First of all, I have relocated to South Korea. Months beforehand, I went to a Verizon store and had a conversation with a real live representative in regards to what options Verizon has to keep my phone number while not using their service living abroad. There is a limit on how many days out of the country a foreign cell service can be used unless one is a U.S. military member (I am not). I think it's 90 days? Anyway, that Verizon store representative told me about a third party website, Numberbarn.com, where I could pay monthly to keep my number "parked" until I was in the U.S. again and ready to transfer it back to a service.
Obviously, I couldn't do the transfer before leaving because I needed a working phone until I boarded the plane. (In retrospect, for anyone still reading, the best option would have been to transfer beforehand and get a prepaid option for one month.)
So, when I arrived in Korea, I got a Korean phone and started my transfer to Numberbarn. I spent many hours chatting with numerous Verizon representatives explaining the situation and having them repeatedly attempt to talk me to into international service agreements that wouldn't meet my long term needs of residing abroad. I believe they saw Numberbarn as a service competitor, but the fact is, Verizon does not offer a service to "park" my number! I have had this number for over 20 years, and perhaps it is nostalgic, but I am willing to pay $2/month to keep it available.
Eventually, a supervisor came on the chat and helped me get a TRANSFER PIN. I expressed concern that I didn't want to be responsible for an entire month's payment for unlimited service when I am clearly out of the country where I would not be using Verizon services at all! I asked if I could change my plan to decrease the amount due and prorate it from the date of my plane departure. This supervisor told me that I did not need to worry about changing my plan because they would simply suspend my service until the transfer was complete and quoted a remaining balance of less than $5 that would be due. They said the service would automatically be terminated, and I wouldn't be held accountable for an entire month's bill.
I probably should have asked for these details to be emailed to me, but after HOURS of arguing with tier one representatives, I was so relieved to hear this good news from a supervisor- I took it as good as done and went on with my day!
That was the last week of January 2023. It was not until February 18th that I was finally able to resolve my number transfer. In between, I wasted many more hours and days on MyVerizon chat with representatives, going through the same song and dance, having the SAME conversations about why I was transfering to Numberbarn for a service Verizon doesn't offer--- in order to request new transfer pins after each one was rejected by Numberbarn's attempts to transfer my number. In total, I believe it took 4 or 5 transfer pins before the transfer was successful- and although that supervisor was trying to be helpful in my request to avoid charges for the time during which my mobile was not being used, I believe they delayed the transfer by suspending my service.
If I could bill Verizon for all the time I spent on chat with its representatives- who made me really argue to access supervisors more than once because no one at the entry level position was able to address my concerns, Verizon would owe me money by now! Instead, all I really want is to be able to have this last month's bill cancelled, as the supervisor previously told me it would not be owed. It was billed at the regular rate of $92.04, and most recently was emailed an invoice for $56.32.
To contact Verizon chat again or at least view detailed billing for this amount, 10x the amount quoted by the supervisor who assured me I would owe less than $5 when the transfer was complete- I would have to log in to MyVerizon. Now suddenly, after using MyVerizon for YEARS without issues, I am stuck on a security question, asking what was the first live concert I attended? I have entered the only possible answer many times, with different capitalizations to no avail- and the forgot answer button only leads to a page that says "Sorry we are not able to process your request at this time". I have tried for a couple weeks now, and this is always where I have to give up again.
Verizon doesn't have an email support option, and I do not have international calling to call Verizon directly from Korea. So, unless I want to incur some pretty big phone bills- which is obviously what I'm trying to avoid altogether--- I am hoping that this public community message board will result in direct support from Verizon.
I have NEVER had trouble accessing MyVerizon unresolvedly this way until the day my number transfer completed! It's like they don't care about helping me at all one day after I am no longer a customer- after over 20 YEARS of being a loyal Verizon customer! Even though Verizon has been the more expensive service compared to its competitors, I have repeatedly told my friends and family that I keep my Verizon plan for its reliability no matter where I am in the U.S.A. I just happen to be living outside the U.S.A. now long term! It is really disappointing to think I can't even reach Verizon to consider what options I would have for short-term visits to the U.S. I guess I will have to consider other carriers...
I wasn't even sure whether my service was terminated automatically when the transfer happened. I wasn't sent any email confirmation, and I was concerned the internet says the only way to cancel an account is by calling a 1-800 number. I paid for the service I used, but sincerely- I haven't used Verizon since I got on a plane in January. I only ever even put the SIM card in my phone when I was told I needed it for receiving transfer pins!
-Sad and disappointed. Please help me resolve this. Is there documentation of my chats with the supervisor from January? I should have screenshot the exchange!
Hi there, for further assistance please send us a PM. We are happy to help.
*Heather
Once the account is closed, or all lines are deactivated from Verizon that does end or stop the online access for you. I am sorry this has happened. I do see the Manager quoted the final bill based on if you completed the port out right away. If it took days or weeks longer that is why the final bill was more. Does that make sense?
*Heather
Obviously you didn't read my entire post, or you would understand that I cannot access my old MyVerizon and am unable to PM.
Again, I know that you did not read my entire post because your response does not reflect all the information I relayed. I specifically requested that I downgrade my plan to prevent pro-rating at such an unlimited rate when the supervisor gave that quote. The only thing that delayed the transfer for weeks was the fact that Verizon suspended by account while Numberbarn simply suggested I continue providing transfer pins to get one that would work, and I wasted HOURS explaining to unhelpful chat representatives who made me repeat this conversation again and again. No, I do not owe Verizon anything because Verizon is the one who was delaying the transfer of my number after telling me I did not have to worry about a large bill for the time during which I wasn't even able to use their services abroad. READ THE ENTIRE MESSAGE SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY ADDRESS EVERYTHING I'M SAYING AND NOT JUST THE GIST. Thank you.
We are so sorry to hear about all these issues. We would love to help! For further assistance go ahead and PM us so we may address everything! *Nicki
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