Verizon Protect Services Terms & Conditions

WE HOPE TO MAKE YOU A HAPPY CUSTOMER, BUT IF THERE'S AN ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE RESOLVED, THIS SECTION OUTLINES WHAT'S EXPECTED OF BOTH OF US.

1. BINDING ARBITRATION. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT BY ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT YOU ARE GIVING UP THE RIGHT TO BRING A CLAIM IN COURT OR IN FRONT OF A JURY AGAINST VERIZON. YOU AND VERIZON BOTH AGREE TO RESOLVE DISPUTES ONLY BY ARBITRATION OR IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT AS DISCUSSED BELOW. Dispute means any dispute that in any way relates to or arises out of this Agreement. This includes, but is not limited to, any equipment, products and services you receive from us, any advertising for such products or services, or alleged personal injury or invasion of privacy relating to such products or services, and includes any disputes you have with our employees or agents. This also includes any dispute regarding the validity, enforceability, or scope of any portion of this Agreement (including the Agreement to arbitrate) unless otherwise provided in this Agreement. You can also bring any issues you may have to the attention of federal, state, or local government agencies, and if the law allows, they can seek relief against us for you. This Agreement is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. This Agreement to arbitrate continues to apply even after you have stopped receiving services from us. While the procedures in arbitration may be different, an arbitrator can award you the same damages and relief, and must honor the same terms in this Agreement, as a court would, subject to the limits on arbitrator authority set forth below. If the law allows for an award of attorneys' fees, an arbitrator can award them too. The same defenses are also available to both parties as would be available in court, including any applicable statute of limitations.
2. ARBITRATION PROCEDURES. Except as specifically noted below, ANY DISPUTE WILL BE RESOLVED BY ONE OR MORE NEUTRAL ARBITRATORS BEFORE THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION ("AAA"). Unless you and Verizon agree otherwise, the arbitration will take place in the county of your billing address, and the AAA's Consumer Arbitration Rules will apply to the arbitration. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, you and Verizon agree that the AAA, including a process arbitrator, shall have authority to resolve disputes relating to which version of this Agreement applies. If the AAA cannot or does not administer a dispute under this Agreement, despite the parties' compliance with the terms of this Agreement and the applicable AAA rules, you and Verizon will agree to select another arbitral forum. If both parties cannot agree on an arbitral forum, a court in the county of your billing address will select an arbitral forum to decide the dispute pursuant to Section 5 of the Federal Arbitration Act. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, an individual arbitrator appointed to determine the merits of the dispute shall have exclusive authority to arbitrate, including but not limited to any dispute regarding the validity, enforceability, or scope of any portion of this Agreement (including the agreement to arbitrate). You can get procedures, rules, and fee information from the AAA (www.adr.org) or from us. If you have followed the mandatory informal dispute resolution process set forth in Paragraph 4, Verizon will reimburse any filing fee that the AAA charges you for arbitration of the dispute at the conclusion of the arbitration. Verizon will also pay any administrative and arbitrator fees charged by the arbitration tribunal. By submitting an arbitration demand, the party and counsel represent that, as in court, they are complying with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b). The Arbitrator is authorized to impose any sanctions available under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 on represented parties and their counsel. The arbitrator assigned to any arbitration between you and Verizon shall resolve the claims within 120 days of appointment or as swiftly as possible thereafter, consistent with fairness to the parties.
   
   For claims of $25,000 or less, you can choose whether you'd like the arbitration carried out based only on documents submitted to the arbitrator, or by a hearing in person or by phone. Alternatively, for claims within the jurisdictional limit of the small claims court in the state encompassing your billing address, either you or Verizon can choose to bring an individual action in small claims court instead of proceeding in arbitration. Furthermore, if the claims in any request or demand for arbitration could have been brought in small claims court, then either you or Verizon may choose to have the claims heard in small claims court, rather than in arbitration, at any time before the arbitrator is appointed, by notifying the other party of that choice in writing. If this provision or the limitation on bringing actions to small claims court is found to be invalid, then this provision shall be severable and the matter will proceed in arbitration; in no way will this provision allow for an action to be brought on a class or collective basis.
3. CLASS AND COLLECTIVE ACTION WAIVER. THIS AGREEMENT DOESN'T ALLOW CLASS OR COLLECTIVE ARBITRATIONS EVEN IF THE AAA PROCEDURES OR RULES WOULD. IF FOR ANY REASON A CLAIM PROCEEDS IN COURT RATHER THAN THROUGH ARBITRATION, INCLUDING IF A CUSTOMER OR VERIZON OPT OUT OF ARBITRATION PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (5) BELOW, YOU AND VERIZON AGREE THAT, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, NO ACTION WILL BE BROUGHT ON A CLASS OR COLLECTIVE BASIS AND YOU AND VERIZON UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION, PROCEEDING, CLAIM OR COUNTERCLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT IN ANY WAY. In the event of litigation, this paragraph may be filed to show a written consent to a before a judge and not a jury. NO CLASS, REPRESENTATIVE OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL OR GENERAL INJUNCTIVE RELIEF THEORIES OF LIABILITY OR PRAYERS FOR RELIEF MAY BE MAINTAINED IN ANY ARBITRATION HELD UNDER THIS AGREEMENT. Any question regarding the enforceability under applicable law or interpretation of this paragraph shall be decided by a court and not the arbitrator. Should a court determine that this paragraph prohibits an individual claimant from seeking public injunctive relief, and the applicable law provides an unwaivable right to pursue such public injunctive relief, you and we agree that any claim or request for public injunctive relief shall be stayed and resolved by the court after arbitration of the remaining claims and requests for relief and the remainder of this agreement will be enforceable.
4. MANDATORY INFORMAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS. If either of us intends to seek arbitration under this agreement, the party seeking arbitration must first notify the other party of the dispute in writing at least 60 days in advance of initiating the arbitration. The notice must be provided on an individual basis and provide sufficient information to allow the other party to assess and attempt to resolve the claim. This includes, at a minimum, enough information to allow the other party to identify the account at issue and include the name of the Verizon wireless account holder, the mobile telephone number at issue, a description of the claim, the specific facts supporting the claim, the damages the party claims to have suffered and the relief the party is seeking. Notice to Verizon should be sent to Verizon wireless dispute resolution manager, using the form available here: verizon.com/about/nod/notice-of-dispute-wireless-form. Notice to you will be sent to the most recent contact information we have for you. This mandatory informal dispute resolution process is designed to allow the parties to make a fair, fact-based offer of settlement if they choose to do so. Neither party can proceed to arbitration unless they provide the information required in this Paragraph. You may choose to be represented by an attorney or other person as part of this process, but if you do you must indicate that you are represented by an attorney on the form available at verizon.com/about/nod/notice-of-dispute-wireless-form and confirm you authorize us to discuss your account information with this attorney or other person. The sufficiency and enforceability of this paragraph is an issue to be decided by a court prior to the filing of any demand for arbitration and the AAA must not accept, administer, assess, or demand fees in connection with any demand that has not satisfied the requirements set forth in this paragraph. The parties acknowledge and agree that AAA's failure to comply with this paragraph will cause the parties irreparable injury and that in such event the parties shall be entitled to injunctive relief in addition to further relief as may be proper. If either party has provided this information and the parties are unable to resolve their dispute within 60 days, either party may then proceed to file a claim for arbitration. ALL APPLICABLE LIMITATIONS PERIODS (INCLUDING STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS) WILL BE TOLLED FROM THE DATE OF RECEIPT OF A NOTICE DESCRIBED IN THIS PARAGRAPH THROUGH CONCLUSION OF THE PROCESS CONTEMPLATED BY THIS PARAGRAPH.
5. ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES FOR MASS FILINGS. This paragraph sets forth additional procedures that apply to mass filings. A Mass Filing is when 50 or more customers who raise similar claims and are represented by the same or coordinated counsel initiate notices of dispute pursuant to paragraph 4 above, which must be submitted on an individual, claimaint-by-claimant basis, otherwise attempt to commence arbitrations, or file a complaint in court. If a Mass Filing is commenced, the claims shall proceed in arbitration in a coordinated proceeding. You and Verizon understand and agree that these additional procedures shall apply as set forth in this paragraph and that the resolution of your dispute might be delayed if these additional procedures are triggered. The parties agree that as part of these procedures, their counsel shall meet and confer in good faith in an effort to resolve the disputes, streamline procedures, address the exchange of information, modify the number of disputes to be adjudicated, and conserve the parties' and the AAA's resources.
   
   Stage One. In the first stage, 80 arbitrations will proceed and counsel for the Verizon wireless customers and counsel for Verizon wireless shall each select 40 cases to proceed first in arbitration in individual bellwether proceedings in individual arbitrations. The remaining arbitrations shall not be filed or deemed filed in arbitration nor shall any arbitration fees be assessed or collected in connection with those claims. After the arbitrations in the first stage are completed, the parties must engage in a mediation of all remaining cases, and Verizon will pay the mediation fee.
   
   If the parties cannot agree how to resolve the remaining arbitrations after mediation, they will move forward to a second stage.
   
   Stage Two. In the second stage, 100 arbitrations will proceed and counsel for the Verizon customers and counsel for Verizon shall each select 50 cases to proceed in arbitration in individual bellwether proceedings before separate arbitrators. The remaining arbitrations shall not be filed or deemed filed in arbitration nor shall any arbitration fees be assessed or collected in connection with those claims. After the arbitrations in the second stage are completed, the parties must engage in a mediation of all remaining cases, and Verizon will pay the mediation fee.
   
   After the second stage concludes, if the parties cannot agree how to resolve the remaining claims, any individual customer who is part of this coordinated proceeding, or Verizon, may elect to opt out of arbitration by providing notice to opposing counsel, and if the customer wishes to proceed with the claim, they may file an individual complaint in court.
   
   For those customers who do not opt out of arbitration, their claims will proceed in arbitration in continued batches of 100 claims as set forth above for the second stage. The remaining arbitrations shall not be filed or deemed filed in arbitration nor shall any arbitration fees be assessed or collected in connection with those claims. THE FILING OF A NOTICE OF DISPUTE BY A CUSTOMER IN ACCORDANCE WITH PARAGRAPH 4 OR FILING OF A COMPLAINT IN COURT WILL TOLL ALL APPLICABLE STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS FOR THAT CUSTOMER'S DISPUTE UNTIL THE COMPLETION OF THE PROCESS DESCRIBED IN THIS PARAGRAPH.
   
   A court of competent jurisdiction will have authority to enforce these Additional Procedures for Mass Filings, including by entering an injunction to prohibit filings in violation of this paragraph. These Additional Procedures for Mass Filings and each of its requirements are essential parts of this Agreement. If, after exhaustion of all appeals, an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction decides that these Additional Procedures for Mass Filings apply to your dispute but are not enforceable, then your dispute shall not proceed in arbitration and shall only proceed in a court of competent jurisdiction consistent with the remainder of this Agreement.
6. NO BINDING EFFECT. An arbitration award and any judgment confirming it apply only to that specific case. It can't be used in any other case except to enforce the award itself.
7. WRITTEN SETTLEMENT OFFER. We may, but are not obligated to, make a written settlement offer anytime before the arbitration hearing. The amount or terms of any settlement offer may not be disclosed to the arbitrator until after the arbitrator issues an award on the claim. If you don't accept the offer and the arbitrator awards you an amount of money that's more than our offer but less than $5,000, or if we don't make you an offer, and the arbitrator awards you any amount of money but less than $5,000, then we agree to pay you $5,000 instead of the amount awarded. In that case we also agree to pay any reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses, regardless of whether the law requires it for your case. If the arbitrator awards you more than $5,000, then we will pay you only that amount.