$450 Rebate Issue

[JAYTEESEE]

My $450 BYOD refund was deemed “invalid” due to “your purchase was not from a participating location”. This is absolute garbage and a complete scam. The validity to my rebate was confirmed when I checked out. This is unbelievable, I signed up for a higher tier of service to qualify for the rebate. 

[vzw_customer_support]

We would be happy to review this matter with you in depth. To allow us to do so, please leave us a Private Note here, or reach out to us directly at 1-800-922-0204. 

VZW_RobertH

[kstovall]

ive called and called mine said invalid too why are you scamming people

[vzw_customer_support]

It is never our intention to n Scam, or cheat anyone.  Please reach out to us on our social media platform for specific help on your rebate issues.  verizon.com/digital/nsa/nos/ui/contactus/nonsigninlanding

[Jpilkey]

No you will waste our time. Your analysts have no idea how to fix these issues, by design

[9wood]

This seems to be a common problem

[HighTechnology]

Yes, very common -- many posts with exactly the same complaint, over a period of months here.  

I have made multiple calls about mine, the last being on 12/31 and I was supposed to get a call back within 7-10 days.  Today is Day 13, so I will be calling Verizon myself again tomorrow.

What I was told during my last call is that my rebate was denied as they show it as being an in-store purchase, not an online/tele-sales purchase (as required under the terms).  I ordered my 4 new phones and 1 BYOD SIM online, for in-store pickup (which they verified would not invalidate this rebate).  The rebates for the 4 new devices went fine, but the BYOD line has been denied twice, and they seem to be having problems fixing whatever system issue is causing this...  

[HighTechnology]

I spoke with Verizon customer service again today to follow up.  They looked at the notes and open cases on my account, told me that the last activity on their end related to my 12/31/2000 discussion was 1/7 (exactly a week ago), and they now show a projected resolution date of Monday 1/18.  So all I can do is now wait until Monday, but given they originally told me 7-10 days, I'm not optimistic they will have both the rebate and the trade-in fixed by that point in time.

This is both disappointing for me, and shameful for Verizon!

[vzw_customer_support]

Thank you for confirming this for us. We are glad that a case was opened for this matter. It should not be long now. If you have any additional questions for us, please let us know. 

VZW_RobertH

[vzw_customer_support]

Hello, HighTechnology. We are sorry to hear about the trouble you are having with getting your BYOD rebate. How much was the rebate going to be?   CassieG_VZW

[HighTechnology]

$300 for BYOD during Black Friday Weekend (PLAYDO300BYOD)

First submission was 12/5 and that one was rejected after 2-1/2 weeks saying "Duplicate Phone Number", which isn't the case.

Since I was coming up on the 30-days, I took it upon myself to resubmit on 12/23.  I also called Customer Service two days later, telling them what transpired.  Customer Service looked at the resubmission, and assured me that it would be paid, and that if there was an issue the system would have rejected the resubmission already.  Despite that assurance, the resubmission was was rejected after a week, saying "Your purchase was not from a participating location".

On 12/31 Customer Service told me that it shows as a store purchase, which isn't true as the order was placed on the Verizon website (as part of an order for 4 new iPhones).  They said they'd get it fixed  (along with my missing trade-in credit) and get back to me in 7-10 days.  Not having heard anything, I scheduled a call back on the system for 1/15 where they now tell me they now expect it to be resolved on Monday 1/18.

I have been doing rebates since they were popular in the consumer electronics space in the late-90s, and I always read (and make sure I comply with) the stated terms.  A summary of the terms of this rebate is order on the Verizon website / Telesales for the Play or Do Unlimited plan, port a number, maintain service on that device for 45 days -- all of which I have fully complied with.  

The rebate rejection reasons given are absolutely nonsense --and a terrible reflection on Verizon.

Making matters worse and as mentioned above, I also have a trade-in issue.  I sent the trade in using the UPS label provided, and it was delivered.  Customer Service acknowledges the phone was delivered, and checked the IMEI in another system and acknowledged it was received,  and the device matches what they were expecting (right model, not damaged, etc.).  So I was assured they would also get the trade in credited.  

Between this rebate and the missing trade-in, I have spent close to 10 hours of my own time trying to resolve these issues.  Much of that time was waiting on hold to get connected, being transferred to different departments, waiting on hold while reps checked with other departments / supervisors.  I've also been automatically logged out during chats multiple times due to the wait time or time for the representative to check with someone else. This is both frustrating and unacceptable from a customer service perspective.  Due to Verizon's errors/systems issues, I have had to waste my personal time to try to get this resolved, and the absolute best I can hope for is that both issues will be fixed and perhaps an apathetic comment that they were happy Verizon could help me get this resolved.

The problem is that Verizon has put all of the burden to resolve these types of issues on the customers, and there is no financial incentive for Verizon to get them resolved quickly / accurately.  If they do resolve them, the rebates/promotions/trade-in incentives get paid as they should have originally,  but many customers don't have the time or worse, simply accept the rejection and move on.  Looking at this BYOD forum and the Verizon General Services, there are numerous people  over the course of many months complaining about denied rebates / missing trade-ins / being provided invalid StreamTV promo codes (all three of which I suffered), so this is far from an isolated incident.

For the record, I don't think Verizon is intentionally trying to defraud/scam people, but rather Verizon is doing a very poor job of properly processing and honoring the promotions that were advertised.  One of the true marks of a great company is not just what they do right, but rather how they handle when things go wrong -- Verizon is definitely not doing a proper job of the latter.

[HighTechnology]

Jayteesee, 

Has your rebate now been validated?  This is your thread, and I don't mean to hijack it,  so I want to make sure Verizon is addressing your situation...

[vzw_customer_support]

We certainly want you to get any promotion and credit that you qualify for with us, HighTechnology. You stated that we advised this would be resolved today on 1/18/2021. If by chance it is not, please reach out to us once again, we want to make sure this is resolved for you.

StevenG_VZW

[HighTechnology]

The 18th came and went, so I have escalated this to the Executive Customer Relations team.  Upon speaking with them a short while ago, I made them aware that there are many people having this issue, and that I am FAR from the only customer being wrongly denied for this promotion.  Supposedly, my rebate status was changed to approved as of this morning, however the system still shows it as invalid as I am typing this message.  Let's see if that updates over the next day or so. 

I did reiterate that there are many complaints on this and other promotions that weren't fulfilled going back for several months, and pointed them to read through these Verizon Community forums.  Whether they will do anything with this information is something I cannot be sure of, but now there are multiple points of contact within Verizon that have been made aware of this (customer service, the representatives here, and now the Executive Customer Relations team).

[wrencollie]

Hi High Technology,

I am having the same problem with the $450 BYOD rebate offer tracking showing as invalid.  May I ask who you specifically contacted on the Executive Team?  Also, how did they let you know that your rebate was approved (email? text?).  

Thanks for you info,

Wrencollie

[HighTechnology]

Based on advice found elsewhere, I looked at the Verizon Leadership on their web site (not the consumer site we log into) and located Ronan Dunne, who is the CEO of Verizon Consumer.

https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/executive-bios/ronan-dunne

If you click the <CONTACT> link, you will be brought to a form to fill out, which states that by submitting the form, someone from the Executive Relations Team will contact you.  I was contacted by telephone about 2 days after filling out this form.

I have no documentation, other than being told by phone that the rebate has been validated.

[mvoss2010]

The same thing happened to me. I was completely lied to regarding my purchase and what I would be receiving and then was told it was my fault by a representative for not asking more questions, even though I had the saved transcript. Thank you for this information! I will see Ronan Dunne out.

[vzw_customer_support]

This isn't the experience we want for you, mvoss2010. We would certainly never want you to feel as if we are blaming you for the issue with your rebates and I do apologize that this has taken up so much of your time already. We are here to help resolve your concern today. I have sent you a Private Note so we can continue our conversation. We look forward to your reply.

LaurenC_VZW

[smilemore23]

It seems I am not alone in having issues with my rebate. I have called the rebate team 3 times. The first two times I was told they escalated my claim, which they didn't. I finally got fed up enough where they transferred me to a manager, who finally escalated it. I check on it today and it says invalid: "The line associated with this rebate requires an eligible device transaction."

It has the fine print below and these bullets. I can check off each of the items below, so why can't I get the rebate. So much time and energy wasted. I want a proper resolution.

• Offer available to Online and Telesales Orders Only.
• BYOD 4G/5G Smartphone
• New Line Required
• Port In Required
• Play More or Do More Unlimited Plan Required
• Consumer Accounts only

[vzw_customer_support]

I'm truly sorry to hear that you have spent so much time trying to get your rebate, wrencollie. We would like the opportunity to work with you directly in order to help get the answers you need. I have sent you a Private Note so we can assist further. We look forward to your reply.

LaurenC_VZW

[DougnBec21]

Same problem here. My spouse and I both switched and were both promised a $450 egift card. We have been in contact with a Michigan law firm. The attorney we spoke with reviewed the promotional language and opined that this case would be simple to win. He further opined that, if a significant number of people have been affected by this scam, it would likely become certified as a class action and could potentially cost Verizon millions in compensatory damages and millions more in punitive damages. He offered to file a complaint on our behalf on contingency. We accepted.  A notice of intent will be sent this week, which will be followed  by a formal complaint.. We will keep this forum's readers posted on the progress of this action.