Verizon Wireless Raised my Bill by $100 more per month for declaring BK7 - Question

[Fallonedward]

I just checked on Cricket and they are not available in my area, thank you so much thou for giving me this info, I signed up to have them notify me once they come into my area

We have Cricket. Works great for us. Affordable, nice phones, and unlimited everything. Between us, we have included Verizon (both of us), AT&T, and Sprint in our BK's. LOL.

We used to have Virgin Mobile. It was okay, but there can be billing issues and terrible customer service.

[dumpinmydebt]

We have Cricket. Works great for us. Affordable, nice phones, and unlimited everything. Between us, we have included Verizon (both of us), AT&T, and Sprint in our BK's. LOL.

We used to have Virgin Mobile. It was okay, but there can be billing issues and terrible customer service.

[chicagoannie]

Verizon Wireless is an absolute JOKE. I am so disgusted w/ them because they FORCE you to have a data plan @ 9.99 a month, even if you don't use data....with 5 phones that is 50.00 added on to our bill. We are going to include them in our BK7 (for cancellation fees) and are going w/ Sprint. Bye bye Verizon I think that verizon is going to lose a lot of customers because of this issue.

Lynda

Ugh - good luck with Sprint - I guess everyone has a story about a cell provider and Sprint is mine. I was an excellent customer with them for years, and very long story short, they ended up $1100 on the short end of my BK because they totally and completely screwed me. They are my only creditor who I feel absolutely deserved to be rear-ended. When they changed their "unlimited" broadband and limited it to 5GB I got to keep my old unlimited plan. When I upgraded to the family plan to get my older kids phones we were still all good. But I upgraded my aircard to their 3G/4G gadget as we receive 4G in my area...they then cut us off after 10 weeks, saying we downloaded 60 gigs (IN 10 DAYS!!!) on 3G which was not unlimited as I had changed plans, not 4G which is what my device was downloading on, and I got a bill for $600 overage fee. Got nowhere arguing with them (as there is no way on earth anyone could download 60GB at 3G speed in 10 days)...anyway, they lost bigtime...the cost of my new aircard, the 3 new phones...and I do not feel one bit bad about it!

[Flamingo]

Verizon Wireless is an absolute JOKE. I am so disgusted w/ them because they FORCE you to have a data plan @ 9.99 a month, even if you don't use data....with 5 phones that is 50.00 added on to our bill. We are going to include them in our BK7 (for cancellation fees) and are going w/ Sprint. Bye bye Verizon I think that verizon is going to lose a lot of customers because of this issue.

Lynda

I've had Verizon since 2004 and have never been forced to take a data plan. It has always been an option at the time of renewal if we want to change our plan. Of course there are some phones that only can go with certain plans that include the data option due to the phone itself. There are many phones, plans and options available - shame you probably initially picked the wrong one and it didn't work for you and you may be locked in depending on your contract. Also many people need to have all the bells and whistles and have to have the newest phone on the market and costs the most. I've heard all the same complaints about the other carriers also. They are all out to make money and all point fingers at one another. The best thing to do is to take one's time and evaluate all the plans and options as to one's personal situation. Sometimes the best looking plan is not the best plan for one's circumstances.

[oregonpilot]

I have had VirginMobile for a couple yrs now. Pretty good coverage. I ported in my US Cellular number that i had for about 15 yrs. I'm on the $20.00 every 90 days auto topUp. TopUp comes out of my checking via my Visa debit card. Works Great.

[RichM]

Verizon Wireless is an absolute JOKE. I am so disgusted w/ them because they FORCE you to have a data plan @ 9.99 a month, even if you don't use data....with 5 phones that is 50.00 added on to our bill. We are going to include them in our BK7 (for cancellation fees) and are going w/ Sprint. Bye bye Verizon I think that verizon is going to lose a lot of customers because of this issue.

Lynda

If you are going to go with Sprint, then I suggest you also consider Boost Mobile prepaid, making sure you buy CDMA (not iDen) phones. The coverage and call quality will be identical, the price may be lower if you're a heavy user, and there will be no contract. On the down side, the Boost phones tend to be older models, you have to pay full price for them, and there's no 4G service on Boost, nor will it likely be available in the future.

If you want a newer phone and/or want 4G service, I suggest Sprint. Their quality tends to be good and their credit policies liberal. Also, with five phones, you may find Sprint-branded service to be even less-expensive than prepaid. Just be sure that they'll approve you with a high enough spending limit for five lines from the get-go, because although Sprint is liberal with initial credit approvals, it can be very difficult to get them to increase the spending limit once the contract is in effect.

-Rich

[shrews228]

Verizon Wireless is an absolute JOKE. I am so disgusted w/ them because they FORCE you to have a data plan @ 9.99 a month, even if you don't use data....with 5 phones that is 50.00 added on to our bill. We are going to include them in our BK7 (for cancellation fees) and are going w/ Sprint. Bye bye Verizon I think that verizon is going to lose a lot of customers because of this issue.

Lynda

[Bell30656]

As long as the phone service on that number is still active, you can "port" your number to another provider. I ported my number to Vonage which costs me $20 per month. Vonage is a VOIP home phone service but they have a feature that allows it to ring my new cell phone at the same time as my home number.

My guess is that the reason Verizon has jacked your rate is that you are no longer under contract. When they gave you the lower rate you were obliged to continue service for a certain period of time, usually two years. When you sign up for month to month with no contract you have to pay higher rates. By filing bankruptcy you killed that contract. Is it fair? Looking at it from both sides, I'd say it is. Look at it from their side, they just lost the ability to charge you a whopping cancellation fee if you decided to leave them but you got to keep whatever incentives you got when you signed up for service, i.e. lower priced or even free phones. Now you can dump them at a minutes notice and they can't charge you any termination fee unless you agree to a new contract.

Bankruptcy is a civil procedure that allows debtors to legally thumb their nose at the creditor causing them to take a loss. I think we'll be seeing more and more companies figure out ways to recoup that loss in the future. I'm not judging, I've been there and I've done it. Just for a minute, put yourself on their side of the fence.

Do you like Verizon? If so, start a new contract with them at one of their rates you like. If not, move on to another player in the market.

[Chowder]

Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly, .....

You know then about Verizon's history of over-billing. There's been multiple lawsuits about it. I agree it makes no sense to intentionally piss-off a customer, but oddly enough that seems to be their new biz model. It probably wouldn't have been so noticeable if they hadn't been to customer friendly prior to their quest for world domination.

Oh, by the way, I use a Boost Blackberry and am absolutely happy with it.

iPhone 4, rocks my sox.

[Chowder]

I'm going to Verizon right now so I can tell them to kiss my pottutty and off to Virgin Mobile to get a phone for hubby

Good for you. If Verizon was the only choice I'd use string and two cans. Something changed over there a few years back and their customer service changed to customer screw. Good coverage and all, but they all have good coverage these days.

[RichM]

I'm sitting here scratching my head trying to understand your attorney's advice.

Firstly, I've never heard of Verizon raising someone's rates simply because they filed BK, and I'm somewhat familiar with that business. (I have a younger friend -- sort of an adopted nephew -- who has a cell phone store that I help him run.)

Secondly, I'm not at all sure that VZW could legally raise someone's rates unless they were included in the BK, either because of past-due payments or to get out of the early cancellation fee. If they were not included in the BK, then it seems to me that the contract would continue to be in force until normal expiration.

Thirdly, I'm not sure what the advantage of raising the rate would be for VZW. It's practically begging the customer to leave. In addition, a rate increase on a current account (unless due to new taxes, fees, surcharges, etc.) usually excuses the customer from the early cancellation penalty because it materially changes the contract.

So in essence, I really don't understand your lawyer's advice, nor why VZW would make it a practice to raise everyone's rates who filed BK, nor whether they could even do this legally unless they were included in the BK. Maybe it's due to some peculiarity of the law in your state.

All that being said, I can offer the following observations about cell providers in general:

• Boost Mobile runs on Sprint's network for CDMA phones only. iDen Boost phones run over Nextel's network. Unless you need PTT capability with Nextel users, there is no reason in the world why you would want an iDen phone.
• Boost Mobile offers an unlimited, prepaid BlackBerry plan for $60.00/month, which goes down $5.00 every six months if the bill is paid on time, until it bottoms out at $45.00/month. If you need voice, text, web, and mobile email, then the Boost BlackBerry plan is probably the best deal you'll find.
• Virgin and many other prepaid carriers run their service over Sprint's network, which actually is very good.
• Sprint itself will extend credit for a Sprint-branded, postpaid cell phone account to almost anyone with a detectable pulse, usually without a deposit, but will require that you pay the discounted cost of the phone when the contract is signed.
• Both TracPhone and Straight Talk are owned by the same company (along with Net10 and a few other brands). They operate on various networks, which may include AT&T, Verizon, USCellular, and possibly a few others, depending on the handset and service. Disclaimer: Both TracPhone and Straight Talk (actually the same company) are advertisers on some of my sites.
• The last time I looked into them, Cricket and MetroPCS ran their own networks and had piecemeal arrangements with various other local carriers. Both companies use Verizon for roaming. The number of roaming minutes varies depending on the level of service (that is, the monthly price). Lower-cost plans include no roaming at all. Unless you have extra money in the account, the phones will simply stop working (except for 911) once you leave their coverage areas. Frankly, I wouldn't recommend either of these companies unless you live in -- and rarely leave -- one of their service areas.

My advice to people who want a cell phone and have credit problems is, firstly, to determine which carriers have decent signal where they live and travel, both by checking their service maps and by asking around, and to make sure they check Sprint's coverage as one of the companies.

Assuming that they have a good Sprint signal and want prepaid, then I suggest going with Boost Mobile (CDMA), or Virgin, both of which use Sprint's network. There are other carriers who use Sprint's network, but Boost (which actually is owned by Sprint) and Virgin are the best-established.

If they want a contract (postpaid) account, try a Sprint-branded phone. In my experience, Sprint will grant credit to practically anyone -- as long as they haven't defaulted on a previous Sprint contract.

There really is very little advantage to having a Sprint contract versus a prepaid Boost (CDMA) or Virgin phone, however, unless you want a newer/fancier phone than what the prepaids offer, or want a phone with 4G data capabilities. The coverage and quality of service of Boost (CDMA) and Virgin phones is identical to that of Sprint phones, except that 4G is not available on Boost- or Virgin-branded phones.

If Sprint doesn't have a good signal where you are (or if you just don't like Sprint), then consider AT&T prepaid. Their network is very good, but their prices for prepaid are higher than Boost's or Virgin's.

A basic "unlimited" plan for AT&T costs $60.00/month, but includes only voice and text. Data plans are available as add-ons, but at considerable extra cost.

An unlimited voice, text, and data plan on Boost costs only $50.00/month ($60.00/month for BlackBerry) and goes down $5.00 every six months if you elect the "shrinkage" plan and prepay on-time every month. The Boost BlackBerry plan also includes unlimited email on up to 10 outside email accounts, in addition to the included BlackBerry email address.

The above is probably more information than you wanted, but maybe it will be helpful to you (or someone else) who needs a cell phone after BK.

Oh, by the way, I use a Boost Blackberry and am absolutely happy with it.

-Rich

[wsy]

Hi all,

I don't think the previous provider can refuse the port, even if you owe them $$

Check this out from the FCC: http://www.fcc.gov/cib/consumerfacts/numbport.html

Tom in Colo

Yup , its the law..but Verizon owns the number in the LATA..maybe they will allow you.

[tcreegan]

Hi all,

I don't think the previous provider can refuse the port, even if you owe them $$

Check this out from the FCC: http://www.fcc.gov/cib/consumerfacts/numbport.html

Tom in Colo

[Flamingo]

Let me clarify:

1. We filed Nov. 4th (BK7)
2. We paid our Nov 1st Verizon bill on Oct.21st
3. On Nov. 11th we received notification from Verizon that they were changing our due date from Dec.1st to December 30th.
I went in to our local Verizon store to ensure that I could pay my $175 bill on Dec. 30th (since they changed the due date not me) and was assured by the rep I spoke with (got her first and last name, per my attorneys suggestion) that yes I could and at that point she could not tell me why the due date got changed.
4. On Dec. 24th received Verizon bill that stated due date of Dec. 30th (in the amount of $288) it stated services from Nov. 5th to Dec. 5th. Nothing about this bill being late, nor any late fees added to this bill.
5. Went into Verizon store tonight to speak to one of their employees and was told that the increase in my bill was because I declared BK

It's obvious an entire pay cycle was missed due to the due date change which they can do at any time - just pull out your contract and review all the clauses and fine print. They did not raise your rates because you filed BK - you had additional days added to cover the missed portion due to the date change which the BK may have triggered since you included them in your filing. Your larger bill that you received reflects the missed charges for the missed cycle - remember your last payment was October 21st and you have not made one since. Your next payment due would have been the normal amount. Why did you include Verizon in your filing if you were current at the time of filing? Was it to break your contract and avoid the early cancellation fee?

[tcreegan]

Hi Fallonedward,

You mentioned keeping the same # in your first post....we switched to Cricket and they imported our number from Verizon (who had imported it from Qwest) We changed right before we filed, included Verizon in the BK, no problems.

Tom in Colo