Verizon Fios

Now it's time to redeem the incentives. Getting Discovery+ loaded was very easy (why not, they want me to forget to cancel service in a year), a little harder to receive the streaming box and absolutely impossible to get the $100 gift card. The site won't open. I tried Firefox, Bing and Explorer. The chat representative sent me to the gift redemption # which is either busy or doesn't answer. It seems very convenient that this should incredibly difficult to redeem. Still on hold...

First burn was being told I couldn't have some sign-on promotions offered and promised due to my speed plan. Even when I explained 1) I had no other speed plan choice available to me 2) the reps I had spoken/chatted with assured me I could have the promotion and 3) the Verizon site's own T/Cs said "any speed plan", in the end I didn't get the promo. I even submitted a customer experience complaint about the inconsistent messaging (website/advertisement/customer service vs. actual offering) and nothing came of it.

Just know once you're on contract the customer service attitude is very much "deal with it". I let it go and was set up for autobill and things were fairly uneventful. The speed was acceptable but not impressive, and actually became particularly problematic during covid when we started work/school from home. When I called in about higher speed plans, I was told the highest offering for my address was 75/75mbps.

The contradiction made me very leery about paying more for the additional 25mbps, so opted to stick it out on the 50/50 plan and fall back on hotspots when needed. Other than subpar speed, no issues with billing/service- that is, until it came time for us to move. As with past internet providers, I called well in advance of my final service cycle to schedule termination to fall on my move-out date. When I inquired about procedures, I was told repeatedly all I had to do is return my equipment and to expect a final, prorated bill within 30 days of service termination.

I was autobilled however the full amount of another month of service after termination and move out. This led me to call in and cancel autobill and reverse the charge, and was told again I would get one final prorated bill reflecting the shorter, terminated service period. Also, just an FYI because I very much wanted to make sure I was just charged the prorated amount, and not a full month only to wait months later for a credit/reimbursement, I've contacted Verizon 6 different times in calls/chats since my initial termination request. Calling is the classic sit on hold for 40min and possibly get routed to the wrong department.

Here lies the kicker again. Suddenly today, despite my service being disconnected, I get a brand new bill for a full month. Having been waiting on that final, prorated bill I naturally called in to figure out what was going on. Today I was routed to billing services in customer service. For the first time in all half dozen contacts, I was told there actually is no proration for termination of standalone internet services. I am expected to pay for a full month of service.

Rest assured, had I known that, I would had my service terminated on exactly the last day of my previous cycle and would have toughed it out via hotspot on my last couple days prior to my move out or something else. And I would not have wasted hours of my life on hold with different Verizon departments trying to work out my final bill.

When I explained that all previous contacts told me to anticipate proration, I was promptly told to read the terms and conditions emailed to me at the start of service and that I could be emailed those again (for the record, I double-checked my inbox for those T&Cs and were not emailed to me at the start of service, but that's beside the point). And then I was told my only option was to send a physical complaint letter to Verizon Executive offices.

I hope you can imagine how frustrated I feel by the whole experience- the inconsistent messages received from different departments (FYI, when I brought up how chat and phone reps previously spoken with confirmed my final bill would be prorated, these billing services reps just said those departments didn't know what they were talking about and pointed out my liability to carefully read the T&Cs as a paying customer).

In the end, I basically deduced and asked if all the hang up about proration was due to me having standalone internet service, which the rep confirmed was the case, because "discounts were for package customers". Personally, I don't consider proration- i.e., only paying for what you use- a "discount", but a reasonable right as a customer for any utility or service- it just makes sense.

So here I am, having never paid late or been a problematic customer, hours down the drain on calls/chats diligently working to ensure this termination would be smooth, stuck paying a full month for just 10 days of service. I just wish the very first rep I spoke with when I called about termination told me this one plain and simple fact. Instead, I'm first hearing about this loophole for standalone internet services and slapped with a full bill with no remediation but to write a letter. Yes, I feel frustrated and defeated. Thanks Verizon Fios for the kick on the way out.

When we got the fios fiber optics internet we were sold a bill of goods. I did a good amount of research switching internets. We were a wireless house and our internet in our building was slowing more and more as we went on. We were with Optimum and they had us, after 3 years with their company, for slow internet and a rented router (something that wasn't told to us at the time) at a price a 1/3 more of what we were paying when we first got the service. We were paying $100 for the same internet they were selling to new customers for $40.

I found Verizon Fios and they were offering the fastest internet with a free router, and deals to boot (got echo and a camera w/ the new internet after switching to Verizon, just like the commercial says). When we got the internet, being sold by their rep, I was told there would be no obstruction to the internet in any capacity.

I asked if the internet would slow down if it was shared by other people in the building. I was told no. What I wasn't told was that if there are similar services in the building it can sometimes slow down your internet. I was told that I could use my phone outside within a block radius of my router and I would be able to connect to my internet at the same speed. What I wasn't told was this was a lie. Step outside the apartment and the internet vanishes.

I was told that there are no obstructions to the internet, not a wall, not a elephant, not a bus, nothing. The internet connects through the fiber optics wires so you're good. What I wasn't told is that if a wall or walls is in the way, even in a small apartment, your internet will slow down from room to room, sometimes not working at all. I wasn't told that the internet has a fifteen foot radius (obstructing walls included) which is what I was told by a supervisor after asking to compensated for an extender in order to actually have the "fastest internet around".

They said since we were offered a free router there's no way they can allow a free extender as well. Two things cannot be free under the same subscription according to Verizon, their system forbids it. The router is apart of the deal for becoming a new Verizon customer so their system is basically saying if anything else is wrong with their service, it is "impossible" to offer another deal. The extender they are offering can either be rented for $10 a month or bought for $200 outright. At a quick google search away I found the #1 rated Fios compatible extender on ** for $129.

Ultimately, fiber optics through the "#1 Fastest Internet Provider Nationwide" is the fastest internet available, IF, you don't have walls. And Verizon will do just about everything, including lie, to let you know that it's the "fastest internet around" to get you to buy their service. And when it comes to fixing the issue with a simple extender, Verizon will do everything in their power to tell you their limits.