Fios cancelation fee and now collections
spbelky
Enthusiast - Level 1

Here is the order of events

Verizon Fios had me in a 2yr contract, where I get a discount, but if I cancel the contract early I have to pay a $95 fee.  That fee is waived/refunded if I either a) move somewhere and sign up for Fios within 60 days, or b) move somewhere Fios is not offered.  Seems reasonable since Fios is the best option for speed in NYC, and if I move I'll just get Fios again.  Or Fios won't be offered where I move, but in either case, I don't have to worry about the fee.

But here's the catch that was not explained to me when I signed up for the service, but was in the fine print.  If I move somewhere outside Fios service, I must 

provide some basic information along with a picture or scanned copy of a document that clearly shows your name and new address.

Below are some examples of documents you can use that may show your name and new address:

Leasing agreement

Voter registration card

Utility bill

Driver's license

Ok, whatever, right? I can find something like that within the 60 day window, right? Covid hits and I decide I don't want to pay NYC rent prices anymore, so I don't renew my lease and my lease will end Aug 31st.

 

Aug 31, terminate services with Verizon and move out of my apartment same day

 

Sept 1 - 22, I'm staying in a hotel, staying with friends, etc

 

Sept 11, I get an official change of address confirmation to move my USPS address to my parent's house in Michigan, so my mail stops going to my old apartment.  I may or may not stay with my parents long term

 

Sept 21, Verizon processes my final bill and charges me the $95 cancelation fee

 

Sept 22, arrive at parents house in MI, where I continue to live

 

Between Sept 22 and the end of October I contact Verizon multiple times trying to get the cancelation fee refunded

 

October 21st, I am trying to submit my evidence to Verizon to prove I no longer live in NY, but their webform requires an order number, which is nowhere to be found, so I can't submit anything. I get fed up with trying to resolve this with Verizon, and call Chase to dispute the charge, and they refund me immediately.

 

Jan 7, Verizon realizes the payment has been returned, and notifies me there is an issue with my payment.

 

Feb 12th, 26th, and March 2nd, Verizon emails me threatening to send the balance to a collections agency, and that this will severely impact my credit score.

 

March 7th, I contact Verizon via chat support since they dont have phone lines on  Sunday. I try to procure a phone number from the chat rep that I can call on a Sunday, since I don't want to take care of this during my work day.  He provides a phone number, I call it still with the chat open, and the phone number is asking me if anyone in my household is over 60 years old, and other survey questions. It's a bogus number. I tell the chat rep this. "oh I'm  so sorry, here try this number".  The next number is trying to sell me car insurance.  This type of support is what lead me to bypass Verizon in the first place.

 

March 12th, I call the Verizon customer support number, navigate all their automated **bleep**, get a rep on the line, explain the situation.  No help whatsoever. No humanity, no leniency, nothing.  Ok can I plz talk to the supervisor? Maybe they have more room to negotiate?  Supervisor gives me the same script.  I did not provide evidence within the 60 days.  The charge is final.  Even if I have documentation backdated to September, since it's past the 60 days, everything is final. Even though I tried to submit the forms but your webform required an order number I was never provided?

 

This goes on and on for an hour, the super offers to resend the email with the order number to prove I'm wrong, and also offers to have someone call me back in 72 hours who may be able to assist me.  I say ok. No email.  No phone call.

 

March 19th, I call Verizon to explain I was supposed to receive a call back and an email but never did.  They're like "ya ok but you didn't submit your form within 60 days".  Yes, I know that, but I tried explaining to the previous rep the situation, she wasn't able to help, but said I'd get an email and a call back, and never did. 

Today I got a letter in the mail dated March 5th from MRS Associates of New Jersey, which is a collections agency.

 

I really don't want to have my credit score wrecked over this. I feel kind of helpless.  I don't think I should have to pay this.  And even if I choose to just bite the bullet and pay up, do I pay Verizon or do I pay MRS? Can I pay now to avoid hurting my credit and then still fight this?

 
I made multiple efforts to resolve this with Verizon in Sept/October.  Originally I was having a hard time providing valid documentation since they would not accept hotel bills, usps change of address forms, or anything.  they wanted me to have my parents change their utility bill to my name! ridiculous for something like this. And then when I was finally trying to submit the form, it wouldn't let me because I didn't have an order number. I mean come on. I'm trying to do things the right way and end up getting screwed anyway.
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jonjones1
Legend

Try this link.

https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/leader/contact/916673

this typical hoop jumping and spinning your wheels. 
better luck with the executives

LawrenceC
Moderator Emeritus

Hi spbelky,

As this is a peer to peer support forum, you will need to contact Verizon directly for assistance. We have sent you a private message with contact information for a dedicated specialist who is able to help with a resolution of your issue.

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