Thursday, January 3, 2013

Verizon Wireless, You Suck

This is Things That Annoy Me Thursday. Normally I’d have that in my blog title but I wanted to be sure this post could come up if people searched for Verizon Wireless.

I am not happy with Verizon.

It all started a few years back when Tom and I bought new phones. Thunderbolts. Their first 4G phone. I wasn’t going to get one but the salesman was all, “If you both get one now, you’ll be grandfathered into Verizon’s unlimted data plan. For life.”

I remember the “for life” bit because I thought it was kind of dramatic and was amused.
Tom and I decided to go ahead and get the phones because hey, for life? Awesome.

Fast forward to last month. I got my new iPhone 5. I kept asking the salesman if anything would change.

“No,” we were told.

No indeed.

We get home and everything is okay at first. But then as time goes by, I start getting texts like, “You are using 50% of your data plan.”

Come again?

I should be using NO percent of my data plan as I had unlimited.

So I asked Verizon about it.

“Oh!” they said. “You weren’t told? If you get a phone on discount you are no longer in the unlimited data plan. You have to buy our phone full price or bring another phone in, like one you’d buy from Craigslist.”

??????!!

“So let me get this straight,” I answered through clenched teeth. “You wanted me to pay SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS for my iPhone 5 in order to stay on the unlimited data plan that I was meant to have FOR LIFE?”

“Yes.”

“So the discount I got…the discount I get because I’m a loyal Verizon customer? The one I got because I signed on to be acustomer for TWO YEARS…is now not a GOOD thing?”

“Well, no….we appreciate your loyalty but Verizon changed their data plan back in…oh, I think it was June?”

So that makes it OKAY?

“Well, we were told we’d be grandfathered in to the unlimited data plan for LIFE. Not until Verizon decided to change things,” I countered.

Basically I got the whole read-from-a-sheet speech. That Verizon has the right to change their policies blah, blah, blah.

“If you want your unlimited data plan back, you can return your iPhone,” I was told.

“I sold Verizon my old phone,” I replied.

“Oh. Oh dear.”

“Yeah. My husband is up for an upgrade in January. I’m not sure if he’ll be signing with Verizon. What you guys did was wrong,” I said.

It was back to the read-from-a-sheet speech after that. You can’t get anywhere with customer service.

I hung up feeling upset and cheated.

So warning Verizon customers if you have the unlimited data plan: if you don’t buy their phones full price, you’re losing it.

You can’t try arguing it. They don’t care. They just want our money.

My husband will NOT be renewing his contract in January. For now he’s keeping his old phone that still has the unlimited data on it.

Verizon Wireless, shame on you. I understand that cell phone companies like to change the rules but it’s wrong. You don’t treat loyal customers like this.

You suck.

45 comments:

  1. This was actually well publicized and in the news frequently. We have the same plan and just bought a refub phone for $60, swapped cards and it works great and we'll maintain our unlimited status. Although I still entertain the clerk at the oil change repair facility in that I read every paragraph before I hand him keys and sign the form. Anything in written form is much more difficult to challenge. If I were the clerk you asked if anything would change, I would presume you meant how you make phone calls, etc. - not necessarily account/plan configuration. Just my opinion and major companies aren't my favorite but it's also responsibility of the buyer/customer to know what they're agreeing to.

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  2. Gah, that is awful!! I have Verizon as well, and I can't believe they treat loyal customers that way. It's one if you weren't promised something, but they clearly advertised to you, verbally, that you would be grandfathered into the unlimited data plan. Ridiculous!

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  3. I am also with verizon and while I hate they did this, they were completely up front with me. My phone broke last fall and I needed a new one. I went in and the salesperson told me right out that I would lose my unlimited data. So, he helped me work it out that we got a third line that we pay $9.99 a month for and I got the new phone promotion on that line (but the phone was assigned to my number). Thankfully we had already been planning to add my mom to our plan so we got her a phone online, assigned her a number and all is good. For such a complicated process, it all went very smoothly. Sure it sucks that they changed their policy, but I was with AT&T before and let me tell you, Verizon is like a saint compares to them. They were sneaky, underhanded and horrible. I was with them for 5 years and had to call at least 6 times a year cause they billed me wrong. Sorry you had a bad experience with verizon, but I still think they are one of the most up front carriers. Maybe I was lucky and got a good salesman.Just promise me you won't switch to at&t, cause you will regret it!

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  4. Shannon, since you have a NoReply e-mail, I'll respond to you here: when I was told I'd have unlimited data FOR LIFE it didn't occur to me that I'd have to research it. Maybe that was wrong on my part but when I'm told FOR LIFE I believe it. Also, even Verizon stated that the worker who sold me the iPhone 5 was supposed to tell me that I'd be losing my unlimited data. When I asked about changes, common sense to me would have been him saying, "Oh, by the way, you'll be losing unlimited data.." But that's just my opinion. Verizon can continue their shady ways but when my contract is up, I feel I'm done. AT&T seemed much more up front when I went in.

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  5. oh man that stinks was it all in documents? If they didnt let you know that ahead of time, I would be so upset?! Phones can be a mess, I paid 125$ for my old smart phone {old as in 6 months} and they promised 4g etc. t-mobile - I was lucky if I had 1 bar and never 4g - dropped call all the time, messages that updated once a week only, this phone was HORRIBLE. I finally caved and purchased the galaxy s2 boost phone and LOVE it 300$ BUT its totally worth it, connects super fast no dropped calls and its almost always 4g :)

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  6. Unfortunately they all do it. I had AT&T (the only one that covered iPhones when I got my first) with an unlimited data plan. Then last year I noticed things slowing down - yes, unlimited data, but after a certain amount your data rate drops dramatically, here in Vegas after the first two weeks of each month at full speed (when I hit the limit) things ran at about 20% speed, really slowing emails and browsing. But the data was unlimited, not the speed. I switched back to Verizon (paying $$ for a bigger data plan) and am very happy with the coverage here and speeds.

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  7. My blogging partner and I BOTH recently went through experiences with Verizon that left us less than satisfied. So, I am feeling you on this one for sure!! Stopping by from SITS.

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  8. You know, that happened to me too, in the beginning of my Verizon plan. I kept calling them and saying I had the UNLIMITED data. UNLIMITED!!!! And the guy was honest enough to say oops. He fixed the 'glich', but I am not sure I want to stay with Verizon either, if they're treating their customers that way.

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  9. Is it sad that this was a funny post? I can relate but I also don't trust ANYONE anymore. Put it in writing or I'm walking. Been burned one time too many on salesmen's promises. Sorry you lost your unlimited data!

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  10. So lame! Thanks for the heads up- will be avoiding Verizon...currently shopping for a new carrier!

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  11. Thank God my husband is a research fiend or we would never have known this. Had I known this, I would've picked a different phone than the thunderbolt the last time we upgraded. Now I can't upgrade without losing that damn data plan. And I'm too cheap to pay $700 for a new phone.

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  12. Wow that sounds insane.
    I think almost all phone companies are the same. I hate the one I'm with, but there's no better one to switch to. I'm almost due for a free upgrade on my phone, but each time I check the date has been miraculously pushed back.

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  13. LAME! I'm so mad for you! I tried to switch to Verizon when I was living in the States. I gave up after waiting almost 30 minutes for customer service. It was infuriating to watch them call up people from the queue who arrived after me so I stuck with AT&T. They weren't perfect, but they haven't screwed us over yet.

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  14. I DESPISE Verizon! I switched to them thinking they'd be better than AT&T ... but I've had so much more trouble with them then it's worth! I recently had issues with my Droid Bionic - and I ended up with FOUR DIFFERENT PHONES IN ONE WEEK because they kept sending me refurbs that didn't work! Ugh!! It was ridiculous! If I had known how it would be, I'd never have left AT&T!

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  15. I have never liked Verizon's customer service. I left them a few years ago because my coverage was awful where I lived. I would only get about half of my calls and texts. They told me that since I am still getting half of everything that it was considered coverage and I couldn't break my contract penalty free.

    I heard about their new policy. When my contract is expired with them, I will be switching carriers.

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  16. The fact that they didn't tell you is the worst part. They didn't give you the chance to weigh up the options. The clerk was probably under pressure to sell as many of the discount packages you got as possible, and didn't think to check other options for you. Shop clerks should be trained by the companies better to be able to explain more carefully to customers and give them the full picture. You should try writing to the customer services, it might not make a whole lot of difference, but at least you'd be on record, and, if enough people did the same thing, they might eventually have to consider their service.

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  17. I'm so worried about this. I had heard the whole unlimited for life thing, too.

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  18. I feel your pain. Now, they did tell me I'd lose my unlimited data (but then no one ever told me I'd have it for life, either), but still. You would think they would have cut the loyal customers some slack. I've been with them for a long, long, long time but...no dice.

    As for AT&T? Well, be careful. They provide our home phone and internet service and....well, let's just say the customer service isn't so great there either.

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  19. Verizon DOES suck! They offered me the discounted upgrade as well, but my husband was smart and asked the salesman a million questions before we upgraded to iPhone5's. SOOO glad he grilled the guy- we walked out and decided to stick with our old iPhones until our contract runs up this summer. I think we'll be switching to Sprint. That was wrong that the man at the store told you nothing would change. Not cool, Verizon!

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  20. I have verizon too and had a run around with them over not getting the advertised price for a phone. Had the lady from customer service tell me i was making it up or imagining it. Even sent the chat records in to verizon and finally got the advertised price. I was NOT told I would lose my unlimited data when i upgraded but i went the add a line route since it was before my renewal. I was upset about the mandatory fee for renewing with them. When i talked to a person on the phone when they were getting rid of the unlimited data i was told that i would have it as long as i was with Verizon. Not until i made changes or bought a discounted phone, that as long as i was with them i would have it. I have been toying with changing carriers when all of our lines are up.

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  21. We gave up and just ended up doing one of those Straight Talk prepaid plans at Walmart. Unlimited talk, text, web, data for $45/month. Ya you have to pay the full cost of the phone, but they're cheaper than a lot of them. And don't have any contracts. And since we tend to get transferred to stupid small hole in the wall towns with crap for reception, it works for us. Stupid Verizon. I would have flipped out too. I think you addresed this well!

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  22. Thanks alot guys! I have been with and disappointed by At&t forever. Finally decided we will go with Verizon. Now? No way.
    I think BEX has it right. Straight Talk at Walmart. I've heard good things about this.

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  23. When it sounds too good to be true... GET IT IN WRITING! Sorry, but it's not really appropriate to lay 100% of the blame on VZW. I do not work for them but I do pay attention to how they operate. I get excellent service from their phone sales/service personnel. I can't remember the last time I went into a store for service. The point is that I get the impression that in the stores, these (mostly) kids want to sell to make whatever sales target they are required to hit and the reps on the phone are not under as much pressure and have A LOT of authority to get extra done for their customers. I have a list of things VZW phone reps have done to address my concerns. Concerns that I calmly expressed to them and thanking them each step of the way as they decided I really did appreciate them and they "went the extra mile." I haven't reached a point where I feel I need to upgrade my 12 month old handset but I keep in touch with Verizon and their policies. The worst part for you is not that the original rep lied. It's that the new rep that sold you the iPhone committed a lie of omission by not warning you of the dramatic change to your data plan if you purchased the handset at the subsidized price. I'll play their game for now. I get fantastic data speeds and voice coverage. I use too much data to take a change on losing it with a subsidized handset. We'll see what happens in the next year but I will ensure that I ask plenty of questions and read about the experiences of others. By the way, my "Plan B" is Sprint!

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  24. We used to have Verizon...NEVER again. They pulled the same sort of shady crap on us too....It's all about money for them.

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  25. Thanks for the heads up. I had no idea. I still have about a year left on my contract and we had been considering switching. Now that I know (we are grandfathered in, too)...I think we'll be switching to a pay by the month plan, too.

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  26. Yeah the fine folks at Verizon are quite sneaky like that. When our contracts are up, we are switching. There is no incentive to be a long time customer. (I have been with them for over 10 years.)

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  27. They did the same thing to us. REALLY ticks me off. And a year ago, I noticed that my minutes that I hardly use most of were almost over limit because I was using my phone ALL THE TIME to talk to my husband that was deployed. So, I went online and changed my plan to an unlimited amount package.. Well, that backfired because they cut my bill off that day and then "prorated" my minutes and I ended up with a $350 phone bill. I explained what I was doing and they basically told me "oh well" and refused to do anything. I really hate verizon.

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  28. Yeah I am not a big Verizon fan. Don't you love customer no service. I would have been beyond pissed also.

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  29. Ugh, just went through the same thing. not fair...

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  30. Tony4Droid, yeah, I guess in the future I'll get it in writing. Even though I was told FOR LIFE. I guess if I'm told that again I'll ask them to actual write FOR LIFE. But even then I imagine they'd still be like, "Well, until we change our policy." It's crap. And yes, we'll either go with AT&T or Sprint when my contract is up.

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  31. Verizon has been shady for many years. I relocated due to a hurricane in 2005. The area I moved to have extended service only for Verizon customers. I was told I could end my contracts without having to pay the termination fees. I stayed with them for about 8 months but could not stand paying for a service that I could rarely access.
    I switced to another company and paid my last bill. Or so I thought.
    I started getting a bill for $525. It was the termination fees for my 3 lines. Long story short, it took my until early 2012 to stop the bill collectors. I have the fine print that stated I would not have to pay a termination fee. But Verizon attempted to collect and then sold my information to one of those shady bill collectors.
    Bu the way, AT&T is just as bad. As stated above, WalMart seems to have one of the better plans. From what I understand, the coverage they have is amazing.

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  32. Fyi don't blame customer service for this, we hate it just as much as you do. There is nothing we can do about it. NOTHING. If we could change it we would, I'm going to say we hate it more actually. We are not scripted either by the way NO SCRIPTS we just have to explain this 50 times a day and we can't say, yeah i agree, that's really shitty. We have to act like we stand behind VZW. We don't, why would we stand behind a company who encourages us (mother's/students/fathers) to be abused verbally? We have families to feed and a job to do, there is literally no incentive for us to not help if we can IT'S OUR JOB! There is nothing shady, if there is ANYTHING we can do we'll do it, we have no reason nor time to waste arguing. Keep it in perspective how important is it really for you to be checking twitter on your phone constantly? It's ridiculous really when you think about it how harshly customers speak with someone they've never met, who's never harmed them, nor even set eyes on the wireless account over something so trivial. Lastly, no, we can't give credits...not without putting our jobs at risk, and your upgrade fee does not trump feeding my family.

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  33. I agree, they do suck. my daughter, had open heart surgery on June 5. the evening of June 4 I received a text message that my payment failed and to call and make arrangements. ugh, too much going on and I didn't realize I deposited my paycheck into my husband account instead of mine. I was packing up for my daughter's surgery in the morning and asked my husband to call and see what was going on. he didn't understand what was happening, major misunderstand again, told me that the $250 payment didn't go through. I assumed he had made the payment... ugh. he didn't. we wake up the next morning extremely early to take my daughter to surgery and I tried calling my mother. my phone wouldn't work. it was shut off. so my husband went to the bank and made the payment that day. while our daughter was on bypass. so our phones would be on for emergencies. then, I get another text. we made two payments two days apart for the original bill. dang it! it can't back too. I called and repaid that second amount on Saturday. $78.11. payments made, we have a new bill due in a couple of days. or yesterday. well, today, our phones won't work again. I call. the 78.11 went too our current bill. not the past due O.o what!? I'm told we have to pay for 2 reconnect because it was shut off the second time. even though I made the payment on Saturday. after asking them to waive it because it should not have been disconnected they refuse. it's valid because we hadn't made a payment arrangement. no, I made a payment! oh, well, then we will credit $20. towards $150 in reconnect fees. no! I asked for a supervisor. where I was told they would split it. 37.50 half ond of the reconnect fees. you've got to be kidding me I said. I seriously hope if you have a family emergency you think back on this and remember how ridiculously you and your supervisor have treated me. She put me on hold again. we will credit $75. I'm exhausted. I've been sleeping in a hospital recliner for 5 nights watching my 4 year old daughter sleep. Whatever. I'm heart broken. I will not be renewing my contract with Verizon!

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  34. Exact same thing ....happened to me this morning. ..left a real bad taste in my mouth for V...f....Verizon! !

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  35. Exact same thing ....happened to me this morning. ..left a real bad taste in my mouth for V...f....Verizon! !

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  36. If you have Verizon Wireless you are more likely to be robbed every month. You owe it to yourself to audit your bill an compare it to what your contract calls for. This is the only company I know that has no moral compass or a single ounce of honesty. They have strong lobby in DC so they are running wild.
    We canceled contract with Verizon due to poor service and their continuous effort to bill us more than what contact calls for. We cancelled 3 phone lines last year and this we had one last line that we canceled and to our surprise, Verizon canceled the Text messaging allowance that came with the contract and decided to bill us for the maximum allowed per text rate causing us to incur over $100 in text charges.

    This is not the first time Verizon decided to do what is good for them and put all moral and ethical standards aside. I have never seen a US company this hungry for money and putting all resources in maximizing profits by any means or reason. I paid for monthly bills on time and expecting to use the full text allowance given to me but when I canceled service in middle of their billing cycle, they decided to take away my allowance and bill me a per text rate. This happened without notice or notification.

    When I called them after 15 Minutes on wait and Press this number for this and that number for that, their rep advised me that Verizon is well protected by their fine print and that the best they can do is give me a 10% discount!

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    ReplyDelete
  38. GRRRRR! I'm so mad I can barely write!

    Just finished getting robbed by Verizon. Exact same situation.

    But even tho I didn't know about the switch to limited plans from unlimited, I was suspicious. So, while online ordering an upgraded phone, I logged onto Chat with them and got Brianna W. I asked her if I could order a new phone without changing my plan (simply getting a 2-year extension) and she said 'yes.' Once I got to that page (keeping her updated as I went), I hit the point where I had to choose a plan. When I told her my current option wasn't available, SHE SAID "JUST PICK ANY PLAN AND I CAN CHANGE IT AFTER YOU CHECK OUT" Not believing my good fortune, I did just that, picking the basic plan offered with the new iPhone. Once done, I chatted to her "ok, finished, now please change me back to my old plan." She then chatted "...to make this change, please call customer service at XXXXX." She wouldn't do what she promised!!!

    I thought I had her by emailing myself the chat transcript, but even tho the sales confirmation came immediately, the chat transcript NEVER ARRIVED. Somehow they blocked it and I have no written proof of her promise!

    GAHHHHH!!!!!!! (veins bulging from forehead)

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  39. So i go into Canada, I call and ask for data and mins for 4 days they no problem. 1000 mins 2 gigs of data $30. Cool. Next bill comes I'm still getting charged. You have to call and have it removed they tell me, now it'll be removed next month. And it's more than $30.

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    ReplyDelete
  43. I understand your dissatisfaction with this service and support your outrage. Very often, even large companies ignore such an important point as customer support service, not realizing that this is an important aspect of customer interaction. I recently read an article on Pissed Consumer and I realized that there are many things that can be improved in customer support service and building positive communication with them. The tips and tricks in the article can really be very useful for those customer support services where satisfaction is less than expected.

    ReplyDelete

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