Switcher Credit Fraud

[kd5150]

When my wife and I first signed up with Verizon, we were told we would receive a $150 "Switcher Credit" for switching from AT&T to Verizon.  After several months and no sign of this credit I called Verizon, several times actually.  I was told that we did not qualify for the credit that we were promised because we did not have smart phones.  No mention of this additional requirement was made when we signed up, only that we would receive this credit as a result of switching from AT&T (name and employee ID on file).  Several calls later, demanding that Verizon make good on the promise that they made to us, and they absolutely flatly refuse to issue us this credit even though we were promised the $150 "Switcher Credit" when we signed up with Verizon.

I have already filed a complaint at the Consumer Affairs website and I'm actively looking for any and all means to make this fraud as public as possibe.  If we hadn't purchased Verizon phones and paid so much money not only for the phones but for their activation, we would have cancelled our Verizon account and gone elsewhere.  This is the kind of shady business dealing the public never hears about, and because Verizon flatly refuses to make good on a promise they made to us, I plan to make it as public as I possibly can.  Verizon can circumvent this negative publicity by making good on the promise they made to us when we first signed up, and issue the $150 "Switcher Credit" that they said they would in order to gain our business.  Making good on their promise would redeem Verizon for me and mine.

We are about as unhappy as we can possibly be over the fraud that was perpetrated against us, and nobody at Verizon seems to care.

$150 is alot of money to us, a drop in a bucket for a company like Verizon.

Make good on your promise to us Verizon!

[MiiHere · Accepted solution]

It sounds like you have every right to feel how you feel, but by saying it's a drop in the bucket for a company like Verizon you clearly realize that they are a big company so you must realize they cover their backside.

While a Verizon rep clearly had no idea what they were talking about by verbally telling you that you qualified for the credit, I have no doubt that somewhere in all the paperwork you signed there is either nothing mentioned about the credit or if there is it clearly states that you must sign up for a certain plan with a certain number of lines and with a certain type of phone etc.

I watch People's Court enough to know that a verbal contract rarely has any value, especially if the other side clearly disagrees.

If you got a basic phone and a 2 year contract that means you could have paid as little as .99 cents for the phone; Verizon is too smart to give you a profit of $149.01 by purchasing a less expensive plan and a much less expensive phone.

It's great of you to share your experience though and I wish that everyone would research deals such as these; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[Snn5]

That credit was for new customers signing up on Edge with smartphone payment installments.

[JHupset]

The Sales Associate in the Verizon store I went to apparently lied to my face as well and now I cannot receive 2 credits that I am owed. I am very very tempted to sell both new iphones on Gazelle.com and pay off the EDGE agreement and go with AT&T. I have been with Verizon for years and I have had enough! I feel your pain.

[MiiHere]

What are they telling you as the reason why you don't qualify? I can only see the current offer which is the one Snn5 mentioned.

[Snn5]

Which offer are you referring to and how were you deceived?  Did you just get onto Edge as a Verizon customer without having switched from another provider?  Your issue, if not related to the OPs offer-issue might warrant a new thread.

[JHupset]

They said I had to "port in" a number, but that was not part of the ad I saw and the sales guy obviously knew I was already a Verizon customer and still told me I would get the credits.

[JHupset]

I started two threads with no responses.

[MiiHere]

I could see how porting in a new line from another carrier and adding that extra monthly line cost plus the extra cost of the phone on the Edge program; $65-$70 extra each month would qualify you to save the $100 while being an existing customer.

What did you think the ad meant?

[Snn5]

Oh, this one:  Promotions