New Phone Line Issue

[valn]

Verizon Wireless misrepresented a promotion, lacked transparency, provided inaccurate information and participated in a bait-and-switch.

On January 7th, 2025, I contacted Verizon customer care regarding a charge on my account. During the call, the representative, Jude, informed me of a promotion offering a free iPhone with a new line. He assured me that I could transfer the phone to an existing line and disconnect the new line without any additional charges or issues. I would only be responsible for paying the taxes. At first, I had zero interest and multiple times, I expressed skepticism about the conditions, but Jude repeatedly assured me that the new line would be temporary and easily disconnected, and that there would be no extra costs or risks once the agreement was transferred to an existing line.

Based on these assurances, I proceeded with the purchase and a new line  was created. I requested Jude to note the conversation on my account for future reference, which I found out later that he failed to do.

On January 16th, I called Verizon customer care and activated the new iPhone and transferred it to an existing line. They told me that the new line was disconnected, however, I encountered activation issues that was resolved by tech support right after. I thought all was fine.

The following day, I noticed the new line was still active on my account. I called Verizon again and a representative then informed me that I could not disconnect the line without paying the full retail price of the phone. Additionally, I was informed that I would be charged extra for the larger iPhone model, which I did not select. I was not informed of the different iPhone models available, and Jude had selected a more expensive option without my knowledge or input. If I wanted to keep the phone, I would have to pay additional for the upgrade, for the larger iPhone model that I did not choose, for a new line that I would not use, and for a new more expensive plan.

I had already gifted the phone to my son for his birthday and purchased accessories. Now, I am facing the potential of paying the full phone price, extra charges for the larger model, a restocking fee upon return, and additional accessories that I had already purchased for the phone, all while having to disappoint my son by taking the phone back.

This experience has been extremely frustrating and unprofessional and has caused significant inconvenience, disappointment, financial stress, and heartbreak for me having to take back a gift from my son. As a loyal customer of 18 years, I am deeply disappointed and want Verizon and the rep who mislead me to be held accountable.

I request that Verizon retrieve and review the recording of my phone call with customer service representative Jude on January 7th, 2025, at approximately 15:30. I believe this recording will demonstrate that I was misinformed about the terms of a free iPhone promotion, specifically regarding the ability to transfer the phone to an existing line and disconnect the new line without incurring additional charges.

I request that Verizon honor the terms of the promotion as they were presented to me during that phone call.

[vzw_customer_support]

Hi Valn,

I cannot apologize enough for this disheartening experience that you've had, especially given your amazing amount of tenure. Setting the proper expectations is so incredibly important, and it's clear that we've missed the mark. We'd love an opportunity to dive deeper into this for you. I'll be sending you a Private Message shortly. 

-Necia

[valn]

After spending 2 hours on the chat and passed around to 3 different reps, I still have not had the questions answered and problem resolved. I wasted over 6 hours total trying to get through this issue.

[vzw_customer_support]

Hi there! We are sorry to hear about this experience. It is our goal to help in any way that we can. We will be sending a Private Message.

-Nikki

[WinstonDy]

Hi Valn. I had the same experience when switching to Verizon recently. I was on the phone with a sales agent of Verizon and I was misled during the sale. I complained multiple times and spent almost 80 hours on the phone and on chat trying to resolve my issues. It is futile. I would recommend you get a hold of Verizon ethics department, which I did. I filed a complaint to the ethics department and within about a week it reached the corporate executive team. The executive team member did pull all my telephone recordings with sales and other departments who tried to help me. They did discover there were inaccuracies in what was told to me. The executive team member apologized and made things right by honoring whatever was promised to me from the original sales call. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pleasant. But save your energy and efforts by going straight to the ethics department. No one on this Verizon community forum has the authority to make things right for you. This forum is a waste of time but makes customers feel like they are being heard. It’s almost like a place for people to vent without Verizon having to hear it. You’re basically yelling at no one. The replies you get from Verizon employees here are just pre-recorded mumbo-jumbo… Anyways, I hope you get this fixed after you report it to ethics department. All you need to do is, google, Verizon ethics department file a complaint, and you will find the form to complete. I actually just called the 800 number and spoke to a live agent to file my complaint to make it easier on me.