Re: New email policy
Nunzio2
Enthusiast - Level 3

I just spoke with a Verizon tech support person by telephone, actually a Verizon landline, and was told that my POP3 client (Mac Mail) would NOT count as access. In other words, VZ is trying to drive business to its website by requireing its use under threat of termination of email accounts. Does that sound like a customer friendly, warm fuzzy company, the kind they try to represent themselves as on their advertising, Twitter pages, etc.? It doesn't to me. It sound much more like a company that will do anything without concern for the consequences to its users.

Re: Alert message from Verizon that Verizon.net email will be deleted if inactive for 180 days
Nunzio2
Enthusiast - Level 3

I find that the confusion about all this is completely in keeping with Verizon's lack of communication within it's own departments. The customer service people (including tech support) consider the email client access to be one that does NOT count as satisfying this recent emailing to (some of?) its customers. I say this as a result of two conversations with support only an hour ago.

I'd really like to know which of the points of view expressed here is the true one. Or are they all true? 🙂 In other words there is a policy, but it contradicts itself.

Re: New email policy
Donkster
Enthusiast - Level 2

I also talked to a Verizon service rep via their Live Chat, and he/she told me that using a POP log in would NOT count as an official log-in.  I would have to visit Verizon.com and actually log in there - or lose my account.  

This mis-information is very aggravating on top of the threating-ish email warning.

Why couldn't they simply send the warning to people with email accounts that "haven't" been accessed in months? I feel they want to eliminate their email service like they (basically) eliminated their free customer server space.  

Unfortunately the price never decreases when they take away features that were there when we subscribed. 

Re: New email policy
pfps
Enthusiast - Level 3

This all reminds me of the fiasco with foreign access to Verizon email a while ago.   At least this time there was an announcement from Verizon, instead of just a cut-off of service with no notice or explanation.

It's all business  as usual for Verizon.  Send out incorrect information.  Don't bother to make up for past mistakes.  Distribute more false information. Spread FUD everywhere.  Treat the people who actually care about their services like mushrooms.

But what can we customers of Verizon do?  Most of us do not have viable alternatives - all Verizon has to do is to be the second-worst local supplier of phone, cable, or internet service.  I have reduced my dependence on Verizon email, but I'm sure that that doesn't make any difference to Verizon as I'm still paying them the same amount of money every month.

Re: New email policy
JiminMd
Enthusiast - Level 1

I called Verizon today about this policy.  I use Gmail to access my verizon mail.  After two long conversations with two different reps, one of them sent me something that says access via "SMTP, POP or Webmail"  is okay.  The rep told me "Webmail" includes services like Yahoo  and Gmail. But she would not give me anything in writing that confirms this. So the heck with Verizon.   It's just the latest reason to drop it.  Verizon doesn't care about customers until it thinks they might leave.   

Re: Confusing email from Verizon
JiminMd
Enthusiast - Level 1

any program that you run on your computer, tablet, or phone that sends and/or receives email from your verizon.net account(s) satisfies the requirement, as long as the account is accessed at least once each 6 months.

Very clearly stated.  And this would be the perfect way for Verizon to have said it.  Trouble is, Verizon's written policy does not say this clearly.-- neither the original, really vague and threatening-ish email, nor the website posting at verizon.com/emailpolicy, nor the followup email that I received from customer service.   

Re: Confusing email from Verizon
pfps
Enthusiast - Level 3

@JiminMd wrote:

any program that you run on your computer, tablet, or phone that sends and/or receives email from your verizon.net account(s) satisfies the requirement, as long as the account is accessed at least once each 6 months.

Very clearly stated.  And this would be the perfect way for Verizon to have said it.  Trouble is, Verizon's written policy does not say this clearly.-- neither the original, really vague and threatening-ish email, nor the website posting at verizon.com/emailpolicy, nor the followup email that I received from customer service.   


I have my doubts as to this actually being the case.  If sending Verizon email using SMTP counted, then the Verizon email policy should have been written differently.
Re: Confusing email from Verizon
Nunzio2
Enthusiast - Level 3

*DISCLAIMER: What follows is merely my opinion based on years of experience reading English, teaching English, writing English. I am not an attorney.

So here's a shortened version of what Verizon says about what it considers to be 3 options to prevent an email account from being removed without warning for inactivity. I've numbered what were their bullet points but not changed any of their words on their policy page: verizon.com/emailpolicy which I will here attempt to show is quite clear.

Email accounts without activity for 180 days will be considered inactive . . .

For the purposes of this policy, a mailbox will be considered "active" if you do any of the following at least once every 180 days:

In other words, their own policy states (below) which single thing of the three things they define a customer must do at least once every 180 days in order for a mailbox to be considered ACTIVE. In my dictionary, the word ACTIVE is the opposite of the word INACTIVE. They are telling us how to prevent the mailbox from being declared inactive. Apologies to those of you who feel that this is ridiculously repetitive. It is, but I'm trying really hard to reveal my thinking one step at a time.

1- Log into Verizon Webmail at http://webmail.verizon.com

2- Log into your POP Email client (such as Outlook Express)

3- Log into MyVerizon and (i) open or send at least one Email message or (ii) set up

automatic forwarding of your Email.

Note also that #2 merely requires a login via an email client to your account. This is something that you are likely to have been doing pretty much every day even before the crazy threatening email Verizon sent to you.

Therefore, I must conclude that the email sent as a warning, and the nonsense quoted by the customer reps or tech support people are contrary to their stated policy. I believe that the reps are essentially either reading something they've been given which is not legally binding compared to their publicly written policy.* see DISCLAIMER at the begining of my post or they have been prepped to tell the contrary story. Your guess as to why is as good as mine . . . or perhaps better.

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Re: Confusing email from Verizon
Nunzio2
Enthusiast - Level 3

I don't know how or why I missed this the first time around, but I've come to completely agree with something said much earlier by Justin. I even like his reasoning as to why they're doing this, My own reasoning all along has been a tad paranoid with anti-big business overtones. I like the earlier one better, the dead space on their servers. Makes sense. Thanks.

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New E Mail Account De-activation Policy - POP Downloads Constitute Account Access????
Bill442
Newbie

Just saw the announcement that Verizon will de-activate e mail accounts if the accounts haven't been accessed once every six months.  Does access include downloading via pop accounts?  Or do we now have to actually log in to verizon.net and go to the webmail account?  If the latter, what a total pain in the neck!

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