Be warned, this is very complex, but that's EXACTLY why you should read it carefully, so it doesn't happen to you or your credit...
When I moved from Chicago to LA in November '06, I phoned Verizon to switch my phone number and address. The associate on the other end informed me that because I was changing regions and not just states, that my plan was no longer effective.
He also said that I may incur overage charges from the switch, which I understood and agreed to: after all, who's going to pay long-distance until my billing cycle ended?
The associate said his system was experiencing troubles trying to process my California address, and that I should complete the switch upon reaching California. But, he also said, he could keep my old address in the system and still give me the West-Coast plan and phone number, so it wasn't a problem.
Immediately upon arriving in California, I tried to log into my old plan account, both to pay any remaining balance, and also to change my address. I was told by the website that since the old number was no longer active, that I could not log into it for any purpose.
So I logged into the new number. Luckily, I noticed, my new California number was already in the system with my old address, as I discussed with the associate. Switching my address from Illinois to California was simple.
After a few weeks, I received my first CA bill. My displayed balance was relatively high, something that would reflect paying overage charges as discussed. So, I paid as I should.
This is when it gets very complicated, and VERY sneaky.
First of all, when the associate informed me about the West Coast plan, he NEGLECTED to mention that the major difference between my Great Lakes plan and the West Coast plan is that West Coast CHARGES FOR LONG DISTANCE. I asked him what the differences were between the available plans at the time that I switched, and the words "long distance" never left his mouth.
Unbeknownst to me, though, the remaining balance on my old number had never been switched to my new number as requested. The long distance I didn't know I was paying appeared to be consistent with overage charges as well.
Fast forward to late March, when I started receiving phone calls, 4 or 5 a day, from a collections agency called NES (search their name for another horrible chapter in this nightmare).
Verizon never billed my new address, which they had in both of their systems, but still sent me to collection!
When I phoned Verizon to fix the problem, I was immediately re-routed to the account recovery department, which, judging by the attitudes of everyone I spoke to, must be located somewhere in Hell. I had to hang up, call customer service in reference to my new number so I could get someone who'd say something other than 'you've been sent to collection.'
In this phone call, I was told (THIS IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER FOR LATER, SO PAY ATTENTION!) that the West Coast and Midwest billing branches of Verizon Wireless have NO mode of communication to each other. Therefore, my California information could never have reached the Midwest system, and vice-versa.
The Midwest branch, I was told, kept sending bills to my mother's address... An address that I personally changed almost two years ago!
The ultimate result of this is over $150 dollars in invalid collection fees and a big black spot on my credit report that will take months to remove.
It can happen to you!
Now that you have all the information, let me pose a few observations that have serious criminal implications for Verizon...
-I was told that the difference between the Midwest and West Coast plans was only the minutes/texts available, and the area in which I would avoid roaming. I was never informed of the biggest difference, namely the initiation of in-area long-distance charges.
-I was told that the Midwest and West Coast had no means of communiation with each other. But if this is true, then how did the West Coast Verizon billing center have my old address from Illinois when I logged into my new number for the first time?
-Related to the last point, how did NES (the collection agency) know to call my new number, since the info the Midwest billing center had was only from the Midwest account? How did NES get my new number if the two branches can't communicate?
Any answers somebody can give would be appreciated, but information about any ongoing class-action suits would be appreciated more.
I just don't see how this is legal.
Kevin
Van Nuys, California
U.S.A.
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