Goodbye Verizon of 10+ years! (switch if you can!)

Question

Verizon Wireless in my opinion has always been the best carrier in all aspects. Their plans have always been a little pricier however I've never had reception problems and customer service has always been amazing. Times have obviously changed! I'm not sure where these "customer service reps" or their supervisors got their training or received any training at all. In a shorter summary here is what happened. My wife and I knew we were going to go over our minutes in the middle of the month, we were advised to upgrade our plan online so we would only have had to pay the difference between the 2 plans which was about 20 dollars for a grand total of about $140. We switched plans online and later received our bill which was around $380.00! I immediately called customer service and they told me I didn't select the right plan online however they did see when I switched and it was before I went over on minutes. The rep then told me there is nothing she could do. I wanted to speak to her manager and she said for what reason? I couldn't believe this but I hung up and called back to speak to another rep and asked for his supervisor and he said there has to be a good enough reason for him to talk to me! At this point I'm thinking to myself holy S***! I've been paying these clowns 100+ dollars a month for over 10 years and this is the treatment I get?! Eventually I emailed corporate, the regional president Greg Haller which surprise- surprise was unable to call or email me back and got another supervisor to call me to resolve my issue. She basically told me that she would pay 50% of the overage charge only and it's my fault I selected the wrong option online and I should have picked the rollback plan option, the 3rd option. I was very confused about that, so I went online with her on the phone and acted like I was going to switch my account again to see what other options there were. There are only 2! The one I picked was Apply these changes as of today and the other was Apply these changes on your next billing cycle. The supervisor then told me that there should be another one and she didn't believe me there wasn't another option and said well you should have called in and we could have done it for you. I offered to email over a 'print screen shot' of what it says and I also asked how should have I known to call if it doesn't say anything and why would I have switched my plan "as of today" on your website if I knew I was about to go over my minutes! makes no sense! She said she would pay 50% off the overage fee only. I advised her that she was going to lose a customer of over 10 years if the fee wasn't completely removed. She said sorry to hear you want to switch providers but just so you know there is a $168 early termination fee!---- I couldn't believe it!!!---, I hope Verizon wireless goes down-hill from here, I'm selling the little stock I do own of theirs and will never again recommend these guys to anyone. My entire family has service with these guys and I will be working hard to get them to cancel. From a business perspective it's unheard of to lose a customer over $200 (especially since it's not my fault) when I'm paying them over $1500 a year plus phones and accessories for the rest of my life! Nice job on that decision!! My bill is paid and when September rolls around ADIOS!!

Answer 1

Hi,
Check out the discussion 'Goodbye Verizon of 10+ years! (switch if you can!)' in Verizon Wireless Community.
I have had almost identical, dare I say worse customer service with a similar incident beginning back in December and continuing for months after.  There have been so many conversations with customer service and promises that supervisors would return calls and didn't it is beyond me.  I was calling regarding a signal issue back in December and no one (after 12 years of never having major overages on my account) bothered to tell me during my several phone calls about a lack of signal and my $200 signall extender not working that I was incurring overages on my account until (ironically) the fourth phone call in which these overages were brought to my attention at a time it was "too late" to retro-act the plan.  I had opted for the unlimited plan, but apparently it never went through. 
After months of dealing with horrible customer service reps and charges to my debit card from Verizon after I had cancelled and paid with another method, I most recently had my service shut off with Verizon when I arrived in Hawaii.  When I called customer service to ask why, Verizon said I hadn't paid my bill since April.  Funny, because my bank account shows a $337 payment processed in May that Verizon suddenly has no record of. 
As usual, Verizon left it in my hands to correct their mistake while on my vacation with no apology from them.  I stopped at the airport and downloaded my bank statement with proof of payment and emailed the information to the email address Verizon provided.  I did this btw, from my husband's ATT phone, because Verizon refused to turn my service on for 24 hours so I could provide them the info. showing their major error or check into my hotel or get my rental car using the info. that I needed to access via my phone.  Hours later, my service still had not been turned on and when I called back, customer service provided no apology for my major inconvenience, no record of the bank statement and payment submitted AGAIN, and continued to insist I spend more time correcting their mistake on my vacation without access to my phone that I paid for, as I have for the past 12 years consistently.  Here it is a week later, I still have bank documentation that the payment processed, not to mention the additional $370 I spent the very next day in store for a new phone since they refused to fix the broken Blackberry they sent me, and Verizon still claims I have not paid them and they cannot find the documentation I keep sending.  UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!!!
-- Amelia C << Full name edited to comply with Verizon Wireless Terms of Service >>
Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator