In-store end date for $200 iPhone trade?

[BrianMunn1986]

Yesterday I spent over an hour on the phone calling local Verizon corporate stores and speaking with representatives from Verizon's customer support, telesales, and customer care lines. I have heard so many conflicting bits of information about this iPhone 6 trade promotion.

I do not want to send my phone through the mail. I have heard too many horror stories from people on these forums who sent in pristine, functioning phones that met all the criteria and had their $200 quote for their iPhone adjusted down to $36 because the appraisal indicated that the activation lock had not been removed, had some kind of physical damage that was not there when they placed the phone in the mailer, or that the phone would not "turn on" in spite of the fact that they had used that phone up to the very point that they activated their new phone and mailed off the old one.

So, I would much prefer to handle my trade in a Verizon Wireless Corporate store. I want to have my phone appraised in front of me so that I know I won't be left getting chump change for a perfectly good device.

I placed an order for an iPhone 6 Plus in a Verizon Wireless corporate store on 9/19 at 8:16 am. Because the store had received absolutely no stock of the iPhone 6 Plus in any color or capacity, I was forced to place an order to be shipped to my home and I was told that it should ship by 10/24. I was tired, and I was frustrated because I had waited in line for hours and none of the employees had the decency to tell any of the customers that they had never received the iPhone 6 Plus. I was also told at the time that I could trade in my old iPhone for $200 once I got my new device as long as it was within the dates of the promotion, and that Verizon would likely extend the dates of the promotion to accommodate the back-ordered phones. They told me to call back in a few days to find out if Verizon had extended the promotion

A few days later on 9/27, I called back and was told that Verizon had indeed extended the promotion but only through 10/15. They instructed me that if my phone was back-ordered, I should fill out the online form to receive a mailer that would allow me to ship my old phone in once I received the new device. Although I did not want to mail it, I filled out the form just in case. I am still waiting for prepaid packaging to arrive.

A few days ago I decided to check into these forums to see if any other customers had been having any trouble with this promotion. I was shocked to see a number of posters complaining that Verizon had received far less than the promised value after mailing in their old phone. I decided to call the store where I ordered my phone to express my concern and to see if I would be able to have device appraised in the store so that I could receive the $200 credit without having to take my chances with the mail-in route. The sales rep at my store told me that they absolutely would not take a trade-in unless I purchased a phone that they had in stock and made the transaction there, immediately. This is not what they told me 3 weeks ago. I asked if they had ever received any iPhone 6 Plus in the store since launch day. He said that to his knowledge, they had not. How am I supposed to purchase a device in the store that they have never even stocked?

I called customer service and spoke with a rep who was as confused as I was about this situation. She placed on my hold for a few minutes and then told me that as long as my device was purchased before 10/15 (which it was) I would be able to trade my old device in the store once I received my new phone. Just to verify, I called a second Verizon Wireless corporate store. The sales rep there told me that they would allow the trade in the store and would offer the $200 credit immediately, but only if I could do that before 10/15. After that date, he said that their system would only allow them to provide the normal appraised value of the phone.

Deflated and frustrated, I called Verizon customer support again. I explained my concerns and I was bounced from customer support, to telesales, to customer care, re-explaining this whole story each time. One of them even claimed to be absolutely certain that the date had been extended to 11/15 as stated in an email that she had received, although she wasn't sure why no one else had received this email.

Other people I've been speaking to have received even more conflicting information. Some insist that I need to have filled out the online form prior to 10/15 to do the trade in-store. Some say that as long as I have a proof of purchase dated before 9/30 I should be able to process the trade in a store. Some have even told me that I have up until 12/1 to do the trade.

I need to know, definitively, that when I receive my new phone around 10/24 that I can trade my old phone in at a corporate store for the full quoted $200 credit. I need a concrete answer.

[ynggrsshppr91 · Accepted solution]

No you cannot trade it in any day after 10/15 at a corporate store. The end date is 10/15 and not any time after that.

[BrianMunn1986]

So my only option is to put my phone in the mailer, whenever it comes, and then just hope I don't get screwed like so many other people on these forums? I don't like those odds. I began this transaction in a store, I should be able to finish it in that store.

[ynggrsshppr91]

You went to a store and they did just what you should have done. Ordered it online for you from your very own My Verizon account.

[elliew]

Promo terms:

1. Purchase IPh6 - you've already started the purchase of the iph6. Once you receive iph6, activate it, then clean out your old one.
2. On or before 10/15/14, either trade in the old device at a VZW Retail store or submit the device trade-in online at trade-in.vzw.com. If trading online you have to return devices to VZW by 12/1/14

[DG666]

I filled out the online form for the program but I have not received the package. Is it being shipped via USPS mail or by UPS/FEDEX? I have 2 different addresses.