In the fall 2003 I subscribed to Verizon wireless for both mobile internet service and a cellular phone. This constituted two lines on a single account. I signed up for a one year contract for both. After that, I was a month-to-month customer.
In late 2006 or early I learned that Verizon offered a discount for combined internet service and phone. I called to see if I could get that deal. I made clear that I would not enter into another contract. I was told that I could do that without a contract, and my rate was reduced based on our phone conversation. A couple of months later, I received a call from a Verizon sales person informing me that I could change my 800 minute plan to 900 minutes on my cellular phone with no strings attached. After being promised that nothing else would change and that I would not be bound to a contract, I said ok.
In late I decided to terminate my service with Verizon wireless. At this point, I was informed that I would be billed hundreds of dollars for early termination fees on two accounts. I protested that I had been a month-to-month customer for years. Verizon Wireless stated that I had physically signed a contract and shown my driver's license as proof of identification on two separate dates for each line, once for the mobile phone, and once for the mobile internet. I found this strange because I had not signed anything since 2003.
I asked, since they claim I showed my license, if they could tell me the last 3 digits of my driver's license number. They could not. They stated that they did not store that information. Verizon agreed to send me copies of the contracts that they alleged that I had signed. Needless to say, no copies ever arrived, only a collections letter. Verizon wireless abjectly refuses to listen. Same goes for the collection agency they have sicked on me. Looks like I'm going to have to take this one to court.
It turns out that Verizon Wireless' point-of-sale system has a checkbox to indicate that a customer signed a contract, and another checkbox to indicate the kind of ID the customer showed. The system completely takes the salesperson's word for it, and Verizon Wireless doesn't have any kind of check to follow up on whether the customer actually signed or actually showed ID. Furthermore, the commission structure at the Verizon Stores is heavily based on whether or not the sales person sold a contract. If a sales person checks the boxes, he or she gets paid. If they don't check the boxes, they don't get paid. So, they check the boxes and don't tell the customer, who can't see what they are doing over the phone. If the customer doesn't terminate the service before the contract is up, nobody will ever know.
So, here I sit with a big old ding in my credit thanks to a thief who is (or was) a Verizon Wireless employee, Verizon Wireless still claims that I owe them a few hundred bucks for early termination fees, and my only recourse is to sue in superior court.
Nice going Verizon Wireless.
Oh, BTW, guess who owns the URL verizonwirelesssucks.com? Verizon Wireless itself. They registered it themselves in order to deprive consumers of having a voice. Another nice one.
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