Verizon recently shared the good news that its XLTE network has been activated in a number of new markets across the country. It looks like the universe has decided to balance that good news out with some not-so-awesome news, though, as some Verizon customers are having issues with Verizon’s billing system.

Verizon customers are reporting that they’re unable to access their account information, pay a bill, see their usage or activate new phones. The My Verizon portal is said to be inaccessible both online and in an app, meaning that folks that want to pay their Verizon bill or upgrade their phone are out of luck. This outage is also affecting physical Verizon stores in several states.

A Verizon spokesperson has confirmed the issue to Mashable, saying that the carrier is “experiencing issues with [its] billing system.” The problem is mainly affecting customers in the Northeast, Midwest and the South. Verizon says that it’s working on a fix but didn’t offer a timetable for when the issue will be resolved.

While this outage isn’t affecting Verizon’s actual voice or data services, it’s still a pretty big deal for Verizon and its customers. After all, the people that are affected by this problem are unable to pay their bills, which is something that you kind of want to be able to do every month. What’s worse is that some folks say that this outage has been affecting them for more than 24 hours.

Here’s to hoping that Verizon can get this situation ironed out shortly. When I hear more, I’ll be sure to give you a shout.

Have any of you been affected by this Verizon billing system outage?

UPDATE: Verizon just pinged us to say that its billing system was restored early this morning. The carrier says that the issue was caused by a software update performed on the system two days ago and that it affected customers in the Northeast, Midwest and select southern states. Is Verizon’s billing system working for you?

Via Mashable