VZW EXEC -- I hope you read this!

[rhodyvik]

Hello,

My name is VR and I have been a Verizon Wireless customer for almost a decade I believe. I was in a family plan with my parents a long time ago. I have been eligible to upgrade at a discounted price since 11/30/12 (contract ends 3/30/13) currently but I will lose my unlimited data package (unless I buy @ full retail) and it seems that for what I'm paying now for data ($29.99) I would only get 1GB! I do not believe that is fair. Yes I've gotten replacement phones but they were due to defective phones -- so basically just replacing them. ATT Wireless has 3GB for $30.00/mo.

I was also enrolled in the New Every Two program which I can see has been scrapped because the price I see to upgrade my phone to a Galaxy S3 is $299.99 regardless if I'm a new customer or a very loyal 10+ year customer who has never missed a payment. It used to be that already having Verizon Wireless meant that an additional $100 would be taken off so the Galaxy S3 would be $199.99.

My problem is this: Where I have moved to doesn't even have 4G service but AT&T Wireless does have 4G service. That's a big selling point for me. I'm sick of my phone wasting critical battery life always trying to find a 4G signal. I know I can disable that and only be on the CDMA network.

So, my question is: Will Verizon Wireless honor its previous agreement (that I digitally signed or by hand, I don't remember) to decrease the price of a new phone to upgrade by an additional $100 or do I have to pay the same price as if I was a new customer? It just doesn't make sense. Wouldn't VZW want to retain its customers with a little more incentive? I know I can already upgrade at the 20 month mark and not after the full two years but all major carriers do that.

The phone I really want, when released, is the Samsung Galaxy SIV (S4). I'm sure it will be released by the end of April. I am hoping VZW would like to retain me as a customer. I am trying to see if VZW would cut me some slack since I'd have to give up unlimited data.

Thank you for your time.

Also: VZW rep on phone said Galaxy S4 will be released in February 2013! That's only a month away!

[Ann154]

Well considering you posted this on the Verizon Wireless Community Forum which is a peer to peer customer forum, I highly doubt an executive officer of Verizon Wireless is going to see it.

The New Every Two program was RETIRED in January 2011. If you renewed your contract prior to then you would have one last NE2 credit coming when you became eligible for an upgrade at the latest in September 2012. However that credit would be $50 or $30 depending on your plan and you would have six months to use that credit or it was forfeited. If you actually had a $100 credit then you had to have been eligible in January 2011 when the program was retired. Then you would have had six months from January 2011 to use the credit or it too would have been forfeited. In addition, the NE2 program wasn't a part of your contract.

Verizon Wireless stopped offering the unlimited data plan to new customers in July 2011. When the Everything plans were announced, it was also announced that Verizon Wireless will stop renewing the unlimited data plan for existing customers for two year contract renewals at the same time the Share Everything plans became available to the public at the end of June 2012. Existing customers do have the option to keep their unlimited data plan for now by purchasing their device at the full retail price or bring their own device purchased from a third party or a used device. As long as there wasn't a contract renewal/re-signing to the new terms (including no unlimited data), the existing customers were allowed to keep their unlimited data plan. Existing customers can choose to renew their contract and switch to the individual tiered data plan introduced in July 2011 starting at 2 GB for $30 per month which is just one cent more than the price of the unlimited data plan. According to Verizon Wireless's statistics most customers use less than 2 GB per month, so most of those customers will be fine with that size of data plan.