30 day (total 12 hr) duration failed attempt to give verizon MORE money for a new phone

[erienadadora]

I cover family phones and mifi devices in 3 states: TX, MD and CA. My brother is long overdue for a phone upgrade and we finally decided to do it.  He lives in TX and I'm in CA which means that to VZW one of us must live on the face of the moon because no matter how hard I have tried to buy him the new phone and sign a new contract the effort has failed.  1st I set it up, gave him the authority per phone consultant and he tried to walk into a storefront and go through the process.  The people he spoke with were entirely unable to compute the concept, refused to take his money and gave him no guidance about how to proceed. We tried this approach twice.  Next I called VZW and authorized everything on my end (2nd time but 3rd try) and after a good hour of discussion with "whoever", he went back to the store.  It is as if none of my conversations with VZW had ever taken place,  Nothing was documented and my hour(s) of hold time and discussion were simply wasted.  Contact with VZW must have just been blather with another know-nothing respondent.  Tried yet again using the online ordering option and my account access was closed for fraud (???) because my brother lives in TX and I'm in CA. Notwithstanding, VZW autopayments went through, they were happy to take the possibly fraudulent money.  Crazy.  Now I'm deeply into long conversations with VZW phone respondents using reference numbers and requesting supervisors (so they say) and the first one of these was guaranteed to work-- no question about it-- promises to personally follow through, etc.  No phone sent to my brother.  Nothing.  So I called again, repeated all the steps with double triple checks of credit card numbers (none of which were ever invalid as demonstrated by the charges that went through without difficulty) double triple checking addresses and which numbers are connected to which phones.... From VZW profuse apologies and promise to overnite phone-- gee whiz--- about 28 days late.  Today I have an email saying that phone won't be sent until I press a button and authorize/accept the agreement.  Which I did verbally on the phone previously and which I also did by punching a bunch of things into the phone service I was transferred to precisely for this purpose.  In fact, I was carefully instructed to do this immediately so that the phone COULD be sent right away.  So today no overnited phone will arrive.  After placing another 2 calls to VZW today (the first was simply cut off) I was told a supervisor would call me in 48 hrs by someone who seemed to take a little bit of pleasure in reinforcing multiple times that no one could get back to me today.  Huh?  I've got to say that in all of my years dealing with incompetence and lies (this is what you call a promise that you know will not take place VZW) this has been the worst experience ever. 

Not incidentally, I am responsible for the business phone operations for a large organization and will make sure that we are no longer VZW customers when the contract is scheduled for renegotiation.  If VZW can't deal with family plans why should I trust them with our corporate account?  Shocking degree of ignorance, indifference, inefficiency and poor management strategy demonstrated consistently-- among other things.  VZW should assume that the way individual customers are treated may impact the bottom line in much bigger ways than it might appear. 

[#2]

Verizon is simply trying to protect you from fraud.  Why didn't you simply go on-line and order a phone to be charged to your account and sent to your address.  Two days later you would have the phone and could then activate the phone and mail it to your brother.  You have overly complicated this process yourself.

[erienadadora]

Yes indeed one would think the purpose would be protective.  However, in this case, none of it was and the fraud mess came into the picture after multiple attempts to deal in an ordinary fashion both in store and online.  Over-complication was provided entirely by VZW.

[#4]

I don't think so.  There is no conspiracy in place to not sell you a phone for your brother.  My son was unable to order a phone because his address was different than the address on his credit card.  Verizon is very careful because this industry is full of rip-off artists.

[erienadadora]

this I also understand and fundamentally approve of.

However, we sorted out these issues (multiple times) and the charges went through at the various addresses, in other words the money WAS pulled, but no activity was forthcoming.  You can't have it both ways.  Fraud you shut down.  Money accepted should equal services provided and the equipment that it has paid for.  This was a comedy of errors that became unfunny after about the 5th phone call and 10th email.  No one is laughing in my household anymore.

As you suggest, I like my services to be protective. However, I do not like talking to people on the phone who make promises they can't/won't deliver on.  In particular I do not like paying for things that are then denied me due to system failure of any kind.  When that failure is pointed out repeatedly, and corrections are "guaranteed: and nothing changes I'm stupefied and enraged.

Errors happen.  I'd expect that once maybe, twice on occasion when there is a good explanation.  Multiple times over 30 days.  Unacceptable.

Thank you for your interest.

[#6]

Verizon systems are evidently very rigid and not amenable to deviations outside the norm.  They should not promise things they cannot deliver, I agree.  Had you ordered the phone to be charged to your account and delivered to your address, you would not have had these issues.  Or, had YOU gone to the store and bought the phone, you would not have had these problems.  Having your brother go to the store in a different state and attempt to purchase a phone on your account is evidently outside the Verizon normal mode of conducting business and you and your brother got caught up in it.