what is the trick to actually getting Verizon to handle issues?

[jsbrendle]

I moved over a year ago, back into my childhood home where we used to have phone service. I didn't transfer phone service right away, but eventually I did. When I did so, I reactivated the old phone number.

But from that point on, things have been a nightmare. I got working phone service, and didn't see a bill. I didn't realize I didn't see one, weeks passed and nothing came in the mail. Next thing I know, they're threatening me with suspension and I get a phone message and email telling me all about the imminent termination of my service. Ouch!

For years I had a working auto-pay set up, I never had any problem, each month without fail the bill would be the same amount and on the appropriate day out the money came. Simple. Easy. Fine. But with moving the service, some how that got turned off.

Annoyed, I figured I'd go on-line and deal with that right away. But I can't. It won't let me in. I contact their on-line support ... person tries to help me, cannot and "submits a ticket to the web support team" and gives me a ticket# and says I will hear back from them and am told to make the one-time payment to avoid the suspension in case they don't get back to me. Fine. Annoying, but fine. No response comes from this "team" ... another month goes by, I don't get sent a paper bill eventually the threatened terminataion call comes in -- repeat cycle. Make the one-time payment. Fight with the chat agent to try to get the web access fixed. Fail. Get "escalated" and never hear a peep back. I have been doing this now for about six months. And nothing has changed... until now.

Why? well... I got tired of the pattern I was in, I was tired of this cycle -- I am seeing paper bills perhaps every other month, on average. not each one, don't know why but I don't get them each month. No one can explain that. And when I don't see a paper bill, I didn't remember to go and do the one-time payment on-line because for years I didn't have that as a bill to pay -- none of my utilities needed a check each month sent in, I'm not used to having to do that! So I miss. And I get threatened again, and I get frustrated and angry again. And I still cannot login to my account on the web site that I used to have with Verizon to view and manage my account to see what I owe, make a payment, set up autopay, etc. SO, After the fourth time when this happened and I was threatened with suspended service yet again, I gave in. I was holding out, hoping to be able to get back in to the web site to be able to actually see my bills that I never was sent, to make sure things were the way I wanted them with autopay ... but no. This just wasn't working. The bills weren't coming reliably. And repeated promises for the "escalation" to lead to being able to get in to the web site were never fulfilled. -- I set up autopay. That way at least I know it is getting paid, and I won't get the nasty gram about turning it off again. That's the only way to "fix it" from my side.

And then ... the autopay amount when it was charged wasn't the amount I owed, it was what I owed plus what was on this coming bill both. Ok. The next month's bill wasn't yet due, but, ok. Fine. AND THEN...  two days later, it was taken out again. **bleep**?!?

So now Verizon has 2 months of payments "extra" from me! And I still can't see my account online. And the online chat is never "available" to use that. I know because I've checked in on various days and times over the last week plus and it never shows up that I can on-line chat with an agent. And I'll be da---d if I am going to wait on hold  again for a half hour to fight with another agent who will not be able to fix the situation, promise to escalate, give me a ticket # and promise of a response in a few days when I've been waiting for several of these things to actually get back to me for months.

I give up -- What do I have to do to actually get this resolved? Is the answer "switch to another provider?" I'm begining to think so. This has been over a half year of frustration with NO satisfaction and repeated mistakes and on-going failures ...  how much more do I put up with?

[LawrenceC]

This issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent.