Some Verizon customers get refunds on mistaken internet charges
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The story broke after a columnist for The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote about a 6 month ordeal he has been having with the nation's larget cellular carrier. In response to his column, 400 Verizon customers responded with similar complaints. Four Verizon executives visited the newspaper on Monday and the firm's regional president for Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia-Roger Tang-said that every bill is being investigated because the carrier does not want to "zing" customers on their bills. Tang said the biggest problem was from customers who mistakenly activated the internet without knowing it. The exec continued by saying that Verizon needs to do a better job at explaining to their subscribers how they can get charged for data. He noted that the $1.99 charge would cover the fee for someone who accidentally went online using his cellphone and then quickly logged off, realizing the mistake. "It is obvious to us that we need to fix this aspect of our service," said Tang, "but in the meantime we are gladly crediting customers if this happens to them." Better go check your Verizon bill now while the getting is good.
source: Cleveland Plain Dealer via FierceWireless
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14 Comments
2. souleater93 posted on 26 Aug 2009, 22:53 0 0
Wow verizon a little late for the stupid refunds. I had this problem beginning in July of LAST YEAR and lasted for 8 months and they blamed me for the charges. I even turned my phone off for a month to prove my point and i still got charged and the funny thing is i recorded every time i had my phone on one day when i got the internet access was 5 minutes after i shut it off, but the rep. we talked to said i was charged at 7 pm 6 hours after it showed i went online. Luckily my mom made them take the $1.99 off every month it happened. I almost feel like calling and saying "You blamed me for going on the internet and now you hand out refunds for people who claim to have had the same problem as me. You didn't even apologize for blaming me you just took it off and that was that end of the conversation." That is BS from Verizon i hope vodafone takes you over
8. stilt posted on 27 Aug 2009, 10:59 0 0
When you get a person that might not agree with what you are saying just politely hang up and call back. People are human you may have ran into a person that is new and only knows what they have been trained and do not know the ins and outs of credits and refunds and complimentary actions. So just call back I have gotten several free smartphones for the price of the rebate just by talking to the right person. I got my first curve last year for $70 with a 70 dollar rebate. When the saga came out I got it for 150 with a 70 rebate. And nether time did my account contract get upgrade or extended it is all in the cust. serv. rep that you get. If i have a problem and 5 reps give me hassle i gaurantee the 6th one will give you everything you ask. Just have patience with cust serv. that rep may have just had a completely irrate customer and when they got to your problem they just where at the end of there rope. PEOPLE STOP BLAMING ONE OR TWO EXPERIENCES ON VERIZON AS A WHOLE. JUST BECAUSE A TEENAGE BOY WORKING A MCDONALDS PUT ONIONS ON YOUR CHEESEBURGER WHEN YOU SAID PLAIN WITH NO ONIONS YOU WILL LABEL THE WHOLE BUSINESS ACROSS THE WORLD AS INCOMPETANT AND HAVE POOR SERVICE. COME ON PEOPLE LET BE GROWN UPS ABOUT SMALL SITUATIONS. IM MEAN REALLY. :)
4. iberrystorm posted on 27 Aug 2009, 01:56 0 0
well this have been happening for a long time... but my family didnt really care... even though it happened like 10 times or more... i dont really check the bills... 2 bucks isnt much anyways...
5. enemyisyou posted on 27 Aug 2009, 06:40 0 0
I have one of these charges on my bill this month. I just called Verizon and they told me that it was because I downloaded an application, even though I already paid for that usage. They told me I didn't pay my bill in full last month, even though we ALWAYS pay our bill in full. She also told me that I used the internet on my phone, which I didn't. I could see that I was getting nowhere with her so I just hung up. I'm going to call back when I get out of work today and ask to speak with a supervisor. I'm in customer service myself, so I am going to do everything I can to get the charge removed, or go to Sprint - especially since I'm being treated this way and I've been a Verizon customer for 7 years now...
7. souleater93 posted on 27 Aug 2009, 08:11 0 0
we've actually been treated the same and my mom actually got really pissed one day and said she might switch to sprint and they gave me a new phone a week b4 it was released. you might want to try something like it and see how nice verizon can get.
9. Vlondril posted on 27 Aug 2009, 13:42 0 0
and this is why CSR reps like myself develop gray hairs at the age of 25 due to customers like yourself whom we want to help and our superiors who force feed us policy until it comes out our ears.....we really do try to accomodate you however sometimes its policy
10. enemyisyou posted on 27 Aug 2009, 14:20 0 0
Believe me, I totally understand your plight. I am in the same line of business and understand getting force-fed policies and procedures. However, the woman that I spoke with had absolutely NO desire to help me and just consistently told me it was my fault because I didn't pay for the megabyte usage on something I downloaded. Now, why would I pay EXACTLY $1.99 less than the total balance of my bill? Kind of strange that it's the same amount as 1 megabyte of usage and I just so happened to pay exactly that much less. Every month, I look at the total balance of my bill, and I enter in the SAME amount when I pay the bill online. So the only rational explanation I can think of is if they tacked that charge on AFTER I paid last month's bill. I know that Verizon supposedly would never do this, but errors happen - I'd just like it to be acknowledged and fixed, rather than blaming ME...
11. kellybl131 posted on 27 Aug 2009, 14:32 0 0
It could be the application you downloaded. Certain apps requrie MB usage to use (even after you purchase them) and if you aren't subscribed to a data plan it will go at $1.99 per MB charge. That's my guess. It happened to me with a game I purchased.
12. Vlondril posted on 27 Aug 2009, 21:24 0 0
I can understand that....i guess the bottom line is some people should do customer service and some people shouldnt....however she may have been a jaded employee....it shouldnt have happened however look at it this way....she may have had a streak of customers who wanted to have adjustments on their account who shouldnt have and she accomodated them...then she gets yelled at by her superiors...then she over compensated with you...at the end of the day we are only human :) I know....its cliche...lol
14. Mr_LaZy posted on 30 Aug 2009, 10:21 0 0
Verizon owes me over 50 dollars of ".0009MB" charges. Last year, they charged me 27 dollars on a MobileIM Client, a Corporate Business Email application, and a Social Networking client that I never downloaded on my LG Dare (mobile IM comes with the phone, so how did I get charged?) I was 15 years old so I doubt I'd need a stupid Corporate business Email. Social networking I dont need cause I have a computer. These nickel and dimers charged me even when I tried to argue, stating once I paid my bill, they could not refund me. I'm tired of their BS, but their service is the only one that works well in my area. /wrists
