Verizon Wireless Account Recovery

With this phone number, it seems like Verizon really doesn't want people using the phone to get assistance. When I dialed, the automated system took forever to recognize anything I was saying. I'm not sure if it was picking up on small sounds or just running into issues, but it couldn't get a sentence out before claiming there was an error.

When I finally got through, it said that because my number was attached to a Verizon account, I needed the account PIN to move forward. After a few tries of asking, the system sent me a text with a code asking me to enter that before it would let me get to the main menu. I put the code in, and the system finally allowed me through.

At that point, I asked to check if my phone line was eligible to get an upgrade. The system said that my number was not listed as an account owner and I would need the account owner's permission before it would allow me to check anything. I chose not to involve my wife and instead asked to speak to a representative.

When I did, the system sent me a text for the virtual assistant and said I could use the link in the text, but doing so would automatically hang up the phone. Not wanting to do that, I ignored the text and waited. The system told me again that I should check my text messages for the virtual assistant, but I held another minute until I got connected to a representative.

The representative proved just as unhelpful as the automated system. When he welcomed me onto the call, he failed to understand my first name three times until I had to spell it out for him. I then asked if I was eligible for an upgrade, and he said that to even check, I would need the account owner on the line. I told him she was asleep, and he said there was nothing he could do without that. He asked if there was any way I could get her on the line, and I told him that I could wake her up but didn't want to. After a few seconds of silence, I hung up.

Overall, I was not impressed with either the system or the in-person assistance I received. The system just isn't very good; it gets confused too easily, doesn't allow for much real assistance and flat-out asked me to stop using them over another method twice. The representative was no better. I get that he was just following directions, but it seems really strange to me that a customer can't even ask questions about their account unless they're the account owner. Needing the account owner to approve changes is fine, but needing them to ask a question makes no sense.

To me, this system seemed awkward and not consumer-friendly. As an actual Verizon customer, I don't want to use it again.