Yesterday, we told you about a outsourced door-to-door salesman who was soliciting for Verizon when he was caught masturbating while watching a woman work in her garden. He’s been charged with two counts of “lewdness, resisting arrest and criminal trespassing,” and now Verizon tells us that they’ve suspended all door-to-door marketing in Delaware until they’re done investigating the incident.
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Door-To-Door Verizon Salesman Can't Keep His Pants Shut While On The Job
By 7.30.08
We’re not big fans of door-to-door marketing, and today we bring you another example of why we feel this way. According to the News-Journal, an employee of a marketing firm contracted by Verizon has been arrested and charged with two counts of “lewdness, resisting arrest and criminal trespassing,” after a man in a Verizon t-shirt was spotted “masturbating while watching a woman work in her garden.”
Verizon: We Can't Set Up Your Account "Because Your Name Has Shit In It"
By 7.30.08
Meet Dr. Herman I. Libshitz, a retired radiologist and potential Verizon customer who would like DSL. Sadly, Dr. Libshitz was informed that he could not use his name in his email address or as his user name because it has “shit” in it.
Verizon Was The Most Frequent Target For Identity Theft Scams In 2007
By 7.24.08
Identity theft reports to the Federal Trade Commission show that Verizon was the most frequently named company, averaging over 900 events per month in 2007. According to an updated study by Chris Hoofnagle, senior fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, the number of complaints involving Verizon nearly tripled from 2006. Rounding out the top five are AFNI (a collection agency), JP Morgan Chase, AT&T, and Capital One.
Call The NJ Verizon Landline Escalation Hotline
By 7.23.08
908-717-3115 is the number for the NJ Verizon Escalation Hotline. This is the number they’re giving out to Verizon customers in NJ who signed up for FiOs and are still waiting for their free LCD TVs. Leave your name and number and they’ll call you back.
Reach Verizon Wireless West Coast Executive Customer Service
By 7.22.08
866-673-9561 is the number to reach Verizon Wireless executive customer service on the West Coast. Only use it when normal routes of customer service have repeatedly failed, be nice, be able to condense your story in about 2 sentences, and don’t forget these tips for dealing with executive customer service.
Upgrade FiOs Speeds From 5/2 To 10/2
By 7.21.08
Verizon FiOs recently doubled its download speed for consumer and small businesses from 5 to 10mb, but reader Lindsay says she wasn’t automatically upgraded. Luckily, if you’re in the same boat, you can upgrade by calling 800-688-2880, entering the phone number on your account, pressing 3, then 5, then 2. Lindsay writes, “I got to a rep very quickly and she got everything switched. It cost me $3 more due to a rate change since I signed up, but that’s not too much to ask for double the download speed.”
Moving With Movearoo's Help? Hope You Like AT&T, Verizon, And Qwest
By 7.17.08
Movearoo.com is a new website that appears to offer free assistance with your move, helping you set up things like phone service, gas, and electricity at your new address. The site calls itself “Your Total Moving Resource.” It’s a helpful site, sure, but you should be aware that it’s funded by AT&T, Verizon, and Qwest, and exists primarily to promote their services. In other words, you won’t find a comprehensive list of competing phone service providers through Movearoo, only those offered by the three sponsor companies. A consumer advocate points out the drawback of making Movearoo your sole relocation resource:
Want The New iPhone? Here's How To Escape Your Current Cellphone Contract ETF-Free
By 7.10.08
As the second coming of the Jesusphone 3G draws near, we wanted to remind customers of other wireless carriers that there are ways to escape your existing cellphone contract free of early termination fees, and trade your piddling Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile bills for hundreds of pages of gloriously itemized AT&T charges. Or just switch carriers.
Debt Collector Sends Verizon Collection Notice To A Fluffy White Dog
By 7.10.08
You may think this dog is cute, but that’s bullshit. This dog is a deadbeat that doesn’t pay its Verizon bill.
Verizon Settles Early Termination Fee Lawsuit For $21 Million
By 7.10.08
Verizon has agreed to pay $21 million in a California class action lawsuit brought over early termination fees. The plaintiffs alleged that the fees violated California state laws. Next case: Sprint, which Californians are suing for the same reason.
By 7.10.08
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The Senate passed the FISA bill today, which effectively puts an end to any chance of legal repercussions for telcos who helped the government spy on citizens. Senator Obama voted for it, Senator McCain didn’t vote, and Senator Clinton, for what it’s worth, voted against it. Find out how your senator voted here. [TechCrunch]
Consumerist Neighborhood eBay Garage Sale
By 7.7.08
Consumerist readers, want to make some cash and get rid of some old stuff? There’s infinite space on the virtual folding table that is the comments section for readers to add their eBay auctions – a great way to clean out the closets and make some extra cash to pay down bills or build up savings. We’ll get this started with a few items of our own (all start at $.01). More items inside. Add yours in the comments.
With The New iPhone On The Horizon, Now Is The Time To Threaten Your Cellphone Company
By 7.3.08
With the debut of that new super iPhone thing only a few short days away, now is the time to threaten your current cellphone company. What’s that? You have no intention of switching cellphone companies for the iPhone? Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon’s retention reps don’t know that. Do they?
13 Headlines The Consumerist Editors Wish They Could Write
By 7.1.08
Here at the Consumerist we get a lot of emails requesting more “happy stories.” While we wait for some to happen, here are 13 headlines we would love to write. They are in no particular order.
Graph: Which Cellphone Company Has The Best Early Termination Fee Policy?
By 6.27.08
Discounting or pro-rating the early termination fees that cellphone companies love to tack on to their contracts is becoming more common, so we thought we’d make some graphs that show the strengths and weaknesses of the different policies. As you can see, T-Mobile 2-year ETF doesn’t make any discounts until fairly late in the contract period — and their ETF of $200 is higher than either of the other two companies that offer discounts. (Sprint does not pro-rate or discount its ETF.) T-Mobile’s ETF does, however, reach a point where their discounts are steeper than Verizon and AT&T’s pro-rating.
By 6.26.08
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As the new FISA bill—the one that grants retroactive immunity to wiretapping telcos—moves closer to a final vote in the Senate (and a threatened filibuster), Ars Technica looks at the money. AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint donated double the amount to House Democrats who supported the bill than to those who opposed it. [Ars Technica]
The FCC Says Former Customers Are Off Limits To Verizon
By 6.25.08
Verizon, who had been using proprietary data to seduce former customers into returning, received a stern message from the FCC to discontinue such practices, according to the Washington Post. Local cable companies complained that Verizon would offer $200 American Express gift cards to keep their customers and send them letters via express mail which promised steep discounts. A majority of members from the FCC said that using this information to contact ex-customers is illegal and infringes on consumers’ privacy. Details, inside…
