My son purchased a Verizon plan for the area where he would attend college in Georgia. Right away his phone indicated roaming. We called each month to have the roaming adjusted. Every month was a fight and a different story about what was wrong.
We allowed them to change our plan once but declined when they wanted to do it a second time to a $50 per month plan. We repeatedly did the *228. We had the phone battery check out, and the phone was even replaced once.
When my son went to college he found that he did not have service in the area. The first indication that we had that the problem was no towers was when the girl in the Verizon office in Watkinsville, GA where the plan was purchased checked the phone battery, said it was fine, then said that the problem was no towers in the Milledgeville area where my son attends college.
The next time was a service rep on the phone who said that towers were being purchased and the problem would be fixed in one month. The next month another service rep said that problem was no towers and he had no idea when Verizon would have towers in the area. This is when I gave up and disconnected.
Now Verizon wants the disconnect fee and some still unadjusted roaming charges. I repeatedly wrote to Accounts Relations in Alpharetta, GA asking for arbitration but got no response other than a form letter threatening courts and lawyers. I filed a complaint with the FCC hoping they could mediate but Verizon refuses to recognize any authority from the FCC and I have heard nothing from them except in a phone call when they told me that Verizon had put my complaint number on several letters which were in the file and had to be sorted out.
Verizon has now sent the account to a collection agency threatening to ruin my son's credit. When I told them I would pay but file in small claims court to get it back, Elizabeth Sturgis in Alpharetta told me that I could not do that as there was a contract agreeing to arbitration. Of course my son had never heard of, seen, nor signed such an agreement. And if there were such a thing, why wasn't Verizon following their own procedure?
Elizabeth Sturgis at the told me that I would pay more to fight them than to just pay up. It is my belief that they use these bullying tactics to collect money from people who have neither the time nor money to resist. Threats against credit reports strike fear into consumer forcing them to submit to bad business practices.
I was able to contact the regional office for Alabama/Georgia, the office of John McGean. They talked like it was all beyond their control and they couldn't do anything about it. They just referred it back to Elizabeth Sturgis. I did get the name of the American Arbitration Association from them but that agency was unable to tell me if filing with them would stop Verizon from turning in a negative report on my son to the credit bureaus. If I pay in order to stop them, then why would they arbitrate? I am thinking if it cannot be resolved by other means, then small claims court maybe against the office that sold the plan in the first place may be the best way to go.
The people at Verizon have been very rude and mean. I have never dealt with such a company as this before. I have finally written to the CEO in New York and hope he may be able to do something about this situation. I am still hoping for a satisfactory resolution. The Alpharetta Verizon has an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB and the office in Watkinsville doesn't even seem to be a member.
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