Ready To Dump Verizon

[Marrk]

I've tried twice to get a Late Fee removed from my bill. They agree to delete it, then nothing happens.

How do I terminate this relationship, keep my phone number and sign up with another carrier? Especially important: I don't want to start with another company and then have Verizon continue to bill me.

Thanks.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I've tried twice to get a Late Fee removed from my bill. They agree to delete it, then nothing happens.

How do I terminate this relationship, keep my phone number and sign up with another carrier? Especially important: I don't want to start with another company and then have Verizon continue to bill me.

First, make sure that all of your correspondence with any carrier is in writing. Snail mail is preferable over using e-mail. Having an original tangible copy of any correspondence/agreement in-hand makes it so much easier to prove who asked for or promised what.

Second, all that you have to do is go to another carrier, and ask them to switch you over. They should be able to handle everything for you, including cancelling your service with Verizon and porting over your number. While every single carrier tends to be dishonest, the best of them seems to me to be T-Mobile at the moment. This, despite the fact that they absorbed Sprint, which I considered to be the most dishonest of the bunch.

Third, once you have all of your correspondence in writing, if you continue to have a problem with Verizon billing you (called "slamming" in the business, both common and illegal), contact your state's Public Utilities Commission and make a complaint. Every time I've dealt with California's PUC I've been pleasantly surprised by how much clout that they have, how they take an interest, and how quickly they bring results. Totally unlike most government agencies that you might go to for assistance.

 

[Marrk]

Thanks, Randy. That's really helpful.

Getting everything in writing is what I always try to do, but it's impossible with Verizon. Two days ago, I asked them for an address for customer service, and they gave me a p.o. box in Newark. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that, or if it is simply another one of their lies. They're not even sending me a paper bill this month. These people are totally out of control. The funny thing is, all I am trying to do is pay my bill.

Given the pandemic, I hate to have to go into a storefront T-Mobile, but I guess it is necessary . . . or can I do it over the Internet?

I found this article. They mention a service called Total Wireless. I'm fine with your recommendation of T-Mobile, but have you heard of Total Wireless by chance?

Thanks again.

 

[chscag]

Given the pandemic, I hate to have to go into a storefront T-Mobile, but I guess it is necessary . . . or can I do it over the Internet?

It's best to deal with them in person. Just wear your face mask and don't worry about the pandemic especially if you've received at least one dose of the vaccine.

I've been with T-Mobile for a number of years and have always received good customer service from them. They have a deal going for folks over 55 (I don't know if you qualify) in that they give you unlimited talk, text, data, for a fixed rate every month.

I have that deal for myself and my wife. It runs $60/month and includes two lines of unlimited talk, text, and data. It might be more now so you will have to ask about it.

Stay away from third tier wireless carriers as their customer services are usually non existant or below par. I know nothing about Total Wireless but you can find out for yourself.

By the way, good advice from Randy above. I used to be with Verizon for a number of years and ran into a problem with them double billing me for metro phone service. After 3 months of constant calling their customer service I finally contacted the PUC here in Texas. Problem was solved shortly after that and I received an apology from Verizon.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

...a service called Total Wireless. I'm fine with your recommendation of T-Mobile, but have you heard of Total Wireless by chance?

There are only a very few cellular companies that own their own network at this point, after a bunch of mergers and acquisitions in the past few years: AT&T, Verizon, Dish, and T-Mobile, I believe, are the only major players left standing.

There are other smaller companies that advertise that they are a cellular company, and they will often say things like that they are on "the nation's largest network", but that is very misleading.

What's going on is that these small companies have agreements with the large networks to carry their traffic. There would be nothing wrong with that, except that these small companies don't tell you that their traffic is lower in priority to the traffic of the provider they contract with. So you are unlikely to get the performance and reliability from a small company that you would get from one of the companies that own their own network. Also, if there is a network issue, a small company may not have any actual control over the issue.

It may still be worthwhile to go with a smaller company for specific needs. Some smaller companies will give service to customers that have bad credit when others might not. Or they may bundle services into a package that makes them appealing.

If you are wondering if Total Wireless is worthwhile, it's almost impossible to tell via a Google search. Almost all the hits are obvious shill sites and shill reviews. I can tell you that Total Wireless is sold by both Wal Mart and Target, and that it uses the Verizon network:

Total Wireless Review 2024: Totally Cool

Total Wireless is one of the more popular mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). An MVNO is a cell phone service provider, usually on the smaller side, that doesn't operate its own wireless network but instead sets up a deal with one or more major carriers. It purchases minutes, text messages...

www.wirefly.com

 

[Marrk]

Another Verizon Customer Service call today:

1) She deleted the Late Fee.

2) She said I needed a Transfer PIN in order to port my number to a new carrier. She gave me a Transfer PIN (good for three days).

3) When I was paying by credit card, they retained my payment info and put me on auto pay — all without my permission. I resolved the issue by canceling the card. Now that I am paying by check, they are retaining my banking info, also without my permission.

Is T-Mobile going to require Auto Pay. Their lowest plan seems to be $60 (with auto pay). I'll try to get them on the phone later.

 

[chscag]

Is T-Mobile going to require Auto Pay. Their lowest plan seems to be $60 (with auto pay). I'll try to get them on the phone later.

Yes, in order to get their lowest rate, you will need to setup auto pay. I use my Wells Fargo Platinum Card for auto pay. That serves two purposes:

1. Auto Pay gets you a cheaper rate with T-Mobile.

2. Because I use my Wells Fargo card for auto pay, Wells Fargo (without additional cost) insures our iPhones for free. They (WF) will pay up to $700 for the repair or replacement of the phones due to accidents or even theft. There is a $25 deductible for each incident.

This has the advantage of not having to pay Apple for Apple Care Plus if you choose not to.

 

[Marrk]

Spoke on the phone with a local T-Mobile store. The girl said they had a $15 per month pre-pay plan. Unlimited text, unlimited talk, 2GB data. One-time $10 charge for the SIM card. I didn't ask about auto pay, so that may be an issue. She also pointed out that I could get all of the Transfer PINs I want right off the Verizon website.

 

[chscag]

Hey Marrk:

Whatever works best for you, go for it. For me and the wife, the current plan I have suits us best mostly because we download loads of videos and YouTube teaching programs for our ministry work that we do.

I don't know about the pre paid plans they have but I suspect that they may be renewable by auto pay. You'll need to ask. As far as the 2GB of data per month, unless you do videos and YouTube, that will suffice. Calls and text are unlimited so only downloads would count.

Good luck with it.

 

[Marrk]

@chscag @Randy: Couldn't have done it without your help.

We'll see how it goes. I may get into the T-Mobile store tomorrow.

 

[usagora]

Two days ago, I asked them for an address for customer service, and they gave me a p.o. box in Newark. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that...

Well, you did ask for an address, and a PO Box is an address, no? If you were going to mail them something, then that's where you'd mail it to. Personally, I wouldn't bother with that and stick to phone/email unless you just want to drag this out, unless there's more to this than just a late fee that I'm missing. By the way, was the late fee one that you legitimately incurred, you asked for mercy, and they promised they'd remove and have failed to do so? Or was it an error on their part? I personally have only used AT&T and haven't had any issues with billing, and my dad has been with Verizon for a LONG time and I haven't heard him complain about anything. My bill is simply drafted from my checking account each month and I don't even think about it except to enter it in my checking account balance spreadsheet each month.

If I were you, I'd simply call up (after they failed more than once to remove the fee as promised) and insist on speaking to the floor supervisor and tell them "Look, are you guys going to remove this fee as you promised or am I just going to start the process of switching to another carrier after I hang up?" If that doesn't work, then I'd switch. But I wouldn't' go through all the trouble of switching over a late fee without "getting in their face" first.

 

[Marrk]

@usagora: Well, it's complicated. There is no e-mail. They lie about what they are doing. One day, they gave me one P.O. Box, the next day they gave me another P.O. Box. One day the say the billing address is different from the customer service address, the next day they say that billing and customer service addresses are the same. I incurred a late fee because they claimed that they did not receive my check. After the due date had passed, they received my check. They use a check processing system that destroys the canceled check. Nothing goes back to your bank, so you cannot prove that you wrote a check. When I was paying by credit card, they logged my payment information and put me on auto pay without my consent. I had to cancel the card. Calling them on the phone is an interesting experience. You can only penetrate the layers of "menu options" by accident. The game is rigged.

P.S. I had lots of issues with ATT back when on was on a landline. They were putting charges on my bill whenever they felt like it. There was even a name for this type of scam, but I can't remember it now.

 

[usagora]

@usagora: Well, it's complicated. There is no e-mail. They lie about what they are doing. One day, they gave me one P.O. Box, the next day they gave me another P.O. Box. One day the say the billing address is different from the customer service address, the next day they say that billing and customer service addresses are the same. I incurred a late fee because they claimed that they did not receive my check. After the due date had passed, they received my check. They use a check processing system that destroys the canceled check. Nothing goes back to your bank, so you cannot prove that you wrote a check. When I was paying by credit card, they logged my payment information and put me on auto pay without my consent. I had to cancel the card. Calling them on the phone is an interesting experience. You can only penetrate the layers of "menu options" by accident. The game is rigged.

P.S. I had lots of issues with ATT back when on was on a landline. They were putting charges on my bill whenever they felt like it. There was even a name for this type of scam, but I can't remember it now.

Have you done what I suggested in my 2nd paragraph? Normally threatening to cancel your service when speaking to someone above the basic first-tier support gets things done. Heck, I even had to threaten to switch trash services at work because they were giving me the runaround about relocating our dumpster due to construction. Once I said, "Do I just need to switch to another service provider that can handle this simple request?", all of a sudden they magically accommodated me.

Now, it's your money and your life, so you need to do what works for you, but I'd highly suggest just going on autopay to avoid these issues. I've been doing this with countless companies (including power/internet/phone) for many years and never once had any shenanigans go on and there's no check to get "lost" and turn into a "he-said / she-said" argument. And many companies also give you a discount for auto-pay.

 

[Marrk]

Mission accomplished. The kids at the local T-Mobile store were fast and efficient. I had a very positive experience. The only bump in the road is that T-Mobile doesn't take payment by check. Not a big deal. I'll figure something out. Maybe if someone calls me in the next few months, I'll find out if the new service works.

Adios, Verizon.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Mission accomplished. The kids at the local T-Mobile store were fast and efficient. I had a very positive experience.

Hurray! I'm glad that it went smoothly for you.

That was my experience too. T-Mobile has kids working there, but they are very knowledgeable and extremely well trained.

The only bump in the road is that T-Mobile doesn't take payment by check. Not a big deal. I'll figure something out.

I noticed my checkbook in the drawer yesterday, and it occurred to me that I haven't written a check in a couple of years. Not only that, but it used to be that when I went to the supermarket, everyone was paying by check. But I haven't seen anyone write a check in the supermarket for ages now. My tenants in my rental properties used to pay by check, but now everyone pays by direct deposit. Checks have become obsolete. They are inconvenient to use and insecure for vendors to accept. Everything is electronic now.

For that matter, I don't remember the last time I've paid for anything with cash. I have a $20 bill in my wallet that I think has been there for over a year!

Adios, Verizon.

I've had the thrill of getting away from a cellular provider that I hated THREE times now. I hope that T-Mobile continues to be good. We are running out of options!

 

[Cr00zng]

I've been with T-Mobile for close to 20 years and I still like them, but not as much as I used to. They are dinged for selling their customers data by default, starting on 04.26.21 Unless of course, you opt out from sharing your data with third-parties. You'll need to create an online account for opting out, that seems the easiest way to do it.

Similarly to @chscag, my plan is the 55 and over, except, mine has three lines for 72 bucks a month, with auto-pay. Pretty much everything is unlimited, except tethering is limited to 256KB data transfer throughput. The third-line is used by my granddaughter with an old iPhone 5, mainly for emergencies. Albeit, she loves texting and Face-time, even if it is limited to family members.

 

[Slydude]

I've been watching this thread for a few days.

I must be the only person here who hasn't had a significant issue with either Sprint, AT&T or Verizon (my current provider).

Our first mjor provider was Sprint due to it nationwide coverage. e were wth them for several ywars and always got great service. In fact, one night a customer service rep stopped a barrage of unwanted text messages from a club in Houston. Over a span of a few hours we received almost 200 messages. It took the rep about 20 minutes to fix the problem but preserved my sanity.

I made the shift to iPhone back when AT&T when they were the only carrier available for iPhone users. They once cleared up an issue where my mom's cell number was shown as having received hundreds of text from a phone number supposedly in Russia. At the time this would have put our plan over the text limits and and added significantly to our bill. Problem resolved quickly and the charge was removed. We would be with them today if it were not for our having signal issues that could not be resolved with their "booster" device.

We've been with Verizon for years without issue. Most o the time I take care of things from their site but if I can't handle things from the site I go into the local store a few blocks away. I've only dealt with the phone support system twice at most (all since COVID). I rank the experience right up there wi contacting the US Postal 1Service by phone or contacting my ISP.

 

[chscag]

I noticed my checkbook in the drawer yesterday, and it occurred to me that I haven't written a check in a couple of years.

Same here. Everything that requires a payment nowadays is either by credit card or some other form of digital. I use PayPal whenever I can for on line purchases. Even the lawn service that I use to keep our property trimmed up accepts PayPal.

 

[chscag]

I must be the only person here who hasn't had a significant issue with either Sprint, AT&T or Verizon (my current provider).

I've been through them all and settled on T-Mobile years ago. The worst of the bunch was Sprint, followed closely by AT&T. I did use Verizon a number of years for our Metro Phone Service and TV but they eventually left the area and sold out their FIOS business to Frontier.

I am a bit worried about T-Mobile though. They're expanding very fast and getting into other markets. For example, they recently started offering Internet service which might be useful for rural folks. Hopefully they're not getting too big.

Remember the days when Ma Bell was the only phone provider?

 

[usagora]

I've been through them all and settled on T-Mobile years ago. The worst of the bunch was Sprint, followed closely by AT&T. I did use Verizon a number of years for our Metro Phone Service and TV but they eventually left the area and sold out their FIOS business to Frontier.

I am a bit worried about T-Mobile though. They're expanding very fast and getting into other markets. For example, they recently started offering Internet service which might be useful for rural folks. Hopefully they're not getting too big.

Remember the days when Ma Bell was the only phone provider?

I've been using AT&T for 11 years no issues. However, I plan on switching to T-Mobile this month or next because their unlimited plans are a lot better deal. For a 1-line account, their "Magenta" plan offers 100GB of premium data for $70 whereas AT&T is $75 for only 50GB of premium data. Those rates are both after the autopay/paperless discounts. AT&T's "starter" unlimited plan doesn't even have ANY premium data. You're at their mercy in terms of the speed you get.