So, I Called the Number for Verizon Wireless Customer Service
I put in a phone call to Verizon customer service because my phone died and I needed a cheap replacement so wanted to see if they could help. I tried to call several phone numbers that did not really work, but I hope they help you. In the end they left my on hold for 5 hours!
- Main customer service number is 1-800-922-0204. Hours are Mon - Fri, 7 AM - 11 PM local time and Sat - Sun, 8 AM - 9 PM local time. I waited on hold here an hour
- If you have a prepaid phone, there is actually a different number. It's 1-888-294-6804 or you can dial *611 on a mobile device. Hours to call are Mon - Sun, 6 AM - 11 PM local time. But neither of those worked and I was on hold about 30 minutes.
- I also tried calling the consumer sales hotline at 1-800-256-4646 and the business sales number at 1-800-526-3178. Both times I was put on hold for more than two hours total between all my calls and redials and I gave up and hung up.
- My last ditch effort was asking for the main Verizon corporate office number at 1-800-VERIZON. Go figure that one had the longest hold time of all. I waited on hold an hour an 30 minutes for a single person to answer!
All this to say, I do not recommend contacting Verizon by phone. Go online and use live chat instead, you will get much faster support.
Here is what happened after I gave up on calling them. I went online to the VZ wireless customer service center. When I signed in, I went to look at Samsung deals and was met with a live chat bar that said I qualified to be able to pay monthly for a new phone! Great. Money is tight and I could get the cheapest phone for $6 a month so I called up.
After I explained what I wanted to do the man says is good I called because he has a deal to offer me that would reduce my monthly bill by $30. I said great cuz I could then afford a better phone. He says if I buy a tablet for $50 my monthly bill would be reduced so I said OK and signed up to buy it.
I then said I want to get the S5, he then says "oh, let me pass you on to to someone who might be able to offer you a better deal on a cheaper used phone". The next person is completely unaware of what has gone before so I explain it again, that I have to pay monthly and she says I cannot do that on a used phone so passes me back to sales. Third person says I can't pay monthly even though the statement implies it because it only applies to a NEW phone line added to my existing service. It doesn't say that anywhere. There is no caveat. So I say I want to cancel everything and make a complaint.
I get transferred to person 4. This is a total bait and switch.
She finally is able to get her manager to cancel tablet she says - and I hope the 2 year extension on my contract? Yes. The only complaint I am offered is a 360 about the original person. I say I want to complain higher up the chain, that this dishonesty is endemic in the company and he was only following the culture of the company. The initial deception is with the company. She then says they can attach a higher up complaint to the 360. The FCC has a much better form for complaints, and I have reported this to them.
Now FedEx has tried to deliver the blasted tablet so I have to assume the order process is FAST while cancellations and complaints go into the slow lane.
It's worth noting that there are several shortcuts you can use on your mobile phone to find quick information. I'd recommend using these as much as possible. Hopefully, they will prevent you from having to deal with Verizon customer support ever again!
Regular customers
- *611 + Send = Check balance
- *86 + Send = Voice mail
Prepaid customers
- #BAL (#225) + Send = Check balance
- #MIN (#646) + Send = Minutes used
- #PMT (#768) + Send = Make payment
- #DATA (#3282) + Send = Data used
- #UPG (#874) + Send = Upgrade eligibility
