A month ago I signed up with Verizon Wireless for their little black box. The thing is about 2 or 3 times the size of a cell phone and has an antenna sticking up about 4 inches. It works the same as a cell phone except you plug a regular phone into it to use it. It’s only $20 a month with unlimited calling and long distance within the U.S.. That’s a pretty good deal.
The next day I called Verizon land-line service, a separate business from Wireless, to check out maybe having a land line instead if I could get Lifeline service, which is for us low-income types. There was a 3-day grace return period on the little black box, so I figured to check out my options while I still had them.
The gal on the phone said that to qualify for Lifeline I had to fill out and return a form they would send me. I said okay, and a few days later the form showed up. By that time my 3 days grace on the other phone was up, and looking over the form requirements and all the personal info they wanted, I decided to pass and just keep my little black box.
Two weeks later a letter came from them asking me to send back the Lifeline form, which I’d already thrown away. So I threw away the letter. Three days ago a card came in the mail reminding me that they never received the Lifeline form. I tossed out the card.
Yesterday I noticed another phone jack, in the kitchen, so I plugged my spare phone into it, listened for a dial tone, got one, hung it up.
Today a bill came in from the Verizon landline people for $145.00 and there was a number at the top of the bill. Thinking it was theirs, I called it and LO, my other phone rang. Surprise, surprise, it was also my number. It then dawned on me that I now had 3 phones, a cell, a little black box and a land line.
Funny thing is, no one told me that I had that new number all this time, and no one got my okay to hook it up and for all the charges on the bill they sent me. So I found their actual 800 number, and after going through all the yakkity yak was told that the service would be disconnected and the bill zeroed out, BUT it was also being sent up to a supervisor to get a final okay and the supervisor might decide that I had to pay it after all.
Oh yeah? I should have asked at the time, but Google found the answer, Verizon employees get yearly bonuses ”based on the annual performance of both the company and individual workers.” I bet they get sign-up bonuses, too. What do you think?
If they bill me on this, I’ll call them again and this time ask them what they would think of a YouTube video of them taking advantage of a 73 year old guy going viral. Two can play at this crap.
low-income types? I thought you had just brought half of California!
Too many rip off companies everywhere unfortunately, I usually do a google before I have any dealings with anyone these days. Pays to be paranoid, paranioa is the new sanity.
Savings isn’t income. I do have a low income by today’s – and the IRS’s – standards, but it’s plenty adequate considering I already have everything I need. I don’t have a car payment, my SS takes care of my health insurance (automatically deducted) and I paid mostly cash for my home, so my monthly house payment is small with a short term mortgage. All that’s left is to pay is the normal cost of living, food, utilities etc.
Verizon!
I’ve got a few tales of my own about Verizon!
I’m not the writer that you are, Black Sheep, but I’m sure that you’ll relate to the anecdotes I wrote.
Oh yeah. The ones I like the most are when I get some totally officious jackass who’s completely brainwashed with the Company Line, and for any remark I make, like “Why would I want three phone lines”, I get a canned dialogue on why having lots of phone numbers is good and the company has no idea why I make my decisions and I must have given my permission or I wouldn’t have been signed up….” If I don’t cut that off quickly, experience tells me that the next thing coming is that “the company never makes mistakes so this must be all my fault but we’ll see what we can do…” In other words, I should prepare to be grateful just in case I get let off the hook, but don’t count on it.
Talking to some of these people makes me want to scream.
You’re a fine writer. What are you talking about?
Black Sheep,
My writing doesn’t have the same “edge.”
My “voice” could often be more effective.
I’m not so sure about that, AOW. You get a lot more visitors to your blog than I do, if all those who comment are any indication. “Edge” obviously isn’t everything.