Verizon FIOS

[mrbones]

What is up these people? They raise my bill after a year, then I call and complain and to cancel my account. Then, they agree to give me the same price as before and make me agree to another year contract. Three months later I get a letter in the mail saying I'm getting discounts I shouldn't be getting and they are going to bill me for it and my rates are going up.

So I try and call today to clear it up. I've spent 1/2 hour on the phone and have been disconnected 5 times by their automated phone service and I still haven't talked to anyone! The last time I called was to cancel the whole package and again, I get disconnected. I've tried to contact two different departments and every time I get a 'click', "that is not available at this time, goodbye."

 

[Keeter]

That sux Bones. I have class tonight with an upper level Verizon rep. I will see what I can do.  I may need your cell number so he can pull it up.  I will PM you later. 

[mrbones]

The service is for the FIOS cable, phone, internet package. I can PM you my phone number if it would help.

[Keeter]

No go Bones.  He said that stuff you are dealing with is like the Elephant man.  He said if you want a prompt response go to the FCC.  I have in the past and had very good results.  Sorry

[Keeter]

Actually the Public Service Commission. The complaint area is very easy. 

[mrbones]

Ok, thanks for checking.

[CABLEGUY1]

Bones,here is your post below from September 2007.




I've had it for 6 months and am very happy with it. At my house, the Brighthouse signal was weak coming in and my HD channels would cut out. I was also resetting my cable modem daily because of signal loss. The internet speed is also a lot faster, including the upload speed (at least in my neighborhood). I got the phone package, too. Unlimited long distance is nice. At the time I signed up, it cost me exactly the same as Brighthouse, but I did get the two additional cable boxes. Reliable internet service is extremely important to me as I'm on it all day long. It hasn't gone done in 6 months so I'm sticking with it.







My response then was " Is it the same price now?Give it time and it will go up."

[CABLEGUY1]

Below is your post regarding Verizon in March of 2008.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diggin' up an old post here, but here's the scoop. After a year my bill went up $32. I made a bluff and called Verizon to cancel the whole thing. They were nice on the phone and setup the whole bill to be like it was before. I knew they would do this so I didn't have to cancel. If anyone else out there is in the same situation. Just call to cancel and they will do what they can to keep you as a customer.

[CABLEGUY1]

And now another billing issue.  Do you see a trend here? I'm not trying to rub salt in the wound or say I told you so but, I TOLD YOU SO!   As annoying as the Bright House asterisk commercials are,they are dead on. Verizon provides a comparable service,but their customer service sucks. They lock you into a contract and when you're comfortable they change the pricing. There is a reason that they have not made any sizeable dent in the success of Bright House Networks / Time Warner since introducing the service to Florida. The service as a whole is not as good. Bright House Networks just won the J.D. Power award for "Highest in customer satisfaction among US telephone service providers". That makes three years in a row. It's not a coincindence.

[digginfool]

Uh, let me guess...  You work for Bright House!!!  How smart am I?     Just bustin' on ya'.  I'm an old cable dawg from way back.  In fact, my company still does cable work.  As AT&T and Verizon continues to go into various franchise areas and cherry pick, they will continue to destroy their own reputation.  At least for the near term, coax is still the most efficient broadband conduit.  AT&T is pushing their U_Verse product but everybody I've talked to hasn't been impressed.  It will be interesting to see where it all ends up.

[CABLEGUY1]

Uh, let me guess...  You work for Bright House!!!  How smart am I?     Just bustin' on ya'.  I'm an old cable dawg from way back.  In fact, my company still does cable work.  As AT&T and Verizon continues to go into various franchise areas and cherry pick, they will continue to destroy their own reputation.  At least for the near term, coax is still the most efficient broadband conduit.  AT&T is pushing their U_Verse product but everybody I've talked to hasn't been impressed.  It will be interesting to see where it all ends up.

You are 100% correct in your cherry picking accusation. Of course Verizon wont call it cherry picking. They have a nicer, less incriminating reference for it. Whatever they want to call it makes no difference,the fact of the matter is that they continue to primarily roll it out into areas that are demografically profitable. The lower income neighborhoods will not see FIOS for a long time if ever. Yes I work for Bright House so of course I'm a little biased,but honestly we have the right infrastructure in place that has been upgraded and well maintained "thanks to the introduction of voice services" so as long as the premise wiring is up to spec ,our service is very reliable and a pretty good value if you compare it to what the cost was for cable prior to all of the recent competition.

[mrbones]

I just got through to Verizon. They were in fact giving me a $25 discount since last April accidentally. They are not going to collect any back money. My bill is going to be $10 less than my original sign up price two years ago. So my bill has not gone up since I first signed up, but down and I have more HD channels then when I first started. 

[CABLEGUY1]

Wait a second. Your bill was $32.00 higher than it normally was ,even though they were giving you a $25.00 credit and now you're paying $10.00 less? I'm no mathematician,but that doesn't add up. . Three seperate complaints about my bill would be enough for me to know that they're incompetant at best and dishonest for sure. That's like saying,"that dog bit me three times but it's okay because he licked me when he was done". Don't feel bad,I hear those horror stories on a daily basis,and that's just pertaining to their bad billing practices. I won't bore you with all of the others regarding their service charges,contract binders,truck roll fees,maintenance,deceptive buisness practices,etc etc. When you have enough, (or when your binding contract expires) we will take you back with open arms. In most cases we will even buy out your contract. As strange as it may sound, Verizon's incompetance = job security for me.

[CABLEGUY1]

This was released by "Broadband Reports.com".




 Customers Still Annoyed By FiOS Billing
Cable companies advertising a simpler billing experience
10:32AM Monday Oct 06 2008 by Karl Bode
tags: Fiber · competition · trouble · bundles · Verizon FIOS

We've previously noted that if Verizon FiOS has a weak spot, it's the service's billing, which frequently contains errors that are sometimes impossible to correct. According to the St. Petersburg Times, customers are getting annoyed with multi-page FiOS bills they say they can't understand, and which rarely are the same amount from month to month. Both Time Warner Cable and Bright House networks are taking advantage of the complicated bills and hidden fees, by promising customers a simpler billing experience if they return. "Changes are coming," a Verizon spokesman tells the paper (a promise users have heard before). "And I think it will really be something our customers will really appreciate."

[Bigscrb15]

I have had my FIOS(internet, phone, tv) for almost a year. I love it! There customer service is WAY better than brighthouse. I have had a few issues and they are more than happy to credit me for the problems I have had.

[CABLEGUY1]

I have had my FIOS(internet, phone, tv) for almost a year. I love it! There customer service is WAY better than brighthouse. I have had a few issues and they are more than happy to credit me for the problems I have had.

And I think you are WAY off base. Winning the JDPowers award for three years in a row proves without a doubt that the majority of the public favors Bright House over Verizon when it relates to phone service. The rate at which they are gaining subscribers also verifies that they are not and will not be a major threat to the stability of BHN. Numbers don't lie. Here is a well known fact that any Verizon employee that has insight to the internal affairs of both companies will tell you, ( the majority of subscribers that leave BHN for Verizon FIOS are customers with a negative payment history that have either had their services disconnected in the past or were currently disconnected at the time that they subscribed to Verizon". That's the customer base that we can afford to lose. Another fraction are the people that just want to try something new. Than there is the very small minority that truly feel that Verizon is a better option. Believe me when I tell you that they came in with guns blazing and deep pockets,only to find that they are not having the success that they had hoped for. I realize that there will be a few that prefer the competitions product,but BHN customers are loyal and the majority of the ones that stray,end up coming back. Trust me,I deal with it daily. Our NPS scores were very high. By the way,it's great that they credit you for the issues that you have had,but you should'nt have "any" issues with a new plant infrastructure?

[Bigscrb15]

I was one of the customers that switched because I wanted to try something new. However after this past year I have become a fan of their features. I love the Home Media DVR and being able to setup my dvr from the net or my phone. The internet has not had a single day of slow speed or lost connection that bright house had a least once a month. I am not saying they are a better company, but they have been better for me. The issues they had were not their fault. Someone cut a fiber cable in my neighborhood and they still gave me a credit for my down time. When my contract is up I can't say 100% that I will stay with Verizon because Bright House may have new technologies out by then, but I would not be happy with Bright House right now.

[96cobra10101]

I have the FIOS internet and TV, no phone we have 4 cells in our household.  I switched to Verizon because;
1.  To try a new service
2.  My HD channels were constantly up and down.
3.  My internet was also constantly up and down. 
4.  They gave me 3 boxes for he same price I was paying for 1, and 2 of them are HD DVR's.
5.  They did a much better install.  All the wiring is clean and out of the way, and no wires running along the outside of my house with holes bored the wall 2 feet from the ground.  I tore all the old TimeWarner crap off the outside when I had my house repainted.
6.  I like the menus much better.

The only thing I don't like about Fios is there is no Bay News 9.

[mrbones]

That about sums it up for me, too. There's no FCW wrestling either.