Poor customer service with resolving billing issue

Question

I ported 3 numbers from my AT&T account to Verizon in the Hudson Valley Mall, Kingston , NY. Matt << last name removed to comply with Verizon Wireless Terms of Service >> who is the stores manager and an excellent sales person encouraged us to each get the new iPhone 6. We also got a hotspot and tablet on the same day. He made a big deal about how there were no activation fees, there were mail in rebates and line credits for bringing our lines over on 12/22/14 as I had mentioned that being so close to Christmas I was anxious not to overspend. He wrote down what our bill would be monthly for 3 iPhones, 1 hotspot and 10GB of data inclusive of tax @$172 prior to my signing up. We subsequently added the tablet since he "introduced" it to my 4 year old daughter while we were signing up as being "free if you get it today with mail in rebate" that was going to add an additional $10/month and $11/month for one line with insurance. That brings the bill to roughly $198 - allowing for an additional $5 for tax on those items.
When I received my first bill there was $70 worth of activation fees and my monthly bill is significantly more than what was marked down for us. I am, what I consider a savvy consumer and asked all of the right questions before committing to your service. I imagined the activation fees were merely an oversight since there had been insurance placed on 2 lines instead of one also. I called customer service to remove the charges erroneously placed on my bill. The agent was happy to remove the insurance but advised me that she'd need to talk to Matt at the store before making further adjustments. (That seemed odd to me, that a company deals with an account on a case by case basis?)I was confident that that would not be a problem as I was certain it was simply an error but the call I received the following day was that the charges could not be removed since activations fees applied to the tablet and hotspot. This was NEVER communicated to me, in fact, it was a selling point that there were none. I did not misunderstand this. I was told by the agent that Matt said if I had any questions or comments that I could address him directly. I sent him a message immediately to which I got no reply and I visited the store and he was miraculously not there.
I am a brand new customer and am disgusted with the treatment or lack of it, I should say, that I have received. The customer service department is based on passing the buck and leads only to dead ends. Resolving this issue seems of little or no importance to you.
Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

Answer 1

If the activation fees were on your first bill, you did NOT go to a Verizon store. Verizon stores charge activation fees at the point of sale, not on your first bill. 3rd party retailers are not able to charge activation fees at the point of sale, but are instead added to your first bill. Since you did not pay the activation fees at the point of sale, but instead on your first bill, the store was a 3rd party retailer, premium retailer, etc...
Additionally, while Verizon occasionally waives activation fees they are ALWAYS charged initially, and then refunded within the 1st 2-3 billing cycles. They are NEVER not initially charged but refunded after the fact.
Finally, pointing out that Verizon took the time to edit your post but not address your situation is similar to saying that a hospital took the time to clean your room when a janitor does so, but did not take the time to perform your surgery as a surgeon and janitor have completely different roles for the company, just as a forum moderator and CS agent have at Verizon. One does not perform the tasks assigned to the other, nor do they necessarily even have the knowledge or authority to do so.