We terminated our verizon fios contract end of September, was told to call for final billing cycle, called them on 11/22 and asked for the final bill. We paid the 373.67 they told us was the total bill ON TIME. This was the FULL amount they stated was due. Thought that was the end of the matter. Check my FICO score in prepartion for mortgage application and realize that verizon has reported me to the credit bureau as collection on 12/1--8 days after I paid the final bill ON TIME. Dropped my FICO score from above 800 where it has been for years to 600s. Call the customer service number 12/30/19 and first they keep saying there is no amount due, the account is closed and settled, they don't know what I am talking about. I spoke to the same rep who took payment for the bill and she said she would send me an email stating the account was paid in full. I call back 30 minutes later, told she is on break, call back in 20 minutes, call back again and told she has left for day. She never sent the email she promised and was never available after that first conversation.
Then I speak to a very helpful manager who said she would look into it and call me back the next day. She actually called back 12/31 and was very helpful, had said she had listened to the phone logs and yes, I was told I had paid my bill in full and settled and she was unclear on why there is an outstanding balance. To speed things up, even though I don't think we actually owe any money, we paid it--which involved reactivating our account since the records showed it as closed and settled. She was kind enough to send an email saying the account was paid in full and settled on 1/2/19 to show to the Credit Reporting department.
I then contacted Verizon Credit Reporting bureau again, I had spoken to them multiple times and this time I spoke with Christine who said she saw the payment on 12/31 but couldn't do anything until they get notification from Collections. I said I had the email from them stating account is paid in full, can I forward this to them. They wouldn't provide an email or fax number to send it to. She gave me the extension for her supervisior. I have called 6 times and left 4 voicemails and have had no response. I need to have this resolved ASAP.
We are incredibly frustrated and stressed, at our wit's end. We have been saving for a house for over 10 years, have excellent credit that we have worked so hard to maintain and now in one fell swoop of sheer incompetence, Verizon has ruined it all. We have gone from excellent credit risk to sub prime borrowers all due to Verizon incompetence. We may not get a mortage or rates that let us afford our home.
Ms. Tucker seems to be the only one able or willing to help, and we are very appreciative of her efforts that have gone above and beyond but cannot believe the indifference and incompetence of the rest of the people we have contacted. One department is unable to talk to another and they are ruining people's lives and shrugging their shoulders as if it's no big deal! I will be filing complaints with the FCC, NY AG office, BBB and NY state public service commission.
Take a multi-pronged approach.
Good Luck.
Hi jpd10017,
As this is a peer to peer support forum, you will need to contact Verizon directly for assistance. We have sent you a private message with contact information for a dedicated specialist who is able to help with a resolution of your issue.
The first thing I did was start a dispute with the credit bureaus. I emailed the executive offices yesterday and received a polite email saying someone from the executive team would reach out to me in 24 hours. Someone did call but they were not very helpful or pleasant. The tone was very defensive and all on blaming the customer. He said that since I had paid the second balance, I had accepted that it was a validated debt. I explained to him that I only followed the instructions his customer service reps gave, and paid the balance to move forward with correcting the error. I am not asking for a refund though I really do think that they are billing incorrectly, I just need them to remove the collections from my credit score. I have had an excellent credit score for 10 years+ that is far more important to me than $181. I even asked as a gesture of goodwill for them to delete it. He was like a robot, reading from the same script--the credit reporting bureau would review all the notes--none of which I have access to so I don't know if what is on the note is accurate or factual and have an answer by today or Monday. I asked if I could speak to however will be reviewing my case to explain and he said it is an internal agency and they don't do that. We will see how this goes, I am not very hopeful and he was not very helpful or kind to be honest. I just can't believe how cavalier Verizon is about how inaccurate and incompetent their billing and customer service process.
The credit reporting department initially refused the request for deletion, we persisted--calling twice a day and leaving voicemail until it got bumped up to someone who reviewed the complaint, acknowledged that verizon had the wrong billing address and there was miscommunication and verizon will now delete. During this stressful time, reading the posts of others who persevered was encouraging so I want to provide encouragement to those that had Verizon incorrectly report negative to the credit bureau to keep at it, remain polite but persistent, the initial response is I think always going to be negative but eventually if you are in the right and have documentation to prove it, Verizon will correct it.
Hi Lawrence, would you please provide me with the contact information for a dedicated specialist who is able to help with a resolution of my issue. It is basically an identical case.
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
