Sales Concern

[jacobhart]

I am a current customer for 3 years. I went into the store to discuss my bill with a representative.  The Sales associate told me the best way to decrease my monthly bill was by getting new devices and plans. I did not want a new device but was told it was the only way I could get a cheaper monthly bill.  I was given an estimate of what my bill could be and decided to move forward.  It wasn't until I had already been working with the sales associate for several hours that I was told I would need to pay $300 Fee (device pay-off money that was offered and agreed upon to be paid by Verizon to initiate a new deal/contract – came in emails and was discussed with Sales associate).  This was extremely upsetting.  I spoke with the general manager who said he would credit my account for approx $300 for the phone setup fees - but it would come on my first bill - so I would need to pay now but then get it back.   The sales associate could not locate/tell me what would all be on the bill and what wouldn’t.  I left the store having paid well over $600 in fees and out of 4 devices, only ONE could make a phone call – (Had to pay another $300 in taxes on devices of course).  Other than this one device (which is only capable of phone calls and texts), we had no working phones and they were not setup.  I was still told that I would be charged the $35 activation fee for each device and that it could not be waived as it was Verizon Policy – They did not activate anything.  Not one device had data transferred successfully.  Not one device was logged into the Apple account needed for the device. 

1.             I am being charged for phone activation fees – I left the store with 4 phones and only one was capable of making phone calls or sending text messages, none were capable for data.  I would legally agree to pay for 1 phone activation fee, but would find it disheartening if the company collected.
2.             Verizon/Cellular Sales is fraudulently charging for phone “set-up” fees:  I left the store and not one device was set up. The general manager said he would waive these fees for me - I did see the bill with the charges zeroed out.  However, I'm not sure what was waived in this case when I had to set all 4 phones up by myself. 
3.             I purchased 4 screen protectors.  The sales associate installed 4 screen protectors on 4 phones – 3 of the protectors had cracks in them.  I found them within 30min of leaving the store.  My wife had hers replaced the next day and by the time she got home it was CRACKED again – she is unhappy but is going to leave it.  We have had the other 2 replaced and they have not cracked yet.
4.             I was given a price for products and/or services – this price was dramatically and unexpectedly increased after having spent several hours with the sales associate and not given/provided an indicator that the price would change at all.  The sales associate acknowledges that I should have received the agreed upon price but Verizon decided not to honor the verbal agreement.
5.             I was lead to believe that in order to lower my monthly bill I needed to move forward with a new plan and new devices.  This ended up requiring me to pay more than $600 in fees/taxes and I have not seen proof that my monthly bill will be any lower.  Even if the monthly bill has been decreased – after having paid greater than $600 – it has wiped out any savings I would potentially see for years.
6.             It appears as though false advertising is a problem.  I received emails telling me of the deal I could get, and the sales associate also shared similar price/deal i.e. in regards to newphones/plans/etc.  The product was promoted in a way that obscured the true cost (I was sent emails and was given a document/hand written piece of paper from sales associate with believed prices).  I felt as though I was being tricked into a contract.
7.             This whole scenario started because my Wife and I wanted to decrease our monthly bill which is approximately $350-$375 per month – we had 3 phones, a tablet, and 2 watches.  I currently don’t believe that the monthly bill will be any cheaper.  The sales associate was not able to show me what my monthly bill would be.  I was told it “varies so much you are not going to be able to tell what the bill is going to be until after a few billing cycles”.  This is what the sales associate said.

Would appreciate someone looking into this and assisting with a fair price negotiation.  If remaining with Verizon, we would like the original agreement honored, and to be compensated for any outstanding charges.