I’ve been a Verizon Wireless customer for many years, with multiple family phones sharing monthly minutes.
Their service has been good, but their printed monthly bills have always been confusing.
And now, it turns out, the billing has also been inaccurate — to put it charitably.
During the past few years, I’ve noticed the same monthly $1.99 data charge on my son’s phone line. He uses a basic phone for texting and talking. Nothing else. No smartphone features at all. Yet I kept seeing extra data charges on my bill. I’d ask him the same questions every month: “Did you do anything different on your phone — use the web, purchase a ringtone, etc. to generate this charge?” The answer would always be the same: No.
Although Verizon’s charge was small, I didn’t think I should pay for something I didn’t order. So I would call Verizon Wireless customer service — wade through their telephone system — and inquire about the charge. They would always ask the same questions: “Did your son use the phone for data?” No. “Maybe he did it accidentally?” No.
Then they’d say: “You know, some of the buttons on the phone are pre-programmed to access the web.” What? Why would you do that if web data service is not enabled on his account??
Now I know. Verizon Wireless has agreed to refund customers between $30 million and $90 million for these billing overcharges!
Verizon Wireless has not (yet) admitted any wrongdoing — only billing errors. The matter is still being investigated by the F.C.C.
I welcome and appreciate the F.C.C.’s involvement. And for those people who are against all government regulation, THIS is exactly why we need it. Industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself.
I’ll be waiting for my check.
Verizon wirelss is always overbilling over charging and proraiting customers bill my mother is on the verge of a mental and nervous breakdown because Verizon wireless is doing this to customers it isn’t fair its violating customers respect loyalty and their pocket books and if they keep this up they’re going to loose customers buisness period
I am currently locked in a battle with Verizon over bogus data charges of $1,778.00
Verizon has put up a brick wall and will not investigate what is obviously a crack in the security of their system. Wish me luck!
Good luck to you!
After years of ignoring offers to upgrade I finally took the bait and upgraded to a smart phone at their offer of $49 (plus).
Now I am locked in a battle because they charged (I should say overcharged) me $410… in “equipment charges”. This is not such a “good deal”. I opened a case with Verizon on October 22 to dispute the billing and on November 5th they billed my credit card the full amount… including the bogus overcharge.
Verizon even admits their “system” billed three times for the equipment instead of a single time. So much for the ‘good deal’.
I am disputing the billing with my credit card company… the entire amount.
My luck would be to have my service discontinued as a result…. but what can the powerless do? Verizon really knows how to alienate their customers.
Verizon deserves a class action lawsuit over their incompetency.