonage Settles Fight Over Patent [NYT]
(Photo:moviescreenshots.blogspot.com)

Vonage Settles With Sprint For $80 Million
Vonage Loses Verizon Patent Infringement Appeal, Downplays The Damage
Vonage Is Like, "We Are Totally Working Around Those Verizon Patents, OK?"
Vonage Announces "Workarounds" To Counter Verizon Patent Infringement

Cuomo's investigation found that Verizon marketed the plans as "unlimited," when in fact common uses such as downloading movies and playing games were prohibited.

Rather than offering unlimited internet service, Verizon abruptly cut off users who reached a undisclosed usage limit. These users were not able to use their accounts and were not offered refunds.

"This settlement sends a message to companies large and small answering the growing consumer demand for wireless services. When consumers are promised an 'unlimited' service, they do not expect the promise to be broken by hidden limitations," said Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. "Consumers must be treated fairly and honestly. Delivering a product is simply not enough - the promises must be delivered as well."

Verizon has agreed to reimburse all users nationwide for the cost of their wireless cards and will pay $150,000 in fines to New York State. They also stated, "Verizon Wireless fully and voluntarily cooperated with the Office of the Attorney General throughout this inquiry. Since April of 2007, Verizon Wireless has voluntarily ceased cutting off customers based on their data usage and no longer prohibits common internet uses."

VERIZON WIRELESS AGREES TO SETTLE DECEPTIVE MARKETING INVESTIGATION [NY AG](Thanks, Lisa!)
(Verizon Face By: chickee510)

Earl writes:

Verizon has been badgering our business for at least 3 months in an attempt to get us to upgrade our DSL and phone service to FIOS. They finally offered a good enough package for us to consider it, and we were scheduled to have FIOS installed on October 4th.

No technician came on the 4th, and phone calls resulted in it being rescheduled to October 11th. Again, a no show.

Then, today, our phone service was cut. Cell phone calls to the company with hold times of 45 minutes and 30 minutes only served to demonstrate their lack of customer service. First, they indicated that their records show the installation at 90% complete. Then they said that FIOS was to be installed on October 4th, so we should have phone service.

Then, they indicated that we were supposed to be installed on October 11th, and no one was at the business to let them install. (We had personnel at the building from 7:30 am until 9:30 pm.)

Another representative says their records indicate that since FIOS was installed, that we have phone service and that the copper wired service was terminated because the FIOS installation was complete.

They offered finally to have an installer complete the job by 7:00 pm tonight ... if possible. What do you want to bet that it won't happen?

And it didn't happen. We had no phone service over the weekend. I was able to get it reconnected today after another hour and a half over the phone. We had to cancel the FIOS order and then have the "copper side" reconnected by "programming".

Earl

(Photo:wsh1266)

You lost two of three, and are downplaying the damage.

From CNet:

"We thank the appellate court for its thoughtful consideration of the merits of our case," Vonage's chief legal officer, Sharon O'Leary, said in a statement. "We are pleased with the decision to vacate the 880 patent and the damages. However, Vonage remains confident that it has not infringed on the 880 patent—a position we will continue to vigorously assert and look forward to presenting at trial."

But the reality of the situation is altogether different. For one, the two patents the court upheld happen to be the most fundamental to Vonage's service. Essentially, U.S. Patent No. 6,282,574 and U.S. Patent No. 6,104,711 define how phone calls are routed over the Internet, which essentially is the basis of Vonage's IP telephony service today.

"It's business as usual," O'Leary said in a statement. "We have had our workarounds for the '711 and '574 patents in place for some time and will remain focused on providing a great customer experience."

From what we understand, the patents just say, "We patent the internet, noob," but since they were filed in the 1990's when the internet was just a fable used to intimidate children who didn't brush their teeth before bed, they're totally valid.

Is it time to port your number? The consensus seems to be that Verizon will try to challenge the "fixes" next, and well, they have lawyers that can fly and shoot fire from their eyes. True story.

In other news, Vonage just lost another patent infringement lawsuit. This time they owe $69.5 million to Sprint. They're appealing that one, too.

Vonage loses appeal in Verizon patent case [CNet]
(Photo:Movie Screenshots)

PREVIOUSLY: Verizon Sues to Shut Down Vonage
Vonage CEO Quits, Company Will Cut Jobs, Marketing
Never Mind, Vonage Can Still Sign Up New Customers
Vonage Announces "Workarounds" To Counter Verizon Patent Infringement
Vonage Is Like, "We Are Totally Working Around Those Verizon Patents, OK?"

The SCC's communications division has recommended that Verizon Virginia and Verizon South pay a related fine of $17.5 million — an estimate of the sum Verizon saved by not responding quickly to customer complaints of "land line" phone outages.

The SCC says the fine is justified because Verizon, even after filing a "corrective action plan," violated a rule that requires the company and competitors to clear each month no less than 80 percent of out-of-service calls within 24 hours and 95 percent of such calls within 48 hours.

In turn, Verizon warns that a fine that high, coupled with the SCC's continuing to hold the company to related performance standards, could set back efforts to fully roll out its fiber networks and put Verizon at a competitive disadvantage.

"As hard as we tried to get this standard right, we didn't," said Stephen Spencer, Verizon's director of regulatory affairs. "It's not the right standard, I believe."

Spencer said Verizon is "losing tens of thousands of lines a month" because of competition.

Dear Consumerist, I have a problem with Verizon's customer service (shocking, I know). I'll give a brief run-down of what went on: —I ordered FiOS internet and TV through Verizon at the beginning of July. —I paid for installation with a credit card that has a very low limit that I keep for situations such as this. They were instructed to not bill that card for the monthly bill, and just send me paper bills. —No bills ever appeared. —Of course, charges for FiOS began appearing on my credit card bill. They eventually pushed it over the aforementioned low credit limit. —I called Verizon, but since I never actually got a bill, I don't know my account number. And since I don't have a phone with Verizon, they aren't able to "look up" my information. —I finally got a supervisor on the phone that would give me an "account number", but not the "account number" that the website requires. You see, a normal account number is 24 digits. Only 10 of them somewhere in the middle is the "account number" for the website. The rest are indicators or flags. The number the supervisor gave me was only 15 digits, not 24, and none of the inner 10 digits would be accepted as a valid account number by the website. —I called back and got a website service technician who told me "use the last 6, thanks for calling Verizon" and hung up. The web form won't even let you click the button until there's 10 digits in the box. Anyway, throughout all this, I was attempting to get them to refund the unauthorized charges. Attempting to get an account number was only so I could speak to a person who had access to user accounts. I finally got a woman that said that there was nothing Verizon would do if the charge went through. The conversation: Me: "These charges were unauthorized, placed on my card without my permission, and they caused me to draw overdraft fees." Her: "well you obviously gave us your card information." Me: "Yes, that's true, for installation only. You were not authorized to charge monthly bills to this account" Her: "Well there is nothing we will do once the charges are finished except to possibly switch you to cold invoiced billing." (No explanation of "cold invoiced billing" was offered, and none was provided when I specifically asked. I assume it means "paper") Me: "Well if you refuse to do anything about these unauthorized charges, I'm forced to call Visa and dispute the charges, as they were unauthorized." Her: "Ok." Me: "At this time I would also like to remind you that this call has been recorded." Her: "Thank you for calling Verizon" And that's it. Now my questions to you are 1) Does her "Ok" constitute permission to reverse the charge? 2) What would Verizon do to me if I did reverse the charge? I don't want to reverse the charge only to get a bill for $400 in late fees, charge reversal fees, and "because we want to" fees.

Let's hear your best advice for Dan! Make us proud.

(Is Verizon giving you Verizon Face? Show us your Verizon Face by submitting your picture to our Flickr Pool and tagging it "Verizon Face")

(Photo of A Verizon Face by:martyz)

Verizon will get a chance at the end of September to argue to Virginia state regulators that the state's dominant phone company should be held to a lower standard for restoring lost phone service.

The staff at the Virginia State Corporation Commission proposed that the company should be fined for routinely failing to restore service within a day. Verizon is expected to meet this standard 80 percent of the time.

On the same day the state said the company should be fined, Verizon filed a request to lower that standard. Verizon says it is an unfair and arbitrary standard that aren't applied to its competitors in the increasingly competitive telecommunications market.

To argue that a 80% service standard is "arbitrary" is just silly. Nothing could be more arbitrary the time it takes Verizon to show up to fix your phone service.

Verizon to plead case for lower service standard [Daily Press]
(Photo:IanPhillipMiller)

• On August 8th, 2007, a Verizon tech went to the home of one Patrick O'Malley to install Verizon FIOS. While installing the wiring, the tech drilled directly into the electrical main, causing a small electrical fire and a localized blackout of the O'Malley's neighborhood.
• Eyewitnesses, including O'Malley's wife, saw smoke billowing out of the wall. The fire department was called. They put out the fire, then ripped apart the walls to make sure it had not spread. It had not.
• The Needham Times reported on the fire, quoting the O'Malley's neighbor as saying, "I noticed my TV was flickering off and on, something was wrong," said Thelma Papetti, who lives next door to the fire at 60 Pine Grove St. "Then the fire trucks came."
• Networkworld blogger Paul McNamara picked up the story and called the Needham Deputy Fire Chief, Al DeIulio, who told him that the Verizon technician "was drilling on the outside of the house when he hit an electrical main" and started the fire. "He's lucky he's not dead," says DeIulio.
• At this time, The Consumerist notes, "The damage to the house was minor." The homeowners are quoted in the Neeham Times as saying, "There was not that much damage. We'll be alright."
• Verizon responds to Networkworld's post and the Needham Time's story with a "correction" that said, (among other things):

  "One of our new techs was installing a triple play at a Needham home (they're selling like hotcakes, btw). When drilling a hole for the Optical Network Terminal, he accidentally hit an electrical wire, knocking out power to the house. Our bad, but no smoke, and no fire. Out of an overabundance of caution (always a good thing) the local fire department was called."

• Steven Ryan, the original reporter on the story, called Al DeIulio to see if he had been mistaken. Al responded: "If there's flames, there's fire." Both The Consumerist and Paul @ Networkworld made note of this contradiction. Paul also provided an eyewitness account from O'Malley's wife: "I was one of 50 people there watching gray smoke billowing from the electric meter panel."

You might think that would be enough for Verizon. Their tech made a mistake, caused a small electrical fire and they've apologized and promised to pay for the damages. No one would ask any more of them, honestly. Everyone makes mistakes, it's how you handle them that is what matters most.

Verizon is not handling this well. Rather than act with the sort of class one would expect from such a large corporation (see: Above & Beyond), Verizon has decided to enter a juvenile "flame war" (no pun intended) with a blogger about his use of the word "fire."

Yes, for some inexplicable reason, Verizon has posted a personal attack on Paul McNamara on their own blog. Who knew Verizon had a blog?

Here's Eric W. Rabe, director of corporate media relations, posting on Verizon's policy blog:

Well, one certainly hates to fan the flames of Paul McNamara's efforts to take down Verizon. So let me repeat that we regret that there was any problem at a home in Needham, MA, during recent work there by a Verizon technician. We worked cooperatively with officials at the scene to restore electrical service. The next day the customer allowed us to finish the installation of her new FiOS TV, Internet, and phone service. We have apologized to the customer and taken financial responsibility for repairs. When accidents such as this do happen we step up and do the right thing and we did in this case.

But let's keep this in perspective. FiOS is a hot product, but not that hot. No house was "set ablaze" as McNamara wrote in his post on this incident. We won't parse words with the fire chief, but if there was either smoke or fire, it did not cause extensive damage. Want to see? The fire department opened the wall to be sure nothing was burning inside a crawl space. Here are two see four new photos at bottom of the area where, as we have said, our technician's drill hit an electric wire. There is far more damage from opening the wall than from any smoke or flames.

Importantly, the incident has little to do with the Verizon's fiber or FiOS technology. This was the sort of accident that could happen during a lot of household projects like building a deck or installing a dryer vent hose.

McNamara seems to believe the old adage "where there's smoke, there's fire." We didn't think there was either smoke or fire, but, if there was, the damage was minimal and we're taking care of repairs. The most smoke here comes from Paul McNamara's efforts to turn this ember of a story into a forest fire.

In any case, we find it very, very strange that Verizon would choose to go down this road. It's just not wise. Rather than "putting out the fire," their continued attempts to spin and intimidate newspaper reporters and bloggers with pointless semantic arguments makes them come off as strange, mean bullies.

Verizon, according to the US. Fire Administration, "home electrical problems account for 67,800 fires, 485 deaths, and $868 million in property losses" every single year. It is not out of an "overabundance of caution" that one would call the fire department after a technician drilled into the electrical main, causing smoke to billow from the walls. The Needham fire department did not rip apart the walls because they thought they might find delicious candy. We consider the matter closed.

Now Consumerist has "Verizon Face." No one is safe.

Update:FiOS is Hot, but not that Hot [Verizon Policy Blog]

(Photo:Verizon)

PREVIOUSLY: Verizon Sets Fire To Your Home
Verizon: There Was No Fire. Fire Department: Yes, There Was A Fire.

After the Needham Times reported a small electrical fire that caused a blackout on August 8, the story was picked by Paul McNamara at Networkworld. Verizon PR-guro John Bonomo left the following comment on Paul's site:

"Unfortunately, (the fire) story differs quite a bit from the version of the Verizon staffers on the scene. Here it is: One of our new techs was installing a triple play at a Needham home (they're selling like hotcakes, btw). When drilling a hole for the Optical Network Terminal, he accidentally hit an electrical wire, knocking out power to the house. Our bad, but no smoke, and no fire. Out of an overabundance of caution (always a good thing) the local fire department was called. The FD cut a hole in side of house where the drilling took place to expose the area and check for a fire. There was none."

Steven Ryan, reporter from the Needham Times, has done some additional fact checking. This is what he reports:

Verizon insists there was no fire, but the fire department stands by their account. "If there's flames, there's fire," said Deputy Chief Al DeIulio

UPDATE: From Paul @ Network World:

(Update: We have another eye-witness account, albeit second hand. An acquaintance tells me that he lives in the vicinity of Pine Grove Street and that his wife reports being there as the incident unfolded ... and seeing smoke.)

(Update 2: We now have an official statement from the fellow's wife: "I was one of 50 people there watching gray smoke billowing from the electric meter panel." ... Seems like game, set, match.)

Verizon vs. the Needham Fire Department [Networkworld]
If there's flames, there's fire [Needham Times]
(Photo:nomad)

PREVIOUSLY: Verizon Sets Fire To Your Home

On Aug. 8, a Verizon tech lit fire to the home of one Patrick O'Malley after drilling into the electrical wiring of his house. The fire caused a small power outage in Needham, Mass., a suburb of Boston.

"I noticed my TV was flickering off and on, something was wrong," said Thelma Papetti, who lives next door to the fire at 60 Pine Grove St. "Then the fire trucks came."

Needham Deputy Fire Chief Al Deiulio tells me that the Verizon technician "was drilling on the outside of the house when he hit an electrical main" and started the fire.

"He's lucky he's not dead," says Deiulio.

No word on when their next appointment will be!

We'd like to take this moment to remind you to submit your "Verizon Face" to the Consumerist Flickr Pool. Tag your photo "Verizon Face."

Verizon tech sets fire to home — accidentally [Networkworld]

(Photo:Getty)