[Tiger27]

. . . Not telling me I live in a "borderline" coverage area. They had to know this when they first sold me service at this location a year ago. I understand the profit motive, but practices (and there are many others) like this are just slimy. S**t like this has happened to me way too many times with way too many different companies for it to be just mistakes or accidents. It is intentional, just like the crappily mastered recordings so many of us live with unhappily. And please don't tell me I should somehow fix my cell service or sleuth out a good version of the crappy files. Sure, the pursuit and acquiring of a good recording can be satisfying, but I think the option to purchase quality recordings should be available or the bad recordings should be labeled as sub-standard (o.k., now I'm just being silly, but you get the point). Thanks for listening to my rant. Feel free to chime in about anything that has your panties in a wad.

 

[infinitesymphony]

What does it mean to live in a borderline coverage area?

 

[breakfastchef]

I will be moving in the next 12 months to an area I know has marginal Verizon service, but, except for at home, coverage is generally acceptable.

Two options: Pay the $175 penalty to get out of the contract and move to another carrier if most of your calling will be in this marginal zone. If you are torqued about not having good service at home only, stick with a landline phone or VoIP.

 

[Tiger27]

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif What does it mean to live in a borderline coverage area?

Sorry, I should have explained better. It means they told me my residence is within their coverage area and sold me service, all the while knowing that the service in my area is not reliable. It means that about 90% of my calls (at my house) end in a dropped call. It means I will answer my phone and I can hear the caller, but they can't hear me. That's the best way I can explain it.

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiger27 /img/forum/go_quote.gif They had to know this when they first sold me service at this location a year ago.

Just out of a morbid sense of curiosity, why do you believe that they knew the service was marginal? Quality of coverage can vary quite a bit even in small areas. I personally have had great luck with Verizon wireless phone coverage. The coverage isn't great in my home and with the right atmospheric conditions, it can be pretty brutal. In many places not far away though, I see three bars of coverage. And I can drive from Tampa to Orlando without any glitches in phone coverage.

Not that it's germane to your situation but they do constantly monitor call quality and expand service where it makes the most sense. That being said, assuming that the staff in the stores has the vaguest clue of what's going on is crazy. I had one of the cable boxes for my FiOS upgraded. They sent me two boxes. Three times I've tried taking the extra box back to the Verizon Wireless location by me, since I've requested shipping labels to send it back twice and never received them. Every time it's resulted in my high def being cut off because they screwed up the return.

 

[majid]

One of my colleagues moved a couple of years ago from an area that had good VZ wireless coverage (Alameda, CA) to another that didn't (Oakland, CA). He called Verizon to complain. They sent techs to do readings and they offered to cancel his contract with no penalties. It's probably cheaper for them than to add a new tower. He now uses AT&T.

 

[micaela]

I am experiencing the exact type of thing w/Sprint. And added to the conection problems is their billing system is totally screwed up unless you are a recent customer. They have switched billing methods & having been a long time Sprint user, I got caught in the switch & was over-billed more than $300three months in a row. I think its finally straightened out now - but it took many many frustrating hours on the phone w/them to get it figured out. I will be dropping them as soon as my contract is up in Dec.

 

[hempcamp]

Can you hear me now?

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

--Chris

PS -- I have the same trouble with AT&T. At my house, I get one bar, maybe two outside if I'm lucky (I had better coverage in Africa!). And I live in a major metropolitan area.

 

[xnothingpoetic]

First see if Verizon will cancel your contract with no fees. If not then see if you can contact the president of the company and let him/her know how and why you are dissatisfied with the service and that Verizon wouldn't cancel the contract w/o fees- even though they knew you were in a border line coverage area. Then near the end your letter, let the president know that you will probably never do business with them in the future and you thought they should know this.

Chances are he/she will help you out, and probably even go above and beyond.

It's sad these types of things happen. Nothing we can do but avoid them if possible.


Good luck.

 

[Rednamalas1]

I had my problems with CDMA years back. It wasn't due to coverage issues, but with using my phone overseas - I switched to GSM, and I just buy unlocked phones so I can put in prepaid sim card whenever I am over.

 

[Tiger27]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xnothingpoetic /img/forum/go_quote.gif First see if Verizon will cancel your contract with no fees. If not then see if you can contact the president of the company and let him/her know how and why you are dissatisfied with the service and that Verizon wouldn't cancel the contract w/o fees- even though they knew you were in a border line coverage area. Then near the end your letter, let the president know that you will probably never do business with them in the future and you thought they should know this. Chances are he/she will help you out, and probably even go above and beyond. It's sad these types of things happen. Nothing we can do but avoid them if possible. Good luck.

To be fair to Verizon, they have agreed to let me out of the contract with no fee. I just think they shouldn't have sold me the service in the first place.

 

[flashnolan]

My company had a lot of trouble with Verizon coming and connecting our FIOS when we first moved into our new office. At times my boss would be transferred to five different people before someone knew what an MX record was and how to fix it.