I have a problem with Verizon wireless services. July we renewed our "FAMILY PLAN" (two phones on this plan) agreement with them. We have been with them since 2001. I was very clear that I refuse for go with a two-year agreement. The sales rep. Told us we were signing the acceptance of the phones and went over the warranty print for the phones on the receipt, neglecting to point out the small line that said two-year contract, not the one year. She even repeated back to us that is was a one-year.
Yes, I agree we should have read everything on that receipt and for that I do accept responsibility. I called in November to up our minutes but to stay within our existing contract and that I did not want my contract to start over (which is verizon policy). The gentleman said no problem. I called in January (the 29th 2004 to be exact) and spoke with "Curry" to verify everything went smoothly and that my contract was not renewed. Curry stated that he did put us in for another two years. After I pitched a fit she changed it from two years to one year, but she could only do it back to November not July.
So our contract was to expire on Nov. 16th 2004. Although it was shady I agreed to give them four more months... It was better then another year. She only made the changes to the primary line not the secondary line. On 10/08/04 I called verizon and spoke with "Trummy", I asked him when our contract agreement was met. He replied November 16. I had called again about a week before to verify this information again (I did not write date or the person I spoke with... My bad) the rep. Said the very same date. On 12/05/04 we switched wireless services based on the information that was provided to us by Verizon.
So you can imagine my surprise when I received a bill with a 175. Early termination fee attached to the secondary line, the primary line had no early termination fee (which they have verified). So I called Verizon to get this corrected, (the phone call was RECORDED) I spoke with "Monique" on 12/16 she saw the problem and said she was going to credit my account the 175. And taxes. I received the "revised" bill and nothing had changed. So I spent most of yesterday on the phone with them.
Yes, all the phone conversations have been recorded and they were aware of this... They kept dancing around with different answers. They claim we have a two-year agreement still with the secondary... But you cannot have a family plan with out the primary... They did admit that the policy for the primary was changed in January but the secondary was neglected. Being as this is a joint account and if the primary line was cancelled the secondary would have to sing a whole new contract.
Any changes to the primary are supposed to affect the secondary. Having said that, from past experiences when switching our plan, the secondary was always changed with out us having to ask and from the below email from a Verizon rep. The secondary that is attached to the primary was not even a consideration because they are tied together. The only thing that verizon has on print for the rules of the family plan is as follow:
Family SharePlan
Minimum of two lines required. Only one line is the primary line. All lines must be activated on the same billing account. Monthly Home Airtime Allowance Minutes apply to the primary line first at the end of the billing cycle. If there are allowance minutes remaining, they will be applied to the additional line (s) with the highest usage.
The above I cut and pasted
I also contacted them via email as a potential new customer, I asked several different questions trying to get the secondary lines limitations and control. This is what was replied to me:
On a Family SharePlan account, with both lines under an active service agreement, if the primary line were to be cancelled, the secondary line would have to change calling plans to maintain its own plan. This would require an extension of the existing service agreement. If the calling plan were changed for the primary line, we would automatically change the plan for the secondary line accordingly. Equipment upgrades are completely independent of calling plan changes and are tied to the individual mobile number only.
The above I cut and pasted
We asked them on the phone that if the primary was upgraded would the secondary automatically upgrade and their reply was yes. They never disputed my records or what was said on tape... They just wouldn't talk about it.
We called our current cell phone company and they said that this type of behavior is common with verizon but is highly unethical. But that still does not explain the two calls to verify contract completion and Monique agreeing to reverse the charges.
Further more, we were promised that another supervisor would call us back 1/7/05 yesterday evening sometime... It is now Tuesday 11th 6:22 pm still no call.
Thank you for your time
Heidi
jacksonville, Florida
U.S.A.
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