Worst customer service ever!!

[kirstenmic]

If I could I would switch from Verizon NOW!

If you can: DON'T sign up with Verizon!

We have been paying our bills on time since joining. Recently I put the latest bill with a check in the mail. Then I realized that I had forgotten to put a stamp on the envelope. So after thinking about it I decided to cancel the check since the postal service always states that they won't deliver letters without stamps and I didn't want my check falling into the wrong hands. I kept an eye on my account online and saw that the payment had been made. So naturally I thought that I had cancelled too late and that the bill was payed. Next thing that happens  (with NO warning) is that my husband gets a text saying that all our phones will be closed the same day if we don't pay immediately ( Saturday morning!). He pays and the phones stay open. I call Monday morning to explain and I am told that for the next 6 months!!!!! we have to pay cash in a Verizon store!! they don't care about what happened, they don't listen to the logic, they were just rude and said that there was nothing they could do it was "company policy" and "was there anything else they could help me with?" seriously??? Now I have to pay cash for 6 months in a Verizon Store which is very inconveniencing and will make sure that I get very annoyed with Verizon at least once a month and for sure will cancel our agreements as soon as possible and will also recommend everyone NOT to sign up with them!

Why call it Customer Service when it really isn't?

and why isn't there anywhere on this site where you can complain about something???

[#2]

Actually this may be a long shot. Verizon is actually preventing you from paying your bill where others have the ability to do so. I would call them and tell them that you will pay the way you desire, and that they (Verizon) is denying you the same rights as other customers are using to pay their invoices.

Its discrimination and you can or could take verizon to court. Actually it is probably a Federal case.

I would just find another cellular provider and let verizon try and say you owe them. I am sure when you put it that way to them you can once again pay as you desire. Try it, what can you lose?

Good Luck

[rcschnoor]

I personally do not find this unusual.

Verizon receives your check in the mail. They credit your account upon receipt of the check. When trying to cash the check, Verizon finds the check has been stopped at the request of the account owner. As a result of the stopped check, Verizon "warns" you that payment must be received or service will be stopped. From this point forward, Verizon has to start wondering whether or not your check will be honored when presented at your bank.

I am don't see it as unreasonable for Verizon to take the steps they have taken.

YOU were the one who took the initial action. YOU should have confirmed with your bank that the check was actually paid prior to the check cancellation taking effect which YOU initiated. This is YOUR fault, and must live with the consequences.

As to the advice to leave Verizon and "let Verizon try and say you owe them", all they will do is to send the account to collections and report the delinquent account to credit agencies. Then YOU can try and say "you don't owe them" if you have a problem obtaining credit in the future. Yes, you can have mistakes removed from your credit history, but Verizon has, I assume, a contract signed by you which was not fulfilled and a check which was not honored when presented to your banking institution. This would NOT be a mistake to be removed from your credit history, but a non-payment on your part.

[#4]

Although I do not use checks, I pay via credit card or bank card only so the odds of this happening is slight. however the standard of your check does not clear for any reason you will be charged a return check fee, is then the proper action to take.

If you are a customer and this only happened once it is no reason to demand payment through the store. The check was made good as per the pisters statement.

There is nothing in the contract about being penalize from paying via any other method. (credit card, direct debit, or electronic check ) for a returned check. This is where the discrimination takes place. You as the customer must tell verizon store payments is unacceptable and that if they refuse the payments in any other manner then via going to court the judge will ask to see any such pay at the store policy. I would hazard a guess this is an internal action not a part of any service contract.

Once Verizon refuses a payment or then reports you to any credit bureau I am quite confident its a grounds to leave. You are using the service and verizon now wants you to pay in a manner not available to you, but everyone else.

Additionally reporting it as a non payment when you are trying to pay the bill is reporting false negative information to the credit bureaus, which is a violation of state and federal laws. I would love to be in that court room when everytime verizon refuses a payment and the customer keeps suing them for the violation. Any good attorney would tell you its a discriminatory practice, since if your bill is not paid and cleared they can suspend or terminate your cell service.

[rcschnoor]

Elector wrote:

Although I do not use checks, I pay via credit card or bank card only so the odds of this happening is slight. however the standard of your check does not clear for any reason you will be charged a return check fee, is then the proper action to take. I'm sure the poster would be quite happy with a $25 return check fee, too, however whether or not it is the "proper" action to take is a matter of opinion. Verizon has routinely placed people on a "cash only" basis because of returned payments in the past, whether payment was made by check OR credit. I  don't believe a returned check fee is "part of any service contract", either, but it appears you think THAT would be the proper action to take? The only fees which ARE part of the service contract are late fees.

If you are a customer and this only happened once it is no reason to demand payment through the store. The check was made good as per the pisters statement. As are most payments returned for insufficient funds made good to Verizon eventually, I would assume. Doesn't mean they need to continue accepting that form of payment which NOW has a history of failure with the customer. Simply paying on time for a few months will repair this history to Verizon's satisfaction.

There is nothing in the contract about being penalize from paying via any other method. (credit card, direct debit, or electronic check ) for a returned check. This is where the discrimination takes place. You as the customer must tell verizon store payments is unacceptable and that if they refuse the payments in any other manner then via going to court the judge will ask to see any such pay at the store policy. I would hazard a guess this is an internal action not a part of any service contract. People on these forums have reported being placed on a cash basis when paying by check and/or credit/debit/e-check and payment was refused by the banking institution. No one method is being singled out here, they have ALL been penalized in the past.

Once Verizon refuses a payment or then reports you to any credit bureau I am quite confident its a grounds to leave. You are using the service and verizon now wants you to pay in a manner not available to you, but everyone else. However it is NOT available to everyone else. This poster is NOT the first person to be placed on a cash only basis as demonstrated by the complaints on these forums by people previously placed on the same sort of status.

Additionally reporting it as a non payment when you are trying to pay the bill is reporting false negative information to the credit bureaus, which is a violation of state and federal laws. I would love to be in that court room when everytime verizon refuses a payment and the customer keeps suing them for the violation. Any good attorney would tell you its a discriminatory practice, since if your bill is not paid and cleared they can suspend or terminate your cell service.

Yes, falsely reporting a debt is against state and federal laws, but if the poster followed your advice "I would just find another cellular provider and let verizon try and say you owe them", that would not be the case. Leaving while under contract and failing to pay any ETF owed and/or past due amount is not a false report to the credit agencies.

Not everyone has the same ability to pay for goods/services in the same manner. You must qualify to be able to pay in certain manners. For example, some stores offer credit cards. Not everyone is eligible for these. Does this make it discriminatory to those who can't pay in this manner? In other instances, some stores will accept checks for payment IF you have been pre-approved. This pre-approval can and most likely WILL be revoked after the 1st check is returned for non-payment. Basically, Verizon has pre-approved everyone to pay by check. When one of those checks is refused by the banking institution when presented for payment, it is not hard to believe Verizon would revoke the approval to accept that form of payment.

As you stated in your original reply to this thread, it is a long shot what you suggested would work. With THAT, I certainly agree. However, I wish the OP luck. If a check IS necessary to make payment, I am sure Verizon would accept a certified or BANK check for payment.

[#6]

The accepted forms of payment if they include debit, credit or bank check debit are accepted forms of payment. So if the original poster complains that store payment is not acceptable then verizon then can offer the otner methods. However simply saying you will pay in a store may create a hardship. Verizon cannot cause a hardship because one check was returned to them. besides the original pozxter paid when they found out. And it was not at the store.

I used the return check fee because I have read in many service and store contracts it is the norm. Being qualified for a store credit card is not the same. Most if not all stores take checks. In fact with the electronic check clearing ability those checks are verified at the register. Cuts down on float and fraud and thefts. Verizon does present a paper check in that manner.

As long as any customer is told and shown at time of service what happens on a NSF be it written out that "you will need to pay cash at the store for six months" for such return by your bank for any reason. As far as I can not find, such a qualifier is no where to be found. To keep information from all customers as to any bounce penalty and envoke it on just a few is discriminatory practice. If it was written and agreed to that would be a whole different matter.

Also it is not discriminatory to be denied on your credit worthiness but if that decision is based on your gender, martial status, or age then it violates the law. But that is a whole different matter.

My first reference to leave was based on verizon breaking the contract against the customer. By placing a different form or method of pzyment on one customer over another is discriminatory .

If they refuse the payment you are trying to make they are refusing you total service. I as a customer will not jump tbrough hoops to pay a bill. They have other ways to do, so I as any customer must be able to use it.

[rcschnoor]

Then obviously, the OP will be happy when Verizon starts accepting all form of payment again, however, I still agree with your first reply that it will be a long shot.

[#8]

We do agree on occasion  o

[kirstenmic]

Something you completely misunderstood. My "statement" had NOTHING to do about what I did regarding my payment, I am well aware of the fact that I made a mistake. My "statement" was about Verizon's customer service.

<< Private information removed to comply with Verizon ToS >>

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

[HappyHelper]

Honestly, even as a cash only customer you can still call into financial services (866 266 1445) and make a payment with a debit/credit card over the phone. The financial rep will remove the flag, take your payment then re-add the flag. In very rare cases, if you get a rep who really doesn't know how to do their job (or care enough it do it even a little bit right) if you hang up on the rep before completing the payment, they'll forget to re-add the flag and you're suddenly no longer a cash only customer, at least until you call back and speak to someone who catches it and feels like fixing it. But again... that's the very rare exception to the rule.

As far as your experience with a phone rep, a hundred to one the person you're talking to couldn't care less about you or your problem. How vested would you be in someone else's issue when you're making a step above minimum wage and have to listen to people yelling at you all day long for stuff that you didn't do and you don't have the ability to change? Not very I'd imagine. To them you end up being just one of 60 people they talk to daily who has an issue with the decisions made by some guys in suits (who make way more than the rep you're talking to could ever hope to make) who think speaking to customers is way below their pay grade.