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The Mighty Verizon (update at top of post)

Posted by Lisa or Li on

The new Verizon logo is a glowing success | Creative Bloq

Update:  yesterday afternoon (I thought it was last night but I was wrong) I got this email from Verizon:

What I want you to take a look at is the last part, about if I call to get this settled one way or another.  Can you believe they will be charging me a “small fee to speak to a representative”???  WTH???  Since when does speaking to a live person from a company incur a cost?  And of course they don’t say how much that “small fee” is going to be.  After reading Keith’s comments on Verizon, I’m getting anxious about it.

What I didn’t mention in the other part of this post is that I got widely varying responses from the two live chat reps I talked with.  The first one, from the first part of March, encouraged me to give my internet hotspot to someone to use for the month!  I said I had no interest in doing that, just disconnect the service immediately.  When I went back to live chat a week or so later, the live chat rep was super friendly and said, don’t worry, you’ll get your full refund for the days not using the phone or hotspot service.  I said, will you please mail me a hard copy of the final bill?  He said sure no problem.  I got that final bill, but as you read earlier, it says I owe $40.  MOFOS!  Of course there is no mechanism to copy and paste these chats (that I know of) so no documentation of either of those chats.  If I decide to call them (will try live chat again first during business hours) will do another update.

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When I moved from the city out to this place in 2011, one thing I never considered (stupidly) is internet access.  In the beginning, and for probably 10 or more (sorry memory fails me) of those years I used satellite internet from Hughesnet.  It worked fairly well, except whenever it snowed, and I had to get out there with a broom and clear it off, on a rolly chair in the driveway in winter.  It had a data cap of 40 gb per month, which isn’t very much if you watch streaming.  The price was over $100/month.  Beggars can’t be choosers.

Then came Verizon’s internet hotspot, cheap at $30/month.  The Android phone that was also on the plan gave me a monthly bill of around $125.  The hotspot gave 50gb and the phone another 50gb.  The hotspot was cheap, but the inconvenience of it, having to watch the battery drain then die quickly meant always watching the bars and plugging and unplugging it, was tolerable because again, beggars can’t be choosers.  Oh, I also had to buy the hotspot for $300, paid for at $7 a month tacked onto the bill.  The phone service was fantastic so no complaints but the price.

I’d checked periodically at Xfinity/Comcast to see if/when fiber optic cable would come to my rural area.  My road has had a growing # of McMansions built out here in the last 5 years, so the owners of these McMansions need internet.  I was on a mailing list to be notified if their service was coming out here.

Last year, I got an email saying yes, they were headed out here with lightning fast fiber optic cable.  I watched them methodically prepare the area, planting flags, replacing spindly power poles with sturdy, girthy ones, adding mysterious boxes and cable covers along the pole, etc. while clearing mega noxious underbrush away — thank you, Xfinity!  During one of these work crew work bees, I asked one the drones for the scoop.  He said this road was one of the first being worked on and I might have it by December.  That didn’t work out, but… in March of this year, I got the hookup!  Yes!  Now I have a white box about the size of a toaster turned on its end, plugged into an outlet.  No cables or wires needed beyond that.  Never needs to be charged.  Unlimited data.  Comes with free phone service for a year (I brought my own phone) and the monthly cost is $60/month for both, with internet price guaranteed for 5 years.  Call me a happy camper.

You may be wondering why Verizon is the title of this post.  I got the new service in the first few days of March. (My verizon service cycle ends on the 28th of the month.)  Once older son helped me transfer and activate everything with Xfinity and I “saw that it was good,” older son got on live chat with Verizon and made sure everything was set with them.  That night I got back on live chat with Verizon and said I wanted my internet hot spot and phone service canceled immediately.  The phone was already working under Xfinity at this point.  The customer service rep said they would cancel but it was already into a new billing cycle and that she couldn’t stop the billing that already happened, but I would get a refund on the days I didn’t use it (28th of the month is the service date, so let’s just say a credit for the 3 weeks.)

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from Verizon, saying I owe them $40.  This was followed by a snail mail bill saying I owe them $40.  To get this sorted out, I went to their website and tried to sign in with my login and password.  It gave me a message, “You seem to have stepped away from your computer.  Please try again.” (paraphrased)  So I tried again.  And again.  Each time getting the same message.  So, I went to the live chat that son and I used for everything else, to get this sorted.  The bot asked for a subject.  I said billing.  It said sign in.  Same rigamarole.  I closed out of the screen, went back, and this time typed “live rep.”  Up pops the sign in request.  No luck same bs.  Closed out the page again.  Went back to verizon, this time going for “buying something.”  No luck.  They’ve covered all bases.

The snail mail letter was vaguely threatening, something about do I want my credit dragged through the mud for not paying the $40.  Sounds like extortion to me.

Potential buyer of services and products from Verizon, BEWARE.

27 Comments Add yours

  1. Fandango's avatar Fandango says:
    April 25, 2026 at 3:34 pm

    I hope you have better luck working with Xfinity than I did, Li.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
      April 25, 2026 at 5:33 pm

      Oh no :( They’ve gone above and beyond so far, but give them time…

      Like

      Reply
  2. ghostmmnc's avatar ghostmmnc says:
    April 25, 2026 at 4:51 pm

    What a mess with all this. Glad you do now have good internet and phone service, and also that things get situated in your favor with the Verison people :)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
      April 25, 2026 at 5:38 pm

      Thanks for reading that venting session. It’s been a long row to hoe to get reliable and affordable internet. I cringe at when the 5 year price guarantee is over but I’ll worry about that then. I will try to call them on Monday as they have bankers hours for the phone calls. ::fingers crossed::

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬'s avatar Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬ says:
    April 25, 2026 at 6:02 pm

    That’s a damn shame; no one needs all that BS in their life. I hope everything gets sorted out quickly. Good luck!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
      April 25, 2026 at 11:02 pm

      Thanks much for your well-wishes, Nancy.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬'s avatar Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬ says:
        April 25, 2026 at 11:07 pm

        🙂 👍🏼

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  4. Steve's avatar Steve says:
    April 25, 2026 at 6:44 pm

    Ugh, changing providers can be a headache. When my sweety had her mobile service transferred from a rip-off company, the company then finally came back with a better offer. I kept telling the agent no thinks, she’s moved on, and finally said that they had years to offer her a better deal. Canada’s internet/phone/TV/mobile providers are known to collude to keep prices high, yet the government allowed a merger to two major companies which further eroded competition.

    It’s unfortunate that Verizon is treating a customer in a threatening way. I hope it gets resolved fairly for you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
      April 25, 2026 at 11:06 pm

      Welcome to the Machine. The way the website and chatbot is treating me is exactly like a story I wrote a weeks ago about HAL.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Steve's avatar Steve says:
        April 25, 2026 at 11:22 pm

        Ugh, I had a similar chatbot experience recently. Circular discussion, no way out. The worst. Welcome to the machine, indeed.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  5. memadtwo's avatar memadtwo says:
    April 25, 2026 at 7:25 pm

    Our building finally got optic with Verizon a couple years ago. Spectrum was awful, but it was my only choice. My daughter had to negotiate (pretending to be me) for about an hour with Verizon to get the price they promised me. They are all the same really. The actual internet service with Verizon is much better, but customer service with them all is a nightmare. Spectrum would not let me just cancel my service for the longest time. It was a nightmare. I’m glad you have good internet at least and fingers crossed you can get this resolved. (K)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
      April 25, 2026 at 11:08 pm

      Kerfe, I’m glad we have our kids to help us get through the technological nightmare we are living in. Spectrum sounds horrible! Thanks, I hope so also.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. memadtwo's avatar memadtwo says:
        April 26, 2026 at 8:03 am

        Yes! I could not do it by myself.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
          April 26, 2026 at 12:47 pm

          I’m going to be updating this post with an email they sent me last night. The gall! The arrogance! they have.

          Like

          Reply
  6. nostalgicitalian's avatar nostalgicitalian says:
    April 25, 2026 at 8:01 pm

    Switching from Verizon to T-Mobile was the best thing I did. I was with Verizon for 20+ years and I never could get my bill below $200. When I did it was $175 and within 2 months it was back up.

    I have been gone for a couple months now. I paid them the $500 they said I owed them and then a month or so after that, I got another $400 bill. I’m glad to be done with them

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
      April 25, 2026 at 11:11 pm

      OMG Keith, that is insanely fraudulent on their part. Somebody needs to hold them accountable. A class action suit? I guess if I get out of it paying them $40 instead of getting the $90 credit I’m owed, I should consider myself lucky.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      1. nostalgicitalian's avatar nostalgicitalian says:
        April 26, 2026 at 8:42 am

        I asked them for a final bill, which was the first bill. Then they came back and told us we owed for my wife’s Apple Watch, which I thought was in the first bill. It wasn’t. They also charged me for a month, with the same reason they gave you. It’s insane.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
          April 26, 2026 at 12:50 pm

          UGH! Makes me sick! I got an email from them last night. Will be updating this post soon with it. Then again when (if?) I call them. I hesitate to now with what was said in the email. It is insane :(

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  7. little learner's avatar little learner says:
    April 26, 2026 at 1:41 pm

    What a mess.
    I think we all can identify with this sort of interaction between a humble client and a big impersonal business. Sometimes the only option I am given is to chat with a bot and the conversation goes round in circles. Good luck with the fixing of this (their) mess!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
      April 26, 2026 at 1:53 pm

      I fear it will only get worse with the AI bots. Thank you, I hope it gets settled soon. I would hope credit reporting agencies would be familiar with their BS and not think much of it.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  8. Badfinger (Max)'s avatar Badfinger (Max) says:
    April 26, 2026 at 1:51 pm

    I can relate…that is the reason I left AT&T….they have all got too big to help anyone. I talked to AT&T about the work problem that I told you about…I told them straight out…your company stinks, you are way too huge, and the bureaucracy is totally stupid. Of course I told her…it’s not “your” fault…but still. Funny thing is…she agreed fully with me.
    I would post the same about Verizon and AT&T…stay away!
    Hope you have a good break Lisa!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
      April 26, 2026 at 1:56 pm

      Thanks for your comment. Hoping it helps others avoid the mayhem of the machines that do their Overlords’ bidding. Thanks also on the break. Oh do I need one.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply
      1. Badfinger (Max)'s avatar Badfinger (Max) says:
        April 26, 2026 at 2:00 pm

        I’m with Spectrum now…so far no troubles and a $100 cheaper a month.
        I would imagine you need a break…two months in a row of posts everyday for two different events.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply
  9. rugby843's avatar rugby843 says:
    April 26, 2026 at 2:57 pm

    I screenshot those lovely little chats🤪. And I ask for a printed bill sent to me. It’s so frustrating, L!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
      April 26, 2026 at 3:05 pm

      Good idea, Cheryl. I tried to copy and paste but it wouldn’t let me.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  10. Colleen Chesebro's avatar Colleen Chesebro says:
    April 26, 2026 at 3:16 pm

    I left Verizon when we moved to Michigan in 2021. We have Xfinity and things seem to work just fine. What a fiasco! I’m so sorry you have to go through this, Lisa. 😔

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:
      April 26, 2026 at 4:06 pm

      Hoping since these are brand new lines they will work fine for awhile. Thanks for your support, Colleen. Hoping it gets settled tomorrow.

      Like

      Reply

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