Verizon has billed me for over a year of landline and internet service that were not provided, amounting to $2000. An outside contractor confirmed that the cable line run by Verizon to my condo when my building was built is faulty and that this is the reason I NEVER had a dial tone on a phone line Verizon insisted was fine and have NEVER had internet service for an account Verizon said was functioning.

I called Verizon more than half a dozen times prior to my deployment to Baghdad in November 2006 and was told each time that the service was fine. At one point, an independent contractor confirmed that the phone line Verizon was charging me for was not even connected to my building. After pressure, Verizon reimbursed for the months of unprovided service for which I had been billed to that point.

Verizon never sent someone to test the service in my condo. Verizon never responded to my written correspondence. Since then I tried to change my phone and internet service to another provider and Verizon held up the transfer of phone line without a reason. Even after the account was switched, I continue to be billed by Verizon for landline and internet service.

I filed a complaint with the DC Public Service Commission that their staff eventually stopped pursuing after being slow rolled by Verizon for more than 6 months. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau that is still active. Verizon has outright lied to the BBB, stating that they have cleared up this complaint with me directly. It has taken three letters to the BBB to reply to this and keep the complaint active.

Verizon wrote the BBB a letter saying that the fact that I paid the bills for service not provided was proof that I was receiving service. I then did not pay a bill. Verizon immediately put a negative mark on my credit report.

I took FIOS internet and FIOS Telephone service from Verizon with two year agreement. I encountered problem one after the another. First one: There are offers going on online orders. I stay in John F Kennedy Blvd. If i use my address to search and order, my residence will not be listed in Verizon site. I came to know that we have to use "JF Kennedy Blvd" and For jersey city i have to use "J CY".

Because of all this confusion with their system, i asked the customer service for details. The person at service desk also accepted the problem and offered to help me out. But I checked with him, and he confirms that I am eligible for all online offers even if I order thru phone. Billing cycle for me is 16th of every month. I took connection on Dec 22, 2007.

First month Bill came: Included all hidden charges. Later I called customer service for about 4 times and 20 minutes each time to reverse the charges. This bill included all the charges till Feb 16, 2008. I overpaid.

I moved to new location in the same street on Jan 28, 2008. They confirmed that there won’t be any moving related charges. I received second bill till Mar 16, 2008. Summary of the bill is 8 page. Erratic billing. I know that reaching Verizon customer service is taboo, so I took off for office as I cannot speak for hours in office. Billing department and customer service will be available only during weekdays and from morning 8 to 5PM.

For one month charge of $64.99 + taxes, I got bill for $144. Later I came to know from customer representative that these are due to charges that I already paid. They charged from the date I moved to new location without considering that I already paid till end of next month.

I waited for 1 hour and 30 minutes to reverse the charges and then I decided to disconnect the service. I cannot spend every month hours to rectify the bill charges. When I connected to customer service, I directly asked for disconnection department. The account manager accepted the charges and reversed the amount totally.

This didn’t ended here, after reversing the charges, they put a note for disconnection to my internet on Friday Evening. I couldn’t connect to internet at 6:00PM, then when I inquired at customer service, to my surprise, my account is flagged for disconnection...

Later for the whole weekend, I left in house with our internet connection and as usual I called customer service on Monday morning as usual, I was there in call for almost an hour in morning and get that resolved after creating new order.

I am very confident about Verizon billing system that this is going to continue for coming months.

I have had more problems with verizon for many reason I have had IT and hope I can resolved these problems myself, I was treated as a piece of you know what, I was laughed at by a supervisor because I was telling her my problem, THEN called a lier, I was back up on my phone and internet bill for a while, and in January of this year I paid them all in full about 1000.00 dollars, everything was current, now not even a month later my phone is being charged for long distance when i don't have it, my internet was trying to come off my credit card of the amount of 136.00 after I paid them 21.00 two days after I paid them a thousand dollars which by the way they just charged my credit card without letting me know, then THEY kept charging my account with money I didn't owe them , they suspend my online saying I owed them since december, AND LET ME REMIND YOU MY SERVICE WAS DISCONNECTED IN NOVEMBER. This is when they said your credit card was declined in december and january, and I said no I DIDNT HAVE A CREDIT CARD IN DECEMBER, how do I owe you people this when I paid you in full in january, I have been current, they argued and laughed and I still paid the 57.00 I didn't owe them, I am being scammed out of money I don't have, anyone in there right mind would not pay over 230.00 in three weeks of internet bill its unheard of. IF SOMEONE HAS ANY INFO HOW TO STOP THIS PLEASE EMAIL ME AT [email protected]. I HAVE CONTACTED THE NEWS STATION ON THIS AND HOPE FOR AN INVESTIGATION.

On Feb. 4, two installers came to my home to install FIOS TV, phone and Internet service. They told me they would be working outside for a few hours before coming in to make connections, etc. After a while, I noticed there had been no sounds of activity anyplace. I also noticed the absence of my indoor pet. I went to the basement to check where the men had last been working. They were gone, with my basement door and garage door left wide open to the outdoors. I looked for their truck in back of our house and in front as well, but the truck was gone too. However, I did see my indoor pet outside at the edge of our property. Thankfully, I was able to retrieve him, avoiding a heartbreaking disaster, before he reached the nearby highway. When the men returned, they said they had gone to lunch. Common courtesy would be to tell me and to at least shut the doors behind them. They continued their “installation” , spending the next 1 ½ hours in their truck. When they finally came back inside, they began to connect the TV, DVD player, and the new STB box. They told me that my TV was broken and that the DVD player could not be connected; they said there was “no audio”. They told me I would need to disconnect the wires from the box and transfer them onto the DVD player in order to ever view a DVD. I asked them how this could be, when everything worked fine the night before. They told me to get the TV repaired, or get a new one. I asked them to please try again-maybe it was their wires. They said their wires were just fine, and folded them up and took them away. They used my old red, white, and yellow wires to connect the new box to the TV. I asked them for help setting up my Outlook e-mail and for the phone number for the voice messaging system. They told me they could not help and to call the toll free number. There was no paperwork for me to review or to sign off on, and they left, taking the new wires with them.
Although I waited on hold for one hour that evening and I was given the wrong voicemail phone number, these issues were resolved that evening, for the most part.

The following day, I called to see about the cables the installers had taken away, thinking I might need them if I got the TV repaired, or when I received my new free Fios TV from Verizon. I spoke to Nick Massi, who transferred me to a Ms. Tolliver, who transferred me to Cassandra. Cassandra assured me that, based on the ticket written by Nick, a field supervisor would be contacting me to come out and review the work done. No one contacted me that day or the next.

I was able to connect all three devices, TV, DVD player, and STB box together so that they worked. The problem now was that the DVD only played in black and white- no color. By Wednesday, Feb. 6, there was still no call. I called again and spoke to Michelle. She assured me repeatedly that the field supervisor would absolutely be calling me by 10 AM the next day. By 11 AM the next day, Feb. 7, the only call I got was one regarding voicemail, stating the problem seemed to be fixed. The repair person who left this message said there was no alternate number at which to reach me, even though I had given my cell phone number three times. However, there was still no call from the supervisor and no cables from Verizon. I called and spoke to Maggie. She had me hold while she was on hold waiting for a supervisor in DRC. We both were on hold for 35 minutes. She came back on to say she would connect me with her supervisor, Scott R. Scott told me he’d call me back in 30 minutes or less, while he contacted DRC. After 45 minutes, he called to tell me that a field supervisor would definitely contact me in the next “couple of hours”. This was at 12:43 PM. Scott had told me I’d be able to reach him at the toll free number by just asking for Scott R. By 11 AM the next day, Feb. 8, when there was still no call, I tried to reach Scott and nobody had heard of him. I spoke to Andrew. He checked and told me a field tech would be calling me and coming here in one hour. This time the tech Dan Bartkowicz, KO1, did call, but did not have the cables on his truck, nor was he familiar with video. He said he’d call me back. After waiting 30 minutes, I called him back and he said maybe a different tech would get this assignment and he was waiting to hear. At that point, I insisted to be connected to the field supervisor. He had me hold on again. When he came back on, he told me that he and another tech would be over in a few minutes. Brian May, OD3, was the other tech. They brought in the same wires the first installers took away, and connected everything successfully in minutes, including color on the DVD player. These two techs were gracious and knowledgeable and should be commended for their quick response and customer service. They were patient and asked me more than once of I had any other questions.

I realize this letter may take a while to read, as it took me a while to write. Each time I phoned Verizon, the wait time was long and each time I had to repeat this whole story. The experience was horrendous!

I am not affiliated with Verizon, but I wish to help those who are having customer service issues with Verizon. If you are having issues with Verizon, and have not had it resolved after waiting at least two weeks... please contact me. Whether it is a customer service issue or a problem relating to the rebate, please contact me. E-mail me your first and last name, last four digits of your phone number, and your state of residence (where you get Verizon service). Please include the word 'Verizon' in your subject. E-mail me at [email protected]

I am NOT affiliated with Verizon in any way, shape, or form. I am simply compiling information and will forward it to proper regulatory agencies.

Thank you,
Consumer Advocate.