yet another customer getting screwed on a phone return
cindyjean
Newbie

I bought a brand new phone in April of this year. In July it stopped working so I took it in to the store and they ordered a replacement to be shipped to my house.  When I got the replacement I followed the instructions in the package and returned the defective device by taking the box to the post office.  The package pick up was confirmed by FedEx by tracking number on July 12. 2 days ago I started getting messages from Verizon that my account was past due- I was shocked to find out my current bill was listed at 875 dollars because I am now being charged $649 plus tax for the refurbished phone I received because supposedly my defective device was not returned. On top of that, the automated bill pay I set up through my wireless online account in July had not been working at all although I had received no notifications. I immediately paid the past due bill amount but not the value of the phone. 

Monday morning I called customer service and spoke to someone who confirmed that the phone had been picked up by FedEx but not entered back into the system by the warehouse.  He gave me a line about "sometimes the label is damaged and they set it aside to deal with when they get a call looking for that device." He also told me that the cost of the phone would be put on hold on my bill and I wouldn't have to pay it. 

For the last two days I've been getting messages from Verizon that my account is past due and scheduled to be disconnected, although there is no further information about when this might occur.

I also emailed Verizon yesterday through the help contact info on the website. I'm now posting this here because I see they do this exact same thing over and over. 

My question is to anyone else who has gone through this and not created a forum post- how did you resolve the situation? I'll be contacting the Better Business Bureau to file a complaint on Monday if this problem has not been resolved by then. I expect the value of the phone, the tax charged to me for the phone, and the late fees for July, August, and September to be returned to me.

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Re: yet another customer getting screwed on a phone return
demmo86rt
Champion - Level 3

Sometimes, unfortunately, you end up having to pay the bill and get a credit later. I know that's probably not an option (financially it wouldn't be for me), but I've heard it can take some time to get the device charge reversed, and that's the only way to avoid disconnection.

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Re: yet another customer getting screwed on a phone return
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hi cindyjean,

It's great that you saved the tracking number for your package as that really helps us with the process of locating the information with FedEx. Did you ever see if FedEx showed the package as delivered? Based on your details it sounds like FedEx lost the package and luckily we have a process to report this over and get the credit on your account. Did they advise you if they were filing this investigation for you? If not I would ask that you please follow me (MariaC_VZW) and send me a Direct Message with your details so we can get this taken care of as soon as possible.

When you're advised of a late payment and we confirm with financial services that there's an open investigation for the credit, we place a hold for five days on those funds to avoid disconnection. The past due alerts can take up to 24 hours to stop. Did they exceed that time? Please update us on the status of this trouble so we can avoid any disruption of service that isn't your fault to begin with.

Thank you,
MariaC_VZW
Please follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

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Re: yet another customer getting screwed on a phone return
JANDT
Newbie

Did you get your problem solved?  I can't believe how many people have the same probelm.

I too am being charged for a defective device that Verizon says was never returned.  They are trying to charge me for this phone and i have been calling them for 3 months to let them know it was returned via their return packaging and shippment lable.  Fed ex has no activity for the tracking number.  Everytime i call Verizon i get another answer.  Most recently they told me to file a claim with Fed Ex which i have attempted to do however, Fed ex states since this label is a smart post label only Verizon can file a claim.  Any advice on how you got yours handled would be greatly appreciated. I am beyone frustrated.  thanks

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