Is Verizon FIOS slamming its own customers?

[pete_c]

Two weeks ago (around end of February, 2013) I recieved an email from Verizon "thanking" me for ordering the new upgrade to my service.  I use them for TV, Phone and Internet in FL. 
 
I did spend not less that 2 hours with Verizon Customer service to undo what they did.  After 3 calls they basically said that my "legacy" service was no longer available and the new service tiers were higher priced.  They also stated that I ordered the "upgrades" when in fact I haven't requested any service changes since installation a few years back.  The result of my calls were that they "pieced" together my service tiers al la carte wise to get what I had and upcharged me some $30 more a month.  I have not as of yet paid the new bill with the upcharges pending a discussion with their accounting department.
 
Similiarly I used to use DirectTivo's here in the midwest and they had done a firmware upgrade which I did and all was working fine until one day Direct TV said that my Tivos were absolute and I would have to utilize their DVRs (purchase and monthly rental).  They did want to upcharge me and I was able to keep the montly the same.  What was most interesting with this debacle was that the customer service representative said that I requested the changes and they had documented my requests and were following up. 

 

[gatchel]

We got an offer to upgrade from the lower FIOS speed (20/5) to the next higher speed (50/25) for $10 but nothing has changed. We only have internet and phone, no TV because our township is greedy... (Near Philadelphia, PA)

 

[nightwalker]

Pete, I think the short answer to your question is yes, I believe they are slamming their own customers. I had the same thing happen to me about six months ago. No contact from Verizon I just noticed my bill jumped by $10 or so a month. I called and asked what was up and they told me about some upgrade that didn't make any sense since I hadn't asked for an upgrade. I did end up getting it back to where it was but it took about a month and during that time I was seriously looking at other providers. I liked Fios when i first got it but not so much anymore. You do have to keep an eye on them. I also have the legacy service that they no longer offer, since it does what I need with no upgrade needed but It's obvious they are trying ot get everyone into other more expensive tiers of service.

 

[Madcodger]

Pete,

I live in the same general area as gatchel and nightwalker, and Verizon has been cranking up my rates for at least the past year. I just received another notice that we would need to upgrade our 4 set top boxes and am taking the opportunity to pair things down by running HDMI cables and wiring to use a central box on each floor. May also drop their phone service. I've used them for years and don't mind reasonable price increases over time, but they have become excessive in my view. Left us with a bad taste for the company...

 

[pete_c]

We are lucky in Florida as Comcast is still there and they redid their cabling a couple of years ago.  Originally though switched from cable to Direct TV and used DSL from Verizon for intenet and the copper lines for telephone which worked fine for me. 
 
A few years back Verizon ran fiber and offered FIOS triple service at $99 which was good.  A year later it went to $156 which I was OK with.  It was the base packages for all three. 
 
What bugs me is that Verizon Customer service basically acted bewildered when I asked why my service was upgraded without my permission and basically stated that my old service was no longer available.  This was three customer service people that I spoke to over two days.  The fourth one said I could have the old service back but she appeared to al la carte the service to get to where I was.
 
That said it now sits around $30 more per month and not looking forward to listening again to their customer service folks (now accounting) to explain to me why they did this and how they are going to fix it.

 

[pete_c]

Another phone call yesterday to Verizon.  It was interesting.  I didn't get any real answers and the accounting department tag teamed with the customer service person talking in circles never really really telling me why my service got changed 4 times when I requested it to be returned to where it was before getting slammed.
 
That said decided instead not to deal with them and filing a complaint with the Florida State Attorney's office as I am tired of the BS.

 

[pete_c]

Interesting that the response from the FL State's Attorney's office was a reference to a specific "dept" of Verizon calling / contacting me to settle said matter. 
 
My terse email response to the Florida State's Attorney email to me was akin to the "fox watching the hen house" and a few other choice words.  I am seeing a lot of that lately. 
 
The above noted I recieved a call this morning (early 7 AM) from Verizon and all is as it was; call was 5 minutes long; no real admittance from Verizon of slamming though.