Verizon Wireless/Collecting Agency unjustly charging me for early termination fee?

[LilBR]

This might turn out to be a long post...

While shopping for a cellphone service provider I selected verizon wireless. Got myself a Droid 2. Soon after, I realized I didn't need all the bells and whistles so I changed my phone to an LG with voice calls and text only.  I live in VA in a rural area. Cell phone signal here are not the best but I honored my 2 years contract with verizonwireless anyway since at that time it was the best choice. Better than AT&T, VirginMobile and such.

Anyway, around the 18months mark on the contract, I called verizonwireless asking them if anything could be done to better the signal I was getting because the phone would search and search for signal all day, draining it's battery. One of the representatives I talked to (and I talked to a bunch of them), told me I should get a new battery for the phone. I did. Didn't help. A couple of months later, another representative told me my phone was pretty outdated and I should get a new one. So I did. At the store in  the Dulles Mall, they assured me the phone I was getting was very good. They were pretty sure I would get good service with it, after all their coverage map shows a good signal strength at my address area, and should go ahead and renew my contract. So I did. My new phone no longer spent hours and hours searching for signal. 2, 3 bars at best. Then it started with calls being dropped. Imagine in the middle of the winter or a rainy night having to walk out of the house to make or answer a call. Tired of it, I called verizon again. No help. I searched the web and came across something called a signal booster so I called verizon again asking if they could send me a signal booster and add the charges to my bill just to be told and I quote: "Ma'am, you have to drive yourself to a verizonwireless store and buy the booster with your own money". The price of a signal booster is +/- $300.00. There's when I had enough. I called other providers, explained my situation and was offered a signal booster/Micro Cell free of charge if I was willing to drive 8 miles to the local AT&T store and get it. I canceled my services with verizonwireless that same day and told them I was not paying a penny in early termination fee because the only reason I renew my contract in the first place was because they had guaranteed me the new phone, I'd spent more than $150.00 on would work. When I got my first bill with the early termination fee added to it, I called them again. One of over a dozen calls on this issue. They tried to blame me. They were rude, unfriendly and not willing to help. By the time I received my second bill, I asked to speak to a supervisor. Every time I called I had to explain the situation over and over again. That's when the supervisor told me verizonwireless has knowledge of unreliable signal in the state of Virginia. I was then transferred back to costumer service with the instructions of asking for a signal test done by a technician just to be told it couldn't be done because I had already canceled my services. I asked for my services to be turned back on for the purpose of testing it and again was told it couldn't be done. Requested to speak to a supervisor again. Supervisor was busy but would call me back same day, or the next day at the latest. I got one phone call from a blocked number. No voicemail was left. No returning number for me to call back. 3 days later I call customer services again. After insisting they did try to reach me multiple times, a representative assured me someone would call back in the next 2 hours. This time I got someone willing to listen and check my records and the numerous calls I'd placed regarding this matter. He informed me a technician would come out and do a full report. Got a call a couple of days later with the explanation the report does show signal in my area is unreliable therefore it is not my fault, nor my phone's fault and I shouldn't be expected to pay for a service verizonwireless was offering but not providing, along with the promise that my account would be credited $250.00 to cover the early termination fee and to call back when I receive my next bill so they could credit my account the remaining $24.14 due to late fee charges. Well, I never got the bill. One more call to verizonwireless... this time they explained it takes time for the financial department to catch up, the bill will be arriving soon but not to worry, it shows in their records my account has a zero balance and it is now closed.  I requested an email or mailed letter stating the zero balance. Again was asked to wait for the due date. They were sure I would receive my last bill this time around.

This ordeal started in January/2013. Last time I talked to verizonwireless was August/2013. We are now in November/2013.

Today I checked my P.O. BOX again. Found a letter from a collecting agency with a settlement offer from verizonwireless in the amount of $298.81.

Are you kidding me???? What's wrong with these people???

I am so sick and tired of dealing with this company.

*I'll be calling verizonwireless again tomorrow (Monday). In the meantime if anyone with similar experience wants to share an advice or two on what to do next, please post. Every effort I've done to solve this matter so far has left me frustrated beyond belief.

[Ann154]

You ported your number and canceled while under contract. Surely you realize that you are responsible for the ETF and the final bill?

Paragraphs would help a lot to read the post.

[LilBR]

I apologize for not using paragraphs.

Not sure you were able to read and understand my post.

Like I said in the post I did honor my 2 years contract. I've paid every bill in due time.

    When I referred to "the last bill", that's what the representative called it. I was to get a "look like" final bill with a zero balance on it.

    The ETF they've tried to charge me with was their fault for giving me the run around allowing the "grace period" to expire. The $24.14 charge is not late fee from my regular bills. Those were charges added to the ETF amount while I was still in negotiations/explaining the situation to them. Besides it shows in their records I was granted the ETF credit. It also shows they are granting me the $24.14 since I was not supposed to be charged with ETF in the first place.

   The credit is there. It is a fact. I called them today and the customer service's representative I talked to, could see those credits in place. All she could do was place another foot note on my records asking them to send me the zero balance bill because it is now a matter for the Financial Department and customer service can't access it. I can talk to every single customer representative, all day, every day and they will tell me that it shows in their records the fact that upon further investigation I was granted ETF credit.

   The problem is, not only they are not sending me the so called final bill with the zero balance, they now have forwarded it to a collection's agency.

   If upon final inspection and conducting tests, they've made the decision to grant me the credit, why not send me the zero balance?  And why refer my account to a collection's agency?

   There's a lack of communication somewhere within this company which can affect my credit score.

[tikibar1]

You could file a notice of dispute:

http://www22.verizon.com/NROneRetail/NR/rdonlyres/90441AD2-595E-41E8-938E-BBBA785A19C7/0/VZ_Notic...