On November 19th, 2019, I purchased an iPhone with Verizon. I purchased online and went into the store to pick it up. To be clear, I didn't pay cash for it, I pay monthly, but still a purchase.
Before I purchased the phone, I contacted the store and asked about any deals they had. They told me what was available. I inquired about Black Friday deals as it as coming up and they said they don't know what's coming out, but if there is a promotion I want to participate in within 2 weeks of that day, Verizon would honor it. That was a lie. I was also told that if I didn't like the phone I could return it for a $50 dollar restocking fee if it was within 2 weeks. I was okay with that.
So, Black Friday came and low and behold, there was a great deal. Trade in an eligible phone and receive a $400 prepaid card and also receive a $400 credit over the course of two years. I went on to chat as it was Thanksgiving and it was confirmed that I qualified for the deal, and over the course of about an HOUR, the chat rep finally assured me of what my final monthly payment would be.
I went to the rebate website and submitted the rebate code and was told it would be several weeks before the prepaid card was sent out.
I was sent a bubble mailer -- no box, just a padded envelope. So I went to the UPS store to mail the phone and they informed me that I had to have it in a box for insurance reasons. So I had to pay out of pocket ten bucks for them to pack it for me. My gripe isn't about that because Verizon did credit me that. Not a good experience though.
Here is where it all starts to really fall apart. During the chat I mentioned above, I was told that the plan I had been enrolled with, I think it was the Freedom Unlimited, or something like that, and after my $400 credit over the course of 24 months, my bill would be approximately $80 dollars a month.
After a couple months of paying over $120 I started to get ticked off. When is the deal going to kick in? Where was my gift card? I hit the chat again. I was told that the phone had to process and all that jazz. I provided the tracking number and was assured that it would take just a little more time, and that I would be credited for the higher payment retroactively.
Well, this all never happened, so I hit the chat AGAIN, and spoke to an incredible agent that read the previous chat (They had the same name) and she agreed with me, and said she would make it right. She credited me about $65 if I remember correctly, and that included the UPS packing fee. She had slightly restored my faith in Verizon customer service. Before I started this chat with her, I had received an email saying I had been DENIED for the rebate because I purchased the phone before the Black Friday. But, I had been told I qualified because I was within two weeks. She told me she was submitting some sort of request to investigate that and told me in the chat (which I have) that she agreed with me and that it wasn't right.
This company took my dang phone! And then denied me the rebate! LOL. How crazy is that?
I went to another chat, and the person reviewed all the other chats and then said I had to call a number for the rebate, as they don't handle that. So I did, and the call had to get escalated. I was told by them that they would go ahead and honor the $400 / 24 months but that a $200 prepaid card had already been sent out and that was as far as they were willing to go. I never agreed to a $200 prepaid card. I never asked anyone to send that--ever!
What the heck? I asked. That was not the deal! You guys sent me an envelope to take my phone because obviously there was some sort of deal that had been agreed upon. I asked the rep why would Verizon send me an envelope if there was no deal that was agreed upon, and if she could show me where I had agreed to a $200 prepaid card as opposed to the $400. She couldn't do it, nor could she answer the question as to why the bubble mailer was mailed for no reason.
So, here I am now, 5-6 months later, wanting to just give this dang phone back and the $200 card that I got with it and be done with this company. They lied to me, gave me the bait and switch. This is a billion dollar company and I feel like they are no different than some street thugs! The time I have spent trying to get this right is at least 12 hours, between the holds, the chats, and the phone time. And now writing this.
TLDR; My next bill is $98 dollars, and I am not okay with that. It wasn't the deal. It's almost 20 dollars more than I was led to believe it was going to be and I was also cheated out of another $200 concerning the prepaid card. To any Verizon representative reading, please review the chat I had with the first Sam I chatted with, and if you can show me where it says I agreed to $100 a month and only a $200 card, then please show me that. You won't find it cause it didn't happen.
We need to figure something out and this needs to be put to bed. This is ridiculous. I either don't want to be associated with a company that is going to cheat and lie, or the financials of the matter need to be what was previously agreed upon.
