Verizon — Local services in Novato

Verizon drained my bank account!

Twenty years and three months are how long I have been a customer of Verizon. I am so frustrated, and I have no place to vent, so here I am. I didn't want to vent with the customer care person on the phone. It's not their fault, and they won't pass the line to their supervisor, which is weird, so here I am.

My phone had a problem, so I went to the Verizon store, and because it was under warranty, they ordered a replacement.  I went home, waited and the next day not one, but two new replacement phones arrived.  The phones both came in their own box with a return label that I was instructed to stick to the box and place the old one in to ship back.  I thought I could save Verizon on shipping costs, so I called them, told them I got two phones and asked if I could send the extra new phone back with the old phone in the same box.  I was told I could, so I did.  I kept the tracking number and took notes because I didn't want a charge for an extra phone.

Twenty-four days later, I received a text saying my return phone had not been received and I would be charged.  I picked up the phone, waited a ridiculous amount of time on hold, and spoke with a customer care representative, who confirmed receipt of both phones and assured me she would clear up my account.  Eleven days later, I received another text from Verizon saying my return phone had not been received and I would be charged.  Again I picked up the phone, waited a ridiculous amount of time on hold, and spoke with a customer care representative, who again confirmed receipt of both phones and assured me my account would get cleared.   Of course, I took detailed notes, got the receipt numbers of each phone, and assumed everything would work itself out.  Three weeks later, my bank account was charged over $1800 by Verizon.

Again I picked up the phone, waited a ridiculous amount of time on hold, and finely spoke with a customer care representative.  At this point in time, I was pretty upset, but I acknowledged it was not the fault of the person with whom I spoke on the phone.  I even told her I was not mad at her personally.  We went through the customer care dance, and it ended with her promising me the money would be reinstated into my account within 24-hours.  She would call me the next day to confirm I would get my money.  The next day arrived, no phone call, no money in my account.  For the next few days, I was tied up with work and family, and knowing how excruciatingly long it takes to get through to a human, I waited four days to call back when I had plenty of time to give the matter my attention.  Still no money in my account and not a peep out of Verizon.  Not one single person has bothered to pick the phone and call.  Meanwhile, my bank account is empty, and I have bills due.

Today I spoke with a Verizon representative on the phone after, yes, an excruciatingly long wait on hold.  I waited on hold because once during this process, I tried the "we'll call you back" method, and they never called me back.  Again I assured this new person that my frustration was not directed towards them, and I provided her a complete account of my situation.  After it obviously took a long period of time for her to arrive at an understanding of my situation, she spoke to the powers above and discovered my account wouldn't receive reimbursement for 10-days.  She explained when electronic funds are debited, it takes that long for the money to clear.

I consider myself a patient individual, but I have lost mine.  Verizon emptied my bank account, recognized their mistake, and has shown absolutely no concern.  I am just a phone...

Employees were awesome (5 stars), but despite all their research & trying another way, the bill pay machine can't accept a debit card. Took 90 minutes and a trip to the bank for cash to complete what could have been a 5-minute transaction. Machine also had a sign on it shamelessly announcing it can't print a receipt. 0 stars for entire bill paying experience.

It's probably a perfectly nice place for other stuff, well kept, well stocked, all the employees seemed knowledgeable & desiring to be helpful, but were of course quite powerless to fix their equipment situation.

Edit to add: First tell me your machines can take my card, Verizon, otherwise it would be a waste of time to go back. It's not like I could call ahead, since your stores don't have phones o...

The salesman who worked with me on my visit was entirely unhelpful. I told him I wanted a new iPhone, but he kept trying to sell me an iPad and Apple Watch instead (funny thing is, I even showed him the new Apple Watch I was wearing. That didn’t stop him). I asked him about the differences between the iPhones for sale, and he kept telling me to buy the iPhone 14 Pro Max because “it’s the best.” He had no knowledge of the technical differences of these products, he just wanted me to spend as much money as possible. He was shameless in his attempts to upsell me on anything and everything. I’m glad I walked out without making a purchase. Just buy directly from...