Verizon Locked My Phone for No Reason and Refuses to Provide CS

Verizon has locked my phone for no apparent reason and refuses to resolve the issue.

I purchased a Verizon compatible prepaid phone through Walmart.com. It arrived through the mail. I used the phone for several months and most recently paid for services on May 30. On June 12 my phone was locked. I spent hours with CS before finally finding someone knowledgeable who told me the phone had been locked. She confirmed that the bill was paid and could not explain why the phone was locked. She suggested I call Walmart. I called Walmart. Of course, they denied locking the phone and confirmed that it was paid for in February prior to shipping it.

Since then I have spoken with 3 different Verizon CS agents who have all been less than helpful. One of them, named Rashika, refused to even look at the notes from my call from two days prior and she was incapable of understanding the problem or doing anything more than reading from her script. In fact, she spent the first ten minutes of our call completely confused by the fact that I was calling from a different number than the number I needed to discuss. She refused to pass me to her supervisor and eventually hung up on me.

I live alone and have a serious health condition. This lock on my phone means that I cannot even call emergency services. If I do not get help with this issue I will be filing a complaint with the FCC.

I just want to use the phone and the services which I have paid for. Verizon is denying me both, therefore, they are thieves.

Accepted answers

Verizon_Support

Resolution Update: Support has confirmed that prepaid devices purchased from a third party have their own unlock policies. Prepaid devices purchased directly from Verizon automatically unlock after 60 days of paid active service and usage. For more details about the Prepaid Device Unlock Policy, please click here: https://www.verizon.com/support/device-unlocking-policy/

If others encounter similar problems with a prepaid device purchased from a third party, we recommend contacting the seller. If you purchased a prepaid device directly from Verizon, and are having issues with the carrier lock 60 days after activation and usage, please contact us for support.

~Izzy

All comments

Verizon_Support

I'm sorry you've been having some troubles there. We can review that locked status, which is why I sent you a Private Message so we can assist.

-John

oldredfrance

Once again, Verizon, has sent me an auto-generated without reading the post. This time they are telling me to wait 60 days after purchase and the phone will be automatically UN-locked. The unlocking they are referring to is for porting the number. That is not the situation here at all.

Verizon_Support

Hi oldredfrance, we understand the frustration this has caused. We are here to help! Please respond to the private note we'll be sending for further assistance. -Red

SynthpopAddict

From what you're describing, I don't think your phone is "locked", because device locking simply means that the device cannot be used outside of the lock holder's network. When a phone just stops working completely and someone tells you there's some kind of "lock" on it...it's more likely that the phone was blacklisted for some reason. I have heard of errors occurring before with this.

Here's a website where you can run your phone's IMEI to see if it's been blacklisted:

https://stolenphonechecker.org/spc/consumer

Note that no blacklist checker site is 100% accurate. Another possibility is if you purchased this phone as pre-owned or refurbished. There's no telling what history a previously owned device has; and it's possible some kind of tampering was done to it in order to "unlock" it. In such cases, the device will work for some period of time, and then eventually brick itself. In other cases, someone will sell a phone and then report it as lost/stolen in order to collect insurance money as a sc*m; of course the phone being reported as lost/stolen will then blacklist the phone and the victim is out of luck.

If you are the only owner of the phone and bought it brand-new, you'll have to find out who has put the block on your phone and contact them with evidence that you are the legitimate owner in order to have the IMEI removed from the blacklist.

Verizon_Support

~Izzy