Renewal Increases
bconzel
Enthusiast - Level 1

Just found out that after being a loyal customer for the past two year, and btw being a strong advicate for Verizon Fios to my friends/family, I am being thanked with a 20 increase to my bill.  I did a 'live chat' to see if I was mistaken and was told that yes this is true but i was getting faster intenet.  I explained i didn't ask for this and was very happy with my current services and net speed.  I was told that the package actually cost $40 more a month and I was only getting charged $20 month.  Wow, thanks!

In all honesty I really do think Fios and the services provided are better than Comast/Satelite/etc (which I have available in my area), but I was just dissapointed that for renewing my plan for another 2 years would be punished with a increase to my rate after advocating to my firends and family how much better Fios was (quality/price/service) than Comcast which i switched from 2 years ago.  I was hoping for a discount at renewal. Not a $480.00 increase over the next 2 years.

Has anyone switched back to Comcast/Satellite?  Maybe they've gotten better.

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Re: Renewal Increases
walt178
Specialist - Level 3

@bconzel wrote:

Has anyone switched back to Comcast/Satellite?  Maybe they've gotten better.


Switching back and forth between providers may save money since you can get the new customer discount each time.  But performance wise, I doubt that coax based providers have gotten better when compared to fiber.

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Re: Renewal Increases
CrazyCuban1
Enthusiast - Level 1

Changing back to Comcast might get you a cheaper rate, but you wil still be paying for sub-standard service.  As for me, I would not mind paying extra if they provided FIOS TV in my area.

Re: Renewal Increases
Quagmire1
Enthusiast - Level 2

I was loyal Verizon Fios for 6 years. Last bill was for over 250.00 a month. Checked Dish for TV service,

Now saving almost 100.00 a month. New customer rates for Verizon users is very good, old customers get to pay for them and everybody else. They will not negoitate with you. I kept internet and phone service because I thought it would be too disruptive to change. I was stupid enough to accept an upgraded internet package with an upgrade on my phone from analog to digital. My phone is actually used exclusively by my disabled 84 yr mother-in-law who lives with us. After 5 days of canceling TV service, I am still waiting for them to hook up my phone. My mother-in-law is scared and desperate for her phone. All her numbers are recorded on it. I have called Verizon every day and have gotten no results...someone, somewhere is working on it. It is the problem of the network tech, I am told, and he's working on it. He's been given 2days to go from analog to digital on an exisiting phone...I can't reach anybody with authority to address this problem...We are now in a mostly automated service situation for customers..welcome to la la land..Verizon seems to have the edge on their competitors in their ability to spin you around the virtual world of internet...getting off this train as soon as I can...

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Re: Renewal Increases
KaLin
Khoros Partner
Khoros Partner

Quagmire,

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Please go to your profile page for the forum, and look in the middle, right at the top 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.  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. Please keep all correspondence regarding your issue in the private support portal.



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Re: Renewal Increases
beetlejuice2
Specialist - Level 1

I've had almost every cable/satellite provider there is over the years.

Even if you switch providers to get lower prices once your promo pricing ends, it will jump up just like fios. Some may give you discounts to keep you after the promo ends, but not all will. The thing with fios is even if it jumps a little as long as you stay in contract you won't see huge increases. Look at the base rate. It's crazy. I'd be paying almost $400 for what I have right now if I were paying their normal pricing. 

Before I ended up with Verizon I had Brighthouse/Time Warner. They refused to give me any kind of discount after my special one year pricing so I switched. If I kept it, my bill would have jumped to the normal pricing which was way, way more then I am still paying Verizon after 3 and 3/4 years. Yes my bill jumped with Verizon, but when compared to normal pricing elsewhere I'm still saving. My father in law who can't have anyone but Brighthouse is paying over $300 a month for less then what I get at $155 plus tax, boxes, rsf, etc...

When I had Comcast years ago their normal pricing was terrible and back then they didn't have any new customer promos because it was the only service in town. It was either pay it or don't have it at all.

Directv's special promos are for 1 year with a 2 year contract. Once that year is up the pricing sky rockets and yet you are stuck with it for another year. You are pretty much paying them back for the special pricing during year one. It's no different then wireless phone plans with subsidies.

The only way to save is to keep switching providers as early as 6 months to get new customer pricing. I'd rather pay a little more and stay with a service that I'm happy with then risk something else. I haven't had any issues with fios and not one outage since I've had it, yet had several issues with Brighthouse so if I were to switch back it would be a mistake.

Look at past experiences with other companies, look at what you have now, ask yourself how happy you are with it and if saving a few bucks is worth risking possible disappointment with another company. Look at both the pros and cons of switching. In the end you have to do what you feel is best for you.

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Let's Look At "Loyalty"
armond_in_nj1
Master - Level 1

Other writers to these forums have written:

"I was loyal Verizon Fios for 6 years ... "

"Just found out that after being a loyal customer for the past two year ... "


I respect these sentiments, and obviously I know what the words mean.  However my understanding of the word "loyal" may differ from that of the writers. 


For example, I am loyal to members of my family.  The same is true for many close friends and associates.  Then there's the loyalty associated with schools I've attended, organizations where I've been a member, etc.  However I am not "loyal" in any of the above senses to my grocery store.  Let me tell you what I mean.

My local grocer and I have an implied contract.  He supplies food at a certain standard, and I supply money in return for his food.  As long as this situation remains stable, we continue to do business according to the terms of the "implied" contract.  If the situation changes and the entity on one or both sides of the contract deviates from the contract, the deal is off.  There's never a question of "loyalty" because if I don't  like my grocer's performance, I go elsewhere.  He doesn't reward my "loyalty: by giving me free eggs, and I don't expect him to do so.

In my view the same situation applies to my ISP.  In this case, however we have a written agreement that  is sometimes called the Terms of Service (TOS).  My ISP meets my needs and I send him money in exchange, according to the TOS.  If things don't work out, I move on.  Loyalty never enters the equation.

I'm not suggesting that everyone should see things in the above manner.  Rather it seems to me that the concept of "loyalty" has little place in the ISP equation.

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Re: Renewal Increases
Quagmire1
Enthusiast - Level 2

Kudos to "Rachel" Verizon internet agent. She got on my case, called the network tech and resolved my phone disconnect problem. She did in about 30 minutes what 5 Verizon reps could not do in 5 days. So Kudos to her.

Unfortunately, Rachel does not deal with a greater problem that Verizon has, "how to deal with unplanned events" and how to address customer complaints. Everyone at Verizon has a specific job, Bill person, Tech person,Internet person, etc., there is no one to address an unplanned event. If the problem doesn't fall in their bucket, then they can't help you. If you have a complaint that's not in their bucket, they can't help you and they can't refer you to anyone. (This happened on the weekend)

In my case, all I want to know are answers to simple questions: Why and How did an upgrade on my phone cause it to be disconnected for almost 5 days.Why could no one help me on the weekend? So what if your phone service is disconnected for 5 days. If it's your business, it could cost you a lot of money, with lost customers. In my case, it caused a lot of worry and anguish with my handicapped 84 year old mother-in-law. All her numbers are in the phone, all her out of town friends, that she talks to regularly couldn't reach her. Especially her dying brother-in-law in El Paso who is on his last days. 

 The issue of rising costs with different providers leaves it up to the individual to find the best deals. I switched my VerizonTV service to Dish and I  am saving almost 100 dollars the first year but that will drop to 80 dollars the second year. It's a game. I will shop around after my Dish service comes to an end. Verizon should explore how they can best play this game and still keep their "loyal" customers.

Re: Renewal Increases
Verizon_Support
Customer Service Rep

quagmire,

We have closed your private support case. Due to you not responding, it seems you do not need our help any longer. Please make a new thread anytime you need our help.

- Jose_VZ

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