Posted on 03/02/2005 9:26:17 AM PST by cainin04
I need some advice. I recently recived a cell phone bill for over $500. I have good credit and have never had to despute a bill.
I talked to Verizon and explained that I did not realize I had went over on my minutes and that I would pay the normal price that it costs to cover the amount of minutes I used--that total would be $79.99. They refused; they said that they do not have a retroactive policy and that I would HAVE to pay the bill.
Basically, I am not paying a $500 cell phone bill. That is unreasonable and insane. But I also don't want to hurt my credit. What should I do?
If you can lead me in the right direction on how I should go about this, please post.
You can always work a deal. The trick is to find out who can say yes. Most everyone you are apt to talk to is authorized to only say no. The one who can say yes is well insulated but not impossible to find. You'll have to give something to get something but I've always found you can work a deal.
Yes, you could have, but you didn't. You paid for the plan you thought would be cheaper, and you miscaculated. You did this, not Verizon.
If you somehow convince Verizon to bump you up to the higher minute plan and make it retroactive, they'll be doing it soley fo customer relations, in other words, to keep you as a customer. It is not their obligation to do so, rather it is yours to pay the amount of charges you incurred based upon the contract you agreed to.
Pony up. No offense, but Verizon is a business operating within their guidelines, which you have accepted as a customer. Quite an expensive lesson to learn, but there you go.
That depends a lot on your current credit status. If you are a good or great credit risk, this shouldn't hurt you too much. Ask the folks at Equifax how you go about adding a notation to your credit report. Actually--give Equifax a call and explain the situation to them. See what kind of advice they give you. They really don't have any kind of a stake in the outcome so they'll answer honestly.
I had a similar situation a couple of years ago. My wife ran up a $500 cell bill by making 'roaming' calls while on a trip. I paid it without complaint (to the phone company - my wife got lots of complaints). Why? Because we really did make the calls, and the billing was consistent with the service agreement. How is that hard to understand?
Pay your bill, finish your contract, then get a prepaid TracFone or something for emergencies.
Same here!
150. per month electric and gas.100 per month phone bill. 20 per month water. 60 per month cable tv and internet. many others, way too high.
I still want a free pony too.
Okay tough love here.
First pay your bill! because if you don't MY rates go up.
Second, swatting you in the back of the head, What in the hell is so important that you need to spend that amount of time on the phone about? Let me guess, you have a favorite friend that you can't spend 10 minutes with out. You go to the bathroom together, probably share the same stall. (sorry getting carried away)
My kid tried that crap with me, NO it is not a lifeline ot be on all the time. You need to call-call. State your business then get OFF the phone.
OH and ATT in worse than verison ever thought of being. IMHO they are one degree off of being crooks.
I know it's painful, and I do sympathize, but you don't appear to have a legitimate complaint. The bill is in accordance with the contract you signed.
You could try the negotiation option described in a previous post here, but if that fails you'll either have to pay up or damage your credit.
You can pay up, regard it as a lesson learned, and let go of the issue, freeing yourself to devote your energy to more interesting and rewarding activities. This option will also give you a feeling of some control (because you closed the issue yourself).
Or you can fight it, inflicting a huge emotional toll on yourself, and probably lose anyway. The frustration, anger, and feeling of powerlessness will damage your spirit and take up a lot of time that you could have been spending on happier and more productive activities. You'll also be casting yourself in the role of helpless victim.
This lesson, though painful, may save you from a much more expensive lesson in the future--I'll bet you'll become an extremely proficient reader of contracts!
1,200 minutes? That's 40 minutes per day, EVERY day of a 30 day month.
I run a business and don't spend that much time on the phone.
And, I agree with the majority here. You need to pay this to stay off the sh*t list at TRW
I read contracts and I totally understand that I made a mistake. But you would think that a huge corporation would like to please its customers--apparently not.
I am just going to pay the bill and deal with it.
Maybe Walmart will get into the cell phone industry. They would not treat a customer this way.
Verison, is it? Thanks for the warning. I have been thinking about getting a cell phone, but now I will look elsewhere.
Check your local AM radio programs. If you have the "Clark Howard show" available, tune in and call in. He has good advice to offer on problems such as your's.
Another thing you can do is simply make payments. As long as you make a regular payment, I don't think they can do anything to you. They might threaten you, but they can't do anything because of the payments.
>> I am just going to pay the bill and deal with it. <<
You go, girl!
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