Just got back from the Verizon store, and this just doesn't make any business sense to me:
* We have 4 phones under a family plan and pay about $270/month.
* 3 phones have been out of contract and eligible for upgrade for many months.
* 1 phone is not out of contract until March.
* We have been Verizon customers for many years (easily 10+ years).
* We have never paid late, and we have always been "perfect customers".
So, we went tonight to get 4 new phones for Christmas (iPhone 6s), all under a new Edge 10GB shared family plan for about the same price all-in as we currently pay.
The problem? Verizon said that they would charge a $130 Early Termination Fee for the one phone that is still under contract. Seriously?
What sense does that make? Sprint will pay us $350 per phone to switch, even for the phones that aren't under a Verizon contract. AT&T will give us $150 bill credit per line to port each number, and T-Mobile will pay all ETFs and lower our monthly cost significantly.
** To add insult to injury, Verizon itself is willing to give NEW CUSTOMERS $150 per phone to switch, but they want to CHARGE A LONG TERM CUSTOMER $130 FOR STAYING?? Keep in mind, Verizon has no idea if those new customers are going to be good long-term customers or not.
It just doesn't make any sense. I guess it pays to just keep switching. That's the game that they've all created, and it stinks.
I know it's only $130, but it's the principle that a company would treat "prospects" better than its existing customers.
Did you do the Early Edge payment option for the one line? Are you supposed to return the on contract phone to Verizon Wireless? Edge is a payment plan only. The service plan is called the More Everything Plan not the Edge plan. Why didn't you just wait on that line for the contract term to be completed before starting the Edge payment option on that line?
I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.
Ann early edge is currently good for Turbos only.
gadawgg did you not sign a 2 year contract? Does that contract not state there is a ETF? Do you expect Verizon to honor IT'S part of the contract? If yes why do you not expect to honor yours? People that say "It's doesn't make business sense" typically are not int business and have never run a business.
Sprint won't buy out Edge agreements and neither will at&t or T-Mobile. There isn't an ETF with Edge. So there is nothing for those 3 to buy out. You will still be required to pay off the devices if you leave.
It's funny you are mad at Verizon for doing the SAME thing at&t is doing. Except with at&t you would be the new customer. So apparently it's ok to give new customers perks that current customers don't get as long as YOU are the new customer. Gee you think there might be someone at the at&t messageboard saying the EXACT same thing about at&t?
Mr Helper - with your wealth of business experience, tell me how this makes sense. Don't just criticize, tell me exactly why this makes "business sense" for Verizon or any other business:
* As a business owner, your best customer comes in and says, "I will agree to pay you $4,320 over the next two years for your services, plus I will pay you $2,600 to buy four new phones from you, for a total of $6,920." For that, I am asking you to simply drop $130 in an early termination fee on the account because I am agreeing to stay with you for two more years, and that amount is less than 25% of the "marketing expense" that you would pay a NEW CUSTOMER.
* So you as a business expert would say, "no, you have signed the contract, pay me the $130!" OK, I signed the contract, so I give you your $130 and then I go to AT&T or Sprint or T-Mobile and l give THEM my $7,000!!! Great business decision!!!
Is there an AT&T customer saying the same thing? Maybe, but don't I owe it to myself to get their promotional dollars and stop giving my money to a company that doesn't want to make a small concession to keep me? Isn't that a good business decision on my part?
If you were with the the other carriers you will be on the same boat once then original agreement is completed. So what happens now? You will continue to switch carriers every time. You have to decide what you are going to so moving forward.
Take the promotion and after that be treated the same going forward or stay and be treated like anyone else?
I'm always a bit fascinated by the fact that people think that paying their bill on time and staying with a company should grant them some sort of special privilege. You asked VZW to provide you with a service (cellular) and in turn, you agreed to pay them for it. What part of that should grant you a special privilege? If we used your logic then I want to call my mortgage company and ask them to let me out of the last 5 1/2 years of my 30 year mortgage because I've been loyal and paid my mortgage on time for 24 1/2 of those years. Sounds fair? Didn't think so...
Loquat - That's not a good analogy. Let me help you with your bank analogy:
* You pay your mortgage payment on time faithfully for 24.5 years, and you want to REFINANCE your mortgage with your existing bank; however, your existing bank wants to charge you closing costs on your new loan AND a termination fee for the old loan.
* HOWEVER, to solicit new business, your bank is telling other customers that they will pay the termination fees on their old mortgages if they do their refinance with the bank. So why would the bank pay to get someone else's customer but not pay the same (OR EVEN MUCH LESS) to retain the customer that they already have?
* By the way, thanks for the banking analogy. As a 20+ year banker, I can tell you that a bank would never treat new, unproven customers better than their existing, long-time customers.
Thanks all for the lively debate, but nobody has been able to tell me how Verizon is better off by taking $130 now and letting $7,000 go to someone else. That would be the equivalent of a 1.8% discount to make an existing customer feel like Verizon values their business. But they would gladly give $600 ($150 per phone) to a new customer for bringing them the same business.
Loquat - by the way, that is not a "Special Privilege"! That is the same privilege that they are offering to others that are not current customers!! How is that "special privilege"? And yes, it does sound fair.
The reason Verizon won't budge is that you agreed to terms and are now trying to change those terms. You haven't completed the contract, and that is a requirement to enter a new one. Not "tack two more years on," or "I pay my bill every month" --which is a ridiculous argument; you pay your bill to continue service and pay on time to avoid late fees and other issues, and are not entitled to more than that--and as a long time customer, you must be aware of the upgrade and billing policies. Maybe you should consider rewarding Verizon for their loyalty in providing you cell phone service by honoring your agreement and waiting till your line is eligible before you upgrade.
I think Loquat is pointing out the fact that a new customer is not in a current contract agreement with Verizon and therefore eligible for promotional pricing requiring a new contract. When you are out of contract, you can take advantage of promotional pricing as well.
You didn't say if you would make an exception to waive the refinance fees for the existing customer, you only pointed out the bank offering to cover those fees for a new customer refinancing to attract new business. If those charges were waived for all, there is no point in having them at all, is there? But every (or at least most) lender still has those fees. Interesting.
your banking comparison doesn't work either. The ETF is really paying off the principle of the loan for the phone, just hidden in a contract. The phone you get is not really $99, but 5-8 times higher. The contract is really guaranteeing you will pay off that hard cash that Verizon fronted for you. Unless demanded by the Federal Government, banks generally avoid any writing off of principle amounts. Verizon does not write off losses on its phones.
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