Customer Service Failure

[STEMCC23]

My Verizon Story

In May of 2017 I went to the Verizon store in East Lansing, MI (next to

MSU) because my Galaxy S3 was barely working (camera would not function,

GPS could not track, battery died with 2 hours, etc). It was a good phone,

I really liked the model. The technician at the store looked it over (I was

hoping to have it wiped, and updated) and told me that at this point I just

needed a new phone. It was in good used condition, just worn out.

When he went over my account information he saw that my phone was insured,

and that I qualified for a free new phone, and he suggested the Samsung 7.

It looked okay, so I accepted it. He was going to have it sent to the store

within 2 days, but I was leaving the following day for California, so he

offered to have it shipped to my place. He also saw that as far as my data

usage was concerned, my old plan was out of date. I could be paying the

same or a little less on a new contract, and it came with a free HUM. I

didn’t really care about the HUM, but an updated plan sounded nice, so I

agreed. All in all it was a great experience.

I left for California, and when I returned the package was waiting for me.

I activated my new phone, and transferred the data from my old phone over.

I will say the new phone looked attractive, but the fact that it was front

and back glass was very worrisome. I’m careful with my phones, but I am and

active person. I also looked at what the HUM was, and didn’t even bother to

open the package.

A week later I had time to stop by the Verizon store. Once there it

appeared that only the store manager was able to talk. I asked for help

sending back the old phone (as was expected) and to return the HUM. He

looked at me like I was crazy, and said that the store had nothing to do

with sending phones back, and that it was handled all by a separate

company, which was news to me. When I tried to give back the HUM in an

unopened box, he said he would take it back, but charge me a restocking

fee. Needless to say, his unsatisfactory answers along with his rude

behavior forced me to leave. Unfortunately, the tech who was so nice

earlier was no longer around.

Following this I tried calling/chatting with Verizon a few time regarding

sending the phone back, and only received answers that Verizon either had

nothing to do with it, or that I should have received a box with shipping

information to send it back in. Said box was not in the original package,

nor were any instructions. After a few more of the disappointing and

unhelpful contacts I gave up.

However, later that summer I started receiving harassment calls from

Verizon (not the phone insurance group) demanding $500 for an un-returned

beat up old phone. After getting into it a few times over the phone and

chat, I finally managed to get an address to send the phone back. I wrote

it on a manila envelope, wrapped the phone in a second envelope before

stuffing it in, and put twice as many stamps on it as needed. I then either

dropped it off in a blue bin by Bank of America in the Lansing Frandor

Mall, or in a blue bin at the small substation not far from the bank.

Since then I have been back and forth with Verizon every month or two with

harassing calls, cancelled service, and claims that I never sent it back.

This has gone on and on, and every time we finish I get told that

everything is okay, it’s all good, I’ve done enough. I even contacted the

United States Postal Service to see if they could track down the package,

but there just was not enough information to go on (these emails were

shared with Verizon).

Then at the end of January of 2018 I finally had it when my phone was shut

off at a critical time. I then spent 4 hours on the line with Verizon,

being passed back and forth, lied to cheated and made to feel like a pile

of <<removed>> until I broke, and accepted that I had to pay something for a phone

that Verizon had lost. I at least got Verizon to give me some credits

towards it for all that I had gone through, and Verizon agreed that I could

pay it off monthly after I received a physical paper bill in the mail for

my records, after which the payment would be sent. Again we agreed on

monthly payments, and I made a payment then on the 25th (I believe)

Yesterday, while picking up Valentine’s day flowers, I got another

harassment call, and when I got into work I got on chat explaining my

situation. I could not talk on the phone with a manager due to work, and I

had a tight schedule that night due to Valentine’s day. The tech promised

that a manager would call just after 5 and that it would be quick. I got

off work and waited, by 5:40 I could not wait any longer, I had to shower,

shave, dress and run to the Valentine’s plans I had been working on for a

week.

I saw that someone called sometime after that, and now my phone is shut

off. I just don’t know what to do any more. All I want is to get this paid

off, leave Verizon, and find a company that will treat me like a human

being.

<< Content removed to comply with Verizon Wireless Terms of Service >>

[vzw_customer_support]

That hurts to hear, STEMCC23.  You always deserve world class support. I’ve sent you a Private Message to begin working on this.

DavidH_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

[STEMCC23]

I should note, that I try about a day to get someone at customer service to help with this. About ever 3 days I get a half-hearted reply claiming they want to help, but each time I just get forced into a phone conversation where they will just make promises, transfer me to someone else, and then deny that they ever made any promises. Of course without a physical record, I have no evidence to back up my claims, so it just starts all over until one of them says they will get back to me in 24 - 48 hours, but that never happens.

[STEMCC23]

So after posting this to every message board, twitter, and Facebook page owned by Verizon. I finally managed to get someone to work with me last month.

We spend hours back and forth via Facebook messenger so that I could have a physical record of everything they were promising to do to fix it, and by the end we finally agreed upon everything. Everything was paid off and credited for, and I even paid forward through March.

Well guess what, my April bill shows up with an additional $99.82 in "one time" charges, that were all covered by the deal with the last agent. Needless to say I am fighting with Verizon again, and I welcome any others that would be willing to comment or join me in a possible law suit. I have physical records of their deceit and broken promises, and would welcome communications with others in the same situation

[Wyncia]

Sadly, I am not surprised. We have had a disappointing time trying to get basic assistance at Verizon. The basic response was that they do not help customers with their devices. That, was said plainly, is no longer a service offered. Look up questions online and follow instruction! Arg!