'Drop Wire' bill from 'CMR Claims Department' for wire repair

[WizarDru]

On 7/31/2015 I reported to Verizon that I had an accidental cutting of the FIOS cable to my ONT on the exterior of my house.  The cable was severed, disconnecting my FIOS TV and Internet service.  I immediately contacted support and was told someone would be out that day to fix it.  Twice during the day Verizon attempted to postpone the call; eventually they agreed to come the next day (initially trying to reschedule for four days later).  On the following day, Saturday, August First, a technician came and installed a temporary wire.  Afterwards, someone else was sent to permanently replace the wire.  At no point during any of my interactions over several phone calls or talks with technicians in person was any mention made of an associated charge with the repair.

This weekend I received a bill that indicates that it is from Verizon, but really appears to be from "CMR Claims Department" for $439.14 with only a description that says 'VERIZON COST TO REPAIR'.  I have seen similar claims that appear to be Verizon's contractor doing unneeded work and then trying to pass the cost on to the unwary customer.  I want to dispute this charge, which appears fraudulent to me.  I could have cancelled service and ordered a new account for less than this repair cost, which seems ridiculous to me.

Can someone assist me in investigating this issue?  I sought help with the Verizon chat option, but they told me they couldn't get any information about it and that it 'wasn't their department' and that I would need to contact the phone number on the billing statement.  They also initially said it would appear on my next billing statement, but that seems like it would be incorrect or there would be no need to attempt to bill me separately.

Thanks,

Dru.

[LawrenceC]

Hi WizarDru,

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 look at the top of the middle column where you will find an area titled "My Support Cases". You can reach your profile page by clicking on your name beside your post, or at the top left of this page underneath the title of the board.

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, at the top of your support case there is a drop down menu for support case options. Open that and choose "subscribe". Please keep all correspondence regarding your issue in the private support portal.