I learned today that I have been severely misled by Verizon over the past 5 years and it has cost me thousands of dollars. Firstly, let me state that I have been fiercely loyal to Verizon for my entire life and my monthly bills are approximately $400 per month. When I had FIOS installed about 5 years ago, I was asked whether or not I want "Copper" phone lines or "digital" FIOS phone lines. I opted for the copper phone lines although the cost would be significantly higher I was led to believe that there are many upsides including not losing the line in a power outage.
Last week I placed an order to have a third phone line installed. Once again, I was asked if I would continue to have the third line priced higher as a copper line or choose a digital phone line. Once again, I opted for the more expensive copper phone line. Today, I was having the third phone line installed in my home when the tech informed me that I do not have copper phone lines and that there was no such thing if you have FIOS installed. I asked him many times if he was sure that this is the case as I was told over the years that I have copper phone lines. I called Verizon while my tech was here and (on speakerphone so my tech could hear) they once again said I do in fact have copper phone lines; the tech merely shook his head and showed me how my phone lines run into the FIOS box and from there are only called "copper" but are not the traditional copper lines as one would expect. I have been paying over twice as much per month for what I believed were copper phone lines only to be misled and defrauded by Verizon for 5 years since my FIOS service began.
I spoke with a supervisor who informed me that what they "mean" when they say copper phone lines is really a "copper phone plan". My bill states "Freedom essentials" and not "Copper phone plan". I asked why the copper plan would cost so much and how the copper plan compared to the platinum and gold plans. It seemed odd to me that the "copper phone plan" would cost so much when there is essentially almost no benefit against the Digital plan. I asked to have this problem rectified and to my amazement I am told that there is nothing that can be done.
I am now, after being with Verizon for over 20 years, exploring options with their competitors. I have recorded all of my phone calls and the recordings are quite alarming. I am amazed that Verizon cannot do anything to assist me but after being on the phone with a supervisor tonight I am told there is nothing they can do. If I call tomorrow and ask to have a copper line installed I will once again be told "sure but that will cost a premium". This is clearly a bait and switch tactic and we are going to fight back against this type of fraud.
I am curious if anyone else has had a similar experience? If so, please let me know.
Kind regards.
