Bring your own device rebate

[Julieac27]

I am new to Verizon Wireless. I joined because I heard about the bring your own device $500 rebate, and my daughter loves her current IPhone 11, and even though I needed a new phone, she was not giving her old one up so easily. This seemed like a great deal, so I walked into my local store and said, "Sign me up!"

Little did I know, this rebate would not be a great thing for me with my current daily stress level. I was already a little annoyed when I left the store because the associate was adding things to my bill for the day such as phone cases, screen protectors, and even charging blocks that were not necessary (regardless of how much he assured me I needed these things, I knew better). He kind of put me into the position where I felt bad to tell him to package the stuff back up and put it back on the shelf. After making my purchase and feeling a little taken advantage of, I left pretty excited about the rebate, and how this verizon gift card would alleviate a couple of my wireless bills over the holiday season. My daughter has autism, and has very specific Christmas wish lists that are very expensive. She has had a tough time lately with medical and emotional issues, so I want this Christmas to be extra special for her. I figured this gift card would take care of my November and December wireless bills so I could focus on her. I even double checked that I could use the gift card to pay monthly bills online before I went to the store and with the agent before I agreed to purchase the plans. He assured me I would have the rebate in time for my November bill.

I checked the status of the refund daily with anticipation. Finally, on October 23rd, I got the notification that my rebate was approved, however, it stated it was emailed to me already. I checked all of my inboxes, spam boxes, everywhere, but no gift card. I am already a bit frustrated that something worth $500 is being emailed (I do not trust email at all) and there is virtually no way to prove if I received it or not. I started a chat a few days later because I still have not received my rebate. She said it was because I did not verify my email address. This is not true, because I get promotional emails and emails about my bill daily from Verizon, and the guy in the store helped me verify it even before I left with my new phone and plan. I know without a shadow of a doubt that my email address was verified, so I refused to accept this excuse. The chat lady said she resubmitted my rebate via email, and assured me I would get it in a few hours.

Fast forward to the next day- still no email. I was given a phone number to call in chat, and when I called the number, they said they only handle physical verizon gift cards (why was I not good enough to get one of these instead of this lesser emailed one?). I tell the chat person, and they give me a new number. The lady at this number argues with me about the email being sent and makes me feel like she is accusing me of trying to get the rebate twice, which is just outrageous! This rebate has me very, very stressed out now, and my anxiety is fueling my daughter's anxiety, and she hears my phone call and immediately starts worrying that her Christmas is ruined. So now, I have no rebate, I have been accused of lying, and the chat and phone agents are even trying to sell me more stuff like new plans, etc. I am MAD! Why could I not get the physical gift card? Is my account not as good as others that get the "real" gift card? I feel like my whole switch to verizon was because of a promotion that is a bold-faced lie to get you to buy their more expensive plans that I do not see any difference in. My plan is the lower priced plan, and is no better than my daughter's better plan in any way that I can see, it just costs more. I just want my rebate so I can give her a decent Christmas. We have had a very rough year with my mother (her grandmother) passing away in March. I do not need this stress. $500 dollars is a lot of money to me. Enough to bring me to this a new wireless carrier just to reap a one time benefit so I can end this year on a brighter note. It has done the opposite. It has stained our holidays and given us a sour taste for verizon wireless. All I want to know is why I am not good enough for a more trustworthy rebate. If I could get a refund or go back in time and never walk in that verizon store, I would do that right away. Thanks for making my life so much more stressful than it already was. I am sitting here crying in frustration and sadness as I write this email. I feel tossed aside, unimportant and accused by verizon customer service. I just want my rebate. That is all. It was promised to me.  I do not like giving sob stories, but I want verizon to know what things like this can do to a family that already has too much stress to deal with.  

[vzw_customer_support]

It is saddening to read your story and concerning to hear about how you were treated lately. I would like to get more detail, so I am sending you a private note to continue. 

-George

[lverros]

I am so disappointed in Verizon. I switched from another carrier because I was told by Verizon personnel, in a Verizon store, that I would receive a $500 gift card to use towards my bill if I brought my own phone and switched to Verizon.  So, I did just that, and waited the 8 weeks that they told me it would take to receive the gift card. After the 8 weeks, I thought I would give it a little longer, and when I called to inquire about where my rebate was I was told that I was supposed to have filled out another form and send it in. I was never told this. As a matter of fact, the associate at the Verizon store filled everything out for me as we set up the account and said that everything was done and all I had to do was wait for the gift card to be sent so that I could use it. I expected Verizon to honor the promotion but was told that since it was past the time frame, they couldn't do anything about it. After an hour of speaking to several people, I asked to speak to a supervisor, was told that they were on the phone and that they would call me back, but they never did. I called back the next day and had to start all over again. Another hour and a half on the phone and the associate said that they submitted an escalation form for a rebate dispute and that I would be receiving a call within 10-14 days. I did not receive a call from anyone. I called back again and after another hour on the phone was told that someone would reach out to me. I have never heard from anyone. I have never received the $500 promised gift card. Has Verizon heard of the Consumer Fraud & Deceptive Business Practices Act: To mislead any person in relation to any sought after commercial transaction. I guess my only course of action is to file a complaint with the Attorney General's Consumer Information and Complaints Division. You need to do better Verizon.