Expensive Phone Number Recovery

[AyeYoPanda]

Something tells me that Verizon doesn't truly care about their customers. I would seriously like to be enlightened as to how/why we are supposed to rationalize having to spend $2,200 to retrieve just one line. The phone number is linked to a business account for six lines and it is suspended. We literally offered to pay our line only, yet, we have to pay such a high amount just for THAT one. WHY? Is there any way we could possibly get Verizon to lower this? Please help. This is utterly unfair. 

[SynthpopAddict]

Yikes.  Unfortunately, the Verizon reps who post in these forums have said elsewhere that they can't access business accounts for some reason.  If contacting Business Support (scroll down to the bottom of the page and look for the "Support" section, then "Business Support" underneath) doesn't give you a resolution, you'd have to try some outside source who can go to bat for you, so to speak.

[vzw_customer_support]

Hi there! We are sorry to hear you are having an issue with your service. We would be glad to help out with this issue. Send us a Private Message so we can help out. 

-Cynthia

[Jwoodby]

Were they able to retrieve your number? And was your number poured it out for some reason or sold? Because that’s what we are dealing with exactly. It began with a hacker, and we kept doing everything we were asked to do and I was very reluctant and did not want to give them my phone number, but they asked me to give it up for two weeks to see if that would help the issue. They assured me that my number would still be there whenever the two weeks was up. So it was supposed to be a trial and error type thing as far as my phone and the hacking which was being done remotely. We have now figured out. And I’m 17 months into it. I went back to get my number because it is the only number we have ever had linked to our construction company for 34 years. There is absolutely no other way for us to be contacted. They took my number and my husband‘s number which basically we kept that hidden from most people as I was typically the contact person, but we did not receive either number, and we were told very rudely by an employee at the store that once we gave up their numbers, it was out of there within 24 hours and being sold to another company. Yet when I call my number, it still says welcome to Verizon, this number has been disconnected. Yet they tell me they do not have it in their system. I lost a contract for a large commercial job for $440,000! Because I did not have my phone I could not be contacted, and they wanted to start the job earlier than anticipated, which I had already agreed to. We just had not set the date. They tried for two weeks to contact me actually almost 3 weeks because my hacker had forwarded my calls in my text for a little over a week. I did not realize that was happening. I just knew that my phone that normally rang all day long. it was very quiet. One of my children told me to check on that and I did, and of course, that was the issue. But I still do not have my number, and technically, I am out of business because of this. I cannot file any tax forms online because it’s all linked back to my phone number for verification of who I am, my credit cards that I had to replace, I’ve lost over half of those and took a major hit on my credit score because I did not have the same phone number that I used when I canceled or requested replacement cards, and they could not verify who I am. It has been an absolute nightmare. My husband has now lost his state contractors license because of this, we cannot file our workers comp documents because of this. So we are literally out of business and we were forced out of business because we were misled by Verizon employees. So his license has expired because again my number was the contact number and everything is done online, business taxes, workers comp, department of revenue, and of course, the state business license documentation. But every one of those items has to be verified with a code that is sent to the phone that they have on file. I had no idea we would not get our numbers back! And no one seems to care. My husband had to take on a different job and we took a 65% pay rate decrease. we have almost lost our home and we are borderline filing bankruptcy now. We had at least 10 more years of being able to work, I just turned 60 my husband is 59. So I’m curious who was gonna pay my bills that haven’t changed? Our rate of income has drastically changed All because of one phone number. I was told they do not keep a paper trail of any type to know who buys which numbers, they basically made it sound like numbers go into a hack, someone says I’ll take 100 numbers and that’s it. They get paid in the person takes  the 100 numbers. I thought everything had a paper trail! But apparently not with Verizon when you try to cooperate and allow them to swap phone numbers on you, and you put your trust into them because your income and livelihood depends on that number. I personally found list of various companies that purchased phone numbers, such as what Verizon described. I called 44 different cell phone providers for companies, no one seems to have my number. And as I said, when I call my number as well as my husband‘s number, they both say they are disconnected but welcome to Verizon. Make that makes sense for me! We’re thinking about consulting with an attorney because 10 years of income and the fact that he has lost his contractors license. We have lost six figures a year in income easily. My husband is making around 50,000 per year now, but he has to work 60 hours a week, that way the 20 hours of overtime helps make up the difference. My husband has not had a day off in almost a year. It’s not supposed to be this way. We also are long time customers with Verizon, 19 years I believe. My latest phone bill was $184 and change, I only have one cell phone that is working. My husband‘s number hasn’t worked in months and he went to Straight Talk, Verizon is very much aware of that. Apparently there are four phone lines. I think total I have been told, and for the past four months those were supposed to have been corrected and removed and only one phone line showing. I was also supposed to be receiving credits on my account for the overages I have been paying. Well today, my phone got disconnected because they want the last months payment and this months payment or devices I do not even have! And the best part about this, in the year 2022, had an insurance claim, I receive a new phone after I paid the deductible, I returned the broken phone as instructed, yet on the bill I received after that happened, I was charged $400 for not returning the phone. At that time we had four phone lines on the account, so I had to pay that $400 in addition to the other money, but we paid out monthly. Once I presented him with the receipt showing yes I did return the phone and the phone was received, I was told I would receive my money back. But I could not get it back at one time, it would be monthly in $100 increments! And it was my responsibility to call them and remind them to deduct $100 off of my bill each month until the $409 credit was returned. They still owe me $100 from  years ago.! 
now that I’m thinking about it, I may even have that year wrong, it may have been a little longer than that. But I’m not going to pull the paperwork right now to see. At either Wright, I wasn’t given the option for a payment plan, I was told to pay it all at once and I did that. I don’t understand how they can just have a payment plan at their discretion and expect me to remember to call them so many days before my bill cut off. I can’t remember that, not whenever I’m working many hours a week. I don’t think about my phone bill until I see that text telling me how much was taken out! Then I called them and I’m told I have to wait and call back closer to the cut off date! It has been an absolute mess and honestly that’s an understatement. They have taken away our retirement years because that major job was our last big job that we were going to take on, and the profit was going to be unbelievable. So we figured 10 more years, but in the meantime, we would be able to travel and possibly enjoy life a little bit. Instead, it’s like we are newly married again, and struggling as newly with. We’ve been married 40 years we’ve already put in our time of struggling. Now, thanks to this ordeal. We’re back to square one. And now I have no working phones except for my husbands that goes through Straight Talk. Which happens to be part of Verizon  go figure! 

I got out topic and I do apologize, but I would like to know how you got your number back and what you had to do in order to make that happen. You have to pay that amount of money is absolutely insane! People that buy personal phone numbers kind of like vanity number that would go with a business, they pay that kind of money to have a personalized phone number to go with their business. An ordinary customer, even as a business customer should not have to pay that. So if you could enlighten me as to what steps you took, I would greatly appreciate it!