Apparently the policy is for Verizon to just keep the money of the current balance if a person does not Refill their prepaid phone. There is no warning of this policy in any of their written material, including the sales receipt, or given verbally by the salespeople that the remaining balance is forfeited if you do not Refill your phone with an additional 15.00-29.99 every 30 days.

I wanted to have a simple cell phone on hand in case of an emergency and Verizon plan seemed ideal. I would only pay for calls when I used the phone at the rate of 0.99 cents daily use fee and 0.10 cents per minute/text. I was told the phone needed to be Refreshed before the end of 30 days for another month of use without interruption of service. This can be done by calling customer service or by going to any Verizon store.

I asked the salesman what Refreshed meant and he said it means that what is leftover in the account would be rolled over to the new month, so it is truly pay as you go. He recommended prepaying 30.00 so I will not have to worry about it till October. He did explain that I needed to purchase the phone, there was a one-time activation fee and he made sure I understood that part of it.

I used the phone twice in the 2 month period and had a balance of 27.03. I had purchased the phone on 14 Aug 08 and so I called customer service on 12 Oct 08 to get it refreshed before the end of service. I was told I needed to pay 15.00 to keep the phone active for another month and that was the first time I heard this policy. I said that can not be right, but my balance should cover it anyway. I was then told the service expires every month and requires a 15.00 prepayment or you loose the existing balance. I went to the store and the customer service manager confirmed that is in fact the policy of the Verizon as explained in the brochure. I terminated the service before the 30 day expiration and even then they would not refund the remaining balance.

The brochure says: Control how and when you make payments. Use a credit or debit card, sign up for Auto Pay or add a Refill Card/PIN. It also says at the bottom of the refill chart: Refill your account before it expires and your existing balance will be carried forward. I understood that to mean the balance would be carried forward until it reached zero. It does not specify that you can not use the existing balance as payment for the next month or that your balance will be forfeit if you do not pay the required additional minimum of 15.00.

In other words, if I did not pay another 15 dollars every 30 days, Verizon gets to keep the remaining balance regardless. I paid in advance for services that were never rendered. That is like prepaying for gas and not getting your change back when you only needed 3 gallons. Or prepaying for a meal and only getting the salad unless you pay an additional amount to get the rest of the course. Services should be given for money paid unless clearly stated otherwise. I would like to be given the phone service for which I paid as explained to me by the salesman or get my money back.

I signed a 2 yr contract under the agreement that I would have a 30day trial of the phone and its services. I traded in my phone for the new oyager. Its now day 2 and after deciding that all of the functions I would like adding to my phone worked out too costly for me, I returned the phone only to find that they would not give MY one back. They said it was company policy to keep the phones as they were sold to another company each night. I WAS NEVER TOLD THAT!

Now I have their phone and a contract I do not want. I feel as though I am being forced into their contract! They literally stole my phone from me. The manager told me in giving them my phone I was saying "I don't want it" that couldn't be more further from the truth. I only gave it as a condition of my satisfaction from the company. He was very rude and not willing to even help or to come to some compromise to make me happy. I am still under trial but less my own phone which was 500.

October 2, 2009 – 4:50 PM EST – WWW.verizonwireless.com (called customer support)
I bought my cell phone through Verizon Wireless two years ago and went online today to use "New Every Two" and upgrade to a new Verizon Wireless cell phone. When this option did not appear for me, I call Verizon Wireless Customer Service and was told that my phone number was not the primary phone number and that even if I changed the primary number today, I would have to wait 20 months before I can upgrade my phone using “New Every Two”. In March of this year I changed the account name from my wife's name to my name. I was assured that there would be no additional charges or affects of this change. I was not told that my phone would not be eligible for "New Every Two". I upgraded the phones for my wife and daughter prior to this change. I did not choose the primary number when I changed the the name on the account and assumed that since the account would be changed to my name, that my phone number would be the new primary phone number on the account. I have a wireless card for my PC that is also two years old and I had planned to retire in December. If I had been told that my making a simple name change on the account, I would face this kind of financial risk, I would never have made these changes. Today I asked what it would cost to close my account (all four phone units) it would cost me $580. This is because my two year agreement was set to zero when I change the primary name on the account from my wife’s name to my name. This is unscrupulous, deceptive and fraudulent representation and should not go unpunished. While I can afford to eat these costs, most people today, cannot. I ask for fair consumer protection from the practices of Verizon Wireless. Can you help me?

If you are looking to get a job at Verizon Wireless, think twice. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do you have a college degree?

2. Do you have supervisor experience at a gas station, McDonalds, or a high school refreshment stand?

If you answered yes to the first question, get a job at a place that will appreciate your talent, hard work, and dedication to education. Go with a company that rewards and appreciates your college coursework. The great part about Verizon Wireless is that they do not care about your college education. It will get you nowhere within the company as everyone is promoted within and having experience at McDonalds will get you further than any college classes will.

If you answered yes to the second question then Verizon Wireless is definitely for you. Here's a great example of how Verizon promotes and how it will benefit you. If I had, lets say, 8 years of college and a degree and I was with the company for 3 years, and you have the same time with the company and 1 year of supervisor experience with your local gas station managing 2 employees including yourself, instead of a college degree, guess who gets the job interview for a supervisor position, and guess who doesn't meet the minimum requirements? That's right, you guessed it, the person with the college degree is looked over because they wasted their time getting a college degree, and the person with all their extensive experience at their local gas station wins! Wow, Verizon Wireless really knows how to retain their talent! What a great place to work! Why would Verizon Wireless want a person that can communicate better orally and in written form, which means nothing, right? Who cares if someone has taken leadership courses and understands the functions of management, it's nothing the school of hard knocks hasn't taught us with all our extensive experience in the world of fast food and gas station management. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to put down people at fast food or gas stations, but if that means more to a company than going to college, then we are steering the youth of America in the wrong direction. Screw college, get yourself some experience at the local ice cream parlor, college is useless! This is not a joke and although I am being very sarcastic, this is very much the truth. This IS HOW VERIZON WIRELESS conducts business.

I am an employee and I would consider myself one of the best employees they have and I have the stats to prove it. I am giving anyone with any college credentials fair warning, don't waste your time at this company, you will find that you will not be rewarded for any coursework taken. If you don't have any college, then this is a great place to start and I truly mean that. Just make sure you get your 1 or 2 years of hard knock experience as it will serve you well!

Verizon Wireless me a mailing giving me 50 free minutes. This offer requires me to "Activate" on their website. I put in my info, which is correct, but their website says it "does not match" their records... THEY NEED TO STOP WASTING MY TIME AND YOURS. WHY NOT JUST THROW 50 MINUTES ON MY ACCOUNT AND SEND ME A NICE NOTE SAYING YOU DID SO?? I'd feel a lot better about being a VW customer than I currently do.

THEY ARE VERY CLOSE TO LOSING ME AS A CUSTOMER, FOR MY LAND AND WIRELESS SERVICE. Their phone offering is weak and shows no sign of getting any better. Other "networks" are catching up in terms of service capability...and the phones on those networks far out-perform anything available for their CDMA.