First post, long, seeking advice, please bear with me:

[JerryG]

I currently have Verizon for POTS and Comcast for cable (internet and TV.)  I’m not dissatisfied with either service, except for price (especially Comcast’s price.)  Fios is on my street and VZ sales reps have descended like locusts – door to door, cold calling by phone, a new snail-mail brochure every other day; all pushing the (allegedly) $99.99 “triple play.”  I did my homework and have discovered many things that are turn-offs for me (below.)  My actual price difference, if I switched, would be approx a $30/month savings (a far cry from the $110 diff that it *would be* if the $99.99 price had any validity, but still not negligible.)  If I felt better about the likelihood of not having a horrible install and support experience with Verizon, I would jump.  Maybe you can help me to feel better.  Here are my reservations:

Category 1 – things I hope to be able to find a way around:

- I have spoken with 3 VZ sales reps, and no two have given me the same story about this promotion.  This does not make me warm/fuzzy about getting a good deal, or being able to believe anything that any of them tell me.  Example: One guy said I would be ineligible for the “$150 cash back” that is part of this promo, because I already have VZ phone.  The other two reps said I’d get the $150.  That’s just one example among many.  My goal is to get the $150.

- There’s about a 300 foot underground run from the junction box to my house.  Installer will have to traverse my underground sprinkler system hoses and tunnel under my stone aggregate front walk.  When I asked, I was told “there is no guarantee” that the installer will not damage my property(!)  Am I supposed to be comfortable with this?  My $30/month savings could disappear fast if I have to shell out for irrigation people and masons to fix VZ's damage!

- I have 7 TV’s and a home network that supports 3 CAT5-wired desktop PC’s and 3 wireless laptops.  “Free” installation stops at 3 TV’s and a wireless router.  “Hopefully” the VZ-mandated proprietary wireless router will support my network without requiring an additional box (the guy wasn’t sure(!))  To get around having to pay for “installation” of 4 of my 7 required cable boxes, the guy at the store suggested placing the order for only 3 TV’s, then coming into the store (20 miles from home) and picking up additional boxes, and installing them myself.   Have you ever heard of this?  Can they not just deliver them, even if they won’t “install” them all for the package price?!

- Per the VZ website, “VISTA testing is not finalized” and they “will not issue service credits for VISTA incompatibility issues.”  On what planet is that an acceptable level of service?  My kids' laptops are both VISTA.  They need to be able to use them.

- I was told by one of the VZ reps that upon installing fiber to my phone system, the installer will “rip out” the pre-existing copper phone wire in my house.  WHY must they do this?  WHY can’t they just leave it there?  Could it be to dissuade me from one day switching back to a non-fiber competitor?  Don’t I have some rights here, we’re talking about the inside of my house!  And now I just read on this board a concern about a burglar alarm company not being compatible with Fios!  Another worry!

Category 2 – things I dislike but realize I can’t change:

- I don’t currently have cable boxes for most of my cable-ready TV’s; the coax just plugs into the wall.  I like it this way, and don’t want the additional hassle of dealing with more remotes, etc. &*#$&(&!!!

- I do not like the idea of being locked into a contract.  What do people do when they move?  Eat the rest of the term or pay the ludicrous cancellation fee?  This isn’t cellphone service, you can’t just take your Fios system with you!?
 
- I got three different answers to the simple question “when the two year price guarantee ends, what is the “normal” price that I will revert to?”  The answers weren’t even close to one another.  Not warm.  Not fuzzy.

- In 15 years of living in this house, I have never lost phone service, not even for a minute.  OTOH, we lose electricity ALL THE TIME (yes, despite underground utilities.)  Usually the outages are brief, but we have ever gone 2 days with no power.  Fios relies on electricity.  Their response: “don’t worry, we provide an 8-hour backup battery.”  Do the math.  Oh, and who pays for the replacement battery, eventually?  That would be me.  This is not progress.

- I have read ENDLESS horror stories online (including in this forum) regarding inept installation and terrible follow-through / customer service.  Even at this early stage, my own experience would bear that out.  I ended up driving the 20 miles to the “physical presence” store because I couldn’t reach a human at any of the various published phone numbers.  And these are the numbers they supposedly want to use to SELL me something!

- NJ is suing VZ for false advertising, and I hope NJ wins.  I learned that NOBODY can actually GET the $99.99 deal – it isn’t possible, even if you’re willing to live with having only 3 or 4 TV channels, because you’re REQUIRED to rent at least one cable box at an additional $10.  I won’t even get into taxes and fees, or the fact that getting even a HALF decent HD channel roster requires “upgrading” to the “extreme HD” package.  All this stuff got my price up from $99 to $180, for apples-to-apples with what I have now (and I don’t have any fancy pay-movie channels, just the basics.)

I have one neighbor who switched.  Their install went OK.  They said they’re saving a few bucks (although not many, AND they haven’t actually received their first bill – and I’ve read about many VZ billing nightmares.)  They also said the TV picture is fine and the internet connection is OK but not noticeably faster than Comcast was.  All in all, a lukewarm review.

So here I am, on the fence.  I am NOT aching to make this move.  I anticipate that even best-case, it will be a hassle (example: installers will not re-program my universal remotes for the new cable boxes. Not that I would expect that, but still...  a hassle.)  Worst case, I could be in total hell for a very long, locked-in time.  But (the bright side) I would be saving about $30 / month, $360 / year… not chump change IF they are not lying to me about some aspect of the pricing.

Forum experts:  can you help me to get off this fence?  My butt is starting to hurt.  Thanks in advance for any constructive advice (especially any that can realistically allay my concerns.)  And thanks for listening!

Jerry

[austinfrye]

The way we have it set up now, you can get a new bundle on a contract for very cheap. We don't currently offer the $150 back but we CAN waive all fees for the set-up, we CAN provide a DVR for free for new customers. The best bundle we have right now, with ALL channels, 35\35 Internet speeds, and Phone with 30+ features is $139.99 + additional costs and taxes. Each package below that is $15 cheaper per month. Without a contract each package is $20 more than the base price I have just quoted. If you were looking for NO contract bundles, Currently I do have a promotion to new customers for the first year for signing up you will get the exact same price for no contract as you do for a contract period. If you sign a contract, you qualify for $20 or $30 off the base price, depending on your area. Im always happy to provide all the info you need, so if you have any questions you can leave me a message at any time at (909) 784-5387 my name is Austin; and that is my secondary line and I check the voicemail quite often.