Phone service nightmare

[#@!!* 0]

Sorry to hear about your Verizon experience. What a nightmare.

I too, recommend getting in contact with people above the basic customer service level. I'd be more inclined to bulk email some of their heavyheads like the head of PR, head of Media Relations, CEO, CFO, VP, etc. and explain your situation, how were given incorrect information, etc. I've had to do that with Best Buy, Home Depot, various airlines including American Airlines, etc. They problem is always resolved. The basic customer service might give you just some pat answer but hopefully one of the others else will pass the mail along to the correct person who will help you out.

I've had Verizon long distance for several years now and they keep raising their rates on me and made a change in their plan by not subtracting my monthly fee from the total bill if I make more than $X in calls per month. I still keep them around for when my fiance is here, but now use one of the 1010 numbers the rates are a lot better but they do charge a connection fee.

Good luck.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Verizon does have an international call package to the Philippines...but the only one i tried was for VerizonWireless cell phone. it was .18/min. to call a landline in the Philippines versus $1.48/min. if you did not sign up for the international call package.

i've been a Verizon customer for years (landline, cellphone and DSL) and i've always had great customer service with them. when my calling card went missing and was used to make long distance call...not originating from my home... i owed $2000+ for calls i didn't make. they just did a quick investigation (make sure if wasn't coming from me...) and they did a write-off. i hope it will go as smoothly with yours.

Thanks. It's reassuring to know that they were willing to do that for you.

Sorry to hear about your Verizon experience. What a nightmare.

I too, recommend getting in contact with people above the basic customer service level. I'd be more inclined to bulk email some of their heavyheads like the head of PR, head of Media Relations, CEO, CFO, VP, etc. and explain your situation, how were given incorrect information, etc. I've had to do that with Best Buy, Home Depot, various airlines including American Airlines, etc. They problem is always resolved. The basic customer service might give you just some pat answer but hopefully one of the others else will pass the mail along to the correct person who will help you out.

I've had Verizon long distance for several years now and they keep raising their rates on me and made a change in their plan by not subtracting my monthly fee from the total bill if I make more than $X in calls per month. I still keep them around for when my fiance is here, but now use one of the 1010 numbers the rates are a lot better but they do charge a connection fee.

Good luck.

I'll do that for sure. I need to put together a concise letter explaining clearly what happen.

[Aussielad 37]

well...easiest thing to do is go get a calling card,....thats cheaper than anything.

same thing happened to us with Sprint....they overcharged us a TON...and we hardly even used the phone....what wankas!

[Fandango 1,439]

I recently switched my local phone service to Verizon with unlimited long distance (within the U.S.). After work on Friday night was the first time I could use the service and I went online to check the specific international charge to the Philippines - .16 per minute. I called the operator since it was after normal business hours and asked her if I need to sign up for anything additional to get that rate and she said 'no'. Yesterday, after work I tried to make a call and it said my long distance service was temporarily disabled. I had to call billing this morning and they've told me that since I didn't sign up for their international plan ($4 a month) each call I made to the Philippines was $4.88 per minute!! I said, "What a minute. I was told that I was getting it at .16 per minute." Billing tells me that the operator has no knowledge of the plans or rates to which I said, "Then they're giving out false information!"

At this point they won't confirm or deny if they'll re-rate me at the .16 per minute until my first bill is printed. I'm guessing I have at least 4 hours of calls already which at least $1,000!!! vs. about $50!! I'm about to bust an artery, I'm so friggin pist!!!

Anybody know what kind of legal options I have if they refuse to rectify the bill? No way am I paying the higher rate for those calls!!!

Here's my rule of thumb for dealing with customer service: never accept a no from someone not authorized to give you a yes in the first place. Go as high up as you can until someone will help you.

Did you write down with whom you spoke? Whenever I call any customer care lines, I write down the name and the id # of who I spoke with...so I can say 'on Wed 8/16 at 2pm I spoke with Julie id#dfas32542. It's a good way to at least have some traceability.

[ChristinaM 0]

ARGH VERIZON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to work in conjunction with them from time to time, and they pee me off no end. They do things like dmarc lines in the wrong building and refuse to move them.

I wish you luck, sir.

[*Robert* 2]

Sorry to hear about your problem Steven. I hope you get it rectified. If not, you've already been given some good suggestions as to what to do.

PS - I HATE phone companies!!! It may not be the cheapest, but I've been using PINGO for a couple of years for my international calls...

[GaryC 7]

I had a similar thing happen to me once. Long ago I had a ISDN line. The way it works is you have 2 digital phone lines. One can be used for internet and the other for phone calls or you can combine the two to get twice the speed on the internet. My modem messed up one day and started dialing on line 2 trying to connect with my ISP. It would redial every 5 seconds! At that time ILBELL charged $.05 for each local call. My modem did this for a month straight. Can you imagine my surprise when my phone bill arrived. My first clue was the bill was delivered in a box!!!!! Hundreds of pages with 5 sec calls over and over again to the same number!!! My bill was over $3000 dollars!! I called the phone company and tried to explain what happened. At first they said tough sh!t but after a while they agreed to reduce the bill to $500 and forgive the rest. I finally talked them down to $100 but they said after that I would not get any more erroneous bills forgiven.

Steven, if your woman has a DSL or cable available in her area I suggest sending her a vonage phone system. I have that for Luz. Not only do we get to chat with cam's and mic's but she now has a local phone number in her house. I can call her and she can call me and we can talk as much as we want. The DLS only cost's me $40/month and her Vonage costs me $15/month. That is WAY less than the phone cards and international plans I used to have with the added plus of being able to video chat from her home (think about that! ) and being able to pick up the phone any time I want and just talk as much as I want.

Works great for me!!!

[Laura_and_IanM 0]

I recently switched my local phone service to Verizon with unlimited long distance (within the U.S.). After work on Friday night was the first time I could use the service and I went online to check the specific international charge to the Philippines - .16 per minute. I called the operator since it was after normal business hours and asked her if I need to sign up for anything additional to get that rate and she said 'no'. Yesterday, after work I tried to make a call and it said my long distance service was temporarily disabled. I had to call billing this morning and they've told me that since I didn't sign up for their international plan ($4 a month) each call I made to the Philippines was $4.88 per minute!! I said, "What a minute. I was told that I was getting it at .16 per minute." Billing tells me that the operator has no knowledge of the plans or rates to which I said, "Then they're giving out false information!"

At this point they won't confirm or deny if they'll re-rate me at the .16 per minute until my first bill is printed. I'm guessing I have at least 4 hours of calls already which at least $1,000!!! vs. about $50!! I'm about to bust an artery, I'm so friggin pist!!!

Anybody know what kind of legal options I have if they refuse to rectify the bill? No way am I paying the higher rate for those calls!!!

Steven, I only just read this thread and have yet to read the responses. My mother use to work for Verizon before she retired after 34 years of service with the phone company. When you call them or even when they call you, ALL calls are recorded. If someone did indeed tell you that it would only be 16 cents per minute, then by law, Verizon is the one that is responsible for this and should take the charges off--COMPLETELY! If they try to back out of it, then say "See you in court" because they will have to provide the recorded phone call. I can almost guarantee that they will not want to incrue the cost of going to court etc, etc...versus removing lets say the bill is "$1,000" dollars.

Hope this helps

LJ