VERIZON BUNDLE SERVICES AND INTERNATIONALS LONG DISTANCE CALLS $4.95 A MINUTE!. Annapolis Maryland

Verizon fails to provide the Bundle Services with Direct TV, and deceived us with their false offer about International Long Distance Calls. They never disclosed to us their ridiculous rate of $4.95 a minute. We had three calls totaling 75 minutes. The bill is over $400.00 for these calls. The USBI companies charge 0.08 cents a minute, 35 minutes two calls including all the taxes and charges $5.30.

This is our story: Last week of November, we put a transfer for Verizon services for our new home for December 19th, 2008. They convinced us to take the Freedom Package 3-in-1 bundled service. Direct TV, DSL speed, and the residential phone service including all the features in the phone, and unlimited USA long distance calls.

We refused to sign for the extra international long distance calls. We told their representative that we always bypass them dialing around and using the USBI companies which are very cheap at 0.08 cents a minute. She replied to me that because we were taking the National calls plan they will give us a very good International rate; but she never disclosed to us the $4.95 a minute rate.

Verizon failed to provide us telephone service on the promised day December 19th; we were without phone service until January 2, 2009. They also failed to give us the DSL line; finally after spending many hours on the phone trying to get help on January 6, they informed us that the DSL was not available because we were too far from the central terminal.

The phone line is lying around my yard, it has been two months and they have not bothered to finish the job. Verizon dropped the price of the package from $104.00 to $79.99; but my billing is higher and it has a jungle of charges that I have been calling to dispute without much success. I have spent many hours on the phone trying to get a Supervisor, Manager etc, and going thru their annoying menus and dealing with some not very nice people. The long distance people hang up their phone on us the minute we said our telephone number.

In January we made three international phone calls dialing direct using Verizon. What a mistake our bill for these calls is $371.25 ($4.95 a minute), plus taxes, and other charges, and late fees, because we refused to pay these charges, this bill is over $400.00. I wrote a letter to corporate level, and sent it registered mail. The reply we got was a voice mail giving us an 800 number to call.

They made very clear that because we refused to sign for the International Calls, we are to be penalized and pay $4.95 a minute, plus whatever charges more they want to add. When I questioned why they didn't disclose the rate to us, and encouraged us to use them, their answer was you didn't ask for the rate.

The International call charges are robbery, and our billing is not what they promised us. I am thinking of taking them to small claims court, we need an adjustment of these charges, and we would like to cancel the contract with them, and with direct TV. Verizon doesn't deserve the business.

DO NOT PAY FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CALL PLAN, BYPASS THEM BY DIALING AROUND AND USING THE USBI COMPANIES, dial the 1016400, or 1016868 before the 011 etc. If any of you have any ideas of what we can do to get out of this mess Verizon got us into because of their false advertising please let us know. Thank you.

Judith
Harrisonburg, Virginia
U.S.A.