Phone returned but billed anyway
tphillip
Enthusiast - Level 2

My name is Towanna, and I am currently a Verizon customer and have been for over 10 years. When initially deciding to chose Verizon as my cellular service provider I was impressed with coverage area, plan options, and great customer service. Essentially Verizon has a reputation that speaks for itself, with being a reliable service provider. As my consumer tenure continues, it seems that the quality of customer service has entered an unfortunate down-hill slope. There was once a time when you could make a call to customer service with an issue and the service representative that answered the phone was knowledgeable, and really worked to resolve the issue properly and promptly. I would like to share my recent on-going experience with attempting to get an issue resolved regarding an early upgrade.

            On November 15, 2023, I received a promotional text message from Verizon which stated that if I turn in my iPhone 13 Pro Max they would pay off my remaining balance. The message also went on to say that if I did the early upgrade, I would get up to $415.00 off a new iPhone 15 device (applied over 36 months). I proceeded to call Verizon regarding to promotion and the customer service representative I spoke with reiterated the promotion and mentioned that I could also receive an Apple watch essentially free as well because of the promotion that was going on at the time. I was prompted to send my current phone and watch back to Verizon utilizing the prepaid shipping labels that were sent accompanied by the new devices. This is not a new process, as I have done similar actions with previous upgrades and trade-ins. Before I sent the devices in via UPS store I called Verizon once again just to be sure I was doing all the proper things due to noticing that there were emails sent about getting my watch ready, but no emails sent regarding getting the phone ready. The rep I spoke with reassured me that I should indeed send the watch and the phone in using separate boxes and shipping labels. With this reassurance I proceeded to package and drop the devices off at my local UPS store and was given a printed receipt label that had tracking information on it.

On December 1st 2023, engaged Verizon via chat to ask about when the $415.00 credit would start appearing on the bill and the rep had no idea what I was talking about. After explaining they did state that I would get the $415.00 credits and to wait until the next bill is generated to start seeing the credits.  They also stated that that they would take care of it and detailed notes were made on the account for future reference.  On December 16th, 2023, I logged onto the My Verizon app only to see that my bill which normally runs around $200.00 had skyrocketed up to $780.53. I proceeded to contact Verizon customer service and spent over an hour speaking with the representative who informed me that the iPhone that I had turn in was not showing received in the system on her end. I informed her about sending the devices back on November 25, 2023 and gave her the tracking information. I also checked the tracking information just to be sure it was showing as delivered. The rep and I both confirmed that the tracking information indeed showed both devices were received on November 29th, 2023. Somehow the watch was showing as received but the phone was not, and as a result I was being charged for the remaining balance of the phone ($524.88) as well as not receiving the promotional credits on the account. The representative instructed me to go the UPS store where the items were sent off from and initiate filing a claim, she then assured me verbally that this would be taken care of, as well as sending a string of text messages stating that this would be fixed and the account had been notated. On December 17th, 2023 After being unsuccessful in filing the claim in-store, via internet, and via telephone, due to Verizon failing to upload needed billing/shipping/receiving information on the tracking, I called Verizon once again. I explained to the representative that I was instructed to file a claim and wanted to follow up since I was informed by UPS that Verizon needed to be the party to file the claim due to missing information attached to the tracking. I do not believe, possibly due to a language barrier that she fully understood what I was trying to explain. She asked the same questions repeatedly and kept saying that she understood, and she was sorry that this happened, eventually she said that she was able to file the claim and that the charge would be taken off the bill on January 2nd, 2024 and to call back if it was not. She also gave me a support request reference number (#*****) and had also notated the account with details.

            On December 20th, 2023 I received a text message stating that there was an update and when I called regarding that message, no one I spoke to was able to see any movement towards a resolution or additional information on my account. January 2nd came around and the charge was still appearing on the bill, so I proceeded to call Verizon to inquire as to why the charge was still there. The customer support person looked over the notes on my account and verified that the charge should have been removed. She then assured me that this would be taken care of and I would need to check back the next day due to accounts being updated overnight. As an attempt to make things right the manager I spoke with provided a $55.00 credit to go towards the next monthโ€™s bill. At that time another reference number was given to me (#*****). After a few days the charge was still appearing on my Verizon account, so I inquired via chat on January 15th, 2023 and had to once again start from the beginning about how this all came about and received no help with the customer service person. They advised me that the phone that I return was still not showing as received in the system and that there was never a claim initiated even though I had been told that it was. I provided tracking numbers and they verified that per UPS tracking, the items (phone and watch) were received. I was told by one representative I would hear something back within 24hrs, then after getting disconnected and starting the chat over again I was told by another rep that would be send to escalation and would get something via email in 5-7days. Because of the seemingly inaccurate information I had received via chat, I decided to call Verizon the next day on January 16th 2024. I spoke with a representative about separating the lines that my husband and daughter have and just disconnecting the service that I carry with Verizon since I am no longer valued as a customer although I have been with the service for quite some time. The representative deterred me from separating the service, saying that she could get things sorted out. After being on the phone with her for over an hour once again explaining the circumstances, she acknowledged that I had done what I was supposed to do and that she would get it straightened out. She placed me on hold and after a few minutes the call was disconnected, my phone began ringing as if I had called someone and another representative answered. I explained to her that I was on the line with someone different and the call was disconnected. She insisted that she could take care of my issue and I kindly asked if there was a way to reconnect with her since she was the person I had just spent over an hour on the phone with. The current representative said that she would send a message to the previous representative, but in the meanwhile, she asked me to explain the matter to her so she could help. I explained to her in a concise manner what was going on and she verified the same information (Trade-in/early upgrade/drop off date/tracking numbers/etc) and connected me to her manager. I spoke with him and he also verified that this was unfortunate and he would try to help and he saud that he was unable to credit the account immediately due to the amount being over $100.00. He informed me that there was not any claims filed with UPS regarding the โ€œlostโ€ phone and that he would file a claim in the morning since it was after hours at this point.

The representative did indeed call me the next morning on January and said that he was successfully able to file a claim with UPS and gave me the claim number: *****. He informed me that it could take up to 5 business days for a review to take place and for my account to be updated. As of Tuesday January 23, 2024 UPS claim detail reports that the claim type is โ€œLossโ€. No updates from Verizon yet and the charges are still on my bill as of today.

If there is someone that takes the time to read this correspondence, I hope that it will force an acknowledgement of a major process failure and initiate remediation some sort. I do not believe that anyone should have to go through what I have gone through at any point. The jumping through hoops, hours of time taken away from my already stretched thin schedule as a working mother and wife, the lack of access to in-person customer service, and overall lack loyalty reciprocation is atrocious.

4 Replies
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hello, we're sorry to learn you're having issues with your account. We will be sending you a private message to further assist.

~Ivone

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tphillip
Enthusiast - Level 2

No help happened. This issue is still not resolved.

vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

tphillip, my apologies to here that you feel this way as we are absolutely here to help. I have sent you a Private Message.

-Natasha

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tphillip
Enthusiast - Level 2

Finally resolved! Yayyyyyyy