Telephone Billing

[eklato]

i am in the state of oregon. we signed up for basic phone service with verizon back in nov 2000. we also signed up for dsl service at the same time thru them. they billed us for the dsl service but neglected to bill the phone service. they sent me a bill this month for service dating back to nov 2000 plus additional products (call waiting, call id) that i did not request. can they now bill me for a mistake they made 9 months ago and just figured out? i am being billed for all nine months at one time.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Sure, they can bill you for your phone usage as long as it's withing the Statute of Limitations (which it is, by the way).

They cannot, however, bill you for services that you didn't order.

Call the billing department about the services you didn't order, and corrections will be made. Talk to them about the billing problem from November 2000 to the present, and I'm also sure they will work out a monthly payment schedule with you. But, you are still expected, and liable, to pay for your usage charges, just as if you had been billed all along.

IAAL