I owed Verizon $137.00 and they called me THREE times, in 2 days, about it!!

[Breeze54]

:wtf: is up with that? I mean, I've paid them every month and yet they still call with those robot calls and tell me they sent me a letter and that I NEED to call them at this 800 phone # and talk to an account person. My bill is only $41.23 (?) a month and I don't use long distance anymore as I have free nights and weekends on my sons cellphone, so my question is, why are they putting the squeeze on me?

01/15/08 - Paid - $60.00
02/21/08 - Paid - $96.11 (Paid bill in full!) :grr:
03/19/08 - Paid - $65.00
04/10/08 - Paid - $40.00

Balance = $87.00 .....

Yeah, I know they want it NOW and I've let a balance 'float' but I pay every month!!

It isn't like I ignore them, although I'd like to and I am making payments.

I pay as much as I can. Before January, I was paying it off every month.

So, why the multiple phone calls from them and the threats? :shrug:

They're really pissing me off and I can't wait to get DSL!!

Then I'll get Vonage and fire Verizon 4-EVER!!! :D



:P

[Fenris]

1. Here's one for you

About 5 months ago, I got a mysterious deposit in my credit card account from Verizon for $120. I had no idea why they had credited my account. My mistake, of course, was not contacting Verizon about it. Two months ago I went to make a cell phone call and got an automated message telling me they were transferring me to the billing department. So all of the sudden I'm unable to make a cell phone call - they transfer all outgoing calls from your cell phone to the billing department. So I get on and this person tells me I owe them $120. So the mysterious credit is revealed as some sort of error on their part. But it was my fault that I didn't check the credit origin - they told me so!

:eyes:

At least I was able to get them to drop the "reactivation fee." If I didn't have two cell phones on a contract with them I would have cancelled my service right then. And it wasn't that I couldn't afford the $120 that annoyed me, but the fact that they cut off my service until I paid up. And they didn't even give me warning or anything.

[Breeze54]

3. They're really getting ruthless, imho.

I hear you! I don't need three frigging "reminders" in two days time, (actually in less the 24 hours) :grr:
I think they've been ripping me off anyway with that $41.?? plan.... I asked for totally local service
which is about $16.95 a month but after they got done with the extra taxes and fee's it was $41.?? a month!! :wtf:
And then they kept trying to pressure me into taking call waiting and 3 way and voice mail and all that crap
and I'm paying MORE for NOT taking that crapo!

[MercutioATC]

2. You DO realize that they're collecting a debt, don't you?

This isn't a personal attack...all of us fall on difficult times.

However, it seems silly to sign a contract, use a service, and then gripe about the provider attempting to collect monies due when you don't pay.


Depending on coverage in your area, I'd suggest you look at Alltel. Great coverage in my area and they're the most accommodating cell provider I've ever worked with (they're not early-adopters, though, so their product lines are never cutting-edge).

[Breeze54]

4. Yes, I do but calling me 3 times in less than 48 hrs seems absurd... I DO pay and

Verizon is the ONLY game in the state!! I have NO choice but to deal with them! :grr:

I don't have a cellphone. I have a land line.

[MercutioATC]

5. It may be absurd, but they have the contractual right to be absurd

On an off-topic note, I have a cell and ditched my landline years ago. It's worked well for me.

[Breeze54]

6. Well, I have DU for my ISP and I need a land line for now...

I'm moving soon anyways and yes, I'm "buying time" until I do move and then I'm getting DSL
(or whatever) and I'll be going with Vonage or one of those other internet phone company's.
I may not be paying off the balance right now (wish I could) but I've never lost service in
six years. They can wait a little while... They aren't going broke over my $87.00 bucks.

[Breeze54]

7. And as long as a person pays a minimum, they can't cut you off.

As long as a person pays at least "something" on a bill (unless that law has changed) they can't sue you either.

[kevinbgoode]

14. Verizon attaches a $5 service charge on balances that aren't paid in full

each month, meaning the company makes money on outstanding account balances. I'd be more sympathetic to the company if there wasn't a goddamned rate increase, service fee increase every few months - my bill has risen $6 a month this year and I haven't changed any services.

Moreover, I live in a state in which a full 17% of the bill each month is charged in a variety of service, usage, government taxes and fees - many of which no one seems to understand. Back in the 1980's, when parent company GTE was (along with ATT) was "deregulated"...meaning they could now multiply the charges in multiple ways...this, of couse, was sold to the public as a way for people to "save" money. Naturally, the reality was that we are charged for having a phone PLUGGED IN, whether it is used or not, then charged per call in many cases.

When I had dial-up service through them, I would rage every month. The company would send small pulses through lines periodically, and if you were online, it would boot you off. You'd have to redial, (costing another phone call for merely connecting) and I would get charges for a few HUNDRED of these each month, even though I never voluntarily disconnected the local call.

[ColbertWatcher]

8. That's one of the few jobs left...

...that and military or law enforcement.

[Breeze54]

9. LOL... I fear they WILL be at my door with vaporizers soon!

:rofl:

Gheesh! You'd think that my account was the straw on the Verizon camels back, for cripes sakes! :P

:rofl:

[ColbertWatcher]

10. When Americans don't pay their phone bills...

...the Bush Administration can't spy on terrorists...or something like that.

[Tezcat]

11. Law

Isn't there a harrassment law in the US that stops people from phoing too much?

[OneGrassRoot]

12. My electric company just nailed me....

I've had an account for six years. Never late. Not once. Been paying on their monthly averaging plan for the last three years. I transferred to online banking several months ago and, without my knowledge, evidently there was a 24-hour delay glitch from the day showing when things would be paid.

ONCE the electric bill was paid ONE DAY beyond the due date (not the "past due" date). With no warning, they sent a letter that the monthly average program was revoked and I had to pay the bill in full: $400, whereas the monthly bill I was budgeting for was $163.

Scary how ruthless everything has become.

[DFW]

13. Did they call collect?

[geek_sabre]

15. Easiest solution:

Call the 800 number and talk to an account person.

They are only interested in getting what you owe them. They're not a charity. If you took it upon yourself to start underpaying your bill due to a financial hardship or whatever, that's your problem. What are they supposed to think? They're not mind readers. All they see is that you've consistently underpaid.

Your best bet is to call, and speak politely to an account rep, explain your situation, and ask if you can arrange a payment plan to avoid being sent to collections. Ignoring them is not going to fix anything.

If your bill is $41.23 (including taxes etc), you need to pay at least that amount each month, regardless of outstanding balance. Otherwise, they can send your account to collections, and they won't be nice enough to send robocalls. And then they can lawfully charge you additional hefty fees for sending you to the collections agency.

So, talk to them and attempt to work it out. Or continue to bitch and whine, do your own thing, and risk ending up in an even worse financial situation.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. AT&T used to send us bills for 2¢ and 9¢ and 4¢ ........

This for long distance we never used but for which there was some stupid surcharge resulting in bills for a few pennies.

In big bold letters on the bill it said: DO NOT SEND CASH.

I taped pennies to the bill and sent it in with their "Do Not Send Cash" message scratched out and replaced by my own message: "Do Not Send Bills For Less Than The Combined Cost of Postage and the Check to Pay It."

After about four or five months, we got no more penny bills.