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7 Year loyal customer, treated like dirt, reason i am leaving Verizon

Hello All, Let me first start by saying I love Verizon, I Love their services and think they are the best compared to Comcast. Now on to my rant/reason why I am leaving Verizon after 7 loyal years...

Recently my bill went up $40 again, for someone who has 2 TVs and internet I was rather upset. I looked into the new streaming services available such as Sling TV and PlayStation VUE. They both offer everything I need when it comes to TV viewing so I decided to "cut the cord" on cable to save a lot of money. I called to cancel my TV services and was told I am in the middle of a contract and there is $150 early term fee, completely understandable, then asked to price out keeping Internet only, the 50/50 package. Nothing special the 50/50 and I have my own router that I purchased from Verizon a few years back so I do not need to rent one. I was told that my bill would be $80! I thought they were mistaken because it is listed everywhere for new customers at $50. Trust me I understand "new customers" get better deal, but a 60% rate hike makes no sense. The customer service rep I spoke with was understanding and nice, and finally she agreed and said "the internet is priced the same for everyone, however the new customers get a 60% rate discount compared to you" I was floored that 7+ year loyal customer has to pay 60% more than new customers, so my question was what is the point of me staying? The response, we offer great customer service compared to everyone else... seriously this is the best they had for a 60% difference in price. I was then offered a $10 discount if I renewed my 2 year plan, which included my TV service, not $10 off the internet. I just want to make everyone aware that this is currently going on, most do not think twice or look at their bill.

So with that said, I hope at least 1 person will check their bill and realize that loyal customers are paying an arm and a leg more than new customers. They are literally doing nothing to retain you as a customer, and you may not even realize it. I hope that some of the higher ups at Verizon see this and will realize how poorly their long time loyal customers are treated. Not only have I decided to cancel my TV but I’m also moving on from the internet services and becoming a “new customer” at Comcast to get their much lower rate.

Thank you,

John

Comments

CRobGauth

And when your contract is up with Comcast in 2 years, you will see the same with tme.
Service providers always give new customers a better deal.
That's because most people don't want the hassle of chasing the new customer deal every 2 years and changing equipment.

Unless you are willing to pay termination fee now, you will have to wait until the end to cancel.
They may offer to send you to retentions department who may offer you a better deal.

But that is more likely once your contract is up.

lasagna

Unfortunately, all carriers seem to play this game. Most all carriers will offer a better rate to "new" customers as a loss leader to get them to switch services and many will bundle this in a multi year contract where you get the reduced rate for 12 months and then the higher or regular rate for say another 12 months. Being in a contract ties your hands ... and is why everyone should also understand the total cost of their commitment before entering an agreement.

You mention your price going up by $40 but say you are in a contract ... which doesn't make sense unless you added services, changed channel packages, added STB's, etc., so some clarity there would be useful unless of course you are in one of those 2yr style agreements I mentioned above ... in which case the increase should not be a surprise.

As has been mentioned, once your contract is fulfilled, you should compare pricing - apples to apples - and if you can get a better deal, that is the time to call your current carrier and ask for a match - carriers know what the competitors are offering - and if the front line customer service person can't give it to you, then you should request a disconnect which will get you to retention - who can usually get pricing in line with the local competition. But they may not be able to do so (or be unwilling) in which case you should be prepared to make good on the disconnect and go with another provider (they are just as good after all, aren't they?). And then.... you play the same game again in reverse in two or three years.

Unfortunate, but this is the way it works everywhere and is not unique to your present situation. Negotiating pricing works best when your hold all the cards and can act on it (and being pleasant and professional in your conversations doesn't hurt either).

Two cents.

JKsionska

I agree. It went up $40 due to the contract of a promotion expiring. My point was charging a 60% rate hike is outrageous. I expect to pay 10% more than new customers, because they need to lure them in, but they do not care if you leave, clearly by the pricing, which is why I’m cutting the cord, saving myself almost $60 a month using PlayStation VUE so in 3 months the termination fee is already covered. And yes in 2 years switching just my internet will not be a hassle at all so I will do the same with Comcast in 2 years. The cable companies are in a world of trouble to be honest because of streaming TV like Sling and PlayStation VUE, are killing them in price

CRobGauth

May kill them on price of TV, but you will still be going to them for Internet.

If I was them, I would amost want to be an Internet provider only.

No disputes with content providers about costs going up, etc.

Just bill for bandwidth.

ericmonaghan

Try more than 30 years buddy ro ! Verizon had kind of a monopoly for those early years, but certainly never offerred any incentives to stay. Customer service is hiding behind a zillion prompts and is Obviously not going to give us an Email address to actually get thru to an English speaking native, to address the problems with any Authority. I needed an Avenue of Communication on the Internet on a Home PC.

Already was overpaying Verizon on a almost never used Home phone-Decided that working the Internet with it should be a Done deal--Nope ,Verizon wanted more Bells and Whistles added. The Basic ""HI-Speed Internet package came with incredibly SLOW Internet downloads and Uploads. They charged me this High rate for several years until a neighbor said the Speeds were very wrong. Verizon stated (By an overseas telephone rep reading a Script) that i needed to additionally purchase "Enhanced Hi-speed Internet" for another $10.00 --By now I would be paying in excess of $90.00 a month just to receive my Email.. I am a Senior and this is Out of the park !

CRobGauth

What speed are you currently paying for?

I have 75/75 and it is more than enough.

ericmonaghan

Currently on "Hi-Speed Internet" that clocks speeds at .54 thru .89 mbps on the downloads and .18 on Uploads.

Doesn't sound or act like hi Speed to me.

Contacted them numerous times and supposedly responded to an Internet offer of only One more dollar monthly fee for ENHANCED Hi-Speed Internet,

Never received it , my monthly bill went up $10.00 and never received any calls back.

never received an agent to the house as promised and a Street VZ Contractor said just to call and "Threaten to Cancel" any service and I might get some action. This is a losing battle amigos.

[Deleted User]

Hi ericmonaghan,

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Cobble1

Verizon has poor customer service and most of their practices seem deceptive. Kings of the bait and switch. Most long time customers (30+ years myself) aren't treated properly.

[Deleted User]

As this thread is now over two years old, it will be locked in order to keep discussions current. If you have the same or a similar question/issue we invite you to start a new thread on the topic.

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