I currently have my own prepaid plan. A family member offered to put me on their contracted account and buy me a new phone. I would like to keep my current number. How can I do this?
With a Verizon rep from Prepaid Customer Care, Telesales, or at a Corporate Store you can authorize that account holder to take over your phone number.
Then, your family member can request that number be transferred to their account with a rep at Telesales or a Corporate Store. Then the new phone can be bought wherever you like.
So I have to do all this before they buy the phone? Can I do this at an authorized retailer?
The new phone can be purchased at an authorized retailer, but they can't do the service authorization and transfer process there. A new phone can be purchased prior to your number being moved over, but that would limit the purchase option types to a lump sum retail cost. Once your number is on the postpaid account it would qualify for available phone promos and the device payment plan option.
This is the third different answer I have been given. The first one was from someone I talked to in the prepaid department, who said when I got my new phone I could take the sim card from the old one and have it activated. The second was from a live chat representative who said I could buy the phone, not have it activated at the store, then activate it and have the number ported over. I am utterly confused and I know that my family member wants to go to Best Buy to do this tomorrow.
Wow that's frustrating to deal with!
If you were to insert your number's prepaid SIM into a new phone it would just activate the new phone on your prepaid account.
Some stores do offer the option of purchasing a new phone unactivated, (at the regular retail cost of course) but you don't want to port anything in this case since your staying with Verizon's service. The Porting process is just done when switching an existing phone number from one carrier to a different one. In this case, they just need to move your number from a prepaid Verizon account to a postpaid Verizon account.
Your family member can complete the phone purchase tomorrow at Best Buy. If needed the Best Buy rep can also call into Verizon while your at the store to request the transfer authorization, and they'd also pass the phone to you for the verification, and then to your family member to authorize the acceptance, then complete the new purchase of the phone with your number since it would then be on postpaid service. If you happen to not be at the store at the time if you're available by phone that would work too to obtain your authorization.
A Verizon rep is needed (in person or over the phone) to terminate your number on the prepaid account with the reason code 'Prepaid/Postpaid Conversion' to hold your number, then the activation of the new line on your family member's account can be with your old number.
Alternatively, If Best Buy was to just activate a new line and sell the phone for your family member's account first it would be activated with a new available phone number instead of yours. If that occurred first, and the process of moving your number over from your prepaid account to the postpaid account was completed afterwards that would result in 2 additional lines increasing the cost on your family member's plan, yours plus the new number activated by the Best Buy sale.
Unless Verizon has changed the policy (which I doubt because it is a network limitation) you would have to have your number transferred from your prepay account to your family member's post-pay account first. You would then have to wait until the next day to purchase the new phone. You would not be able to buy a new phone on the same day.
You cannot do the transfer at a retailer. It can only be done over the telephone or in a corporate store.
When your number then shows up on the post pay account, you can go anywhere you wish to purchase the new phone.
I'm disappointed to hear that you received conflicting information, missgarbs. You mentioned that you wanted to complete the transfer yesterday, however I want to make sure you have the right information in case this has not been completed.
The information provided by deloused is correct. You will want to wait until your phone number is active on postpay service before purchasing your new device. If you were to purchase a phone while on prepay the only option you will have will be full retail cost. When on postpay, you will be able to take advantage of device promotions and pay in smaller monthly increments with the device payment program.
An authorized retailer like Best Buy will not be able to actually make the transfer for you, however this can be done over the phone to save a trip to a corporate store. I know you mentioned that you have been able to chat with prepay on your end already. The new account owner may call our sales team directly at 800-256-4646 for assistance with transferring your number from prepay to postpay. If it would be easier for you to complete these actions, the account owner on the postpay account may add you as an account manager in My Verizon here: http://vz.to/2mYeJfr . Once the transfer is complete you can then purchase your new device at Best Buy. Does this help clarify things for you?
LaurenC_VZW
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