Verizon wants $6,900 dollars from me due to a service billing error!
I took a 10 day business trip to Japan starting in late November 2014. Since I knew I was going to need phone and data coverage on this trip, I stopped into a Verizon store in early November to see what options were to add a global coverage plan. The associate explained the options, and suggested that I go online a few days before my trip and add the Global Data Plan that covered Japan, which was $25 for each MB used. He also suggested that I remove the plan upon my return and before the next billing cycle so that I wouldn't incur an unnecessary $25 charge for the next month. Good enough.
On November 26th, I added the Global Data Plan to my account online. No problem. I traveled to Japan from 11/30 to 12/8. Upon arriving in Japan, I got a text message confirming that my Global Data Plan was in effect, and confirming the terms and costs. I used my phone extensively on the trip, and ended up incurring three additional charges of $25 for data coverage, as was confirmed by additional text messages from Verizon. No problem at all. $100 dollars for data usage along with some minor additional charges for phone calls and text messages to my coworkers. Reasonable charges all around. A week after returning for my trip, I went on to Verizon's website to remove the Global Data Plan before the next billing cycle began.
So you ask yourselves, what's the problem.
Well, a few weeks later I get an email from Verizon stating that my account is past due for over $7,000!!! $7,000!!! This has to be some monumental mistake, right? After trying to decipher what happened by viewing my account online, I finally locate a customer service number I can call for billing questions. When I finally get a human on the line, they spent almost an hour researching what happened while I remained on hold. Finally, the customer service representative explained to me that when I went online to remove the Global Data Plan, that it somehow "retroactively" cancelled the plan for the period I was travelling. When my bill was calculated for the month, all of the data that I used was then billed at their standard rate for foreign roaming. She agreed that this billing was obviously an error, that I did in fact have the Global Data Plan in effect while I was traveling, and that my bill should only have only included the $100 charge for data usage (along with the charges for a few phone calls and texts). She told me that although they were in agreement, neither her nor her supervisor were authorized to credit such a large amount to my account, and that it would have to be escalated to another department to handle. She promised that I would be contacted either by phone or email within a few days to confirm the correction to my bill. Ok, problem solved, right?
Nope, unfortunately, I never received a confirmation call or email. Instead I got another email indicating that my bill was past due and that my service might be disconnected if I didn't bring it current. I immediately called the same number that I had called previously. To make a long story short, I talked to another customer service rep, as well as that person's supervisor. They both insisted that because it was me who made the changes to my account online and that when I made the changes (removing the Global Data Plan), I chose an option that retroactively cancelled the coverage back to the start of the billing period in question, that I was in fact responsible for the roaming charges. Of course I explained that it obviously wasn't my intention to retroactively remove the plan and incur a $7,000 charge, and that I was shocked that Verizon would even allow that to be an option available to a customer online. To no avail; they insisted it was entirely my error, and they could do nothing about the charges. Argg!! Just horrible customer service. Unconscionable to expect me to give them $7,000 in these circumstances whether it was my error or not. I did, in fact, have a contracted global coverage plan in place while I was traveling. They are not even disputing this fact. They just don't care.
I then asked the customer service supervisor that my case be escalated to someone who was in a position to actually do something to resolve this issue. I did receive a call from a Verizon representative a week ago, but I was on a plane and not able to take the call. She promised to call back to discuss, and she also left a phone number to call and her extension. Unfortunately, I have not heard back from her, and I have tried to call her back ten times now, and have not been able to reach her. I am also not given the option to leave her a voice mail or speak to someone else who can help. Today, I have gotten an email and two automated voice calls telling me that my account is still past due, and that I need to pay immediately to continue service. I am at wits end.
I'm hoping someone from Verizon will read this (albeit lengthy) posting, and be able to help me.
A note to Verizon management - I will under no circumstances pay you $7,000 for this absurdly deceptive and abusive billing practice. If this is not resolved within a day or two, I will port my number to another carrier and not look back. My credit is perfect and extensive, and I am certainly not worried about a negative report from Verizon. I am also not the least bit concerned with bill collectors, and I am more stubborn and resolved than you can possibly imagined. If this issue is not resolved promptly, I will file complaints with the FCC, the FTC, the CFPB, and the California Department of Consumer Affairs - all of which have taken a supreme interest as of late in companies that employ deceptive and abusive practices that harm consumers financially. I will forward my complaint to the BBB, as well as my local television news consumer activist (Stanley Roberts loves this type of case!), and also post my case to every social media outlet that I can find. If that's not enough, I'm more than happy to file a complaint against Verizon in small claims court. So, Verizon, you can either correct my bill and we can move forward with a happy relationship, or you can deal with all of my complaints. Either way, you will not be getting $7k from me.
Do the right thing.
