. I have been a Verizon Prepaid customer since 12/2015. I really like the all of the features that I can control from the "My Verizon" page like changing phone number, HD calling, caller ID block, ECT, ECT. Also, I live in a very rural area and Verizon's network works the best in this area. I have tried prepaid services from other carriers and only Verizon and Straight Talk seem to work in this rural area. I have had the same phone since I stated using Verizon Prepaid (HTC 526). It has been a very reliable phone for me. Recently, I started looking at possibly replacing my HTC 526 with a newer phone and keeping Verizon as my cell provider. Recently, a family member recently bought a phone to upgrade his current phone on Straight Talk. He only had it for 45 days or so, and I really liked it. It is an LG Stylo 3. He did not like the Stylo 3 and purchased one he did like. I offered to buy the LG Stylo 3 from him as long as I could use it on my current Verizon Prepaid account. On 11/18/2017, I used the "chat" feature on My Verizon to inquire if the LG Stylo 3 could be used to replace my current phone (HTC 526). I provided the agent with the IEMI number of the Stylo 3 and was told by the agent that I could indeed use that phone to replace my current one, and all I needed to do was go to any Verizon Store and get a new SIM card, free of charge. So I purchased the LG Stylo 3 for what we determined to be fair market value given the age and condition of the phone ($125.00). On the morning of 11/19/2017, I did just as the agent told me to, and took the phone to the Verizon Store at 650 Boardman-Poland RD, Boardman, Ohio. However, after checking everything out, the in store employee informed me that the Stylo 3 could not be used on Verizon's network. This was quite frustrating as I was told by the support agent that the Stylo 3 could be used. Once returning home, I called Verizon Prepaid support. I explained to the agent on the phone the situation. The agent checked the IEMI number of the Stylo 3 and informed me that it WAS INDEED compatible with Verizon's network, and instructed me to take it to a different store at 2870 East State Street Salem, Ohio. The agent also told me that if the Verizon Store Employee at the Salem store told me that I could not use the Stylo 3, to call Verizon Support while I was at the store, and they would work with the employee on activating the Stylo 3. However, the store employee at the Salem location also informed me that I could not use the phone. I left and drove to ANOTHER Verizon location in Salem, because it stated that they were open until 6PM EST on 11/19/2017. I arrived at the second Salem location at 4:58PM, only to be told that they closed at 5PM and not at 6PM like it said on Verizon’s store locator on the website. At this point, I was EXTREMELY upset and frustrated. I had already drove from my house to the first store in Boardman (18 miles, 27 minutes), then back to my house again (18 miles, 27 minutes), then from my house to the first Salem Store (11 miles, 21 minutes), then to the other Salem Store, then back to my house again (11 miles, 21 minutes). Let’s just say that after all of that, Verizon was not my favorite company in the world at that point. Once returning home, I once AGAIN called Verizon Support. I asked the agent how I could get in contact with someone a bit higher up the “food chain” than a customer service rep. I was transferred to the agent’s supervisor, who asked me to explain the situation. So I did, and the supervisor replied: “I don’t understand. I don’t understand what the issue is”. Despite being IRATE at this point, self-control got the better of me, and I decided to terminate the call and try again today (11/20/2017). So here we are. Now, being a Technical Support Specialist for a software company myself, I can understand the stress of a customer service job. Also, I understand that mistakes do happen, as we are all human. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, things do “fall through the cracks”. So my question now is: “What can be done to resolve this situation?” As I stated earlier, I like Verizon’s Prepaid service. I really do. However, I also really like my LG Stylo 3. Even though it is not activated, I really like what I have seen from it so far. Now I understand that the Stylo 3 cannot be used on Verizon’s Prepaid service. However, it CAN be used on Strait Talk’s service for basically the same monthly fee as Verizon’s. My mother has an LG phone with Straight Talk’s service and she lives less than a mile from me so I know it will work in this rural area. So we are at a bit of a crossroads here. I paid $125.00 for a phone that does not work on my carriers service, I drove almost 60 miles that took 1 hour and 35 minutes on my day off only to come home and be exactly where I was when I started out that day. If nothing else, let’s hope that this is a learning tool for your support agents so that this does not happen to anyone else.
