Closing Out Account

Technically, the contract does not have a "full value", but simply a time frame. When you have completed the full 24 months of your contract, you would no longer have an ETF. If you leave BEFORE you have completed 24 months of your contract, then you would not have completed the contract and be responsible for an ETF if you purchased a discounted phone in exchange for signing a 2 yr contract.

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If you had paid full price (aka retail) for your device you would not have an ETF. ($200 discount vs. $600 retail)

ETF's are generally applied for 24 months to lines upgraded with discounted phones . If you leave early, the ETF allows Vzn to recover some of that discount since you are technically breaking a contract or agreement that you entered into. Paying the ETF IS how you payoff the contract.

If I have made 23 monthly payments and agree to make my 24th payment today, explain to me why Verizon would refuse to release my number when there is no additional money to be made by doing so. The cost or "discount" are irrelevant at that point as Verizon would have received all the money they are going to get through the final month.

If you leave one month early your ETF will be at least $120 for a smart phone or $80 for a basic phone.

they are not holding your number hostage. You port out and pay the $120/$80 fee. if you port out before your bill closing date you will not owe for that month but then just the early termination fee.

Depending on what you pay per month it may be cheaper to just port out now.

There is no prepay on a post paid account.

Oh lets not forget you will have a charge for the new device on the new provider as well a activations charge, prorate charges depending on when you sign up.

Good Luck

One small correction, that would be $120/$60.

As Elector has stated, Verizon is not refusing to release your number. It seems you simply don't want to pay the ETF.

I certainly don't know the reason behind ANY of Verizon's policies, simply relating them to you.

Whether or not there is any additional "money to be made" is certainly up for debate. There could be overages. You could forget to initiate the port before another billing cycle started, in which case you would be responsible for another full month of charges. It is rare that a billing cycle ends at the same time a contract ends. People can't always get around to doing things in the time they hope to get them done. Things come up, plans change.

If you're correct that Verizon's, purpose in making things completely inconvenient is to set me up to make some sort of mistake or oversight in my last month so they can make a few extra bucks, that is not what I would consider stellar customer service.

You're also correct that I don't want to pay the ETF when the only functional difference is if I get to port my number today or in four weeks. I don't feel like I should have to pay extra to free up my number from Verizon on an account I am willing to close out at the usual monthly rate today. As I stated originally, it is just bad customer service.

Unfortunately it is what it is.

You leave today you keep your number and pay $120

You port out 4 weeks from now and don't pay $120 and you still keep your number.

Good Luck

Again, I absolutely agree with you that it is unfortunate. Overall, I was happy with my experience as a Verizon customer, the other carrier just has plans that provide a better value at the moment. As Verizon inevitably rolls out similar plans in order to stay competitive, I would not have ruled out a return to Verizon at some point in the future. Obviously, that is no longer the case. It is unfortunate that Verizon is so short sighted. But indeed, it is what it is.

mwintle

It really is unfortunate that Verizon can't offer any other alternatives to the solution when technically speaking the contract has been paid in full once the last payment is made. I tried calling customer service about the same problem twice and recieved horrible customer service harrassing me on why I wanted to cancel and why I would not talk to Verizon before switching. It felt like a car sales person and not something I would willingly return to in the future.

livebro

it does not suprise as their customer service sucks!!!

Gotcha. Definitely not holding the number hostage, just holding onto it for me unless I pay the extra amount they want in exchange. Otherwise, they'll just keep it safe for me until they are legally obligated to release it. Again, not holding hostage.