I was a customer of Verizon for 4 years, using their basic home phone service & their high-speed DSL. When I needed to move around April 2008, I contacted them 4 weeks in advance, ordering my phone service to be moved. The apartment I was moving into was in a building right across from the building where the old service had been installed, which is to say, it should have been very easy to complete this job.

So when I ordered the transfer of the service over the phone, the agent at the other end assured me she had everything down & the service would be working at the new residence by a certain date.

We moved to our new apartment, but there was no sign of any life in the phone service. My husband & I incessantly called up their customer service number, at times holding for 45 minutes ( has anyone noticed too that for such a huge utility company, their customer service department works only 8AM-6PM MOn-Fri). At one time, the rep at the other end explained that the delay was because they had transferred the line to another address in another STATE!! So while Verizon bumbled their way through their own mess, our small home-based business suffered as now we had no access to phone or internet.

After 3 weeks of this, I called them up to cancel the service. After a month of cancellation, I got an invoice from them for the phone service. Again I called them up & informed them that the service was canceled due to their ineptness. The rep at the other end told me to ignore the bill as the account had been closed. This was in Jun-July of 2008.

In Sept 2008, I got a bill from a third-party collection agency demanding $99 towards Verizon phone charges. Again I spent 2 days pursuing Verizon. I was transferred from one ignorant fool to another, each one taking me on a different spin. The final two agents at the other end then turned aggressive on me, stating these charges were due, & I had to pay them up.

I then realized that Verizon to cover their sloppy work methods & ethics, simply does not leave a paper trail. You just HAVE to call them up to resolve anything, & of course, there is no trail left there.

I would now like to not only dispute the charge, but I would like to file a counter-charge against Verizon for harassment & the loss to my business for over 4 weeks from their inability to provide phone & consequently internet service.

Back in August I called Verizon to inquire about rates to Italy. My son was leaving to go to school for the year. I was told it was 31 cents per minute. After a week and a half of calling him almost everyday, I got a block on my calls to Italy. When I called about it they said my bill was over 400 dollars due to not having an international plan.

I was in shock since no one informed me I needed one. I was told by someone who obviously did not know her job, that calls were 31 cents per minute. They said I could appeal this charge when I received my bill and then signed me up for a plan so my calls would be 31 cents.

After I receive my bills with calls to Italy being over 500 dollars I called to appeal. They say there is nothing they can do since I did not have the international plan at the time these calls were made. Of course I didn't have a plan, why would I since I was told the calls were only 31 cents per minute?!

I said i would refuse to pay so they told me to write a letter to the corporate office. I just mailed my letter out but meanwhile I get a call today and they are blocking all calls out to Italy since my bill is so high and I don't plan on paying.

Verizon does not care about anyone.They have a record of me calling back in August to inquire about rates but since the person I spoke with did not write in their record logs what she told me, they say this is my fault. They need to hire people that know their job and they need to be a bit more helpful and caring when customers call regarding problems. I am sure Verizon can afford this 500 mistake on their part more than I can.

As soon as this is resolved, I plan on switching companies. I have been a Verizon customer for internet, landline and cell for many years and this is the first time I have had a problem that is big enough for me to write letters and post this complaint.

During January 2008, Verizon offered a 19" HDTV if you signed up for their Triple Freedom Package (Direct TV, Internet and Phone Service). The cost quoted was $99 per month if you chose not to accept the "Free" TV, or $109 per month if I chose the "Free" HDTV. I accepted the offer of the TV. Each month thereafter I called because no TV was delivered. Each time I was told more TVs were going out and I would receive mine soon. I received an email requesting that I pick a prize, a "$50 gift card" or a "mini camcorder." The email did not say to PICK A PRIZE IN LIEU OF THE TV. I picked a camcorder, valued at $50. Each month I called about the TV, each time they mentioned the camcorder, but after hearing my story, each representative I spoke with guaranteed me the TV. Each time I spoke with the Promotions Department and they told me they were noting the file. Finally in October 2008, a Mr. Kelly left a message in my voice mail saying I was not going to receive the TV, that I chose instead a camcorder. Again, the email did not say I was not getting a TV, it just said choose a gift. I honestly thought the gift was in addition to the TV. Now I am paying the extra $10 a month for the rest of my life with Verizon services, for mini camcorder with a value of $50, and I did not get the TV as promised when I signed up for the "Triple Freedom Package". I feel they promised a TV to sign me up for the plan, tricked me into paying an extra $10 a month, and also tricked into choosing a mini camcorder which was never mentioned in the Triple Freedom deal. I think Verizon was deceptive in the offer and the delivery of promised goods and services. I have no TV, I am paying the extra $10 a month and I have a $50 camcorder that I have no use for.

Below is a letter I have composed after getting the run around from EVERY SINGLE operator at Verizon after calling to determine why my DSL service wasn't working - I got a different answer from every operator I spoke to:

I recently changed my telephone service from Verizon to Comcast Digital Voice due to the run-around I got every time I called Verizon to straighten out an error. I moved into a new condo in February 2008 and initially just requested DSL service. When I discovered I did not have good cell phone reception in my home, I then decided to get land line Verizon phone service. From that point on I have received nothing but grief and headaches. After receiving my first bill, I discovered I was mis-quoted the bundle price of the DSL/telephone combination. I then had to call three months in a row to get the credit that was promised to me. Each time I called I was transferred a minimum of four times to people who had no idea how to help me and kept me on the line for about 45 minutes each time. That is unacceptable.

On Saturday, August 2, 2008; I changed my phone service to Comcast because I could not deal with the lack of service and high price of Verizon�s phone service. At that time, my DSL service stopped working. I called the next day, August 3, and spoke to a man who seemed to only know the script he was provided and could not help me. He said he would send a technician out the next day to fix my problem. On Monday, August 4, I received a phone call from Verizon saying it was not necessary to send a tech to my home; they could fix my DSL issues remotely before the end of the business day. Needless to say that did not happen. On Tuesday, August 5, I called Verizon Technical Service from work because it was the only time I felt confident I would get an English speaking operator to help me. I was kept on the phone for 2 HOURS. My marathon call initiated with Eileen in Tech Support who told me I had to change my service with the billing department. Eileen transferred me to Ms. Taylor in billing who told me that was not her department�s responsibility and she would transfer me to VSSP. She also said the longest she could stay on the phone with me was 2-3 minutes which I found frustrating since I had already been on the phone for 45 minutes. Ms. Taylor transferred me to Mr. Harley in VSSP who told me that my service was active; exactly the opposite of what Ms. Taylor has just told me. Mr. Harley then transferred me to Neriza in Technical Support. Neriza was less than helpful and said my service was NOT active. Neriza then transferred me to billing to speak with Ms. Delk. In case you are keeping track, I spoke to billing twice and tech support twice during this call and no one could help me. Finally Ms. Delk took sympathy on me and my ever diminishing patience and handled everything for me so I didn�t have to sit on hold beyond the 2 hours I had already done.

Once again, when I returned home on August 6, I did not have functioning DSL service. I called Verizon again, against my better judgment, but I had no choice. I had received email confirmation and a recorded phone call confirming my DSL service but both gave me different dry-loop phone numbers associated with my account. I called to clarify the correct phone number and to make sure I did not have 2 active accounts. I was again transferred to 4 different people in different departments who all gave me conflicting information about my account, none of whom could tell me why I STILL did not have functioning DSL service. I was finally transferred to Ms. Compton in Retention Solutions in Tampa, FL. She sympathized with my frustration and recognized that I was not getting helpful service and agreed to cancel my DSL account with the promise that I would not be charged an early termination fee. I asked to confirm that several times and she guaranteed me that if she kept the account active until August 14, I would not have to pay the fee. I should have known that it would not end so smoothly.

On September 15, I received a final bill in the mail with a $79 early termination fee charged to me. I promptly called Verizon at 5:45 EST to resolve this incorrect charge and was once again put into the carousel of transfers. I spoke with four different operators over the course of 2 HOURS, all of whom told me it was a legitimate charge and they could not remove it from my account. None of the operators wanted to hear my story about what led me to disconnect my service, all just spoke over me and refused to listen to my side. I was finally told by Ms. Charleston that Ms. Compton had no authority to waive my early termination fee and that I should have spoken to her supervisor. I asked her how I was supposed to know she was not authorized to make that decision and she could not provide a reasonable answer. She also told me that my Verizon DSL would not have worked because the jack was re-routed when Comcast hooked up my phone. I again asked how I was supposed to know that when I asked four different operators on August 4th if that would be a problem and they ALL said no. Every time I called I was given inaccurate and misleading information by Verizon operators! Now Ms. Charleston implied that it was my problem and I still had to pay the early termination fee because I was promised something by the wrong person. It is ludicrous that I am held responsible for the incompetence of the Verizon staff! I was not provided helpful or efficient customer service and I am entitled to that as a customer. Now, because everyone at Verizon gave me CONFLICTING AND INCORRECT information, I am being penalized and have to pay a ridiculous fee. Please tell me how that is fair or good business practice on the part of Verizon. Ms Charleston advised me that a supervisor would be in touch with me tomorrow (which is now today) to help further with my issue. Needless to say, I still have heard nothing from anyone at Verizon.

This practice of transferring and being told �it�s not my department� in infuriating. I am the helpless customer looking for answers and no one took responsibility to help me. This is absurd! I have never experienced such poor customer service in my life! The robotic script reading and �I�m sorry� that I received from every person I spoke with was beyond frustrating. I do not understand the confusion between departments. How is it possible that billing and tech support can�t work together to solve my issue?? How is it possible that no one could tell me that my DSL wouldn�t function with Comcast phone service? Why do I have to sit on endless hold while everyone passes the buck at my expense? Is this how you think your customers should be treated? Are we nothing more than a phone number and a phone bill to you? I paid a ridiculous amount of money per month just for phone service and your workers don�t even have the courtesy to try to take an interest in my problems. It is not as if I was asking anyone to go above and beyond the call of duty.

I ordered DSL service through Verizon's website. The sent me an email to let me know the date of installation. On the email it stated that I had the option to reschedule if the assigned date was not convenient. I called to reschedule and was routed to India. I was told I was not able to reschedule. They couldn't give me a 4 hour window so I took off the entire day from work.

Two days before the scheduled installation date, I received an email confirmation reminding me to have someone in the home. Well I waited all day and noone showed up. I called to find out what happened to the technician and was transferred 7 or 8 times!!! And each person asked me the same question: name on the account, address, phone number and last 4 digits of ss. I repeated this 8 times to 8 different people!!! I finally yelled at the next rep and told him he better not transfer me to someone. So he looks into the system and it said that my service order was pending and it was approved for installation!!!

Unfreakinbelievable!!! I took off an entire day of work for this??? And get this...the next day, they emailed me and told me that I did not qualify for their DSL service.