Wow, sounds like I may need a life coach when it comes to getting a cell phone. Hindsight is always 20/20. The issue with my deposit was that Verizon said that I had to provide it to get service. Yes, I don't have a gleaming credit rating so, I paid it. Going through a divorce has a tendency to scorch one's credit, but that's hindsight as well. The issue is that Verizon took my need for a cell phone and has run the gambit of taking advantage of this. If I provided a service and did this to my customers, I'd probably be in jail irregardless of the fine print. These policies that Verizon has with deposits and service are created by and regulated by Verizon, they can pretty much demand everyone put down a deposit and there isn't anything a person can do about it. They can change things around as they please, they make the rules for their own playground at the expense of the customers and there isn't anything anyone can do about it. Verizon takes advantage of this, just look at the litany of complaints on this forum. Everyone here can't be suffering from the same delusions.
Payments: I have made my payments prior to the date Verizon states in my account that they are due by. This doesn't help when Verizon states that they want payments in advance that don't match with the due date on my account which the have done. Verizon seems to have a multitude of tricks in the hat they can pull out as far as payment history. Verizon has even posted my payments after the due date when they were payed prior. So the "pay your bill on time" comments can be thrown out with the trash. I will also never put Verizon on automatic payments mainly because a family member was overdrawn over $500 from Verizon when their service was set up, no deposit required. Even though there were bank statements showing the withdrawal from Verizon, Verizon played ignorant to doing this. In the end, it wasn't given back or applied to the bill and there isn't anything you can do about it unless you can retain an attorney who is willing to take it on and you can physically pay for it. Verizon was kind enough however to give this person vouchers for things they sold in their stores like cell phone holders and chargers. The vouchers added up to about $100 bucks and had an expiration date. This person didn't need that many phone holders so she lost the majority of it in the long run.
Deposit: I set my service up at a Verizon store. I was told by the person who sold me the service that I was required to place a deposit which I did because I know my credit score isn't crystal clear. The person selling me the service told me that I would get the deposit back after having 6 months of service, nothing else, no hidden requirements, nothing in the fine print; in fact there is nothing in the paperwork for my account saying anything about deposits in any form or manner. It was a big deposit, $500 bucks so yeah, I still want it back. My payments to Verizon during the period of setting up service and trying to get my deposit back were paid in full and on time. After the battle to get it back, I don't really care anymore. If Verizon can't honor their own contracts, I'm not going out of my way to make them happy. When I first started to speak with customer service about this, they knew nothing of nor had any information I had a deposit. After a good deal of arguing with them (not literally) they found it and ironically blamed the salesperson. Initially the customer service people acted empathetic on my part not understanding why I haven't received my deposit back because it's practice to do this after 6 months (what the sales person stated). I was transferred to another department because I guess customer service has no power to make or control decisions and all I received were apathetic individuals who said they had no record of my deposit (even though customer service found it) and blamed the sales person saying there wasn't anything anyone could do about it.
It was then I contacted the BBB who have a litany of complaints about Verizon doing this exact same thing to others. As if by magic, the same department who said they had no record of my deposit went back and found it for the BBB. Verizon then magically pulled out conditions as to why they didn't have to give it back based on my payment history including paying for service in advance, not when it was due. The blame was placed on the salesperson at the Verizon store. All of these conditions had never been told to me from buying the phone and service to speaking with multiple individuals in other departs in Verizon. This "policy" to keep my deposit was either invented, hidden, or was just a sneaky way for them to make money off of me. I changed service plans to my phone, apparently this can also hamper getting the deposit back, did you know this? As for blaming the staff who worked at the store, it was convenient because that person no longer works with Verizon. The store is by my house and I pass it pretty much driving anywhere. This store seems to have issues holding onto staff because of the rotation. I see a new person in there almost monthly.
Why am I still with Verizon? Three reasons: I need a phone, I want my $500 deposit back and after getting a divorce it seemed to be a proactive way to build my credit back up. I did nothing to void the deposit for my account because I wasn't told anything and then, only after I contacted the BBB. I was told that I would get the deposit back if I kept service for six months which I did, that was all.
Now, my ex wife used to work at Verizon in customer service. I heard more than enough about how Verizon's mode works. This kind of thing happens so often, one can't count that high. Customer service is a joke, I know this first hand because my ex would say that it was. Customer services is where customers get corralled and customer service really can't do anything as far as providing any kind of service. This was back when Verizon had a big customer service department before Verizon cut most of them. Customer service is more like a therapist (which I was at the time), someone you vent to but really can't do anything other than listen to you vent. She made a lot of money working there and did act like a professional. She never really got annoyed with the customers because he felt sorry for the majority of them. Yes, you get a few loose cannons who don't pay their bills and wonder why their service is cut but for the most part these where everyday people complaining about Verizon making mistakes and wanting them corrected. The people my ex were annoyed with the most were her co-workers. A vast majority of these people seemed to take pride and amusement in screwing with those who would call in. They wouldn't document phone calls mainly so that poor calls couldn't be traced back to the employee who took the call, something that is technically illegal by the way. Customer service is where customers go when they need something or have a problem with something. The simple fact that the customer service department can't even do anything to resolve issues is a joke. Verizon created this system within their own company, if this isn't some kind of abuse to customers what is? My ex would also complain about the staff who work in the stores, they are supposedly notorious within the company for acting like sharks and snake oil salesmen. A big part of the people who call customer service are complaining about something that happened to them in a store, usually promised something that didn't happen. Verizon somehow can separate the actions and policies from the core company and the stores, that too is deception in action. Knowing all of this, I still bought a phone from a salesperson in a store. All I did was get the phone, set up the service and was done. When I said my ex was a former employee, it sort of made the salesperson back off from trying to "sell me". The other person in my family who didn't know this however was taken for a ride.
You're issue is not related to Windows Phone.