Heads up to anyone purchasing a device from Verizon online to later pick up in person at a store. I ordered an Apple Watch online, and accepted all policies / documents. Received order summary and receipt email. Went to store to pick up device, and was surprised to learn there was a hold on the order and to call Verizon to straighten it out.
The CS rep quickly transferred me to the Fraud department, with no reason why. My guess is the order was flagged as fraud due to some activity it saw. For example, the only way Verizon's system allows to check in-store stock is to place an item in the cart, THEN it shows whether it is available for in-store pickup that day. If it's not in stock, I need to remove the item from the cart and start over (with a different color, or watch band size for example), and re-check if that is available for same-day in-store pickup. Yeah, trial-and-error; it's a lousy, inefficient way to check stock. All the trial-and-error stuff probably flagged the order.
Anyway, the CS rep spent nearly half an hour with me, and had to call me on a second line to re-verify I was the same person she was talking to on the first call! Finally released the order.
Then the person at the store retrieved the device, and after sitting there watching me struggle on the phone trying to straighten this out, then saw the order appear on his tablet right when I hung up, had the colossal nerve to ask me to show my I.D.!
I understand the problem with fraud these days, but if it was a real concern with fraud, Verizon should have alerted me via email, text, and/or a call if necessary, right when the order was placed, BEFORE I travelled to the store. For example, my credit card instantly alerts me if there is a fraud concern with a transaction. Verizon needs to improve their system, since punishing long-time customers and treating them as suspects is not a sound business plan.
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