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Better Price for Spectrum at Internet Store (VERY UNHAPPY)

SO, TO SUM THIS UP, IT WOULD BE MUCH CHEAPER, AND WISER, FOR ONE TO PURCHASE THEIR LG SPECTRUM THROUGH THE INTERNET STORE AND BYPASS SPENDING $199.99 PURCHASING THE LG SPECTRUM......READ BELOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I recently purchased (2) LG SPECTRUM phones. The deal was buy one phone, get one phone free. Although that may sound like a good deal, it most certainly is not (in my opinion). The price of (1) phone was $199.99 with the purchase of a two year contract (and, of course, the 2nd phone was free). A couple of days after the purchase I was viewing "A VERY HUGE AND POPULAR" internet store when I noticed that the same phone was being sold for $19.99 with the SAME EXACT (2) year contract. The plan/contract was through Verizon, not the internet store, regardless of where the phone(s) were purchased. I searched and searched, spoke with the internet store and Verizon concerning the prices of the phone(s) and contracts, etc. and FOUND ONLY (2) MAJOR DIFFERENCES between purchasing the phones and (2) year contracts from the online store versus Verizon. First, for (2) phones and (2) two year contracts one would spend $199.99 at Verizon. But, one would only spend $19.99 for each phone through the online store (a total of ONLY $39.98). The minute/text/data plan would be the exact same as it is provided by Verizon. The 2nd difference is that the early termination fee given by the internet store lasts only (181) days, not (2) years. THE (2) YEAR EARLY TERMINATION FEE REMAINS IN PLACE AS GIVEN BY VERIZON Those were the only (2) differences I could find (and am fairly positive the ONLY differences).

SO, TO SUM THIS UP, IT WOULD BE MUCH CHEAPER, AND WISER, FOR ONE TO PURCHASE THEIR LG SPECTRUM THROUGH THE INTERNET STORE AND BYPASS SPENDING $199.99 PURCHASING THE LG SPECTRUM.

The difference between the deal given by Verizon versus the Internet store is as huge as the AMAZON RIVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments

notarep

Contract is 2 years regardless of what that website told you. Companies will charge what they want for their devices that they carry. If you're still within 14 days of buying them, you can return them, get your upgrade reinstated once the phones get back to the warehouse and purchase the phones online. You'll probably pay a restocking fee, but you'll still come out on top of the price you found.

VERYUNHAPPY0420

That is what I am going to do, IF I STAY WITH VERIZON. As far as the contract, it is 2 years. What I was commenting on was the early termination fee. Amazon's is 181 days before it goes to $0. Verizon;s is 2 years. That is a lil different than the contract. Thanks for response.

Grothka

Not sure why you're mad at vzw, it's not their fault that you didn't do the research. Also, as far as the contract is concerned... you would have both the Amazon 181 day contract AND the VZW 2 year contract. That means that if you have to disconnect within the first 6 months you would have 2 early termination fees. Along with that you would have to deal with the Amazon return policy and customer support within the first 14-30 days if you had any problems.

VERYUNHAPPY0420

Not mad at Verizon for my lack of research. I'm upset that they can't appreciate a very loyal customer's situation and understand that a "REAL" corporation would understand the situation in an instant and take a petty change hit to there most deep pockets. Why would I be concerned about 181 days when I've been with Verizon for 6 years (on just my last plan, longer than that total)? If I was thinking I would cancel service before 191 days, then common sense would tell you that I am probably willing to complete a 2 year contract. So, 181 days is moot.

What are you? A share holder? Or do you work in customer support for Verizon? Because, that's the exact ridiculous reasoning they have! Have a wonderful day GOTHIKA! Everyday is not always all black.

rcschnoor

Additionally, Amazon's is not necessarily an ETF. If you make any changes to your plan within the 1st 181 days, you will incur the fee. For example, if you sign up with a 700 minute Family Plan and change it to a 1400 minute Family Plan in less than 6 months because you have found out you need more minutes, you will be charged the Amazon fee of $250/phone for this change! This is not the case with the Verizon fee which is strictly an ETF.

Also, if you cancel your plan within 181 days, you will have an ETF of $600($250 for Amazon + $350 for Verizon) less $10(off of the Verizon fee) for each month of your contract you have completed)

rcschnoor

Finally, that price from Amazon is for NEW lines of service. If you want to upgrade your current phone by signing a new 2yr contract, then the Amazon Price changes to $129.99 and to add a line to your Family Account would change the price to $59.99.

So with this in mind, the price for 2 phones, with 1 being a new line of service, brings the total to $189.98. Pretty close to the BOGO offer from Verizon and if you count the restocking fees, it is more.

If you were to upgrade 2 lines on a Family Plan, the price would be $259.98. The BOGO offer from Verizon is cheaper.

VERYUNHAPPY0420

Understood. I consider those points moot in my situation, and most situations, because, when one has had the same plan since 2006, then the chance of that changing in 181 days is almost nil. Plus, if one is signing a 2 year contract, I would guess that most people are expecting to make it a lot further than 181 days on that contract. I understand your point, but, if you look at it from that perspective, I don't think the 181 days is any concern at all. Plus, Verizon told me themselves that, in that situation, they, nor Amazon, would charge the customer any fees to switch plans because they are both trying to keep the customer long term (Amazon gets their commission from Verizon after 181 days so there is their incentive and keeping the customer long term and milking hundreds of dollars per month is Verizon incentive.)

VERYUNHAPPY0420

That is incorrect. For several reasons. One quick one is u do not need to tell Amazon about your existing account. You can start a completely new account. My contract one my old plan was up so I had no obligations to Verzion. There are other reasons you're incorrect but I'm tired of typing/responding.

mortb

You can find several internet stores which will beat Verizon prices, Amazon, Wirefly, and several others. Best Buy prices usually are the same as Online Verizon. However, Online Verizon prices are usually a bit cheaper than a Verizon Store. You have to hunt. As for buying out a contract with Verizon, it is prorated, the longer you are in your contract (shorter time to the end) the less the buy-back is.

notarep

Jim, rc, and mortb are all correct. All other carriers will treat you the same. Where does this entitlement come from?

Skribblez

I understand your frustration, however, there are several things that you should be aware of that will help make your purchase worth the money. Internet stores as well as most indirect resellers for VZW make things extremely complicated. Read the bullet points below for a few things that make your purchase from a corp store worth it.

Indirect resellers:

When you sign a 2-year contract with an indirect reseller, much like the internet store you are referring too, you are actually signing two different contracts. The first contract is with Verizon Wireless itself for a two year term of service. The second contract you are signing is actually with the indirect reseller for a minimum term of 6 months and sometimes up to a year. This second contract with the reseller actually has higher early termination fee's then VZW and in the event of cancellation you would be billed their fee as well. So you would pay your ETF with VZW of up to $350 and then ALSO be billed from the reseller for roughly $400.
When you go through an indirect reseller, and especially with internet resellers, you are putting yourself in a hard spot if one of those phones become defective within 30 days. I actually have had this happen to me. With VZW you can simply take the phone to the store within the 30 days and they will swap you out with a BRAND NEW DEVICE but ONLY if you purchased it from Verizon. With a reseller you are left with two options: Send your device back to the internet reseller and wait for a replacement (About a two week process) in which you will still be billed by verizon wireless for the service (as the phone will still be in service, just not functional) OR you can call VZW customer support and be sent a REFURBISHED (or LIKE-NEW REPLACEMENT) device for no charge (Usually VZW is very good with this and it takes about 2 days to get the phone).
When you buy from an indirect reseller they are very hard to work with as their customer support is not nearly that of Verizon Wireless (J.D. POWER AWARD WINNING) and usually outsourced.

You made an excellent decision to buy from the VZW Store. Don't let the price alone fool you, there are many benefits to buying direct. I hope this helped mitigate your frustration!! Have a great rest of your day :smileyhappy:

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