Edge Plan Change?!
JoeS_
Enthusiast - Level 2

I signed up for the Edge plan a few years ago for my love of tech. I wanted the new phones when they came out, not every two years. The Edge plan stated that I could upgrade to a new phone when I paid 50% of the retail price of my current phone.

Last year I utilized the plan for the first time when I upgraded to the Note Edge. I had a little over $100 to pay to get to the 50% mark so I could upgrade. Yesterday, I  checked MyVerizon to see how much I had paid on the Note Edge because I wanted to get the S7 when it came out. I was a little more than surprised when I saw that in order to upgrade I had to now pay 75% of the retail price of the phone. When I called Verizon support and spoke with the customer service rep, who was incredibly uninformed (which I find to be the case every time I call customer service), told me that the Edge plan changed a long time ago, even before I upgraded to the Note Edge. The employee never informed me of this change.

If the Edge plan stated that 75% was needed to be paid before I was eligible for an upgrade, then I never would've signed up for it. Not to mention that if there's a change to the plan I'm currently on, Verizon should definitely make sure I'm informed of the change.

Needless to say, I'm more than unhappy with Verizon. I was 7% away from being eligible for an upgrade, now I'm 32% away. This type of terrible business practice is why I'm currently researching other wireless providers.

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1 Solution
rcschnoor
Legend

JoeS. wrote:

That's not how it was described to me, nor did I sign anything saying there was a 'new' contract. The employees both at the stores and on the support line are woefully inept. AGAIN, the way I v understood it, I was on a plan where I could 'Edge' up when I paid 50% of the phone off.

When you first signed up, they COULDN'T have described it to you in any other way than 50% paid off before trading in and upgrading because the changes had not yet taken place.

It is just like a car loan. You purchase a car with a car loan and after a certain amount of time you trade it in for a new model. The equity you have built up in the car by paying off your initial loan goes to pay off the remaining amount of the loan and the rest is put as a down payment for the new car. You sign a NEW car loan to purchase the NEW car. You are not held to the same conditions of your initial car loan. You are held to the conditions of the NEW car loan you take out for this purchase.

The Edge Plan/Device Purchase Plan work the exact same way. You take the full retail amount of the phone and spread that payment out into 24 installments. With Edge, you were allowed to trade in the phone after reaching a specified threshold of having the installments paid off if you wanted to get a new phone. If you continued to pay off the installments UNTIL they were completed, the phone was yours to do with as you please and you could THEN purchase another phone without trading in your old phone.

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44 Replies
naansalad
Specialist - Level 3

did you use edge in 10/16/2014- 5/30/2015 time frame if yes then if I am not wrong then 75% is right answer...it depend on when was last time you did edge upgrade

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JoeS_
Enthusiast - Level 2

I signed up for the Edge plan in 2013, right after they introduced it.

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rcschnoor
Legend

JoeS. wrote:

I signed up for the Edge plan in 2013, right after they introduced it.

Yes, you signed up for Edge with a 50% payment option for upgrade with trade in when you signed up in 2013. Once you traded in that phone for a new phone, THAT Edge agreement was completed. Purchasing a new phone after trading in your old Edge phone required you signing a NEW Edge contract with terms which had changed since your original agreement. Those terms required you to pay off 75%. If you utilize that 75% option and "Edge Up" to a new device, you NEW agreement will require you to pay off 100% before you can upgrade. Of course, you then don't have to trade in your 100% paid off phone and can sell it yourself for most likely 50% or more of the original purchase price.Smiley Happy

JoeS_
Enthusiast - Level 2

That's not how it was described to me, nor did I sign anything saying there was a 'new' contract. The employees both at the stores and on the support line are woefully inept. AGAIN, the way I v understood it, I was on a plan where I could 'Edge' up when I paid 50% of the phone off.

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JoeS_
Enthusiast - Level 2

And never did the percentage increase. Explaining the terms of the Edge agreement falls on the employees and Verizon, not me. Never will I trust these people again. When the Edge agreement first came out, it was 50% every time. It was changed afterwards.

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

JoeS, we are saddened to hear that there was some confusion over the current Device Payment Agreement. Rcschnoor, was exactly correct on the changes in this program. Each time you make a purchase and sign a new agreement, you will want to review terms of that new agreement. Just like plans, the Device Payment Plans have changed over time.
LorenB_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

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rcschnoor
Legend

JoeS. wrote:

That's not how it was described to me, nor did I sign anything saying there was a 'new' contract. The employees both at the stores and on the support line are woefully inept. AGAIN, the way I v understood it, I was on a plan where I could 'Edge' up when I paid 50% of the phone off.

When you first signed up, they COULDN'T have described it to you in any other way than 50% paid off before trading in and upgrading because the changes had not yet taken place.

It is just like a car loan. You purchase a car with a car loan and after a certain amount of time you trade it in for a new model. The equity you have built up in the car by paying off your initial loan goes to pay off the remaining amount of the loan and the rest is put as a down payment for the new car. You sign a NEW car loan to purchase the NEW car. You are not held to the same conditions of your initial car loan. You are held to the conditions of the NEW car loan you take out for this purchase.

The Edge Plan/Device Purchase Plan work the exact same way. You take the full retail amount of the phone and spread that payment out into 24 installments. With Edge, you were allowed to trade in the phone after reaching a specified threshold of having the installments paid off if you wanted to get a new phone. If you continued to pay off the installments UNTIL they were completed, the phone was yours to do with as you please and you could THEN purchase another phone without trading in your old phone.

JoeS_
Enthusiast - Level 2

I didn't sign any new agreement. That's the whole point. If I had, I wouldn't be on here talking about it.

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mama23dogs
Legend

Open your my Verizon online account, go to My Documents and read every purchase or receipt on your account.  Every time you bought a new phone on the installment agreement, you signed it.

JoeS_
Enthusiast - Level 2

Found it, signed it, but as I have said probably 5 times now, I wasn't told that the plan had changed. I wasn't even told the name of the plan was changed.  Do you really think I'd be on this forum if I knew of any of these changes? I wasn't told I was signing a new plan agreement. AGAIN, I was under the impression that when I paid 50% of the retail price of the Note Edge, the phone I upgraded to on March 4th of 2015, I would be able to upgrade to a new phone. There's nothing else to be said about this failure in communication.

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mama23dogs
Legend

You still can, you just need to pay off 75% (or 100% and Verizon doesn't want your phone back).  You can pay off and enter a new agreement at any time, and sell the old phone, or pass it down.

YOu might want to look at the prices on eBay or swappa.  You probably can get more selling it than you owe on the phone.  Since I'm the person who buys gently used 1 year old devices, I can tell you the market is very good.  I just bought a mint GS6 off eBay for $324.

Why the change?

Many reasons.  Some customers like a new phone yearly and pass down the previous phone to the kids - not trade it in.  But worse, the trade in process was a disaster, lost phones, damaged phones all made the trade in process more aggravating for customers.  There are still angry posts from customers who mailed in phones only to be billed $300 for a lost, damaged or iCloud locked phone.  Or the reverse, being forced to trade in a phone to upgrade with very little left on the payments, when the phone is worth $300 or more on eBay.   Trade-in is never the financially best option for the customer.

Lastly - no matter what, always read and ask questions.  It's boring, time consuming, and I'm no lawyer, but you need to know your rights and limitations, and you didn't. 

I Won't defend the clerks, but the % payoff changed several times and it was hard to keep track. 

SuzyQ
Community Leader
Community Leader

Reading through all this, my advice echoes mama23dogs's -  pay off the balance (100%) and keep the Note Edge, grab the S7 if you want it and then sell the Note Edge on eBay or Swappa to recoup your investment. Any phone purchased now will simply be outright or on the device payment plan (payments spread over 24 months) and "upgrades" or new phones wait until your balance is paid off.

Verizon changed their direction a few times over the past two years and it has caused nothing but cofusion when people have a mix of payment plans and agreements - as evidenced in your case.  The "EDGE" went from 50% to 75% to being abandoned for 100% before upgrades now.  Even contracts are discouraged, and not allowed if you are on the newest  Verizon plan.  The landscape is changing.... (has changed)...

rcschnoor
Legend

JoeS. wrote:

Found it, signed it, but as I have said probably 5 times now, I wasn't told that the plan had changed. I wasn't even told the name of the plan was changed.  Do you really think I'd be on this forum if I knew of any of these changes? I wasn't told I was signing a new plan agreement. AGAIN, I was under the impression that when I paid 50% of the retail price of the Note Edge, the phone I upgraded to on March 4th of 2015, I would be able to upgrade to a new phone. There's nothing else to be said about this failure in communication. mama23dogs

So what DID you think you were signing? First you said you didn't sign anything. Now you realize you did sign something. I find it most likely that they started explaining the Edge plan to you and you told them you are already on Edge and didn't need it explained. Since you didn't even remember signing anything when in fact you did, it is just as likely you don't recall the transaction completely anyway.

JoeS_
Enthusiast - Level 2

No, what is your problem? You think I'm lying? When you purchase something, especially with a debit or credit card, you always sign something. That's why I don't remember signing anything about a new agreement. I figured I was signing because I had to pay the  $123.56 left to get to the 50% mark. I remember the whole transaction, that's why I'm on this forum complaining. First off, don't imply I'm a liar, and secondly, you have no idea what went on during MY transaction. You have no reason to comment on this thread. If you want to, send me a private message with your phone number and we'll discuss this further, otherwise keep your uninformed opinions to yourself.

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Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

Community members can't send each other private messages through the forum unless they send follow requests to each and those requests are accepted by the other party.  I don't know what that other person's opinion is on your idea, but I do know I wouldn't accept such a request given the current tone of this discussion thread.

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

JoeS_
Enthusiast - Level 2

Well, I just don't appreciate the insinuation that I'm for some reason not being truthful. There's absolutely no reason for me to lie.

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rcschnoor
Legend

I have no problem. YOU stated you didn't sign anything. After reviewing you online receipts, YOU then said you DID sign something. This doesn't mean you were not being truthful. That you didn't recall something DOES NOT mean I think you are being truthful. I don't find it unusual when someone does not recall EXACTLY what went on during a transaction that happened about a year ago. I don't expect myself to remember transactions from that long ago and don't expect others to remember any better. That YOU equate this to me saying you are not being truthful has no basis in fact.

IF, on the other hand you DID remember signing something and ASSUMED it was for something for which it was not, that is your own fault.

Having purchased MANY phones from Verizon in the past, I have NEVER been able to do so without signing something, whether I pay full retail or on contract. If I were asked to sign something when getting a new phone, I certainly would not assume it was to complete an agreement for which I had already signed. Verizon has NEVER required that in the past, not sure why they would do so now.

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JoeS_
Enthusiast - Level 2

I NEVER  said I didn't sign anything, I said 'I didn't sign a new agreement,' which at the time, I didn't think it was a new agreement because I wasn't told it was.

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sprmankalel
Champion - Level 3

JoeS. wrote:

I NEVER  said I didn't sign anything, I said 'I didn't sign a new agreement,' which at the time, I didn't think it was a new agreement because I wasn't told it was.

The point that everyone is trying to make is that, had you read what you signed you would have realized what you were signing. That is all. I also think that this thread has been allowed to continue far past its usefulness. I can only start to turn ugly from this point.

You got to vent. You realized that you were incorrect in your assumptions. Verizon will not do anything to change it. You will be required to pay 100% of your device starting with the next purchase and you have been informed of that. There is nothing that can be done except learn the lesson and move on. If you want something different than what VZW's DPP offers then you can check out any of the other carrier's agreements but that's about all the recourse that you have.

mama23dogs
Legend

This is the reason I love the My documents feature, not every carrier has it.  During my first tour with Verizon, I had 18 years of transactions, back to my first phone, recorded in my documents.

THe sales slips are VERY long.  I must admit I want to go home and play with my new phones, not read the sales slip. 

THe the terms of service is long and boring too.  But there is a lot of important information we should know.

WHen you think of how much we spend monthly on cell service, often as much as a car payment, doesn't it make sense to know the obligations, limitations etc, we put our signature on?

Food for thought....