Minimum term service contract fee
myounis
Enthusiast - Level 2

I noticed a $20 charge on my last two bills for a minimum term service contract. I was very confused as to what this charge was until I did some research. Appears this is a charge for subsidized smartphone purchased from Verizon. I purchased my phone in full from Apple and have the receipt to prove it.

 

A couple of months ago I transfered responsibility of the phone line from my previous employer to me as I wanted to keep my number. I spent about a week with customer service on the phone until finally I got up escalated high enough that the supervisor removed the term from my line. Appears now it's back and I'm still getting charged.

 

I'm pretty fed up with Verizon and will do whatever it takes to leave this carrier even if it means worse coverage for better customer service / transparency.

 

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1 Solution
mama23dogs
Legend

@myounis wrote:

That seems really messed up. In essence, I'm subsidizing the benefit my previous employer (A fortune 500 company) gets from Verizon (wether it be discounted devices or reduced line costs). It's like welfare for coporations.


I get what you mean, but it has nothing to do with it being a big corporation.  Individual accounts would transfer an obligation as well.  Too bad the business didn’t make sure your line was free and clear.   Or that you didn’t port to another carrier, which would have stuck them with the ETF

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22 Replies
NewOldcustomer
Contributor - Level 2

You can file an FCC complaint.  What a bogus charge!  

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Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

@NewOldcustomer wrote:

You can file an FCC complaint.  What a bogus charge!  


It is more likely to be a legitimate charge. 

https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/transfer-your-service-faqs/

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

Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

"A couple of months ago I transfered responsibility of the phone line from my previous employer to me as I wanted to keep my number."

This transfer of financial responsibility is where the minimum term service fee is coming from. If you kept the phone and number from your previous employer the transfer created a one year service contract on your new account especially if the previous employer had purchased the phone under a contract pricing agreement. 

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

rcschnoor
Legend

@myounis wrote:

I noticed a $20 charge on my last two bills for a minimum term service contract. I was very confused as to what this charge was until I did some research. Appears this is a charge for subsidized smartphone purchased from Verizon. I purchased my phone in full from Apple and have the receipt to prove it.

 

A couple of months ago I transfered responsibility of the phone line from my previous employer to me as I wanted to keep my number.

 

Capture.PNG


If you take over responsibility of a line from another entity, you are "responsible" for any contractual agreements for which the previous entity was "responsible". Even if you purchase a new phone after taking over the line, the previous contractual obligations will be on your line until you fulfill the requirements.

myounis
Enthusiast - Level 2

The phone was always mine, they had a BYOD policy. The employer never purchased a device for me. So if my previous employer purchased a device for another employee on my line I'm still obligated for that device?

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Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

@myounis wrote:

The phone was always mine, they had a BYOD policy. The employer never purchased a device for me. So if my previous employer purchased a device for another employee on my line I'm still obligated for that device?


Yes, you would be still responsible for the contract service term associated with that phone purchase on your line. 

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

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rcschnoor
Legend

@myounis wrote:

The phone was always mine, they had a BYOD policy. The employer never purchased a device for me. So if my previous employer purchased a device for another employee on my line I'm still obligated for that device?


No you are not obligated for that device, you are obligated for the line of service and any contractual obligations for the line. When someone(company) enters into a service contract on a line in exchange for some sort of discount, whether it is for a phone or whatever, that line is under contract for a specificed term unless a ETF is paid. If someone takes over responsibility for that line while it is still under contract, the responsibility for the contract term or ETF passes on to the person who has taken responsibility for the line. That is one of the problems with taking over a line from someone(company) else. You are taking over the liabilities for that line.

myounis
Enthusiast - Level 2

That seems really messed up. In essence, I'm subsidizing the benefit my previous employer (A fortune 500 company) gets from Verizon (wether it be discounted devices or reduced line costs). It's like welfare for coporations.

Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

@myounis wrote:

That seems really messed up. In essence, I'm subsidizing the benefit my previous employer (A fortune 500 company) gets from Verizon (wether it be discounted devices or reduced line costs). It's like welfare for coporations.


The minimum term service fee would have happened if the line you took over was owned by another individual too. In this case it doesn't matter if the previous owner is an individual or a company. 

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

mama23dogs
Legend

@myounis wrote:

That seems really messed up. In essence, I'm subsidizing the benefit my previous employer (A fortune 500 company) gets from Verizon (wether it be discounted devices or reduced line costs). It's like welfare for coporations.


I get what you mean, but it has nothing to do with it being a big corporation.  Individual accounts would transfer an obligation as well.  Too bad the business didn’t make sure your line was free and clear.   Or that you didn’t port to another carrier, which would have stuck them with the ETF

myounis
Enthusiast - Level 2

Yea. Lesson learned. I wish I had better information at the time to make a more informed decision.

vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

The Transfer of Service moves service from one responsible party to the another. This option is completely up to the customer. You can view more details here:https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/transfer-your-service-faqs/. Does this answer your question?  BobbyN_VZW

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myounis
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thanks for the reply. The challenge I have is when I did the transfer of service the agent at the time told me that they'd "make it go away". It didn't go away and showed up on my account. I followed up later on the phone and similary an agent said they would remove it and they did for a couple of weeks but now it's back again.

vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Thank you for the information, myounis. Just to clarify what you are stating, you have had charges of $20.00 on your last two bills, correct? When you look at the charge on the bill, what is it labeled as?

PedroM_VZW

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Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

@vzw_customer_support wrote:

Thank you for the information, myounis. Just to clarify what you are stating, you have had charges of $20.00 on your last two bills, correct? When you look at the charge on the bill, what is it labeled as?

PedroM_VZW


As noted in the original post by the OP in this discussion thread, the charge is labeled "Minimum Term Service Contract". I hope from the previous posts in this discussion thread, the OP already has clarification on what is the fee and why it is on their bill. 

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

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

CassieG_VZW The Minimum Term Service Contract charge is for subsidized phones. 

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fesc
Newbie

Was there any resolution to this post? It seems odd that the charge was removed then added back on. I'm in a similar situation - if I had known about this bogus charge, I'd have switched away from Verizon as a provider when I left my last employer 

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KH-cathy29811
Moderator
Moderator

Due to the age of this thread, it will be locked in order to keep discussions current. If you have the same or a similar question/issue we invite you to start a new thread on the topic.

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Please meet me in a Private Note. *Cecile

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

That is correct, myounis. If your employer signed a 2-year agreement to get a discount on a phone on your line and then you did a Transfer of Service to keep that phone number, you assume all responsibility for that number, including the 2-year contract. Does this help answer your question? 

 

UbaldoJ_VZW

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