I just sent the following to the President of Verizon

Question

Dear Mr. Mead,
Thank you for taking the time to read this email.  I wanted to let you know what has transpired with my account in the last few months.  I currently use a phone provided by my company, therefore, we only have two phones on our account.  My wife has one and my son the other.  They were starting to have problems with their phones, and my wife needed to have email on her phone for her new position.  So two months ago, I called Verizon and asked how long was left on my contract.  I then asked what plans were available for data.  I gathered the information and then started investigating the other cellular providers.  T-mobile is not available in my area, so they were out immediately.  Sprint is available, however, I was not a fan after reading the small print.  AT&T is most widely used in my area as they have strong 4G everywhere.  However, their plans were very similar to Verizon.  So we thought why change to ATT when we have been happy with Verizon for years.  While in the midst of my search, someone mentioned Straight Talk to me.  I investigated them rather intensely.  I was going to make the switch.  They were able to offer unlimited talk and text and 3 Gig of data at $45 a line.  Since I would have 2 lines, this was going to be a total of $90 a month.  This was after all taxes and fees.  Even though my family was wanting the iPhone 6 plus, I went ahead and was able to get a 4s and 5s very cheaply used.  I checked and both phones were good and were clean to be activated.  They were Verizon phones but would work on Straight Talk. 
This brings us to last week.  Last Wednesday, I called in and said that I was going to go to Straight Talk and wanted to port my numbers.  I was calling to ask if I cancelled the account prior to porting the numbers or after as this is something that I was not familiar with since I have been with Verizon for several years.   The representative I spoke to asked me to not be so rash, that she would see if she could offer me something that would keep me with Verizon.  I explained all of the above to her.  I explained that we currently had the 2 basic phones, that we wanted 6 plus but due to costs I had bought the used phones, and that we were switching to keep our costs affordable.  I was told that if I would stay with Verizon, that I could use both of my smart phones have unlimited talk and text and 4 Gig data shared for $81.38 a month.  This would be before my company discount, taxes, and surcharges. 
I told the lady that I would have to talk to my wife about it as after all the taxes the prices would be nearly the same as Straight Talk, however, I would be losing a total of 2 gig of data.  I also asked the rep how long I would be able to have the plan?  She said I would have that plan at that price for as long as I stayed with Verizon.  She also told me that I would not be under any contract.  The only way that I would be under contract is if I upgraded to new phones, but I would still have the same pricing.  The rep told me that she would notate everything and if I decided to go with the plan, I could just call back in and the person would see everything. 
I talked to my wife that night and we agreed to stay with Verizon.  This was due to the fact that we have been loyal to your company for several years and have never had any issues.  The next day, I called back to Verizon.  I spoke to the rep and said that I would like to go with the plan that was offered to me.  I asked if we could add the plan at that time and then I could activate the phones when I was at home and had the phones in front of me.  This rep told me that would not be a problem at all.  She told me, I see that you are going to unlimited talk and text and 4 gig shared data for $81.38 a month.  I said yes that was exactly what I was offered yesterday.  I hung up, and then received two email from Verizon.  The first one said this.
Hi JACOB ,
This email confirms your requested price plan change that will be effective on 01/15/2015.
Your next bill will be $126.72, before any overage charges, taxes, and fees. This total includes the following:
Credit for the unused portion of your previous plan
Charge for your new plan through the rest of
your current billing cycle
Charge for your new plan one month in advance
Going forward, your new monthly bill will be $118.10, which includes your plan and features before taxes and fees
Once we complete your plan change, you will receive an additional email confirmation.
The second one sent 3 minutes later said this.
Hi JACOB ,
This email confirms your requested price plan change that will be effective on 01/15/2015.
Your next bill will be $116.53, before any overage charges, taxes, and fees. This total includes the following:
Credit for the unused portion of your previous plan
Charge for your new plan through the rest of
your current billing cycle
Charge for your new plan one month in advance
Going forward, your new monthly bill will be $110.00, which includes your plan and features before taxes and fees
Once we complete your plan change, you will receive an additional email confirmation.
To view the details of your new plan, visit My Verizon.
Thank you for being the best part of Verizon!
Verizon Wireless
This was not what I had agreed to.  I called back to Verizon and the person I spoke to said that there was nothing that could be done about this.  He said that he would submit something to the department that creates plans and see what they would say.  It came back almost immediately that I could not have this plan.  I told the gentleman that I was offered this plan and when I agreed to this plan I was again told I would have exactly what I was promised.  This representative told me that "It is what it is.  You can pay the $130 a month or you can go to Straight Talk."  At this point, I asked for a supervisor. 
The supervisor told me that he could see exactly what I was offered and that would not be a problem.  I was told that I would have to phone in to activate the phones when I got home rather than online, as they would have to add the discounts on after the phones were activated.  He said I am adding the notes to your account now so that anyone who you talk to can take care of this.  I said ok that is great.  That night, Thursday the 15th, I called in to activate the phones.  I gentleman that I spoke to go the phones activated with ease.  Afterwards, I asked him about the discounts.  He said he did not see anything in the notes, but that he could call someone else.  I told him that it is 10:30 p.m., I would just call back tomorrow. 
This brings us to Friday.  I called in on Friday and was told I don't know who you spoke to but this plan does not exist, there is no way to give it to you, you are out of luck, etc.  I then asked to be transferred to your office.   I was put on hold for about 20 minutes and someone identifying himself as a supervisor picked up.  I explained the whole situation again (this is like the 10th time) and he put me on hold.  He came back and said he had good news and bad news.  Verizon could not reach the plan that was promised to me and that was listed in the notes.  That this would normally be a $130 plan.  I would have to pay that amount this month, but next month, my bill would come down to $91 a month after my company discount.  I would also only have this plan for 12 months.  I would also be put under a new 2 year contract.  I told him that this was absolutely unacceptable.  This goes against everything that I was told.  This is now going to cost me more than Straight Talk, it was going to be less data, it was only going to be for 12 months, and it was going to put me under a new 2 year contract.  I told him that if I wanted the contract I would have just taken the 6 plus offer from Verizon and had unlimited data for life and a new iphone every 24 months.  I then asked to be put through to your office.  I was again told there was no way to contact you. 
At this point, while this "manager" was raising his voice, interrupting me, and telling me too bad, I put an electronic complaint through to the BBB.  While he was still belittling me,  I received the confirmation back from BBB that it was being investigated and I would be contacted by someone from that office within the next 10 days.  I told your "manager" this and he said well do what you have to do but I can't help you.  He then said that I would receive a call back from someone else from Verizon within the next 24-48 hours.  I said ok, but I am still going to try to get through to your office.  
I called back.  I spoke to another supervisor who told me that a request had been put in for a call back, but could she help me.  I went through the whole story again.  She said that the credits that the last "manager" said he put on there were not there.  She did put it at the $91 a month, but that I was still under a contract and that it only lasted 12 months.  I said I would still like the call back from someone else.
It has now been 71 hours.  I have not heard from anyone.  I can tell that frankly nobody at Verizon cares about the customer.  It is just as T-mobile says, they only care about the bottom line.   I sincerely hope that you are able to work with me.  I never agreed to any contract.  I never agreed to the higher rate.  I was told that I would have a certain rate.  I know that these calls are recorded. 
I am a manager at my company.  I run a CSR call center.  I know that if my team says something, even if it is beyond the norm, I will ensure that we give what is told to them.  I then will do corrective action and coaching with my team.  However, we do not deceive or lie to the customer.  We give them what we tell them we will give them.  Please give me assistance. 
I am making a copy of this letter and I will be posting it on social media if I do not hear back from someone in your office today.  Again, the number to reach me on is 217-xxx-xxxx
Thank you,
Jake xxxx
Extremely disgruntled customer

Answer 1

I can tell you that this is some of the absolutely worst customer service I have ever dealt with. I found out from a store employee that when they are really busy with calls, they have third party companies taking overflow calls. One of those companies is Xerox. What can a Xerox call center rep possibly be able to authorize on a Verizon account?  I'm Sure there is a ton of misinformation out there due to this. They don't note the accounts properly or so everyone can see them. I have been transferred before and have asked if they work for Verizon or a third party also and was refused an answer so, apparently they aren't required to disclose that information. I spent a long time in the store on my last visit and it's not just customers that get the runaround. It happens to the store employees as well and it's beyond frustrating.