I have two lines, one is still under contract - the other is not under contract but has Verizon edge agreement. The person using my other line no longer needs it.
I contacted customer service to see if I could keep only the contract line but continue to make edge payments and use my edge line. I was assuming the number could just be transferred to the contract line, as I have swapped a number between lines before. I was at first told that I could not keep my edge agreement, even if I kept my contract line (this later turned out to be completely inaccurate) so if I wanted to go down to one line, I would either have to pay the early termination fee on my contract line, or pay the full balance of my phone on my edge line. I complained about the fact that I was paying almost $200.00 dollars a month for two lines, and that I felt it was ridiculous that I could not go down to one line without being penalized even though I had no contract on one of the lines.
I was elevated to a manger who not only told me there was a cheaper plan that could cut my bill down by $70.00 per month (so basically Verizon would have continued to take advantage of me by charging me the higher rate when there was a better rate available with the exact same features) but then told me it was possible to keep only one line and my edge payments without being penalized. I could cancel my edge line, but continue to be billed under the edge agreement because I was remaining a Verizon customer. I thought that for ONCE Verizon was going to actually be reasonable and solve my issue. So when I told her that was great, and that I wanted to continue using the Edge line phone number, she told me that would be impossible... REALLY? Why? Because it was tied to the edge agreement. I said OK - what if I change the number on the edge line, then can I have that number put on my contract line since it will no longer be tied to the edge agreement. Again, I got a NO.
It would be one thing if this were the first time I had ever had trouble with VZ customer service, but it isn't. Any time I call in, I get someone in a foreign country, and we have to go round and round repeating ourselves, because they cannot understand me, or I cannot understand them. The fact that this company charges double other carriers, and then outsources customer service to countries where it can pay pennies on the dollar compared to American CS reps, frustrating its over charged customers and cutting Americans out of jobs, is a huge red flag for me. Especially since Boost (10GB, unl, tlk & txt, only $35/month) has customer service that is native English speaking, pleasant and effective. But we pay 3x that amount and can't get a resolution from people we can barely understand. So now I have to use the chat feature, and I always have to require a manager before anything is ever done. I have been with this company for almost 5 years, and I think it is time for a change. In Houston, there are so many towers that all carriers are reliable. Even boost and cricket have no missed calls and excellent data coverage, so the Verizon network is not worth overpaying for. And at Sprint, you get a text when new plans become available for lower amounts with similar features. They value their customers and do not want them to overpay.
Verizon should be ashamed of itself!!! And customers need to wise up and switch!
I want to keep my number so badly, I would still consider staying if they would just work with me on that, but it does not seem they will. This is my last attempt - if a Verizon rep sees this and is able to find a way to get me to one line without being penalized (since I only have 1 contract) and keep my preferred number, I will consider staying. If not, my bonus will be here next week, and I will pay all the penalties to cancel all my service and move to another carrier.
