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I have been a loyal Verizon customer since 2009 and have never had any issues with my bill or problems with any upgrades. I've never felt like I was tricked into getting an upgrade, whether it was upgrading my plan or upgrading my phone. Until now that is.
Last month I went in for an upgrade. Normally when I upgrade, I just go for whatever free smartphone special they have. I don't care about the latest and greatest, I don't care if it's out of date, I just want what I can afford, which is exactly what I told the in-store rep. He went through this whole thing about "without thinking about the price, which of these four phones would you want" and would not accept that I only wanted the cheapest smartphone. I decided to play along because he seemed nice, but I knew I couldn't afford any of the phones he was trying to sell me. I told him I would go with the Galaxy S6. He went back to his computer, quietly talked to the other rep in the store, and then passed me off to the other guy. The second rep went on to tell me that they were having crazy deals on Galaxy phones and if I got the Galaxy S6 I don't pay anything on it there because I would be making monthly payments on it and my bill would go up around $20. I told him that sounded pretty reasonable, but I'm on a pretty tight budget, so I'll just go with whatever free upgrades they have. He then went on to tell me that they were doing another deal where if you get a tablet with the Galaxy upgrade, my bill will only go up $12/month. It didn't make sense to me, but that deal sounded too good to pass up. We talked about it some more and I told him that I want to know about all the extra fees because that sounded way too good to be true. He said that there will be a one time $40 activation fee for the tablet, I'll be paying $2/month on the Galaxy S6, and $10/month on the tablet. I was told that if I didn't get the tablet, that my payments on the S6 would be over $20, so the obvious choice was to get the tablet because my bill would only go up $12 instead of $27. I told them I'll take that deal because I can do $12 extra for a tablet and phone.
When they were getting everything set up, I kept asking if there was any other fees that I would have to pay other than the extra $12. It just sounded way too good to be true, so I wanted to be certain that I wasn't going to get some other crazy fees every month. Every time I asked they reassured me that it was only the one time $40 activation fee and then $12 extra every month. They briefly mentioned adding a phone line for the tablet, if I wasn't paying attention, I wouldn't have even heard it because they were talking to each other, not me. I told them I don't need a phone line for that, I'm just going to use wifi for it. They said that it has to be assigned a phone number, but I won't be charged for it if I'm only using wifi. They even took the sim card out so it will only work if it's connected to wifi. I asked them if I was going to be charged for a third line, they said no, if data isn't being used, I would not be charged anything. They had me sign a paper to add the third line, but reassured me AGAIN that I would not be charged anything for that line. I walked out thinking I got the deal of the century because that's what they told me I was getting.
I got my first bill after getting all of the upgrades and bill is not the expected $52 more. My bill is $90 more than it normally is. I do have the expected $40 activation fee, but there is also a $10 monthly service charge for tablet line (which I was told I would not be charged for), $9 insurance charge (I was told nothing about that), and the monthly payment on the phone is $27 (not the $12 I was told it would be). I called customer service, and was told that all of those fees should have been discussed with me at the time of purchase. She even said that she has no idea where they came up with $12/month payment plan, because that wasn't what the deal was. The more I told her about what I was told in the store, the more upset she got that I wasn't told about the actual fees. My bill is going up almost $50 every month instead of the $12 that I was told. I feel as though I was lied to and tricked into getting a phone and tablet that I said I didn't need or even really want. I feel like I was scammed out of my money. I was also told that if I did the mail-in rebate, that I would get $120 back within two weeks. Now that it's been nearly a month since I mailed it, and I have yet to receive anything, I feel like that was just another thing they said simply to get me to help out their commissions.
My question is, since I have to stick with this plan because I signed the contract, where are my rights? Does Verizon have to honor what their representative told a loyal customer? Their representative told me that my bill would only go up $12/month, which in the only reason I signed the contract. How can their representative completely and totally lie to me to make a sale and there's nothing I can do about it?
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It sounds like you're on the more everything plan; 3GB a month for $50?
I'm just gonna break this down:
$50 3GB of Data
$40 line access fee for smartphone on 2 year plan (is this phone by chance month to month and not on a contract?)
$25 line access fee for S6 smartphone that is on edge (you save $15 on the line access fee for having 3GB of data - if you have 6gb of data or more you save $25 which would make it $15)
$10 tablet line access
Your bill should be $125 plus taxes and fees, what was your bill previously?
Since you're past your 14 day return period, it's unfortunate, but you're locked in unless you want to pay early termination fees.
This kind of crud disgusts me. Without seeing your bill I can't tell, but did they put the tablet on an Edge plan? Or did you pay for it up front? Is the S6 on an Edge plan as well?
You have no rights, what the contract says stands. They could have told you verbally you also get a new car, and when you didn't get that car it would be "too bad."
What plan are you on and how many GB do pay for each month? How many phone lines and what types?
The S6 is on the edge plan. It's $27 a month extra. I think I paid for the tablet up front, but only because they said I would get a rebate for it, which I'm still waiting on.
Originally, I had two lines on my plan, both smart phones, with unlimited talk and text and 3GB data. Now, with the tablet, I have three lines and have to pay $10 more for the tablet line and $9 for the insurance that I knew nothing about.
It sounds like you're on the more everything plan; 3GB a month for $50?
I'm just gonna break this down:
$50 3GB of Data
$40 line access fee for smartphone on 2 year plan (is this phone by chance month to month and not on a contract?)
$25 line access fee for S6 smartphone that is on edge (you save $15 on the line access fee for having 3GB of data - if you have 6gb of data or more you save $25 which would make it $15)
$10 tablet line access
Your bill should be $125 plus taxes and fees, what was your bill previously?
Without going into all the gory details that jesscmullen did, my wife had a very similar experience in a VZW company store when she got her iPhone 6. They guy made it sound like such a good detail, tablet included too, that it was too good for her to pass up. The slicko sales guy told her she/we would be paying less with the new phone and tablet that we were paying now, with only one smartphone. WRONG!! The size of the first bill, after deducing the upfront costs of the new phone, nearly gave me heart attack. The store person totally misrepresented the effect the new equipment would have on our bill. I called VZW CS and reported my experience. The rep said she had heard the same story before. Really? Then, why does it keep happening?
Was the tablet free?
Did she get the iPhone 6 on edge?
Assuming the tablet was free and you have 6GB or more of data your bill would have gone up by about $45-$50 each month.
Guilded here also, Our plan was changed, basic phones went from $ 15 to 30 each. Called phone rep to try and get back on my old plan and got a Too Bad so Sad it is not available.I too am a long time customer. The rep did give 5 dollars off the basic phones. ( 2 smarts and 2 basics is what we have)
Honestly I think this is all mis-communication between verizon and the consumer, and the reason is how they have their prices set up. There is a device installment charge (for edge users), a Line Access Charge, and a Plan charge, and most people get confused when the reps try to explain to them what kind of deal they are getting, because there is no more *Pay $200 for your phone and $80 a month plus taxes* it's now *Pay $200 for your phone PLUS $50 for your plan PLUS $40 for your phone access PLUS taxes* or if you're on edge *Pay $27 a month for your phone PLUS $25 for your phone access PLUS $50 for your plan PLUS taxes OR if you have 6gb of data or more your phone access is only $15 a month* and honestly this confuses most people. Verizon has their system set up where you get a discount on your phone payments and/or tablet payments when you bundle them, which is true, but this includes an additional access fee for the new device you just bought, which they don't tell you, and they aren't lying. They use this system to add extra charges while giving out *great* deals to reel in those who do not understand, and by time you get your bill, you are being charged more than you anticipated, and you're stuck. You might be paying less for your phones if you bundle them together, and it may be cheaper then just having the one phone without the tablet, but the added line access fee negates the discount, and you end up paying more taxes as well because of the new device, which all adds up onto your monthly bill. The only thing you should be comparing is your total monthly charges for your account, not the differences in phone payments. You might be saving $20 off your phone payments and only paying $10 instead of $25 for a tablet each month, but that comes with an additional $40 access charge for that tablet and $40 for that new phone you just picked up. The only *great Deal* here is having an edge plan with 6gb+ gb of data and a paid off smartphone ($70 for the plan PLUS $0 for the phone PLUS $15 for the line access charges plus taxes = $85 plus taxes each month you can add more paid-off smartphones for another $15 access charge each phone, having $115 for 3 smartphones 6gb of data on edge). There are plenty of ways to incorporate additional charges in your bill, even if it seems like a great deal. Just compare the total monthly charges for before you upgrade and after you upgrade (total monthly charges include Phone Access fee, Monthly Plan fee, Device Payment fees, before taxes). They WILL tell you your total monthly fee will only increase by $15 or so but that is NOT entirely true, they are telling the truth but only partially. When they say your total monthly fee for your phones will only go up by $15, they aren't including the whole bill, which has those extra line access fees. Watch out for what they say, it is truth but not the whole truth. Always total all charges, not just for the one section. 1)Plan Charges 2)Line Access Charges 3)Device Payment Charges. Do NOT let them fool you.
It's not an Edge plan when the device is already paid off. They are considered to be month to month and get a month to month discount of $25. Yes it does match the same $25 discount on the Edge program, but you get them for two very different reasons.
You cannot have an edge plan without a device installment, you would have to have a month-to-month plan, which carries the same $25 discount the edge plan does, which would make the line access fee $15. When I talk about the edge plan being the better deal with paid off smartphones, I meant to say month-to-month. My mistake here.
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