Shop Talk
WoW: 18k Verizon bill...
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/04/30/f ... »
With all the talk, in another thread, about a 4k Verizon bill, this is crazy.
What do you VZW reps (or other carrier reps who have seen the same thing on "your" carrier) have to say about something like this?
With all the talk, in another thread, about a 4k Verizon bill, this is crazy.
What do you VZW reps (or other carrier reps who have seen the same thing on "your" carrier) have to say about something like this?
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Verizon offered to cut it in half. Sounds more than fair to me. Is it a lot? Yes. But when does corporate responsibility stop and consumer responsibility start? It's not that hard to get online and see you are using something you shouldn't be. I also don't use an Verizon phone so wouldn't know but on AT&T if you open a data insensitive app it warns you of large data usage and please have an unlimited plan.
Customer had plenty of time to take action as it was happening and never did anything about it.
And I don't believe the kid a bit. I've seen many kids lie straight to their parents when asked if they used the internet. No mommy I've never done that?!
Anyway, customer doesn't want to admit responsibility for the bill and would ra...
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Customer had plenty of time to take action as it was happening and never did anything about it.
And I don't believe the kid a bit. I've seen many kids lie straight to their parents when asked if they used the internet. No mommy I've never done that?!
Anyway, customer doesn't want to admit responsibility for the bill and would ra...
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Customer had plenty of time? how so? Was there a warning email? text? call?
Do you verizon reps call people who get giant bills out of nowhere?
I know that if I spend 30/month on my credit card... then I charge 3000 - odds are I'm going to get a call from a good credit card company saying "hey... we noticed something suspicious and wanted to check". I've had that happen before (note: with a *GOOD* CC company)
He was on an older plan, then got switched to a newer plan - and wasn't explained the difference.
As the story explains - how can you justify an 18k bill? I'm all for customer responsibility... but most people won't even contemplate that. He was using the phones the same way they had been. Without issue. Then he upgraded to...
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Do you verizon reps call people who get giant bills out of nowhere?
I know that if I spend 30/month on my credit card... then I charge 3000 - odds are I'm going to get a call from a good credit card company saying "hey... we noticed something suspicious and wanted to check". I've had that happen before (note: with a *GOOD* CC company)
He was on an older plan, then got switched to a newer plan - and wasn't explained the difference.
As the story explains - how can you justify an 18k bill? I'm all for customer responsibility... but most people won't even contemplate that. He was using the phones the same way they had been. Without issue. Then he upgraded to...
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I agree, you have to take some sort of responsibility for your own actions. They are legitimate charges. Whether the kid thought they were free or not, doesnt really matter. Most restaurants have free refills on certain drinks but you cant always assume all have the same policy. If you suddenly get the bill and you were charged for 4 drinks should they just drop the charge because you didnt know. You still drank 4 drinks. It sucks, but thats just how it is.
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If you go to the same resteraunt, for *YEARS* and they've always had free drinks, you would expect a clear warning about the price change.
What happened here seems to be akin to getting "free drinks" from a resteraunt that just recently started charging for extra drinks - they didn't charge for refills before, but now they do - and the waitress didn't say "hey, we now charge for extra drinks".
I'd have issues paying for that bill AND that resteraunt would lose my repeat business.
Change your policy? Fine... you better make sure it's clear that things have changed.
You can't assume two companies have the same policy - 100% True... You also can't assume that return customers know about policy changes.
Nothing in your response in...
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What happened here seems to be akin to getting "free drinks" from a resteraunt that just recently started charging for extra drinks - they didn't charge for refills before, but now they do - and the waitress didn't say "hey, we now charge for extra drinks".
I'd have issues paying for that bill AND that resteraunt would lose my repeat business.
Change your policy? Fine... you better make sure it's clear that things have changed.
You can't assume two companies have the same policy - 100% True... You also can't assume that return customers know about policy changes.
Nothing in your response in...
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it's not as if they just pulled the rug out, the parents HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY to read the plan they are starting, if you don't look at what you are singing up to pay then you have to pay what you signed up to pay how is that ridiculous? It's their fault for not reading what the plan said that they agreed to when it changed.
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I just can't believe it.
I understand being behind a big bill... signed the papers, your responsible... yeah yeah yeah...
I've paid for bad signatures. I understand "you get what you sign for"
I don't understand why there aren't consumer safeguards in place for this kind of bull____ and why people actually condone this.
Look at Sprint... your bill goes to high - it gets cut... the... f... off. Simple.
I understand being behind a big bill... signed the papers, your responsible... yeah yeah yeah...
I've paid for bad signatures. I understand "you get what you sign for"
I don't understand why there aren't consumer safeguards in place for this kind of bull____ and why people actually condone this.
Look at Sprint... your bill goes to high - it gets cut... the... f... off. Simple.
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it's just like this I totally understand it would suck and I would say a good company would and should help out in these circumstances.
BUT
If I sign a paper that says "if anyone on my plan uses data it will cost this much per MB" then I have signed my name to that statement, it's not hard to see where it says that DATA is pointed out in a plan change always.
So YES I agree they should be nice about it and help out, but that's extra brownie points, if you sign up for it then you should be responsbile for what you pay for not "oh my contract means nothing"
BUT
If I sign a paper that says "if anyone on my plan uses data it will cost this much per MB" then I have signed my name to that statement, it's not hard to see where it says that DATA is pointed out in a plan change always.
So YES I agree they should be nice about it and help out, but that's extra brownie points, if you sign up for it then you should be responsbile for what you pay for not "oh my contract means nothing"
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it would be like someone driving, you agree to abide by your state laws and any state laws when you drive in that state, if you break one of those laws driving does the state care if you say "oh I didn't know" NO they don't they say you can pay or go to jail lol
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that might be a bit more extreme but it's the same kind of circumstance I think. Just my 2 cents, if I had that bill I would be pissed too haha but I guarantee you that guys wife is pissed at him for not reading the agreement, and she's pissed because she knows it's really there own darn fault. sorry wish I could edit posts and put all this into one instead of 3
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So now we have to call when they do something stupid? Again, not our responsiblity. Would it be nice? Yes. Do we have 80 some odd million customers to look after? Yes. Don't get me wrong I'd be irate at myself if it happened to me; but I'd be irate at myself.
As far as the time the kid used it, used it for two weeks into the next cycle, and he never checked usage. Means he had at least four weeks to check.
You know why a credit card company checks? Because if they authorize it and pay it there's a chance they are out the $3,000. They're not looking out for you, they're covering themselves as they should be.
He was probably explained the difference. If not, it was definately in his paperwork. Furthermore, the whole trip of buying ...
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As far as the time the kid used it, used it for two weeks into the next cycle, and he never checked usage. Means he had at least four weeks to check.
You know why a credit card company checks? Because if they authorize it and pay it there's a chance they are out the $3,000. They're not looking out for you, they're covering themselves as they should be.
He was probably explained the difference. If not, it was definately in his paperwork. Furthermore, the whole trip of buying ...
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Going through a complete story it seems that this is the only reason that leads to a change.
Well, No one can tell this much amount of bill as it is no doubt a huge amount to cover.
Thanks
theofficephone.com
Well, No one can tell this much amount of bill as it is no doubt a huge amount to cover.
Thanks
theofficephone.com
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DOVER — Bob and Mary St. Germain say they can’t believe it. Four years after their son, Bryan, used his cellphone to connect to the Internet, the couple is still trying to fight the bill: a nearly $18,000 tab from Verizon.
Bryan, now 26, thought his family’s plan included free data downloads. It didn’t, and in August 2006, the St. Germains’ phone bill ballooned to more than 100 times the normal amount.
“You can’t print what my husband said’’ when the bill came, Mary St. Germain said. “He was very shocked.’’
Verizon eventually offered to reduce the bill by half, but Bob St. Germain, 66, a retired marketing professional, said he rejected the offer after consulting with sta...
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Bryan, now 26, thought his family’s plan included free data downloads. It didn’t, and in August 2006, the St. Germains’ phone bill ballooned to more than 100 times the normal amount.
“You can’t print what my husband said’’ when the bill came, Mary St. Germain said. “He was very shocked.’’
Verizon eventually offered to reduce the bill by half, but Bob St. Germain, 66, a retired marketing professional, said he rejected the offer after consulting with sta...
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I don't really understand why they allow $18,000 bills. Or why Verizon would be so adamant at getting that $9,000, when they could look like good guys & eliminate it. Still, the line
Speaks volumes. People who are purchasing a phone, spending hours at times to do so, should stop & read these. Heck, Every once in a while I read the T&C for WoW after patch day...
WernerCD said:
He said customers are making mistakes because they do not have the time to sort through pages of fine print to understand the terms and conditions of a plan.
Speaks volumes. People who are purchasing a phone, spending hours at times to do so, should stop & read these. Heck, Every once in a while I read the T&C for WoW after patch day...
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it's not like it's hard to see where it talks about DATA? That's one of the main things on the main page of the verizon plan page. There are 6 bullet points, DATA not being on the plan is one of them...
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I suppose that the lad should have used his tethered phone to check that.
Seriously folks, I don't get the animosity to customers. Granted, there are things that we don't know here, like whether Verizon offered to waive the charges if they put on the $30.00 data plan.
We can accept that the average person can't just swallow an $18,000 bill, right? So what steps could Verizon (or other companies) do to make sure that some account holder's kid doesn't put up an exorbitant bill like this?
Seriously folks, I don't get the animosity to customers. Granted, there are things that we don't know here, like whether Verizon offered to waive the charges if they put on the $30.00 data plan.
We can accept that the average person can't just swallow an $18,000 bill, right? So what steps could Verizon (or other companies) do to make sure that some account holder's kid doesn't put up an exorbitant bill like this?
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don't mean to sound angry with the customer, it's just I don't get how people will agree to something and then make a big deal about it when what they agreed to happens.
But I definitely agree there is no reason why any phone company wouldn't offer the ability for it's users to get automated notices when they are approaching a certain amount of data on their phone or they are about to run out. But they don't because they are out to make money as has been pointed out elsewhere.
But there's a difference between
A. people being like "so and so cell phone provider can burn in hell because they made me do what I said I would do."
and
B. Verizon isn't being nice. They aren't being nice but they also aren't required to do anything as th...
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But I definitely agree there is no reason why any phone company wouldn't offer the ability for it's users to get automated notices when they are approaching a certain amount of data on their phone or they are about to run out. But they don't because they are out to make money as has been pointed out elsewhere.
But there's a difference between
A. people being like "so and so cell phone provider can burn in hell because they made me do what I said I would do."
and
B. Verizon isn't being nice. They aren't being nice but they also aren't required to do anything as th...
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Here's kind of a neat solution. How about printing out the whole story, complete with a picture of dear old Dad holding up the $18K bill, and then a little company handout on the $30 data plan, and ask the customer which one he wants. Also, MAKE HIM SIGN IF HE DECLINES!!!
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See this is that mentality that it's ok to steal as long as it's from someone that makes alot of money & can afford to take the hit...
The cust is always famous for these words just before they inform you that they're about to steal..."it's the principal".
Werner, I'm just wonderin dude cause you seem to be of that mentality that it's ok to steal...if you use excessive amounts of your electric bill or gas bill? Are you one of those whine bags that calls in & cries about how unfair it is that you should have to pay for somethin you use?
Just curious... 🤣
And I already know what your next dumb question is gonna be & I would never be that stupid 😁
The cust is always famous for these words just before they inform you that they're about to steal..."it's the principal".
Werner, I'm just wonderin dude cause you seem to be of that mentality that it's ok to steal...if you use excessive amounts of your electric bill or gas bill? Are you one of those whine bags that calls in & cries about how unfair it is that you should have to pay for somethin you use?
Just curious... 🤣
And I already know what your next dumb question is gonna be & I would never be that stupid 😁
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I feel that both parties in this situation are responsible....Verizon for not catching on that this cmr had a bill so high until the cmr said something, there should be a limit for all cmrs on the amount a cmr can be charged per month. I also think the customer is responsible for not being smart enough to check there account periodically to make sure everything is right. I mean come on, who gives there kid a phone and sends them off to collage and doesn't check on the account to make sure they aren't charging things without your knowledge.
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because of this i feel both the customer and verizon are both responsible for the bill, which is what verizon has done, they cut it in half. They are willing to take care of half and the customer should take care of the other half.
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The only thing I feel should have been done differently on Verizon's part is to implement a data cap. There is no way that it cost them $9,000 to support the customer's data usage, when they have unlimited data plans on phones for $30.00 or less. The charges should cap out somewhere, maybe 5 times the cost of an unlimited plan ($150.00), would be more reasonable.
I understand that the contract states the customer will be charged, and that overrage is an incentive to move to higher data packages, but Verizon would be making an insane amount once the bill is paid; several hundred times more than what it actually costs them to provide the service to a customer with the plan.
I understand that the contract states the customer will be charged, and that overrage is an incentive to move to higher data packages, but Verizon would be making an insane amount once the bill is paid; several hundred times more than what it actually costs them to provide the service to a customer with the plan.
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The original post states that. I think it's comical that people back up an 18k/9k charge for whata "costs" $30/month.
I'd back something like a $300/month/line cap.
Or I'd support a required data package for the entire family for the next year (3 lines I think) to waive the 18K fee...
I'm not saying the customer isn't responsible.
I'm also not going to agree that the customer should be goat-f'd because Verizon doesn't care enough about him, as a customer, to put some level of protection in.
I don't think Sprint type protections should be forced... but this level of "He signed, so f' him" just amazes me.
Just. Plain. Amazes me.
I'd back something like a $300/month/line cap.
Or I'd support a required data package for the entire family for the next year (3 lines I think) to waive the 18K fee...
I'm not saying the customer isn't responsible.
I'm also not going to agree that the customer should be goat-f'd because Verizon doesn't care enough about him, as a customer, to put some level of protection in.
I don't think Sprint type protections should be forced... but this level of "He signed, so f' him" just amazes me.
Just. Plain. Amazes me.
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so first I'm so glad that we have a cap in the about of data charges that are assessed here at sprint. second, i think that verizon was more than helpful in removing half of the charges. before the merger, nextel had these plans where they had bonus minutes for the first two years, every bill we sent said bonus minutes 24 months on it under the plan description however it never fails that the customer does not know when their 2 yrs is over so they go over their minutes and expect us to adj all the charges. I'm like, we sent a bill each of the last 24 bills that the bonus minutes were for a limited time only. We are not responsible for your ignorance.
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Yeah... but overage on minutes = maybe a hundered or two. Not 18k.
500 bill? I can understand. Somewhat. 1k? A little bit even then...
But 18k? Seriously?
Something as simple as a text to the main line. EMail. Something. Anything.
Or a cut-off.
Or a message before your call goes thru, like when you get close to a zero balance on some prepaid phones. "This is an announcement tht you're almost out of minutes. Don't be stupid."
Something... Anything.
Won't someone think of the childr... er... customers 🙂
500 bill? I can understand. Somewhat. 1k? A little bit even then...
But 18k? Seriously?
Something as simple as a text to the main line. EMail. Something. Anything.
Or a cut-off.
Or a message before your call goes thru, like when you get close to a zero balance on some prepaid phones. "This is an announcement tht you're almost out of minutes. Don't be stupid."
Something... Anything.
Won't someone think of the childr... er... customers 🙂
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