Bait and Switch issue when renewing Fios on the Verizon Website

[SCaesar19]

I wonder if anyone on this board has had this issue with Verizon changing prices when selecting updated service via the Verizon webpage.

Here is my story:

When I received my Verizon bill in November, I noticed that the bill had gone up a considerable amount - $25 +/-

I have Verizon Fios at 75/75 Double Play – Telephone & Internet

I called the customer service number on 11NOV17 to try to find out about the bill increase and to ask about any other lower priced packages.

The representative Dawn told me that the issue with the bill was that my “discounts” had expired. I was surprised that the company that provides my telephone and internet service could not call me or send me an email to let me know that my bill was going to change. Maybe they could have sold me on upgrading my Double Play to Triple Play?

I pay my bills automatically, so I missed the light gray printing on the back of the printed Verizon bill that said that my “discounts” would expire on 20OCT17. I missed the “fine print” while responding to the recent hurricanes and California wildfire events that took my attention away from reading the back side of my bill.

I listened to the sales pitch and learned that my desire to lower the bill on my phone and internet service could only be found at Verizon in a bundle. I was advised that canceling my landline phone, which is not used, would raise my bill, not lower it. I was a little surprised with the sales pitch pressure that I was receiving. I have been a Verizon customer for almost 20 years, and the sales pitch seemed to be aimed a closing a new customer.

Dawn told me that there were no better deals than the 75/75 Double Play bundle at $95 per month or a 100/100 Double Play for $105, plus taxes and fees.  I declined the offer and told Dawn I would call back at a later date. Almost immediately after I hung up, I received an email from Verizon, titled “Thanks For Reaching Out” to my main email account.

I noticed when I logged into the Verizon website that there were two lower priced packages that were lower than my previous Verizon bill. Both of these packages offered a gift card for signing up on line. Dawn never offered a gift card to me.

On 21NOV17, I returned to the Verizon website to make my selection. After seeing the banner that said that I was eligible for “Special Bundle Packages,” I clicked on the internal ad to see what the offers were on the Verizon site. In the end, I decided on the 75/75 Double Play bundle for $95.

I made my selection and exited the website. But when I received the confirmation email from Verizon, I was shocked that the “Order Confirmation” email had a totally different price than I agreed to on the website. I was now being charged $117 for the 75/75 Double Play Bundle, not $95. I immediately called Verizon back to let them know about the error. The nice representative told me that she couldn’t see my order, advising me that I should wait until the bill arrives at my house. Not feeling satisfied with that answer, I replied to the order confirmation email, sending a message to Verizon that the price on the order confirmation was incorrect.  All I got back from Verizon was an email that told me that my email was rejected, because their mailbox was full.

Although I haven’t seen a bill yet, I did receive a “Thank you for your recent order” letter in the mail. Wanting to get an update on my situation, I called Verizon on 30NOV17. I was connected with the Billing Department. When I related my story to the billing person, he seemed to be oblivious to my situation. It was clear that he had no ability to help me with my problem, as he started into a sales pitch with me. I told him that I wanted the $95 Double Play 75/75 package, not the package that he was trying to get me to “upgrade” to, at a higher price than I would want to pay.

When it was clear that the first level billing support was not able to help me, I asked to speak with a supervisor. Although it took quite a while to get a supervisor on the line, the first level billing person kept me informed as to the status of the supervisor’s arrival to the call.

Unfortunately, the supervisor, “Miss Jacobs” did not intend to help me from the start.  After explaining my situation, she offered no help, no advice, and no path to resolution. Eventually, Miss Jacobs told me, because I ordered my “new” service on the Verizon site, she could not help me and that I would have to “call the On Line people to see if they can help (me), because (Miss Jacobs) does not have access to the records.” So Verizon Billing Customer Service does not have access to billing and service records, just because I followed the Verizon instructions and updated my service on the Verizon website?

Supervisor Miss Jacobs told me that if I didn’t like her solution (which she didn’t provide), I could “write a letter,” yet would not provide the address. When I told her how ridiculous it was for a Verizon representative to tell me to “write a letter” to further my issue, Miss Jacobs reluctantly gave me the number for the “Online Verizon People” who would need to take up my issue. Miss Jacobs, still identifying herself as a supervisor, gave me the number. I called that number, only to find out that the number I was given by Miss Jacobs was for password resets, not to help resolve my issue.

The resolution that I would like is that I would like to have the original package that I ordered on the Verizon website to be restored. I thought that it would have been an easy fix, but I was wrong.

I had hopes of getting this resolved before I deploy again, but without some assistance, I seem to be stuck.

Is there a customer advocate, liaison or ombudsman that could help?

Thank you,

Sid

[kh-gary]

Hi SCaesar19,

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Before the agent can begin assisting you, they will need to collect further information from you. Please go to your profile page for the forum and scroll down the page to an area titled "My Support Cases." You can reach your profile page by clicking on your name located above your post, or at the top right of this page.

Under "My Support Cases" you will find a link to the private board where you and the agent may exchange information. The title of your post is the link. This should be checked on a frequent basis, as the agent may be waiting for information from you before they can proceed with any actions. To ensure you know when they have responded to you, you may subscribe to the case. At the top right of your support case there is a gear icon which provides a drop down menu with support case options. Click that and choose "subscribe." Please keep all correspondence regarding your issue in the private support portal.