Closing deceased relative's account, NEED HELP
THANKSFORNUTHIN

Hello,

My brother passed away (over a year ago now) and a little while after that, I contacted Verizon to close his wireless account.

I was told that if I return his device, there will be no money owed on the account and they would close it.  Verizon sent me the return box, and I returned the device.  I confirmed with the tracking number that it was received.

A couple months after that, I start to get calls from a collections agency that I owe all this money to them for several of my brother's past bills.  

Now for the better part of a YEAR, I have been trying to get this resolved, and I am truly disgusted with the whole situation.

It is absolutely absurd that a company as big a Verizon does not have a department dedicated to dealing with family members of deceased customers.

Every time I call and finally get to a live person, they promise me that THIS time everything is taken care of, but then a little while after that, I get another call from the collections agency.

So far, I have:

Talked to multiple customer reps who assure me that they have taken care of the situation, but they never do.

Emailed (multiple times) the requested information to [email address removed per the Verizon Terms of Service].  The original email says I would receive an email response within 72 business hours, and never get one.

Faxed the same information to 1-866-801-3412.  Never got a response.

The last few times I called up, I recorded the conversations and have the proof that these people are telling me that they are taking care of everything.

Now what I NEED is for someone at Verizon to tell the collections agency that there was an error and tell them to STOP calling me.  That's it.  That's what needs to happen.

If any employee reads this, PLEASE get me in contact with someone who actually has the ability to take care of this.  Not some random customer service rep, because I've already been through that song and dance more times than I can count.

I'm getting my stimulus check in 2 DAYS, and if I don't get a resolution to this, I'll be buying my new Galaxy S21 from another company that hopefully has a little respect for people who are dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Thank you for reading.

 

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Re: Closing deceased relative's account, NEED HELP
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

I sincerely apologize you have gone through this experience for such a long time without a resolution. We want to get this resolved for you asap. Please share with me some details on the last call that you placed? Also, confirm for me have you spoken with our Financial Services department who handles the collections (866 266 1445)?

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Re: Closing deceased relative's account, NEED HELP
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

Please don't post any personal information about yourself or your family member on this public forum. 

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

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Re: Closing deceased relative's account, NEED HELP
THANKSFORNUTHIN

I will call that number as soon as I can tomorrow.  What other information do you want?

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Re: Closing deceased relative's account, NEED HELP
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

It would be best to contact our financial services team on this matter to make sure that the billing is taken care of and the account is closed out. Just to make sure were you able to speak with the financial services team for review. 

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Re: Closing deceased relative's account, NEED HELP
THANKSFORNUTHIN

Hello, the account was closed a year ago.

I called that number, and when I input the account number, I received this automated message:

 

"Our records indicate that your account is currently place with an outside collection agency.

You account has been place with Deceased Credit Management. The agency's telephone number is 877-326-1531. Please note, while your account is placed with the outside collection agency, Verizon is unable to directly handle this account. Any disputes, including fraud claims or bankruptcy requests or questions, should be directed to the outside collection agency for assistance. Please hold while we transfer you..."

 

I was then immediately transferred to the collections agency.

This is no help at all.  

I already explained the situation to them, and they don't care.  All they want to do is harrass me and try to get money.

It was Verizon's fault for sending the account to collections in the first place, so I need to speak to someone at Verizon who can help me with this. 

Like I said in the original post, someone at Verizon needs to tell the collections agency that they made a mistake and the account should not have been sent to collections.

Can you connect me with someone else at Verizon who can help me with this?

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Re: Closing deceased relative's account, NEED HELP
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

THANKSFORNUTHIN, we want to make sure you receive a resolution for your concern. Regrettably, we do not handle accounts that have been placed with a different credit agency. If you are disputing the charges on the account please our Recovery department in order to disrupt this charge. They can be contacted by dialing 800-852-1922 Mon-Fri 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM CT. 

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Re: Closing deceased relative's account, NEED HELP
THANKSFORNUTHIN

The exact same thing happened when I called that number.

When I input the account number, I received the same recorded message and I was immediately transferred to the collections agency.

Is there someone that I can speak to who can help me directly with this issue?

Verizon needs to tell the collections agency that there was an error.

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Re: Closing deceased relative's account, NEED HELP
THANKSFORNUTHIN

Is there anything else I can do or anyone else I can speak to in regards to this issue?  A supervisor?  A manager?  Anybody?

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Re: Closing deceased relative's account, NEED HELP
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

THANKSFORNUTHIN, a member of our management team cannot report an error when it comes to a balance written off to a collections agency. We regret you're unable to get through to our Recovery Operations Team.

 

Please mail the necessary information to PO Box 650051 Dallas, Texas 75265-0051 regarding your dispute. Disputes are responded to within 30 days on average. Thank you.

 

 

AlanS_VZW

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