Who I have the same questioned this topic

Just a few days ago, I was notified by Experian that Verizon had filed a "Collections" report against me for $106. This hostile action by Verizon has reduced my credit score by 160 points!

Let me repeat that: By 160 points!

To make matters perfectly clear: I am a current Verizon customer. I have paid every bill that Verizon has ever sent me. I have paid every such bill on time. This "Collections" report was apparently regarding a missing router that Verizon had wanted me to return, but I was never in possession of this router. I always used my own Apple Time Capsule router with this service. The Internet service was installed using my Apple router from day 1, and that was the only router that was EVER in use on this account until the day that this account was closed.

Before filing this Collections report against me, Verizon did NOT contact me in any way about me owing Verizon any money. They did not send me an email or physical mail. They did not call me or text me. They just ruined my credit without warning. I only find out about the outstanding bill because Experian notified me of the huge decrease in my FICO score.

A few days ago, I was told by Verizon that a supervisor would call me back within 24 hours. I received no such call.

I have since contacted Verizon's billing department and their "Credit Reporting Removal" department. They say that they will tell Experian and the other credit reporting agencies that I have paid my outstanding bill, but they say that Verizon's policy is not to have this "Collections" record "deleted". What this means is that this "Collections" record will, according to Experian, damage my credit score for the next seven years!

The representative I talked to at Credit Reporting Removal actually scolded me for not returning the router. But I clearly can't return something I don't have! She also scolded me for not returning other equipment she said that I did not return. I have receipts from Verizon for the return of the other equipment she claimed that I did not return. She scolded me saying that it was my responsibility to pay my bills, even though I never received a bill. She told me that the bill had been sent to Cambridge. A place that I have not lived for 25 years. She scolded me for leaving an old address on my account. I never gave a 25-year-old address to Verizon. I have only been a Verizon customer for the last six years or so. Furthermore, my account had paperless billing, and so I would check for bills in my email. The last bill I received for the account in question, which was closed in February, was from March and was a statement for $0.00.

I am still a Verizon customer on a different account, but I cannot in good conscience continue doing business with a company that will treat me in this callous and hostile manner. Ruining my credit score over bills that were never sent to me is a completely unacceptable business practice, regardless of whether I am responsible for this missing router. (Which I am not.)

Due to the conversation I had last night with a representative who was very rude to me, I have filed complaints with the BBB, the Massachusetts AG office, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Or Verizon could just do the right thing and remove their "Collections" report with the credit agencies and have my FICO credit score returned back to the "Excellent" score that it's been at for many years until now.

Verizon gets $80 a month from me for FIOS Internet service. They have so for quite a few years, and they would have probably done so for the rest of my life. But Verizon would rather lose my business forever than spend the effort to clear my credit history. What kind of sense does this make? What kind of company is Verizon that it cares so little about a valuable customer who has always paid his bills on time?