Customer Service doesn't honor their promises

[susansmith]

On Thanksgiving night I called CS to inquire about upgrades for both my husband and I.  The guy I spoke with, Chris from Idaho, was very courteous and helpful.  I was interested in getting the Droid 3, and explained that I still had an Altell plan, but I did have a plan with unlimited data usage.  Chris worked around this and told me that he could grandfather us in and we could still use the old Altell plan with unlimited data.  I further explained to Chris that I would only agree to the upgrade if we could in fact use the current plan with the unlimited data plan.  He said "no problem".  This phone call was about an hour long, as he had to get permission from a supervisor.  I hung up thinking we were all set.  We got our phones as promised, and I went online and activated them.

The nightmare now begins with the receipt of our first bill.  The bill shows the old Friends and Family Altell plan, but shows a data charge of $30.00 per phone.  This did not surprise me, and I was willing to go with the flow, but this is not what was promised.  I place another call to CS.  This time, I receive a different agent from a different calling center, imagine that! Ok, so this agent was polite and courteous enough, and was very helpful while we were speaking.  She explained that we could not in fact use the Altell plan with the new smart phones, so I agreed to go with a new plan.  I also pointed out that when I received my bill, we had a charge of $90.45 for text messaging.  I explained that we had  unlimited texting with the old plan @ $5.00 per line, and we did not instruct anyone to discontinue this, nor did anyone tell us that this would be discontinued.  She assured me that this could be adjusted, and should would do so while I was on the phone.  I agreed to a new plan at this time, but the new plan would not take effect until the Jan. 10, 2012 billing cycle.  Thinking my problems had been handled, I thanked the CS agent and hung up.

I checked my account several times after the 2nd phone call, but nothing reflect any adjustment of the text charges.  So, not wanting my payment to be late, I deducted the text messaging charge of $90.45 from my bill and sent a check to Verizon.  Let me just point out that my husband agreed to pay for the new phones, so I only sent a check for the wireless service, minus the new equipment charge and minus the text messaging charge of $90.45.  My husband had asked me to call to see if the adjustment had been made so he can pay the balance, which should have been for only the new phone, plus I expected some charge for text, in the neighborhood of $10 per line, as promised by Verizon Customer Service agent.

So I make phone call #3.  This agent tells me there are no notes about my prior calls, and the best she can so is offer a 25% discount on the text charges.  After I tell her I would like to speak to a supervisor, she then offers a 50% discount, but tells me she is only supposed to offer 25%, so if I speak to a supervisor, there is no guarantee I can get the 50% discount.  I still insist on speaking to a supervisor, and am told that the supervisor would have to call me from their phone, and that there's a 15-20 wait.  I have now been waiting for over 5 hours, and have not received a phone call from a supervisor. 

My husband has been with Verizon since it bought out Altell, and was with Altell since 1988, and we have always paid our bill and paid it on time.  We have been good customers, and the least that we expect is that someone should call us back!  I don't expect anything special, I only expect what was promised.  If this cannot be accomplished, then I expect some kind of an adjustment to my satisfaction, an apology.  I realize Verizon is a big corporation, but it's good customers like us that help keep them in business. 

Am I expecting too much?

[jewelgirl264]

No, I don't believe you're expecting too much. One call should have been enough, and surely by the second call things should have been straightened out. Since Alltel turned over into Verizon their customer service has gone completely out the window, and let me tell you I for one do NOT appreciate the high rates they charge for so few options--I mean THREE minutes plan choices for millions of customers? 450 isn't enough, 900 is far too much, and either way I have to pay a fortune by either going over on my minutes or paying for 350 extra minutes I don't use PLUS a texting plan (because of course there isn't a talk and text with the 900 plan). Verizon is RIDICULOUS and I plan on changing to something else once my contract is up if they don't straighten up their act--and offer more minutes options!

[ArnettH_VZW]

Hello susansmith,

Please accept my sincerest apologies for your interaction(s) during this entire ordeal. Without having all the details yet, I can certainly empathize with you on how a miscommunication issue can become frustrating. Migrating from an Alltel plan to a Verizon Wireless plan is a huge change in account structure and plan options. May I ask what devices did you upgrade to? Oftentimes, the price plan compatibility is dependent on the device that was purchased or active on  a mobile number. It would be my pleasure to review your account and provide clarification as to what services are compatible with your new devices! If you are interested in my assistance then please send me a private message with your full name, mobile number, and a brief summary of what price plan that you wanted. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you...

ArnettH_VZW

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