September 12, 2014 – Verizon sends me an unsolicited email that says in part: “Your continued loyalty inspires us to deliver more . . . . Not quite ready to upgrade? No problem. Keep your current phone and we’ll lower your bill by $10 every month until you’re ready to upgrade or renew your service agreement.” (My two-year contract ended over a year ago.)
October 4, 2014 – I talk with J in Ohio and he confirms that he has implemented the $10 reduction in my monthly bill and with no termination period.
October 20, 2014 – I get my next bill and then look at My Account. No change in my monthly cost after all. I talk with A in Washington State who tells me I’m not eligible for the $10 reduction. I explain that it was Verizon that offered it in an unsolicited email to me and that J in Ohio confirmed on the phone that he had implemented it, and in contract law we consider that a contract. Wasn’t anyone even going to contact me? Apparently not. I explain I’m about to travel overseas to lead a seminar for the heads of law firms throughout Europe and will deal with this upon my return.
November 24, 2014 – I talk with J in Washington State. He says he doesn’t have a copy of the September 12 email Verizon had sent to me but he can move me to a loyalty plan at $50 a month. I ask if this will result in a new termination date, etc., and he says no, I can terminate at any time, so I say go ahead. I subsequently receive an email confirming I’ve been moved to the so-called loyalty plan.
November 26, 2014 – I receive an email from Verizon telling me a letter confirming my loyalty plan is available at My Account on line. I find the letter, incredibly dated tomorrow (November 27) and incredibly it says at one point the contract is month to month but elsewhere it says it’s a one-year contract with a one-year termination fee of $175.
November 26, 2014 – I speak with C in Colorado. She can’t find the November 27 letter nor the September 12 email, puts me on hold to speak with a manager, comes back and while she is talking she disconnects me. I then speak with M in Washington State. He pulls up the file, does research on the rules for the so-called loyalty plan, tells me it is in fact subject to a one-year requirement, but that if I want he can reinstate my original plan which isn't subject to any termination fees or other requirements. Time will tell whether this is the case.
This is an example of a large company that doesn’t seem to know what it is doing, and worse, no one in management seems to notice or care. And this comes from someone who has been a managing partner at one of the largest law firms in the country, chaired a worldwide association of lawyers, and now teaches law. If this is what happens to me, what in the world is Verizon doing to its other customers?
