I’ve been using a Verizon EVDO card since I started living on the bus. It seems that they don’t like people who actually need to use the net for their daily business life. I just received notice that they will cut off service for my card starting on 9/6/2006 because I used 10 Gigabytes of bandwidth over the last 30 days. I guess they have no idea that some people actually have to upload/download high resolution photography and do business on the net. I guess getting the satellite dish has become a major priority right now.
Verizon claims my usage is more than 40 times that of a typical user and therefor is going to cut me off because they are assuming (with no proof or any other clue) that I’m downloading movies and that is a violation of the terms and conditions of my account. They have given me no notice to change my usage patterns and have forced cancellation on me.
If I only made a bazillion dollars a year, I’d sue their asses and force them to allow me to up/download as much as I want until they have some sort of proof that I have violated my agreement, but I am just a pawn in the game of life and will have to submit to their stupid-ass whims.
Let’s hope I can get a satellite setup installed by the 6th and that they don’t limit their use as much, otherwise I’ll be without net access.
I think it’s time to dispute the charges on that EVDO card purchase since they are cutting me off without proof that I’m in violation of their terms… what do you think?
-Ben
That really stinks Ben!
Perhaps contacting EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) http://www.eff.org might be useful. I guess it never hurts to try anyway.
Man, they should be using you to sell their services as an example of the lifestyle you can enjoy – not cutting you off. Hope you find a company that isn’t so boneheaded.
Sorry to hear that, Ben. No fun being stuck between a rock and a big bureaucratic company.
oh, this is not good news, Ben.
I just got the verizon card to be able to critique and download large image files while on the road (5 months a year).
I’ll give Verizon a call to try, that’s try, to nip this bandwidth issue in the bud.
However, explaining real world issues to bureaucratic microbes is largely an exercise in futility.
I hope you get things ironed out.
Yet one more reason why I will never use Verizon…
I have had a long-time beef with Verizon (for reasosn I won’t go into here) and here is yet one more story that gives me reason not to ever even consider the thought of using them…. Corporate America is fast and furious to take your money and ho…
This is the kind of thing where if the company thought you were doing anything wrong, they might actually try to contact you, see what you were up to, and maybe actually try to understand *why* your bandwidth usage was so high. But why should a major corporation make a few phone calls or emails and actually pay *attention* to their customers, when it’s so much easier to just cut them off and alienate them?
Good luck in finding a new solution, and I look forward to seeing you on the road again. Hopefully sometime soon, since I like learning new things. And you’re fun to listen to.
Doesn’t Sprint offer a high speed data card option as well? Seems easier than hooking up the satellite.
Well suprise, yeah you dont actually expect to USE the dang thing do you? Just pay for it, kinda like insurance.
Sprint’s policies are no better, I have sattelite (only thing I can use) and I am not terribly happy with it since upload speeds are very, very restrictive, and the more you upload the slower it goes (an algorithm to limit your usuage) but it’s still better than nothing or dial up.
Here is my advice, contact the FCC if you think they have viloated your contract, they are slow but it adds up.
To make yourself feel better and maybe get a response get a web site like “VerizonSucks.com” and put your story online.
One thing company’s hate is bad PR, for $20 and an hour of time you can tell them off to the world and I would also cc the companies PR department and the CEO and CTO (if you can find the e-mails)
Worked for me and a Dell issue, as long as you just tell the facts (maybe scan and publish the letter)
You can add a reasonable opinion that it’s a great service but that it is really worthless for anyone that actually needs to do work becasue they will cut you off if you actually dare make use of the service.
You cant really be sued (successfully) for anything, though they will threaten most likely, seems thats the standard OP, turn the victim into a criminal and try to force them to shut up (Dell did, I laughed it off and got a machine replaced pretty damn quickly when I offered them the opportunity to speak with my attorney about a class action suit)
To which the only thing I would have done differntly is mention on the site that you are looking for an attorney that wants to file a class action suit on your behalf (always on contingency) that should scare the hell out of them and make them live up to their promises.
If nothing else it will make you feel better and let other people know that the service is only for casual use, the PR part of Verizon would really not like that “Outed” at all.
Listen to Todd, he makes a good case for action on your part. It may prevent a similer case from happening to one of us!!
Its become pretty apparent that in order to work in customer service these days, the only prerequisite is to be a mindless moron with a hearing (listening) problem…(with the exception of NAPP, of course!)…Who in the H-E-Dubl-Hockey-sticks is doing Verizon’s advertising?…Those guys should be begging you to sign a contract for their commercials…instead of the crew of customer service idiots following everyone w/ a cellphone around…I’m still waiting on the $144.00 credit for overcharges back in May…At any rate, I’m so fed up w/ the kindov’ crap that Verizon’s done to you (and many, many others)…That I thought of starting an organization that could fight this type of stuff…Even considered the class action route, but instead (after a great deal of deliberation), I’m going to stand on my balcony at exactly 11:00 tonight and scream at the top of my lungs…”I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”…
I just canceled my contract with Verizon for FOIS (TV, Telephone, Internet). They were supposed to install it today but canceled the appointment and rescheduled it for a month later. They failed to notify me of this change and I took a day off from work to meet them. Then my wife and I spent the afternoon trying to find out what the problem was with the installation. No one knew, it was a “technical” problem. I solved it, or rather my wife did, and canceled the entire package. She also told them that she did not want Virizon to contact us again about any service. I have been trying to find the corporate headquarters to let them know of the incompent people they have working for them.