Arizona woman catches Verizon charging her $718 for ‘no reason.’ They claim she upgraded. She didn’t: ‘That’s the exact reason I refuse to do autopay’
A woman is calling out Verizon after claiming that the company fraudulently charged her over $700—then made it difficult to get her money back.
In a video with over 609,000 views, TikTok user Amee (@restandroam) says that her mobile phone provider, Verizon, took “$718 out of my account for no reason. I have no idea why.”
According to Amee, Verizon later told her that he had upgraded her phone and “didn’t hand and trade in my old one.” When Amee told the company that she had not upgraded her phone, they affirmed that she was correct—and did not directly refund her money.
Why Did Verizon Take Over $700 From This Customer?
After admitting that they had taken over $700 from her, Verizon stated that it would give Amee her money back in the form of a credit on her Verizon account.
“I was like, ‘I don’t want $718 credit for Verizon. I want a refund,’” she starts. “Like, it’s around the holidays. You’re taking out 700+ dollars — like, literally just stealing it from me.”
Over three days, Amee says she spent “about four hours each day on the phone with Verizon.” Everyone with whom she spoke claimed that they could not give her a refund.
Finally, she says she talked to someone who claimed they could directly refund her money. Not only that, but she received a text message confirming that the money had been refunded to her card. She was then told that the money would be back in her bank account in 48 hours.
After 48 hours, she still had not been repaid.
How Did She Finally Get Her Money Back?
Seeing that she had not received her money, Amee began calling again. She was again told that her money could not be refunded—even though he had already received a text message confirming this refund.
Frustrated, she posted about her issue on Facebook. From there, someone who previously worked at Verizon gave her a tip.
“If I file with the Better Business Bureau and the FCC…Verizon has to contact me within 48 hours,” the TikToker claims. This time frame is not legally accurate. Still, after filling these reports, Amee says she received an email 10 hours later. The email asked her to give the company a call at a specific number.
“It’s one of the executives now,” she says. “He apologizes for any inconvenience. He admits it’s their mistake…he refunds me my money.”
While Amee did receive her money soon after, she says the experience has left her shaken.
“I don’t really trust Verizon at this point at all,” she explains. “I took off auto pay for Verizon, [and] I think you should too, if you have it, because they will literally just take money out of there, no reason.”
She further states that, when she shared this story on Facebook, many people said the same thing had happened to them.
How Common Is This Issue?
It seems that both mysterious charges and refund issues are common for Verizon customers.
According to one user on Reddit, they were double-charged for a phone. After speaking to customer support, they were told that they would receive a refund. When no refund arrived, they called again—only to be told that a claim for a refund was never actually filed.
Others have noted comparable issues. For example, another Redditor said that Verizon fraudulently added multiple lines to their account and charged them accordingly; it took over 20 hours on the phone to get the lines removed, and the charges dropped.
A further Verizon customer alleged they were overcharged $375, then offered just $120 in the form of a statement credit.
What Should A Customer Do In This Situation?
When this happens to a Verizon customer, there are a few steps they can take.
To start, they can attempt to resolve the issue with Verizon. They can also reach out directly to the company’s executive leadership. If and when this doesn’t work, they can dispute the transaction on their credit card, if possible.
From there, one can begin filing complaints with all of the relevant organizations and regulatory bodies. This could include the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
If this still does not resolve the issue, one can consider taking Verizon to small claims court or engaging in arbitration. The latter requires one to fill out a form available from Verizon.
@restandroam Verizon steals your money right from under you. This was such an insanely frustrating experience. And to take $718 during the holiday season. @Verizon #verizon #robbers #steal #customerservice ♬ original sound – Amee
Commenters Say They’ve Heard This Before
In the comments section, some users said that they’ve had similar experiences to Amee.
“THEY JUST DID THIS TO US!!!!!! although, we did get new phones- we upgraded and sent the old phones in. They kept saying they didnt recieve my phone. long story short they located the phone we sent it, but its been weeks and they have not adjusted our bill. My husband is refusing to pay until they fix the credit to the current bill,” wrote a user. “They always pull that [expletive] of ‘crediting’ the next month and NEVER DO. Verizon has taken thousands from us over the last few years.”
“Verizon stole $1700 from me last year. I fought for months to get it back. They treated me awful. I switched to prepaid,” stated another. “Verizon is such an immoral company and I never got my money back. They financially ruined me with this for over a year as a person who lives pay check to pay check.”
“We left Verizon in May after 13 years. Our bill was different every. single. month. They could never explain why. We got sick of it and switched to T-Mobile and haven’t had any issues *yet*,” wrote a third. “It’s inevitable with any phone company, I’m afraid. I hope you get your money back!”
The Mary Sue reached out to Verizon via email and Amee via TikTok direct message and comment.
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