What is wrong with Verizon?

Question

I'm having a terrible experience with Verizon, and being a 20-year customer, I am pretty ticked. We renewed my wife's phone a few months ago, and the rep at the Verizon Store told us we had to change our plan from the unlimited data plan to a limited plan. Fine. She then spent AN HOUR doing something in the computer while we tried to keep our 18-month old daughter entertained.  She eventually summed up the changes by saying we'd be saving $20/month and the new plan came with free Jet Pack service.  I didn't ask for the Jet Pack, and I have no need for it.  But it was apparently free, so she threw it in the bag, and we went home.
Three months, a couple hours of support calls, a second visit to the Verizon Store, and hundreds of dollars in fees later, a 611 rep finally told me the Jet Pack service wasn't free—in fact, it came with its own contract at $50/month and $175 early termination fee.  The Verizon Store rep said "people had been fired" over this type of deception (but said he couldn't do anything about my situation), and the 611 rep acknowledged deceptive Jet Packs sales had been a problem.  Fortunately, she was sympathetic and said she'd cancel that contract and refund that month's charges.  I still ended up wasting a bunch of time and paying extra fees that I'll never get back, but I thought the hassle was over.
Then today I get an email stating there was a new document in my account.  I logged on to find a service summary document that STILL shows the Jet Pack on my account, albeit at $20/month now.
I cannot express in words how angry this makes me.  But I'm sure going to try when I make YET ANOTHER call to your worthless call center tomorrow.
>>Profanity removed<<
Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

Answer 1

My first bill was a month after visiting the Verizon Store, and it was for $100 more than my usual bill.  I called 611, and the rep told me it was partly because of upgrade fees, but failed to explain why it was $100 higher than normal.
The next month, it was $60 higher than normal, so I called again.  This time the rep told me it was because of the Jet Pack service plan.  I told her the Verizon Store salesperson told us the Jet Pack came free with the switch to the new limited data plan.  She said the device was free, but the 2-year contract was $50/month, and I'd need to visit the store to see about returning it.
That's when I discovered the deception.  The store salesperson told us the Jet Pack was free.  I did not ask for a Jet Pack. I didn't even know what one was.  The salesperson lied to us, plain and simple.  And without getting the bill until 30 days later, your 14-day trial is meaningless.
So I went back to the Verizon Store.  The manager said acknowledged the deception, and said "some employees have been fired over this."  But, not surprisingly, he "didn't have access to the system" to remove the Jet Pack from my account and instructed me to call 611 (again).
So I made a THIRD call to 611, and the rep immediately acknowledged the issue, but said she needed her supervisor's permission to remove the Jet Pack.  Because her supervisor wasn't there on the weekend, she said she'd call me on Monday.  I never received a call.
Later, I received an email showing a ~$50 refund to my account, which I assumed to be the monthly fees for the Jet Pack and considered the matter resolved.  Then I got an email referencing a new "letter" on My Verizon, which showed the Jet Pack was still on the account, albeit reduced to $20/month and 2GB.  I just received my Verizon bill, and it shows a $20 fee for the Jet Pack.
The bottom line is Verizon tricked us into a 2-year contract for something we never asked for and to this day have NEVER used.  Two of your representatives have acknowledged it, one said she'd fix it, and yet I'm still being overcharged.  And now you're suggesting I transfer it to a family member?  This is a huge insult.
If you were serious about providing customer support, you would refund every penny I've been overcharged for the Jet Pack I never wanted and have never used.  And you'd probably offer me some sort of compensation for the hours of frustration I've spent trying to resolve this.