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John W4
join:2007-08-05
Springfield, VA

John W4 to spg6

Member

to spg6

Re: Ridiculous charge for lost FIOS cable box!

The idea that he should pay whatever Verizon says it is worth is just absurd. How about if they wanted $500? $1,000? $10,000? The fact is the box has an actual value, and it may or may not be what Verizon asks. He should have to pay a fair price, not whatever number the incompetent people at Verizon's business office say it is worth. (And if anyone doesn't think they are incompetent, they should go back and read some of the horror stories on this site.)

nycdave
MVM
join:1999-11-16
Melville, NY

nycdave

MVM

Read the TOS and contract. This is not absurd...
knarf829
join:2007-06-02

knarf829 to John W4

Member

to John W4
said by John W4:

The idea that he should pay whatever Verizon says it is worth is just absurd. How about if they wanted $500? $1,000? $10,000? The fact is the box has an actual value, and it may or may not be what Verizon asks. He should have to pay a fair price, not whatever number the incompetent people at Verizon's business office say it is worth. (And if anyone doesn't think they are incompetent, they should go back and read some of the horror stories on this site.)

He should pay what he agreed to pay.
NYC Guy
join:2003-11-08
New York, NY

NYC Guy to John W4

Member

to John W4
Thank you, that is exactly my point. 3-4 years ago they might have been giving their customers new DCT 700 boxes. We all know that isn't the case today as if they sent you one it would be refurbished.

To all of you that simply say pay the $199, I say to you in turn would you pay the same price for a used car vs. a new one? I would not be arguing with them if they asked for a more reasonable fee but to pay them $199 for this lost box is absurd!
batsona
Maryland
join:2004-04-17
Ellicott City, MD

batsona to NYC Guy

Member

to NYC Guy
I guess I agree. Bite the bullet and pay VZ what they want, then fight the contractor on the back end.
------------------

Had a similar deal in college - I was required to subscribe to the Wall St. Journal, and was to be delivered to the college. Never saw a single paper, so I didn't pay the bill. The distributor sent me notes saying the payment was overdue & I wrote back & said I never saw any papers. The last letter they sent me was along the lines of "we're going to sell your acct to a collection agency" -- they even went on to say how it was "people like me who make costs higher for the good customers....". They wanted $30. I wrote them a check, and was done with them. the 'principle of the thing' wasn't worth the damage I'd incur by fighting. A college-age person with a bad credit rating isn't a good thing. --Cant' remember what I told the prof about the absence of WSJ....

nycdave
MVM
join:1999-11-16
Melville, NY

nycdave to NYC Guy

MVM

to NYC Guy
Your arguments on this board will not hold up in court. You can't argue contractual language for something you signed up for. It's the same thing as a car lease or car loan - you agreed to terms before receiving goods. Now you want to renegotiate the terms after you've used the goods. It doesn't work that way...

I don't like how much I pay each month for my car lease - am I going to stop payment and tell my leasing company I want a lower monthly rate? They would laugh at me, and I wouldn't have my car.

You or your contractor lost a leased cable box. That's what homeowners or business insurance is for. File an insurance claim after you pay Verizon, and stop arguing your point here.

Refuse to pay Verizon, and welcome to a long 'argument' with a collections agency....

Squirrelly
join:2000-10-24
Harrisburg, PA

Squirrelly to NYC Guy

Member

to NYC Guy
Also you can't prove it was refurbished. Pay it and move on, unless you don't care about your credit rating.

PoloDude
Premium Member
join:2006-03-29
Aiken, SC

PoloDude to NYC Guy

Premium Member

to NYC Guy
Also it does not matter if the STB was a refurb or Brand new. You were supplied with with a STB that provided the services you were subscribed to. You or your contractor were irresponsible and lost the STB. Quit your whining.

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme to NYC Guy

Premium Member

to NYC Guy
$200 is not that bad. It sounds like you should have paid more attention to what they were doing.

jjoshua
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Scotch Plains, NJ

jjoshua to nycdave

Premium Member

to nycdave
said by nycdave:

I don't like how much I pay each month for my car lease - am I going to stop payment and tell my leasing company I want a lower monthly rate? They would laugh at me, and I wouldn't have my car.

Cars have a residual value at the end of the lease which is less than the value of the car at the start of the lease.

If you have rented the cable box for 3 years, you have paid for the cost of the cable box and the replacement cost should reflect that.
knarf829
join:2007-06-02

knarf829

Member

Uh, no. It's not a rent-to-own program.
PJL
join:2008-07-24
Long Beach, CA

PJL to jjoshua

Member

to jjoshua
said by jjoshua:

said by nycdave:

I don't like how much I pay each month for my car lease - am I going to stop payment and tell my leasing company I want a lower monthly rate? They would laugh at me, and I wouldn't have my car.

Cars have a residual value at the end of the lease which is less than the value of the car at the start of the lease.

If you have rented the cable box for 3 years, you have paid for the cost of the cable box and the replacement cost should reflect that.

Your analogy does not apply. With a car, you have the choice of buying it or leasing it. You do not have that choice with an STB from Verizon.

jjoshua
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Scotch Plains, NJ

jjoshua

Premium Member

said by PJL:

With a car, you have the choice of buying it or leasing it. You do not have that choice with an STB from Verizon.

If you don't return it and you pay the fee, then you bought it.

daved324
@verizon.net

daved324 to NYC Guy

Anon

to NYC Guy
sory to read of ur experience. i had same problem when i used craigslist to find floor workers. stupid me. good luck.
PJL
join:2008-07-24
Long Beach, CA

PJL to jjoshua

Member

to jjoshua
said by jjoshua:

said by PJL:

With a car, you have the choice of buying it or leasing it. You do not have that choice with an STB from Verizon.

If you don't return it and you pay the fee, then you bought it.

Semantics here. IMHO, this is not buying the equipment. The contract with Verizon does an option for buying their equipment. It is paying a penalty fee for breaking the contract in which it states that the equipment remains the property of Verizon, and if you don't return it, you must pay a fee. Verizon still considers themselves the owner of the equipment. If someone were to attempt to activate an STB that was never returned because it was lost, stolen or sold, Verizon will not activate service for that equipment.
JackBauer
join:2006-08-24
Schenectady, NY

JackBauer

Member

Let's also remember even though VZ paid probably somewhere around $200 for that equipment back when now... And have collected a lot of rental fees associated with it during the period the subscriber had utilized it...

There are other lifecycle costs associated with VZ's aggregate STB "inventory" in the hands of those subscribers.

E.g, customer support, software development, repairs, etc.

Is VZ making a profit here? Yes. Is it extreme? It doesn't seem so when you look at the lifecycle costs of their STB inventory.

aaronwt
Premium Member
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
Asus RT-AX89

aaronwt

Premium Member

They probably paid a couple hundred more for it. Even with bulk discounts the boxes are very expensive. Just look at TiVo. The only way they can get the prices down so low is to subsidize the cost of the box.

But ultimately, in the end, it makes no difference what a box costs. The customer signed an agreement to pay a certain amount if a box goes missing. I see no problem with it. If the user doesn't like the cost they will have to pay then they either should not have lost the box, or they should not have signed up for service. It's certainly not worth complaining continuously about it on a forum. Sure it sucks to have to pay it, but that's life. We don't get everything we want.
NYC Guy
join:2003-11-08
New York, NY

NYC Guy

Member

We have gotten off topic here with the new and used car analogy I made. The bottom line is that you as a customer have the right to ask for an accommodation from VZ or any other large company. Airlines charge large fees that are written into their contracts and frequently you can get them waived or reduced if you speak to the right person and have a VALID request. What has happened here is no different so please spare me the speech that I agreed to their charges when I signed a contract. Any customer is entitled to request some help from a service provider.
robjlevin
join:2002-10-30
Medford, NJ

robjlevin

Member

Then I suggest you ask Verizon and stop complaining here. Really, I feel bad that you got screwed by the contractor, but that box was your responsibility. You lost it. If you think it's worth dragging out by trying to find someone at Verizon to waive the fee, have at it.

My advice, try Twitter or Facebook where they try to put on a happy face for everyone.

nycdave
MVM
join:1999-11-16
Melville, NY

nycdave to NYC Guy

MVM

to NYC Guy
said by NYC Guy:

We have gotten off topic here with the new and used car analogy I made. The bottom line is that you as a customer have the right to ask for an accommodation from VZ or any other large company. Airlines charge large fees that are written into their contracts and frequently you can get them waived or reduced if you speak to the right person and have a VALID request. What has happened here is no different so please spare me the speech that I agreed to their charges when I signed a contract. Any customer is entitled to request some help from a service provider.

So ask the mods to lock this thread if you don't want people giving you their opinions...
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bohratom
My Jersey Giants finally winning again..
join:2011-07-07
Red Bank NJ

bohratom to NYC Guy

Member

to NYC Guy

Re: Ridiculous charge for lost FIOS cable box!

This thread just proves that "personal responsibility" is dead in America. I mean if my contractor lost my Fios box Id be taking them to small claims court to recoop my loss.
NYC Guy
join:2003-11-08
New York, NY

NYC Guy to nycdave

Member

to nycdave
said by nycdave:

said by NYC Guy:

We have gotten off topic here with the new and used car analogy I made. The bottom line is that you as a customer have the right to ask for an accommodation from VZ or any other large company. Airlines charge large fees that are written into their contracts and frequently you can get them waived or reduced if you speak to the right person and have a VALID request. What has happened here is no different so please spare me the speech that I agreed to their charges when I signed a contract. Any customer is entitled to request some help from a service provider.

So ask the mods to lock this thread if you don't want people giving you their opinions...

You you read my initial post I clearly said "Has anyone had any experience with FIOS for charges on lost equipment like this?" In plain English I was asking if anyone has had an experience with VZ on a lost cable box. I clearly did not ask for a lecture about contract law which was off topic to the subject at hand.

nycdave
MVM
join:1999-11-16
Melville, NY

nycdave

MVM

Give it up and just pay up. You are not winning the hearts of members here.
blue_trooper
join:2007-04-17
Exton, PA

blue_trooper to NYC Guy

Member

to NYC Guy
said by NYC Guy:

you read my initial post I clearly said "Has anyone had any experience with FIOS for charges on lost equipment like this?" In plain English I was asking if anyone has had an experience with VZ on a lost cable box. I clearly did not ask for a lecture about contract law which was off topic to the subject at hand.

Not off-topic at all as most of our experience with what VZ charges for lost equipment is what is found in our contracts.
NYC Guy
join:2003-11-08
New York, NY

NYC Guy

Member

said by blue_trooper:

said by NYC Guy:

you read my initial post I clearly said "Has anyone had any experience with FIOS for charges on lost equipment like this?" In plain English I was asking if anyone has had an experience with VZ on a lost cable box. I clearly did not ask for a lecture about contract law which was off topic to the subject at hand.

Not off-topic at all as most of our experience with what VZ charges for lost equipment is what is found in our contracts.

Which post spoke about an ACTUAL charge someone received from VZ for a lost box as opposed to what was written in the contract? I am clearly asking if someone ever received a actual charge!
kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA

kes601

Member

Perhaps it is the subject of the post that people are responding to instead of your first post.
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Nezmo
The name's Bond. James Bond.
MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX

Nezmo to kes601

MVM

to kes601

Re: Ridiculous charge for lost FIOS cable box!

My ex-wife called to get a replacement router as hers went bad (known power problem). The old one was dead and she did not see the instructions to return it anyway (and she tossed it in the trash). VZ charged her $120. She fought for three months to get the charge removed but by rights VZ were right as it was in the terms.