It takes a great company to recognize a great customer and do the right thing.
Let me state from the beginning that the problem I had was my fault. I always have my blackberry set to go on and off each day at a certain time.
Off on vacation I go, out of the country, with my blackberry in my suitcase. I was not going to use it while away because I didn't sign up for a global plan and didn't want one. I was on vacation! I only needed my blackberry once we were back in the USA.
While my blackberry sat in my suitcase, turned off, stored away during the trip, it was going on each day at 7am and going off at 10:30pm. I had totally forgotten to disable this feature before I had put it away.
Before boarding the first flight home, I took my phone out as we went through security. Was I surprised when I saw it was on? Absolutely.
I didn't think I had a problem since I never used the phone. But that is not what happens to a phone with a data plan. Each day it turned on, it takes in all the emails coming into my accounts. That was all data usage, for which I did not have a global plan, so I was charged accordingly.
After I saw my bill, I cringed at the charges I had accumulated. I called Verizon Wireless Customer Service and explained my dilemna. The representative felt so bad for what had happened that she put me on hold to see if she could do anything. She returned and apologized for not being able to help me, since Verizon Wireless did not make the mistake. I thanked her for taking the time to see if she could help.
The next day I searched for the phone number of the Corporate office. It wasn't easy to find but I did locate a number of a Regional office. The woman to whom I was directed told me that I was not at the right office for my location, but that she would write up my situation and pass it along to the proper person.
Within one hour, I received a call from Corporate and we resolved my problem. The representative recognized that I was a long time customer could see how this could have happened. I was so appreciative of her understanding.
When I asked if there was a phone number for her office, she told me that there was none, but if you need to contact them, you just go to the "Contact Us" link on the website and send an email.
I always thought that link was for your everyday customer service, the same department you would be connected to when you called 1-800-922-0204. Apparently it is not.
My advice is that if you have a real, honest to goodness problem which doesn't get resolved after calling the "800" number, try going to www.verizonwireless.com, open the "Contact Us" link on the top and "send an email."
It doesn't get any better than that!
Where to call: 1-800-922-0204
Where to contact: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/contact/index.jsp