Verizon is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the United States, offering services like wireless plans, home internet, and TV. However, high prices or poor customer service may leave some customers wanting to cancel their Verizon services.
This straightforward guide will walk you through everything you need to know to cancel your Verizon services.
Common Reasons Customers Want to Cancel Verizon Services
While Verizon offers excellent coverage, especially for wireless service, there are a few key reasons customers consider canceling their subscriptions:
- High prices – Verizon services come at a premium cost, which continues rising over time. Customers may no longer feel they are getting value for the high monthly fees.
- Poor customer service – Long wait times, unhelpful representatives, and billing errors often aggravate customers.
- Limited coverage – While Verizon excels at 4G LTE coverage, rural customers can still struggle with slow internet speeds at home.
- Contract completion – Customers satisfied with Verizon may still want to test other carriers when their contract ends.
No matter what factors drive your decision to leave Verizon, this guide will cover how to cancel smoothly and efficiently. Keep reading to learn the ins and outs of cutting ties with Verizon services.
See also: Verizon Router Lights: Status Indicators and Troubleshooting
Prepare Your Verizon Account for Cancellation
Before starting the official cancellation process, take a few preparatory steps:
Have Your Account Information Ready
To verify your identity and access account details, have this information on hand when contacting Verizon:
- Account holder’s name
- Phone number or account number
- Account PIN or last 4 digits of social security number
- Account billing address
Collecting this information ahead of time will let the cancellation call go quickly and smoothly.
Understand Early Termination Fees
If you are under contract with Verizon but cancel service early, you will likely pay an early termination fee. For most customers, this fee equals $350 minus $10 for each completed month of service. Recently activated accounts have the highest fees.
Check your contract terms or call Verizon to get clarity on what penalties you may incur from canceling right now. Factor any termination fees into your decision to leave Verizon.
Decide What Happens to Your Phone Number
When you cancel Verizon services, you have a few options regarding your current wireless or home phone number:
- Transfer to a new carrier – Most carriers allow you to port over an existing number when you switch.
- Let Verizon reassign it – Your number enters a 45-day waiting period before becoming available for reassignment.
- Get a new number – As you switch carriers, you can choose to receive a new phone number.
Ideally, inform key contacts about any phone number change when you switch Verizon services to a new provider.
See also:
- Best Router for Verizon Fios: Top 12 Picks 2024
- 9 Best WiFi Extenders for Verizon FiOS – Boost Your Internet Signal
Gather Rental Equipment for Timely Return
If you rent any routers, modems, receivers, or other devices from Verizon, prepare to return them on time. After you cancel service, Verizon allows 30 days to send back equipment or you may be charged unreturned equipment fees.
Methods to Cancel Verizon Services
Verizon offers two main methods to cancel your service, whether wireless plans, internet, or television. Choose the cancellation channel that works best for your situation.
Call Verizon Customer Service
The quickest and most direct way to cancel is calling (800) 922-0204 to speak with the Verizon cancellation department.
Here are a few things to share when you call:
- Account information like name, number, billing details
- Reason you want to cancel service
- Questions about early termination fees
- Request for confirmation number
On average, wait times range from 10 to 25 minutes before connecting with a representative. Simply explain you want to cancel, share necessary account details, and answer any follow-up questions.
Get cancellation confirmation number
Before hanging up, ensure you get a cancellation confirmation number from the agent. This numeric code will serve as proof of the account closure in case any billing issues arise down the road.
Visit a Verizon Retail Store
Besides calling Verizon support, you can also cancel your services at an authorized Verizon retail store.
Consider the following if using the in-person cancellation method:
Make an appointment
Walk-in store visits often involve long wait times. Calling ahead to schedule a cancellation appointment can minimize time spent in-store.
Return equipment
While in-store, you can return any rented routers or devices. Doing so immediately gets the returns process started.
Request final bill
Before leaving, you may ask store representatives to print out your final bill reflecting any early termination fees or device balances.
No matter how you choose to cancel with Verizon — phone, online chat, store visit — the account holder or an authorized user must make the request. Verizon also has specific procedures regarding what happens to your services, bills, and devices after submitting that cancellation notice.
What to Expect After Canceling Verizon Services
Canceling Verizon sets certain account changes into motion. Here’s an overview of how your bills, numbers, and equipment get handled after severing ties with Verizon:
When Do Services End?
After you cancel Verizon subscriptions, your services will terminate on the final day of your current billing cycle, not immediately on your cancellation date.
So if you call to cancel on May 19th but your cycle runs through the 30th, you’ll continue receiving Verizon service until the 30th. This gives you time to port numbers and switch over to another carrier.
How Does the Final Bill Work?
You will receive your final Verizon bill on the usual statement due date reflecting pro-rated charges up to your disconnection date.
Any outstanding device installment balances, contract termination fees, or unpaid service charges for the last billing period appear on your final bill.
Paying Remaining Device Balances
If you still owed money on a Verizon smartphone or other device purchased through installment billing, that remaining device balance shows up on your final bill. You must pay off the full amount before service ends officially.
Failure to pay causes the amount due to go into collections.
Returning Rented Equipment on Time
Rented routers, DVRs, and other Verizon equipment must get sent back within 30 days of when your services got disconnected. Use the pre-paid shipping label provided by stores or support agents to avoid non-return fees.
Stay on top of these next steps to wrap up cancellation without any unexpectedly high final bills.
Alternatives to Completely Quitting Verizon
Canceling all Verizon services makes sense for many fed-up customers but constitutes pretty drastic action. For some situations, you may want to consider less permanent options, like:
Seasonal Account Suspension
If you want home internet or TV only during certain months annually, Verizon allows you to seasonally suspend an account without fully closing it. This puts services on hold for a minimum of 30 days up to a maximum of 9 months at a time.
Seasonal suspension means fewer equipment returns and no resubscription setup tasks before using Verizon services again in a target month. However, reactivating a suspended account does involve a $60 charge.
Transferring Services to New Location
Full cancellation may not suit customers happy with Verizon itself but moving somewhere the provider does not offer coverage. You can transfer or port Verizon internet and phone subscriptions to a new address in regions where its networks exist. This continuity saves you time finding new companies and allows keeping the same reliable services.
Be sure to confirm Verizon Fios availability at your next home before requesting an account transfer.
Downgrading Services to Reduce Costs
Another alternative to quitting outright involves simply downgrading internet speeds or devices under your existing account. Eliminating or shrinking premium features you no longer need cuts monthly costs at Verizon without undergoing the hassle of switching providers entirely.
If prices got out of control but you still want basic Verizon phone or internet, call support about reducing high-spend services before pulling the plug completely.
Choosing a New Carrier After Leaving Verizon
Once resolved to canceling Verizon, smart next steps involve finding a new service provider meeting your needs at an affordable price. Here is how to select replacement internet, TV, or wireless companies:
Research Other Providers’ Deals and Coverage
With Verizon soon out of the picture, start researching alternative carriers available in your particular area. Compile a list of promising options by comparing:
- Internet speed tiers
- Channel counts for TV bundles
- Cellular and home coverage maps
- Monthly prices for plans after any new customer promos
Verizon competes for customers with brands like AT&T, T-Mobile, Spectrum, Cox, Xfinity, and many regional home internet providers.
Understand the Number Porting Process
When transitioning phone numbers from Verizon to another service company, communicate with new carrier reps to understand their number porting procedures.
Timing varies, but most carriers need only a few days to port lines from Verizon into their own systems with limited disruption. Get clarity on the porting methods and timeline for your chosen provider.
Set Up Service with Your New Carrier
Once signed up with a different internet, television, or mobile carrier, you must still take action to start actual service. This involves tasks like:
- Activating and shipping new SIM cards
- Installing rented modems/routers
- Porting current phone numbers
- Configuring a billing method for the new provider
Leave yourself plenty of cushion before Verizon disconnects so your new provider initializes service in time. A few days without connectivity saves major hassles.
Smoothly Switch After Canceling Verizon
As part of leaving Verizon for another carrier, take three important steps regarding bills, device returns, and contacts:
Port Phone Numbers to New Carrier
Without proactively porting your number, Verizon subscribers lose access to their longtime digits. After signing up with a new provider, initiate a number port request following their procedures to retain your contacts.
Minimal downtime occurs if you request the port a few days before Verizon shuts off access.
Pay Final Bill for All Services
Keep your account in good standing by paying the last Verizon statement in full and on time. This final bill includes any contract termination fees, outstanding device installment balances, and remaining monthly service charges.
Settle up to avoid collections chase.
Send New Contact Information to Connections
Even savvy contacts may try calling or texting your old Verizon phone number out of habit. So share your new mobile number or landline with close family, friends, and business associates.
Prevent lost connections by distributing updated call and text details before severing ties with Verizon.
Cancel Verizon Without the Hassle
Transitioning between service providers causes enough headaches without stressful cancellation processes. Hopefully, this guide gave you the right techniques and insights to sever ties with Verizon accounts cleanly and conclusively.
Summon the motivation to make that call or store visit armed with the account details, contract termination fee estimates, device return procedures, bill explanations, and new carrier information you need to cancel Verizon services once and for all.
Here’s to less expensive, less frustrating, better matched telecommunication experiences ahead!
