Re: Complaint about Verizon "Free Tablet" promotion
meckmac
Newbie

fi and stay off of the laptop right? Wrong! Activation fee plus taxes, $10.08/monthly, this free tablet will cost $277.08 at the end of the two years and it won't even stream the shows we watch. You get a message that they are sorry but the show is unavailable because the tablet doesn't support adobe flash player. Needless to say, when we got the first bill my husband tried calling the salesman who never returned his phone calls. They also put their high priced insurance on his phone which he did not want and the receipt copy he was given didn't show it. However, the online version of his receipt did. Verizon - the Comcast of cellular service providers.

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Re: Complaint about Verizon "Free Tablet" promotion
sdowney2002
Enthusiast - Level 2

My girlfriend got fooled by the "free" tablet promotion when she went into a local VZ store to upgrade her service and add a phone.  Questioned repeatedly, the sales clerk said the tablets were "absolutely free".  Not until we received the bill (long after the 14 day return period expired), did she realize that the "free" tablets actually cost $10/month.  (Fortunately, she did not get hit with an activation fee.)

Re: Complaint about Verizon "Free Tablet" promotion
EddieBear
Enthusiast - Level 2

I believe the $10 a month is paying for one gig of data per month per tablet, not a "rental" fee for the device. At least that is how mine show up on my plan, and after some work on the phone, that gig is shared along with the other data on my plan, with my phones. Initially they had set them up as a secondary account under my regular account and that had to be fixe. It took a while on the phone to fix that. Later,  Corporate took off the $70 in activation fees as well, via phone call, as the salesmen had clearly told us that the activation fees would be waived, so when I recieved that bill I made that second phone call.

Does this mean that I'm satisfied with the tablets? Well, I guess for $10 a month for a couple of years, they are sort of OK and somewhat usable, but not really a tablet I would have chosen to buy at full price.

My point is though that if you are persistent enough with Corporate on insisting that you get what was verbally promised, you really ought to get your activation fee(s) refunded at a minimum, and I think if you check you'll find that you do get something for the $10 per month, though again, it's not a tablet that most people would choose. I'd give it to the children or something if I had any.

Re: Complaint about Verizon "Free Tablet" promotion
sprmankalel
Champion - Level 3

It costs $10 per month to use the data pool on your More Everything plan. It has nothing to do with the price of the tablet. Nobody was fooled. You must learn to pay attention to the details and start reading what you are signing.

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Re: Complaint about Verizon "Free Tablet" promotion
sdowney2002
Enthusiast - Level 2

You're missing my point. I was told that there was NO COST involved with the tablet. No cost means no cost. I shouldn't have to assume that the sales clerk is lying or hiding information from me and assume that there IS a cost.

Re: Complaint about Verizon "Free Tablet" promotion
sprmankalel
Champion - Level 3

That's why you never assume anything. If you took the promo and signed for it without reading it it is nobody's fault but your own. I don't understand how people just sign without reading what it is that they are putting their signature on.

Re: Complaint about Verizon "Free Tablet" promotion
sdowney2002
Enthusiast - Level 2

Yes, but when the sales clerk tell you there are no additional charges, and the paper you sign shows a $0.00 balance (the $10/month fee is buried in the fine print), you have to assume they’re telling the truth.

Re: Complaint about Verizon "Free Tablet" promotion
sprmankalel
Champion - Level 3

It is not buried in the fine print. You neglected to read it. Why would VZW give you a FREE tablet and then let you use it for FREE on their network? That would be a bad decision because the last time I checked VZW is a for profit organization. Sorry that you got a shady sales rep but ultimately you're responsible to know what you're signing. Would you agree to by a car without reading the contract? I am fully aware that they are 2 different things but the principle is the same. You wouldn't buy a car or house without reading what you're signing.

Re: Complaint about Verizon "Free Tablet" promotion
Nautica444
Enthusiast - Level 2

the problem is being misinformed by the sales people not so much about the"pushiness". they blatantly and intentionally lie to the customers which is perhapstheir job but a horrible way to do business!

i, for example got an extra phone line added to my account (wtf?) after i got the confounded "free" tablet.  have you seen anything about that in the contract? And i got a $50 charge for this new line

Re: Complaint about Verizon "Free Tablet" promotion
DDmiTV
Enthusiast - Level 3

I ordered my tablet online.  Per Verizon's promotion at the time, the $35 activation fee was waived.

The $10/month is a line charge.  Since the tablet accesses Verizon's 4G LTE network, it needs a phone number, even though it doesn't function as a phone.  Yes, the total cost is $240 for the two-year contract, but that's for the added functionality of accessing the 4G network, which you wouldn't get from a tablet you purchase at a retail store such as Walmart or Best Buy (those tablets rely on WiFi only, so you're stuck if you don't have access to a hotspot).  I like the 4G accessibility because using public WiFi can pose security issues.

The tablet is free....the service is not.  Verizon subsidizes the cost of the tablet because the customer pays for the 4G connection.  Granted, the salesman should have disclosed that, but the customer is ultimately responsible for reading the contract before they sign.  That's why I purchase most of my Verizon products online, so I can read all the disclosures at my leisure.  It's a little different when you're in a dealership and they want you to sign on the dotted line ASAP, but next time you purchase from a dealer, tell him/her that you want to sit down and read the contract (including the fine print) before you sign anything.  If they balk at that, then it's time to walk out.