Search This Blog

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Why I hate Verizon Wireless

I have had the month from hell with Verizon Wireless and I need to get it OFF of my CHEST! So, thank you in advance for listening to my rant or thanks for stopping by and I'll see you tomorrow with a new recipe:)

Please allow me to recap. On April 8, I drop my phone in water. I immediately go to the Verizon store in Richfield, MN to purchase another one. I find out that the backup assistance that was installed on my phone was not working and I have lost the 200+ contacts I had. 100+ are clients! I purchase two Samsung phones and the accessories. One for me and one for Claire. I change my texting plan for all three of my lines to unlimited. I have to pay for that texting plan for my third line even though that phone will never text because it is the best “deal” for my situation and all phones must be on that plan. Time spent in store, approximately 75 minutes.

I present the phone to Claire and tell her she can start texting tomorrow.

The week of April 11th, my phone randomly doesn’t work. Randomly, I can’t hear ANYthing when I make a call or receive one. I bring the phone into Verizon, they confirm the problem and they give me a new phone. Time spent in store, approximately 45 minutes.

The week of April 25th I believe it was, my phone goes INSANE. If for example you pulled up the contacts, it flipped fast and continuous and if you pushed a button, it didn’t matter, it wouldn’t stop. It was doing this in every area of the phone.
Took the phone in and they replaced it with a different brand. I lost my stored calendar information. Time spent in store, approximately 75 minutes.

Week of May 9, Claire’s phone randomly started having issues. Same as my phone, make a call, couldn’t hear anything. Random texts not going through. Took the phone in, recognized the problems because they were happening in the store. She took the phone apart and it appeared to be working. When I got home, my daughter tried it…not working properly. Again, it randomly works but not always. Time spent in store 45 minutes.

This phone is our house phone that Claire uses. This phone needs to work.

I also realize that my phone charger is not working.

May 16, I receive a bill for $350+ because when I changed over my plan to texting, the woman did not enter it correctly into the computer. I was on the phone for 45 minutes with customer service trying to get it straightened out until she told me she would call me back. Another 6 phone calls to iron out the details to get it fixed. I'm guessing it was over well over an hour and I have a HEADACHE!

Also on May 16 I bring Claire’s phone back in and tell them the problem. The customer service person tries a few things and claims that the phone is working. We walk out of the store and the phone does not work. I walk back into the store and show them that it is not working. The customer service person tries several things and has to admit that the phone is broken. She’ll order another one, it will be here in 3 days. I told her that was unacceptable. That it was our house phone and you can’t even call 911 should you need to.

“Sorry, policy is after 14 days the phone has to be ordered”.

I ask to speak to the manager.

I tell the manager everything that I’ve typed out here. I further explain that this phone is not just a phone, it is my daughter’s safety line to the outside world if she is home alone. I state policies should have some leeway in cases such as this. He states there is nothing he can do. I am told that I need to come back into the store to have the phone activated when it arrives. I stormed out of the store. Time spent in store, 60 minutes.

I call customer service immediately after leaving the store to simply put on record what a crap system I think Verizon has in place and that clearly they are NOT family friendly. The customer service agent apologizes and says he needs to do some checking. I am put on hold. He comes back and tells me that since the phone is already ordered there is nothing he can do, I should have it on Wednesday. Already ordered, that was exactly 5 minutes ago! It can't be cancelled? Nope, sorry. To be fair, I think he really was. First person I've talked to at Verizon that didn't sound like a robot!

So, two-three days I have to wait because Verizon would not replace a DEFECTIVE phone that is just a month old and barely used. A phone that I brought in at just over the 14 day period and was told they “fixed”. A useless phone that I get to pay the fees for 3 days when it can’t be used!

I am so completely disgusted by Verizon and their inability to adjust policies when safety of a child is at stake. To add insult to injury, I cannot cancel my phones because I would pay $600 in early termination fees. Perhaps that is why Verizon doesn’t care, they don’t have to because they know I can’t afford to leave!

Verizon received a copy of this message...wonder if I'll hear back??

No comments: