First of all I want to say that I have been a Verizon Wireless customer since 1996. While not perfect I have been for the most part satisfied with the service up until March of this year. I responded to a mailer I recieved, and still have, encouraging me to call because I am on an older calling plan giving me the impression that switching to a newer plan might be beneficial.
Can't hurt to check it out, right? Worry free guarantee and all that, your problem is our problem the first time, the only reason to choose wireless is the network. Don't you believe it! It's all a pack of lies.
Second of all I want to make it known that I am a realistic and a reasonable person. I'm patient to a fault sometimes because after all, it's not the fault of any one person or any one employee that my bills been screwed up for the last 6 months. Today was different though. Ask me if my head spins around, okay? I went off, 4 letter words flew. No name calling, no threats. Just added the f word to more intensely describe how I feel. It's not good to stuff these things. My limits have been pushed and my anger valid.
Thirdly, I want to clarify a statement I make below
'They fail to follow up as promised.' There have been a number of times (I've diaried 5 instances in 6 months) that, after discussing issues at great lenghth, I respectfully asked to be excused from the phone call suggesting a follow up call later would enable me to get back to work on my own job now. Also it would give the agent some room to breath, not having to apologize every 3 minutes for needing more time to sort through all I was disputing.
I mean it's difficult to justify spending more than an hour at a time on the phone. Take your time, just please don't forget about me, we've covered alot of ground, sort through it and we'll pick up on it when you call back.
2 out of 5 agents actually followed through. 3 did not. Easy enough to show since the only phone I make and receive calls on is my cell.
Today, I submitted a question at lawguru or something and an attorney replied saying his wife had same prob with verizon a few years back but filed small claims and they quickly settled and forgave charges she was disputing. So next time I have a similar situation I think rather than calling my service provider I'll just file a small claim and wait for a check? It's worth a try because I never want to feel this way again.
Why wait until next time? If I can prove claims I file against Verizon Wireless in small claims court maybe the court would consider ordering Verizon Wireless to pay me the maximum small claim court amount (Isn't it $7500 in California?)
I'll sleep on it a night or two and work on articulating my claims during break time and lunch time and see.
My reply (the majority thereof) to the attorney's answer is copied below. I just need to know someone has read it. This post is my back up. That is, just in case my response to his reply falls on deaf ears, I'll know my story will be heard.
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Dear Carl,
Thanks for the quick response and sharing your own experience on this matter. Verizon has issued credits on my account but at this point the errors are stacking up faster than I can dispute them.
- collectively, in the past 6 months, I've spent at least 5 hours on the phone disputing. One call doesn't do it. The first rep argues or doesn't understand so I escalate to supervisor and several times I've had to escalate to Manager from there. Typically they are condescending towards me, ignorant or poorly trained to handle disputes at length and detail. They fail to follow up as promised. One rep that I spoke to in June was argumentative and even referenced a previous dispute saying the credit issued then was all I was going to get and that I was lucky at that because the charges I disputed were valid. I escalated the call immediately to a supervisor who apologized for how the first rep handled the call, acknowledged the errors that had prompted the current call and issued credits I requested within a reasonable amount of time - about 10 days.
After my experience with them yesterday and again today I'm ready to cancel but if I do there's a 175.00 early termination fee, that's per line and there are 3 lines on the account. I owe $3800 to the IRS and they want their money first so get in line! I'm at my wits end. I'm experiencing frustration, anxiety, depression, temporary insanity. Their errors and failure to resolve have resulted in interruption of my service more than once, which in turn has created obstacles in my business that I should not have to overcome. Not to mention how humiliating it is to have a client or an escrow company or one of my real estate agents say to me ' I tried calling you earlier, was something wrong with your phone?'
With no resolution in sight I'm just sick. Rather than obsessing over it I should doing what I can to get caught up on my work but I just can't. I'm not a mental case. I'm well established in my career, I've been at my company since 1998, I have clients that love me. It's a cinch for me to generate referrals because I get so much repeat business. I'm really fortunate. I know that. But this is taking a toll on me. It seems there is no end in sight. Verizon has me by the throat. What am I to do? Hunker down? I literally have no patience left. The thought of making one more call trying to resolve the most recent issues... I'd rather stick a needle in my eye! Maybe I should switch to a pre-paid account. I'll just cut them a check for $6000 hmmmmmm, I feel some of the tension slipping away already and the corners of my mouth are beginning to turn up which promotes more stress relief... Sure sounds like a lot of money, but maybe I'll get lucky and it'll buy me 8 or even 7 months of service. Whatever! 5 months sounds good enough! Please, I'll pay anything. Just don't send me to collections because I'm a consumer and I have rights that mean absolutely nothing unless I am prepared to pay a retainer fee...
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Okay. That's it. I think I need to go cry now. I'm sick and I'm tired. Needing to cry is understandable and healthy. Verizon Wireless KMA!!
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