Prior to going abroad, I called Verizon to inquire about using my phone while in Germany. I was told it was $25 for some amount of roaming data, which I signed up for. The day I left, from the US, I did the *228 as required and received a confirmation email that my phone was properly enabled. However, now that I am here, it is completely useless. I have no phone, I have no data. I cannot call support to get an unlock code since I am abroad and only have my phone to rely upon (not to mention the time difference).
I need to have email enabled for both work and personal reasons and feel very crippled. They don't really have "temporary" phones here that I can cheaply buy and enable for a week.
If my phone really won't work *as is* on the Germany networks, why would the rep not have confirmed that before selling and enabling a data plan for me?
There is no email to contact Verizon support. How can I get this resolved while I am abroad? I am purposely finding a place with wireless to check email once a day....
Thanks!
So, a document I received today from Verizon referenced that I have "Global Data For Cdma 100mb $25". Research has indicated that CDMA isn't actually available in most countries, including Germany, and so Verizon has misleadingly allowed and sold me this plan, which I cannot make use of. They did not advise me that I need to enable my phone for GSM (which is possible) and get another sim card or that my phone will not work in Germany at all.
Clearly I am going to fight this and NOT pay the $25, but do I have any recourse now and do I have any way at all to contact Verizon support over email or is it truly so bad that if you cannot call, you're just out of luck (as anyone in my situation might be)?
Thanks,
Jackie
I agree that Verizon support contacts can be hard to find. This page has a link to e-mail them: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/contact/index.jsp. I hope you're able to get this resolved.
jacgross wrote:
So, a document I received today from Verizon referenced that I have "Global Data For Cdma 100mb $25". Research has indicated that CDMA isn't actually available in most countries, including Germany, and so Verizon has misleadingly allowed and sold me this plan, which I cannot make use of. They did not advise me that I need to enable my phone for GSM (which is possible) and get another sim card or that my phone will not work in Germany at all.
Clearly I am going to fight this and NOT pay the $25, but do I have any recourse now and do I have any way at all to contact Verizon support over email or is it truly so bad that if you cannot call, you're just out of luck (as anyone in my situation might be)?
Thanks,
Jackie
Just to check, is your phone set to Global (or GSM/UMTS)? That's probably not the issue but worth checking.
Yes, they gave you a bad plan. If you are using the Verizon SIM, Global Services should be able activate the SIM. If you can find another phone, you can call them collect at +1 908 559 4899. If you reach them either by phone or email, make sure that they switch the calling plan to allow GSM, otherwise you will pay $20+ per MB (not gigabit!).
If your phone is unlocked you can always get a pay as you go local SIM, so you may want to ask for the unlock code as well.
Hi jacgross!
I'm sorry to learn the services were not properly enabled while you were in Germany. The plan you are on is the appropriate plan, however it sounds like we neglected to activate the SIM before you traveling internationally. We do have a support team to reach out to when while traveling internationally at 908-559-4899. If you are still in Germany though, and the SIM was not activated, it cannot be done until back in the States. Please send me (AdamE_VZW) a direct message so I can assist further.
Thanks,
AdamE_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
I guess to close out the thread, so that everyone knows what happened:
It turns out that the Verizon support rep never activated my SIM, which is why I couldn't get onto the network. It took four days of finding wireless hot spots and emailing Verizon to get this rectified, in part because they had me fill out a form, and while the form asked for "my pin or my last four SS id #s", when I used my pin, I was emailed back by support telling me it didn't match my last four digits of the SS ID and I needed to resubmit the form (yet another day in turn-around).
As soon as they deemed the form filled out correctly, I was on the network. Of course, at that point, I had two days left in my trip and had lost countless hours finding hot spots, paying for internet, and checking up on email that I should have been able to do on-the-go or while getting ready in the hotel.
Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed with Verizon, but in the end, it did get fixed.
Moral of the story: When traveling abroad, while it is your responsibility to enable/activate your phone from your end, ensure that the rep helping you knows he needs to take your SIM number and activate it on his end.
Thanks everyone for the responses!
Jackie.
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