Corporate Verizon Stores vs. Non Corporate Stores
ROSMOR95
Enthusiast - Level 2

I have been a Verizon customer for over 30 years. I presently have five lines and have been very happy with my service at Verizon. I have used the same store for years  and have always been satisfied until May 29, 2017 when my son needed a new iPhone due to a cracked screen on his iPhone 6 that he had already had repaired once. He went into the store we normally use and they told him since I had an upgrade on another line he could use that upgrade and since he had paid 50% of the price on his iPhone 6 that amount he owed would go away and he would only need to pay for the new iPhone 7. Lo and behold when I got my monthly bill  I am being charged for the balance of the iPhone 6 and the new iPhone 7 and the clerk at my store told us we would only be paying one penny more. When I called Verizon I was told I would have to go back to the store and they would have to make the changes for me. I went back to the store only to find out they can't make changes because they are not a corporate store and I had to go to a corporate store to have the changes made. My question is that this is the first I've ever heard that the store I've been going to for years is not a corporate store and I'm wondering why would anyone go to a store that's a non-corporate store if they can't make any changes. They couldn't even change my email address they had my old email address from 30 years ago when I asked them to update it they said I can't.  My husband and son went to the corporate store and told them we shouldn't be billed for the iphone 6 but they said sorry we have to pay it off. Had I known this, I would have made him live with the cracked screen.  I guess the non-corporate stores can tell you whatever they want to make you get a new phone. They blatantly lied to me and my son and corporate says that's what they do. So beware of the non-corporate Verizon Wireless stores. I am very dissatisfied with the service I have received. I was actually told my bill would be lower with the new phone! I questioned the salesperson  ultiple times and was told I would be paying less. I received no contract and nothing in writing. They told me they sent it to my old email address and can't send it to my new one!  I really think Verizon has to do something about these stores and the people who work there. They blatantly lied and I don't understand how Verizon allows this! 

Labels (1)
Re: Corporate Verizon Stores vs. Non Corporate Stores
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

What is the address of the store in question?

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

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Re: Corporate Verizon Stores vs. Non Corporate Stores
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Rosmor95-

I am deeply sorry for the experience that you had. We appreciate your 30-year loyalty to Verizon and you deserve honest and courteous service from us all the time.

When you upgrade using a 50% trade in offer, the phone has to be in good condition. A cracked screen would have disqualified the device from an early upgrade. Did you already trade in the phone? What store location did you upgrade from?

EricaC_VZW

Follow us on TWITTER @VZWSupport

If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

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Re: Corporate Verizon Stores vs. Non Corporate Stores
ROSMOR95
Enthusiast - Level 2

127 Berlin Rd., Cromwell, CT 06416

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Re: Corporate Verizon Stores vs. Non Corporate Stores
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

That is a third party retailer. Verizon Wireless at Wireless Zone Cromwell CT

Verizon Wireless Store Locator

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

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Re: Corporate Verizon Stores vs. Non Corporate Stores
rcschnoor
Legend

ROSMOR95 wrote:

May 29, 2017 when my son needed a new iPhone due to a cracked screen on his iPhone 6 that he had already had repaired once. He went into the store we normally use and they told him since I had an upgrade on another line he could use that upgrade and since he had paid 50% of the price on his iPhone 6 that amount he owed would go away and he would only need to pay for the new iPhone 7.

This makes it sound as if your son went into the store alone...

ROSMOR95 wrote:

Lo and behold when I got my monthly bill I am being charged for the balance of the iPhone 6 and the new iPhone 7 and the clerk at my store told us we would only be paying one penny more.

You appear to be saying you will be paying one penny MORE for your bill with the new phone.

ROSMOR95 wrote:

I was actually told my bill would be lower with the new phone! I questioned the salesperson ultiple times and was told I would be paying less.

NOW you are saying the salesperson said you would be paying LESS? Seems to be a bit of confusion here, not to mention earlier in your post, you made it sound as if your son went to the store to get his phone replaced without you.

Possibly, there was a bit of confusion when the sale took place. IF your son did indeed make the purchase without you, he didn't realize that the monthly payment for the old phone WOULD go away once you made that payoff for the phone. It did go away. You just had a lump sum payment for the phone in order to do so, something which may have been misunderstood.

Your story is a bit confusing and some facts appear to change during your telling of it which would lead me to believe it may have been a misunderstanding on your part or whomever made the actual purchase.

That being said, it is ALSO quite possible the premium retailer was not completely forthcoming with all available information. I agree it is always the best option to go to a Verizon corporate store, but to ALSO check the purchasing policy on phones. Why would you believe since you had paid off 50% of the phone the REST of the payments would just "go away"? IF that were the case, no one would ever pay more than 50% of the cost of a phone.

Re: Corporate Verizon Stores vs. Non Corporate Stores
ROSMOR95
Enthusiast - Level 2

My son did go alone. He is 22-years-old. I have 5 lines. He was told he could use the upgrade on one of the lines to buy his new phone and since he paid 50 percent of the iPhone 6 that would go away since he was buying an iPhone 7. He also brought a friend with him who understood this also. Before he did anything he called me and I spoke to the Verizon representative who confirmed all of this and she assured me I would only be paying a penny more per month  for the new phone. I did not payoff the iPhone 6 as you surmised in your post. They put the iPhone 7 on the line that had an upgrade which is an old Motorola flip phone used by my 86-year-old mother and his line still has the iPhone 6 on it.  As a side note, a male representative went to the trunk of his car and gave my son an old LG flip phone with no charger or anything for my mother. When my son came home with this phone, I immediately called the store to tell them I didn't want this phone as my mother is hard of hearing and doesn't want to change phones. They said okay just throw it out. We don't want it back. We still have no idea why they gave us a phone that we couldn't charge. It must be some way they were trying to legitimize what they were doing.

Why would I believe that if you pay 50 percent of the phone you can get a new one. Because that is what the Verizon representative told me. I believed it because I was now getting a new more expensive phone so Verizon is still making a profit. I have been dealing with this same Verizon store for close to 30 years, I understand what they told me.

Rosanne [Removed]

personal information removed as required by the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service

Message edited by Verizon Moderator

Re: Corporate Verizon Stores vs. Non Corporate Stores
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

ROSMOR95,

It disappoints me to hear about your experience. I understand the importance of your time and I sincerely apologize about the false expectations. I'll be happy to help and look into this for you. Please check your Inbox for my Private Message.

RyanC_VZW

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

If my response answered your question please click the 'Correct Answer' button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

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Re: Corporate Verizon Stores vs. Non Corporate Stores
ABChamber
Enthusiast - Level 2

I'd be very, very careful about having so many Verizon cooks helping you. They always seem to up the fricken bill and you get tossed around worse than a sardine salad.

Re: Corporate Verizon Stores vs. Non Corporate Stores
PNELS4
Enthusiast - Level 1

I had a terrible experience in an “authorized retailer” location that just opened near my home. I was dissatisfied with AT&Ts service and visited this store to inquire about switching. The first question I asked the woman who greeted me was “is this a Verizon corporate store?”. Her answer was “yes, all we do here is Verizon”. I ended up moving 5 lines from AT&T and purchased 5 iphone 8s. The following day around 11 am, I received a call from a number I didn’t recognize and the man asked is this ____ _____? I said yes who is this? The man proceeded to say “you have a problem. I have a phone that has all of your personal inforation”. It turns out the store had downloaded the contents of my phone on to this customers new phone. This incident is still unresolved but that is when I discovered I had dealt with a authorized retailer. I also determined that I had paid activation fees of $150 and paid $50 more for the phones because I did business with an authorized retailer. Keep in mind that no signage or other notices existed that made it clear this was anything but a Verizon corporate store. There were 3 sets of headphones and adapters missing and I have been unable to get those after 3 weeks. Your options are very limited and Verizon will quickly distance themselves from any issues you have and tell you the authorIzed retailer is responsible. The problem is there are no standards for these 3rd parties and Verizon has very little to say about how they conduct their business and how they treat customers. The bottom line is carefully think about whether you choose to do business with Verizon but NEVER do business with an authorized retaile.