MacFrazier.com

December 17, 2010

Verizon
PO Box 28000
Lehigh Valley, PA 18002-8000

Dear Verizon, et al.:

I am sorry to say that you have a problem. I and my wife have tried to resolve this matter numerous times via phone without success. We have spoken with numerous people at Verizon who have not been able to adequately resolve the issue. In the course of trying to resolve this issue on the phone we believe that your representatives have given us misleading and false information, either knowingly or due to incompetence.

In June of 2010, we cancelled our services with Verizon just prior to moving from Pennsylvania to Texas. We were sent packaging and labels to return equipment. We were initially confused by the size of the box: it appeared to be for a DVR-sized device, so we called you and let you know we were using cable cards installed in our own personally owned TiVo. We were assured that we could use the large box and the shipping label provided and everything would be fine. So we packed our equipment into the box, applied the label provided by you, and dropped the box off at the UPS store in Southampton, PA.

Then in July we received a bill showing that you had disconnected our cable service, but not our other services, and were still billing us. After discussing this on the phone, you corrected the mistake and altered our final bill to reflect that we were not meant to be charged for service after the originally specified cancellation date. We then paid the bill dated 7/22/2010 for the full, corrected amount of $43.08.

Another month later, we were surprised to receive yet another bill from you, dated 8/20/2010, with a “due date” of 8/16/2010. This new bill showed that we had paid the $43.08 but now owed an additional $223.16, for “Un-returned/Damaged Cable Card Aug 24 Qty: 2”. We called and explained that we had sent the cards in the box provided as instructed. Your representative claimed you had not received them. At the end of our conversation with your representative, we were told that a note would be made in our account that we were disputing your claim and that you would be investigating.

After some time went by without us hearing from you, we called again. The representative we spoke with said there was no record of a dispute in our account, but that they would make things right. They then gave us a ticket number (1935532) and said they would look into the dispute.

Our next communication from you or your representatives was a collections notice from the North Shore Agency in Phoenixville, PA.

We called you and spoke to your representative, and expressed our disappointment in your behavior and our belief that you were now making fraudulent claims. We asked if you had already made any claims to credit reporting agencies, and were told that yes, such a report had already been made. After explaining that we had repeatedly tried to dispute your claim without any useful or meaningful response from you or your representatives, and that this was our third attempt to inform you of what we believe to be an error on your part, your representative said that they would stop the collection order, and that they would report to the credit agency that their claim was under dispute. I asked if it would be removed from our credit record, and your representative said that it would, provided it turned out to be an erroneous report.

They then said that they would note the dispute in our account. We informed your representative that your company’s credibility had been damaged and that her verbal assurance that something was being done was no longer sufficient. We asked for a written confirmation that you had been notified of our disagreement and that you were investigating the dispute. Your representative said that she would send a letter stating they were aware of the dispute but that she could not send a letter saying you were actually doing anything about the dispute.

So we asked what the next step in resolving this is. Your representative gave us two telephone numbers, claiming that they were for the equipment return departments and that perhaps they would be able to help.

That was last night. This morning, we spent a long time on the phone with various representatives from your company. The numbers we were given were not useful. The other departments we were transferred to would ask the same basic questions and then transfer us to some other department. On one occasion we were given a number to call that turned out to be not in service. On another occasion we were given a wrong number that connected us to an unrelated company. It is very hard to not assume at this point that your representatives are more interested in getting rid of us than in resolving this dispute.

We have been patient. We have been polite. But now the stress of dealing with your company, half a year beyond when we thought we would be, is causing emotional distress, and is becoming a seemingly never-ending waste of our valuable time. Why are you doing this to us?

We would like to see these charges voided and all record of your false claims removed from our credit reports.

If this matter is not resolved promptly, we will alert the credit reporting agencies of our dispute as well as file official complaints with the FCC and PA Public Utility Commission. We will then contact our attorneys regarding the legality of your charges and your unethical billing practices.

Respectfully,

Rev. Glenn M. Frazier
Verizon Account Number: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
5822 Trail ridge Dr
Austin, TX 78731

Tags: complaints, customer service, Fios, Verizon