Guess I'll stop recommending Verizon now

[phylodog]

I've been waiting for a couple of months to upgrade my phone. My Droid X has been having issues and acting strangely for some time now. Today was supposed to be the day I was eligible for an upgrade according to the website and the My Verizon app on my phone.

I stopped into the Verizon store in Castleton a week ago to see if they might upgrade me early. I've been a customer for close to ten years, always paid my bills on time and they've treated me pretty well. I was told that if I waited a week (until today) I would get a $50 discount on a new phone and I would have to pay a $20 early upgrade fee if I bought a new phone before then. No problem, I'd wait.

Middle of last week I get a flyer in the mail from Verizon stating that I could get $50 off of a new 4G phone "now". I get online and check my account for upgrade eligibility and the first page says my upgrade date was 4/25/2012. I click on out of curiosity and the next page says 5/9/2012. WTF?!? So I called their customer service.

Customer service tells me the flyer was a separate offer and that my eligibility date was 4/25. She told me that if I waited until today to upgrade, and bought a 4G LTE phone I would save $100. No problem, I'd wait.

I called Verizon this morning on my way to work. I tell the lady that I want to upgrade to the Droid Razr Maxx and she quotes me the full 2yr contract price of $299. I ask her about the $50 "new every two" discount and the $50 off offer I got in the mail. She puts me on hold for a minute and comes back to tell me that I'm not eligible to upgrade until 5/9/2012. WTF?!?! I started to get irritated and told her that I'd called a week before and confirmed that I was eligible today. She puts me on hold for ten minutes and comes back telling me that I got both $50 discounts but says the total is $240+. I ask her why it wasn't $199 and she tells me that Verizon just instituted a $30 upgrade fee any time you upgrade your phone. WTMFH?!?!?!?!?!?!

I took a minute to catch my breath before asking her politely to send a message to her supervisors that this fee was absolutely ridiculous and that I'd be looking to switch carriers when my contract was up again. $50 off a phone but they're going to snatch $30 of it back for upgrading. Absolutely unbelievable. I'm sure AT&T or Sprint will have upgraded their networks by the time my contract is up in 2 years. I'm sad to say that one of them will likely get my business. Why do corporations always have to screw up a good thing?

 

[gunman41mag]

I used to have VERIZON, but they make stupid mistakes & it take forever to fix, I now have SPRINT

 

[KG1]

"Just instituted a $30 upgrade fee" Yeah right, they just did it when she put you on hold. What a load of ****.

 

[esrice]

We've had very similar experiences. We're on the verge of switching also.

 

[85t5mcss]

Sorry, grass ain't greener on the other side. I have dealt with Sprint's crap for 10 years or so. Get charged ridiculous fees for data usage on unlimited pic mail that is supposed to be free. About twice a year I go through a rash of crap. I haven't switched because I have friends and family on the other 2 main carriers. That and I get a discount through work on Sprint. Plus the unlimited data usage. 3G is a little slower, but I can deal with that. Good luck with a better carrier (I do mean that).

FWIW I use the chat feature online to communicate. Then it's E-Mailed to me and I store it for future use. Sadly, I have had to use it. Stupid to argue with them, but I'm not paying an extra $100 for their errors.

 

[TopDog]

I left Verizon years ago. They every so often would pull a bone head stunt just like you are describing and I decided that life was to short to deal with that crap. Bye Bye V E R I Z O N forever.

I still have a home phone so dont live on a cell phone. I went with Virgin Mobile. Twenty Five bucks a month, unlimited text and data and 300 anytime minutes. A couple of weeks ago I was about to run out of minutes. I called to pay early and start anew, they asked why I needed more minutes six days before my due date. I told them my father was in the hospital. They said sorry to hear about your misfortune, here are 50 free minutes to hold you until your due date. If you need anything else call us back. Now that is a company I can be loyal to.

 

[patience0830]

I left Verizon years ago. They every so often would pull a bone head stunt just like you are describing and I decided that life was to short to deal with that crap. Bye Bye V E R I Z O N forever.

I still have a home phone so dont live on a cell phone. I went with Virgin Mobile. Twenty Five bucks a month, unlimited text and data and 300 anytime minutes. A couple of weeks ago I was about to run out of minutes. I called to pay early and start anew, they asked why I needed more minutes six days before my due date. I told them my father was in the hospital. They said sorry to hear about your misfortune, here are 50 free minutes to hold you until your due date. If you need anything else call us back. Now that is a company I can be loyal to.

Good investment on their part. Cost them basically nothing to keep you as a customer.
Sorry to hear about your tribulations P/D. I've had good luck with Verizon. Especially compared to the crap I had to deal with when AT&T was my carrier.
Try talking to a customer loyalty specialist. No guarantee that the available deals won't change week to week but at least it's a body with a little more juice available to push for a good deal for us longtime customers.

 

[phylodog]

A couple of weeks ago I was about to run out of minutes. I called to pay early and start anew, they asked why I needed more minutes six days before my due date. I told them my father was in the hospital. They said sorry to hear about your misfortune, here are 50 free minutes to hold you until your due date. If you need anything else call us back. Now that is a company I can be loyal to.

I've had similar experiences with Verizon over the years which is why I've always remained loyal to them. It's a shame but they seem intent on screwing that up.

 

[WhitleyStu]

The $30 upgrade fee has just been implimented lasts week and has been on the news (TV and newspaper) this past week. It is a new fee to let Verizon be more "profitable" in Verizon's words.

 

[mrjarrell]

Read about it a week or so ago on the Consumerist. I must say it sucks. I'll stick with AT&T, I haven't had any issues with them at all. Even get 3G at my house and we're not townies.

Verizon Wireless To Begin Charging $30 Upgrade Fee On April 22 - The Consumerist

 

[IndyGunworks]

I pay 120 a month for my wife and i's phones. neither are smart phones, and we do not use the internet. talk 900 daytime minutes, unlimited nights and weekends, text and pics messaging. everyone i talk to tells me this is WAY TO HIGH and i should be closer to 75 a month, but verizon swears its correct.

I will be switching to sprint at the end of this contract unless the next time i go to verizon they lower my monthly payments.

that 120 is WITH my 10 percent discount also.

 

[Denny347]

According to the article, AT&T and Sprint charge $36 for the same thing and T-Mobile charges $18. Seems like your screwed either way.

 

[Boost Lee]

Upgrade and Activation fee's are officially standardized on the 3 biggest mobile service providers now. (AT&T, Verizon & Sprint).

It's a fee that you can EXPECT to pay... but with loyalty to a company, on occasion, can have it waived; Not required or guaranteed though.

I don't mean to sound like an advertisement posting... but go into Best Buy Mobile (there are Store-within-a-store's located in the big Best Buys' as well as standalone Best Buy Mobiles like in the malls)
You'll get the most unbiased service, not to mention they're not on commission,
and sell ALL service providers (even the No-Contract providers) and you WILL walk out with something you'll be happy with.

On top of it all... Will usually be cheaper than anywhere else (No offense, but anyone that goes to AT&T/Verizon/Sprint CORPORATE stores now is a fool).
If it's not; ask them to price match somewhere else locally... it's worth a shot as long as it's within Best Buys' policy.

Just a thought and a major recommendation.

 

[kjf48197]

I will be checking out STRAIGHT TALK. They are on verizon network and unlimited everything for about half the price of a Verizon phone and they will have android phones this summer, but I still have 6 months before my termination fee is gone.

 

[Rollerman]

My wife & I gave up useing the local stores, seems like they each have their own specials & or stipulations on how they give them out.
I'd recommend useing Verizon's online store.
We have never been "steered" wrong when talking to the Verizon reps on the phone & working right off the website.
The only negative is not getting to handle the phone as you would in the store & then waiting for it to be delivered a day or two later.

 

[Boiler1529]

I left Verizon a couple years ago as well and went to AT&T. I travel all over the country and found AT&T has better reception. Plus I cut my bill by 40 bucks.

 

[KLB]

The carriers all pretty much suck. Verizon has sucked less than the others for me.

I live in the country and get a full 4G LTE signal at my house from Verizon.

 

[Roadie]

Talked to a Tmobile rep awhile back, he said that they will buy out Verizon contracts if you switch to them and port your number over. I don't know if there is any "fine print" he left out, but we may look into this..

 

[serf]

Ive had vzw, sprint, tmobile, and att. All of them have had their problems. Tmobile customer service has sucked ever since voicestream got bought out and att screwed up the cingular buyout big time. Not to mention the crappy coverage.

Sprint kept charging me for spam texts and didnt cancel my plan after i called to cancel. Then they had the audicity to suggest we split the difference. They record all calls, so I didnt have to pay.

Verizon tried to charge me 500 bucks to keep my number when switching from my old family plan to my wifes discount plan. They all suck. The trick is persistence. If one rep says no, either ask to talk to cancellations or hang up and get a new rep. The same applies with comcast.

 

[bullfrog4ever]

According to the article, AT&T and Sprint charge $36 for the same thing and T-Mobile charges $18. Seems like your screwed either way.

I'm looking to upgrade as well and saw this and got mad at Verizon. Then I saw AT&T and Sprint charge $36 dont have any cheaper plans than what I have on Verzion. Plus, I just found out today, I'm grandfathered into the unlimited text/pix msg and unlimited data plans! So I don't have to worry about how much data I use browsing INGO from my phone!!

Talked to a Tmobile rep awhile back, he said that they will buy out Verizon contracts if you switch to them and port your number over. I don't know if there is any "fine print" he left out, but we may look into this..

Most places will do some sort of "buyout" to switch to their carrier. I had Verizon "buyout" aka "pay my termination fees" my old Nextel after Sprint bought them screwed them up royally.