No response from escalation department

[Esoteric_co]

After hours of multiple conversations with the general support contacts I was suggested to write a letter to solve issue where promo offered by Verizon rep isn’t being honored. Telephone customer support aren’t able to honor the offer provided...I sent letter right away to corporate but have not heard from anyone on resolving my billing concern. It has been about 2 weeks now. I am not sure how to resolve the issue. 

[vzw_customer_support]

Hello, Esoteric_co. We would be happy to assist you here. Can you please share with us the details regarding your situation? CourtneyM_VZW

[Esoteric_co]

I am writing to bring a serious concern about misrepresentation and honestly hope that you will honor what is represented by the customer service team when I decided to switched my plan and phone at the end of December, 2020 so I can be an ongoing Verizon customer for years to come.

Background:

I have been a loyal customer or Verizon for several years and have been happy with simple process and good cell service. I have two phones on my line for me and my wife. We do not use lot of data so was on a limited plan and it was enough for my need for last few years and expect same for next few years as I work from home.

Issue:

In December 2020, as most of the Wireless provider companies were coming with the promotion to get new Iphone 12 pro phones with the unlimited plan I reached out to the Verizon customer service to see what options are available and how much more I would have to pay. I was generally paying approx. $90 a month and wanted to see if any of the plans would entitle me to credit on new iphones and get the total cost including plan to less than $150 per month including taxes and fees. As I talked to representatives, they confirmed that I could get about the same price after application of discounts and credits.

Here is what was promised: (I attached screenshot of chat in mail from December 25 with one of the Verizon reps although verbally other reps I talked to also confirmed that I would be entitled to discounts that are in my account)

1. Plan cost for Play Unlimited plan shall be $70 per month per line on which I would get 22% company discount ( thatwas already on my file applied for last few years) and additional $20 discount for signing up for paperless bill auto pay.

2. Device cost shall be price of phone less $700 per line credit provided over 24 months period once I trade in my twoiphone 7 ( eligible phones).

With the above 2 confirmation I made a decision to get the unlimited plan along with 2 new iphones so my total cost would be approximately – $89.2+ taxes and fees+ approx. $40 for new phones after device trade in  so that would be total of approximately $130+ taxes and other fees.

Beginning of Jan I noticed expected bill and it was way higher than what I expected but was told that would be the case as it would not reflect any credit or discounts until later when invoice is sent so I waited until I saw actual bill. On actual bill I all of sudden saw ~$280 for first invoice and $200 each monthsthereafter so that really triggered me to call customer service again on 1/22/2021 as that is a huge difference from what I was promised and way over my budget to pay for cellphone service ( plan and device).

Interaction with escalated customer service rep:

I talked to Shanel on 1/22/2021 to see if she would be able to help but options she provided did not acknowledge the fact that I was misrepresented to get into buying something that would cost way more and had I known those facts in December 2020, I would have never upgraded my phone or plan or I would have gone with other providers who provided better deals than Verizon for their new customers. I chose Verizon as the representation that I was provided by the rep was similar to other providers in term of total monthly cost  ( including phone and unlimited plan) and I did not wanted to switch from being a loyal Verizon customer.

One of the option she provided was she would take care of first bill to reflect 22% discount but then after I could go to limited data plan and pay full price for the device and pay about $175 a month. That is not fair to me as from a customer perspective I feel cheated to be locked with Verizon by alluring me to lower fees and later charge me higher fees. Had I know this would be the case I would have never  stayed with Verizon when I upgraded my phones as I would have gotten better offer on phones/plan from other providers.

My Ask:

As Verizon is a customer focused Company and want to do things right, I want the Company to honor the representation made by its rep to a customer to get into buying phones at discounted price and a plan where my fees expectations were lower than what I am getting billed for. I have attached screenshots of the chat message with the mail for your review. I would like to get to total fees of approx. $130+taxes and other fees inclusive of devices and plan cost. If that is not possible, I would like to get my traded phones back and I will return new devices so I am at the stage where I was before representation was made at no additional cost. I am not able to pay new bill amount as that is way higher and had I known that before I would have stayed with the phones and plan I had before as I was happy with it. I understand this is not standard as you have 15 days return policy but given facts outlined and timing of when I received first bill I was not aware of my final invoice amount until I saw it and to compare against what was promised.

I am looking forward to connecting with you and talk over a call and come to a resolution. I have tried to truly capture my thought process and why I made decisions based on facts provided and why I am surprised with the bill so hopefully you understand my concern as an individual customer. 

[vzw_customer_support]

Your many years with us are truly appreciated, Esoteric_co. I have sent you a Private Note to best assist.

[Esoteric_co]

I have not heard back from the executive relations team yet on this issue. Do you know how long do they generally take to reach out?

[vzw_customer_support]

Esoteric_co, thanks for the reply. I want to make sure that you're getting the assistance that you need. I've sent you another Private Note. -KevinR_VZW