Deceptive Business Practices
Jinxt
Enthusiast - Level 1

After seeing that Gigabit internet is now available in my area I signed into my account yesterday to upgrade from my current Internet Only, 75/75.

Best price I could get to upgrade was $117.99 even though new customers can get it for $69.99.

That's fine and dandy I guess, because that's just how companies do business nowadays (force existing customers to cancel service and have them turn around and get "new" service activated at their same address under a spouse or roomate's name).

But after looking around and weighing options I saw that I could add Custom TV and Unlimited Digital Phone to a gigabit upgrade and it offered me a Triple Play Package for $42.99 plus $12 TV Box plus taxes and fees for the first year, then $47.99 for the second year and $57.99 for the third year. The initial $90 install fee was waived for doing it online, and the standard $90 speed upgrade fee was listed and broken into $30 chunks across 3 months. Seemed like a decent enough deal to me so I went ahead and added everything to the cart and went through the chekout process. It verified the pricing and had me pick an installation date, which I did. I recieved a confirmation on the install date, was given an order number and another breakdown of the costs and incentives for me to verify again. Everything is good. I printed the confirmation information to PDF and saved them for my records.

The My Verizon page shows an order number that matches the confirmation I got. Everything is cool, right? WRONG.

A few hours ago I recieved a confirmation email with a completely different order number and a completely different pricing structure and a completely different install date. Not only did they inflate the price by an extra $27/month for the first year but they also added more onto it for the second and third year PLUS added $180 in upgrade fees, so my orginial agreed upon and confirmed price of $88.48 (from the $30 initial installment for the $90 upgrade fee plus around $17 in taxes and other fees) for the initial month suddenly inflated to $276.51 after taxes and fees.

I contacted chat support and they said that they are sorry but they would not be able to honor the original price that they offered, I agreed to, signed up for, and recieved confirmation of being a done deal.

I don't believe a bait and switch this incredibly bold is even legal.

I first became a Verizon customer 17 years ago when I moved out of my parents house and got DSL. When Fios was first available I was the 3rd person in the neighborhood to upgrade. When I moved out of that apartment and into my current house with my wife I continued that service and slowly upgraded my speed along the way. I have had Verizon internet, uninterupted, and without a single late payment for 17 years straight and THIS is the kind of **bleep** they try to pull? Really? My neighborhood has 2 other ISPs available for me to switch over to. I don't live in a market where Verizon has a Monolopy.

I am not ok with this.

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Re: Deceptive Business Practices
jonjones1
Legend

@Jinxt wrote:

After seeing that Gigabit internet is now available in my area I signed into my account yesterday to upgrade from my current Internet Only, 75/75.

Best price I could get to upgrade was $117.99 even though new customers can get it for $69.99.

That's fine and dandy I guess, because that's just how companies do business nowadays (force existing customers to cancel service and have them turn around and get "new" service activated at their same address under a spouse or roomate's name).

But after looking around and weighing options I saw that I could add Custom TV and Unlimited Digital Phone to a gigabit upgrade and it offered me a Triple Play Package for $42.99 plus $12 TV Box plus taxes and fees for the first year, then $47.99 for the second year and $57.99 for the third year. The initial $90 install fee was waived for doing it online, and the standard $90 speed upgrade fee was listed and broken into $30 chunks across 3 months. Seemed like a decent enough deal to me so I went ahead and added everything to the cart and went through the chekout process. It verified the pricing and had me pick an installation date, which I did. I recieved a confirmation on the install date, was given an order number and another breakdown of the costs and incentives for me to verify again. Everything is good. I printed the confirmation information to PDF and saved them for my records.

The My Verizon page shows an order number that matches the confirmation I got. Everything is cool, right? WRONG.

A few hours ago I recieved a confirmation email with a completely different order number and a completely different pricing structure and a completely different install date. Not only did they inflate the price by an extra $27/month for the first year but they also added more onto it for the second and third year PLUS added $180 in upgrade fees, so my orginial agreed upon and confirmed price of $88.48 (from the $30 initial installment for the $90 upgrade fee plus around $17 in taxes and other fees) for the initial month suddenly inflated to $276.51 after taxes and fees.

I contacted chat support and they said that they are sorry but they would not be able to honor the original price that they offered, I agreed to, signed up for, and recieved confirmation of being a done deal.

I don't believe a bait and switch this incredibly bold is even legal.

I first became a Verizon customer 17 years ago when I moved out of my parents house and got DSL. When Fios was first available I was the 3rd person in the neighborhood to upgrade. When I moved out of that apartment and into my current house with my wife I continued that service and slowly upgraded my speed along the way. I have had Verizon internet, uninterupted, and without a single late payment for 17 years straight and THIS is the kind of **bleep** they try to pull? Really? My neighborhood has 2 other ISPs available for me to switch over to. I don't live in a market where Verizon has a Monolopy.

I am not ok with this.


The issue basically is Verizon Fios through the Fios app or account portal offer Gigabyte speed based on the service level you are at now. In my case it was 150/150 and it only increased $20 so my $79.99 plus $1.99 Surcharge increased $20 with no contract. I also have a pro rata amount so it's $106 that's all.

new customers can get a triple play for $79.99 plus taxes and fees and rental of the set top boxes, sports fee, which bring it up to around $120 per month. It's actually higher but you get certain credits like the $60 for Gigabyte upgrade, and $10 & $15 credits for tv and other credits. It lowers the price down quite a bit.

you State you have no install fee since you went via the web to purchase. But then say it's $90 in three installments. Which is it?

you will have to order through your my Fios app or online account portal to get the best prices. 

Good luck

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Re: Deceptive Business Practices
MrMatthew1
Contributor - Level 1

Hi Jinxt,

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Before the agent can begin assisting you, they will need to collect further information from you. Please go to your profile page for the forum and scroll down the page to an area titled "My Support Cases". You can reach your profile page by clicking on your name located above your post, or at the top right of this page.

Under "My Support Cases" you will find a link to the private board where you and the agent may exchange information. The title of your post is the link. This should be checked on a frequent basis, as the agent may be waiting for information from you before they can proceed with any actions. To ensure you know when they have responded to you, you may subscribe to the case. At the top right of your support case there is a gear icon which provides a drop down menu with support case options. Click that and choose "subscribe". Please keep all correspondence regarding your issue in the private support portal.

Re: Deceptive Business Practices
Jinxt
Enthusiast - Level 1

@jonjones wrote:

you State you have no install fee since you went via the web to purchase. But then say it's $90 in three installments. Which is it?



There are two separate fees associated with upgrading your services. One is a $90 "Installation Fee" and the other is a $90 "Speed Upgrade Fee". Typically, the Installation Fee is billed at $45/month for the first two months and the Speed Upgrade Fee is billed at $30/month for the first 3 months.

Placing an upgrade order online currently (according to all the specials listed) waives the $90 Install Fee and gives you a $10/month account incentive for 24 months. The phantom second order number had both $90 fees attached in a lump sum (not broken down across the first 2-3 months), totalling $180 owed immediatly for the first month, on top of the package pricing, taxes, and extra fees.

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