Customer being punished for a bug in Verizon's System

[gc118]

I have been a satisfied Verizon FiOS customer for over four years.

I renewed my bundle with Verizon FiOS on 4/5/15. My statement on 5/3/15 reflected the agreement that I had made (104.99 for the bundle) and the services which I requested.

I received my statement dated 6/3/15 and noted that there were changes which I did not recognize. It appears that on 5/12/15, my TV package was changed from Prime HD to Ultimate HD.

I was surprised to see this as I have signed up for email notifications on my account. Whenever an order is made or changes are made to my account, I receive an email giving me a preview and then a follow up email confirming that the changes were made. These are very helpful and I always keep them archived for my records. I received no such emails regarding this change.

I contacted Verizon Billing Support and they informed me that a change was made from my remote control. I asked how this was possible when I am the only one who knows the PIN and I did not make this change. They said I would have to talk to Tech support.

The rep then told me that I had been grandfathered in with Prime and that it is now no longer available. Annoying, but whatever. I don't watch that much TV besides sports. She switched me to the comparative plan, which is Preferred. The issue is that is an additional $10 each month. She said she will look into this and get back to me on the price difference.

She forwarded me to Tech support and working with them, we were able to determine that there is a bug in Verizon's software which does not ask for a PIN when changing a TV bundle. He said that this is a new discovery, thanked me for calling in, and said it will be fixed in the next software update.

I just received an email from Verizon today which they acknowledge that while it was a bug in the software, I will have to pay an additional $10 each month now for the remainder of my two year contract.

This is ridiculous in my opinion because as a parent, I had done my due diligence in setting up a PIN. What I imagine happened is that Verizon pushed out some pop ups on their guide like they do, the kids pressed "Ok", "Ok" and wala, I am out of my two year agreement price now and my bundle has changed. Why should the customer be punished for a flaw in their software?

[LawrenceC · Accepted solution]

Hi gc118,

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 look at the top of the middle column where you will find an area titled "My Support Cases". You can reach your profile page by clicking on your name beside your post, or at the top left of this page underneath the title of the board.

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, at the top of your support case there is a drop down menu for support case options. Open that and choose "subscribe". Please keep all correspondence regarding your issue in the private support portal.