Verizon Bills Dead Man Bill Young, Says 'Death Certificate' Not Enough To Cancel Service
Don't die without sharing your PIN numbers.
That seems to be the lesson learned from Verizon's recent botched handling of a deceased man's account.
Bill Young of Calvin, W.Va died in June 2009, but Verizon Wireless continued to bill him until February 2010.
Young's daughter, Cynthia Lacy produced a death certificate for the company to certify her father's passing, but that wasn't enough for Verizon.
She was told by a Verizon representative that without her father's PIN (personal identification number), she was not allowed access to the account, reports the St. Petersburg Times.
The Florida paper recounted the conversation Lacy allegedly had with Verizon:
'Well, there's nothing else I can do for you,' the representative said before laughing and hanging up the phone.
via Verizon Bills Dead Man Bill Young, Says ‘Death Certificate’ Not Enough To Cancel Service.
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Verizon’s Billing Mysteries
I got my phone bill from Verizon the other day as many of you did as well. I’d like you all to open to the part where it has the Breakdown of Charges and specifically, “Taxes, Fees and Other Verizon Charges”. Let’s take a look: Yo Wait! Before we do, remember that New York gave Verizon permission to raise their rates recently because they had lost business to their competition. So, rather than improve service and attract more customers in that good old American Capitalist way, they went begging to the State and the State said, “yeah, sure.” And keep in mind that an increase in the basic rate (which was $2 a month per line) also represents an increase in sales tax receipts for the state. [...]