BUYER BEWARE Verizon Prepaid

[ronbo613]

I spent the past few days getting completely screwed over by Verizon Prepaid. I bought a Verizon Moto E and activated it with the $50 monthly plan. Things were looking good as I tested the phone to make sure everything was working. About 3-4 hours after activation, about the time it took to process my credit card payment, the network connection was cut. I had not made a single phone call, sent a single text or viewed a signal web page. After hours on (another) phone, Verizon told me to return the phone and buy another one. Like a fool, I listened to them. That phone could not connect with my prepaid account either. I bought two Verizon phones and a $50/month phone plan and now have nothing. If I would have ported my phone number to Verizon, I wouldn't have a phone at all.
That's not all. I signed up for auto pay so Verizon has my credit card. I have no way to access the account to stop them from deducting payments even though I have no working Verizon phone or service plan. So tomorrow I have to call my bank, file a fraud complaint and dispute any Verizon charges. You may say "another shmoo with a phone provider ripoff story", get in line. I did everything I could to protect myself and still got screwed. Here's some Verizon Prepaid shopping tips, learned the hard way:

1. Don't buy a prepaid phone from Verizon. Buy a phone at a retailer who has a good return policy so you can return the phone. I returned two Verizon phones today. Saved $250.

2. Don't port over a phone number you want to keep. Do that later if you like the service. If I would have given Verizon my number this morning, I would not have a phone this evening.

3. Don't select "auto pay" for a month or two. I selected it on activation and lost my credit card.

One more thing. Verizon's excuse for bad customer service is the pandemic. They want to keep everyone safe but had no problem making me go to crowded stores to buy and return phones. Total BS.

I'm sure everybody doesn't get screwed, but when it's you, it can really mess up your life. These companies make plenty of money and don't need to rip people off, but they still do. Buyer beware.

[taoman]

I signed up for auto pay so Verizon has my credit card. I have no way to access the account to stop them from deducting payments even though I have no working Verizon phone or service plan. So tomorrow I have to call my bank, file a fraud complaint and dispute any Verizon charges.

Is there a reason you can't logon to your My Verizon account on your computer and disable auto pay? Although if you're going to dispute the Verizon charges to your credit card company it is probably a moot point. I would expect the Verizon charges to be reversed and your Verizon account to be nuked.

[joseg2016]

Is there a reason you can't logon to your My Verizon account on your computer and disable auto pay? Although if you're going to dispute the Verizon charges to your credit card company it is probably a moot point. I would expect the Verizon charges to be reversed and your Verizon account to be nuked.

He has a complaint about Verizon's lack of service and so now he should visit the Verizon site and create an account? Better would be for Verizon to fix the problem.

[ronbo613]

Is there a reason you can't logon to your My Verizon account on your computer and disable auto pay? Although if you're going to dispute the Verizon charges to your credit card company it is probably a moot point. I would expect the Verizon charges to be reversed and your Verizon account to be nuked.

Valid question and yes there is a reason. The service had been working as expected until abruptly stopping a few hours after activation. I did not have time to set up a My Verizon account. With the phone service dead, I have no valid username, password or registration pin; no access to my credit card on auto pay. If I can't get access to my card on Verizon tomorrow, the credit card is gone. Already talked to the bank.

[ronbo613]

Verizon shut off my service. Two brand new Verizon phones from two different retailers couldn't connect. No phone or internet on new Verizon phone, 4G and 4 bars on the Verizon Tracfone 6" away.