AT&T Customers Get $4,500 Verizon Bill, Contact CBS4 For Help
VAIL, Colo. (CBS4) - A family is in a battle over a $4,500 bill from Verizon even though they are AT&T customers and have never used Verizon.
After a nearly six-month battle with the wireless company, Greg Cummings contacted CBS4 for some help.
"Is this identity theft? Is there some sort of scam or has Verizon got the wrong person?" asked Cummings.
He said his first round of notices for the $4,500 bill arrived last summer addressed to his son. Cummings says his son, Jake, has never had a Verizon account so they alerted the company's fraud team.
The bills continued to arrive despite repeated calls to Verizon. Finally, the bill was sent to collections.
"I didn't take is seriously until we got a call from one of the collections agencies and he knew the last four digits of my Social Security numbers," said Cummings.
"I feel like we want to shine a spotlight on it. I'm curious if this is happening to other people," said Jake Cummings.
Cummings eventually filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the Colorado Attorney General's Office.
"Their customer service has been awful, nothing short of awful. I can't imagine how it could operate like that. It's mind-boggling," said Cummings.
Verizon sent CBS4 this statement on Tuesday: "We take security very seriously and Verizon is aware of the fraudulent activity on Mr. (Jake) Cummings account. We will continue to work with him directly to resolve the issue. He will not be held accountable for any fraudulent activity, nor will it impact his credit. Verizon encourages customers who feel they have been victims of fraud to report it at verizonwireless.com/fraud or contact Verizon at 800-922-0204."