Hello Verizon,
I just signed up for a new 2 year contract. I have been a customer for many, many years and have always paid my bills in a timely manor. I have given plenty of feedback to each and every customer representative I have spoken to over the past month on your "Upgrade" fee of 30 dollars for purchasing a new phone as well as a new Two year contract.
Over the course of a two year contract, I am paying you 2800.00 dollars, plus additional fees at times for extra usage, so close to 3000.00 dollars in total fees.
The fact that you charge returning customers an upgrade fee is a slap in the face. A "new" customer coming from another carrier does not get an upgrade fee and can purchase a new phone for the same price, with a two year contract, as an existing customer. But existing customers get an "extra" 30 dollar fee for what?
I have zero reception at my home, so I had to purchase a 250 dollar cell tower booster to get reception from your network. The only reason I didn't switch companies is because of the cost of this tower. But the cost of this tower is just another example of a fee on my end that I need to pay to have good service. And is another reason I get ticked off about additional fees, like an upgrade fee.
Can you please tell me why you penalize a returning customer with this fee but not a new customer? Can you also tell me what this fee is for?
Mike
Solved! Go to Correct Answer
Hello mikes7324.
I appreciate your concerns about the upgrade fee. I assure you, this is something Verizon Wireless put off as long as possible. For a long time we were able to subsidize these costs and not have to charge additional fees, but with the rising costs of devices we've had no choice. Although Verizon Wireless had to implement a fee, I'm happy to say we kept the fee low. It's one of the lowest out there.
The wireless industry is changing so fast and with the boom in technology Verizon has had to expand the services it offers. We offer many services that add value and minimize costs for our customers. Our upgrades come with many benefits, including: Free Wireless Workshops, Device setup at the Point of Sale, and Express Self Serve options including My Verizon.
Another major contributing factor for the Upgrade Fee is the rising costs of phones themselves. As they become more advanced and can do more things, they are rising significantly in price. You're able to take advantage of two year discounted pricing because part of the Upgrade Fee is allowing us to continue to subsidize the devices for our customers. For example, a new Apple iPhone 5S 16 GB is currently $199.99 to upgrade with a new 2 year agreement. For that same phone, Verizon Wireless paid $649.99.
I understand not wanting to be charged an additional $30.00. As other members have mentioned, there are ways to avoid it altogether. We offer a Trade-In program in which you may trade in a previous device for a giftcard which you can use towards your new phone. For more information about our Trade-In program, you may visit the following link: http://bit.ly/GGnDDC
Another great option to avoid the Upgrade Fee, would be the Verizon Edge program. Edge allows you to upgrade every 6 months with at least 50% of the device's balance paid off. For additional information, you may refer to this link: http://vz.to/18XswI4
AndreaS_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
New customers have a $35 activation fee on their first bill.
I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.
So basically, the upgrade fee is the same as the activation fee, and there is zero benefit for a returning customer.
mikes7324 wrote:
So basically, the upgrade fee is the same as the activation fee, and there is zero benefit for a returning customer.
Because getting a phone for 60%-95% off isn't good enough for you? You can always pay full price for the phone if you want to avoid the upgrade fee. No one forces you to upgrade.
This is the official statement of why they are adding the upgrade fee. http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/2012/04/bl2012-04-11.html
I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.
So basically - "Wireless Workshops, online educational tools, and consultations with experts who provide advice and guidance on devices that are more sophisticated than ever," are not part of the Verizon service. We must now pay for the service that should be automatically included in a contract.
If you buy anything in this world, help with that product is included.
I am a consultant, so I should then tell my customers that I will provide you a game plan, but if you want to speak to me, Ill need to add an additional charge for that - But I would never do this because its my job.
If no one ever speaks up about additional fees, then there will always be additional fees. What is next, a support tower fee to help pay for the guys who work on your local towers? Or a fee to go into the store and talk to a person, or an additional fee for anything else.
If Verizon wants to pay for its workers, then it should just charge a plain fee for the service. So instead of 120 dollars a month, charge 121 dollars a month. Additional fees like this make the service look a little cheaper but its really not.
Additional fees for returning customers is also a bad idea, because as soon as it makes sense for me to not be with Verizon, that is the next thing that will happen.
The upgrade fee at other carriers is higher than the amount charged by Verizon Wireless.
I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.
You can avoid the $30 upgrade fee by paying full price (~$600) for your device or acquiring your device outside of Verizon Wireless' contract system. You are essentially paying to receive a discount on the device's price, much like people pay to become members of "wholesale" clubs to be able to buy items at discounts for bulk purchases.
21st now, no you are paying for this - "Wireless Workshops, online educational tools, and consultations with experts who provide advice and guidance on devices that are more sophisticated than ever,"
http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/2012/04/bl2012-04-11.html
Makes a lot of sense.
This is why I used the word "essentially" in my response. If a customer walks in and buys a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 at full price, that customer still has access to wireless workshops, online educational tools and consultations with experts. However, that customer never paid the $30 upgrade fee. At best, the reason that VZW put for the upgrade fee in the press release is just public relations. At worst, it's a lie.
Logic points back to the upgrade fee being charged to offset the subsidy on the device since the only people who pay the upgrade fee are the ones who take the subsidy, but the same services are offered to all customers regardless of whether or not they paid an upgrade fee.
21st now - Your just twisting the words to make sense of yourself. And your not getting the original point. If the company - Verizon - puts out a press release telling everyone they are charging a fee for common every day practice - http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/2012/04/bl2012-04-11.html Then that's what they are charging a fee for.
They should have put out a release telling people they were off setting the cost of the phone, period. Or better yet, just charge more for the phone.
Retail cost for an Iphone is 600 dollars approx, but the cost Verizon gets it at is between 300-400 dollars. Lets just say 400 dollars for the 16gig 5c. I pay 100 of that out of pocket, so now Verizons cost is 300 dollars. I then pay Verizon 3000 dollars over two years, so they make 2700 dollars or more to distribute around.
So when you are talking about hundreds and thousands of dollars for contracts, and phones, etc, then to charge a 30 dollar fee is pointless and just leads to this - ticked off customers as obvious with the forums and messages Verizon gets.
Are you sure that Verizon Wireless is purchasing the phone they sell at a price less than retail? Where is your proof?
While I don't have proof either, most of what I have heard over the last few years is Verizon Wireless pays the full retail price of the phone and not at a discount.
I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.
mikes7324 wrote:
21st now - Your just twisting the words to make sense of yourself. And your not getting the original point. If the company - Verizon - puts out a press release telling everyone they are charging a fee for common every day practice - http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/2012/04/bl2012-04-11.html Then that's what they are charging a fee for.
They should have put out a release telling people they were off setting the cost of the phone, period. Or better yet, just charge more for the phone.
Retail cost for an Iphone is 600 dollars approx, but the cost Verizon gets it at is between 300-400 dollars. Lets just say 400 dollars for the 16gig 5c. I pay 100 of that out of pocket, so now Verizons cost is 300 dollars. I then pay Verizon 3000 dollars over two years, so they make 2700 dollars or more to distribute around.
So when you are talking about hundreds and thousands of dollars for contracts, and phones, etc, then to charge a 30 dollar fee is pointless and just leads to this - ticked off customers as obvious with the forums and messages Verizon gets.
I'm not twisting words, I'm looking at the reality of the situation. If VZW puts out a press release that says that the fee is for customer service options that customers who don't pay the fee have access to, then that fails the logic test. You can slice that any way that you want to, but it doesn't make sense.
As for the dollar figures that were in your post, carriers pay close to the same retail price that is charged to customers for Apple's phones specifically. Carriers normally pay less for phones from other OEMs.
The money that you pay for service is just that - the service costs. I think that you would agree that Verizon Wireless does provide cellular service to you on a monthly basis. Whether or not you value it at your MRC is a different story, but service costs are separate from device costs. Carriers only subsidize devices in order to entice customers to sign agreements to pay for service on a long-term basis. Carriers make money from service fees, not device fees.
One article that discusses how much carriers pay for different phones is found here: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/are-iphone-subsidies-destroying-carriers/
Published September 2013 -
Apples cost -
I would not believe that Verizon pays full retail, even if they told me personally.
Ok I'm done ranting about this. Ive made my point.
The first link has speculation on what the wholesale price MIGHT BE not what it is.
The second link lists of cost to actually build the phone. This doesn't factor in all the R&D costs plus the salaries of the engineering personnel.
I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.
What I find amazing is how you will respond to this post but the company, Verizon, will not. yet they have been responding to other posts on this forum. Seems to me like they shy away from this topic.
Ann154, I think your responses are great, but it doesn't look or sound to me like you work for Verizon. If you do, correct me, but until I hear from the company itself on this issue, I will deem it a charge that's not fair, especially to a returning customer.
mikes7324 wrote:
What I find amazing is how you will respond to this post but the company, Verizon, will not. yet they have been responding to other posts on this forum. Seems to me like they shy away from this topic.
Ann154, I think your responses are great, but it doesn't look or sound to me like you work for Verizon. If you do, correct me, but until I hear from the company itself on this issue, I will deem it a charge that's not fair, especially to a returning customer.
See you in two days or so when the reps are allowed to respond then. Because if you look at the posts the reps are replying to, they were created approximately two days ago.
I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.
Hello mikes7324.
I appreciate your concerns about the upgrade fee. I assure you, this is something Verizon Wireless put off as long as possible. For a long time we were able to subsidize these costs and not have to charge additional fees, but with the rising costs of devices we've had no choice. Although Verizon Wireless had to implement a fee, I'm happy to say we kept the fee low. It's one of the lowest out there.
The wireless industry is changing so fast and with the boom in technology Verizon has had to expand the services it offers. We offer many services that add value and minimize costs for our customers. Our upgrades come with many benefits, including: Free Wireless Workshops, Device setup at the Point of Sale, and Express Self Serve options including My Verizon.
Another major contributing factor for the Upgrade Fee is the rising costs of phones themselves. As they become more advanced and can do more things, they are rising significantly in price. You're able to take advantage of two year discounted pricing because part of the Upgrade Fee is allowing us to continue to subsidize the devices for our customers. For example, a new Apple iPhone 5S 16 GB is currently $199.99 to upgrade with a new 2 year agreement. For that same phone, Verizon Wireless paid $649.99.
I understand not wanting to be charged an additional $30.00. As other members have mentioned, there are ways to avoid it altogether. We offer a Trade-In program in which you may trade in a previous device for a giftcard which you can use towards your new phone. For more information about our Trade-In program, you may visit the following link: http://bit.ly/GGnDDC
Another great option to avoid the Upgrade Fee, would be the Verizon Edge program. Edge allows you to upgrade every 6 months with at least 50% of the device's balance paid off. For additional information, you may refer to this link: http://vz.to/18XswI4
AndreaS_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
Another way for you guys to sugar coat squeezing every last dime out of us and trying to justify it. I've seen your profit reports, you're not fooling anyone.
As long as you're charging $30 for a wall charger that I can buy at the grocery store for $5, I don't want to hear about the cost of business and income vs expenses.
Anyone willing to just take all these new fees and happily pay them is part of the problem. Speak up, with voice and dollars, make capitalism work and go to the cheaper option thereby forcing competition.
Maybe paying more fees will help the company boost help and respond in a timely manor? 
Either way, if this forum is part of what Verizon calls its online education tools and consultations with experts, Id call it sub par at best. A two day turn around is very slow. So, in my opinion, not even worth the fee in the first place.
This isn't Customer Service, it's a peer-to-peer forum. Verizon reps don't respond to every post and the ones they do respond to, as noted earlier, is usually days after the post is left so that other customers can respond first.
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
