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Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

2 edits

Xtreme2damax

Member

Some questions regarding Verizon and Lte.

I'm wondering something.. I can try as hard as I can to stay under my cap but there may be at some point where I'll go over at least by a gigabyte or two..

What would be nice is if there was a way to build an overage bank. I mean is it possible to overpay (prepay) on the account for an overage credit to cover any possible overages for the month?

Verizon Lte is not as attractive as it could be for a rural internet option, around here it's the only decent option speed and latency wise just that their tiered caps and prices suck ass. At least satellite nailed it somewhat with (initially) a late nice free zone that didn't count towards the monthly allotment, now bonus bytes (HN Gen4), prepaying tokens. Satellite is more limited than grounded Lte wireless so there's not really an excuse to make it a bit more viable for rural folks.

My second inquiry is when I play a game online or do a ping test I am still getting the same jitter and choke as I did with my 3G Evdo through Virgin Mobile (Sprint), I was told before Lte should be better for online gaming than 3G Evdo. Granted the device doesn't support usb tethering but I've played over wifi before without much issue. The wireless router in this ZTE 890L device doesn't seem great but maybe there's a way to dig into the core of the device firmware and tweak stuff. Apparently no one bothered developing a custom firmware or improving the wifi router function, other than that it's a halfway decent and inexpensive device bought through Amazon.

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall

MVM

said by Xtreme2damax:

I mean is it possible to overpay (prepay) on the account for an overage credit to cover any possible overages for the month?

Nope, it's use it or lose it with Verizon. Actually, does any carrier have "rollover data" ? So many are moving to "unlimited" voice that rollover has become a moot point too.
Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

Xtreme2damax

Member

I see..

So no rollover or a way to overpay on the account to cover overages?

I keep hoping eventually there will be more Verizon Lte data mvno's offering better data packages cheaper than Verizon. Over $200 for 30GB and $300+ for 40GB is just ridiculous. Even $130 for 20GB is ridiculous and hope one day dsl, cable or FiOs will expand out here, currently Fios in the nearby city and village so it could be possible. I've been patiently waiting for like ten years now lol, I don't think these providers are familiar with the area as I believe there are enough houses around here to justify it, the town is just up the road from me.
Xtreme2damax

Xtreme2damax

Member

I wanted to add I tested my connection in the city and get far better speed out here. Yay for under-utilized rural towers I suppose?
AmericanMan
Premium Member
join:2013-12-28
united state

AmericanMan to Xtreme2damax

Premium Member

to Xtreme2damax
Years ago, I thought I'd heard with Verizon if you knew you were approaching your cap for the month, you could increase your plan (which would cost more, but less than the overage charge), and be covered that way.

But research this before doing it, because recently I increased my plan on AT&T and somehow got prorated an entire extra month's charges, and I heard Verizon does the same thing.

And yeah, rollover data would be nice. If they are going to treat megabytes as the new "minutes", it'd be nice to have a similar policy like we used to have for those. I guess we'll have to wait for T-Mobile to do it before the other carriers "innovate" and do the same.

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall

MVM

said by AmericanMan:

Years ago, I thought I'd heard with Verizon if you knew you were approaching your cap for the month, you could increase your plan (which would cost more, but less than the overage charge), and be covered that way.

You can change your data plan up and down freely with Verizon today. We've done it a few times.
Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

Xtreme2damax

Member

Well there may be at some point where I could go over by a gig or few so upgrading is not really beneficial to my wallet. I was just hoping I could put the money aside ahead of time in case of overages.

I heard I could freely upgrade or downgrade but prorating and prorated overages.. I am currently dealing with a $200+ bill due to their prorating bs and claiming I used 30GB accumulating 11GB worth of overages when my usage meter showed me being under the cap by 5.5GB. -_-

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall

MVM

I can't remember the dollar amounts / gigabyte on overages. In our case, we were halfway through the month and almost to our cap or something so we figured better safe than sorry. I also think that let's say you have a 4gb plan and use 5.5gb, VZW will bump you to the 6gb plan rate anyway vs nickel-and-diming you on overage charges.
Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

Xtreme2damax

Member

According to my bill it's $15 per GB (oh Verizon lol) but that wasn't even my fault and my usage meter showed me using 14.5GB out of 20GB.

Is there a way to switch/upgrade for the cycle and drop back down if I happen to need more than the allotment for my place in the month? Then only pay a partial (prorated) discounted rate per GB past my current plan allotment?

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall

MVM

So they really do penalize you because 2gb increment is only $10 more !
Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

Xtreme2damax

Member

Well according to their plans after 20GB it jumps up to 30GB for $210 then 40GB. Those were the only plans after 20GB I saw listed which is just too much for me to afford. My current 20GB plan for $130 is already pushing it but there's nothing else available out here otherwise I'd switch in a heartbeat.

For the stuff I do online a cap of at least 20GB minimum is required.

Hall
MVM
join:2000-04-28
Germantown, OH

Hall to Xtreme2damax

MVM

to Xtreme2damax
You must be talking about MiFi (?) service. I thought this was about wireless phone plans... You can probably disregard everything I've said !
Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

Xtreme2damax

Member

Yep, it's an Lte (Zte 890L) jetpack and I'm forced to use it since it's the best option out here.

Verizon Dsl, Fios and Time Warner cable have refused to service the area but the funny thing is TDS is apparently around the corner. Not sure how as Verizon told us we are too far for Dsl service..

I don't think they have surveyed the area or are familiar with it. There's enough homes as far as I can tell, the town is just up the road and another village opposite direction not far off either but no traditional isp has taken initiative to service the area or at least not the park.

So it's either dial up, satellite, shoddy EVDO or Verizon Lte. With the latter option offering the speed, latency and data I sought it's good enough until something better makes it's way here.
jbrewno
join:2010-01-21
Port Byron, NY

jbrewno

Member

Verizon supplies the park. Tds 2 houses past park. Tds has their own infrastructure. The park is verizons market. They dont care either. On that note, closing on house weds, be outta here friday. Prolly call tds a week or so after getting settled in. There speeds arent really that great. Maybe 5 or 7 megabit per second. But its only like $40-50$ a month. Been without true broad band over 6 years. Be nice to get dsl atleast. The landlord here should get t1 and sell it wirelessly to residents. Its redic here.
Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

2 edits

Xtreme2damax

Member

Good luck.

At least caps should be non-existent or more generous with dsl. For now stuck with nothing else in the park and the terminal is too far away for Verizon. Maybe with the Time Warner and Comcast merger that might change or perhaps Fios will make it's way out here from Auburn or Port Byron within the next five years at least. People can say what they want about Comcast but I'd rather have that than what I'm currently stuck with in the way of choices.

Would be nice so I can use Netflix, Hulu and not have to worry so much when updating or downloading stuff. I use Steam and the internet out here is just unacceptable for any kind of streaming or digital download services. So to download games I am going to have to spend months using what little remaining data I have left at the end of the month. A pipe dream would be for Verizon to offer more generous Lte caps for rural areas but they have to verify there is no cable, dsl or fiber in the area to be eligible.

I could live with 1.5mbps to 7mbps speed so long as there were no caps or at least a cap of 60GB or greater.
mikev
Premium Member
join:2002-05-04
Leesburg, VA
·Verizon FiOS
(Software) pfSense
Panasonic KX-TGP600

mikev to jbrewno

Premium Member

to jbrewno
said by jbrewno:

Be nice to get dsl atleast. The landlord here should get t1 and sell it wirelessly to residents.

FYI, T1 lines are only 1.5Mbps. So that 5-7 Mbps you're getting through DSL is much faster than a shared T1 line would be.
Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

2 edits

Xtreme2damax

Member

So I'm still here fumbling with caps lol.. Have four days before next cycle and am approaching my 20GB limit. So it looks like if I go over I'll have to eat that $15 per extra GB. If I could afford it I'd pay the extra $75 for 10GB more just for a bit more peace of mind.

Stupid providers being stubborn about this area, surely there are those living further out from the cities, village and towns that have access to other broadband options. The city and village where dsl, cable, fios is available is only six to ten miles - a short ten or fifteen minute drive from here. The town is just up the road about a mile, TDS two houses away but won't come down here because it's Verizon's territory apparently. Well Verizon doesn't want to supply us with service and they have their own infrastructure so why not get their asses on it to run some lines down here..

I wish I knew how far away the cutoff point is for cable or fios and wouldn't doubt their lines run through the area bypassing us completely. I keep thinking maybe I can influence these providers if I and others bug them enough meaning constant everyday frequent calls trying to set up non-existent service until they get tired and get the hint then decide to take it up with whomever calls the shots.

My only idea here is going house to house encouraging folks to sign off regardless and get multiple people from a residence to sign off to give the illusion there are more homes out here. Who am I kidding there are enough homes within close enough proximity and potential customers but the providers don't want to survey the area for service expansion so they lose out on could be customers and cash.

It's damn near ridiculous.. no wait - it's beyond ridiculous that there is not even a fixed WISP or broadband via power lines here. We are not that rural where satellite or other capped solutions should be the only choice. We are lucky to get mobile data but that's thanks to the town nearby and state Thruway, if it wasn't for that we'd likely just be stuck with satellite.

I wish I was rich or had disposable income so I could get T1, T3 or ethernet here or pay these damned providers to run me a line. Perhaps I can get something going here, get at least a T3 or ethernet then split the cost with other tenants here to share fast broadband over wifi. Would need the right equipment to output decent signal and safeguards in place but would be overall better than what the current options are.

Well I got an sms with the following content:

"10GB for $75 more per month, reply YES."

I would go ahead but am I going to get ridiculous prorated charges again if I do? For this current cycle I was dealing with a $250+ bill for what is supposed to be a $100 to $130 plan due to prorated charges/overages. That was for the second cycle bill after I just paid a $117 bill for the first cycle.

Edit: Lte wouldn't be half bad but these caps are reminiscent of the dark ages and aren't very progressive. For some rural areas Lte would be a nice alternative to traditional broadband but Verizon needs to lower the cost of plans and increase the cap on all plans by at least 2.5x what they are currently.
Xtreme2damax

3 edits

Xtreme2damax

Member

I got service on June 20th and in that 2 -3 month period Verizon billed me around or over $700 to $800 for the $130 20GB plan.

$180 of that was because of upgrading and not backdating. A foreign to me concept I wasn't informed or knew much about. I was misinformed as to what backdating was and when I should backdate.

After someone warned me to contact support to avoid double overage proration I did just that. I contacted support via live chat as I do not have a landline phone. They assured me it would be taken care of and I wouldn't incur charges. Fast forward to my next cycle when the bill comes due..

I check my bill to see a $180 charge. Because of that charge they suspended my service and I hadn't even had service for a month. My immediate response is to contact support and complain. They tell me they couldn't see the initial upgrade in their system thus wasn't backdated, only the recent upgrade was backdated. They claimed they would take care of the charge but needed to wait for the bill to generate. I fought to have them reconnect service while I was disputing that $180 charge. After much time wasted they budged on that and reconnected service, I paid the remaining $25 on my balance for the last cycle. They get back to me and claim they couldn't remove the charge and there was no error with the billing. I continued to fight with support at the Verizon forum, live chat, Facebook, over the phone but ultimately gave up until recently.

Being that one upgrade was backdated at most I should have incurred a $90 charge and even that's debatable since I contacted support prior to the end of the cycle to have the upgrades backdated.

With the reconnect fee, prorated overage charges my bill was $256.68 last cycle and that's after I already paid $117.68 the previous cycle. After that I made a payment of $50 which brought my balance down to $181.68.

I was running too close for comfort with my data last cycle so I did 10GB more for $75. I had support backdate it then future date when the next cycle started thinking my bill would only be in the $300 range for which I could work out payment arrangements. So next bill comes due and see it jumped from $181.68 to $538! So that's nearly $700 - $800 worth of charges and I paid nearly $250 on the account so far and my balance is around $430. o_O

Apparently according to (non)support Verizon (in)conveniently "forgot" to bill me last cycle, yeah.. right.

I've been fighting with support to remove the $180 charge plus reconnect fee, they won't budge. I tried fighting to get them to reduce the $180 charge down to $90 and they still won't budge. I have to pay for their incompetence and refusal to do anything, that's just not right. I loathe how companies can treat customers like dirt, barely provide what qualifies as customer service and support yet still remain in business without taking a hit. If it were any other business customers would fly out the door so fast they wouldn't know what hit them.

Do I have any recourse? I've been thinking BBB, FTC or small claims if I have to. I'm tired of fighting with their clueless reps that refuse to do anything esp. after they assured me they would look into and take care of the charge. I've wasted too much time on the phone and internet with them so it's time to resort to some bigger guns. I think bbb or ftc might be useless and mentioning the bbb or ftc isn't making them flinch or budge so I may have to pay on the charges and take it to small claims to get them to do anything and issue me a credit.

Here is what I was billed.

Cycle 1: $117.74
Cycle 2: $256.68
Cycle 3: $538.56

I've paid $242.74 so far and I was going to work out payment arrangements for the remaining balance the next cycle. I'm still left with a $433.56 bill but that would have been higher if not for a measly "inconvenience" credit that doesn't address the issue and my complaint.

The issue here is that $180 prorated overage charge. I should not be stuck with it since support should have backdated like I requested. If they could only backdate the second upgrade then at most I should half that ($90) for the one upgrade that wasn't backdated. So there are 12GB worth of prorated overages and I should only be paying for 6GB at most for the one upgrade that was supposedly backdated.

Oh did I mention that I was really careful and official usage information place me at 5.5GB below my cap at 14.5GB out of 20GB?

I told them I would continue to fight it and work my way up the chain but they're still being stubborn and insisting there was no error.

I've read of those that ended up going to small claims to resolve the dispute. It looks like I may have a good case and can get this resolved through that, I have my chats with them saved. Then after I'm paid up on the balance I should owe then I'm switching to prepaid or prepaid through Millenicom.

I don't make much money but I get enough that I can afford the $130 20GB plan if it weren't for the other charges. Verizon really should be forgiving to new customers that don't know the ropes, terminology. I wouldn't have known about backdating if a member here hadn't warned me. For new customers there is no reason why they couldn't waive the charges as a one time courtesy considering they weren't actual overages if they want to keep my business.

As it is currently while I'm fighting the charges I'm going to have to temporarily suspend service to catch up so I don't get even further behind.

Ridiculous.

Edit: Oh and I think they forgot to credit the $110 or $130 for the 20GB plan last cycle then make the adjustment further inflating my bill. To them nothing is wrong and no error so I must pay it or else. We have shifted from customer service and the term "The customer is right" to businesses assuming no responsibility or blame when something does occur such as a billing issue. So nowadays customers get screwed and pillaged for all their worth. Why do businesses forget that without us they would be nothing and doomed to bankruptcy?
Xtreme2damax

Xtreme2damax

Member

So utterly unhelpful. Wish there was something that would make greedy corps change their tune really fast. Big businesses when they get too big need strict regulations and government oversight so customers have recourse.

Mentioned about going to the bbb, ftc, utilities commission, attorney general and small claims if I have to go that far.

Still no resolution and now silence. I've obviously been flagged now so they won't respond. Do they think if they bury their head in the sand I will go away or that will prevent me from going to the bbb, ftc, puc, ag's and small claims? Their best interest right now with that said and on the table would be to work with me to come to a mutual resolution and compromise so both parties are happy. You'd think the looming fact of incurring the cost to hire a representative and travel expenses would make them budge but nooo. I guess the only way to get them to budge is to have a small claims judge/panel here the case and make a decision. I have my chat transcripts saved with them which I will provide.

Providing there's no other option to come to a resolution and it goes all the way to small claims does anyone have an idea where to mail the notice when I set up a court date? I've showed enough patience and politeness towards support hoping they would resolve the matter but now patience is microbe thin and I don't want to waste any more time than I already have.

It would have been one thing if those were actual overages. It went from them claiming they would take care of the charge but needed to wait for the new bill to generate to claiming only one upgrade was backdated and the charges were correct. Then they are claiming there was no error, the charges are correct and nothing is wrong with their billing as if neither upgrade was backdated. That is almost $700 to $800 for a $130 plan for only 2 - 3 months service.

It's frustrating also they charged me a reconnect fee for hastily suspending service less than a month after setting up service due to their asinine prorated overages my account got charged with subsequently flagging it.

Seeing as according to them originally one plan upgrade was backdated I should only be charged $90 but it's like neither upgrade was backdated. Thus I incurred the full $180 for 10GB prorated overage charges going from the 10GB to 16GB to 20GB plan. Then another GB or two overages tacked onto that so obviously they didn't backdate like I requested and I contacted them prior to the end of the cycle which infuriates me even more.

I tried to come to a compromise with them to cut the $180 charge in half considering I was told one upgrade was backdated and I'd pay the $90, no dice and they won't budge.

I can't afford that as I'm disabled and on ssi. Employment is scarce around but area with only low wage jobs, I can't lose medicare since I need to take medication and that's expensive without insurance. My hope for employment which is in plans is to get my CS degree or A+ certification and open my own computer business.

They are either going to have to remove that $180 charge, cut it in half (50% credit) , be generous with payment arrangements that work for me. However it looks like while I dispute this I will have to temporarily suspend service while I play catch up because if I don't then I will fall further behind and be boned completely.
78036364 (banned)
join:2014-05-06
USA

78036364 (banned) to Xtreme2damax

Member

to Xtreme2damax
said by Xtreme2damax:

Verizon Lte is not as attractive as it could be for a rural internet option, .

As is stands now LTE is not designed to be a replacement for cable/DSL where you can just stream HD Netflix all day and use several hundred GB per month. Perhaps one day, but that's at least 4-6 years away, maybe longer.

I empathize for those in rural areas, but it's not Verizon's responsibility to provide you with what cable or DSL should. You need to take that up with your local leaders. The nearest cable company to you in your county has to have franchise agreement and your local franchise authority can force them to build out into your area if that cable company wants it's contract extended. I suggest going to the next local government meeting and asking why you pay the same taxes but get less services.
Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

Xtreme2damax

Member

I at least want a 60GB cap at a reasonable price and I'll be happy. Data plans for data only should start out at 30GB as the lowest plan with overages halved so $7 - $9 per extra GB. For grounded wireless it makes no sense, the prices and data limitations makes more sense for satellite but not anything else that is higher capacity, easier and less costly to maintain.

These bs prorated overage charges need to go and no one knows that stuff of hand as a new customer. Verizon has been useless to remove the charge no matter how much I argue, mention small claims as my last resort and they go dead silent. As it stands the upgrades should've been backdated or at least one of them were yet I got stuck with the full $180 charge. I have no problem getting by with 20GB considering I came from satellite internet. Although I'd prefer if the plans weren't so outrageously expensive and overpriced so I could bump that up to 30GB to 60GB max.

I could afford the plan.. it's just the other asinine charges tacked on. It may not be their responsibility well technically it is since they could expand, nothing is really stopping them besides taking an insignificant hit from the billions they have banked and making that back fairly quick due everyone that would switch in a heartbeat should something better become available, I wouldn't doubt fiber or cable runs fairly close or right through my area.

I don't require much. I maybe stream a few shows making sure to reduce quality, have enough data for a few downloads, updates and playing online multiplayer. I sure hope mobile data costs go down someday due to more competition emerging and customer needs/demands and they offer higher data plans at a significantly reduced cost. For 20GB data it should cost no more than $50 - $70. I also wonder why not a fixed wireless towers separate from cellular specifically geared for home and rural customers with reasonably priced plans? That would be cheaper than running lines and could blanket a large area with wireless broadband access.

Local leaders aren't going to do anything and doubt they want to bother or have power to do anything, corporations seem to run the country and call the shots. It's all about fueling the greed machine where the wealthy get wealthier while the middle and low class - customers whom are primarily their source of income gets screwed and swindled for all they're worth, no concern for customer support and satisfaction anymore.

What other choice do I have, it's this or satellite and I'd rather this because of low latency and faster speed which allows me to use voip or play online multiplayer games.

Jan Janowski
Premium Member
join:2000-06-18
Waynesville, NC
·Carolina Mountai..
Synology RT2600ac
Linksys E2000

Jan Janowski

Premium Member

I've been reading your plight.... and have a similar situation in NC, but at this point, for a couple vacations a year there, the mobile hot spot is fine, as long as I watch my usage...

It does appear that you're beating your head against a non-listening company.... Good luck with your fight, but it does seem that you've exhausted your attempts at resolution.

What you want, and what it costs, seems to be in two different ballparks....

There's a lot I want, too, but based upon what I've found, and my options in Mountains of NC and yours in NY appear to be about the same. In my case, I will adapt to the situation, as I'm not seeing much movement from the other end.... and I'm not prepared to spend for any overages.... It just isn't financially feasible.

Maybe 2 years from now I'll have more options... In the meantime, that Data Logger someone turned me onto in a different thread here has become a fantastic solution... and one I will use during my visits to NC.

Again, good luck on your discussions with Verizon...
Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

Xtreme2damax

Member

This ZTE 890L device is garbage. When I thought nothing else could be as bad or worse than the Sierra Overdrive Pro lol.

- No USB tethering.
- Basic wifi router that crashes constantly.
- No custom dns at device/router level.
- No antenna ports

If I manually set the network and wan connection the device constantly disconnects or the wifi router crashes. If I leave it on auto the device stays connected. However when I tried to load a list of servers in the server browser for an online game the connection crashes.

I would have to buy a new device from Amazon as Verizon would want a $400 deposit and I say no way to that especially not after what I've been going through with their billing and support.
78036364 (banned)
join:2014-05-06
USA

78036364 (banned)

Member

said by Xtreme2damax:

This ZTE 890L device is garbage. When I thought nothing else could be as bad or worse than the Sierra Overdrive Pro lol.

- No USB tethering.
- Basic wifi router that crashes constantly.
- No custom dns at device/router level.
- No antenna ports

If I manually set the network and wan connection the device constantly disconnects or the wifi router crashes. If I leave it on auto the device stays connected. However when I tried to load a list of servers in the server browser for an online game the connection crashes.

I would have to buy a new device from Amazon as Verizon would want a $400 deposit and I say no way to that especially not after what I've been going through with their billing and support.

A) ZTE is Chinese crap. yes I know everything is made in China but they are a Chinese company.

B) You have to pay a $400 deposit because you have really bad credit. No one's fault for that but you. And no that's not an insult because you either pay $0, $125 or $400 deposit based on your credit score. So if you were asked to pay $400 your credit is terrible.
Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

Xtreme2damax

Member

So what about those that never get credit? No credit still means a $400 deposit and not a lot of people want to get credit because of the bs from credit card companies. I do everything with either cash, debit or check (bank) card. Ofc someone is going to have terrible credit if they never got credit and I wouldn't blame them or find them at fault for not wanting credit.

In the past I was going to get Sprint service, never had a credit card in my entire life or any bills of my own at the time and Sprint wanted a $250 deposit. Verizon wants a $400 deposit for no/bad credit for a device worth not even half as much. The device I currently have Verizon would've charged a $400 deposit for and I only paid $50 for it brand new.

But yeah I'm going to need a new device that has better speeds, supports tethering, robust wifi and router that supports google dns or opendns, external antenna etc... I need something where the connection doesn't crash/disconnect for online gaming. I can't do anything until after I'm caught up with my Verizon bill thanks to the $180 prorated overage charge Verizon hit me with due to never backdating the two plan upgrades I requested them to.
78036364 (banned)
join:2014-05-06
USA

78036364 (banned)

Member

Once again Verizon has $0, $125 and $400 deposits. You got the worst deposit. You didn't get $400 for lack of credit history. Unless you've never had a bill in your name then you would in fact have credit history.
Xtreme2damax
join:2007-03-21
Port Byron, NY

1 edit

Xtreme2damax

Member

Well sorry to say they did and I didn't have credit history! I know someone who also never had credit that got the same $400 deposit deal. The only credit I "had" back then was when someone got a credit card in my name with my information when I was a kid too young to know what credit or a credit card was. I had student loans but at the time those were paid up to date.

I currently only use a debit card or cash for all purchases and bills. I moved out on my own not long ago so recently (within the last 1 - 3 years) started paying my own bills. I'm referring to before I was paying any bills with literally zero debts they wanted to charge me $400 and Sprint $250 due to no credit.

Maybe something screwed with their system or someone was using my information without my consent. I noticed I had an inquiry for Progressive on my credit report and I don't own a vehicle, never driven, have no license or a need for insurance..

But I didn't post to get into a dispute about credit. I was just warning about the device and it's a pos, that I'm looking for a better device. But it looks like I'll have to pay out of pocket to get the device I want.
Xtreme2damax

1 edit

Xtreme2damax

Member

In regards to the billing and charges are they correct as Verizon claims or do I have a case to at least get that $180 charge removed or halved?

No matter how cordial I was which eventually devolved into annoyance and frustrations, countless minutes wasted arguing with their reps online or over the phone they refused to do anything. In the first 2 - 3 months my bill jumped up to around $700 to $800 total. None of it actual overages, they still hit me with a $180 charge despite immediately contacting them about backdating the upgrades, one upgrade was supposedly backdated but got dinged for the prorated overages for both.

I've already mentioned going to the bbb, ftc, attorney general, utilities commission or small claims to the reps after I got fed up wasting time but getting nowhere and they still refused to budge. I'm not sure if going to the BBB etc.. will get this taken care of after mentioning them didn't phase the reps. Unless they are just hoping or don't think I will follow through so don't bother to do anything unless they are forced to. Within the first two months I paid total of around $250 and am still left with a $433 bill. Would have been more without their measly "inconvenience" credit ($60) which wasn't enough for my time wasted and frustration. I shouldn't be paying that much for the $20GB plan which is $130 /mo with the line access fee within the first 2 - 3 months of getting service. That's just short of a grand! >_

I would have thought a company would as a one time gesture of good faith waive such fees for new customers who aren't familiar with foreign concepts such as backdating, future dating and prorated data usage if they want to keep customers continued business. I did contact them to backdate so I'm not sure why they still hit me with the charge and refuse to remove it? :/

Is there anything I can say to get them to budge or should I skip them and go higher up the chain? I learned it's true not to mention small claims lest I want the silent treatment, mentioned small claims and dead silence from them. So it seems a waste of time trying to persuade their reps and a poor example of customer service and support to do anything with my options being the BBB, FTC, AG's office, PUC/BPU etc..

I've been awaiting feedback about this for a while whether there is anything that can be done and if I have a case or the charges are correct as they claim?

This is just an obscene grossly exaggerated amount I can't afford to spend. If I could get them to remove the $180 charge then I can set up payment arrangements so I don't have to give up service to catch up on the bill. Thanks to the $180 charge that caused my account to be flagged and suspended prematurely less than a month after setting up service and was also hit with a reconnect fee. So I want to get resolution and that $180 charge completely wiped along with the reconnect fee.

Please respond, I'd greatly appreciate it so I might actually be able to get this taken care of.. I started to think it was hopeless due to their stubborn reps who wouldn't budge no matter how much I argued, what I said or even mentioning going higher up they remained just as stubborn and unhelpful.
Xtreme2damax

Xtreme2damax

Member

And.. my internet is suspended thanks to this outrageous bullcrap that set me way beyond what I can afford. Would appreciate replies whether I have a case on that $180 charge plus reconnect fee if I take it to the BBB, Ftc, AG's, PUC/BPU or small claims as a last resort.

Not going to bother wasting time with the useless stubborn reps as I did enough of that already. It's time to go higher up the chain and I want to be sure I have a case and can get this resolved.
jbrewno
join:2010-01-21
Port Byron, NY

jbrewno

Member

Cut your loses with them aholes. Find a mvno or go millenicom.