Verizon trade-in bait-and-switch issue
nblauch
Enthusiast - Level 2

Verizon trade-in promotions are an issue. I was given a $400 estimated trade-in on my iPhone 6s as a promotion for buying the Galaxy S20 FE, both online and by the service representative in store who knew the exact details of my transfer (switching from a different verizon account). We went through the quote assuming the $400 trade. After I traded in the phone, which was deemed to be in good working condition, I asked for a receipt (which they were not planning to give me), only to find out that the trade-in promotion value was switched to $100. Of course, to get to this point in the process, I already had to sign the 2 year contract and so there was nothing I could do at this point. The store employees felt badly and tried everything to get the original promised trade in value but the Verizon higher-ups would not budge. If this isn't resolved properly, I will never shop with Verizon again and will make sure my friends and family know that this company is not to be trusted. 

19 Replies
9wood
Specialist - Level 2

Few others have this same issue recently seems to be a common problem would contact the customer service reps 

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lomer
Newbie

Same thing happened to me but I have the paperwork which states the estimated trade in value and when I gave the submission ID she stated the promotional value at the higher value but then backtracked and told me there was a different maximum.  I was quoted $180 a month total for my phone bill after all promotions by the sales team in store and they did all the calculations on a receipt that they also threw out so I do not have the complete paperwork just like you do not.  Beware and make sure the sales team gives you every single piece of paper before you sign anything.

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9wood
Specialist - Level 2

Seems like when you call depends on who you get and next person different answers or excuses

vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

It's crucial to have the correct information when making a purchase decision, lomer. Let's take a closer look at this to see what options are available. Please be on the lookout for my Private Note.

 

LynnE_VZW

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Xxfinitybill
Newbie

We also were promised $400 for an iPhone 6 and $700 for an Xr.  Then when we sent them in in great shape were told $20 and $240.  Upon discussing with an agent we were told we were switched to the buy1 get 1 offer. 

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

We are sorry to hear that this was a issue for your previous promotional trade in. With regard to this offer you mentioned that you were transferring services from another Verizon account. Is this correct? If so, the trade in offer may have been changed due to you not being a new customer to Verizon when switching the line to a separate Verizon account. In order to review this more we would need to access the account for additional information. Please send us a private message to review. 

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verizonfraud505
Enthusiast - Level 1

I would immediately file complaints with the FCC and FTC. I signed up under the christmas time add-a-line/2x1 iphone 12 deal. I heard my sister on the speaker phone and the CSR confirm this deal multiple times. They are now saying that no such deal was purchased and that we did the buy one get one 50% off which I don't think even exists? They are so rotten to the core I can't take it. Do we need to screen shot every deal we reference to a CSR and record phone calls with customer service. If a CSR makes a deal on behalf of Verizon it should be good as gold. We have filed complaints with the FCC and FTC and are waiting on a Verizon rep to listen to the phone call and respond to us Good luck, right?

FTC: reportfraud.ftc.gov

FCC: consumercomplaints.fcc.gov

 

Verizon19511
Newbie

We are very angry with Verizon for the trade in offers on our S7 and S9 phones.   In the Verizon store we were told that we would receive $679.99 for each phone we traded in.  So we purchased two new S21 phones for $799.99 each.    At the time the clerk looked at our old phones.    We were never told that the store is not authorized to grant the trade in amounts; that the value would be assessed when the phones were mailed back.    So, we mailed both old phones (and neither of them were damaged).   Two weeks later I got an e-mail that the S9 was worth the $679.99 but we heard nothing about the S7.   Even  the website showed that the phone was not received by Verizon.   Finally, on a chat I found out that they claim the S7 was cracked and only worth $10.00.        To try to resolve this we tried calling a live representative numerous times only to be pushed off to the virtual assistant, which was useless.   When we finally had a live agent on the chat the person had such poor English language skills that it was impossible to understand them, plus each reply took about 10 minutes to come in.     We tried to explain that the S7 was in great condition and that the store rep said so too but they would not believe us.     After 3 hours we conceded to a $200 trade in value out of sheer frustration.    

Now we are stuck for 2 years to pay off these two phones because Verizon says if we pay them off early all promotions are voided.     I would NEVER advise anyone I know to use Verizon as a carrier.      The communications are TERRIBLE.   We have been Verizon customers for 38 years.  Don't ever trust a Verizon saleperson to tell you what your trade in value is!!   They need to be upfront about how they are not trained to quote trade in value (as per the chat line rep).   Also, the website is not updated to show the true status of the trade ins.   

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Verizon19511, we are concerned to hear of your dissatisfaction regarding the trade in process. All devices traded in are sent to our central facility to be inspected. Any damage to the device including the screen will cause a significant reduction in the initial appraised value. Photos of the package and the item inside once inspected are taken to ensure damage is not caused by shipping. Information regarding trade ins and the process can be found directly on our website. 

 

 

https://www.verizon.com/support/trade-in-program-faqs/

 

-Joshua

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unknownuser2
Enthusiast - Level 1

They say that they also take cracked screen phones for $800 tradein value on the website!!!

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hi, unknownuser2. We want to ensure that you're aware of the terms and conditions of our device trade-in program. To confirm, if we receive your device in a different condition than expected, we reserve the right to modify the valuations set forth in the initial appraisal. Although we accept trade-ins for damaged devices as well, this must be disclosed to us at the time of submitting the trade-in to avoid further changes to the appraisal.

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The same thing happened to me. my husband and i went in on sept 1, 2020. the store was running a promo where you trade in your device and get $400 trade in value, NO MATTER the condition or type of phone. we had the S7, both in working order mind you, we never received the shipping label to send in our phones, ended up having to call 2 months later just to get a random label made up because the store did not verify how we would like to receive our label and since verizon can not send to a PO box, we never received the original. got the random label, sent in our phones, both in the same box, got the trade in credit on one line but not the other. 10 months later they are trying to say that the S7 was not apart of the trade in promo and that they were generous and gave us a higher value for our phones. That is not what the promo had said let alone what the store employees had told us, had we known that our S7's did not qualify for the $400 trade in per line we would not have gone through with the trade. This is poor customer service and the fact that the employees would go as far as to not in form the customer about any of the "fine: print....if it even exists is just RUDE!!!!! I have called multiple times over the last 10 months and was promised that it would be made right and it still has yet to be made right!!! Verizon, you need to make it right or you are going to lose a lot of customers including me!

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IRET26
Enthusiast - Level 1

Hi.  I have had the same issues as everyone else and I have been contacting Verizon since June 2021.  I have 11 pages of documentation.  I would like to join a law suit if at all possible.  They have yet to process $1000 worth of trade-in's on my account. The customer service is a joke. No help from Verizon on multiple phone calls to CS!!

vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

We know it's important to get your promotion added. We are here to help. What promotion were you looking to take advantage of? *Rebecca

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Jennafir28
Newbie

I have also had a similar situation with my trade in promotion which was any phone even if broken would receive $800.00 credit. I have been chatting with verizon since November of 2021. The original rep I made the order through in October 2021 did not process the trade in right so I never received my trade package and label. I contacted them  by phone and was sent a label. I sent my phone in but never received my credit so I started chatting with verizon reps. I have saved every chat conversation with them that assured me they would make this right and give me the credit. Then they told me to contact the trade in department. I did and they were of no use. They said they see the error and would make it right and contact me the next day. Never called me back. Finally I reached out on here and was contacted by a rep and spoke with her for over 3 hours and she was able to actually figure out what happened and locate my phone after others said it was not received. She was able to see my previous chats where I was promised the $800 and see the original mistakes made by the first rep. She assured me it would actually be corrected and I finally received a credit. Not for $800 though. It was for $300. The next rep I chatted with said since I didn't change my plan to the 5g plan back when the original trade it was supposed to happen I didn't qualify, however in the my original purchase chat with the rep approved the change on the plan and was even charged upgrade fee. I spent numerous hours all documented trying to have this resolved.  I requested my note9 back but was informed once they receive it they can't return it. So basically if they don't want to give you the deal you are promised then you have no recourse. Something needs to be done. 

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Jennafir28, we definitely want to make sure you get the full value of your trade-in promotion. I'm sorry to learn about the delay with a resolution, and I'm here to help you. Besides this message, I will also send you a Private Note. 

-Jordan

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vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hello again, Jennafir28! Thanks for meeting me here, I'm sure we can take a closer look into this for you. To confirm receipt of this message, please reply with your first and last name, thank you! 

-Jordan

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nicholasgiles
Enthusiast - Level 1

Same experience here - offering me $800 for my phone and then giving me $10 trade-in credit after I sent it in.

Claiming "Device was different than expected" is ridiculous when they had the phone's IMEI all along.

Disgusting, dishonest behavior IMHO - will never trust this company again.

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dstager
Newbie

I would like to wade into this bait-and-switch conversation also.  Unfortunately this was my experience.

In September 2021, I engaged in an online chat session through the Verizon website.  I stated I had two iPhone XS phones that I wanted to trade in.  I was aiming to purchase two iPhone 13 pro phones.  After asking a lot of questions, I opted for the trade-in option that had me receiving $33 per month per phones for the trade-ins.  I believe this would have lasted 20-24 months, but I do not recall the specifics of how long it would last.  After spending a lot of time confirming this was my choice for trade-in options, and after making it clear what option I wanted, the chat ended with me finalizing the selection.

After a few weeks, I received a confusing email about my trade-ins, so I called this time and spoke with a customer service representative.  She said that unfortunately the first trade-in was not set up properly, but after working with me for a little while, she was able to fix the error.  I confirmed with her clearly that I wanted the trade-in option that provided $33 per month per line applied to my Verizon bill.  I confirmed this would not result in an appreciable increase in my overall bill (maybe a few dollars).  It was fairly clear what I wanted.

After several more weeks, I received two emails which confirmed the $150 one-time trade-in credit which would be applied to my bill: $150 for each device.  This was clearly not what I had requested through the online chat session and through my phone conversation.  This kicked off many back-and-forth emails with customer service.  It also resulted in one call to customer service.  This was a waste of time, because I had to repeat details over again.  I asked several times to receive a call to discuss what specifically had happened to set this up completely differently from what I requested.  No call ever came.  I was given a nice credit for one phone, what was said to be $800, but I have yet to see this credit.  I still received only $150 for the other iPhone trade-in.

I do not understand how Verizon set things up differently from what I initially requested.  The experience has left me very frustrated.  I have been with Verizon over 20 years, and I have been very pleased with their phones, plans, and overall service.  This experience unfortunately was the worst series of interactions I have had.  I felt that my questions repeatedly went unanswered, my concerns were not addressed, and the interactions with service representatives made feel feel like they wanted me to go away.  This experience largely felt like a bait-and-switch (intentional or unintentional) - I would think unintentional.  However, it was frustrating and left me with an experience that will inform my future interactions with Verizon, unfortunately.

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