Verzion Pre-Paid cell phone scam

Here is my little story about Verzion pre-paid service.

It all started out with me buying a scratched refill card and they didn't help me. I had to contact the company that made the card to get help. It got sorted out but here is the real story.

I had to contact Verzion the first time to change my area code as the area code was wrong for my area tho I entered my local zip code! They then changed the number without hassle. I had a question about my service and I got one of the worst customer service reps ever. She didn't care about me and I hung up. I had to call again to change my number due to harassment calls and they said "It would cost $15 has you already have had a number change" WTH? I had a number change due your system failing to give me the correct area code. I had to speak to a supervisor to get it changed. Soon after I found out I have to add money to my account by the expiration date and if I don't I loose what money I have on my account and loose my number tho I have a positive balance! Nowhere on the box did it say so! They said you have to read the fine print and if you don't like it you have to return the phone. So you have to waste your time and money to return this phone as they failed to mention this on the box. Nice trick to scam you isn't it?

I called yesterday to cancel and one again a rep that did not care about me. She didn't even explain anything to me and canceled my service.

I sent them an email and two days no reply. I ended up loosing $16 because I had to add money on my account on this scam service as well as the cost of the phone ($30) which I guess I could sell.

Not to mention there service fees are expensive as hell The Prepaid core is $.99 a day use fee with 10 Cents minute and 10 cents per text message sent and received! They have other plans which are expensive.

They had a basic plan that was 25cents per minute with no daily fee and 20 cents per text message sent and received! Why are text message expensive!

In all they have some of the worst customer service reps that do not care. They do not answer your emails and if you get a scratched refill card your going to have a fun time trying to use it. As well a policy's that is setup to scam you if you don't add money to your phone by a date. However the reception was good.

 

Yeah I hear you. I had a dummy family member few years ago do this "aol free internet" well it was free to install, but everytime you dialed up the computer it charge 1 or 2 dollars and something.. well put that times atleast once a day (and on top of that) the internet "some how" kept disconnecting.. so wow charges daily. Next month she got her powerbill/phone bill and boom thousands in a month for slow internet! :-D

 

Everything you describe in the Verizon prepaid plan is quite clearly spelled out in the paperwork included in the box. While their customer service reps do leave quite a bit to be desired, you really can't fault them because you didn't read carefully before agreeing to their terms, you know? If you were at the Verizon store buying the prepaid phone and service, they have in-store reps who are there to answer all questions. If you were somewhere like Target, then it's a crap shoot. Either way, you have 30 days to return the phone for a full refund if you are unhappy with the service.

Text messages are expensive, especially on prepaid phones, because they can be. Even on my contract phone I pay $5.00 per month for 300 texts, which are 25 cents each after that. It's how it works.

Sounds like this is one of those "live and learn" situations to me. Sorry it didn't work out for you.

 

I've had my own battles with the pre-paid card setup. I bought a phone and opted for the cards hoping it would save me money and the hassle of a monthly payment. So I purchased a 60 dollar card. I will say I rarely used my cell phone it was sort of a just in case of emergency deal.

2 weeks later after using my phone maybe twice I go to make a call and suddenly I have no minutes left -_- I had a buttload of calls made to me in my history from random numbers I do not even know and a bunch of text messages from advertisers. Ate all my 60 dollar card right up. Last time I will ever opt for a pre-paid card setup.

 

I guess your right but it doesn't explain the rude customer service reps. They should clearly explain it more like the box of the cell phone box. I bought this at BestBuy month and a half ago.

 

Maybe so, but to label their prepaid phones a "scam" could be considered libel. Having bad customer service does not a scam make.

 

Hey, pclover, have you checked into the trac-phones by Motorola? I have one, and never had any problems with it or the customer service reps.. It has been real good for making calls, and I get double minutes on it.. Check them out..

Sounds like you got ripped on that Verizon.. Don't blame ya for being gun shy now, for sure.. I got mine for long distance calls, and don't do texts.. I also don't answer if I don't recognize the caller.. Yes, it shows up on the phone... Might be worth looking into... The cool thing I like, is when I buy a 450 minute card, it is automatically doubled to 900 minutes, and they sometimes have specials too, which will give you an extra 100 minutes for renewing.. Right now, I am good until April 2010 (as long as they don't go bankrupt!:eek)

I hope you get that mess with Verizon sorted out tho...