Verizon shows a complete lack of customer service to the elderly who are ill!

You are very kind to want to help your neighbor. I was in a situation
where the first cable guy who came out to hook up my phone botched the
job. They had to send out another installer. Because I didn't want to
miss more work staying home waiting for the second installer I made
the appointment for the next Saturday which was a week away.
In the meantime I used my cell phone. It was a life save because I had
just moved to a new apartment and had to make lots of calls to
co-ordinate with various providers not to mention friends and family.
I urge you to suggest to the elderly woman's daughter to get her a
cell phone. That way she will have a back up in situations like the
one you describe and also if her land line ever goes out of commission
she will not lose touch with the outside world.

it's nice of you to be concerned but they won't discuss this with you.
It has to be a family member or an agency speaking on her behalf.

First, every one who wrote that Verizon can't discuss this with you is
correct, it's against the law for any phone company to discuss an
account with anyone not authorized on it. It's admirable that you are
trying to help, if it's possible, have your neighbor call in with you
there and authorize you to discuss this matter.
Second, the state's PUC can (and will) get involved in this and help
this customer get her phone service back on quickly. Again, though,
you have to be authorized to file a complaint.
Third, there's also an emergency medical need for a phone that ALL
phone companies honor (she can contact her doctor for this) that
should help also.
I work for the 4th largest phone compnay in the United States, and was
a manager in an inbound collection call center for six years and I do
know how frustrating it can be dealing with any utility company.
Please understand there are many many laws that govern public
utilities that the average consumer doesn't know.
Hope this helps, the PUC (public utilities commssion) can be found in
the white pages under state government.
Goodluck.

You can double check this with LadyMac if you'd like, but I am pretty
sure that with just about all personal accounts these days, even
public utilities like phone service, any Joe Schmoe off the street
cannot call on behalf of another person.

Companies don't want to be liable for providing private or potentially
sensitive information to people who are no authorized to have
knowledge of that info.

For those of you claiming to have gotten away with it recently, then
shame on whatever company permitted you to do it. They are violating
their customer's privacy.

Have her daughter, who as ticky pointed out, probably has a POA on her
mother, contact them. Have her start no lower than the supervisors
and not to back own until she gets help. But sadly, the
responsibility to get this done does not and should not rest with you.
You aren't even a relative.

You sending a letter via PFB, while thoughtful on your part, will not
get you the timely response that you need in this instance.

And while I'm at it, the demand for the free wireless with pre-paid
minutes in lieu of immediate service was tacky.

She's an attorney; I'll take her word for it, thanks.

And if you lie in order to get an account serviced, etc., I do believe
that is fraudulent. Not to be argumentative, mind you - not at all
flaming you. I just will take the word of an attorney over someone
"in the business".

being argumentative. I'm just saying from experience that it rarely
matters on service issues. It does matter on account matters such as
feature or plan changes, activating or cancelling service, collection
issues or billing issues.

The way I usually approach it is "Hi, my name is Harleycat and I'm
calling on behalf of Jane Doe. Her phone is out of service and she is
physically unable to leave her home to place a service call" (or
something like that, whatever the case may be) They will usually ask
for the entire account number off the bill and the exact name and
billing address. In addition, I'm usually asked the current balance on
the account as of the last statement. If it's a service issue and
only a service issue, they will open a repair ticket. I can even open
a ticket on line without ever talking to a rep. It's more of a
liability for them not to open a ticket when an elderly or disabled
person is involved. If something were to happen to that person and
they did not have access to a phone imagine the bad publicity if it
came out that someone tried to call in a repair and they refused to
take it. I believe that legally this is a double edged sword. While
legally wrong if they take the repair call from an outside party it is
morally wrong to leave a sick person without a phone (lifeline).

Call the "Special Needs" number for customer's with disabilities. You
can find it on the website. If they can't help you, tell them that
you will be making a "presidential complaint". You may have to do
some digging to find the "presidential complaint" line.

Unfortunately, what others said is true, Verizon Wireless and Verizon
are two different companies so they will not supply her with a cell
phone.

Um...where in this letter does the writer say anything about the phone
being shut off because the bill wasn't paid? In fact she specifically
said the phone line needed to be FIXED. They don't have to come out to
your home if your service was shut off due to not paying a bill. So
Gino's advice is pretty useless, except for the part about the prepaid
phone.

To the orginal poster, Verizon and Verizon Wireless are two different
companies so Verizon has no way of giving your neighbor a free cell
phone. I suggest you and her daughter purchase one for her. Please
keep us posted! :-)

I agree with Gino. It's good that you are concerned for your neighbor.
However, you'd probably have better luck calling Verizon directly
until they come out. Also, you and the daughter should both contribute
to getting the lady a prepaid phone for her emergencies.

Pam,
First and foremost your neighbor is lucky to have someone careing as
you on her side. From personal experience I know that sometimes
exteuating circumstances can cause one to overlook paying a bill or
the whole family is in turmoil and somehow overlooks paying bills. Not
to say it's right or wrong, but verizon is a business and seriously,
as much as we'd like to believe they "care" or even "know" every
detail of every customer...and I don't even know if this is the case
or not. It's just from my own experience from which I speak and I mean
no harm in my answer.
I totally sympathise with this woman's situation. Perhaps getting on
the phone and contacting customer service and explaining the
circumstances. Saying she cannot wait till friday and if there's some
other way to get service restored sooner for her,,, making sure her
outstanding balances are put in order, and asking for a "favor"..they
may find a way to accomadate her sooner.
If not, perhaps a Tracphone, disposable cell phone that uses cards to
add minutes. They often have base models for 18.99 with a twenty
minute card included to start off with. It would give this woman some
sense of security knowing she can make emergency calls. Even adding
another 20 minute card or more for another 18-30 dollars just to hold
her over would be a better "get well" gift than a fruit basket or a
nightgown. At least she has SOME security.
I apologize if this suggestion offends you in any way, but it comes
from a good place. These phone companies plot out their routes their
own way and sometimes it seems uncareing but it's just the way the
world is today.
And she can keep it and have it recharged in case of another emergency
or just to carry with her for security.
Anyway, you are very nice to be so concerned for your neighbor and I
do admire you for at least caring and trying to help. Good Luck to
you!!