Shortly after Mark got to Florida, his tablet was stolen. We both realized the severity of this. All our financial information was on it, our personal information, our lives. I immediately called Verizon and told them I wanted to cancel our account so that the thief would have no access to our information and wouldn’t be able to use the tablet on our bill. I wanted to not have to pay for something we didn’t have any more. Here is the chat I had with Verizon tonight. I have not corrected any of the spelling or grammar. The only thing I have changed is taking out the phone number to be used for the call for privacy reasons. What is your verdict? If I am not communicating well enough to be understood, what should I say during the phone call?
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Verizon
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Thank you for contacting the Verizon Wireless Chat Team regarding your bill. How can we help you today?
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You
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Last night I disputed my bill, and Sam said he’d have it investigated. I’m having some difficulty understanding the results. It looks like you still want to charge me $148.91 this month.
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Verizon
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I would be more than happy to help, please allow me a moment to access your account.
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Verizon
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I am looking into the account now, bear with me..
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You
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Standing by…
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Verizon
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Did you just recently change from the 10gb plan to the 2gb plan?
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You
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Last night, but I asked for it to be retroactive to when I first reported our tablet stolen and asked them to close our account so no one else could use it.
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Verizon
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Just to confirm, are we talking about the plan change?
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Verizon
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Are you referring to making the plan change effective at the beginning of the cycle?
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You
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Yes, but that was Sam’s way of fixing the issue I was complaining about last night, which was that when I reported our tablet stolen in January, I think, and asked them to close the account, they didn’t make any changes to the account.
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Verizon
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Ohh I see, as far as the plan change, since it is going down on data it is not able to be retroactive. As far as the line goes were you wanting the line to be disconnected or suspended?
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You
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When I first reported the tablet stolen, I asked them to close the account. I didn’t want to pay for a tablet I didn’t have and I didn’t want whoever had it to be able to use it and have me billed for it.
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Verizon
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Gotcha!
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Verizon
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I do see here that the tablet line is under contract that doesn’t end until 4/1/2017. I also see that it has been suspended.
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You
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And yet I am paying megabucks for something I’m not using.
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You
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I can understand the contract being in effect till 4/1/17, but I have been paying full price for the tablet when I asked them to close the account. If I wasn’t allowed to break the contract, they should have done something so I wasn’t paying full price when I asked them to close the account.
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Verizon
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I definitely understand where you are coming from, I see that the line was suspended when you reported it stolen however it does not take away the billing for the device, the device just wouldn’t be able to be used..
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You
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What does this mean?
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You
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I paid for the tablet outright when I first got it.
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Verizon
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I understand, in order to have the device as apart of your plan there is a $10 line access fee to have the device on the account. So when the line was suspended the line access was still being charged..
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You
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Why?
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Verizon
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A suspension doesn’t stop the billing it only stops the service..
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You
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I didn’t want the thief to have any access.
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Verizon
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They didn’t have access because we suspended the line..
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You
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Look, I may not have used the exact right terminology when I asked for the account to be closed, but what I thought they were doing when they said they were suspending it was closing it and only charging me a minimum amount till my contract was up. I do not want to pay for something I asked them to end.
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You
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If I have to, I will go to the Better Business Bureau about this.
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Verizon
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If we would have closed the line completely, you would have had an early termination fee charged to the account, when we suspend all billing is reduced to $10. The tablet being regularly $10 monthly the suspension amount did not change. I would be happy to provide you a credit of $30 for the lie since it has been suspended however the $10 charge will continue as long as the line is suspended..
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Verizon
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you do have the option to bring another device and put on this line until the contract is up, this way you are not paying for the line to sit until the contract is up..
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You
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In January, my bill was $143.18 for the tablet, the land line, and the hotspot. In February, my bill was $127.54 for what should have been the land line and the hotspot and the minimum charge on the tablet. This month, my bill is $148.91. I want to know why my bill is so high when all I have working on it is my land line. I haven’t even used my hotspot in months because it doesn’t work. So why am I being billed so much money?
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Verizon
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The bill is so high on the current bill because for that billing cycle you were on a 10gb plan for $80.00
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Verizon
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The JetPack is $20 per month as well..
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You
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But I shouldn’t have been on a 10gb plan when I asked them to end the account. Why didn’t they reduce the plan?
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You
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And besides, even if the plan never changed, it shouldn’t have gone up.
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Verizon
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You requested for the tablet line to be suspended. The plan was reduced for the start of the next billing cycle..
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You
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No, what I requested was for them to close the account and they said they couldn’t do that because I was still under contract. They were the ones who told me they were putting me on suspension.
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Verizon
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Our records indicate you agreed to have the line put on suspension. I would be happy to credit the account for the 3 months the tablet has been suspended totaling $30. We can cancel the JetPack completely with n penalty if you do not want it any longer. Once the Tablet line goes out of contract that to can be canceled, however until the contract is up and you want to keep the line suspended the $10 fee will be there..
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Verizon
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The $10 fee for the tablet will be charged whether it is suspended or not, having the line suspended just means the service will not work..
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Verizon
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You have the option to pay the early termination fee and cancel the line sooner as well.
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Verizon
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j
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Verizon
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The early termination fee is $40
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You
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The people I reported the stolen tablet to did not tell me that there was anything I could do about the high charges. I believed that when they told me they could suspend it but not end it, they meant that the rates would go down.
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You
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What I am saying is that when they told me about suspension, I was under the impression that the rates would be reduced. I did not know that I would still be paying the same amount, and they certainly didn’t tell me that there was any cheaper plan. It didn’t occur to me that they would keep me on a plan where I’d be paying the same amount as usual even though I didn’t have the tablet.
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You
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I made my intention perfectly clear to them, but they didn’t tell me how that could be achieved. I was not agreeing to pay as much as usual.
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You
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Is there someone higher up than you there?
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Verizon
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I can see if their is a supervisor available..
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Verizon
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Please bear with me I am waiting for a supervisor to become available..
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You
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I can wait.
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Verizon
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Thank you for being patient..
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You
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Hello, Mitchell. Has Destiny filled you in on my complaint?
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Verizon
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She has not. Allow me a moment to review the chat with the previous agent. If you could quickly summarize the issue, it may help a bit.
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Verizon
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From what I understand, the concern is to address a tablet line that should be suspended.
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You
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I reported our tablet stolen in January and asked the person I spoke with to close our account because I didn’t want the thief to have access to our information or to be able to use the tablet on our bill.
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You
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In January, my Verizon bill was $143.18. In February it had gone down to $127.54 so I thought the reduction was as a result of me asking to have the account closed. But this month my bill has jumped to $148.91.
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You
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When I reported the tablet stolen, I was told that it was still under contract and couldn’t be closed but that they could suspend it. I thought that was essentially what I was asking for, so I agreed.
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You
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Now I find that I have been being billed for 10gb of data that I am not using and that there was a 2gb plan I could have been put on during the suspension period.
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You
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I would like the 2gb plan to be retroactive to the date I reported the tablet stolen, but I have spoken with both Sam and Destiny and they don’t seem to be able to do this.
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You
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I do not want to pay for a full plan that I haven’t been able to use for the last couple months.
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Verizon
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Seems like there has been quite a bit going on this past month. Let me quickly review the account to see how we would best proceed,
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You
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Thank you!
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Verizon
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Alright and I want to ensure I keep checking in with you. I am still looking over everything so don’t mind the delay in my responses.
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You
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OK
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Verizon
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Just so I am sure we are on the same page, the concern more with the plan than with the suspended tablet line. The request is to have a re-rate done to have the 2gb charged over the past few months instead of the 10gb. This was stated to the last two representatives, but neither seemed able to do this. The question I have is was there a request made to have the plan changed to the 2GB?
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You
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I was never told that was an option when I originally called. All I was told was that they could put the account in suspension, and I thought the result of that would be lower payments.
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You
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When I saw the lower bill in February, I thought that was what had happened.
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Verizon
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This is definitely something that should have been offered by the representatives and if the account had been assessed. It seems since that was not the reason the contact was made with Verizon, the plan change was not offered. The adjustment could definitely be made if there was a request to change the plan and that did not happen, but it doesn’t seem as if that is the case.
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Verizon
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I would be willing to negotiate an offer for this because I do see where you are coming from with the situation, but it would not be for the full amount of the difference between the two plans.
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You
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Why not? I wasn’t at fault.
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Verizon
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That is correct, but if there was never a request to have the plan changed, there would be no blame to place on the representative either.
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You
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When I told them I wanted the account closed, that was all I knew how to ask for. They didn’t tell me that there was any option but suspending the account. They were remiss.
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Verizon
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Were you aware the 10GB has been on the account since June of 2016?
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You
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I didn’t know what I had, and I didn’t know what I could have.
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You
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At the point when I made the change in June, I guess I must have known what I had, but at the point when I reported the tablet stolen, that was the least of my worries.
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You
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I was worried because all of our sensitive information was on that tablet.
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Verizon
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What I was going to state was I see the most usage since October has been about 2GB of usage for a month.
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Verizon
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There were opportunities to change the plan prior to the tablet being reported stolen.
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You
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Sir, I am 60 years old. I don’t keep track of all that information as well as a younger person might.
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Verizon
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Understandable. My reasoning behind this is blamed cannot be placed on either side. We could have offered the plan change and it also could have been requested. You should be responsible for paying all of it, but a credit is not warranted in this situation either.
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Verizon
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This is the reason I did state the amount could be negotiated, but it would not be for the full difference.
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You
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How could I request something I didn’t know about?
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Verizon
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You may not have know about the plan change, but the usage habits did change which is when a reduction could have been requested.
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Verizon
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We would have needed to know that the interest was in reducing the plan and the options could have been provided.
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You
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I can tell you why the usage changed. My husband and I are Workampers, which means we live in our RV and we travel around the country from job to job. When we left our last job in October, we came to be with family in Oregon and connected to their internet. We didn’t think about it.
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You
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Have you ever had anything stolen from you? How clear was your mind then?
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Verizon
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I have and I do get what you mean, but there was an opportunity to drop the plan even before that occurred.
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You
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Before the theft occurred has nothing to do with after it occurred. If I was absentminded about changing the plan before, I certainly had plans to close the account after. The man I spoke to at the time told me that I couldn’t close the account but he could suspend it for me. I believed that would reduce the cost. How was I to ask for something I thought was understood?
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Verizon
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Closing the account not directly lead to changing the plan. The option to suspend the line would reduce the bill for the 30 day period it has without billing. With that statement, there was no clear indication that the plan should have been changed to reduce the bill. The only thing that would have been reviewed is the status of the tablet line if that was the request.
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You
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You are not hearing me. I did what I thought I was supposed to do to reduce the cost. I fully expected that the cost would be reduced. The lower bill in February led me to believe that the cost had been reduced as expected. I would not be so upset now if I hadn’t thought I had been understood at the time of the report.
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Verizon
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I completely understand what you mean.
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You
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I am not going to accept anything less than retroactive lowering of the bill.
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Verizon
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If that is the only option you are willing to accept, I am not willing to give a credit for this issue.
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You
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Is there someone higher than you that I can contact?
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Verizon
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I am currently the highest level of support at this site. If you would like, I am willing to set up a follow up for this situation.
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You
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Yes, I would like to be set up with someone in higher rank.
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Verizon
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When would be the best time and number to contact you?
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You
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I am in the Pacific NW, so make allowances for any time differences. I can be reached tomorrow evening around 7:00 at …
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You
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Who will I be speaking with?
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Verizon
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You will be contacted by Eugene.
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Verizon
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I haven’t heard from you in a few minutes. Would you like to continue chatting?
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You
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If you were willing to hear what I am trying to say about why I shouldn’t be charged full price when I asked to close the account, I would say, “Yes, let’s continue to work this out.” Are you?
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Verizon
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I heave heard and I do understand the request. You are not willing to accept anything less than the full amount, but that amount is not warranted.
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You
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I feel you are trying to punish me for not saying “I want a price reduction” instead of saying “I want to close the account.” I said what I thought would get me to a price reduction, but I didn’t use your words.
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Verizon
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I am not at all attempting to punish you for this. I did offer to negotiate a price, but there does not appear to be a willingness to do so.
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You
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I am being accused of not having lowered my plan prior to the theft, and then not using the right words to get what I wanted after the theft.
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You
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You are saying that because I did not use the right words, your employee who didn’t offer me the reduced plan is not at fault, even though you admit he should have made the offer.
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Verizon
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I stated the offer should have been made after assessing the account, but was not a requirement based on the information given at the time.
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Verizon
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I have not made any accusations and I am simple stating the best way to get this issue resolved moving forward.
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You
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You have told me that if I had used the right words, I would have been eligible for the retroactive reduced price, but because I used the words I knew how to use, I am not.
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Verizon
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You stated above that at that time, you were not thinking of reducing the plan because of everything that was happening with the theft.
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You
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That is NOT what I have been saying. I was definitely thinking of spending less money for a tablet I no longer had.
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Verizon
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Correct and there was less money being spent on the tablet for the 30 days it was suspended.
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You
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I did not use the words “reduce the plan” but I said “close the account/.<br/>
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Verizon
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The account plan is set for all active lines on the account.
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Verizon
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Close the account would be seen as a disconnect to cancel the account itself.
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Verizon
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That is usually how the verbiage is taken since the account actually would be closed in that situation.
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You
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Why would I want the plan to be unsuspended after 30 days when I had no way of getting my tablet back? You aren’t making any sense.
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Verizon
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The lost/stolen suspend last for 30 days. During that time, there would be no charges on the account. After the 30 days the line will stay suspended, but the billing will continue.
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Verizon
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I want to ensure we are on the same page with the plan. Are you aware it is not directly tied to the tablet line?
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You
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I don’t know what that means unless you are talking about our land line and the hotspot.
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Verizon
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The plan covers all of the lines.
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You
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I was prepared to completely close the tablet account when I called, but I was told that it was under contract and that I couldn’t close it without penalties. I asked the person I was talking to as best I knew how how to handle the situation. I wanted to make sure that the thief would not have access to our personal information and wouldn’t be able to use the tablet on our account. I tried to clarify that we would not have to pay for more than the minimum until we could end the contract. I was not aware that what he told me was going to end in 30 days.
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You
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You say you can see what I mean. Why couldn’t he? And don’t tell me it was because I didn’t use the right words.
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Verizon
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We have talked through it thoroughly for me to see exactly why the chat was escalated. Given the position the rep was in at the time, I cannot say that there would have been any other ideas as to what you wanted to do other than suspending or canceling th tablet line. There was nothing said about the plan itself.
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Verizon
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I am willing to offer compensation, but it would not be for the $90. If you would like to wait to be contacted by my Superior tomorrow, that is an option, but I am not willing to offer the full amount since it would not be warranted.
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You
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I thought that he and I were talking about the same thing. Had I known that the magic word was “plan”, I would certainly have used it.
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Verizon
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The tablet was being discussed and that is the change that was made to the account.
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You
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I did not want any plan at all. I did not want anything that the thief could use. If I had to pay a minimum contract payment until I could cancel it, I was okay with that, but not with paying for any plan.
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Verizon
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What you stated to me an hour ago was that you knew the plan you had in June, bu when you reported the tablet stolen, the plan was the least of your worries.
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Verizon
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but*
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Verizon
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With that being said, how could the rep make the assumption that the plan was the heart of discussion.
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You
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I said, I guessed I must have known that I was discussing a plan in June. That was a long time from January.
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Verizon
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The second half of that was the discussion about the plan when the contact was made for the tablet.
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Verizon
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I am willing to assist with this, but there has to be some understanding that the request was not made clear enough for a plan change to be made.
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You
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When he said he would suspend the tablet, that is exactly what I thought he was talking about.
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Verizon
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Correct, and the tablet was suspended as requested.
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You
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Temporarily.
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Verizon
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That would be a separate request from a plan change.
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You
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What we are talking about here is a communication breakdown. He did not give me the information I needed to be able to use the correct wording.
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Verizon
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To avoid us going in circles, I have made explained what I am willing to do. I can negotiate an offer, but I am not willing to credit the full amount for this concern.
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Verizon
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Exclude made.
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You
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And that is why I want to speak with Eugene tomorrow night. You have threatened me with not giving me anything, you have accused me of knowing what to do when I didn’t, and you have been unwilling to give me what I am willing to settle for.
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Verizon
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There was no lead way with the request. It appeared to be all or nothing. I was simply stating the full amount was not warranted, but I in know way want that to be perceived as a threat. Nothing was being offered because all (which was not warranted) would have been the only acceptable offer.
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Verizon
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If this is how you wish to proceed, I will get the follow up set up for 7PM your time.
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You
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Yes.
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You
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This was your threat: “If that is the only option you are willing to accept, I am not willing to give a credit for this issue.”
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Verizon
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I was willing to negotiate. I offered to give something, it would just not be the full amount. From the request that was made, it came off as on all or nothing offer which is why I responded with the previous statement.
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Verizon
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I have set up the case to have a follow up done at 7PM to phone number ….
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You
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I will look forward to speaking with Eugene.
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Verizon
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Were there any additional questions you have before I let you go?
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You
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No.
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Verizon
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To end our session, you can do so by clicking the X at the top of the chat window.
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Thanks for choosing Verizon Wireless.
Oh my, they seem to play that game with everyone. When I had an issue they chose not to resolve, they gave me the name of the “big guy” who would solve the problem. Needless to say, he never responded to my email. When Sept gets here, there will not be a renewed Verizon contract!
So sorry you’re getting their run-around.