VERIZON MAKES LIFE MORE DIFFICULT

It is impossible for me to assume Verizon is doing what they do to make only my life difficult. There must be many out in Verizon-land who feel as misinformed and as mistreated by the company as I do. Having spent two hours which could far better have been spent at this time in my life, just trying to get the bill explained and reconcile what they did to charge me with what I had been told would happen, I was then transferred to Tech Support who must have felt as the President's Press secretary has often felt. I find that all Verizon employees must be trained to be sympathetic, listen to your complaints, and then fall back on their powerlessness to do anything for you.

The salesman had told me that I would receive 3 months of HBO free but if I did not want to continue, I must be careful to call before the three months were up, to cancel. I was warned that I would be billed monthly but when I canceled I would be credited for whatever I had paid. The last bill listed, on page 1, Adjustments -51.99 (see page 3) Since I was being given a credit I didn't immediately call to find out what it was for. Remiss as I was, I didn't even look on page 3 which only said "Miscellaneous Adjustments". Since I was assured that I would have HBO for three months without charge, I did not make the connection. However, the very kind and sympathetic Customer Service lady ( powerless to do anything but explain how I was continuing with the bait and switch, though she never called it that) was patient and explained that I had been reimbursed in advance of the three months and would therefore (since I had not canceled HBO on receipt of the money), I would have to pay for the two months I received it. I had asked to cancel it, which I doubt she would have suggested herself. So the three free months turned out to be actually not free HBO, since I canceled after having had it for only two months, both for which I had to pay.

If anyone is considering changing to Verizon FIOS from another company, be warned. On 5/17/08, Audrey from New Jersey writes her horror story on the Internet. There are others. The tag line of the company is "we never stop working for you" That is an exact statement. They never stop working to get you. It is only after they get you that they stop working for you and concentrate on how much they can bleed from your finances.

Ironically, after I finished that 2 hour phone call, 2 men in their characteristic red Verizon shirts knocked on the door to see if they could sell me on an installation date. I fear I took years off the poor boys' lives with my rant. They patiently listened and said that quite a few people had those complaints as well as others and thanked me for being pleasant about it with them! I told them it is easy to be pleasant to them because they clearly aren't in control but I thought they should know the customers' opinion and experience of the company. I added that I intended to write to the Corporate Offices with a cc to the Attorney General and proceeded to write a first draft. I will be amazed if my letters don't end up in the their circular files but I will start writing on the Internet and warning all my friends to steer clear of their tactics. Little consolation to RCN is that, had I known how I would have been treated, I would have stayed with them hwere the price was right, the service good, and the billing as described. I would go back in a heartbeat if I weren't enslaved by Verizon's two-year contract.

VERIZON FRAUDULENT SALES

There should be a 'kick me' sign on my back. Why did it never occur to me that a major company like Verizon FIOS would have had pages of complaints about their product and practices on the Internet which I could have checked had I thought of it? When my TV had a segment on the evening news about their 'bait and switch' techniques, it was already too late...I had signed a 2 year contract with them. When my neighbor told me how they cheated her out of the free HD TV they had promised her, I believed it was because she had ordered online and had no paper work while I had a salesperson go over everything carefully. After I had signed all sorts of papers I was left with one that had my signature on it and little else. She also told me about the bait and switch she had received after I had signed with Verizon.

Others have lived through the interminable phone maze, promises and lies. I made it through the first promised delivery date that never showed, and made it through the installation by a very pleasant and personable tech. It was clearly not his responsibility that FIOS had made no provision to adapt to existing peripherals like DVD recorders which require their own TV Guide to program timed recordings. After all, they offer monthly rentals that work for a gouging price.

But the major problem was a promise (apparently a verbal agreement that never made it into the final contract which was rushed in front of my eyes. The salepersons were not permitted to enter my home (by Verizon rules, they said) while I had to stand, freezing on my front porch, as we negotiated. Today. three weeks after installation, I received a letter in the mail that promised me $100. (not the $200 I had been told I would get) at Circuit City, I was given instructions to get it. Since I wanted to talk to a live Service Representative, I found a time in my day that would leave me open-ended and dialed the number listed. There, a Monica, told me that she could do nothing about my situation, she could only handle the $100 gift cards. She gave me a second number to call and I wasted another several minutes through the phone maze after speaking with the sultry voiced lady robot. The second customer service, after much holding and delay, on and off, said she could not do anything for me and would have to transfer me. I then got to speak with someone who must have teethed in the business as a debt collector. He was smooth and heartless. His name was Chase and he was probably well-named. We chased each other in circles. He first told me that in order to have received the $200 I would have had to order the 20/20 speed Internet for $10 a month extra. I said I didn't order it because I do not need a fast upload. Over and over he kept telling me that he could do nothing for me. Whatever the salesperson had said and the tech, who verified that it was written on my contract, Chase insisted he could only give it to me if I ordered the 20/20, knowing that I neither wanted nor needed it. I would have been buying my $100 in ten months for $100 and gotten a speed I didn't need nor would really use. In those 10 months, Verizon would have saved the $100 promised me and made another $100.

I asked chase if he went home with indigestion after taking many calls like mine. Chase told me he loved his job. He added that he had many people with my complaint this very day which certainly came as no surprise other that he was confirming it was a frequent scam of Verizon customers.. His tone of voice indicated that he had no problem lying to people. I told him I thought that was horrible business practice and terrible PR. He added the token, "I'm sorry" and I suggested that I seriously doubted it from his tome of voice but that I was sorry he had to lower himself to this behavior to earn a living.

I immediately wrote to my Senators and Representatives nationally and in my state. I plan to add my voice to those shouting to the wind. I still retain the hope that this country will start noting the bad business behaviors that these business are leading into monopolies. There are more emails and letters to write and many complaint boards left to rant to on the Internet....