A fraudulent order placed on my account was cought and cancelled by Verizon, but I'm still being billed for it.

Question

I am a Verizon customer in North Carolina. For the past few months I have been unsuccessfully trying to correct a problem with my account that seems to be getting so out of hand that now when I call to address it, the Verizon representative can’t understand the issue. So I’ve decided to put the issue down in writing to see if someone here can help me…
On May 22nd I received a text stating that my address had been changed. Shortly thereafter I received a phone call from the Verizon fraud department trying to verify an order that was placed on my account. When I told them that I had made no such order, It was explained to me that someone had likely obtained my account info and fraudulently ordered equipment in my name to be sent to an address in Ohio. I was told that the order would be cancelled, my address was changed back to my correct North Carolina address, my MyVerizon account was deleted and I would have to create a new one, and that I would not see any impact on my bill as a result of this issue.
The following bill I received, dated 6/21/14, included $84.66 of normal charges that I had seen on pretty much every bill before that, and $65.71 worth of equipment charges (which included a $24.99 Edge Agreement payment, and $40.72 for Ohio State sales tax) that were a result of the fraudulent order. When I called to complain about it, I was told by a rep in the Billing Department that there was nothing they could do to correct it, and I would have to speak with the Fraud Department. They forwarded my call to a number that no one answered. Eventually a machine picked up and stated that I would have to fill out a form and someone would call me back, and the machine hung up. I then paid the amount I owed of $84.66 on 7/15/14.
The next bill, dated 7/21/14, showed; a balance forward of $65.71, monthly, usage and tax charges equaling $94.63, a late fee of $0.41, and equipment charges of $24.99 (fraudulent Edge Agreement). When I called this time I spoke with a rep that actually did a very good job of explaining the situation to me that even though the order was cancelled, the Edge Agreement that was signed in my name (fraudulently) had to be cancelled through a different process, and only the fraud department could initiate it.  She stated that the “form” that had to be completed to get the fraud department to call a customer back was only available to employees, and not the public, so she would have to make the request. She also stated that she’d put a note in my file that an issue with my bill was being worked on so that my service would not be shut off. I never received a phone call from the fraud department. I then paid the monthly usage and tax fees of $94.63, and the late fee of $0.41 (even though I didn’t really owe it in my opinion), totaling $95.04 on 8/18/14.
The next bill dated 8/21/14, showed; a balance forward of $90.70 (which equates to the equipment charges of $65.71 and $24.99 from the previous two months), an Adjustment of -$10.00 (which was a correction made when I questioned the overusage fee from the previous month), $84.60 of monthly usage and tax fees, a $0.84 late fee, and another equipment charge of $24.99 (fraudulent Edge Agreement). Again, this time when I called I was told the billing department could not help me, I was forwarded to the fraud department and the machine hung up on me. I then paid $74.30 to cover the monthly usage and tax fees on 9/11, while taking credit for the -$10.00 adjustment that I essentially overpaid the month before. Due to a math error on my part, at this point I should have owed $0.30 because I owed $74.60 ($84.60-$10.00) and only paid $74.30.
The next bill dated 9/21/14, showed; a balance forward of $116.83 (which equates to the equipment charges of $65.71, $24.99, $24.99 from the previous three months, the $0.84 late fee from 8/21, and the $0.30 balance that I actually owed), an Adjustment of -$1.14 (due to a “Fed Univ Srv Credit”), $84.60 of monthly usage and tax fees, a $1.25 late fee, and another equipment charge of $24.99 (fraudulent Edge Agreement). This time when I called, I was forwarded to the fraud department, and someone actually answered the phone! After explaining the situation yet again, I was comfortable that the rep understood my situation, and I was told that they would submit an Edge Agreement cancelation form, which would have to be reviewed by their superior, and then the account would move on to someone who did some kind of balance analysis to see how my account was to be credited for charges that were a result of this fraudulent Edge Agreement. They said I would receive a phone call in a few days to verify the changes that were made. I never received a phone call. I then paid $84.60 to cover the monthly usage and tax fee on 10/1. At the time I made the payment, I wasn’t sure what the -$1.14 adjustment was for, so I didn’t account for it in the payment. Though, understanding now that it had nothing to do with my account problems, I basically made an overpayment of $1.14 in the 10/1 payment, and accounting for the $0.30 that I actually owed from the previous bill, at this point, my account should be at -$0.84 ($0.30-$1.14), that is that $0.84 is owed to me from Verizon.
Which comes to my latest bill, dated 10/21/14. The bill shows;  a balance forward of $141.93 (which equates to the equipment charges of $65.71, $24.99, $24.99 and $24.99 from the previous four months, the $0.84 late fee from 8/21, the $1.25 late fee from 9/21, and the -$0.84 balance that was actually owed to me), $84.61 of monthly usage and tax fees, a $1.36 late fee, and another equipment charge of $24.99 (fraudulent Edge Agreement). When I called this morning, the rep I spoke to didn’t seem to know which way was up, and didn’t see any problem with my account. As I started to explain the whole situation again, we were disconnected, which prompted me to write this letter. Because I’m tired of explaining this to everyone I speak to, every time I call, and the story just keeps getting longer. I will be making a payment today in the amount of $83.77 to cover the $84.61 of monthly usage and tax fees, and accounting for the -$0.84 starting balance that I should have.
At this point, I’m receiving 2-3 automated phone calls and text messages from Verizon on a daily basis (which could probably be considered harassment) telling me my balance is past due, yet when I do finally get someone on the phone who understands my issue, I’m told that things are being done to resolve this, but obviously they are not.  I need this issue to be corrected ASAP. I’m done trying to explain this issue over the phone. I NEED SOMEONE TO CONTACT ME IN RESPONSE TO THIS LETTER, TO EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THIS ISSUE WILL BE RESOLVED BY VERIZON.  I will continue to make the payments that are valid due to my usage, but I will not pay any fees associated with an order that was not only identified by Verizon to be fraudulent, but was cancelled by Verizon within the hour that it was made.
Secondary to the issue explained above, I also have an issue in regard to my Hardware Upgrade Eligibility date.  When the fraudulent order was made my upgrade eligibility date was reset to 24 months after the order was made (05/2016). Since the order was cancelled, and the issue above should be resolved shortly, my upgrade eligibility date should be put back to the date it was at before the order (which was sometime in March of 2015, which corresponds to the date that my contract ends). If my upgrade eligibility date is not corrected, and my contract expires, I will not be staying with Verizon.
As I write this letter, I have received yet another text message informing me of my past due balance. PLEASE contact me at your earliest convenience, or forward this letter to someone who can help me resolve these issues.

Answer 1

First thing to always do is write a Certified Return Receipt letter or just copy the post you made and send it to Verizon Wireless and dispute it in writing.
Then walk down to your local court and file a small claims court case against Verizon for all the fraudulent charges. Verizon will call you before that court case and then it may be possible to get this wiped off your account.
Also file a BBB complaint http://www.bbb.org
Again Verizon will contact you to offer to settle. Get the settlement in writing not verbal. Or proceed to court.
Sorry you are going through hell for something you should never have had to go through.
Good Luck