The first time i tried to get broadband at the end of 1999, I kept getting told by Verizon that “It’s coming soon”. After about eight or nine months, I finally decided to get DSL from a company called InternetConnect which went out of business. Covad picked up the assets of InternetConnect and I’ve been a happy Covad DSL customer since 2001. I had 1.5 Mbs upstream and 128k downstream. Not blazingly fast but for $49.95 it was fine.
Recently, Verizon started offering 3Mbs down and 768K up for $29.95/month. I’ve been weary of doing anything other than getting a landline from Verizon because they’re as efficient as a third world government beaucracy. Well, my wife convinced me to switch to Verizon and save $20/month and get faster speeds.
December 25th, 2005 – Well, I listened to her and placed an order online for Verizon DSL. I got an email saying that everything would be ready on January 3rd, 2006. Boy was I mistaken to think Verizon has gotten their act together. January 4th, I call Verizon to find out what happened since their online status checked wouldn’t give me any information. I hadn’t heard anything from Verizon nor I have received any self-install kit. I spoke to a woman with Verizon Tech Support and she told me that the install had been pushed to January 10th because they had to retest the line. I told her that I currently have DSl with Covad and asked if I should cancel Covad. She told me that it wasn’t necessary and that the DSL would automatically be switched over from Covad to Verizon. Here I’m feeling a little weary but figure Verizon probably knows what they’re talking about.
January 11th, 2006 – I Call Verizon again because now the online status checker tells me that my order has been cancelled. I speak to a Verizon Tech Support person and they tell me that they can’t test the line because it’s held by another provider, I tell them, “Yes, Covad. I’ve had DSL since May 2000 through Covad.” The poor guy had no idea what was going on, he puts me through to the sales dept. where I speak with a woman, who once again, I’m led to believe is competent. I told her the whole story and told her that if Verizon is going to take 2 weeks for getting DSL turned on, I’ll stay with Covad. I work from home, my wife works from home, and a disruption beyond a few days would not be acceptable. She talks to her supervisor and comes back to tell me that I need to cancel my Covad DSL. Once Covad releases the line, she will place the order immediately. I call Covad and cancel the line. She tells me it will be three to five business days before the line is released. I call the lady at Verizon and leave her a message. She calls me back and tells me that she will expedite the order and if Covad releases the line by the 16th or 17th of January, I should have Verizon DSL up and running by the 19th or 20th.
January 17th – The sales rep at Verizon calls me to confirm that Covad has released the line and she has put the order into the “System”. I should have DSL running with Verizon no later than January 23rd, but she said she would personally stay on top of it and try to expedite the order.
January 18th, January 19th, January 20th I leave voicemails for the sales rep at Verizon with NO response. I send her an email on the 20th, no response. I check online and the online status still says “Cancelled”. I call the 800 number and get a tech support guy who tells me the order is cancelled. I explain the whole story to him and he tells me there’s no other order in the system and my central office is over subscribed so I CAN NOT get DSL from Verizon. When I asked him for how long, he said indefinitely. I then asked for his supervisor and complained about the overall incompetence at Verizon and then complained about the sales rep who I felt lied to me about a new order being placed and then not getting any response from her. After about an hour and a half on the phone with the tech support supervisor, I am told that I have no hopes of getting Verizon DSL for the immediate future because my CO has been “closed”. I then get a call back from the sales rep supervisor who apologizes for the treatment from Verizon. I told him that this “mistake” by Verizon is due to incompetence and half truths from Verizon personnel and that I want to lodge an official complaint. The supervisor says he will do so and promises to call me the morning of the 23rd to let me know if my CO might be opening back up on the 25th.
January 23rd, 2006 – I still haven’t heard from the sales supervisor at Verizon and I’m being forced to look around for another DSL provider. I don’t have cable so getting a cable modem is impossible. I’ll keep updating this post with what happens. Dealing with Verizon is a nightmare.
Please share your Verizon nightmares here.