Frustrated: Hoping this reaches someone in Verizon who can help
lcarampatan
Enthusiast - Level 1

I am a true believer of large companies like Verizon who truly strive to be the best in their industry by reaching for customer satisfaction and going beyond customers’ expectations. My family and I have been a Verizon customer for over 12 years and have stayed loyal and was always proud to say “i have Verizon as my Cell phone provider and I love it.” As a whole company I still say to this day I am satisfied with their service, however do to recent experience at a corporate store my loyalty with Verizon is in question. I have never felt so scammed in my life then I did after finding out how the agent at the store location (626 N Alafaya Trail #109, Orlando, FL 32828) (order location # P1043 01) processed my upgrade.

On March 28 2016 I went into my local version store to upgrade my cell phone. I had done extensive research regarding my options and was aware of the month2month price plan available and 2 year agreement price. Do to my financial situation the best option for me was the 2 year agreement pricing for the new 7s Samsung, which during that period had a BOGO promotion but had to be on the month2month plan so I was not interested in the BOGO and clearly told my store agent my interest in only the 2 year agreement pricing. We proceeded to checkout with the available 7s they had in stock but to my surprise during check out the agent told me my personal account had a special offer regarding my upgrade. Agent stated he hadn’t seen a promotion like this in a while on someone’s account, “a free UE BOOM2 bluetooth speaker with no extra charge.”

I was ecstatic about the offer but still had to confirm and ask the agent “this speaker is at no charge to me and will not bring up cost to what I am paying today” and he reconfirmed that the speaker was completely free. After completing my transaction and paying $214.07 I went home and played with my new phone and speakers for hours. However after noticing an increase on my bill this month I reviewed my statement and now seeing the month2month installment plan for the line i upgraded. I then called Verizon Customer service to fix the issue because obvouisly I paid the $199+ taxes at the time of upgrade in the store for the 2 year pricing for the 7s Samsung. The Customer service specialist then explained that the $214.07 went towards the discount price of the Bluetooth speakers (159.99) and Taxes for the retail price of the phone (54.08).

After receiving such information I checked my paper receipt and to my surprise the receipt only provided the amount I paid with no other details but only steps to find the details of the transaction online. Which I believe the agent provided me that style of receipt to hide the true details of the transactions from me, knowing that is not what I requested. I will be visiting that location tomorrow to shine light into this unforgivable actions the agent took for his own self-interest. I will update after speaking with the acting manager and hoping this can be resolved. I Hope this long letter is read by someone who can take further actions to this location/agent to avoid any more damage to the reputation Verizon has worked so hard to have.

Sincerely Lcarampatan

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Re: Frustrated: Hoping this reaches someone in Verizon who can help
dexman
Community Leader
Community Leader

Stories about verbal promises that don't come true being made by Verizon Wireless sales associates are all too common. More often than not, the replies being given by managers is that the associate "made a mistake and should not have said that". Often the verbal promises cannot be honored.

Best to keep in mind the old saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch. For example...if Verizon Wireless gives away a free 4G/LTE tablet with the purchase of a smartphone, best believe that a second phone line will be activated and billed accordingly as a part of the deal regardless of what the associate says or doesn't say.

Ultimately, the conditions and stipulations spelled out in the contract & documents that the customer signs have the final say.

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Re: Frustrated: Hoping this reaches someone in Verizon who can help
dexman
Community Leader
Community Leader

Stories about verbal promises that don't come true being made by Verizon Wireless sales associates are all too common. More often than not, the replies being given by managers is that the associate "made a mistake and should not have said that". Often the verbal promises cannot be honored.

Best to keep in mind the old saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch. For example...if Verizon Wireless gives away a free 4G/LTE tablet with the purchase of a smartphone, best believe that a second phone line will be activated and billed accordingly as a part of the deal regardless of what the associate says or doesn't say.

Ultimately, the conditions and stipulations spelled out in the contract & documents that the customer signs have the final say.

Re: Frustrated: Hoping this reaches someone in Verizon who can help
DigitalRules
Specialist - Level 1

Yes, I have been left with a sour taste in my mouth when dealing with some store associates & the shell games thrown at me. You might as well put these people on a used car lot where this type of behavior is expected.

I have resigned myself to never buy a phone from the retail locations & will only buy from E-bay or an unlocked phone directly from the manufacturer.

Good luck to you in resolving your issue.

Re: Frustrated: Hoping this reaches someone in Verizon who can help
sprmankalel
Champion - Level 3

Did he at least give you the BOGO on the phones. It may seem like an increase on your bill but if you break it down for us which plan you have (More Everything or Verizon Plan) and how many GB of shared data plus how many smartphone, tablets and jetpacks you have on the account, I am confident that we can show you how, in the long run, you will save money.

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Re: Frustrated: Hoping this reaches someone in Verizon who can help
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Hi lcarampatan!


Your 12 years of loyalty are greatly appreciated and I apologize for the inconvenience. As consumer I know conflicting information can be discouraging. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will be forwarded for review. Let's look into this as I will be sending you a Private Message momentarily.


AyaniB_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the "Correct Answer" button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

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Re: Frustrated: Hoping this reaches someone in Verizon who can help
dealmein
Contributor - Level 1

Why do people go to Verizon stores to upgrade their phones when Best Buy and Costco have better deals?  Plus the BB and Costco reps don't try to scam people.  And Costco has a 90 day return policy even on cell phones.

The commission sales people in Verizon stores are terrible.  That's true of both the corporate and the authorized retailer stores.  As long as the sales people are commission based, you need to be on guard that they will try to scam you to pad their pay checks.

Re: Frustrated: Hoping this reaches someone in Verizon who can help
sprmankalel
Champion - Level 3

Costco will let you return the device for up to 90 days but you can only exchange it within 14 days. Who needs 90 days to tell if a device is the one you want or not?

The problem isn't with commissioned sales reps. The problem is that after 15+ years of buying these devices and services, people are still claiming ignorance instead of educating themselves. It doesn't matter where you buy the phone, if you aren't educated about your purchase options and don't take the time to get educated there is nobody else to blame.

Re: Frustrated: Hoping this reaches someone in Verizon who can help
dealmein
Contributor - Level 1

Costco's 90 day return policy is great if you get a defective phone.  And as for exchanging it, you simply return it and get your money back and your upgrade restored and then buy the one you want.

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Re: Frustrated: Hoping this reaches someone in Verizon who can help
dealmein
Contributor - Level 1

So it is not an issue at all  - you return, get a refund, get your upgrade restored, then get the phone you want.  No restocking fee. You have 90 days to change your mind about the phone when you buy from Costco.

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Re: Frustrated: Hoping this reaches someone in Verizon who can help
pherson
Champion - Level 1

SO where is the OP at now?

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