Didn’t qualify for upgrade in store, but I was qualified on the app

I got an email saying I was eligible for the iPhone 16 upgrade on them, in any condition, guaranteed. My wife and I went into the local Verizon store and the sales associate said we did not qualify for the upgrade because we were on the old unlimited plan. Upset we wasted our time and gas for this! We went back home, I pulled up the offer on my phone and exchanged both our iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max for the new iPhone 16 Pro Max’s with a $999.99 credit to the new phones for each old phone being traded in ($1,999.98). Now as I write this the new phones are being shipped and the old phones haven’t been returned. Hard to trust everything will go smoothly given the experience so far, but we shall see. How can we not qualify in store being helped by a Verizon employee but I can manage to do it myself online? Pure incompetence!

Accepted answers

Verizon_Support

Happy Monday! Being on top of our offers is crucial, especially if you encountered hiccups. Our goal is to always provide world-class interactions.

We sent you a Private Message. Please review at your earliest convenience.

~Gilbert

All comments

Ann154

Do you know if this was a corporate store or a third party retailer? Also, the reps in either type of store will encourage the customers to switch off the older plans into the current plans. If you want to keep your existing plan, it is prudent to utilize the website or app to verify your plan prior to any purchase.

MynameisJeff3

Hey, thanks for your reply. This was a Verizon store. I didn’t care honestly if my plan changed or not. She just told me I did not qualify since I was on the old unlimited plan. I said okay, well I won’t be upgrading then I guess, you probably shouldn’t have emailed me if I’m not eligible and left the store. To that point, I did not need to change my plan when I did the upgrade myself online, it didn’t even ask if I wanted to change my plan. It just worked.

SynthpopAddict

Well, I *hope* it works and that you don't find yourself suddenly with a new plan or being charged for a phone because the legacy plan doesn't qualify after all. I've read plenty of stories about promos not quite working like one would think, and makes me wonder if sometimes it's just that the system is sending out bulk ads to people without filtering out those who aren't actually eligible.

MynameisJeff3

Thanks, I’m hoping so as well. If it seems too good to be true it probably is. We shall see. Probably a gimmick to get people to buy new phones then stiff them with the full price after the point of no return. Really hoping I’m wrong, but my gut doesn’t feel great about this process so far.

SynthpopAddict

You're welcome. From what I've seen, all the major carriers have a requirement that you be on the most recent top-level service plan to qualify for "free phone upgrades". The stipulation being that you must stay on the top level plan for X number of months, while the carrier pays you back in monthly credits until the credits add up to the cost of the phone. With the "upgrade as much as you want" deal some providers have, I believe the catch there is you'd have to pay off some portion of the existing balance on the current phone before you can get another "upgrade" sooner than the usual contract length of X months.

Verizon_Support

Happy Monday! Being on top of our offers is crucial, especially if you encountered hiccups. Our goal is to always provide world-class interactions.

We sent you a Private Message. Please review at your earliest convenience.

~Gilbert

MynameisJeff3

I appreciate your response and the assistance. Thank you again.

NoMoreVWbs

Same situation with my account today. Verizon is manipulating the definition of an "Upgrade"! In short, I was told that for 1 phone I was eligible for an "Upgrade". I could either pay $1000 for an "Upgraded" phone OR PAY addition costs for a NEW PLAN! Niether of which I am interested in doing. I too have a "grandfathered in plan", which they are clearly trying to phase out & charge us long time customers more $$$. So, there is NO real "Upgrade" option. Just a way for Verizon to charge more $$$.

Side note: My phone actually melted in my hand, burning me! What did they do? Gave me the SAME phone model, SIX different times! Each one had the same internal drive problem! I would think that at some point, a human being within the customer service department would catch on, & offer a different solution! One that actually provided results. SMH! And yes, I do PAY for the monthly protection. Im so over Verizon.

NoMoreVWbs

Exactly! They sent me dozens of "Offers" & "Best Deals". None of which I was ACTUALLY "eligable" for!