Re: Black Friday offer
wuh
Enthusiast - Level 2

It's not just about leaving Verizon. Report to BBB, bait and switch / false advertising is not legal. I cannot find anywhere on the site that explains what they're doing i.e a disclaimer. See my original post a couple before this for my story.

*edited for clarity 

Re: Black Friday offer
kh-gary
Moderator Emeritus

Hi wuh,

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Please check your Private Message Inbox for a message from Verizon_Support. You can find your Inbox by clicking on your username at the top right corner of this page. Please direct all correspondence concerning your issue to the agents, who will be assisting you privately.

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Re: Black Friday offer
kh-gary
Moderator Emeritus

Hi JoeG2,

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Please check your Private Message Inbox for a message from Verizon_Support. You can find your Inbox by clicking on your username at the top right corner of this page. Please direct all correspondence concerning your issue to the agents, who will be assisting you privately.

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Black Friday offer
Babyblue07
Enthusiast - Level 1

After exhausting all other avenues I'm posting here to see if Verizon will make this right.

As an existing customer that has been off contract we were excited to see an e-mail that was showing that we were eligible for a internet only gigabit deal for 79.99/mo that included a $100.00 gift card and a 1 year Amazon Prime membership.  After following the link and signing in to our account, the deal would not show up as an option for us to purchase.  We were only given the option to sign up for an (upgrade) that was the same plan as what we had signed up for over two years ago.

At this time we called in and were told that it was an internet only deal but we would be eligible for the advertized gigabit plan.  However we'd have to use the online chat feature to get it as they couldn't do it over the phone.  What happened next blew my mind.

In summation here is what transpired: I contacted the online chat and explained the problem.  Not only did they not address the fact that I couldn't sign up for the e-mail gigabit promotion, but they offered me a more expensive plan with less features than what I'm paying off contract.  They even went so far as to tell me what qualifies someone for the gigabit deal and I met all of the criteria!

-At no time was I given an option to sign up for the e-mailed plan

-I was offered a lesser plan at a more expensive cost

-This deal expires tonight and I have no way of acquiring it even though I am eligible as per the criteria provided.

-Not being able to sign up for this deal will cause monetary damages in that I am restricted to having to pay for lesser services for higher costs.

All of this constitutes a violation of the Consumer Protection Act of Massachusetts, Chapter 93a which Verizon is subject to as they operate a business in the state of Massachusetts.

MGL Chapter 93a

I have screenshots of every interaction and every web-page that is involved in this.

What I am demanding is that I be given the advertized deal with all the benefits that were offered during the time period that this occurred on.

I am seeing quite a few of these problems on the forums and I hope Verizon will make this right.

Re: Black Friday offer
kh-gary
Moderator Emeritus

Hi Babyblue07,

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Please check your Private Message Inbox for a message from Verizon_Support. You can find your Inbox by clicking on your username at the top right corner of this page. Please direct all correspondence concerning your issue to the agents, who will be assisting you privately.

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Re: Black Friday offer
Subielover
Enthusiast - Level 3

Reporting it is what I plan to do too. After chatting for about an hour there was no good resolution. The best they can do for me is a new offer that's still $50/mo more than what I was paying before for the same services. They won't cancel my order it's supposedly impossible. The idea was to lower my bill not raise it. Some black Friday offer..

Re: Black Friday offer
Sq70
Enthusiast - Level 3

What a sad joke!

On the PM the verizon reps regurgitate the same meaningless, "we are sorry for the inconvenience," and suggested I call 1800VERIZON to try and resolve the issue.

Besides for the BBB compalints should be filed with the local regulatory or franchising body that deal with this type of stuff.

In NYC it looks like it is https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doitt/residents/submit-cable-and-open-video-complaint.page:

Write DoITT or the New York State Public Service Commission
DoITT
Consumer Service Department - Cable TV
2 Metro Tech Center, P1 Mailroom
Brooklyn, NY 11201

New York State Public Service Commission (New York City Office)
90 Church Street
New York, NY 10007-2919
Phone: 800-342-3377

It also cannot hurt to submit a complaint online to local state attorney general's office, which likely has a consumer protection division (asis the case in NY).

Although we will be stuck paying verizon a few extra dollars due to this bait and switch scam (or we will just switch providers), if a couple of people file a complaint with one relevant regulatory body, hopefully in the long run some action will be taken which will cause companies like Verizon to engage in less oppresive, blantantly unfair and possibly fraudulent behavior in the future.

Re: Black Friday offer
Subielover
Enthusiast - Level 3

Yep they gave me a # to call as well. My bill is going up by $80 due to this, so if they can't make it right I will be switching providers. I just asked them to put me back on the plan I had if they can't honor my offer price but apparently that's too much to ask. I've looked into where to make complaints too. The attorney general in my area handles these complaints as well as the BBB.

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Re: Black Friday offer
LJohn58
Enthusiast - Level 3

Other than reporting to relevant authorities and organizations (like BBB), which may end up doing nothing, I feel that the only recourse we have is 1) to spread the word about this snafu and 2) vote with our wallets.

Two years from now Verizon will be salivating to get our business again. That's just how this dysfunctional system works. No one cares about retaining customers, so the only way to get good prices is to switch back and forth every two years. Since Verizon has stopped offering email addresses, I decoupled our email addresses from our internet provider two years ago, which was the big inconvenience about switching.

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Re: Black Friday offer
LJohn58
Enthusiast - Level 3

In Virginia, I believe that the complaints need to be directed to the local (city or county) franchising authority.

I did dig up this as well: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us

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