Bring your own device rebate scam

[EID]

I correctly filled out the online form. I called and confirmed with the rebate department. I have been regularly checking with my confirmation number. Today, I received an email saying "We've got it!" ... A "friendly reminder" that my $250 rebate for bring your own phone was still being validated and if I meet all the requirements, to expect my rebate by January 4, 2022. Yes, not a typo. 2022. I submitted the request online on 4/26/2020 and the website said it should be validated around June 20, 2020 if terms are met... So I am supposed to wait A YEAR AND A HALF for my rebate?!?! Total scam. Once the terms of my rebate are fulfilled (45 days of continuous SIM card activation) and it is validated, I am switching. Totally disgusted. I switched to Verizon because it was supposed to be the best service area and I barely have one bar at my house (AT&T had 3 bars!!). I have to use internet calling. So many hidden fees and deceit like this. Horrible. 

[vzw_customer_support]

We understand your concerns related to the rebate timeframe. With regard to the rebate please confirm the time using the following link here https://www.yourdigitalrebatecenter.com/#!/check-my-status. We understand that you may have received an email with the date shown but just to make sure this is accurate please use the link provided to check the status. JasperM_VZW

[aoklaw]

I cannot get anywhere with my promised promo.  I switched to Verizon because of an offer for $150 per line to switch.  I was told I would receive an email within 30 days and that I would have to enter the included code in order to get the money.

Well, I never go that email, and frankly forgot about everything while we were hit with covid.  Now, on my third call to Verizon I am told no such rebate offer ever existed! 

I will now switch again from Verizon and get a real rebate offer from T_Mobile!

[vzw_customer_support]

I am sorry to hear about the situation as you always deserve clear and accurate information. How many rebates were you expecting? To confirm, at this time there has not been a rebate submnission completed? 

YaleK_VZW

[SpruceZeus]

Sounds familiar! 

I went online Sept 2nd and was told about a promo and I saved the entire chat. $250, $350, $450 deal (debit cards) by online representative "ideck". I get the promo by bringing my own device ($250 for starter unlimited, $350 for the tier up and so on). The promo = BYODGET250. 

It would not work on the rebate center website link I was given by the rep.

When I called in today (Sept 7) to ask about it, spoke with a live rep. I emailed her the entire chat and proved it was offered to me and how I confirmed many times in the chat. Her and the manager agreed but said it was a mistake and I get ...nothing. They apologized and said I would need to get a bigger unlimited plan or I could buy some new $1000 phones to get a $300 promo. (Seriously).

This is not some simple misunderstanding. I left my previous carrier based on what I was told on paper. Now that i made the change, I am out $500! This also makes me a non-new-customer for new plans. This is hilariously poor form.

I demand my rebates for the two lines or equal compensation. This is actually illegal. Anyone who wants to contact me, make it soon and I will provide you with all the details and the chat document. I even have my chat survey responses in there. 

This is illegal and I can show anyone

[DuncanFam90]

I am dealing with the same issue. We brought over our 7 lines from Sprint, who we had been with for 18 years. Verizon coverage is better in our area now that the kids have moved out and living in different to areas. I signed up because of the BYODGET300 deal, which clearly stated was a prepaid MasterCard. With this we would be getting a $2,100 prepaid MasterCard. I verified this in three separate chats, which each rep confirmed which I have screenshots of. I told them I was paying off our phones at sprint using a credit card and would pay it off with the prepaid card, so I definitely didn’t want a Verizon ecard. I made sure to verify this. We then receive five $300 Verizon ecards by email after submitting the rebate. When I called to inquire why the Verizon cards I was told they hadn’t done the prepaid MasterCard rebate in months and when I signed up the rebate was for a Verizon ecard. This is not true, there is no way I would charge 1,500 to a credit card if I knew i was not getting a prepaid MasterCard. After multiple hours on chat I finally spoke to someone today who told me there is nothing they could do other than credit me $50 for the months of interest I’ll be paying on my credit card.  I am so beyond angry, as this comes after they spread my 7 lines out onto 3 accounts when  they specifically said they would put them on one. With 3 different accounts and no multi-line discounts we paid over $550 the first month (since I signed up for auto pay to get THAT discount). Also when I finished the chat after the rep added our phones and ordered the SIM cards a pop up came up that by bringing our own phones and keeping our numbers the activation fees would be waived. Nope!! They took 50% off per phone, but still charged $20 per phone, $140 and refused to honor that, even tho I took a screenshot. Their standard answer, that deal had expired and they couldn’t honor it. As soon as our 6 months is up our 7 lines are leaving. Yes, if you leave before 6 months they’ll charge you what they sent you in rebates. Also I’m still waiting on the rebates for the 2 lines they messed up up and originally put in separate accounts. Read the fine print!! Liars and scammers, that’s all they are.

[vzw_customer_support]

@DuncanFam90 It's our goal to always provide you with the correct, and necessary information when signing up for new service. We want to make sure you're able to get every promotion you qualify for. I've sent you a Private Note so we can continue.

[EID]

You finally just gave me a bill credit for $250. But obviously, based on all these comments, this bring your own device rebate is not living up to the expectations you give your new customers. We shouldn't have to call 4 times for you to get it right (or still wrong in some cases). I probably spent 3 hours on this rebate. I do not foresee myself staying with Verizon. And my service is actually worse at my house than it was with at&t. I have to use Wi-Fi calling and I get virtually no data service. As someone who lives along the Gulf coast, and who loses power a lot, having to use Wi-Fi calling and not having data work is completely unacceptable. I have ONE bar without WiFi calling. You tout your company as the best coverage. and you nickel and dime for every additional service. If your coverage was the best, I'd be fine with that. But it is not ... and the amount of effort I had to put into getting $250 back somehow is also completely unacceptable.

[vzw_customer_support]

EID, we're truly glad to see that you received $250 in billing credits. We will continue to monitor and improve our Rebate Center options to ensure a smoother rebate process for our customers. It's truly disheartening to learn that you'll be leaving us soon. While we are not able to guarantee service indoors, we do want to provide alternative options such as Wi-Fi Calling/HD Voice. We also offer a Network Extender to help with indoor coverage. Here's a video that explains more:

https://www.verizonwireless.comanagementm/support/troubleshooting-wireless-signal-coverage-video/ . Please be sure to let us know if you need anything further. 

[Bababin1986]

I've been calling and emailing/ chatting for a month trying to get mine straightened out. It's a scam and they have no intention of honoring the promotion. They purposefully.give you the wrong information and make it impossible to recieve the rebates 

[SpruceZeus]

It is even worse than doing it on purpose ... it is lack of knowledge.

Have you (they) tried this one? BYOD250UNL  ...it could be BYOD450UNL .... BYOD350UNL

These were my codes and they are NOT in their system when i spoke with them and a rep took the time to reverse engineer things to find them. In the system it was 450 and he just tried out 250 in there and it worked, etc.

Anyway, hope it helps

[vzw_customer_support]

Hello, Bababin1986. It's great to get a rebate, so I understand your concern about conflicting information. We're here to help. Please check your private messages for details.

TracyB_VZW

[DuncanFam90]

Copies of 4 separate chats where I asked about the form of the rebate and was assured it was not a monthly credit or verizon ecard. 

1)

so verizon would pay us 2,100 if we brought over 7 phones to a family planRead

You

 at 11:18, Jul 4:

yes that is correct gift card

Tameka

 at 11:19, Jul 4:

is it a visa gift card? we have two phones I would need to buy out before we could switch, and i would want to be able to pay my credit card with the gift cardRead

You

 at 11:20, Jul 4:

yes it is a visa gift card

2)

at 23:04, Jul 5:

ok, good. and the 300 per line is in the form of a visa gift card, not a monthly credit, correct?Read

You

 at 23:05, Jul 5:

so for 7 lines it would be 2,100Read

You

 at 23:05, Jul 5:

Correct (:

Bryana

 at 23:05, Jul 5:

just want to make sure as I will be paying off a couple of the phones and will want to pay off the credit card I put them onRead

You

 at 23:06, Jul 5:

Thank you Bryana, you have been very helpfulRead

3)

Carly

 at 21:17, Jul 7:

good! also just to verify, we will be getting the $300 per line in the form of a visa gift card, correct?Read

You

 at 21:18, Jul 7:

That's what I have been told, checking multiple times :)Read

You

 at 21:18, Jul 7:

Yes, that is right. For each line that you're 1. Porting over a number. 2. bringing over your own device and 3. Going on the Play, Do, or Get plans

4)

Was there anything else I could assist you with tonight?

Carly

 at 22:03, Jul 7:

Nope, I think that's it. I was told the***** visa gift card would come in 6-8 weeksRead

You

 at 22:03, Jul 7:

Yes, that is correct! Thank you so much for chatting with me tonight and welcome to the Verizon family! I would greatly appreciate it if you left a survey about your experience with me today. 9s or 10s are considered excellent!

[DuncanFam90]

[vzw_customer_support]

As a valued customer, your account concerns are our concerns too. We thank you for sharing your screenshots and we're here to help you. We certainly don't want you to feel this way about Verizon and we'd like to turn this around. Since we will need account-specific details from you, we’re requesting your permission to gain access to your account. Please check your Inbox as we’ve sent a Private Message to you regarding on this topic:

https://community.verizonwireless.com/inbox

- RobertC_VZW

[DuncanFam90]

Of course after private messaging me and saying they could help, I get the standard reply back that the rebate submitted for was a Verizon ecard and there is no way to convert that to a prepaid MasterCard as the Verizon ecard was the rebate at the time. I had hoped, since they replied back that they didn’t want me to feel this way about Verizon, that FINALLY after multiple hours on chats and phone calls that someone could actually make this right. I should have known better. 

[vzw_customer_support]

DuncanFam90, we truly understand the importance of making sure you receive accurate information at all times. We apologize for the experience you had received. The rebate promotions that we offer will be Verizon eGift Cards unless the promotion specifies otherwise. All details pertaining to any promotion will be provided in the fine print or the promotional page.

Example promotional details https://vz.to/35yP2I6.

[DuncanFam90]

I have resigned myself to the fact my rebate is going to be Verizon ecards, and not the promised prepaid visa cards. I received 5 of the 7 rebates on August 26th. The last 2 rebates (submitted at the same time) were for two phones that I brought over at the same time as my other 5, but the rep online put them on a different account when she set us up, so I had 2 accounts, one with 5 lines and one with 2.  I have since (after hours online and on the phone with customer service) had the 2 lines moved over to our main account, and then submitted for the 7 rebates. I had a feeling when this happened that there would be something happen with the 2 rebates, and it seems to be the case. I received a confirmation email with tracking numbers for all 7 rebates, but the two are still pending, even though they were submitted at the same time.  The email said "Based on the purchase date provided, you can expect us to validate your rebate around September 6, 2020". I am hoping customer service will follow up with me to help get this resolved. I started a chat online this evening, and after the rep said they were going to check on this, it seems they either fell asleep or their shift ended, I never heard from them again after 30 minutes of waiting.  

[vzw_customer_support]

DuncanFam90, this is definitely not the experience we want for you, and we absolutely understand how important it is to ensure that you receive the last 2 Verizon eCards. We will be sending you a Private Note for further review and assistance.

LauraF_VZW

[Bababin1986]

Same thing happened to me.  I was supposed to get $450 per device.  And they did not honor it.  I spent hours online with this woman rep signing up and talking about the more expensive plan I had to get to be eligible and she said I would recieve the gift cards in the mail, nothing about any rebate. Now they wont honor it and say I had to do it a rebate with rebate codes from my reciept... which do not exist. And I'm out 800 I paid to get out of my old plan to get better service with Verizon. And the service isn't even any better. 

[OldHippy1369]

I was told that I qualified for BYOD $150. Yet I checked status and tells me that the service I have does not qualify.  All I was supposed to do was bring my devise and sign up for post paid unlimited. Which I have done.  Do not understand WHY they say my plan doesn't qualify. Not to mention I have NO service. Stand right beside my neighbor who has verizon pre paid. He has 4G I  have 1 small bar. Have been with Verizon for about 5 weeks and have Never seen 4G on my phone. NO service in my house. Might be time to go elsewhere.