Getting Service for Verizon land line

Witchy Woman · ‎03-15-2010

Has anyone been successful in having line repairs on their Verizon land line?

We have our internet/house phone with them (no choices), and have frequent issues. Right now, no dial tone for several days.

Trying to get it resolved, but finding it very difficult to do so.

If there is a secret, please share.

I'm going to try "live chat" again today, but our Internet service is spotty and the chat often gets cut off.

I suspect we are one of the last land lines on earth. I'm normally pretty good at finding/getting customer service, but this one has me stumped.

I've actually been up to the point where they were "scheduling" a tech to come out and lost the connection.

Will try again today.

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

@Witchy Woman Good luck with getting your service repaired.

We also have Verizon and a land line. DH doesn't like using only a smart phone and feels that a land line is healthier when using at home. You aren't the only ones.

So far we really haven't had any connection problems. My biggest problem with Verizon is when I do need to speak with someone it's like jumping through hoops trying to get to speak to a live person in the right department.

Sweetbay magnolia · ‎04-14-2013

@Witchy Woman , yes, we've had outages to our land line resolved by Verizon, and I think one time it included internet outage, as well.

Though the lines to our house are buried, they drop from a pole at the front of the yard, and at least twice the problem has been critters nesting in the "junction box" that houses the switches for service, which is mounted about 6' above the ground, on the pole.

Once it was a huge ant nest, and another time it was tree frogs! Their activities messed with the wires. One time Verizon replaced the wiring, and the next time they replaced the whole box. No charge. That's their equipment.

They've also replaced the service box in the garage at no charge - I don't know if you've experienced this, but the old ones had a battery, and when it started to fail, there was constant beeping. They've gotten rid of the boxes with batteries. Too much expense and trouble to keep replacing.

I've found Verizon to be very responsive. Some of the local guys here have been around for years. One time an ice storm dragged the Verizon line down dangerously close to our driveway (I put cones out - a large truck could have brought it all the way down) and they were pretty quick to come out and tighten it back up.

I would guess it depends on where you live and how your service is configured. Heaven forbid we ever have a problem with the fios line that snakes through the house. It's an older home and the previous homeowner retro-fitted the cable. I have no idea where it even runs but I know it's buried under the siding and may even run through the crawl space.

Sounds like you need a visit from a tech. Hope you get it resolved. It's frustrating! I hope you have a cell phone, too.

Cogito ergo sum

Witchy Woman · ‎03-15-2010

@Sweetbay magnolia

I would say your experience is the exception rather than the rule.

I suspect it is their wiring, but all lines are underground and, just getting through to someone is a real challenge.

Will continue to try to do so. I don't give up easily.

Yes, we both have cell phones, but our DSL phone line powers our internet and there are no other options.

MaverDaver · ‎06-28-2013

Call their corporate headqtrs (Google for #). Embellish problem by emphasizing no phone access in case of emergency, whatever it takes. I once had to do this with Comcast and boy I got results real quick. Corporate doesn't want to hear our problems.

Eileen in Virginia · ‎08-25-2010

@Witchy Woman We finally dropped our Verizon landline in August after several years of abysmal performance. Bear in mind that we don't live in a rural community, we live in a close-in suburb of Washington DC. We kept it because we had a true landline jack in our bedroom that was hardwired to the telephone pole and not affected by power outages. We thought this would ensure our continued ability to make phone calls during power outages/emergencies. WRONG!

Our problem was old, deteriorating lines on the pole that would stop working if we had heavy rain (literally) or a squirrel misstep. Sometimes we'd have no dial tone, other times the background static would be so bad that you couldn't have a decent conversation. Other issues were the phone ringing once before dropping the call or not ringing on our end, but ringing on the caller's end. Each time DH called to complain and cancel our landline, Verizon would send someone out to repair the line and our service would get back to normal for a little while or until the next storm.

We had the last Verizon tech come here about a year ago. He looked around and admitted that the problem was in the aging, deteriorating line, which Verizon had no intention of repairing or replacing. He recommended disconnecting the bedroom phone from the jack and we got better performance on our other "landline" phones. This lasted for awhile, but Verizon showed their true colors when DH called in August and they didn't even pretend they were going to try to improve their performance. After a 5 minute call (a Verizon world record!), they terminated our service, effective the next day.

For us, the straw that broke the camel's back was the realization that the landline that was supposed to be our lifeline to the outside world in an emergency was virtually useless - and Verizon had no qualms whatsoever about charging us as though they were providing stellar service. All of our friends and family knew to call us on our cell phones instead of the landline, so we cut the cord. In hindsight, we're kicking ourselves for not terminating our Verizon landline service a couple of years ago. I hope you're able to get Verizon to respond to you and fix your landline problems. If not, don't let them string you along like we did. Good luck!

fthunt · ‎12-24-2010

3 years ago - noise on line - crackle - cut offs.....old wiring at neighborhood box decayed

Also can't transmit through old house box - now transmits via glass.so lots of batteries install in basement.

Witchy Woman · ‎03-15-2010

@Eileen in Virginia

Thanks for sharing your experience and....I expect this is where we will end up.

DH managed to arrange for a tech to come out tomorrow, but I suspect that we will have a similar experience as yours.

We are in Charles County, MD, and have been in this house for 30 years so, yes, wiring is likely old and deteriorating. And, they have no intention of fixing it.

Not sure what we will end up doing when and if it goes away completely. I hate using a cell phone as our reception in this area is often terrible.

We have a home security system connected to our landline and will have to change that I guess.

Honestly, it's all just too much sometimes.

I'm old enough to remember when you dialed "0" for the operator and they would send someone out to check for problems.

Those days are long gone, I know, but customer service in almost every area has grown into just another life annoyance

Eileen in Virginia · ‎08-25-2010

@Witchy Woman wrote:
@Eileen in Virginia

Thanks for sharing your experience and....I expect this is where we will end up.

DH managed to arrange for a tech to come out tomorrow, but I suspect that we will have a similar experience as yours.

We are in Charles County, MD, and have been in this house for 30 years so, yes, wiring is likely old and deteriorating. And, they have no intention of fixing it.

Not sure what we will end up doing when and if it goes away completely. I hate using a cell phone as our reception in this area is often terrible.

We have a home security system connected to our landline and will have to change that I guess.

Honestly, it's all just too much sometimes.

I'm old enough to remember when you dialed "0" for the operator and they would send someone out to check for problems.

Those days are long gone, I know, but customer service in almost every area has grown into just another life annoyance

@Witchy Woman Well nuts - unreliable cell service really limits your options! Is there another company that you can transfer your landline to? We were going to transfer to AT&T, but were told Verizon had the monopoly on landline service in our area. I sometimes long for the days of Ma Bell - at least she knew how to keep the system running well!

Witchy Woman · ‎03-15-2010

@Eileen in Virginia

Not sure about cell phone service in our area, and, like Scarlett, I'll just think about it tomorrow.

Meant to add that it's not just a matter of our land line, but we have Verizon DSL service internet. There are NO other options in our area. And, that is the bigger issue. I can live without a cell phone, but not Internet service.

We are way back off the main road and cable companies will not come back here without charging thousands of dollars. We've checked. Back in 1980, it was around $4,000 I think to do the underground cable. And, even that is not very reliable.

Eventually, we'll either have to find another way or not or move.