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General discussion

VERIZON

Dec 27, 2014 8:23AM PST

I put this in their forums today. Pretty much says it all.


No Replacement Remote Results in Return of Rented DTR

12-27-2014 03:56 PM

Talked to live chat. Seems you can't get a replacement remote, only pay for a new remote. Verizon won't support their equipment it seems, even if it's a remote you've had for YEARS. I will not pay $18 for their remote. Instead I will stay with my STB till contract expires, but send in the additional DTR which is useless without a working remote and save myself $6 per month rental charge. So for the next year I save $72 while Verizon loses that, just for trying to stick me for an additional $18 to replace the non working remote.

Years of continual service means nothing to them either, when you see them giving the best rates always to new subscribers and not to their long term customers. Who should be rewarded with the best rates, the people who switch service provider every year or those who stay with you? Seems the answer is to join into the yearly switching game for the "teaser rates" offered to the unfaithful customer.

What a stupid business plan! 30 years and I still get some email on a bellatlantic.net email address, but the cheapskate approach to serving customers is finally wearing way too thin. Fed up in Maryland.


We rarely use that DTR, but had to use it's remote to replace the other one that no longer works with our big TV in living room. I also have my own "one for all" cheap remote I use for main functions on TV, VCR, DVD, and STB, but some functions like menus and tv guides are not easily obtainable on it. I'd already dropped Verizon phone service a few years ago due to their ridiculous price for it at the time, since then they've moved it to an available extra for some, but now I'll stick with my MagicJack instead. They do this short sighted approach since Verizon took over the older phone company and end up losing customers who stop services and many never come back. As for losing one of 3 TV signals by turning in a DTR, I'll happily use the money lost by Verizon to put up an outside antenae and get the many local HDTV broadcasts in my area for free for that TV. Plenty of those here near DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis area. All TV service however has been crap for SD channels every since they added HDTV and required settop box rentals from everyone. I'm seriously thinking of just going to Internet Service only. I can see the shows I like from the internet alone anyway.

Discussion is locked

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I also have Verizon fios
Dec 27, 2014 10:10AM PST

I changed from time warner. When they installed it, they left a cable running along the ground. Stopped me from mowing the lawn. I called three times. The last time she hung up on me. One time I was told that they would be in the area in three weeks. The fourth time I called I told the rep that I would have Wednesday off and it was close to my 30 days and I still had my TW stuff. I was going to mow my lawn Wednesday afternoon and, if the cable wasn't buried, I was going to take all that lovely equipment and take it down to the Verizon store and cancel everything. Wednesday afternoon, the cable was buried.

My contract is up in June and I'm thinking about just keeping the internet. They want me to upgrade for the same price and have the price guaranteed for three years. I now have a smart TV and Netflix and a prepaid phone form my home phone.

My cell phone is with Verizon (switched from AT&T) and they have been so sweet to me (both fios and cell) since then and have done everything I asked.

I will be loyal but don't make me mad. There are several stores I don't go to anymore because they made me mad.

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I don't get cell service signals
Dec 27, 2014 6:26PM PST

at my house.....two miles away is ok though. It took years for me to convince family why I don't have a cell phone.....I can't see the point if I can't use it here, even to turn it on and enter anything in the directory, etc. I have satellite modem service to get on the internet (started with Starband years ago) because I don't have cable or dsl available....but can still get dial up if needed, except the new computers don't have built in modems anymore so that's not an option either anymore. Satellite TV service is the only option since the day I moved in here and had to have one of the old original 10' dishes with Orbit subscription because of the mountains here not allowing the free airwaves to get to the hollow my house is located in on my own land, but ex-mother-in-law across the road on flat land gets free airwaves free (had to do some changes there when all channels went digital though because her analog tv wouldn't play nice). Called Hughes.net about my satellite service the other day to fix a minor tech problem with having the modem rebooted at their end and got me back online and found out they have their own cellphone and service available that would use my existing dish.....however, since my power goes out at least twice a year, that also makes no sense to me since I would need the power to operate the modem/satellite/wifi to begin with in order to use the phone they offer. I keep an antique princess phone from the 70's on a shelf handy to plug in when power goes out so I can still communicate with the 'outside' world. Sometimes new technology really ISN'T the answer and you just have to go old school.

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That'll learn ya to be out in the middle of nowhere.
Dec 27, 2014 10:30PM PST

Although I like that option as well.

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phone modem
Dec 27, 2014 11:11PM PST
"except the new computers don't have built in modems anymore so that's not an option either anymore."

I have several of these stuffed in a box somewhere if you want one. I only paid about $15 each at the time since everyone was moving over to broadband and modems were being dumped on EBay. I'm fairly certain without looking they are the same as this one, I do remember they were clear plastic casing.
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Here's one also, about same I paid new
Dec 27, 2014 11:27PM PST
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(NT) Thanks...in my watch list lol
Dec 27, 2014 11:52PM PST
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that one's a "buy it now"
Dec 28, 2014 1:25AM PST

not a "bid" type.

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I don't need one...
Dec 27, 2014 11:31PM PST

I have everything in one flat screen monitor now with my new computer and have sold off nearly everything I used to have around here. I kept all the harddrives to resell on Ebay sometime next year.....I have a neat little gadget that allows me to copy all types of harddrives, including ones for laptops, right to a huge new external multi-terrabyte harddrive and then wipe out the old drives with overwriting software. I'm probably going to get an old/new external dial up modem that can hook with with an adapter via USB or ethernet if I can locate a decent one, just so I have a backup of some sort.

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comcast
Dec 27, 2014 11:20PM PST
"When they installed it, they left a cable running along the ground. Stopped me from mowing the lawn."

comcast did that one to me when I first went to broadband. Seems they always have one team hook up service and another that comes to bury it. I'd thought about getting my shovel out, go down the line to open the ground and then shove it in and stomp it closed. Comcast also has fiber optic along the road, but uses wire to the house, whereas Verizon uses optical to the house, so less chance of atmospheric electrical conditions interfering. I would never go back to copper wire phone service even if it was still offered here, the optical cable has none of the problems the old copper lines did. I do wish Verizon would have a month long "sign up season" which gave special rates and then advertise that existing customers more than a year with them got lower rates than everyone else. It would aid constancy for them, keep customers, lower competitor values, all while leaving an opening season for those who wanted the same. This stuff of teaser rates for one to two years to new signups while not offering same to existing customers to renew is just insulting.
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When Derek was in Manassas
Dec 27, 2014 11:37PM PST

They had Cox cable and internet.....the internet always gave them trouble and constantly had to complain to get a guy out to the pole right in front of their house.....The worst was when they came to hook up their cable tv though.....they came through the wall in their family room and cut right through an electric line that shorted out the whole house and caused major damage to the walls from the instant fire flash from it. It cost Cox about $2000 to get an emergency electrician out in the late afternoon plus another two grand or more to get a remodeling guy out there to fix the interior and external damage that was done to the siding. LOL Obviously, Derek changed to Directv for the rest of the time they were there. LOL

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I fixed it up for them before arrival
Dec 28, 2014 1:36AM PST

I didn't want all that ugly ONT equipment hanging off the front corner of my home. I pulled out the old copper phone line, made a bit wider hole, put up a backer board in my utility room for the ONT to be installed indoors. All that is outside is the cable to the house, and no weather problems with the ONT equipment being exposed.

http://glenburniemd.net/CNET/VerizonFIOSboxes.jpg

I can't remember why I had that paper wrapped and taped off at the time though.

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Do I see kindling for the fire?
Dec 28, 2014 1:53AM PST
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If it does go up it'll be in the news.
Dec 28, 2014 2:00AM PST

Dafydd.

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I think it was supposed to be plastic
Dec 28, 2014 2:06AM PST

for a short while when the washing machine exhaust water backed up and didn't want it to spray onto the electrical. I said "wrap it" and maybe wife forgot the part about "plastic"? I'm trying to remember, but can't be sure. It's not there anymore though. For some reason, they decided to bring all utilities into the house in the same corner, so water pipe, electrical, washer exhaust, all in the same corner, which is crazy. We've since moved the washer and goes out a different hole in the wall now, hidden under the side porch, buried pipe into a drywell we dug. Helps keep the septic from getting too much water.

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Drywell....
Dec 28, 2014 3:01AM PST

Complicated here to tell it; bear with me.

Original water source to the house was the reservoir tank about 300 feet from the house in the back. When I first moved in, the washing machine was still hooked up to it but all the rest were finally attached to the well dug about three years before I bought the place and moved in 25 years ago tomorrow. Septic tank is about 100' from the house on the other side of a yard fence but about 5' or so from a natural creek.....that was allowed back when the septic was put in when plumbing was brought into the house about 40 years ago. (Electricity didn't get installed until 1966....and all water was still running off the reservoir)

There is a drywell near the side of the house (about 20') and all water except the toilet was directed to it, and it still is. When I had the upstairs built and had a second bathroom put in above the one down here, the plumbing for the toilet, sink, and shower upstairs are all directed to the septic tank, but everything else is still directed to the drywell. It was passed by the inspector because as long as I didn't disturb the old stuff, it was grandfathered in and only the new had to pass code.

So......no dish detergent, laundry or hand soap from the washing machine, downstairs bathroom sink, and downstairs tub goes into the septic and it's all I personally use. I never use the sink or shower upstairs personally.....they are only used when I have guests here, maybe twice a year for a week or less each time. So the septic tank gets very little of the chemicals that would normally break down the tank itself (it's all concrete and soap is its biggest enemy from what I've been told by septic cleaner companies).

Our code here states that I can replace all lines going to the septic tank without a problem, but if I have to ever replace the tank it now would have to be moved to at least 100' from a natural water source, including my well. Since I have creeks running on both sides of my house, the only place it could go is behind the house at the top of a hill and that area would have to be dynamite blasted into that mountain to get the tank in there.....and expensive piping and uplift pumps to take it from the house to the tank since its placement would be all uphill from the house. Somewhere around $50,000 +/- which is more than I paid for the entire 23-acre property, including the house 25 years ago. LOL

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and that's why
Dec 28, 2014 3:18AM PST

you do it on the down low and at night in the dark.

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Less liklihood of a lightning strike on a fios cable too.
Jan 16, 2015 5:01AM PST

A friend who does PR from home lost everything to a lightning strike. Every appliance, every part of the home entertainment systems and all of her expensive computer stuff. She also had to have her wiring checked for damage. This was just at the point that Spike and Surge protectors with Insurance plans included were becoming popular. She hadn't gotten round to getting one. Fortunately her Homeowners' insurance paid, even though a lightning strike is almost by definition "an act of God".

Ted

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I quit complaining about Verizon and I quit complaining to V

I quit complaining about Verizon and I quit complaining to Verizon.

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Should we club together and drive a stake through its heart?
Jan 16, 2015 5:10AM PST

Always assuming we can find its heart, always assuming it even has one. Another of those truly atrocious unresponsive corporations in the "service" sector.

Anyone remember that when a male animal is taken to breed a female animal it is called "servicing"? Now you know what the "service" sector does.

Ted

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This is the future where customers are insignificant

I couldn't read my verizon email from my cell phone. The screen is displayed in frames and we couldn't resize the frame to read our email. I complained to one executive and they had customer service call me several times a day to force me to use their phone app which wouldn't always run because there was a lack of memory and they started getting creepy with the legal agreements that they wanted to record my email for technical support. The person I talked to in customer support admitted he didn't have the authority to do anything. I emailed another executive and there is no action as no one wants to do anything.

I switched to another email provider because I can read my email from a web portal and I don't have to enter into new legal agreements every two weeks. It has been a slow process because I had to change a lot of accounts to my new email so I won't be dependent on Verizon and I will be able to switch in the future.

What I did notice is that Verizon is not on the top ten list of Email providers because that part of their service stinks.

Months ago, I couldn't get Outlook to download email. I called customer service and they basically said that Windows 8 doesn't work with Verizon email. It was Verizon giving out the wrong port numbers and I basically switched it to DSL settings and it worked. I called customer service to tell them and the lady didn't want to believe me but she took notes.

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One thing Verizon does well.
Jan 16, 2015 5:12AM PST