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Taking my Windows Phones + 3 others and leaving Verizon

I have been a Verizon subscriber since 1995.

I have had great service and coverage for many years (NY/NJ/PA area), and I currently have a total for 4 devices on Verizon wireless (3 iPhones , My Nokia 928). My personal phone is the 928 and from a platform perspective I feel it’s a much better device than the iPhone. The 3 iPhones are all due for an upgrade and I had planned on going with Nokia Icons, but that has now changed since Verizon killed that model off.

My biggest issue with Verizon now is what I perceive as a total lack of customer service, support, transparency and communication coming from them regarding the Windows Phone platform. I have made several calls and have yet to receive a satisfactory response from any rep.

Maybe Verizon wants to no longer support the windows Platform, maybe they are holding off on Cyan to force people to buy the HTC phone, maybe they have valid reasons due to their infrastructure to not push out the Cyan update. Regardless they should be communicating these reasons rather than string people along. I will not continue to invest in a company that has no clear direction to support the platform i choose to use.

I have read many posts on this website and very few speak of actions. The only way to change the behavior of a company is to not feed them your dollars, especially when they don’t provide the level of service you expect.

It’s because of this I am leaving Verizon after almost 20 year and looking to move to AT&T where they appear to be actively supporting the Windows Phone platform.

I welcome any comments from Verizon that they feel will help dissuade me from this choice.

Comments

unknown

You must do what you have to do.

Good luck at your new provider.

But before you leave (no I am not talking you out of it) ponder this.

AT&T may have updated your make of device quick this time. What if its different next time? You going to swap back?

And let's say the Windows platform is dropped from that carrier, or the rest? As I said that is your decision to make.

Choose wisely.

mrcleet

I just want to point out that Verizon wasn't formed until about 2000. Growing up in NY I can still remember Darth Vader talking about "Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile" shortly before all of the baby bells started to merge.

Tidbits

1994 to be exact. They were not nationwide but they existed.

unknown

Founded

Bedminster, New Jersey, United States (April 4, 2000)

Tidbits

May be thinking about Verizon and not wireless I didn't hear about Verizon until around 94 when they came into our state.

mrcleet

Company History & Timeline - Verizon

Formed in 2000. Verizon Wireless was actually a separate venture with Vodafone which is the date MrHelper put on here. The Verizon "landline" service was June of 2000.

LumiaIconUser

I too have been with Verizon since about '96 (Was Bell Atlantic mobile then, I think), except for a brief stint on ATT with a company iPhone. Unfortunately in the NE Corridor Verizon rules. I considered leaving over the unlimited data being yanked, but ultimately stayed for the Icon.

All I can say is the WP/Icon experience with Verizon has been extremely disappointing, and I will be reconsidering my carrier when my 2 years is up.

unknown

James Earl Jones "Welcome to Verizon Wireless"

And I was with them from the start. Actually Cellular One was first and Sprint had an idea for repeaters on windows etc. But I went with Albany Telephone Company (Cellular One-ATC) way before them both.

408 customer. (It was originally the last digits of our cell numbers)

What memories.

SickFreak

The date sounds about right. I was a Bell Atlantic Mobile customer starting June 1998, but that was quickly merged into Verizon Wireless. At one time, they were more customer focused and I could actually get a response to my queries. Unfortunately, in the last few years, VZW, IMO, has turned rude and extremely condescending toward the customers, if they respond at all.

Kohld

I have to agree that Verizon can only be described as hostile to its customers.

I recently got hit with a considerable extra charge on my bill when my daughter had an issue with her iPhone 5 that made her think it was using WiFi to view YouTube videos, the network icon was there but it actually used the cellular data connection, I realized that she had used up almost 1/2 my 12GB data plan in the first 6 days so I jumped on the web site and told it to switch to 16GB of data starting at the beginning of the 'current' cycle. It did not, it made it active for the next billing cycle, which I apparently missed when I reviewed the changes as I am well aware that we often see what we expect and miss the obvious.

I was not particularly concerned as I had caught the issue 10 days later and still had, I thought, plenty of time to correct the issue. The web site refused to let me make the change as the last requested change had not been applied yet so I call support. I told them what I had tried to do, what it actually did and asked if they could cancel the change effective the next billing cycle and apply it to the beginning of the current cycle, the reply was 'no problem'. They did not mention that they could not make a change to my plan prior to the day I requested the last change and so they split my cycle and applied the full amount of my daughters usage to the 6 day window, prorated the amount of data that 6 days represented of my 12GB data plan and billed me $60.00 in overages before they then applied the upgrade to 16GB to the rest of the cycle with some clever manipulation of the billing which added a chunk of fees that had me paying over $100 more than I would have if I had just limited my usage that month. At no point in the call did they ever mention this problem or that the fix I requested would result in additional charges beyond the expected plan change.

When I called in to question my bill I was told they had no records of my earlier requests as I had made a follow up request to go back to 12GB of data and that was all they showed so they could not correct the bill but offered to give me a $9.00 credit to make up for the problem. When I laughed at them they then offered to give me a promotional 1GB of data a month free instead. But by then I was annoyed and told them not to as I was afraid of what it would do to my account billing and ended the conversation. I then found that they went ahead and added the 1GB, without my permission, and now consider the issue closed.

Now mistakes happen and the $100 will not kill me, but the attitude of the customer service people I spoke with reflected the fact that my business meant nothing to them and their awareness that most customers cannot drop their service, due to the contracts involved, and so they have no reason to treat us any other way.

For now I am still with them for reasons to do with the company I work for, but those reasons are evaporating as more BYOD policies take effect. So for now I am letting all contracts expire and looking to a trial with AT&T again, several people in my community say AT&T has greatly improved connectivity in my area since I last tested them while Verizon seems to get weaker every 6 months, and while I will see what the future brings.

In the end, Verizon has lost any vague loyalty I might have felt as they have continually made it clear that they are big enough that a single customer is no great loss.

Verizon_Support

There's no need to consider another wireless provider jdpg2. Your wireless happiness is a TOP priority to us. As more info becomes available on the Windows mobile platform, we will communicate with our customers accordingly. While there isn't any official info on if/when a new update will be available, a great way to stay informed is to visit our news site, http://vz.to/1sif5gW

Thank you…

ArnettH_VZW

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

jdpg2

AmettH_VZW

While it is encouraging to finally see someone from VZW respond to a forum post, I am afraid your response and especially the link you provided continue to prove my point. The fact that there is no information regarding the Windows platform available to share with customers, especially give the fact that the Cyan update has been available for several months, is troubling. The other telling aspect is that after going to the news website you provided I found NO information at all on any windows phones. Most of the articles are very much Apple and Android focused. What is this to lead me to believe? Clearly not that Verizon is going to support the Windows platform now or in the future.

Regards

jdpg2

unknown

[Quote]

While there isn't any official info on if/when a new update will be available, a great way to stay informed is to visit our news site, http://vz.to/1sif5gW

[/quote]

I would worry more on the above quote from Verizon "If/When"

Are you understanding now?

primortal

Elector wrote:

I would worry more on the above quote from Verizon "If/When"

Are you understanding now?

It's verbiage to protect ones butt being they don't know the update status

The update is coming otherwise Microsoft's update page would have listed the devices as "Not available" vs "Under testing"

jharris326

Look at the AT&T contractless plans. There were actually better than Verizon and had more data. I know that is what I will be switching to as soon as my contract is up. Verizon stinks like c**p. I know AT&T customer service may not be any better but at least they let the updates through!

penterax

Yup.

I bought my phone outright so I have no contract, I pay monthly. I'm paid up to the middle of November. If I don't have Win 8.1 and the Nokia Cyan updates on my phone by then I'm switching to ATT.

JaredRH

I tried to return my 2 Icons in the 14 day return window. Tech un-support talked me out saying that there was an update "next week" that would solve the problem. Now 2 months later and no update. Just called and was told that it will cost me $612 to change phones. Shame on you Verizon!!!

unknown

Try Cellbreaker. You may be able to get out of your contract without paying ETF.

unknown

Quit spamming that stuff it's a scam.

BayStater

You must be a young consumer; you're too trusting. You NEVER take any business's word for ANYTHING unless you get it in writing with a management signature. I was told the same thing about my ATIV SE. On day13, I told them I want an exchange or a written agreement. The store manager said she would rather see me exchange the phone than risk me picketing her store since she wasn't allowed to give me a written agreement. She even waived the $70 fee for two phones.

unknown

Have you used them? (Answer: no)

I'll be posting updates on my progress getting out of Verizon shortly. Make sure to cry about it when I do.

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