Do new customers get a better deal than loyal existing customers?

[BreaP]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my recent experience with Verizon and see if anyone else has had similar issues.

I’ve been a loyal Verizon customer for 15 years, but after switching account ownership (post-divorce), the process has been incredibly frustrating. When I signed up for the Unlimited Plus plan, I believe I was quoted $45/month, which matches the online rate. However, my bill says $55/month. I was also promised a teacher discount and a lower overall bill, but my current bill is $50/month higher than quoted. Previously, my family plan under my ex’s account was $249/month for five lines. Now, with the same five lines and the supposed teacher discount, my new bill is $259/month. Why is switching five lines to five lines with a discount more expensive? The salesperson said I’d save money, but I’m paying more (Before and now, I have paperless and autopay discounts - the teacher discount is new).

During the switch, my mom’s phone number was mistakenly swapped with my ex’s number when she upgraded to a 5G SIM card. This store error caused a delay that resulted in my first bill reflecting only four lines instead of five, likely losing me the five-line discount. My ex had to fix this issue in person and drive to the store. Why didn’t the store tell me to wait one day to switch with all five lines? Why did they bill me for four? 

On 12/13, I paid $249 on my ex’s account for five lines. I received $60 as a partial credit, but it was applied to his account, requiring me to settle privately with him. On 12/27, I paid $346.47 for my new account with only four lines (due to the store’s error). I do understand some of the higher bill on 12/27 is due to activation fees, but dang! I was also not told of these fees. Now, I have another estimated bill of $256 due on 1/11 for five lines. Altogether, I’ve spent around $740 on phone bills in a month ((12/11 - 1/11), which is outrageous.

When I asked why the Unlimited Plus plan is $55/month instead of the advertised $45/month for new and existing customers with customer service, and I was upset and wanted the 45.00/mo price, I was told, “It doesn’t work that way,” with no further explanation. The only reason I switched accounts was the promise of savings, but the entire process has been messy, and my bill is now higher than before.

Lessons learned:

1. Verizon seems focused on making a sale and providing misleading information to secure it. Once you switch, they know you’re locked into higher prices. I was told the third bill would reflect the correct price, but it is even higher than I had paid before.
2. Moving from one Verizon account to another is a nightmare. I’ve spent hours on customer service calls (2 hours), in-store visits (6 hours), and online chats (1 hour) trying to resolve these issues.
3. Always request a detailed, printed quote before making any changes. They said they couldn't give me one - I did ask - I should have walked out.

I understand I’m probably just a sad customer, but maybe my experience will encourage others to think twice before switching plans—or even switching to Verizon from another carrier. 

Has anyone experienced similar quote discrepancies or billing issues? Is this a common problem? I’m at a loss, but I’d appreciate any advice if you were able to fix a similar issue.

Thanks for reading—I hope this helps others avoid the same frustration.

[vzw_customer_support]

I appreciate the breakdown of your experience, BreaP. I know I would also be looking for some clarification if I had a similar experience. I would agree that it doesn't make a lot of sense that your bill is more expensive when not much had changed except moving the account into your name. It sounds like we will need to take a look at the account to help provide some more insight. I will say that Unlimited Plus with 5 smartphone lines without Autopay is $52/month, or $42/month with the discount, so something definitely seems off. Please be on the lookout for a private message from me so that I can help.

-Joseph

[SynthpopAddict]

@BreaP, from looking at the website pricing just now, if you only want Unlimited Plus, it is $45/month plus taxes and fees for 4 or more lines, if you use autopay with an approved method (bank draft or Verizon Visa card to pay) plus paper-free billing.  However, if you were signed up under MyPlan, Unlimited Plus is $55/month plus taxes and fees for 4 or more lines.  This is because there is some kind of perk rolled into the deal which is costing the extra $10.

If you are not under some kind of device deal (get a phone, trade-in for credits, etc.) you ought to be able to cancel whatever additional perks were put onto your account by going into the section where you manage your perks and unsubscribing from whatever it is.  Otherwise, I'd have to think the extra $10 is coming in from not using some method Verizon likes for autopay, so you're not qualifying for the autopay discount.  The specific details would be in your bill.

I can't speak for the teacher discount.  It was my understanding that discounts and promos cannot be stacked.  This is something that shows up as a line on your bill, so if you don't see a specific teacher discount showing in the bill...