For the last 14 months since residing in West Virginia, I've had the typical "no Choice" in what telephone service I got. Basically, Verizon rules this whole area and being that I've had prior troubles with this same company through use of their cellular phone service, I had my quams about them right from the start.
Basically, upon setting up my new service in this house, I was quoted a typical monthly cost for having their service and ever since starting this service with them, I have never once seen that price on any of the monthly bills I've received!
It seems that Verizon has, as many other companies do, a lot of hidden costs that they never tell you about when they're signing you up and giving you all that mushy lovin' when you are just starting out with them. Of course, it didn't take me very long to see that they have many hidden charges that, upon receiving my first bill, was not prepared for.
I knew, ahead of time, that I would be seeing the initial hook up charge and that really did not throw me. It was when, upon every month after, that my bill seemingly grew in size by at least $10-$20 dollars! As I already mentioned, I have yet to receive the "average bill" in this house.
My latest, or should I say, "the straw that broke the camels' back" bill really floored me. I had made payment arrangements with them b/c of the fact that I am working a very low paying job and my paychecks barely cover the utility bills I have been seeing here.
Needless to say, I did set up a payment arrangement with a representative for Verizon and it was supposed to pay a grand total of $100.00 on the 15th of January (which was yesterday... Before I could get my unemployment checks cashed (I have siince been laid off from my underpaid job I had) and get myself up to the payment center here in town, I had found that they had already turned my phone off! Now, as you must know, the inconvenience of having the phone company shut off your service is enough to throw your whole day into toal chaos..
I was fit to be tied b/c I had already made these arrangements with them as to keep my serice in tact. Well, being completely frustrated, I made my way up to the payment center and made my $100 payment. I ran a few errands and then came home about an hour after making this payment. I came in and picked up my phone expecting to hear that normal line buzz that we all hear before starting to make a call. NO buzz. The phone was not turned on. I waited for another half an hour, thinking that they had a slow computer retrieval system. NO phone service!
Now, I was VERY angry. I now had to locate a person to which I could ask if I could use their phone to call these idiots to see what the issue was. Well, luckily, I have a friend close by who allowed me to make that call. Upon reaching a real human being on their endless computer answering service, thi mornic boob proceded to tell me that, because I didn't get the payment in before noon, I was charged another $29.87 for a late fee on the total amount of the bill!!! I could not believe what I was hearing. I also blasted this idiot because of the fact that, upon making the original payment arrangements, I had told them that it would HAVE to be after 2:30pm because my mail does not arrive in my mailbox until then! The person said that they noted this on my account info, but they failed to inform me of their 12 noon deadline!
Now I was really seething from anger... I could not believe what I wa hearing! Is this what we've come down to is constant overcharges, extra charges and enormous late charges from companies that are obviously not held accountable for at all!!??
Verizons' extreme unethical attitude towards their customers is something that I will not stand for, but, because I have the internet in my house that I use to get a job and LEAVE THIS HELLHOLE OF A STATE I'm stuck keeping their lousy, overpaid, sorry excuses for company representatives..
Oh, I'm just amazed at what we have all allowed to happen with these businesses! It's because we've unregulated them all that we're seeing the constant and unmonitored raising of rates. They're all the same. The phone companies, the cable companies, the utility companies. They are all one in the same. Just another way to take far too much from people who have far too little money!
Melissa
New Martinsville, West Virginia
U.S.A.
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