Trade in tracking number and system issue

[bckat]

I traded in my iPhone 13 for an iPhone 15 with their $1000 trade in promo last month. I picked up the new phone and a few days later received the trade in materials and shipping label. I packaged it up, took a photo of the box, and sent it in. A week goes by and I noticed that my trade in status on my Verizon account showed that my trade in phone had not yet. I tracked the package and it said it was delivered and received by a rep named LONG on June 25 at 9:40 AM so I called customer service to see what was going on. It tuns out that the tracking number on my account did not match the tracking number that I received with the shipping materials. I gave the rep the tracking number I had and when she looked it up, she confirmed it was received and will add a note on my account to reflect this error. She assured me all was ok and that the system should be updated with this information.

Another week or so goes by and I get a text message saying that my trade in phone has not been received and that I would lose my trade in credit if I don’t do this within 10 days, so I decided to go to Verizon store to speak to someone in person to see if they could help resolve this issue. I told the store rep my situation, he looked up my account and said the system showed my trade in hasn’t been shipped, and did see a tracking number on my account that was different to the one Verizon mailed me. I showed him the photo of the shipping box with label that Verizon mailed me (yup, thankfully I have a photo of it before it went out) along with the tracking number, he looks it up on the UPS site and confirmed it was delivered, but was sitting on the dock. He said once someone from the warehouse takes the box and assesses the phone, the system will be updated. He told me to wait a few days and if my account status is still the same, call customer service. He said he couldn’t update my account with the correct tracking number, but if I called customer service, they would be able to do it. I thought it was strange that he would suggest this because if this was possible, why didn’t they do this when I first called? When I asked him about that, he said it’s probably because it’s not possible since everything is now automated - not very helpful. Apparently this was the first time he’s heard of any trade in issues so he said he couldn’t help any further and I would need to call customer service.

My husband then calls customer service and spoke to a lovely rep. He gave her all of the details, she confirmed the phone was received after tracking it, that she wasn’t able to update my account with the correct tracking number, and gave him the same solution/response - wait another few days for the system to get updated. But then, magically, she found some information that my phone was in fact received and assessed without any issues. When he asked her how she was able to see this information and why it wasn’t reflected on my account, her response…wait a few days until the system gets updated and ignore the text messages (yes, I get them every day). So if this is true, what the store rep said and what the current phone rep is saying, someone from the warehouse has actually taken my phone and assessed it, recorded the assessment in the system, so therefore, my account should be updated. Am I right? So what’s really going on here? It’s been a few days now, my account still shows that I haven’t sent the trade in phone, and I’m still getting those pesky text messages warning me that I will lose my trade in credit.

I’ve read similar trade in issues on this forum and other forums and I’m pretty confident that I headed into the same situation of having to call every month to get a resolution. Verizon knows the issue, it’s supposedly noted on my account, and my phone apparently has been received and assessed, your system shows this somewhere, but since no human from Verizon can actually update the system manually to reflect this, how and when will your system get the information for my account to be updated?

[vzw_customer_support]

bckat, we want to make sure you get your trade-in promotion, and we'd be happy to make sure it's reflecting on your account. We're sending you a Private Message.

~Jesse

[shcoshd]

Something similar for the same promo is happening to me too, but I don’t even have the tracking number for my trade ins because I dropped them off at a Verizon store. So I can’t even check if it’s been received or not. On the Verizon tracking page, it says 2 of them are only initiated and that 1 of them hasn’t even been received. It’s been more than a month and I’m so frustrated that all the workers I’ve talked to don’t know what’s the problem and they just don’t know anything. I am really disappointed at this company, you are taking away so many people’s time and money for this (supposed to be) simple process. 

[vzw_customer_support]

Hello Kjss3

I want to make sure we gt your issue addressed. you dropped these trade in at a corporate store? What has the store manager said about this issue? -Joe

[shcoshd]

Hello VZW customer service representative,

I had upgraded 3 phones under my account online by Verizon App for 1000 trade-in promotion for iPhone 15 pro on 06/05. I had received trade-in instruction email that tells to drop off trade-in phones at Verizon store, Almaden Ranch at Almaden Expressway, San Jose. So I visited the store on 06/27 and asked the store staff the same as that instruction, but she kept working on her tablet long time and whispering other staff about something, obviously some problem they had. 

They called some other representative to get help too, and eventually they told me that they couldn't figure out why the system was not allow the trade-in processed through the existing trade-in orders that had been created originally with the online trade-in promotion upgrades. And they said there was other customer with the same problem and they could take trade-in devices as separately and asked the customer to call Verizon service and ask trade-in credit auto-adjusted after 24 hours to get the system updated. It sounded like reasonable and not that complex and I trusted Verizon store reliable, so I dropped off trade-in devices and got the receipt from the store. This receipt doesn't have any tracking method of shipment though.

Next day, I realized the original trade-in orders with promotion credit had been cancelled, and felt a little bit worried. On 06/29, I called Verizon service to check trade-in devices and ask trade-in credit adjusted, but couldn't get through responding machine to get options for that. So I talked the representative behind online chat,  but he couldn't help to promotion credit back or track trade-in devices after having spending long time. He told me that he could send trade-in label for me to ship them out even though I told many times that those had been dropped off at Verizon store. 

 I tried to call that Verizon store and talk the store staff to discuss about what is happened in person, but the same Verizon service machine  was only what I got. I tried Verizon service machine again with so much frustration and got the live person on the call finally, explained all those again, he made original trade-in orders back from being cancelled. After having spending whole afternoon that day on those calls, I visited that Verizon store and met the store manager to review the situations. He said the collected trade-in devices are usually shipped out early morning next day and they don't have my dropped-off devices, so check back trade-in status after 2 or 3 days which the delivery would take to trade-in warehouse. And he said that he could see some notes under my account in the system about the situation that I went through and looks okay with trade in orders with promotion credit.

But actually one of trade-in order status says "

On 06/27, your account was charged back for any applied credits because we didn't receive your device. Please send your device back to us within 15 days of this date. Once we receive and appraise your device, we'll notify you of your final trade credit.

You're no longer able to return your device to a Verizon Company Store. To complete your trade, change how you return your trade-in."

Other two orders say "

It'll be applied to your account in monthly payments of $27.75 over 36 months.

Initiated

Jun 05

Drop off your device by Jul 05 or trade-in value may be adjusted.

Assessed

Store information

Take your device to a Verizon Company Store and they'll assess your trade for you.

No shipping label or QR code is required.

Almaden Ranch

5032 Almaden Expy, San Jose, CA

408.513.3922"

But as of 7/16, the trade-in status has changed nothing. This kind of problem had never happened before during 8 years of my time with Verizon.

So hard to get some useful help and get it solved in timely manner. I thought that  I caught rare case, but now I see many similar or various problem that many other customers also have been and still not getting better.

It would be much appreciate if I could get accountable support and help here.

/Phil

[vzw_customer_support]

Thank you for checking back in Phil, I'm sorry this has not been the experience you have come to know with us. So we can get eyes on your account and a better idea of what is going on, we will be sending a Private Message for account access. 

-Melissa