Verizon Roamer Usage Billing - how long?

[TProphet]

I've been back from Alaska for over a week, was there for 10 days before that, used my phone extensively in the Anchorage and Fairbanks areas...

...and haven't seen any of my usage show up yet. It wasn't on my June bill (where I had several days of usage), and hasn't appeared in my current usage estimates, either.

I'll start with my experience. I usually roam on Sprint here in the Pacific Northwest, and that usage shows up very promptly (never more than 2 days after the fact). US Cellular usage, the few times I've strayed onto their network, has also been billed promptly. And, as is reasonable to expect, Verizon usage billing in other markets (such as the former PRIMECO market of Orlando where I recently attended Gay Days) is reasonably transparent vs. my home market.

If you've roamed using a Verizon phone, how long has it taken for your usage to show up on Verizon invoices and minutes estimates? If you know the "extended network" carrier you used, please indicate it. I'd like to get a reasonable idea of what to expect when I travel with a Verizon phone to some of the more exotic locales.

[ILUVSOCAL]

When I had Verizon, and I roamed onto US Cellular, the mintues showed up as quick as if I was on Verizon.

[AnthroMatt]

Originally posted by: ILUVSOCAL When I had Verizon, and I roamed onto US Cellular, the mintues showed up as quick as if I was on Verizon.

Same with me, I roamed on USCC in Wisconsin around the 15th of the month and the usage appeared on my next Verizon statement, which cycled about 10 days later

[jayc]

Keep in mind VZW added coverage under AC... chances are you only thought you were roaming but before the new maps were actually printed they already had those areas set as "extended network" as far as billing goes.

[ILUVSOCAL]

Technically, you are still "roaming" when using another carrier's system, whether you are charged for it or not.

[TProphet]

ILUVSOCAL is correct--I'm not referring to "roaming" as "roaming usage you get billed for," I'm referring to it as "using another carrier's system."

[CellPhoneJunkie2]

Memphis, TN, was the longest in the lower 48 to show up on my bill, and that was a couple of years ago. I was at the airport in early June using my phone on a couple of layovers, and the usage didn't show up until August! I didn't specifically check to see who's carrier I was on, but I had assumed it was Verizon, since they serve that market and I would assume if they were going to serve the market at all, they would serve the airport. Alltel, ex-Airtouch, ex-GTE, ex-Ameritech, and Sprint PCS all seem to show up fairly quickly.

[TProphet]

That's interesting... I haven't had the same experience. I flew Northwest to Orlando for Gay Days in June, and passed through both the Detroit and Memphis airports. My usage showed up in 48 hours or less in both cases, but also in both cases, I was definitely using Verizon's network. Incidentally, my Alaska usage is still MIA!

[BillRadio]

TP,
Over the past year, all off-network usage was reported immediately. There was an exception on a 2-tower cellular system in very rural Colorado, the billing was delayed 2 days. Normally in that area (Blanca telephone) it is a one day delay.

-Bill

[GoodmanR]

if you have americas choice it could be covered under that.

bill,

i was told by verizon that sometimes they take 30-60 days to show up. did they stop telling people that? id be great if they did

[Tadlock2699]

It would be great if they had found a "fix" for that little 'problem', but, AFAIK, they still tell people that, I'm guessing it all depends on where you are, what plan you have, and what carrier you were roaming on? H.T.H

[TProphet]

Incidentally, the usage *still* hasn't shown up on my invoice. I called Verizon to ask what this means in terms of billing. "Oh, well, we bill out of your minutes bundle when the usage shows up from the other carrier." I explained that this meant I would have to leave ~100 minutes out of my plan unused until the usage showed up, or risk overage. "Well, sorry, we can't do anything about that." I went around and around with them, asking whether their "worry free guarantee" applied in this case (of course it didn't, because nobody at Verizon actually seems to know what the heck the "worry free guarantee" actually guarantees), and finally the CS representative made a "one time" agreement with me. She'd note my account that any overage resulting from my Alaska usage would be credited (which is only fair, as I had over 150 unused peak minutes last month, the period in which this usage should have been billed). Of course, we'll see what happens when the bill shows up! Verizon's story seems to change every time I call them. At least they answer the phone promptly and are reasonably pleasant, though, even though they seem no better trained than Sprint PCS representatives. I keep reminding myself of this every time I think of switching back to Sprint after my contract is up (once you get a Sprint representative on the phone, which is a challenge, they're often rude and unhelpful).

[AnthroMatt]

Well you got lucky! Every carrier bills roaming callsin this way (when it shows up, not when you use it). It is clearly stated in all the terms and conditions too! So if you got her to give you a potential credit then good for you, even though you don't deserve it! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

[kyousif]

Pessimistic View.

The're waiting for you to hit your minute limit before they post those minutes to you....LOL

That is my mother's philosophy. "they always wait untill you have no money in the bank to cash your checks....LOL Thank God she's not an accountant...

[ILUVSOCAL]

Actually, he did deserve it, it's called customer care [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[AnthroMatt]

Originally posted by: ILUVSOCAL Actually, he did deserve it, it's called customer care [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

LOL, OK.

[ILUVSOCAL]

Just gotta give ya a hard time, you know you love it [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[AnthroMatt]

Yeah, Customer care from Verizon? Not in my universe.

[ILUVSOCAL]

Same here, Verizon in this area is el stinko lol