consumerist.com— People are having a hell of a time canceling their Verizon contracts despite the fact that Verizon's Customer Agreement says...
Jan 16, 2007View in Crawl 4
@starseed420Do you work for Verizon?I signed a contract that said:"IF THE CHANGES HAVE A MATERIAL ADVERSE EFFECT ON YOU, HOWEVER, YOU CAN END THE AFFECTED SERVICE, WITHOUT ANY EARLY TERMINATION FEE, JUST BY CALLING US WITHIN 60 DAYS AFTER WE SEND NOTICE OF THE CHANGE."Therefore, I have the right to cancel my account without an early termination fee. Very simple.Nobody has the legal right to tell me if a price change has an adverse effect on me or not. Not Verizon, not their lawyers, especially not you.
"If he hasn't been text messaging in the past then an increase in the price of text messaging would NOT have a materially adverse effect on him."I have cron scripts setup and running on my servers. They monitor various processes and send me a text message when something goes to hell. Things are generally pretty stable, and I can go more than a year without having a problem, but when a problem does show up, I want to know about it IMMEDIATELY.So, just because I haven't received any text messages, that doesn't mean I'm not using the text message service. It just means things have been running smoothly since the last time I changed my cell service. If suddenly, a 3rd party which I'm relying on starts flaking out on me, and things are failing on a daily basis and I'm getting text messages left and right, when my first bill shows up with text message fees, can I then go back and say "see....it DID materially affect me, so rebill me at the old rate and then cancel my service"? HA!!!! Good luck with that!
> No lawyers are allowed in small claims court This is incorrect. A company can send a lawyer to represent them in small claims court, but and individual cannot.
I will try and make this as clear as possible for people to understand. Verizon Wireless has a business model. It involves many things, after all they are in business to MAKE MONEY, not give away free stuff and services.That business plan includes limitations on how THEIR phones are to be used on THEIR network, how you may use data and media on those phones, etc. Follow me so far??? OK, so nobody is holding a gun to your head, you do not NEED to be their customer (they want you to be) but nobody forces you to be. It is your choice to consume their goods and services. In order to do that, you enter a contract with them. The contract has fine print which is your responsibility to read, comprehend and live by. Most Americans just sign their names on the bottom line, take their phone, leased car, or Sat-TV service and go. And most of those people abide by those rules and if they have no problems. Now, if something like a fee increase should happen, the consumer should have been aware of it because they READ their contract. It is not VZW's fault that a consumer did not read their contract, they are not in the business of babysitting. Now, I understand that the rate increase in this case may be a bit vague. But the simple thing to do is get in writing what constitutes an 'adverse affect.' The "I am a consumer victim of big, bad corporate, evil companies" whining just does not apply here. There is probably a clause in the contract that states that they can raise their fees at anytime if they choose. If people have a problem with this, they should have sought clarification prior to signing the contract. Consumers need to empower themselves by reading the fine print. Most don't-and I don't feel sorry for them. Verizon Wireless is not the first or only company to change their fees or policies. Big corporations are in business to make money. Verizon Wireless may cripple BT, lock phones or whatever, that is their right and people are free to choose if they want to be a part of that or not. Ask questions first or be sorry later!
fulldecentJan 17, 2007
mp3 or it didn't happen
jessecollinsJan 17, 2007
@starseed420Do you work for Verizon?I signed a contract that said:"IF THE CHANGES HAVE A MATERIAL ADVERSE EFFECT ON YOU, HOWEVER, YOU CAN END THE AFFECTED SERVICE, WITHOUT ANY EARLY TERMINATION FEE, JUST BY CALLING US WITHIN 60 DAYS AFTER WE SEND NOTICE OF THE CHANGE."Therefore, I have the right to cancel my account without an early termination fee. Very simple.Nobody has the legal right to tell me if a price change has an adverse effect on me or not. Not Verizon, not their lawyers, especially not you.
ldkronosJan 17, 2007
"If he hasn't been text messaging in the past then an increase in the price of text messaging would NOT have a materially adverse effect on him."I have cron scripts setup and running on my servers. They monitor various processes and send me a text message when something goes to hell. Things are generally pretty stable, and I can go more than a year without having a problem, but when a problem does show up, I want to know about it IMMEDIATELY.So, just because I haven't received any text messages, that doesn't mean I'm not using the text message service. It just means things have been running smoothly since the last time I changed my cell service. If suddenly, a 3rd party which I'm relying on starts flaking out on me, and things are failing on a daily basis and I'm getting text messages left and right, when my first bill shows up with text message fees, can I then go back and say "see....it DID materially affect me, so rebill me at the old rate and then cancel my service"? HA!!!! Good luck with that!
thomn8rJan 17, 2007
> No lawyers are allowed in small claims court This is incorrect. A company can send a lawyer to represent them in small claims court, but and individual cannot.
frostbit3Jan 17, 2007
you CAN get out of your contract. Texting IS part of your calling plan, read this:<a class="user" href="http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/globalText?textName=CUSTOMER_INFORMATION_OVERVIEW&jspName=footer/customerInformation.jsp">http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/globalText?textName=CUSTOMER_INFORMATION_OVERVIEW&jspName=footer/customerInformation.jsp</a>"Your Calling Plan also describes the features included with your service, as well as any optional services that are available for an additional charge. These included features and optional services may include “data” services, such as text messaging and Internet access."Good luck!
randydidJan 17, 2007
I will try and make this as clear as possible for people to understand. Verizon Wireless has a business model. It involves many things, after all they are in business to MAKE MONEY, not give away free stuff and services.That business plan includes limitations on how THEIR phones are to be used on THEIR network, how you may use data and media on those phones, etc. Follow me so far??? OK, so nobody is holding a gun to your head, you do not NEED to be their customer (they want you to be) but nobody forces you to be. It is your choice to consume their goods and services. In order to do that, you enter a contract with them. The contract has fine print which is your responsibility to read, comprehend and live by. Most Americans just sign their names on the bottom line, take their phone, leased car, or Sat-TV service and go. And most of those people abide by those rules and if they have no problems. Now, if something like a fee increase should happen, the consumer should have been aware of it because they READ their contract. It is not VZW's fault that a consumer did not read their contract, they are not in the business of babysitting. Now, I understand that the rate increase in this case may be a bit vague. But the simple thing to do is get in writing what constitutes an 'adverse affect.' The "I am a consumer victim of big, bad corporate, evil companies" whining just does not apply here. There is probably a clause in the contract that states that they can raise their fees at anytime if they choose. If people have a problem with this, they should have sought clarification prior to signing the contract. Consumers need to empower themselves by reading the fine print. Most don't-and I don't feel sorry for them. Verizon Wireless is not the first or only company to change their fees or policies. Big corporations are in business to make money. Verizon Wireless may cripple BT, lock phones or whatever, that is their right and people are free to choose if they want to be a part of that or not. Ask questions first or be sorry later!