[pronerd]

This is an extension of a different post I thought others might want to be aware of. As a quick summary I have an 8703e with Verizon. I have no I do not have a browser, can not sync data, or send email. I just have a phone with SMS.

Previous post about data charges with no usage
http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene...a-charges.html


I have now received my first bill. It was $550+. Not due to data charges though that only came to $5. It was due to excessive minutes usage. Apparently if you have a BB with Verizon and do not have the 10MB or unlimited data plan they change you for both the data and air time for . So I was charged the the expected $.015 per killobye, and charged air time minutes for each of those data connections. It Apparently connects every 5 -10 min so my minutes came to 1300 for the month. Almost all of which is the BB just connecting randomly.

Just something of others to be aware of. Has anyone else seen this on other carriers.

[LunkHead]

Yikes!!! I'd be dialing me up some customer service rep....

I am on T-Mo and have unlimited data for $19 a month and a 2000K min shared family plan for $99..

[pronerd]

Originally Posted by LunkHead

Yikes!!! I'd be dialing me up some customer service rep....

I am on T-Mo and have unlimited data for $19 a month and a 2000K min shared family plan for $99..

So far the store manager has said he will not do anything. Customer services response was that someone will call me in a week or so.

[LunkHead]

Originally Posted by pronerd

So far the store manager has said he will not do anything. Customer services response was that someone will call me in a week or so.

I'd be calling back and demanding a supervisor.... That (over billing every month) was the reason I canned them and went with T-Mo....

[ladydi]

Don't let them put you off. Get it solved in one call. just keep asking for a manager. Even if they tell you the manager won't help you. Really, this works, I promise.

If they gave you a BB without a bb plan and didn't tell you it would still incur data charges, then that is their fault, but you are going to have to consider getting a data plan because BB's eat data and there is nothing you can do about it.

[li2327]

Wirelessly posted (7130e: BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

You should not have to pay since you didn't know but you should consider getting a plan.

[archer6]

Originally Posted by pronerd

Has anyone else seen this on other carriers.

Yes, it's not unusual to see mistakes being made. It's how the carrier handles it once they are contacted by the user that is important.

After trying out all the major carriers I decided on Cingular / Now At&T. For the first year my billing was clean and correct. Then I began having issues, where they would mistakenly post other subscribers charges on my bill. In once case they billed me and additional $98.44. I immediately called them, and they were very courteous, took immediate responsibility and removed the charges from my bill. Then in addition they gave me a $50 credit against my next bill. So needless to say, I was very impressed and very pleased.

I might suggest that they key to success with any carrier is to watch your bill carefully and contact them immediately if you see something that is not correct. Once on the phone, be prepared, have a copy of your invoice in front of you and be patient. Call them when you have at least 30 minutes to remain on the phone as it's only fair to allow them time to find the error. Especially if you would like it corrected right away. Time is of the essence. The longer you wait, or do not contact them and allow them an opportunity to fix it, the greater the chances are of this turning into more of a problem than it is.

[cfg]

I had that happen once a few years ago when someone gave me a 6750. I wasn't really using my personal phone so I swapped it out and apparently it initiates a data connection every few minutes. The end result was a $6800 bill.
http://crepitus.com/misc/vzw.gif

They fixed it, but it took an hour on the phone, a week to get the credit worked out, and a billing cycle to credit me the taxes.

[pronerd]

Originally Posted by ladydi

Just keep asking for a manager.

The store manager, who is now sick of dealing with me due to other mistakes, wont budge. Nether will the DM. A CSR from the call center looked into this and agreed to credit me, but said the amount was too large for her to do it. So she sent it to some other dept and said they would call me in a week. That seems to be Verizon's answer for everything. Well I did something it will be fixed in a week.

Originally Posted by ladydi

If they gave you a BB without a bb plan and didn't tell you it would still incur data charges, then that is their fault.

They told me about the data charges of $.015 per kilobyte which I was fine with. What is running up my bill is air time (minutes) not data changes. I am getting charged not only the $.015 per Kb, but also minutes every time it tries to connect.

[i-Berry]

Originally Posted by LunkHead

Yikes!!! I'd be dialing me up some customer service rep....

I am on T-Mo and have unlimited data for $19 a month and a 2000K min shared family plan for $99..

this is OT but how many lines do you have with 2000 minutes at $99.

[archer6]

Originally Posted by pronerd

The store manager, who is now sick of dealing with me due to other mistakes, wont budge. Nether will the DM. A CSR from the call center looked into this and agreed to credit me, but said the amount was too large for her to do it. So she sent it to some other dept and said they would call me in a week. That seems to be Verizon's answer for everything. Well I did something it will be fixed in a week.

If I'm reading this correctly, you've already done something. However in the event that you still would like a suggestion, here is a thought.

Most cellular carriers have "customer retention" departments, for the sole purpose of resolving issues like this. The problem is that there is no way for an individual to know about their existence as it's not advertised.

I do know that one exists at Verizon as I had to use them one time, and unfortunately for them, they were unreasonable and I terminated my account. However it's worth a try.

Now I'm with Cingular and the customer service is great. Like any other company they are still subject to making mistakes, however they are very good at taking responsibility and treating the customers well. They have always thanked me for my business and given me extra credits when a mistake is made on the billing. In addition they have always made the corrections without any hassle or delay.

Cheers