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Why Richmond, Why?!?

How come the police don't enforce the speed of traffic on Ellwood Avenue, especially between the Boulevard and the light a few blocks up? They actually speed up to make the light! The placement of the unit that tells them what speed their going only entices young drivers to see how fast they can go from the light.

-- Joe

Dionne Waugh , marketing and public relations specialist for the Richmond Police Department, answers:

We do speed enforcement in various neighborhoods throughout the city. If he would like to have our traffic officers run radar in that area, we'd be more than happy. He can contact our traffic division at (804) 646-1350.

I signed up to receive Verizon Fios TV and internet in late October. A lot of people told me to watch out for over-billing. Sure enough, the first bill was too high (getting charged for a HD DVR box that was supposed to be free for 1 year). I spent hours on the phone with many Verizon representatives getting lame excuses, hung up on, and waiting for absolutely no resolution. When I posted an appeal in my neighborhood's on-line group I received notes from many stating the same problem. Verizon's over billing seems to be a widespread issue in Richmond. It seems most people just give up and pay and others just leave the company. When I was finally able to escalate the issue I was told that the matter would be resolved and to pay the correct amount. I did just that and a few days later I got another bill for the incorrect amount; not surprised.

To top this off, I didn't have service from 12/15 through 12/21 (and that was another 5 hours worth of phone calls).

I am sick and tired of being lied to, kept on hold, and hung up on. Is there a local office that I can go to and have this issues resolved? Also, are the localities in the Greater Richmond area aware of how badly Verizon is treating people?

-- Stan

Harry J Mitchell , director-media relations for Verizon Communications

Mid-Atlantic/South-Central Regions, answers:

First, I'm sorry for the experience of the Verizon FiOS customer who wrote you. We strive to provide an exemplary customer experience and, when we don't, we work hard to make it right -- for this or any other customer.

In this case, we contacted the customer shortly after receiving your e-mail, and we believe we've resolved his concerns about his bill and the HD DVR, which he certainly will get at no charge for a year as part of a promotion we offered at the time.

Customers' FiOS TV service often is installed in the middle of a monthly billing cycle, and the billing for the partial month on the first bill can be confusing and seem higher than expected.

We're continuously looking for ways to improve our customers' experience. One example of that is a reformatted bill that we plan to introduce early in 2009. This new bill will be easier to read and understand, and feedback we've received on it in other states where we've introduced it has been positive.

To the concern about contacting Verizon for FiOS-related questions or concerns, here are the best ways to do so:

For new residential service, call (800) 837-4966, or visit www.verizon.com/fiostv .

For repair or technical questions, call (888) 553-1555, or visit www.verizon.com to request a repair.

If a customer isn't satisfied with his or her FiOS contact or experience after using these channels, he or she can contact our customer care team at (877) 815-8492 or vawvcustomercare@verizon.com .

Stan gives an update on the situation:

Verizon did contact me and were very apologetic. All the billing issues were resolved and I was promised a follow up call when the next billing cycle starts.

I live in eastern Henrico County. I'm not sure if I have the right site or not, but I need help. Although I live in Henrico County and pay taxes here my post office is located at the 25th Street Branch.

I've lived in my home for 22 years, and in the last maybe 19 I hadn't had trouble with my mail. In the last few years, though I've had a lot of problems. Problems such as: stolen mail, lost mail, mail going to my neighbors' homes instead of mine. My neighbors and I have complained a plenty over the years but to no avail nothing is being done.

They say thru rain snow, sleet or hell the mail will always be delivered. Well I now know that's not true. Because for the first time in my life my mail was not delivered on Saturday Dec. 6, 2008 they told us they were short on drivers and as soon as one come in from their own route the would send one out to our community.

That never happened.

On Monday Dec. 8, we received Saturday's mail. I know this b/c we called to see what was going on. We were informed that this mail which came at the regular time that it usually comes at noon was indeed Saturday's mail and that Monday's mail was coming in a different truck right behind that one. So my neighbors and I waited all day nothing or no one showed up. So we started calling, they said our mail will be here no later than 6 p.m.

Around 6 p.m. we spotted a broken down mail truck on the adjacent street to mine. They said another truck was coming; they would transfer the mail to this truck and resume delivery. Sure enough another truck came with police escort took them until about 8 p.m. to get loaded. They then left our street and went to an adjacent community next to us. We waited, and waited and waited, finally we went to look for the mailman. We found him and the officer in a heated argument with others b/c they stopped deliveries for the night.

Something has to be done with this post office, the workers are rude when you call, the mail is delivered to the wrong places. It's just not fair for people to be subjected to this kind of service from a government agency or anyone. I have a post office down the street on Nine Mile Road, one on Laburnum Ave., and one on Williamsburg Road that's closer why do we have to go to 25th street anyway. They obviously have more than they can handle.

-- XXX Hubbard

Frances Sansone , USPS communications coordinator, answers:

I contacted Phyllis Bruce, Customer Relations Coordinator, Richmond Post Office, for assisted in investigating Ms. Hubbard's service complaints. We cannot respond with certainty about the service issues encountered without more specific information such as Hubbard's address and the postal facility she calls for assistance. However, Ms. Bruce did talk with the Manager, East End Station, with the presumption that is her delivery unit, and Richmond District Consumer Affairs, and there weren't any non-delivery issues for December 6.

I don't know who Ms. Hubbard or others spoke to about the disabled mail truck on a nearby street, but police escorts are not used and it would not take two hours to transfer mail from one residential delivery vehicle to another. It is possible this was a highway contract vehicle that transports mail and equipment to and from processing facilities and smaller Post Offices.

I would like to suggest Ms. Hubbard call (800) ASK USPS for any future complaints or concerns so there will be a record of the call as well as the action taken by the Postal Service. She can also call Ms. Bruce at (804) 775-6369 who can assist. I'm sorry we are unable to provide you and Ms. Hubbard with definitive responses, and we apologize to her for the obvious frustration she is feeling. I'm confident she will be happy when using either of the above-mentioned methods to contact the Postal Service with questions or concerns.

So what do you want to know, Richmond? Send questions to: kpeifer@richmond.com with "Why Richmond, Why?!?" in the subject line or leave your question in the comments sections below.