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Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless • Rates • Coverage • Contracts • "Perpetual" Contracts • Billing Disputes • Other Verizon Services --- News • Verizon Wireless Opens Network to All Devices, Software • Verizon Agrees to Stop 'Unlimited' Claims • Verizon Wireless Changes Contract Policy • Verizon Wireless Raises Text Message Rate • Verizon Limits Its "Unlimited" Wireless Broadband Service • Verizon Wireless Cuts Early Termination Fee

No two ways about it -- Verizon Wireless is far and away the nation's largest wireless carrier, with nearly 35 million total subscribers as of mid-2003.

It's also tops in network quality according to a J.D. Powers survey released Aug. 1, 2003. Verizon outpaced competitors in the four most important call quality problem areas: dropped calls, static, voice distortion and no connection on the first try. Nextel and Cingular also did well and AT&T Wireless was average.

Well, all that may be so but there are plenty of other problems plaguing at least some Verizon Wireless customers, including billing mix-ups, rate plan confusion, contracts that seem to renew at will and, to be polite, a less-than-evenhanded approach in dealing with consumer concerns.

In case you're interested, Verizon Communications owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless with Vodafone Group owning the rest.

A few sample complaints ...

Anthony of lincroft, NJ June 20, 2009

My verizon wireless cell pho9newas stolen I called Verizon and reported it. The next bill I received a bill tht included 356.79 in charges made while the phone was missing. Veriaon says they never got my call. They refouse to investigate who made thes charges and tell me in fact "I am stuck" and responsible for thses charges

Bill of Sheridan, WY June 17, 2009

They advertized a rebate on the storm blackberry. After filling out all forms and sending in for rebate - they sent back a card saying they did not recieve documentation. I resent - again they said they did not get information again. Funny enough they responded by me sending the response after I sent information. I suspect some sort of extreme incompetence or fraud in the way Verizon is dealing with the 3rd party rebate company.

Debra of Seaside Park, NJ June 5, 2009

I made an international call through Verizon on April 12th at 10:54 P.M.to Cancun, Mexico. The call was labeled "DISC" for disconnected but on the bill one minute is shown. I was charged 2.92. I tried the next day on April 13th at 11:47 A.M. to call. The operator/person we spoke to did not get us connected and again one minute is shown. Again a charge of 2.92 was billed. At 11:53 A.M. on April 13th, my husband tried again to connect through Verizon. Two minutes is shown on the bill, we did not get through and we were billed 17.84 for a grand total of 23.68.

After not getting through and not wanting to be charged,when we spoke to the opeartor, we were told to call Verizon when the bill came in and get the charges removed as we did not speak with anyone in Cancun. On 5/20/09 when we called Verizon, (an office in Chicago Illinois was the top person reached as they claimed they deal with intenational calls. We spoke to "Ashley" who was the 4th person and manager to tell us that Verizon only connects us to an operator. If the call is dropped after that, it's not their problem and they will charge people whether the call goes through or not.

They claim it was the opeartor in Mexico's fault. Funny thing, we did not get a bill from the operator in Mexico, we got one from Verizon! They do not care. I work hard to earn my money and I pay my bills on time, but this is ridiculous that customers are being charged for services not received and Verizon is getting rich off of that if it is happening to more than one person.

They refused to negate the charges so on 6/05/09 I had no choice but to pay them in full 167.10 when my bill should have been 143.32 minus other charges applied for taxes on these 3 calls that are most likely lumped under "Total taxes, fees, & other charges" on the bill.

Roni of Richmond Hill, GA June 13, 2009

Bad service should be there name! My husband and I started service with Verizon Wireless in North Carolina. Four months after service, my phone started having probelms. It was always on roam, I lost calls repeated, and it was out of service most of the time. I visited the local Verizon Wireless store. Each individual tech perform their own special service on my phone. It seemed no one at Verizon is trained in a universal manner. We later relocated to a larger city where coverage improved. Shortly after my phone stopped charging. I went to the local store where the order me a replacement phone under warranty.

It took four days to recieve my replacement phone. The local office was unable to back up my address book onto the new phone. It took over another six days to correct the problem. Meanwhile I was about to miss my 10 day deadline to return my defective device or pay 60.00. On the 9th day my new phone was backed up, I had to rush to the phone to call fed ex for pick up. My new phone was a wreck. The battery would become very hot after two minutes of talking and simply shut off. It sounded like I was in a well ever time I spoke on it. We again call Verizon. They sent us to another Verizon Store. Where once again they are sending me a new phone to back up my information on, and once again I do not have phone service. In the six months with verizon wireless, I have proably had service on 50 percent of the time.

I will never recommend them. My service will be terminated in January. We have spent hours on the phone and at the local verizon stores. We have spent more time attempting to have service then we have actually had service.

Awad of Burke, VA June 11, 2009

Verizon wireless simply charges me for services that I did ask for. Month after month, over charges that some times go as high as double the actual bill and more for the last 4 to five months each month I have to call and spend almost one hour discussing this over charges they charge because of type of the phone I have. Charges get reduced, next the same cycle I have to repeat

The first phone which I purchased form eBay is used it is Blackberry I did use it because Verizon wireless claims they have an agreement with the manufacturer to charge for data usage whether you like it or not. My second and other phones were Okayed by verizon wireless for use as phone only and with unlimited charges for messaging for my two kids I still see over charges for this month and for previous month that I have received I am getting tired for this billing system for verizon. It is simply designed to take more money than the services provided to consumers

christian of North Las Vegas, NV June 11, 2009

Well after reviewing my internet bill I saw a bill for 250!! I checked my usage and it said I went over my limit for my internet usage. I called the customer service trying to figure out why my usage has been 2 gigs every other day. She said that maybe your ip phone is always connected. Nope I use my Ip phone maybe 5 mins a day at the most. I was not warned by verizon that this service was not allowed for ip usage. As most americans in this internet age uses the internet as phones. Especially if they have loved ones in another country. The customer service person could not even tell me how much data is being used per minute when the IP phone is being used. She told me that with the amount that I exceeded my allowance I actually owed over 1000 dollars. So for calling for lets a total of an hour is gonna cost me a 1000. I believe that I should not pay for something I did not do. How can they charge me for something that they cant back up.

I kept on asking the lady how much data is being used per minute when i call. She said they don't track that, but yet they tracked how much I need to pay them and they said that whatever I owe is valid and that I should pay it. I also have on my usage for my internet for the 20th & 25th of june?!! How are they saying I already used up 2000MB worth of information when its not even the 12th of June yet!! I check my usage every 2 days and never once did it warn me that I was exceeding my 5GB amount! There is something wrong with how they track there internet usage. I want to know where I can get help because this bill is going to be hard to pay. Please if anyone has information on how I can get around this please contact me.

corliss of norfolk, VA June 10, 2009

In 1995 I open an account with verizon wireless. Nov 2000 I relocated to Suffolk,Va and my brother was only an authorize user and I had decied to let my contract end in 2003 and not renew. My brother said he would get his own service. I found that not to be true in the later years. In 2007 verizon gave my brother a renewal contract that need my signature and verizon accepted a contract that had only my name and allowed him to sign his name and the cotract had only my name on it

randolph of brighton, CO June 8, 2009

On 1/2008 I entered an agreement with Verizon for Internet services with unlimited bytes and broadband speed. On 3/2009 Verizon put a blocking device on my account to slow my access and informed me I was now only allowed 5 gigabytes per month. Thy are offering me another plan with more bytes/speed for more money. This is either a bait and switch scheme or fraud. I have filed a complaint with BBB and FCC. Both cases are still pending but Verizon is not negotiating in good faith. Also, I have filed a complaint with Co. AG office. I even contacted PUC and was told that there is no Gov. regulatory oversight of Verizon in Co. On 6/5/2009 Verizon has threaten to send my account to a collection agency and to inform all major consumer credit bureaus for non-payment of services even though I requested my services be terminated 4/2009.

sam of Pasadena, CA June 2, 2009

I have a pay-as-i-go plan with verizon- for "unlimited" wireless internet. i pay 65-70 on average p/month. when i read "unlimited" i thought it meant usage. the bill i got today is 256- i used just under 10 gigs. i called verizon and asked about this and they said the limit was 5 gigs for certain data. i learned this means video and gaming data is off limits because the fees for using these types of data will cost me a fortune- this is clearly exploitive on verizon's part.

if the rates for these types of "typically or commonly used" data were ever made plain to me when I asked about usage before buying- i wouldn't have bought in. they said that certain types of information comes with a five gig usage limit but they in no way made this clear especially after i expressed that i spend a great deal of time watching movies and you tube online. as you might expect, verizon staff that signed me up did tell the truth or attempt to clarify what "certain data" means.

it's clear to me today that verizon has misrepresented or at least left vague (intentional or not) the conditions and categories of data that consumers require in order to know what usage really means. in this affair i believe i have been over charged 200 because the terms of usage were never presented in a clear or obvious way- that is i never really knew what the 5 gig limit really excluded- and considering how common video is now.

its only right and honest to be open with factors like usage that are at the very heart of their service. i also lost the money i paid for the air card because i want internet for video mostly and their deal is, to me, criminal. this is fraud.

Ashley of Woodbury, NJ June 7, 2009

I found a charge on my bill for a service that I never signed up for. After calling customer service once I was refunded for that amount and the so called service was to be blocked and the issue resolved. As of the next month the same charge appeared again on the bill. When I called customer service again I was treated rudly and essentially told to get off the phone. They said I was already refunded the amount when I was not and that was the end of it. Now I am being forced to pay for a service that I not only don't want but don't get either.

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