Trying to upgrade 5 phones - part 1

jevernham

Dear Customer Service: I've been told by your own agents that this is the only way to reach you with a request for compensation for all the troubles you have caused me. So here it is. In two parts, because your system says I’m exceeding the character limit. This is part 1.

I have been a Verizon mobile customer for nearly 5 years. I initially switched to Verizon because of the superior coverage, and was willing to pay a premium for that compared to my previous carrier. During that time I have been satisfied with the cell phone service. I started out with six lines on a family plan, and currently have five lines.

We decided to upgrade our phones (two iPhone Xs, two 11s, and a 13) to the iPhone 15, intending to take advantage of the “free phone” offer to receive $830 in credits for each phone, spread over 3 years. I placed five online orders on December 30 and that’s when my problems started.

All problems that were caused by Verizon. My only mistake was choosing to place the orders.

A few days into the saga I realized my experience was so far below any reasonable standard of service that I started keeping logs of the situation. I am happy (barely) to report that as of January 26, all of the issues with my original order appear to be finally resolved. However, the process required to get there was abysmal. If I could do it over, I would switch to AT&T.

With the trade-in promotions, I now have a $3,320 incentive to stay with Verizon for three years. So it’s too expensive to switch now. But if you want me to even consider staying with Verizon in the future, I need to be compensated for my time and for this horrible experience. Make this right, and maybe I’ll stick around. Do nothing, and I’ll be sure to let everyone I know that Verizon isn’t worth it.

The details are below. You may not want to read all of them, so here’s a summary:

• On December 30, I ordered 5 phones online using your website, with trade-ins, each with a “free phone” promo over three years
• Three of the orders completed without issues
• Verizon cancels the order for phone #1. I called customer support and they said it was corrected. The phone shipped – and was immediately returned to the shipping dock. I had to re-do the order and trade-in, with the added confusion caused by the first order.
• Verizon cancels the order for phone #2, this time with no notice to me that it was canceled. I had to re-do the order and trade-in, with similar confusion.
• Verizon then cancels the trade-ins for both of these phones. Then Verizon creates another trade-in for each phone. And then cancels those. (remember, none of this is happening at my request!) But the devices were still “not eligible for trade-in” on my account so neither I nor any of your customer service reps could initiate an actual trade-in.
• On January 22, exasperated, I went to a Verizon store and asked to speak with the store manager. He was able to initiate the trade-ins but was unable to apply the promos.
• On January 26, customer service was finally able to get the original promos applied to those two phones.

It took 9 calls (with 2 hangups), 4 online chats (with 2 “hangups”), 14 agents, one store manager, 25 days, and I don’t even know how many hours because I didn’t log them all, but it was at least 25 hours of my personal time.

I’m not sure what “satisfactory compensation” is in this instance, but I am requesting a $500 bill credit immediately and full credit rather than half credit for the two iPhone X trade-ins. In other words, increase the promo trade-in value for the two iPhone Xs to full credit ($830 each rather than $415), so that the monthly credit for those two lines increases from $11.53 to of $23.05 for 36 months (so that all five lines have a monthly credit of $23.05). That’s compensation of $1,330 spread over three years, which is very reasonable given 1) my lost time 2) my frustration and 3) Verizon’s advertisements of “trade in your phone for a free iPhone.”

Also, please give Thiago C. at the Verizon store in Mullica Hill recognition for his outstanding customer service and please give Andy L. (the last customer service agent I spoke with) a promotion for his understanding, patience, and ease with which he addressed the promo credit issue.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and I am happy to discuss it further.

Event Log

December 30

Me	Order 5 phones on Verizon's website
Verizon	Sends emails approving 4 of the orders
Verizon	Order for phone #1 requires "verification"
Me	I submit verification
Verizon	Approves the order

December 31

Verizon	Cancels the order for phone #1 for no reason
Me	Call Verizon to reinstate the order
Verizon	Agent #1 says the order is reinstated
Verizon	But does NOT cancel the order…so I can't make a new order as the line retains the payment for the phone
Verizon	Phone #2 has a delayed shipping date of January 5…whatever, that's fine
Verizon	Unbeknownst to me, Verizon requests "return to sender" for phone #1 (see screenshot from UPS below)

January 2

UPS	Ships order for phone #1 (yay! It went through!)
Verizon	Cancels the order for phone #2 for no reason and without sending any notice, so I didn’t know about it

January 3

UPS	Phone #3 received
UPS	Phone #4 received

January 4

UPS	Phone #5 received

January 5

UPS	Phone #1 is returned to the shipping dock
Me	Realized phone #1 has been returned to the shipping dock (I was trusting Verizon that the order was actually on it’s way to me)
Me	Realized order for phone #2 has been canceled
Me	Calls Verizon to reinstate the order
Verizon	Agent #2 is confused
Verizon	Agent #2 struggles; eventually (after about an hour…no I'm not kidding) says something about not being able to fix it
Me	I say this is ridiculous and ask to speak to a supervisor
Verizon	Agent #2 says ok, puts me on hold
Verizon	Agent #2 comes back on the line, and is suddenly somehow able to place the order
Verizon	Agent #2 creates a new order for phone #2
Verizon	Have to pay sales tax online; didn't work on multiple attempts; eventually got it working with a different browser
Me	Ask for expedited shipping, so I can be sure I'll be there to sign for it (won't be there later in the week)
Verizon	Agrees to $15 express shipping for free
Me	Asks about the promised order for phone #1
Verizon	States phone #1 will arrive on January 9, along with the re-ordered phone #2
Verizon	We finish the call...after an hour and twenty minutes
Me	Seriously? More than an hour to order a phone? At least this fiasco is behind me…
Me	Little did I know…

January 8

Me	Traded in phone #5 at a Verizon store

January 9

UPS	Delivery of phone #2 attempted, but one hour early, so I was not there to sign for it
UPS	Reschedules delivery for next day
UPS	Unable to change delivery preferences for this shipment
Me	Starts a chat with online support
Me	Explains everything to Agent #3
Verizon	Chat with Agent #3 ends with no explanation
Verizon	Agent #4 asks how can I help
Me	So I have to explain everything AGAIN to Agent #4
Verizon	Agent #4 says I'm in sales and can't fix it; let me send you to support
Me	<sigh> Ok.
Me	Waiting…
Verizon	Chat ends AGAIN without warning or explanation; I did not end it.
Me	I go to bed in frustration
Verizon	Promotion from original purchase expires at midnight

January 10

Verizon	Receives trade-in for phone #5
UPS	Delivery of phone #2 attempted, but an hour early, so I was not there to sign for it
UPS	Reschedules delivery for next day…last attempt…no one will be there to sign for it
Me	Called Verizon
Verizon	Agent #5 says she will take care of of the returned order, but needs to talk to another agent so she's putting me on hold
Verizon	When the hold music ends, Agent #6 is on the line and Agent #5 is gone
Verizon	(as requested) Cancels the order for phone #1
Verizon	(as requested) Cancels the upgrade for phone #1
Verizon	(as requested) Creates a new order for the phone
Verizon	Confirmation of payment for sales tax doesn't work on Safari, have to resend the request and process it on Chrome (why not just put it on my bill like the original orders did?)
Verizon	Offers free overnight shipping as compensation…nice, but no one will be there to sign for it tomorrow!
Verizon	Cannot change the delivery date with UPS
Me	Go to bed, dreaming of Verizon's hold music, which is now permanently implanted in my brain

January 11

UPS	Phone #2 received (due to a power outage, someone actually was home to sign for it)

January 12

UPS	Attempts first delivery of phone #1, no one home to sign for it

January 13

UPS	Attempts first delivery of phone #1, no one home to sign for it
UPS	Sent me an e-mail saying that the phone was successfully delivered
Me	Checked the status on UPS' website:
UPS	- the delivery attempt today failed (true)
UPS	- it was the final delivery attempt (false; it was only the second attempt)
UPS	- a new delivery date will be provided (don't know if this is true or false?)
me	Called UPS
UPS	Unable to determine the status of the delivery; unable to request any changes; tells me someone will call me

January 16

UPS	No phone call from UPS
UPS	Phone #1 received (yay!)

January 17

Me	Went to start the trade-in process for phones #1-3
Me	Discovered that the trade-ins associated with phones #1 and #2 are canceled
Me	Discovered that there were separate trade-in "orders" (trade-ins without a corresponding phone order) initiated for phones #1 (1/7) and #2 (1/10)…both of which were then immediately canceled. What? See screenshot from my “Orders” page on the Verizon website below.

jevernham

Dear Customer Service: I've been told by your own agents that this is the only way to reach you with a request for compensation for all the troubles you have caused me. So here it is. In two parts, because your system says I’m exceeding the character limit. This is part 2, which continues the chronicling of events that I started in my part 1 post.

January 18

Me	Returned phone #4 via UPS
Me	Called Verizon
Verizon	Told me to initiate a new trade-in for phones #1 and #2 online, but I can't; website says "not eligible for trade-in"
Verizon	Agent #7 can't figure out why the trade-ins aren't working
Verizon	Can't see the two orders for the trade-ins that were canceled
Verizon	Transferred to Agent #8
Verizon	While on hold, I got a text message that Verizon noticed something suspicious with my account so they’re resetting my password for me
Verizon	Agent #9 joins the conversation
Verizon	Agent #9 says that the trade-ins for both phones are still initiated, and have not been canceled
Me	But I never received instructions for these trade-ins and can't get the QR codes needed to ship/initiate the trade-in
Verizon	Agent #8 Yes they were initiated but then they were canceled
Verizon	Agent #9 No, they're still initiated…they haven't been canceled
Verizon	Agent #8 Yes they were, here are the dates
Verizon	Agents #8 and #9 argue for a little while
Verizon	Agent #8 If you see them as open, can you send him shipping codes
Verizon	Agent #9 Yes I have them but the system won't let me send them via email. You can re-print them online though.
Verizon	No, I can't. I don't have anything saying that the trade-in is active, and I can't print them from the orders page.
Verizon	Agent #9 I can mail them to you. You'll get them in 2-3 business days.
Me	Can I drop them off at a Verizon store?
Verizon	Agent #9 No, they won't take them without the QR codes, they need that to associate the device with the order/trade-in.
Verizon	Agent #8 Confirms that the shipping information is not available to me online. This is the only option.
Verizon	Agent #9 Creates new return kits for both phones
Verizon	Agent #9 Says the return kits (including QR codes and a box) will be shipped to my home
Verizon	Agent #9 says I'll receive emails confirming the return kits within a few hours

January 20

Me	Never received any emails
Me	Updated my password
Me	Started a chat with Verizon to find out if the trade-in kits were processed
Verizon	Agent #10 doesn't seem to be able to verify "trade-in kits."
Verizon	Agent #10 says but you can request a trade-in on the website
Me	No I can't, on the website it says "not eligible for trade-in" – see screenshot from my device page on the Verizon website:
Verizon	Agent #10 I show them as ready to trade in
Me	Ok then can you get me a shipping label
Verizon	Agent #10 I can process them for you. But I can't get to the final step to process them, you have to do that. Use this link.
Me	Link doesn't work.
Me	Decided to clear the website and try again rather than just refreshing the page...
Me	But when I closed the tab, it also closed the chat window. Which is deceiving, because the chat window LOOKED like its own separate window.
Me	Start a new chat
Verizon	Agent #11 says they can't get me in touch with my previous chat
Me	Sorry, I don't have time to start this all over again, I'll have to call another time
Verizon	Agent #11 ok but before you go, do you know about our current promos? You can get a great new device by trading in your old phone…[no, I am NOT making this up!]
Me	Thanks, but that's exactly what I've been trying to do since December 30.
Verizon	Later, sends 2 emails saying that the trade-ins were canceled

January 21

Verizon	Sends 2 emails saying that the promotional credit for the trade-ins has been removed from my account
Me	After poking around on the website again, discovered that the two correct trade-ins were in my cart! Yay!
Me	…but the promo on the iPhone 11 was only for $415, half the amount it should have been.
Me	So I didn't process the orders and didn't have the chance to call Verizon today
Me	Returned phone #3 via UPS

January 22

Me	Checked my cart…and both of the trade-ins were gone
Me	Checked my orders…and it looks exactly the same as it has looked for weeks…two canceled trade-ins for each phone
Me	Checked my devices…and now the phones aren't even listed there
Me	I was missing Verizon's hold music, so called them again…
Verizon	Agent #12 says sure you can return them, you just need the return labels. Let me send them to your email. (of course he's wrong)
Me	He doesn't send me the labels, he sends me an email that says "click here" to start the process. I click, and of course it doesn't work (not eligible)
Me	That requires me to do a trade-in on the website, which says my device is not eligible.
Verizon	Go to the store. They'll be able to initiate the trade-in for you
Me	Thanks but they're going to run into the same problem. Can I escalate to a supervisor so I can get the trade-in initiated?
Verizon	Yes. Just a minute, let me transfer you.
Me	Wait on hold for the transfer
Verizon	A recording: "We notice that you are calling this number from a geography outside of the region it supports. Please call the international number. Goodbye."
Verizon	Hangs up.
Me	Well this is getting me nowhere. I guess I'll go to a Verizon store.
Me	Went to a Verizon store and asked for the manager. His name is Thiago.
Thiago	I've seen this once before; I think I can help
Thiago	I'll can process the phones as normal trade-ins and ship them to the Verizon receiving center.
Thiago	Verizon will process them as a normal trade-in for their trade-in value ($231 and $63)
Thiago	Once that happens I'll remove the trade-in credit and apply the correct promotion
Thiago	Check your account Wednesday or Thursday
Me	Leave the store, nervous that Verizon is going to take the phones with no promotion, but hoping that this saga is about to end.

January 25

Me	No emails from Verizon about trade-ins. Nothing different on my account page at verizon.com
Me	Called Thiago; not in but he'll be in tomorrow
Me	Now that I've committed to three years with Verizon and five phones…
Verizon	sends me a nice email indicating my plan will increase by $4 per line…$4 x 5 lines x 36 months = a cool $720

January 26

Thiago	Calls me. The trade-ins were received.
Thiago	I tried to apply the $830 promotions that you deserve but every promotion code I have is coming back as invalid
Thiago	I contacted Verizon and asked if they could overcome this, but everything they tried said your account wasn't available for that promotion.
Thiago	But I can see from your support history that you were eligible.
Thiago	I'm really sorry, but you're going to have to call customer support.
Me	It's time for my favorite pastime: calling Verizon Customer Support and listening to hold music!
Me	Go to the website: wait time for speaking to an agent is 8-13 minutes.
Me	I call Verizon and navigate the menus to the point where I'm waiting for an agent
Verizon	The recording tells me that my wait time “could be as long as 13 minutes.”
Verizon	21 minutes later, Agent #13 is on the line.
Me	Explained my situation
Verizon	I can do this with a promo correction
Verizon	I've applied the promotion correction to the two lines
Verizon	Now I need to submit it to back-end billing for them to finalize the billing correction, that will be visible with your next bill
Verizon	I need to put you on hold for 1-2 minutes to do that, then I'll get back to you with your estimated bill
Verizon	Back after 2 minutes: They're still working on it, I need to put you on hold a little bit longer
Verizon	Promotions have been applied. I'm going to send you an email to verify that the promotions have been applied.
Me	They're there!
Me	I wish to file a formal complaint with Verizon. How should I do that?
Verizon	community.verizon.com
Me	Thank you; you’ve been very helpful. [1 hour 11 minute call]
Me	Go to community.verizon.com to submit my complaint. No option to upload a file.
Thiago	Later that day, Thiago calls me to make sure I got his message and see how things were going (nice customer service for once!)
Me	Yes, thanks. I want to file a complaint. How should I do that?
Thiago	Call customer service and ask for the Presidential Office of Customer Care…they’ll give you an email address you can use.

January 28

to be continued