Pre-paid visa scam
chadams1
Newbie

When we moved and signed up for our new service, the promotion at the time was for a the triple play, $79.99 a month, activation and installation fees waived,  and the $300 pre-paid visa card to be received after about 90 days of service.   I have the confirmation email detailing all of this.   Once the 90 day mark hit, I called a few days later to check the status and was told that we were not eligible to receive the gift card and that we never were told this.  There was apparently no record of the email that I recived and was and is sitting in my inbox.  I was told to fax in a copy of the email and someone would get back to me within 24 hours.  Of course that never happened and when I had time about a week later, I attempted to chat with someone online to follow up.  The customer service rep told me that we never supplied the requested email (which he later miraculously found later in our chat), that I was basically lying and that Verizon never would have offered the package we have and offered a gift card as well.  I went over the details of the package and fees when we signed up and it was slightly different than what we are currently paying.  Apparently, what had happened was Verizon, without our knowledge or any attempt to inform us or give us a choice, decided to give us the $69.99 a month package  and give us free HBO and Showtime (which we unfortunately never got to watch, because we never knew we had it) for three months.   In doing so, the $300 gift card was voided.  The rep kept telling me how great the package we have is and basically I should be grateful and move on.  I did a little searching and apparently this is a habit of Verizon's-  make small changes without the consumer's knowledge so the original deal is then voided.   While I appreciate the $10 less a month that we're paying, I'm in no way ok with the way this was handled.  I'm already being forced to pay for a phone line we never use and never will use, we lost several channels that we frequently watched when we moved, and then to top if off, they're putting the onus on the consumer to fulfill the agreement by having a certain package, but changing that package without the consumer's consent.  We have been Verizon customers for over 10 years.  I've never had the problems that we had with Comcast and I have always recommended Verizon to anyone who asked.  After this debacle and terrible customer service, I will no longer be doing that.  

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Re: Pre-paid visa scam
LawrenceC
Moderator Emeritus

Hi chadams1,

Sorry you are having difficulty. An agent with access to your account will reach out to you directly by email, private message in the Forums and/or the billing telephone number on your Verizon account for more information or to help you resolve your issue.

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Re: Pre-paid visa scam
Airlock
Newbie

Yeah, my mother got a REALLY bad deal here too. Very like Comcast is how Verizon treats its' customers is my experience today. I called in in Novemebr after getting a mailing with this great Verizon deal, and a customer service rep put together a plan for my mothers house at a set price, including the pre-paid card AND a movie channel package, but of course the service got installed today and there were no movie channels (and from what I read here I aint holding my breath waiting for that card), so I called in and after talking to three different Verizon employees and being on hold for most of the time (40 minutes) listening to really bad and distorted "music" I was told by someone in the billing department that everything would be straightened out by the evening. She was right: I got another service verification e-mail tonight informing me that our NEW deal was about $40 higher than what had be agreed to back in November. Around here we refer to individuals who pull this kind of stuff shysters, I don't know what the Public Utility Commision calls them. Of course in the e-mail there is a button to accept these terms, but there is no button to decline. Very Comcasty. And look around the website, there is not one link to any kind of help that would let you avoid going thru the whole process on the phone again. hey Verizon, if you want to treat people respectfully this is how it is done properly: you screwed-up, you put yourself out, not your customer. If there is a real person at Verizon reading this, I expect a phone call from you to fix this immediately, you have the number. If not, we have no deal, you come get your stuff and you can eat the install while you are at it. I will not allow my mother to be treated this way.

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Re: Pre-paid visa scam
ElizabethS
Moderator Emeritus

Hello Airlock

Sorry you are having difficulty, an agent with access to your account will reach out to you directly by email, private message in the Forums and/or the billing telephone number on your Verizon account for more information to help you resolve your issue.

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Re: Pre-paid visa scam
jrmg
Newbie

Yeah, buyer beware and do your homework before signing up for ANYTHING with Verizon. This scam is the very reason why after my 24-months is up I will be canceling my service and taking my business elsewhere.

Like the other users, I signed up for new service in July 2014 and the promotion at the time was for a the triple play, $79.99 a month, activation and installation fees waived,  and the $300 pre-paid visa card, along with a vourcher for a Samsung tablet, to be received after about 60 days of service.   I have the confirmation email detailing all of this.  I was expecting the gift card and voucher sometime in October. Nothing. So mid November I call customer service, and get some guy telling me yeah, I see you are eligable, but we're backlogged on getting the cards out right now, I work here in the building where we process them, and just call back in 2-3 weeks if you still haven't recieved anything yet.

So I call today. And am told I am not eligable because of some sort of "discount" on my account. What "discount" that is, I still can't figure out, but I didn't authorize it. My husband and I walked through the online site twice back in July before we confirmed our service to ensure we were signing up for the 2 year plan that was eligable for the $300 gift card. Anyways, I ask to speak to a manager and she basically says the same thing as the customer service representative, and if I have an issue still, I should call the e-service rebate center and see if they will honor the discount, but she doubts it because it's been too long, and she can't help me any further. (well- no kidding! The fine print said not to expect anything for 2 months!!!!!) Mind you, I called the 1-800 number customer service number that is printed... on the bill! So why she is unable to "help" me further, I don't know. Is the e-service center number printed on the bill (um,  no!). Oh, and the kicker was that she couldn't find the email in my account that was sent by Verizon when I signed up for service, although the customer service rep I talked to earlier today had no problem doing so (who knows, maybe he was making that up. I wouldn't doubt it).

Quite frankly, this whole experience has soured my feelings towards Verizon, and as mentioned, I will be taking my business elsewehere in another 19 months, and will  be filing a compliant with the BBB and my state's public utilities commission as well. These practices are fradulent, unetheical, and the reason why more and more people are droppping cable altogether, and quite frankly, I most likely will be among them soon.  For pete's sake- if they want some buisness and a decent reputation, just advertise the "discounted" prices for service- without any gimmicky promotions that won't be honored- and people might actually sign up and give the business their hard-earned money merely for being a honest, reputable company.

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Re: Pre-paid visa scam
LawrenceC
Moderator Emeritus

Hi jrmg,

Sorry you are having difficulty. An agent with access to your account will reach out to you directly by email, private message in the Forums and/or the billing telephone number on your Verizon account for more information or to help you resolve your issue.

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Re: Pre-paid visa scam
jrmg
Newbie

Dear "Lawerence"-

Is that just the standard line to make it look like Verizon is addressing the issue? Because it has been 24 hours later since the message was posted, and so far, no email, private message, or call has been recieved.

Again- BUYER BEWARE!

Sincerely,

JRMG

PS- Verizon should only be contacting customers via email or PM , as everything should be in WRITING.... Verizon is not authorized to contact me at my telephone number.

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Re: Pre-paid visa scam
ElizabethS
Moderator Emeritus

Replies from the Ecenter can take up to 48 hours.

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