Reader Laurynn wants to warn Verizon customers to stay away from “OneBill,” because according to several of the 7 different CSRs she talked to today, it’s “not ready yet.”
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Dear Verizon: I Am Canceling FiOS Because Of Your "Ridiculous And Unacceptable Billing Practices"
By 9.15.08
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.
Cellphone Companies To Promote Unpopular Social Networking Services
By 9.13.08
Verizon and AT&T have jumped head-first into the shallow end of the social networking pool. The companies will charge consumers up to $35 per year to access unpopular social networking sites, a feature they’re respectively billing as “SocialLife” and “My Communities.” Not part of your social life or your community: Facebook.
Join The Verizon ETF Class Action
By 9.12.08
Wanna get in on the Verizon Early Termination Fee class action settlement? I did and went to verizonETFsettlement.com just like the postcard told me. Basically, if you were a Verizon Wireless customer from July 23, 1999 to August 10, 2008, and you were either charged an ETF, whether you paid it or not, you could be eligible for a piece of a $21 million pie (after the attorneys get their fees first), just file a claim form by October 14. In typical fashion, I tried filing a claim but the site keeps timing out. Something to bookmark and check in on later and hope they fixed it. Even when you think you’re giving Verizon its comeuppance, somehow you get screwed over. UPDATE: The website seems to be fixed now. By the way, at the end you will have to print out and mail in forms. They want you to attach documentation of your ETF. If you don’t have documentation, you can still make a claim but you will get a lesser amount.
Verizon Tech Made 5,000 Sex Chat Calls On Customer Accounts
By 9.11.08
The next time you’re disputing a 900 number call to a sex hotline and the CSR tells you nobody else could have made that call, remind them of this story. Over the past 10 months, a Verizon technician made 5,000 calls to sex chat hotlines, totaling 45,000 minutes of dirty talk at a cost of $220,000. He placed the calls from over 950 tapped residential and commercial accounts throughout Bergen county in New Jersey. He has since resigned, and been charged with theft by deception and theft of services.
Congress Asks Wireless Carriers To Justify Text Message Rate Increases
By 9.10.08
The similar price increases, coming at similar times, Kohl said, “is hardly consistent with the vigorous price competition we hope to see in a competitive marketplace.”
Zombie Debt Collectors Find You At Grandma's
By 9.10.08
Palisades Collection is offering Jeremy a great deal: he can pay half off his debt of $237.64 and get the account settled! Small snag, though, Jeremy never ordered the Verizon service they’re trying to collect on, the debt has passed the statute of limitations, and he got it expunged from his credit report years ago. Still, Palisades persists in sending collection notices for him to his grandma’s house. What’s a boy to do? Read on and find out.
Verizon Junk Mail Advertises Phone Sex Hotline
By 9.8.08
The phone number in this Verizon mailer connects to “an exciting new way to go live with hot horny girls.” Can you hear me now, big boy?
Most Verizon FIOS Installations Violate National Electric Standards
By 8.30.08
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.
Verizon: 'You've Earned A New Phone' (Just Not From Us)
By 8.26.08
Is this Verizon promotional email being over-enthusiastic with its subject line, or is it actually misleading? A phrase like “you’ve earned a new ___” doesn’t usually get followed up with, “Just pay us anywhere between $100-$200 for it,” unless it comes from a scam vacation offer. Or Verizon. As Bryan notes in his email to us, “The subject line must mean something like when you tell Verizon, ‘You’ve earned my suspicion and contempt.'”
Comcast Disconnected My Verizon, What Should I Do?
By 8.18.08
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.
California Declares Free Market Broken, Recommends Price Controls For Phone Services
By 8.16.08
“There is no indication of any change in the near future regarding the current state of competition. Market forces have not yet met the challenge of controlling price increases.”
Verizon: Go Ahead And Email Us, We're Not Going To Read It
By 8.13.08
At least Verizon is being honest about the fact that they’re not going to read your emails, right?
Verizon Changes DSL Without Your Permission, Demands Multiple Fees To Fix It
By 8.8.08
Reader Kevin wanted to sign up for Verizon’s One Bill service, so he called to see if he qualified. The CSR told him that he did, so he signed up for it. Turns out, the CSR secretly signed him up for a more expensive DSL plan because his current one did not qualify. Now Verizon wants an early termination fee for the new, faster DSL and an activation fee to put Kevin back on the plan he used to have. Yuck.
It Takes 40 Verizon Reps To Fix Your Address
By 8.6.08
You know those Verizon ads where someone is trying to make a call and like 100 Verizon people show up to help them do it? Arelene’s story is sort of like that. Except they all showed up to help her change her address. And they were one at a time. And it was over the phone. And it took several days. Here’s her tale, and how she eventually won…
Updated: Reach Verizon Landline Executive Customer Service
By 8.6.08
Call 1-800-483-7988 and press 3 to reach the Verizon Customer Advocates for landlines and DSL. Other valid executive customer service contact information:
Video Tutorial For Escaping Cellphone Without ETF
By 8.1.08
Who needs a bunch of words to tell you how to get out of your cellphone contract without early termination fee when a nice boy will tell you how do to it? You just sit back, grab some popcorn, and watch Ely Rosentock’s video tutorial. 9 minutes later, you’ll know how to break your cellphone contract without ETF, or moving to California. Video inside… [More]
After Your House Burns Down, Verizon Wants You To Use Your Melted Phone To Forward Your Calls
By 8.1.08
Whoever or whatever they’ve got working the phones at Verizon doesn’t seem to understand the concept of “fire.” As in, “my house burned down and everything inside it is melted and charred.” It’s not a difficult concept, but James’s father in-law was unable to explain it to Verizon.
