Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)
I'm about 16 months into my 24-month contract with Verizon Wireless.
I will say, their actual wireless service is terrific. I get great
reception with my Nokia 3589i. The calls are clear, rarely do they
drop, and I get service virtually everywhere I go, even outside of
major cities. It seems far superior to the AT&T TDMA service I
dropped when I switched.
But Customer Service has been very uneven. Sometimes I get a good,
professional CS agent, but too often I get an uncooperative,
borderline unprofessional agent. Last month, for example, I called to
complain about a Get-It-Now charge ($2.99) that had come about
apparently because my Nokia phone was unlocked in my pocket (I am
religious about locking it, but now and then I forget). She insisted
that it could not have been ordered by accident (impossible! she
said) even though I certainly did not order it and no one else did.
She was condescending and not helpful, saying she would take off the
charge "this time" but that they wouldn't in the future.
(Not the first time I've had this kind of call with Verizon CS.)
A few days later I tried to pay my bill online. The website was
unable to process my CC payment, suggesting I call some 1-800 number,
which I didn't feel like dropping everything to do at that moment. I
forgot to call or try to pay again, and this month I got dinged with a
$5 late charge - PLUS the snippy agent from last month didn't remove
my $2.99 charge as she promised!
I tried to pay my bill online again and it refused to accept my credit
card, saying the address didn't match the one in their database. So I
called CS again. (I changed my mailing address about six weeks ago
with Verizon and everyone else.) This time I got a helpful guy who
was professional and almost cheerful. He tried to run through my
credit card again but he too could not get it to process. I gave him
the address on my Verizon bill, and he said American Express disputed
the address - despite the fact that my AMEX address was identical to
my Verizon address on both bills, despite the fact that I'd used this
same card for months to pay my Verizon bill before the address change.
He told me I had to call American Express to clear it up. I had to
use a different credit card. (Other vendors accept my Amex card no
problem since the address change.)
The guy did take off the $5 late charge and the $2.99 fee from last
month, and he didn't even argue about it, so I give him points for
that.
Then I tried to send feedback to Verizon Wireless from their website,
after logging into my account. It gave me one of those "contact us"
forms and wanted my username and password (or last-4-SSN) even though
I was already logged into my Verizon account (requiring my PIN). I
gave them my PIN again and typed my message. About two hours after I
sent it, I got a bounce saying my password didn't match and Verizon
refused to accept my message! Of course, I didn't have a copy of what
I had typed and it was all gone. Never mind - no point in bothering
again.
So the question is, do I wait until December when my contract is up to
switch providers or do I incur the $175 ETF fee now? Petty as it
seems, I'm fed up with the nuisance of dealing with Verizon. AT&T had
poor cell service when I left, but their customer service was light
years better than these people (and their website worked well whenever
I used it). I'm tempted to pay the $175 to leave and try T-Mobile
(where I would save $10/month with a similiar wireless plan, because I
already subscribe to T-Mobile Hotspot), so in effect it would cost me
only $115 to leave now. I'd almost rather pay $175 than giving $240+
more to these people for six more months of service. I know T-Mobile
service isn't as good as Verizon's (not sure I care at this point),
but I hear their CS is terrific.
Andrew
--
----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
*******************************************************************
----> http://www.bizave.com <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
*******************************************************************
I'm about 16 months into my 24-month contract with Verizon Wireless.
I will say, their actual wireless service is terrific. I get great
reception with my Nokia 3589i. The calls are clear, rarely do they
drop, and I get service virtually everywhere I go, even outside of
major cities. It seems far superior to the AT&T TDMA service I
dropped when I switched.
But Customer Service has been very uneven. Sometimes I get a good,
professional CS agent, but too often I get an uncooperative,
borderline unprofessional agent. Last month, for example, I called to
complain about a Get-It-Now charge ($2.99) that had come about
apparently because my Nokia phone was unlocked in my pocket (I am
religious about locking it, but now and then I forget). She insisted
that it could not have been ordered by accident (impossible! she
said) even though I certainly did not order it and no one else did.
She was condescending and not helpful, saying she would take off the
charge "this time" but that they wouldn't in the future.
(Not the first time I've had this kind of call with Verizon CS.)
A few days later I tried to pay my bill online. The website was
unable to process my CC payment, suggesting I call some 1-800 number,
which I didn't feel like dropping everything to do at that moment. I
forgot to call or try to pay again, and this month I got dinged with a
$5 late charge - PLUS the snippy agent from last month didn't remove
my $2.99 charge as she promised!
I tried to pay my bill online again and it refused to accept my credit
card, saying the address didn't match the one in their database. So I
called CS again. (I changed my mailing address about six weeks ago
with Verizon and everyone else.) This time I got a helpful guy who
was professional and almost cheerful. He tried to run through my
credit card again but he too could not get it to process. I gave him
the address on my Verizon bill, and he said American Express disputed
the address - despite the fact that my AMEX address was identical to
my Verizon address on both bills, despite the fact that I'd used this
same card for months to pay my Verizon bill before the address change.
He told me I had to call American Express to clear it up. I had to
use a different credit card. (Other vendors accept my Amex card no
problem since the address change.)
The guy did take off the $5 late charge and the $2.99 fee from last
month, and he didn't even argue about it, so I give him points for
that.
Then I tried to send feedback to Verizon Wireless from their website,
after logging into my account. It gave me one of those "contact us"
forms and wanted my username and password (or last-4-SSN) even though
I was already logged into my Verizon account (requiring my PIN). I
gave them my PIN again and typed my message. About two hours after I
sent it, I got a bounce saying my password didn't match and Verizon
refused to accept my message! Of course, I didn't have a copy of what
I had typed and it was all gone. Never mind - no point in bothering
again.
So the question is, do I wait until December when my contract is up to
switch providers or do I incur the $175 ETF fee now? Petty as it
seems, I'm fed up with the nuisance of dealing with Verizon. AT&T had
poor cell service when I left, but their customer service was light
years better than these people (and their website worked well whenever
I used it). I'm tempted to pay the $175 to leave and try T-Mobile
(where I would save $10/month with a similiar wireless plan, because I
already subscribe to T-Mobile Hotspot), so in effect it would cost me
only $115 to leave now. I'd almost rather pay $175 than giving $240+
more to these people for six more months of service. I know T-Mobile
service isn't as good as Verizon's (not sure I care at this point),
but I hear their CS is terrific.
Andrew
--
----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
*******************************************************************
----> http://www.bizave.com <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
*******************************************************************
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