Ouch! A $1500 Bill? Return Credits for phones not issued

Question

Seems Verizon didn't get two phones I shipped back to them, and they're going to charge me $650 for one and $450 for the other.  Regrettably I used the Verizon return labels and sent them back USPS.  Of course the tracking numbers aren't in USPS' system.
Per the first person I talked to, the $650 phone had been returned, but no credit was issued as it wasn't returned in the 14 day grace period.  I explained that the replacement was due to the $650 phone not working and the 14 day period wasn't applicable charged. (I went from the Nexus to a Razr) I was told the $450 phone was never received by Verizon.
I asked for the credit for the $650 as Verizon actually received it and the switched was authorized be Verizon.  I was told I had to speak to a supervisor to get the credit.
But when I went to the supervisor I was told that the $650 charge was for the Nexus phone not being returned and the first person had been wrong.  I guess the records somehow changed.  She indicated she would initiate another investigation to try and find the Nexus phone so I get to wait on that one.
So after 2 hours on the phone there was at least a little good news:  The $450 phone, despite never having been returned according to Verizon, was now magically active on another Verizon Customer's account.  So the supervisor launched an investigation into that situation, and I'm hoping to at least get that credit on the next bill.
So I'm asking the USPS to see if they can find a box laying around someplace in one of their post offices that should actually be delivered to Verizon.  But I'll probably turn blue before they find it, but wait, if a phone can magically get on another person's account despite not having been received by Verizon, then there is still hope for this one!

Answer 1

Well I feel your pain and it appears that I am experiencing a similar situation:
My son's droid started acting up so we had him contact Cust Service and arrange for a replacement; he did everything right but Verizon sent him a Samsung instead of a Droid, so he contacted them and told them the error, they said no problem and told him they would rectify it, they did, they sent him a replacement droid with instructions to send the two phones back. He did this and saved the shipping receipts, did I say he was a smart kid?
When we received the bill with the add'l $460 for phones shipped on it, my husband contacted Verizon and told them of the situation and the cust serv rep said no problem, I'll contact the warehouse and have them verify receipt and then remove the fees. This was 6 weeks ago!!
When I went to pay the reg monthly bill 2 weeks ago, the large amount was still on there and so I mentioned it and my husband said not to worry, probably just a glitch... he's so trusting!
Today two things happened, my husband received an email saying our account was in serious delinquency (due to the $460) and he called to see about an upgrade to my current phone which is on the downhill turn. They told him our account was on hold due to the delinquency and so he started working with them and a Cust Serv rep named Andrea mentioned that she saw that they had made an error and when the warehouse had verified receipt of the two phones the original cust serv rep had neglected to note that and remove the fees.... she said she'd open a ticket and they'd take care of it in 2 days.... meanwhile I can't get a new phone, etc etc... we find this very unacceptable so I call back and ask to speak to a supervisor... and after first speaking to another cust serv agent who says he has spoken to a supervisor, I finally say nope, not okay, I want to speak to the supervisor.
This call takes me 45 minutes.... great cust service! and when I finally speak to a supervisor, he says there is nothing they can do except wait for the warehouse once again to confirm that they received the said phones 6 weeks ago; he sees the notes on the account, but he is powerless to do anything... Really? Really? OMG.... he apologizes which is useless, says he will note the account so that financial services doesn't term the account, and really his (Parrish BTW is his name) attitude is they can't do a thing but wait til Sunday til we hopefully hear back from the warehouse. I asked to speak to someone above him and he tells me that there is no one above him... he is the manager on duty and there is no one else higher than him... really, like maybe a VP of customer service, which there is but this person must live in an ivory tower and not be allowed any customer contact... that might actually open his eyes to Verizon's horrible customer service behaviors.
I used to have ATT and loved them but switched as my husband had Verizon and my company offers a discount to use Verizon... so I caved and almost every 2-3 months, I have to interact with powerless customer service people who spout empty statements of "no problem" or "I understand your concern" or "I am sorry but there is nothing we can do"; how about, "yes ma'am, I see the notes, and I am very sorry for the error we made and I will take care of it right now."
Does no one at Verizon own their mistakes and seek to rectify it for the customer who is paying their wages?
I know no one from Verizon cares or will read these blogs but they sure should; they should empower their employees and fire or counsel the ones who cause these kind of issues for their customers!
Sigh.... time to go grab a drink and wait two days for some one from Verizon to maybe call me back and hope my cell doesn't break completely between now and then.... Buttheads! LOL!