Review by jjaromin 
UPDATED: 1.8 years ago
member for 5.1 years, 227 visits, last login: 335 days ago
 Chesterfield,Chesterfield,VA
 $54 per month (12 month contract)
 about 57 days
 "Blazing fast speed, consistant 30/5 connection"
 "Billing and disconnection"
 "Not worth the effort..."
| Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
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I will admit that the first 2 months I had FiOS service I was extremely happy with it. Now that I've had my account suspended and had to use the customer service line (without a Verizon phone number), I have found Verizon to be severely unaware of the difficulties in there system. It takes me no less than 30 minutes to get the right department and have them find my account in the computer every time I call. The reps on the phone have always been courteous and patient with me, but in the end I still have not had my issue resolved....
Here's my story,
I need an internet connection for my family that is reliable with no intervention required. I travel on business very frequently, so I am unable to keep up with something that should just work!
I was the first in the neighborhood to have FiOS installed. I got an extremely good package... 30/5 for $54.95/month, first month free, and $10 off activation. This had a 1 year commitment associated with it.
My install was originally scheduled for 9/19/07 8am to 5pm. Everything was coming along nicely... utilities marked, fiber laid in yard to side of house... Then on the morning of 9/19 at 10:13am, I get an email saying they are rescheduling the install (no phone call). Called Verizon and was told there was a problem with transferring Verizon DSL to Verizon FiOS and the install would occur in November! Sounded to me like the 2 systems were not designed to play nice with each other from a provisioning standpoint.
I eventually got in touch with the installation manager for the area. He was extremely helpful and had me hooked up on 9/21.
I was happily surfing on my 30/5 connection until late November when I get a bill for $230. Lets see, 2 months of service at $19.99 activation + Free Month + $54.95 comes nowhere close to $230. I call Verizon, get a nice rep who seems to know what he is doing (I'm usually leery, but he at least said the right things). He told me the $230 was in error and I should only owe $93. He assures me that direct pay is activated on my account and the $137 overcharge is in error. This makes sense too me at the time and seemed reasonable (although I'm thinking taxes must be pretty high in this area).
On 12/9, "Verizon Internet SOL debits" my credit cart $79. (later find out on 1/3 that this was from the DSL division, so I must now fight this charge!)
On 12/30, my connection is down. A call to Verizon. In short my account has now been suspended and I need to contact billing. Since it is Sunday, I must wait until Monday, oh, and they work normal business hours only!
12/31.... Call to Verizon. I find out I've been charged $59.95/month ($5 more than original contract), with no free month, Full price on the activation fee, and $33/month in installation charges. (yes that’s $33 every month for installation). On top of this, since my account has been closed, I cannot reactivate it with my old plan. The best they can do for $59.95 is 15/2, after we get the original billing straightened out, which doesn't appear is gonna happen anytime soon. I was promised a call in 48hrs for a billing specialist. I allowed 1 day for New Years...
1/3.... No call from Verizon. So I call them... The nice lady I talked to was unable to do anything with my account, so she again promised a billing specialist within 48hrs. If there wasn't the fear of being referred to a collection agency, I would just drop the issue. She did allow me to send her an email with the scans of my online order that I had printed along with my sequence of events so that she could forward them on to maybe resolve my problem quicker.
My saga continues... I've pretty much given up on returning to FiOS until they get things straightened out. Comcast (as much as I hate them) has 16/1 in my area for a decent rate. I may be switching.
BTW... it was fun as hell maxing out a 30Mbps connection on a couple of file transfers.... while it lasted!
1/4/08.... I finally got a supervisor who new what she was doing! Not only did she quickly straighten out the billing, I paid my last bill on the old account, which we mutually agreed on (I was never trying to not pay for what I had already used), then she set me up for new service. Since they no longer offered the 30/5, she upgraded me to 30/15 at no cost (much better then the previous, you must choose a slower tier for more money). I retain my original $54.95 monthly rate for 12 more months, activation and installation on the new account has already been credited. I also have the supervisors direct line in case of any future issues with the billing. She told me that the account would be active in the next few hours. I went into my garage to show the significant other which light is the "we have internet again" light and it was already lit. Checked the connection and its working great! You can be sure I'm gonna be all over the first few bills to ensure all the proper credits take place!! And as Ulmo said below, there are other choices if this does not work out!
Followup comments:  Ulmo
join:2005-09-22
San Jose, CA
 ·Comcast
 ·SONIC.NET
2 edits | Use competitor at least until they fix your account. As much as I love FiOS concept and support Verizon's efforts in that regard, you shouldn't reward them for their billing morass. Go ahead and use a competitor until they straighten out.
If you are a total geek like me and want to try to use FiOS anyway, you could get an alternate identity, wait for a decent promotion (which could take months to years) while using their competitor, and then start from scratch that way (lie, "I just bought the house" or "I'm a renter"), all before they've fixed your (initial subscription) accounting (which could take years). It's what the corporations expect you to do anyway, as far as I can tell.
But, there's no good excuse for any of the billing problems (even though there's plenty of precedent), so you absolutely do not need to support them in that way. If that means you happen to always find service elsewhere, or just not need that type of service, then great.
Personally, I wouldn't hold a specific grudge against a corporation that doesn't really care much about you anyway, after that specific grudge has been compensated for. If it hasn't been compensated for (yet if ever), don't forgive them by any means. However, you should always keep your general grudges against them, not ever forgetting this type of stuff. Once your grudges have come out of the "specific" category (e.g., after they fixed all your credit reports and refunded your money and fixed the lost life), and solidly enter the "general" category (they suck, look what they did to me once, but they're a duopoly, so what can I do), then at least you can, with proper circumspection and care, allow yourself to very, very, very carefully try them again, IF you so desire (you don't have to, of course). Triple screen shots of everything come to mind ... and avoid automatic charging arrangements (instead do cash billing or something -- no ACH transfers or credit/debit cards).
This thing of VZ doing the bad billing has seemed to get out of hand lately. They used to do that as NYNEX, so they're very competent at such incompetency. | |
|  | jjaromin
join:2004-09-30
Chesterfield, VA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Re: Use competitor at least until they fix your account. Yeah.. I'm a total geek that has to have the newest fastest toys! I'll give them another chance. But if their billing reps were all as helpfull as the last one was, this would not have even been an issue! I would have had the same problem, only it would have been resolved quickly! There is still no excuse for the billing mistake in the first place though! I don't see where there could have been an error in order processing if I did an online order! Unless somebody is re-entering data from the website into the order system!
Your right about corporations not caring... Hell, most corpoarations don't even care about their employees! How many people stick with the same company for an entire career anymore? Everybody has streamlined to the point that company A is not offering anything more or less than company B, so if the grass looks greener..... | |
| | | alterecho
join:2001-03-20
Midlothian, VA
| Re: Use competitor at least until they fix your account. Comcast is the last place I would look to for an internet connection. Comcast's reliability is quite horrible and blocking P2P traffic is prolific.
Comcast's video delivery, in a word, sucks! Frequent customer reboots (of the STB) and picture quality are below par. I started as a BETA tester when cable broadband was brought to the area. After two years, they simply have gone downhill and never looked back.
What a shame...to go from innovator to the red headed step-child, no one wants!
-=AE=- | |
| | alterecho
join:2001-03-20
Midlothian, VA | Actually, it was Bell Atlantic....NYNEX was farther North before the merge.
-=AE=- | |
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