Well it all begins with nearing the end of my two year plan in November.
I continuously receive emails citing phone upgrades but the most I would get on an old S5 phone was like $150 off the full price of a new phone.
I was fine with that but now it is October and I wanted to get an upgrade to one of the newer phones. So I go back online and try to upgrade my phone this past week - but the Android app and Verizon web site want to charge me full retail price for a phone.
Also in the mean time I get texts from Verizon saying I haven't paid my October bill, but when I look at my account it says paid in full.
So while I was again attempting to use the Verizon web site this week to upgrade my phone one of the off-shore chat helpers gets on with me and I ask why can't I get any kind of upgrade price since my contract was expiring in a month. The chatter claimed I could not upgrade until the day my contract officially expired.
At this point I am getting ticked off and call customer support and talk to a US citizen. I tell her I am more than happy to pay my last month's payment if they will allow me to upgrade my phone. She tells me that my account is paid in full and that I could upgrade my phone right after her supervisor approves a manual change to my account allowing the upgrade. Being curious I asked when would the system have processed the code by itself and she said early November.
She then asks me which phone I wanted and I said the Google XL or the LG v20. She checked and neither phone could be ordered at that time (10-14). I said OK and proceeded to see what other carriers had available.
I found a really good deal at ATT on an LG v20 that I could actually order and they threw in a free HD LG Android Tablet too. Oh and the price of all the new equipment + and extra GB of data per month is the same or lower than the 4GB Verizon data plan with no device fees.
Verizon's systems and chat people gave me bad information. I have no idea why my account wasn't properly coded for upgrade, and the whole experience with trying to get a phone upgrade was ridiculous.
All I have to say is if I get any treatment on my FIOS TV service like I just experienced - even one time - that is getting trashed too.
There are some real problems here that need fixing and best of luck to those that can put up with it.
You realize if you go to ATT and get the "free" tablet that you'll be required to have an extra line for it for $10 a month, correct.
I realize that all charges monthly and equipment are less than the monthly fee at Verizon with no equipment at all.
I would have been happy to have a new phone ordered without the tablet.
I also realize that if I wasn't persistent I would have paid full price for a phone I didn't really want, plus paid more for the plan itself.
I should have had real upgrade offers in my account the day I paid off my plan - two weeks ago - instead I was run around and had to waste my time investigating what was going on. Then when I figure out what I can actually do, the two phones i"m interested in can't be ordered.
Maybe this seems fine to you - sorry I don't like it.
I don't really give a rats behind, I was just making sure you knew that. And now realize you are going to get messed over no matter what you do because you don't do enough homework. Spend more time at the library.
Dude I'm not talking about $10. Maybe you should read before you post?
You work for Verizon?
I have a 3 line family plan. On one line the contract has expired and the other 2 will expire 11/3/16. I've tried to upgrade online from Apple 5c to Apple 6s and until just recently I could have upgraded those phones with a new 2 year contract for $99. Today my only choice is to pay full retail either up front or in 24 installments. That's no deal at atll. It benefits only Verizon as they sell two new phones at some rediculous mark up.
I'm a long time Verizon (previously Alltel) but I'm tired of getting screwed. Researching other carriers.
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
