Re: Verizon purchase and return shops

I have been mystery shopping for over 20 years and just earlier this year I got burned doing a Verizon purchase, activation and return shop. I never powered the phone on after the purchase because I knew that I was going to return it as soon as I was allowed. I have done these shops before in the past as well with no issues. Now after this particular shop, months later, I got a bill from Verizon for over $1000 for a "business account" that I opened. It seems that someone at the store did not cut off the service on the phone like he stated that he had during the return (which was literally around 30 minutes after the purchase). I am pretty sure that it was Intellishop that I completed this shop for but I can not find it under all of the past shops that I completed in my shop log. I called Verizon and had this situation escalated to fraudulent charges and I found out that Verizon had also put this into my credit report which they state that they will send some sort of documentation to the credit bureau and have this removed from my report. Has this happened to anyone else? If so, any suggestions?

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More About Purchase and Return Assignments

It has not happened to me because I would not do one of those shops. However, I think that if the issue is not resolved quickly (I'd give them 10 business days to remove the charge), I would immediately turn it over to the credit card company.

This is exactly why I would never do this type of shop. You have about zero recourse with these phone companies and even trying to resolve an issue will take way too much time out of your life. Not to mention the aggravation level you will experience.

Oh what a nightmare. I am so sorry you have to go through this, but hopefully Verizon will square it up. I had a legit fraud issue and they cleared it up quickly for me. I would not hesitate to mention that this was a mystery shop to the fraud dept.

I had a similar thing happen to me although it was only one month that they charged off and sent to the credit bureaus.

When I first got the bill I called and they said they would credit it. Apparently they never did. Can you tell me how to contact their fraud department?

I've also though about sending something to the state attorney general but haven't yet.

Twitter. I’ve always had great luck settling legitimate consumer complaints with a well-written Tweet. Verizon has a very active Twitter account - start there.

Thanks Kate, I would never have thought of that. Now I just have to sign up for Twitter. Does that mean I'll get spammed with tons of Tweets?

That and a nickel will get you absolutely nothing.

@wrosie wrote:

I've also though about sending something to the state attorney general but haven't yet.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

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To paraphrase Charles Dickens, the phone company enrollment assignments are "A Tale of Two Shops." If one needed the service, and a return were not required, they are an excellent manner by which a savings would be accomplished. In my situation, though, there was no need and it either took six or seven calls for me to straighten out my account. No MSC would pay me enough for the aggravation such a job entails.

I did one when I got my new phone a few years ago. I did not do a return because I kept the phone. It was a very nice discount on my phone, which I'm still using. I would not do a purchase and return for a phone...ever.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

These are on my "ten-foot-pole" list. I did a return, and it took nearly 25 hours of my time over three weeks to get proper credit from the vendor. I visited the location several times to discuss the problem in person, followed up with the location and corporate on the phone, and spent too much time trying to resolve via chat and email. If you plan to keep the purchase, this may work out well for you, however.

I'm sorry you're caught up in this mess. Due to earlier discussions on this board about this shop and the multitude of shoppers who have had a hard time getting their refunds, I'd never do one. They get tempting as they raise the fee, but no amount of $$ could be worth the aggravation and time the shopper has to spend. Well, I'd do it for $1,000, of course, but not even for the somewhere-around $150 they're posted for in my area right now.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

I've done several, but only when I wanted to keep the item. (Phones/ watch/ tablet)
I've done one where I was to add a service like an additional line, tv, internet or home phone. That went very smoothly when I canceled two days later.

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Re: Verizon purchase and return shops

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