My ISP: any recourse?

[TheAnachronism]

Early in June, I set up a broadband DSL account with Verizon. My roommate and I already had a wireless router+modem combination, so we decided to use this instead of getting one from the ISP. We were having no luck in getting it connected and set up once our DSL service began, and after several aggravated calls to the Verizon help center, buying another modem, and several more aggravated calls, we were told that Verizon only supports certain modems/routers, and the best option would be to order a modem through Verizon. This conversation took place on June 5th and went something like this:

Me: And how much would it cost to get a modem/router from Verizon?
Representative: Oh, it doesn't cost anything!
Me: Really? That sounds like the best option then. I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner.

Fast forward to July first. Verizon has automatic billing, and took the amount of my monthly bill directly from my checking account. They charged me around $135.00, $69.99 of which was for the "free" modem/router. I've called twice today telling them about how I was told that it wouldn't cost anything, and they basically told me, in a round-about way, that there was nothing they could do about it and that I didn't have any evidence that it was said to me in the first place.

(As an aside, the broadband sector of Verizon was bought out by a company known as Frontier, and this is the center where I have to call for billing problems.)

I am planning to call back tomorrow during a time when I could speak to a supervisor or manager. I have almost no experience in dealing with these sorts of situations, and so I have no idea how to approach this or what to say. Threats of legal action? Try to compromise?

If anyone has dealt with such shady business dealings with these large companies in the past, I would be grateful for any input you could give to me.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

This may not be an immense help but do you remember if the said that your original call was been taped for "quality control purposes" or whatever? If you do, or even if you don't, I would bring the taping up repeatedly in any further conversations with them. Ask them for a copy of the tape where you agreed to the charge.

INAL & IMHO

 

[TheAnachronism]

This may not be an immense help but do you remember if the said that your original call was been taped for "quality control purposes" or whatever? If you do, or even if you don't, I would bring the taping up repeatedly in any further conversations with them. Ask them for a copy of the tape where you agreed to the charge.

INAL & IMHO

Yes, the robotic voice at the beginning of the call mentioned that the conversation "may be monitored or recorded to ensure quality service." I had my roommate make the second call today while I listened on speaker phone, and he mentioned this fact to the representative and asked if they knew whether it had been recorded. I can't remember what excuse was used, but it was brushed off in some way. They presumably can see all of the times that I have made calls, because they were able to verify that I had made the call about the modem on the 5th of June.

 

[Vorticity]

If anyone has dealt with such shady business dealings with these large companies in the past, I would be grateful for any input you could give to me.

You're screwed.

The people at Verizon are notorious liars. Do a google search for "Verizon lies" and see. Their customer service reps will do or say anything to end the call successfully. You don't have a recording, it's their word against yours, and they're the ones with the team of high-powered lawyers.

Don't use automatic billing.

 

[Little 10 Toes]

I used to be a CSR with the same "calls may be recorded". Key word is *may*. My company had software that "randomly selected" the calls. There would be weeks where I would have 3 calls recorded while my cubbymate may 7. When I pull up your account, the account software would record when you called.

 

[TheAnachronism]

Don't use automatic billing.

I never intended to set it up to bill automatically--again, this was done without my authorization. However, assuming I got a paper bill in the mail, I don't think there would be any difference when it comes to disputing the bill. I suppose I could refuse to pay, but then my credit rating would go to hell.

 

[blutoski]

As others have mentioned: the warning means there is a % chance the call is recorded; these recordings are usually only accessed by managers who evaluate call quality as part of a standardization initiative. It's not intended to be accessed by agents or to be used to settle disputes.

Question: do they offer the modem free with contracts, but charge for customers on m2m plans? Do you think the original sales agent forgot to indicate that you had agreed to a contract?



Having said that... Verizon is large enough to expect a Loyalty & Retention dpt.

Phrases like "OK: I want to cancel my account right now." will usually trigger a transfer from the standard sales agent to an L&R agent. They typically have more flexibility to offer credits than a regular sales agent or billing agent. In my opinion, this is a bad and totally avoidable reason to lose a customer over, and they may feel the same way and make it right.

If the L&R agent does offer to reverse the charge, get his name and contact# in case it doesn't show up on the next bill as expected.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I suppose I could refuse to pay, but then my credit rating would go to hell.

Your credit rating won't go to hell over $69. It likely won't even get that far. Call to cancel and start negotiating.

 

[TheAnachronism]

There is finally resolution to this matter: I called again today, and the representatives seem to have changed their tune. I don't know whether it's because they wanted us to stop harassing them or because each representative uses his or her own judgment in these matters, but I was told by the representative with whom I spoke today (whose call was recorded, I might add) that the $69.99 should not have been billed to my account and would be taken off. Apparently, because I ordered the modem/router days after I had set up my DSL service, and not at the same time, it should have been free. Seems like a wacky way to do things to me, but I'm not going to complain about that. If it really is their policy, it does upset me that I spoke to two representatives who apparently had no knowledge of it.

At this point, I will consider the problem settled, but I will update if anything goes awry once more.