Comments on: Verizon FiOS: Issues, Problems and Trouble

By: timothyr

timothyr — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:09:26 +0000

Verizon has recently “upgraded” it’s FIOS tv guide. Since it upgraded,I have had very poor to no HD on my HD chanels and half of my SD chanels have a 3 in. bar across the top and bottom of the screen ( or in some cases a 6 in. bar on the sides of the screen.) I have spent hours on the phone with the repair dept. and have got nothing fixed.( that includes the fact that it takes at least 3 calls to get anyone in the first place) Verizon finally sent out a repair person last week and he told me that the bars on the screen were probably there before and I did not notice them!! I want to cut off the Verizon service and get someone else but I was informed that I would have to pay $125 for early termination fees.I did not break the contract, they did when they changed the way I receive my picture on my tv.

To compound problems, this last month I did not receive my on-line bill and the payment was not billed to my credit card on the 15th of the month as usual because I have auto pay on my account. On the 18th of the month I called and was told to not worry, they were running behind this month but it will be charged to my CC. On the 24th I called back because it was still not charged to my CC. I was then told that I was not on the auto-pay program ( I have been on it for over a year ) and my bill was due on the 25th, and there had been a “gletch” in the system that had caused me to be dropped from the auto-pay system. I set myself back up on the auto-pay program and had the person charge my account for that months bill. I thought that everything was fine untill I checked my credit card bill on-line and noticed that my Verizon bill had still not been billed to my account on the 1st of October. I called again on that night when I got home from work and was told that I was late on my bill and that there was not anything I could do about it until Monday when I called the finance department for Verizon. I went online and paid my bill as a one-time payment because I am NEVER late on any of my bills. I will no doubt be charged again Monday on my auto-pay program so rthey can get a double payment from me that I will have fight it get back!

By: susan

susan — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:24:14 +0000

being offered a new fios deal–presently i have verizon landlines, DSL internet and wireless, cablevision for TV, but with all these horror stories i may just pass on it…

By: ARA

ARA — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:26:02 +0000

Horrible. Horrible in every sense. Support is essentially non-existent. Can't find anyone to help with the new service kinks. For the sale, they're quick to help, but after installation, I can't get anyone to help. They want you to do it/figure it out yourself. Comcast never works this way. Finally got someone from Verizon on the phone and he told me he could not help me because I'm in Pennsylvania. Wow, I thought we were still a part of the USA. Maybe they know something. Nevertheless, likely I will return to Comcast and be treated well by everyone.

By: sue m

sue m — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:44:31 +0000

PART 2……They company that handels fios is in NV. I was told by the FCC and FTC that I need to change my number I have had for 12 years and to watch my bills….so they just put the blame on me for being scammed. I was told that I am being billed for a man named Mel Perry from Carson City, NV????? What!! I live in Md and have not a clue who the heck that is! We as consumers need to fight for our rights, I have been ripped off hundreds maybe even thousands (still checking) by Verison and fios and their 3rd party billers! I never signed up or approved a thing on my phone bill! I had a freeze on my line a long time but you also (like we should know this) need to ask for a 3rd party block on our lines. I have contacted the media as well people need to know! Class Action I am IN!

By: sue m

sue m — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:43:16 +0000

I have been being ripped of from Verizon for years at the tune of over 450.00 a year!! By 3rd party billings Verzion was questioned monthly for 2 years about the high bills i was getting, the charges were explanied to me as 411 calls. and voice services. But they wer not!! They were for Travel Pal and some other calling service. Now going back on my bills I have found yet a thrid company!! Just so you know the FCC and FTC explained to me fiso is a 3rd party biller as well…..it took 50 questions to get them to admit to it!! PART 1

By: Guest

Guest — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:06:41 +0000

Verizon – Early Termination Fee – RIP OFF ALERT – DO NOT GET ANY VERIZON SERVICES – This is a common man/woman's nightmare –> they have a complex system that makes you go in circles. In the end it is not American. Customer Support is a joke and so is the limited Technical Support. We tried to pay off to make them go away and they still had to suck the "Pay by Phone" fees of $3.50. We have now paid over $200 not to mention the "mistake" that was made on their part due to "accounting" issues. We are not sure how they get the BBB accreditation. BUYER BE WARE – PLEASE DO NOT USE VERIZON SERVICES

By: Diane

Diane — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:47:04 +0000

This company is awful and they don't even care what you think.

By: scott

scott — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 03:26:59 +0000

I lost my cable line up after switching to a new TiVo. It has been 2 weeks of calling, service techs coming on site before they realized that it was an internal issue not the Cable Cards or Tivo. They put an order through to correct the package I was getting but guess what? Some channels came back but even more disappeared. I called about that and the rep told me that I had to upgrade to get my basic channels! Now I cant even reach them. I got an email saying they had tried to call me (home and cell) but could not so please call them M to F, 8 to 5. Guess what? Lies. I check my missed calls and nothing. I loved the service when I had it but it looks like I have to go back to Comcast.

By: Ron Hon

Ron Hon — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:10:45 +0000

Called Customer service daily for month. I was sold a service, than the service and price changed. I suggest avoiding Verizon at all cost, unless you enjoy fighting with customer service!!!

By: DOZ

DOZ — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 03:25:48 +0000

Same here! The VZ Fios bundle billing is mysterious and even fraudulent to say the least! I had the 3 months free HBO/Cinemax for free. Before the expiry date, I sent and email and also called to cancel it. 4 months later the re still charging me 22.99 for it!!!!!!!
I am thinking about refusing to pay anything when I switch back to cable as this is a joke.

By: Disappointed

Disappointed — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:01:30 +0000

What a nightmare. Customer Service is terrible. We've been without fios tv and internet for over a week. We've been begging for someone to come out and fix the problem. We've been renting videos in order to pacify the kids.
We get the run around day in and day out. FIOS may have more channels to offer but when it comes to customer satisfaction they stink. I had optimum on line b/4 and they have 24 hours technical service. Planning on going back to optimun no matter what the cost.

By: Oy' vey

Oy' vey — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:09:12 +0000

*** This all sounds too familiar… I just got off the phone with Verizon myself…
Every month we have billing issues. This Month they tacked on the Internet fees in addition to our Triple-play bundle fee… so we were billed twice for internet services; once again after 30 min on hold and a 30+ min conversation with customer service they are correcting this. Just looking forward to what errors I will find next month in the bill…
Meanwhile the phone (also fios) is not currently working. They seem to think its my home wiring but I ask, why would that effect my voicemail… currently when you call after one ring you hear a beep, and thats when the Voicemail starts recording; no message just ring, beeeep…. this happened before and it miraculously fixed itself. So once again I need a tech onsite.
In nearly 3 years now, I have had to have my DVRs replaced, the router replaced, techs onsite 3 or 4 times…
But I have to admit they provide the best product, maybe not the best customer service, but the Internet service is fantastic as is the Fios TV.

By: bollocks2all

bollocks2all — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:06:07 +0000

I would love to elaborate on the COUNTLESS issues and lost business I have endured since switching to FiOS. It started with being harrassed by the outside installers, followed by TV, telephone, call-waiting, caller-id, voicemail, fax, email, security suite and billing issues. It has been 6 mos and most issues continue. Telephone contacts with few exceptions have been pleasant for most part however, the issues just never seems to get resolved. I am exhausted by it but like many who have commented I do not have many options in my area.

I would like to know who has experienced problems with the following issues in particular:
1_ HD TV pixelations and tiling issues? Our TV ($3000 Samsumg) is now damaged and I have been told by a Verizon employee there is a known issue and he went on to say in so many words that Samsung and Verizon are having a pissing match over whose fault it is but in the mean time, he disconnected our HDMI cable and replaced it with a 5-wire connection… well, the pixelations and tiling continue and as I said, our TV may be damaged at this point. If it is known to Verizon they should disclose this apparent “problem with Samsung HD” and permit the customer to decide if they want to risk the health of their TV before installing FiOS.
2_ Call-waiting making an incredible sound – similar to what a telephone makes when the building is hit by an electrical storm and the power flickers causing the phones to react, with a pause that is approx 3 -4 times longer than normal, while the person on the other end believes they have been disconnected? Has anyone had this problem?
3_ If you have domain email, have you had problems with intermittently not receiving your email? There is not apparent pattern to this but it definitely happens. If you can believe it, after speaking with someone in escalations about this problem, I received and email (gutsy on their part given the issue has to do with not receiving emails) from a tech who I quote requested I send him the emails I did not receive. Now, if anyone out there can explain how one would send something they don't have, I would be interested in knowing how to do this.
4_Triple-play pricing not as quoted *AND* on top of the purported Triple-play covering voice/voicemail/call-waiting/ID/Unlimited Local and Long Dx (and the list goes on…), they have added additional fees for “custo-pak” such that my total bill is nearly $200/month more than the original Triple-play quote – plus there is more – the 24 mos agreement is not really a 24 mos agreement! The rep yesterday said that is wording legal came up with but FiOS Internet is 12 mos, TV is 24 mos, and this “custo-pak” is 36 mos AND EACH HAS IT OWN ETFS or $175m $125 and $250 respectively. And of course, as all of you have expressed, the lost channels, upload/download speeds not consistent and the customer service.

At this point in time, they are sending a Tech to check things out (the third follow-up since install). I was told (threatened you may say) that if they do not see the problems I am having – b/c the most recent agent said the last tech said there were no problems when he left (see below about this), the onus is on me to pay my bill and there will not be any credit given even if incorrect in terms of billed amounts and tough-stuff w/r/t the 12 mos/24mos/36mos agreement they claim they have with me..

I am seriously in search of a good Class Action Attorney. *When the last tech left he had been on phone with his “inside guys” and they told him about the call-waiting issue being a known problem, the Samsumg TV issue being a known problem and domain-name email is just plain always problematic (even though that was not the case when it was just Verizon DSL). But to make this case credible for a Class Action Attorney group to even review it, I need to know of others' experiences recently. We really need to join forces because Verizon is a giant.

By: bchilt

bchilt — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:42:21 +0000

Hi,

We have had the same issues as all of you. I was told that I would not have to pay installation fees, I could keep my number, and that we would have all HD channels ($115 package). Well, I had to pay an installation fee, they messed up the work order for my phone (I would have had to wait 2 weeks to keep my number), and we only got local HD channels.

When they came out to do the installation, their work order did not have us as HD. Futhermore, the phone did not work for the first few days. We called Verizon numerous times and complained. Customer Service was not easy to deal with but we finally got VERBAL promises of credits and apologees from supervisors.

Well, a Verizon Customer Service door-to-door person came by to see how we were liking our service. My wife told him what had happened and he called to verify that everything was set up (the credits). Two things, no credits and a VERY unprofessional service rep began to talk down to him (he was on speaker phone) and basically said there was nothing in Verizon's notes.

At this point, we decided to cancel. This was about a month and half after INITIATING installatin and service. Now, we too, are being hit with the $179 ETF.

BUT, WE'RE FIGHTING IT. I have contacted a lawyer. We have filed a complaint with the BBB. We are filing a complaint with the State Attorney General. I am researching on the internet and gathering information as to what more we can do.

Make sure you document everything.

By: Ari

Ari — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:19:28 +0000

I have a business level FIOS internet account, but also have residential phone and television service. I somehow convinced them to bundle the business internet account with the residential phone/TV services.

When I first ordered the services, it took them maybe 2 months to actually come out to install it. I've never had problems with the billing, however, so I guess I got lucky. The menus for channel selection, however, are INCREDIBLY SLOW, sometimes almost to the point where I just shut the TV off and walk away.

The internet service is fantastic, very fast, and i've never had any problems with it. (knock on wood)

In an unrelated issue, a small business that I work for has verizon as their telephone provider, and they have three telephone lines from verizon. Two voice, one fax.

Back in May of 2009, the business received a $2000 phone bill for 24/7 phone calls that were "being made from our line". I don't know about you guys, but I can't stay on the phone for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for an entire month. This issue was somewhat resolved in december. Let's just re-cap that.... After I personally called verizon every single business day from MAY of 2009 to DECEMBER of 2009, this issue was PARTLY resolved. The bills were up around $12,000 for phone calls that we never made. One of the billing department managers actually told the business owner that she had made the phone calls, and hung up on her.

The problem wound up being a phone switching problem on verizon's end, and they are still giving the business problems with the bills.

COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE if you ask me.

By: Bess

Bess — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:03:58 +0000

Please reply to my email address. I would very much appreciate hearing your story. I have been dealing with a verizon nightmare since March 09 and when I think it can't get any worse, it by, some miracle does. Calling them is fruitless and writing to them is also a complete waste of time. It is a wonder people are not being institutionalized from their problems with dealing with Verizon…maybe they are. I sure feel like i am losing my marbles with each session. I have filed withFCC, and I have contacted corporpate affairs at Verizon. I would be interested in knowing how you resolved your problems with Verizon.

By: dgvet

dgvet — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:21:00 +0000

Fios is better than Cablevision and Dish network by a far margin
I agree Fios is a force to be reckoned with and aside from the standard promotions that the normally offer for signing up they also allow me to refer a friend so 12 new customers can receive a $50 dollar Amex gift card that’s awesome, any takers?

Email me at dgvet@me.com its simple I add you to the Verizon shared network then you can refer your friends as well if they decide to get service.

[URL=http://www.speedtest.net][IMG]http://www.speedtest.net/result/622772603.png[/IMG][/URL]

By: Luke

Luke — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:31:07 +0000

I’ve had similar problems with Verizon. Bills are never what they were susposed to have been. Always more. When the contract time is up I will definitely go DTV only for TV, cancel Direct TV, and go to a different cell phone company. Verizon has a free upgrade now on internet speed and caller ID and call waiting on the phone package but I’m afraid to even take a chance on it, cause they will probably charge me extra and not cancel it for me at the end of the year contract without a hassel.

By: Janyte

Janyte — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:40:33 +0000

We also tried the Triple Play with Verizon FIOS. While I was assured it would work with my TIVO it did not. I called support a number of times, I went online and tried their hook up suggestions, as well as landing on a site that gave other user suggestions. Never worked. So November 2008 I told them to take it out. They continued to bill me for 3 months, even after returning the equipment and sending them the UPS tracking info. Now it's in debt collector hands. I think their plan is that I will pay to make them go away – but that's almost $300 for services I did not use. I confirmed with Comcast the day I started using them (Nov.21, 2008). I could NOT have been using both phone companies. I honestly don't know how to get this finished, because they are reported to the credit bureaus (the reason they assume I'll pay, I guess) I will never use Verizon again for anything. When my wireless contract is up, I will be switching, even though I have no beef with my cell service. I just feel there is no excuse for battering the “little guys”.

By: anne

anne — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:19:51 +0000

Thank you everyone who has posted. I have heard there were many problems with Verizon. I was thinking about switching to save money, BUT I think I will wait to see if Verizon works outs all these problems. I hope people keep posting and also would like to see posts if things are getting better. Thank you

By: Billie

Billie — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:45:28 +0000

We are having the same problems with billing and customer service, so I won't repeat. It is, however, my strong conviction that Verizon gets some financial benefit from starting you with a new number, as they tell everyone that they must change our telephone numbers with the new service. Not true, as many know, but many do not and are, therefore, scammed. There is definitely some reason for their desire to switch numbers.

Otherwise, the question is: what are the customers to do? I suggest we all contact our Congresspeople and complain; contact the state's Board of Public Utilities and Dept. of Consumer Advocates (if your state has one) and anything else that one can think of. Has ANYONE found a way to truly get Verizon's attention?

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:32:20 +0000

I recently cancelled because of poor service and communication. Their tech support was always awesome but the billing confusing. Any person you talk to is going to have a different story. Inevitably I always get “hmm, this looks confusing, something is wrong here, let me put you on hold.” Then they come back with a “solution,” assure you that everything is fixed, and then it usually isn't. They have brought me to tears on the phone.

By: Stefanie

Stefanie — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:20:06 +0000

Does anyone know which HDTVs that FIOS is incompatible with? Thinking of buying one.

By: Richard Weinberg

Richard Weinberg — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:23:09 +0000

Hello,

I have had major trouble with Verizon including wrong billing and never recieved a final bill and they did a charge off.

During that time I contacted the RI Public Utilities Commission and they contacted Verion's 'President's Office' and they went throught the bills and we agreed on the credits and a final balance. They said wait for a final bill and pay. Instead during this 'resolution period' they "charged off my account" and reported it the credit bureau. They were oblivious to that fact. No internal communication. Damages would include interest rate increases. I want them to fix their problem.

Today they said that they would show my account as paid but that could not reveres the aging that also impacts credit scores. I was applying for a home equity loan and that's how I learned about the charge off. In addition, the bank told me they have more complaints on reports from Verizon than anyone ele.

Please advise,

By: mediaguypj

mediaguypj — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:35:06 +0000

WOW I hate fios with a passion.

I have had the service since February, I switched from Cablevision. (Let me tell you they where no better).

Over the last 5 months I have had six outages at my home. One this morning that may have cost my girlfriend her job.

The internet went down and there was a message to call Verizon. I call to find out there is a billing issue. Mind you there is always a billing issue, however the bill is always paid in full on time.

Needless to say there was block put on my account, when I contacted billing they said the account was current and the block would take 4 hours to come off. I say I need it off now. I get hung up on. I call back, the fios internet tech support team tries to get the internet back up and working. But cant because I need to power-cycle the router. Mind you I am in my car driving to my office and have been on the phone with them for an hour now.

I ask the tech to try pinging the router or looking at the gateway. She has no clue what to do and hangs up.

I want to cancel their service. I have had it with Fios. There is no way I am paying $200 when they can't get their billing straight or tech support straight.

If there is a verizon class action suit let me know. I want in.

By: Gower

Gower — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:17:40 +0000

FiOS triple play is a total scam. I switched to it July 2008, being given a monthy rate of $69/mo - discounted due to poor prior Verizon service. After 4 months, with poor service, changed back to Cablevision triple play. It switched at the end of October 2008.

Bills kept arriving for internet and TV afterwards requiring monthly calls to "customer service." After 5 months, a collection agency sent a letter demanding over $300 - although total payments including early termination fee exceeded $670 for the 4 months of service.

Now Verizon claims that cancellation of the "triple play" only cancels phone service - another call is needed to cancel internet and TV - even though the modems and set top box were taken by Verizon. To be extra sneaky, they changed account numbers after canceling the triple play.

Phone calls result in testy, nasty customer service reps here in NJ.

I suggest avoiding Verizon FiOS at all cost, unless you enjoy fighting with customer service!!!

By: Snickford

Snickford — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:36:07 +0000

How can this company continue to do business when there are repeated websites with massive complaints regarding all of their practices? I don't even have FIOS (won't touch it with a 10 foot pole). I only have their land line service and they can't even get that straight!

I deserve free telephone service for the rest of my life for what they put me through every month. Every month I have to call them and have them correct my bill. Every month they tell me it's fixed and every month, they overcharge me.

I laugh in their face whenever they call me with a Great Offer! They even offered me free internet for a year and I won't take it. It probably won't work and they will probably charge me for it.

It's time they paid the piper! There are way too many complaints with no resolution. Someone needs to bring this to a head, perhaps it's me.

It's time for a protest. Who's coming with me!!??!!

By: FranD

FranD — Sun, 17 May 2009 17:21:05 +0000

We just had Fios installed with the Triple Play bundle. We ordered the Extreme HD package and also ordered an optional package called (at the time) “Movies and Sports” (exactly that name)for an additional 15.99 a month. When you clicked on the “included channels” button, it listed multiple sports channels not listed under Extreme HD sports and it also listed ALL premium channels except for STARZ. Now, we couldn't figure out why this package would cost so much less than any of the other packages, but it seemed like a real no-brainer. Only problem at the time – my printer wasn't working for some reason that night and while I was able to save the order confirmation, I was unable to save the channel lineup (should have been my first warning). When we installed, we were surprised to not have access to HBO or Cinemax. Tech said “you weren't signed up”. Went right online: since the tech hadn't signed off yet, and the computer didn't have our installation marked complete, I was able to find the same channel lineup I ordered (Movies and Sports) – shame on me – I didn't print it out, since I had confirmed for myself that I hadn't misread anything. HOWEVER – now that Verizon has you – just TRY to find this same info. You are blocked at every turn from getting back to this info screen. I spent hours “chatting” with the virtual agent and live agents (who were as useless as the virtual agent) – they had NO IDEA what I was talking about. Info from Verizon is plentiful when they want your money – once you have signed up, FORGET IT. I am so sorry I didn't stay with Comcast for my TV and internet. This aggravation isn't worth any money I might be saving – and I haven't even received my first bill yet – can't wait!!!

By: soehler

soehler — Sun, 03 May 2009 17:51:39 +0000

My elderly mother was sucked in by a phone call from Verizon to switch to the 3 in 1 package. They told her it would be cheaper than she is paying now (with internet and TV from Comcast and phone from Verizon). They are billing her for $50 more per month than they advertised and in another week 6 more "free" services will be added to the bill which will increase her bill by another $60/month. Little things like tech support (which is a joke anyway), virus protection (they disabled what she already had), movie downloads (which she doesn't want), and games (which she doesn't want.

Verizon advertises that they will come set up everything for you and sync your phone, computer and television. Translation: they will require you to sit at home on 2 different occasions (from 8 til 5). They may not bother to show up at all. If they do come they will not come inside the house (even though you stayed home all day to let them in). Then they will tell you to set up everything yourself!

Once you manage to set up these wonderful services you will find that you no longer get any of the major network channels. But fear not you can submit a request to have them added to your lineup. In 10 to 12 weeks they'll let you know whether or not they will allow you to have the networks. The internet service operates at 1/2 the download speed, and 1/5 the upload speed of Comcast - which is less expensive.

You can try to call tech support or customer service - but only on weekdays during work hours and it will take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes to get through - so again plan to stay home from work.

Moral of this story - do NOT talk to these people when they call you with an amazing new offer. You will pay more - for much less - and lose years from your life in shear aggravation.

By: Kaji

Kaji — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:07:29 +0000

I had FIOS installed in Dec. 08. The first week, the DVR box died. The tech who came commented that Verizon had been having problems with the box. He changed it and it started working fine. I called billing services to ask for a credit for the 1 week that I was not able to watch TV. Still waiting for that...

Yesterday, for no apparent reason, I lost service to the TV, Internet, AND the Phone. Nothing at all. When I called, I was told that someone would come on Saturday. that's four days later! So what am I supposed to do without a phone for 4 days? I don't care much about the TV or the internet. but what if I have an emergency and my cell-phone does not work? What if my family/friends have an emergency and cannot reach me on my phone??

Very lousy customer service. I wish I had stayed with DirecTV and gotten a different internet provider.