I have been a loyal Verizon customer for over 17 years, my family, even longer. I have never had an issue with any services that wasn't easily remedied by calling customer services. I have no complaints with the network or the services. Yeah, I could probably get cheaper service through other providers, but I never switched because I believe you get what you pay for - Verizon has the best network.
I wanted a new phone, and before Christmas they had a deal to trade-in a working smartphone and get a new phone on the equipment payment plan/your contract starts over. Sounded great. I read all the fine print, because my current phone had a small crack going across the screen - so small people couldn't see it unless I turned the screen off and pointed it out. You couldn't even feel it. Regardless, I admit the screen was cracked. However, the phone itself still functioned at 100%.
NO WHERE anywhere (believe me, I read everything) said anything about a cracked screen making my phone ineligible. It said the smartphone must be in " good working condition" and that it must be able to turn on. In my opinion, that was my phone, but to be sure, even though it NO WHERE said the screen had to be crack-free, I called customer service. The girl I reached, said yeah, no problem, you are still eligible for this program, even if the screen is cracked, as long as the phone turns on and works and doesn't have water damage. She said the only way I could get penalized was if I didn't return the phone at all - then I would be charged $199, which makes sense. She said I could even get $20 for the trade-in. So I proceeded with the transaction.
Then I get my new phone, which is awesome. However, NOW, the paperwork for trade-in includes "no cracked screens" as a separate bullet point under "good working condition." Which made we wish I took screenshots of the fine print when I ordered. But, I remembered customer service telling me it didn't matter, so I sent my old phone in anyway. Two weeks later, they send me an email saying my phone was "damaged" and not eligible for trade-in. Not only do I not get $20 bucks, I am charged $199. Two hundred dollars. And it is too late to backtrack and return the new phone.
This is a true bait-and-switch, and a horrible way to treat loyal and new customers alike. If I was told initially that I would have to pay $199 if my screen was cracked, I never would have ordered a new phone, I would have waited until my upgrade. What can be done?
