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Old 03-31-2006, 07:02 PM   #1
Displaced Flames fan
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Default My cell phone nightmare

I've just realized that this is unbelievable.

Early last month we decided to change cell phone providers and buy some new phones. We had spent the last 2 years using Sprint PCS here in the states. Tons of dropped calls. We were eager to move on.

Being a US Postal Service employee (the second largest employer in the world) I am afforded some nice discounts from various companies, including nearly all the major cell phone providers. Verizon Wireless' USPS discounts were as good as anyone's and we had heard only great things about their service and most importantly the complete lack of dropped calls and service interruption. Another boon was that my Dad, who I talk to more and more frequently on the phone in Montana, is with Verizon. Any calls between us are now free, which is excellent.

Anyway, we picked out 4 phones. One each for me and the wife and one each for our kids. We are a busy family and are often separated and we felt it was time for the kids to have phones so that they could reach us at any time. We signed up for a plan that offers 1400 peak hour shared minutes for $80/ mo plus $10 for each additional line. Then you throw in my 25% discount through the USPS.

Now the problem starts. My wife began filling out the paperwork when we realized there might be an issue with her name being on the account and I being the employee worthy of the discount. The salesman told us that it was not an issue. He told us that in addition to the 25% discount that all of our activation fees would be waived as well! Yeeeehaw! He mentions that we are also getting a free month of unlimited text and picture messages for each line. We mention that we don't really care about that, but whatever.

So we walk out of the Verizon store happy with our selection.

So in order to get the USPS discount I was told I needed to go to the Verizon website's USPS page and follow the instructions. So I get home and do just that. It requests an email address for the discount. Not mine, a general address that supposedly each discounted group sets up to work this thing through. Well, I don't know about one. So I go to the USPS employee site and check the Verizon discount page. There is no mention of an email address, but they do give a name, phone # and email of the Verizon/USPS liason who deals with issues. So, since it is about 10 PM at this point I fire off an email to this lady and explain the situation. 2 days go by and I get a reply. She asks for my USPS employment info so she can verify. I send it to her. She replies and tells me she will email me when she gets a confirmation from the discount dept that everything is set up and in place. A week goes by....then another. Nothing. I email her and ask what happened. She replies and tells me that she was told that I have to call another 1-800 number to get my discount and that her dept only handles escalated issues. In the embellished words of Adam Sandler in Wedding Singer "Information that would've been useful 2 freaking weeks ago!"

Meanwhile, bill #1 comes. It's over $350. There is no discount of course. The activation fees were not waived. Additionally, we are charged $10 for each line for unlimited text messaging and picture messaging. WTF? I call customer service, explain the situation and what I'm going to do to correct the bill and why I'm not paying that horrendous amount until the account is correct. They understand and tell me not to worry about it, just get it taken care of with the discount dept.

Well, now I'm armed with the correct # to get my discount. So I call it. I tell the guy the situation and he informs me that the account has to be in my name to get the discount. I should've known. I tell him the story of the very helpful salesman and how he said that didn't matter. He apologized, tells me this isn't the first time he's heard something like this and explains the process of changing the account to my name. So, we go back to the Verizon store to do this. It's over a week before we both have time off together with the store actually open. We go in and fill out the appropriate paperwork to get it changed to my name. I then explain the billing issues to the guy at the Verizon store. He looks lost. He says that the unlimited text messaging thingy is charged on the bill because it was discounted originally in the store. Uh...no. He pulls up our original purchase receipt. He's lost again. He says he credits our account $75 and that our new amount due is appx $480. WTF? That's more than what was due! But...it's been about a month....turn off that freaking text message package before we get billed for it again! I ask him how long I need to wait before calling the 1-800 # again to set up the discount. He asks that I give it the weekend.

Bill #2 arrives. Text message charges again. $10 per line. Grand total is $532 now. **** me running. I'm so steamed at this point.....but wait, there's more....

Tuesday morning I'm on my way to work and running behind. So I pick up the cell to call and let them know I might be 5 mins late. They have disconnected our service for non-payment. $15 disconnect fee for EACH line. You've gotta be ****ing kidding me. So, I call the discount # again that night expecting to get everything settled. The guy tells me that the account is not in my name, it's in my wife's name.

No wonder the online account locked when I tried to sign in with my SS# instead of hers.

He explains the process of switching to my name (obviously he has not read this post!) and I tell him I already did that. He asks when, I tell him last Friday. He says, something is wrong because it doesn't take that long to reflect on your account. Go back to the store. **** THAT!

I called customer service again and was getting the run around and being told to go back to the store to get it switched to my name and address the billing issues there. They can reverse the charges in the store. My wife gets ****ed, rips the phone out of my hand and takes over. 30 minutes later every single charge that is disputed is reversed and the bill is paid.

But we still have to go back to that freaking Verizon store and switch the account over to my name so I can get the 25% discount!

Last edited by Displaced Flames fan; 03-31-2006 at 07:07 PM.
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Old 03-31-2006, 07:09 PM   #2
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As a cell phone company employee, it really ****es me off when dealers tell people bull. It ****es me off even more when the client calls in and the issue is not dealt with properly the first time. I feel your pain.
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Old 03-31-2006, 11:45 PM   #3
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Food for thought - always sign up with the senior or manager with the store. They tend to be the honest of the bunch. So much turnover does not create accountability.... As my esteemed communications peer on this site says - first time resolution is a novel idea....
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Old 04-01-2006, 02:20 AM   #4
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Bottom line in a situation where you have an "employee" discount. THE employee (not the wife/brother/son/daughter) must be the one being billed. Don't ever assume anything else.

Verizon should have a corporate accounts department. Call them and simply state that the bill was put in your wife's name in error as there was some confusion when you purchased the phones. Going over all the extra details like all the charges you have been billed in error will just confuse the matter. Have them change it all over to you (via fax should be fine) EFFECTIVE THE DATE OF ACTIVATION. Then have them rerate all your prior bills to correctly reflect the expected commitments on your behalf as a psycho Postal worker.
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Old 04-01-2006, 11:26 AM   #5
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There are 3 fundamental mistakes you've made in the first place:

1. You trusted a salesman

2. You put your wife's name on the account when YOU are the employee eligible for the corporate rate

3. Once the error has been made, you lack the killer instinct (just like your team) to raise all hell with the Verizon folks, which the missus did effectively and had all the BS sorted out in 30 minutes instead of your 2 months.

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Old 04-01-2006, 11:38 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fotze
Bell expressvu does the exact same thing. Capitalism in its present form will eat itself due to selfish old white men getting greedy. Sickens me. These aren't mistakes, this is stealing.
I have been fighting with Bell since my first Bill to get my proper deductions. I am so sick of talking (if you can understand them) to those hired out customer service people - they are useless.

I signed up as a new rental customer in October, and according to the website and Bell representative, I was to get Center Ice for 50% this year. I also was to get $10 a month rental credit with the HD package.

I have received the $10 on my second month, but no other months. They say it is coming.

They wont admit to the CI offer, and claim there is no record of it. Does anyone have a printout of the webpage, or some proof of this offer? Of course I didnt print it.

I feel for Displaced... I know exactly what it is like.
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Old 04-01-2006, 11:51 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Incinerator
There are 3 fundamental mistakes you've made in the first place:

1. You trusted a salesman

2. You put your wife's name on the account when YOU are the employee eligible for the corporate rate

3. Once the error has been made, you lack the killer instinct (just like your team) to raise all hell with the Verizon folks, which the missus did effectively and had all the BS sorted out in 30 minutes instead of your 2 months.

And signed up with verizon. I know so many people trying to dump their verizon contract for cingular.
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Old 04-01-2006, 04:42 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Draug
I have been fighting with Bell since my first Bill to get my proper deductions. I am so sick of talking (if you can understand them) to those hired out customer service people - they are useless.

I signed up as a new rental customer in October, and according to the website and Bell representative, I was to get Center Ice for 50% this year. I also was to get $10 a month rental credit with the HD package.

I have received the $10 on my second month, but no other months. They say it is coming.

They wont admit to the CI offer, and claim there is no record of it. Does anyone have a printout of the webpage, or some proof of this offer? Of course I didnt print it.

I feel for Displaced... I know exactly what it is like.
My wife and I just went through this. We're expecting all of the money we were suppose to get back on the next bill here.

I signed a rental agreement with them on Oct.18/05. One of the CSR told of us a deal that if we rent 2 HDTV receivers and choose a package that is more than $47/mth, we'd get a 2 for 1 deal on the receivers.

I also signed up for Center Ice during the promotion, at 50% off so I only $89.50 for the season. As long as you ordered Center Ice before Oct.31/05, you should be paying only half price.

So far, we've received 5 bills and they're all $140+, when my bill should come out to about $80/mth. They never credited us the rental special, so I've been paying $20/mth instead of $10. They charged me $179 for Center Ice. My wife called the 1-800 number for Center Ice, and they corrected the mistake and gave us a confirmation #. The idiots at Bell never gave us any confirmation #'s, so we've been getting the run around. Apparently, the 4 different people we talked to sent the changes to the wrong department!!

Make sure you get a confirmation # for the changes and make sure they send it to the right department. I've never had so many problems before, so this is a first for me. I usually don't call people stupid, but the Billing department at Bell are unbelievably stupid.

/end rant
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