AG Shapiro Sues Verizon After Amazon Promotion Issues
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pennsylvania's Attorney General is suing Verizon, saying the company failed to deliver promised incentive items to consumers who enrolled in certain two-year contracts with the company.
Shapiro announced the lawsuit Monday. He says a number of people were promised a free Amazon Echo or Amazon Prime subscriptions if they started or renewed specific contracts.
Customers were told they would receive an email with instructions on claiming the incentive items after their Verizon account had been active for 31 days, but Shapiro says the customers never received a link to claim their Echo or Prime membership.
Shapiro says when customers called Verizon to ask about the issue, the company said they were aware of the issue and it would be addressed.
The Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection says it took months for Verizon to correct the problem and some customers never received their Echo or Prime membership at all. Those customers are subject to early termination fees to get out of their two-year contract.
"If a company chooses to promise incentives to consumers signing up for their services, it is their legal responsibility to deliver on those promises," Shapiro said in a statement. "My Bureau of Consumer Protection will stand up and fight for Pennsylvanians and make sure they get an honest deal. Consumers should not have to be put on hold or bounced around multiple company personnel in order to get answers, and if Verizon knew of an issue in fulfilling their promises to consumers, they should have corrected those problems quickly or stopped offering the program until it was fixed."
Verizon also allegedly continued to market the offer and enroll consumers in additional two-year agreements while promising incentives even though they were aware there were problems.
Consumers who believe they have experienced issues with Verizon's offer for a free Echo and/or Amazon Prime membership can contact the Bureau of Consumer Protection at 1-800-441-2555 or scams@attorneygeneral.gov, or can file a complaint at www.attorneygeneral.gov.
