Billing Mess- Three Months and Counting, despite promises to fix it

[RPeppe]

I am hoping someone here can help with a billing problem that dates back to August and remains unresolved despite almost weekly calls and discussions with customer service.  They are now threatening to refer the matter to collection, even though I do not owe any money.  I would like to get this resolved, but as an attorney I can not figure out how Verizon gets away with this, and now I am hearing from other people with the same problems.  I do not want to take legal action, I just want to resolve the problem.

I cancelled my FIOs triple play service in August, partly because of the customer service issues when they could never find my account if I had a technical issue.  I ported away my phone number, then cancelled the remaining internet and TV service after the port was complete (I received an email from Verizon saying it would all be cancelled automatically ,but I called to make sure). I returned all the equipment as instructed at the UPS store- I was told there was no other option to return it,

The remaining issue is that I am getting bills and threats of collection for "unreturned equipment," even though I took the equipment (2 cable cards) to UPS, and have a receipt showing Verizon received it and signed for it. I have now provided the tracking numbers for the returns 4 times on the phone, and each time have been told it is resolved, but the charges are still there.  How do we fix this?

I am sorry I sound so frustrated, but before this we had issues that took many calls about being threatened with an early termination fee, even though I was not under contract, being charged an extra month (that was finally resolved), and my payments being applied to the wrong account (apparently they separate the phone from the other charges once you port your number, even though I called and cancelled immediately, and even though I received an email saying it was all cancelled back in August automatically upon the port). I had t ospend hours on the phone and got bounced from FIOS to phone to billing and back before I got a refund back on the phone account, only to then have a new bill for a few dollars show up on the FIOS account in addition to the equipment charge, I went ahead and paid the few dollars rather than continue to fight, and it was credited to the wrong account, and it took two more calls to get the payment moved to the FIOS account.  I have no idea why Verizon has to had several accounts for me- I just opened one account.

Is there anything I can do short of filing aclass action lawsuit?

Thank you very much for any help you can provide.

[KH-OrnEsh1]

I'm sorry you are having difficulty. An agent with access to your account will reach out to you directly by email, private message in the Forums and/or the billing telephone number on your Verizon account for more information or to help you resolve your issue.

[JFig1]

Wow! I can't believe how many people are going thru the same problem as we are!   We are very very frustrated with this situation as well.  We returned the equipment but Verizon is arguing that we did not and is billing us a ridiculous amount.  We will make this mess as public as possible so that other people do not have to suffer with this as we are...Verizon would not have been our provider choice If we would have known about the horrible customer service/billing issues they have. 

[RPeppe]

The more I ask around, the more I hear about the same problem.  The really frustrating part is that where I live, you have no alternative except to take the equipment to the UPS store to be returned, then Verizon says it is your problem. I would much rather have dropped it off on person someplace, but they told me on the phone I had to take it to UPS, and that I should not worry because I would get a receipt. I did get a receipt, and a tracking number, but Verizon is still saying it is my problem that even though they signed for the package they can not find the equipment, and even though it was all sent together and they acknowledge receiving half of the equipment.

I did receive a private message this morning asking me to click on a link and provide my contact information. I did that, and I replied back to the private message that I had done so, but I have not heard from anyone yet,

The odd part was the link they provided appears to be the same online service request form that I submitted back in September. At that time the only response I received, a week later, was a copy of what I had submitted. I received this via email, and it had no information from Verizon, it was just an email that contained what I had sent, plus a bunch of header information with no explanation.  the header iformation had some symbols and numbers I could not decipher, plus text that contained an old address where I used to live over 8 years ago. I have no idea why the system spit that back at me, or why Verizon seemed to think I still lived there, since I had moved my service to my current address for the past 8 years.

If Verizon does resolve the problems, I will certainly give them credit here and let everyone know and that will be the end of it.  If not, we need to pull together the group with the same problems and take a group approach to solving this.

[JFig1]

I completely agree...if they resolve the issue then I will most definitely praise the rep/manager that finally helped however it seems like there is lack of training and communication between peers at Verizon Customer Service...

[RPeppe]

JFig:

I had my hopes up till I read your story.  The quick private message and then form to fill out had me thinking someone at Verizon would resolve this matter. I see you are ten days and counting since you started posting here, so I have lost some of that enthusiasm.

I am also going to start looking at options with local regulators.  I serve on the City Council were I live, and I learned that the city has a franchise agreement with Verizon.  I am going to ask around the city and see if this is a broader problem in the city for other residents. If it is, problems with customer service will be an appropriate area for the city to look into.  I hope I am wrong, and this is not  a broader problem, but I am starting to suspect it is the more  I look into it and the more problems I experience first hand.

[JFig1]

I'm going to do some research as well and find out if what you plan to do would be an option where I live.  I did notice on the bill that a Verizon local franchise authority  is located at our Town Hall.   I am hopeful that someone from Verizon will call by Friday and any further action will be unnecessary. 

[DLeeFeb268]

If  you live within Pennsylvania call the Verizon Expedite team  at  {edited for privacy}  they will help you ,If you live else where ,they will  direct you to the nearest Verizon Expedite team in your area ..Just leave your name , phone number and address and they will get back to you

Good Luck

[RPeppe]

Just an update- I did actually receive a call this afternoon from someone at Verizon.  She looked over my account, and said that on November 30 it was sent someplace that should have resulted in a credit, but that it was marked saying Verizon was unable to notify me.  She said I received a paper bill this week because it was generated on November 28, and that I should expect a credit to show up on December 28.

I am hopeful that this will be the end of it, but I apparently will not know until December 28, and they have no way to update the status with my online account to reflect this.

On one hand, I am glad to hear the problem might be resolved, and it is great there is this platform to get the attention required to resolve a problem. On the other hand, no one can show me anything definitive yet and I need to wait will December 28 to be sure, which seems a little crazy for a technology company, especially since I was told at the end of September and middle of November this was fixed and it turns out it was not.  My main concern is that Verizon's mistakes do not mess up my credit, since the bill I received this week says it is being referred to collections.

I will report back whenever I get something definitive!

[hutchison75]

At least I know I am not the only one!! What can I do If I don't have that information anymore? There has to be another recourse. I hope yours works out- I wouldn't wish this company on my worse enemy..

[JFig1]

You're right!   after dealing w/their customer service/billing department  I wouldn't recommend Verizon to anyone!  I would rather have less quality but more peace of mind with another service provider.   They are supposed to be calling my by Friday...we're two days away and no phone call yet..

[TonyaD_VZ]

JFig,

 We have reached out to contact  you this morning at 9:41 am this morning. If you have a diffrent number to reach you please sent us that number so that we can get this issue resolved.

Thanks, 

Tonya D.

[TonyaD_VZ]

hutchison75,

Verizon support is in receipt of this issue. We will send you a PM to gather additional information.


Thanks,

Tonya D.

Notice: Content posted by Verizon employees is meant to be informational and does not supersede or change the Verizon Forums User Guidelines or Terms or Service, or your Customer Agreement Terms and Conditions or Plan.


 

[RPeppe]

I promised I would report back if and when the problem was resolved.

While frustrated with what it took, today I was able to print a bill showing paid in full. The odd part was the account summary on the website (the small box in the upper right side of the page) switched to say paid in full a few weeks ago, but if I clicked on the bill, it said I still owed the money and it was being sent to collections, as did the notes.  It was not until today, January 5, that a bill dated December 28 showed up.  There really seem to be system non-integration issues on Verizon's end.  I am happy it was resolved, but it is very frustrating that the website provides contradictory status reports on something as simple as a bill.

[handinpalm]

I have been screwed by Verizon also.  They will not even listen to your responses.  They just want money for what you do not legally owe.  Who wants to start a CLASS ACTION LAWSUITE?  I believe that there are a large number of customers that have been taken by Verizon & need legal help.  I know I do.  Email me at {edited for privacy}@gmail.com if you want to be part of a lawsuite.  I am not afiliated with any lawyers, but after we get some customers names, I can contact some of the money hungry lawyers to represent us.

[anpg]

My husband and I stopped our Verizon FIOS service in September 2012 when we moved across the country. We sent our equipment back from Mailboxes Etc. (like Verizon specified us to do) and kept the tracking number that has the date, time, location, and person who signed for the cable box when it was received. Months later we received a bill out of nowhere, forwarded from our old address, that we had a $571 balance. We thought it was suspicious that the bill was sent to our old address when we had replaced it with our new address in their system months earlier! To my amazement, after researching online, I found that many FIOS customers have experienced the EXACT same situation - down the minute detail - over the last few years of how Verizon is operating this scam and forcing customers to pay for unreturned equipment that they themselves had lost.

Since finding out about our pending bill, I have been on the phone with Verizon reps for months now and none of them seem to have the same information. Some reps even neglected to open a ticket to look into the matter and promptly sent our bill to collections even though the matter was supposed to be under investigation. Some reps promised they would "personally follow up and call" me, but never did. In one particular call, after talking to half a dozen reps, some of them claimed they could not even find my account! One of them even told me my balance was $0 and I asked to be transferred to Finance to ensure the bill was cleared, and Finance informed me that the $571 balance was still pending and transferred me to yet another rep who said the balance was back! I argued with Finance to get them to put a hold on sending the bill to collections, and that I shouldn't be held responsible for them losing track of the box. They signed for the package and assumed full responsibility, and now customers are paying the price.

I kept a running spreadsheet of everyone I spoke to, by name/employee number, since they all had conflicting things to tell me. Some representatives flat out refused to give me their employee numbers so they would be protected. Two weeks later, after yet another representative failed to follow up with their "promise" to return my call... I called them again today, and several representatives immediately hung up on me when I asked for an update on the investigation, while others sent me in circles to the same departments: Financial, Billing, and Credit Verification - all of them shirked responsibility for the case and some representatives were simply too lazy to even look my information up. Not to mention, this time around NONE of the representatives could even find our account - even after supplying our social security number! We have literally been wiped from their system with no ability to even look into our "investigation"  - EXCEPT for our $600 bill that is still pending of course!

Judging by everyone's experience I've been reading about, this is exactly what Verizon wants... for customers to jump through hoops and fight this for months on end, and eventually give up and pay erroneous charges, so that their credit won't be affected. They've found a way to pigeon hole customers into doing exactly what they want! This situation has caused customers like myself huge amounts of distress and cost of both time and money spent on hours of phone calls with Verizon over the span of months. After reading horror stories of others online who have not resolved the exact same situation after months of "investigation" by Verizon and eventually had to pony up the money to settle the bill - I'm terrified that my credit score will be adversely affected and I will not be able to do anything about it.

After the last conversation with dozens of representatives reduced me to tears from the complete and utter lack of service and regard for their customers, I will now contact the Verizon executive offices directly with certified mail, contact local media, credit companies, and I have begun the process of filing claims with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Better Business Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission.

[TonyaD_VZ]

Good evening ,

We sent you a message on our private support board to assist you and we did not receive a response.  Please repost the issue if you are still experiencing a problem so that we may assist you. 

Thanks,

Tonya D.