A seeming small change by Verizon causes major monetary and unrecovera​ble damages

Question

A seeming small change by Verizon causes major monetary and unrecoverable damages
Back, I think in March or so, Verizon changed how they bill. Prior to this time frame my elderly mom paid the phone bill and I paid the DSL bill. The DSL bill came on my name and I paid by credit card and the phone bill came under her name and she paid by direct debit. She will not use a computer.
So, they make both bills on her name and won't change it. They did, however, allow the payment from my credit card.
The first unfortunate consequence was the internet speed suddenly dropped in speed by a factor of 2 to 1.5/364 and it did take me probably a month to notice it. NO ONE that I called was able to find the problem. It took multiple attempts until some bright “call in technician” said the problem is on their end and could be fixed in software. Thus, I believe, because of the name change, the provision changed too. The phone line crapped out too at this time.
The troubleshooting was stupid too. I took another modem and connected it directly to the NID and directly to the laptop and the technician on the phone said, it's either in your house or your modem and wanted to send me a new modem which they did. I don' get it. This is the wrong conclusion.
This shows the need of modems like Westell 2200 and the Westell 6100 because of the ability to measure line statistics and provisioned data rates.
Verizon sent me a D-link model DSL-2750B modem which I have to return because its just plain old stupid. It boasts Wireless n and the wired ports are 10/100. What's up with that? Next, there are no line stats and a horrible interface, akin to Verizon's website. Still can't figure out how to put it in Bridge mode. I own a D-link repeater and the interface is fine.
I asked them what modem they would send me and they would not tell me, so I got whatever piece of junk they had lying around.
I have now purchased a Network RAID array with no wireless access and with ~400 mb/s access rates. Yep, really stupid router.
Because of the number of outages, I have to be able to quickly switch from a bridge connected modem, Westel 6100) to one that is connected in direct mode, a Westell 2200 It's almost easy, but not quite, since the equipment is up in the rafters in the laundry room. The DSL cable is commercial terminated CAT5, which is rare. The modem is within 6' of the NID.
Plans include, the ability to switch the DSL line with a switch with positions for Modem #1 (Bridge), Modem #2(Wired), #3(RJ11 – Normal wiring) and #4: RJ-11 (Reverse wiring) and moving the direct connect jack for easy access. In any event, testing with the DSL modem at the NID is the gold standard.
In progress, is a 48 port Gigabit patch panel for phone and Ethernet, A separate 24 port RED patch panel will be bridged for phone.
I have already upgraded my network infrastructure to include a UPS for the network infrastructure and POE (Power over Ethernet) for the DSL modem. The UPS backup does not backup a repeater although it may in the future.
Now, let's go back to this seeming innocuous billing change.
So, this constant having to access the modem in the alternate configuration and a medical condition (migraines) that makes it hard to think clearly. So, in one of these episodes, I placed my laptop on top a container that was soaking laundry.
So, the LCD screen has to be replaced at $300 and the battery had to be replaced. Then the Ethernet cord to the modem got pulled and caused the laptop to fall on the floor. It worked for a few weeks and then suffered an UNRECOVERABE hard drive crash.
During this time frame, in fact over a 2 day period. My mom ended up in the hospital and to a rehab facility. My car ended up staying in the shop for a few days because of parts unavailability. My hard drive crashed and their was water in the basement. I don't have time for this.
Recovery would have cost $2004.00, if it were possible. I only have a drive image from 2011 which I have yet to try to use. I' now running UBUNTU Live rather than Windows 7 Pro. Some of the very important stuff was backed up on Flash, but a lot of stuff is gone forever.
Plans are to contact the billing office and the attorney general's office in the state where billing questions need to be resolved.
The last outage, fixed on July 27, was flagged as a phone outage by Verizon, when 18 routers supposedly died. 18 routers suspiciously means that they they were not adequately protected against surges. Verizon should look at the way DelMarVa Power reports outages: see: Delmarva,  Put the usual World Wide Web Prefix and the COMercial domain suffix
For god's sake, quit making the website circular. I though Yahoo was the expert in that. I never visit Verizon's website unless there are problems. I mistaking thought I could find outage information, say using my phone's browser. This time I had to purchase service from CLEAR internet to ride me through this fix.
I know, you can't fix stupid and you can always find a better idiot. Comcast is looking more attractive.
Compensation of or my loss I will probably never get, but maybe with the help of the attorney general I can get the billing fixed. I do have power of attorney. Now, of course, the name the Verizon Website addresses me as is not right on this forum.
All, basically because of Verizon's unreliable network, incompetent people and the lack of maintenance of copper lines. The problem is, “We have little choice”. Currently, we need traditional land-line service to support an Emergency Response system. It's unclear whether digital phone lines support Faxes and alarm monitoring reliably.
I'll bet that there is NO WAY to tell Verizon if a service address as special needs like Emergency Medical reporting via phone or Internet, so that priorities for repair can be done properly. Utilities have that capability. Those ares with people with oxygen generators or other medical equipment get a higher priority,

Answer 1

That should not be happening.  I sympathize with both of you (you and the the person who strated this thread).  That sounds like the reason I would never want Dish. 
I am fortunate that my service with Verizon Fios has been very reliable and that I haven't had too many issues over the years.  But don't get me started on Verizon Wireless.  I am through with doing any more business with them once my cell phone minutes run out.  I love it when they say they have done everything the could to investigate such a simple issue with running my debit card transaction wrong and blaming it on my bank, i.e. running it through as a "debit" when I choose "credit" all of a sudden now  two times in a row after 4 years of doing it right as "credit".  And now they consider the issue closed on their end when nothing has been resolved.  That's no way to treat a long time customer and I really felt treated like I was a bother to them.  It's not like I ever paid them much money for this pre-paid cell phone service that I have used infrequently but I was really mad at the way they just wrote this off and pretty much told me "too bad".  Talk about "customer non-service".  It's also very hard to track the number of minutes left on my balance.  I'm due for an upgrade anyway.  I want to switch to the I-Phone from this flip phone but never again with Verizon Wireless.  T-Mobile is way more attractive.  Verizon  Wireless is not only an entity separatedfrom Fios but it's definitely a much different animal and their customer service has really gone downhill.  When you're treated like they don't care, it's maddening.
My customer service experience with Fios overall has been far superior to that most of the time.  My setup is simple and even though there are some people who will inevitably complain about anything just to vent, I definitely believe at least some of what is posted here.  And switching TV, phone, and Internet providers is a lot more involved than switching a cell phone provider.