Verizon Continued to Charge Deceased Client

Marilyn Loveless’ mother-in-law, Betty Howard, had breast cancer and was largely confined to her home during the year before her death. Loveless contacted Verizon to set up a wireless broadband Internet connection so Howard could communicate with friends and family. After several months of failed attempts to connect to the Internet, Verizon informed Loveless that Howard needed a phone account in addition to the broadband service.

Loveless ordered the required services in September, but connection to the Internet was never established. Howard passed away in December, and Loveless quickly asked Verizon to discontinue the service. Verizon, however, continued to bill Howard for the Internet services, sending a bill for $110.80. After Loveless informed Verizon, again, that Howard had passed away, Verizon cut the bill to $54.82. When Howard refused to pay, Verizon turned the account to a debt collector.

After much back and forth, Verizon eventually discovered that it was double billing Howard, charging her for the Internet service that never worked and the Internet access portion of the package of services purchased later (it, too, had never worked).

Verizon later informed Loveless that it would waive the $110.80 in outstanding charges, but that she would have to pay $81.26 for the service package. Verizon then offered to reduce the amount for the service package to $42.75.

The company did eventually decide to waive all expenses, though Loveless believes the waiver was done less as a way of Verizon owning up to its mistake and more as an attempt to avoid a “PR disaster.”

David Lazarus, Verizon Continues Billing Customer Months After Death, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2011.