It is time for a Class Action Lawsuit against Verizon for the upgrade fee. Verizon currently charges $40 if you buy a new phone. I bought my phone at Walmart and it was set up in about 5 minutes. Verizon did nothing to set it up. The person at Walmart set it up. You can't even find a good reason for the fee on their website. It is an unethical way of making money. Charging people for a service that they are not getting. I didn't change plans, add a line, or even change my phone number. It is a completely shady and evil way to charge people for nothing. It's time to fight back. Verizon should be sued for this unethical practice.
You got charged because your account was accessed. Go unlocked to avoid upgrade fees.
I did pay full retail at Apple and was charged to activate the SIM card - ridiculous
I'm not a fan of these fees either, EDRN1. From time to time, we do have promotional offers with Free Activation, with online purchases. Did you get a new line of service, or just a new phone? Were you charged at Apple, or on your Verizon Wireless bill?
VanessaS_VZW
@EDRN1 If it came from Apple with a Verizon SIM card, you will get charged an upgrade fee.
Buy the sim free version and you avoid the fee.
I just bought a phone from Samsung and paid for it in full and was still charged $40. Ridiculous!
@Rach48 wrote:I just bought a phone from Samsung and paid for it in full and was still charged $40. Ridiculous!
Did you receive a Verizon Sim card with your new phone? If you did that is why you were charged the upgrade fee.
Did you buy a Verizon branded Samsung phone or an unlocked Samsung phone?
I recently purchased an unlocked Samsung phone through Best Buy and because I wanted the promo activation discount for the device, I chose to activate with purchase so the phone came with a SIM card. I expected to be charged an upgrade fee as they make you log into Verizon to check your line status (upgrade existing line or add new line). My line was available for an upgrade so that was the option for me to take advantage of the promotion.
Had I opted for no activation, I'd pay retail price, no discounts, plus tax and would not get charged Verizon upgrade fee. It would not make me log into my Verizon account since no activation involved.
They charge an upgrade fee even if I'm paying full retail up front rather than over what is now 30 months for an iPhone 12 Pro.
I paid full retail, transferred the number from an existing phone (e.g. no new line) and was still hit with an upgrade fee.
@pyro123 wrote:I paid full retail, transferred the number from an existing phone (e.g. no new line) and was still hit with an upgrade fee.
You entirely missed the point and/or didn’t read my previous posts. Adding a line would incur a line activation fee. Buying a phone from verizon will include a SIM card, and a fee for upgrading.
I wrote how to avoid it. I walk into Best Buy and just buy a phone, or tell them I’m prepaid, or I can’t upgrade because I lost a phone under installments.
What I feel is more a grounds for a lawsuit are these so-called Authorized Retailers who charge you $55 for a "setup fee" even if you activate the phone at home and don't even disclose the fee up front. This is ON TOP OF the $40 activation fee. Stay away from small third party stores!
I am a consumer myself so I understand that you want to know what you pay for upfront, Lg787. I would love to help and see what happened. I have sent you a private message so I can assist. AmberF_VZW
What does the $40 upgrade fee pay for? What is the purpose of it?
That's an excellent question, Robbquise. The Verizon Wireless upgrade fee is a one-time charge when you upgrade your device. No matter what type of upgrade you choose, you also gain the benefits of Verizon 4G LTE network and express self-service options, including My Verizon and My Verizon Mobile. The upgrade fee is applied for the operational cost changes associated with upgrading and activating devices.
LauraF_VZW
"No matter what type of upgrade you choose, you also gain the benefits of Verizon 4G LTE network and express self-service options, including My Verizon and My Verizon Mobile. The upgrade fee is applied for the operational cost changes associated with upgrading and activating devices."
These benefits are already included with a Verizon account, so acting like they're something new is misleading.
We assure you our mission is to help you in the best way possible and provide you with accurate information, gobledk. We are including a link that will address and clarify all of your concerns regarding the Upgrade Fee, this way you can review at your convenience: http://spr.ly/6601GlfeU.
Verizon Wireless has had an upgrade fee since April 2012. The amount of the fee and when it is charged as changed since. Those changes and the reasons why as noted in the press releases from Verizon Wireless at the time of their announcement.
That said, you could have saved $20 on the upgrade fee if you had purchased the phone through the Verizon Wireless website. In store purchases are $40 per phone upgrade (DPP or full retail price).
I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.
I agree and would be very happy to participate in any way necessary. I just discovered today that I was charged $40 for setup and yet I was never given the opportunity to do it myself. The salesperson just did it and took forever and I mean forever at least over an hour! and today I just discovered that he must have made a mistake because ever since then which was about two weeks ago I have been unable to complete the setup process. I thought that was my fault, but haven't spoken to an operator at Verizon in order to complain about not being told there would be this $40 charge, I found out that the Verizon store sales people are not required to tell you that you'll be charged or to let you know that you can do it yourself. When you top that with the fact that I can't get the thing to finish setting up and then I keep stumbling into one issue after another - - which, by the way, I am making screenshots of each and every time- - I am just so tired and so furious about it. Then add to it the fact that you can't get anyone on the phone unless you're willing to wait for hours by your phone because they won't even schedule for you a call back time like other businesses are doing these days... I swear I want to strangle somebody at that company. So how do we begin this class action lawsuit?
Wynn5665,
I'm terribly sorry to hear you're struggling to get things set up correctly. We want everything to work awesome for you. Any costs should be explained up front as I know that is crucial as well. We don't normally charge a fee to help set up a phone though. There is an upgrade fee when upgrading, but that isn't directly for setting up the phone and is charged whether you choose to do this yourself or not. What part of the set up isn't working for you? What type of device do you have?
AndrewT_VZW
As our valued customer, your account concerns are our concerns too. We’re here to assist you in any way we can. Since we will need account-specific details from you, we’re requesting your permission to gain access to your account. Please check your Inbox as we’ve sent a Private Message to you regarding on this topic:
RobertC_VZW
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