Here's someone that could work for Verizon Wireless...

The person responsible for painting this tanker should be a natural fit for the good people at Verizon Wireless:

What would Verizon do?

According to Verizon Wireless, because I said I was willing to pay whatever it took to get connected to

wifi while in Dubai, charging me $211.21 for three minutes of data usage is valid. (Quick note: I said $20 or $40 as what I expected to have to pay, but apparently that doesn't count to Verizon).

The question is this - how literally does Verizon Wireless feel compelled to take each caller?

I mean, if a caller were to say something like, "I would kill to access wifi" - then does Verizon feel a legal or moral obligation to contact the authorities?

Just curious.

NOTE: The above example is purely hypothetical and should not be seen as any kind of threat to any individual, organization, or entity - this writer does not endorse or condone any such threats - want to be completely, 100% clear on this - just an example, specifically not to be taken as anything but a simple example.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: My attempts at drawing cartoons are really bad, so I went ahead and paid for a good cartoon this time.

It could have been worse...

So, apparently because I said I was willing to pay whatever it took to get connected to wifi while traveling, Verizon has declared my $211.21 charge for 3 minutes of data to be valid.

I always try to look on the bright side of things - and I realized that it could have been worse (NOTE: these are my attempts at doing a comic strip with basic online tools, some white-out, and no skills whatsoever - yes, I'm keeping my day job)

Then I thought, could there be consequences for others...

more details

OK, just got through chat sessions with Verizon.

Lesson 1. Don't ever say you're willing to pay whatever it takes

Lesson 2. Don't turn down a 25% offer (although I have a feeling that if I accepted that, then they would have considered the situation closed, too - tough call).

Here's the sessions:

Just a few questions...

First, the background

I've been with Verizon Wireless for a while (I think ten years or so) - in the past couple of years, I've been traveling out of the U.S. to Brazil, India, China, Japan, Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.

On most of these trips, I have happily taken advantage of Verizon's Global Data Plan - unfortunately, that plan does not yet cover the United Arab Emirates.

How I was charged $200 for two minutes of data access that didn't do me any good

So, I arrived in Dubai on Saturday evening, March 15 and one of the first things I discovered was that I couldn't access any wifi networks on my Verizon Wireless device. I was too tired to deal with it then. On Sunday morning, I called Verizon and worked with a friendly representative as we started trouble-shooting the issue. I mentioned during that call that I was willing to turn on the data for a minute and pay $20 or $40 if that would allow me to do what was needed to be able to access wifi during the next ten days.

As soon as I hang up, I get the following text messages (Note: there's an 8 hour time difference between the UAE and the US)

So, I do two things - first, make sure my data is completely shut off for my device - second, call Verizon back to say, "Whoa, let's take another look at these charges" - and they agreed - and an hour later I get this text:

OK, sounds good.

Until, a week later - when I get this text:

and, sure enough, I'm billed $211.21 for having my data turned on for two minutes:

So, I've called Verizon to ask about the investigation and if I could find out how it was determined that being charged $211.21 for two minutes of data while I was just trying to access wifi was valid, and I was told they didn't know who did the investigation.

So, some simple questions:

1. What kind of investigation was conducted to determine that $211.21 for two minutes of data was a valid charge?
2. Is there a way to contact the department in charge of such investigations?
3. Is there a way to appeal such an investigation?
4. Under what circumstances would charging an average of $100+/minute not be found valid?

So, if anyone from Verizon wants to help shed some light on the whole thing, I can be reached at:

ken.grant7@gmail.com

302-588-4151

@kengrantde

https://www.facebook.com/ken.grant7

or just google "Ken Grant, Delaware" - I should be easy to find.