Verizon Refuses To Give Promised $200 Visa Prepaid Gift Card

[The_Badger]

Hello all,

In July 2021 I placed an order to set up FIOS internet at my new house. This order, selected from a list of offers on Verizon's web site and placed through that site, included a $200 prepaid Visa gift card. My receipt for the order says that a Visa Prepaid Card is included in the offer and that I will receive an email with instructions to redeem approximately 30 days after my Fios services are installed. The email and reminders came with instructions to redeem my card through a picture of the card on the Verizon web site or app once I became eligible, which would be in late August. The picture of the card, which at least at this point was not a link, was visible under my account on the Verizon web site and on the Verizon app, with a note saying which date I would be eligible to use the link to redeem the card.

Late August came and went, and once I hit the eligibility date, the date under the picture of the card on the web site and app changed from late August to late September. I continued getting email reminders through September, and once the eligibility date came, any mention of the card disappeared from the web site and app, leaving me with no way to redeem the offer. I contacted customer support, who told me that there was a specific support number that handled this sort of thing. That number was only active on weekdays from 8:00-5:00, conveniently when most people are at work and can't call.

On October 1 I called the support number and spoke with a representative, who told me my situation of the disappearing redemption link was strange and that she was putting in an order for the card to be shipped to me, which would take 30 days. On October 8 I called again because I didn't see any pending orders in my account and had no written proof that the card was ever ordered. I happened to speak to the same representative who ordered me the card on the previous week, who ended up transferring me to another representative in another department to try to find out what was going on with the card. After speaking to several representatives in several different departments who all gave me conflicting answers or claimed that a different department needed to handle the issue, I finally got to someone who was speaking through text chat with her manager to try to figure out why the redemption link and picture had disappeared. This was predictably fruitless as I had tried 4 different browsers and Verizon's own app, and she ended up trying to tell me that I was not eligible for the card because that was only for new customers, and I was moving from an existing Verizon internet service at another house. I informed her that not only did the offer and receipt say nothing about any such restriction, but the terms of service page Verizon helpfully included a link to in the receipt for my order also make no such claims. The terms of my contract with Verizon say that I am entitled to this prepaid gift card and I do not appreciate any attempts to lie to me and tell me that I am not.

Eventually, she conceded and I was told that my gift card that was ordered on October 1 was indeed on its way to me and would take approximately 30 days to get here, giving me an expected date of November 1. As of November 11, the card has still not arrived. I called support again today, and I was directed between several numbers claiming that other departments support this type of issue and suggesting that I ask to be transferred to a supervisor. I did so, and I spoke with someone new (who did not identify if she was a supervisor), who again tried to give me a different reason from before for why I was not eligible. She told me that Verizon no longer gives these offers for home internet, which is the service I purchased. I once again informed her that this card was promised in an order that was offered to me by Verizon themselves, and my receipt and terms of service on my contract say that I am entitled to the card. In fact, after the card was allegedly sent to me, I continued getting automated emails from Verizon informing me that I'm running out of time to redeem my card, the last of which came in on October 21 and said that the 22nd was my last day to redeem my gift card, with instructions telling me to go to the picture of the card that hasn't existed in a month.

This representative said that I would have to deal with it with another department, and transferred me to yet another number, where an automated menu prompted me to pick the option I wanted, and then unceremoniously hung up on me when I selected the home internet support option.

So why am I writing this thesis on the customer forum? Two reasons. The first is that I can see that other people on the forum have had the same problem as me where Verizon gives them the runaround on getting the prepaid Visa gift card their order included. If anyone has seen this problem, managed to resolve the issue, and has read all the way through to the end of this post, please let me know how you ended up getting your card. The second reason, and why I wrote a step by step description of the hours of work I have put into trying to redeem the card, is because I can see that many of these posts have a response from Verizon support trying to put them in contact with a representative, and the threads generally don't have more posts afterward. Verizon, if you're reading this, put me in contact with someone who will solve my problem instead of lying to me.

I know that this process has been this long, convoluted, and infuriating because most people will give up before resolving it and then you don't have to give them the card. I will not be giving up. Verizon owes me a $200 prepaid Visa gift card. End of story. Not giving it to me constitutes a breach of contract. If any of the tales Verizon representatives have told me about why the offer for the card doesn't apply, which are obviously not true given Verizon's own actions and the terms of the contract itself, then Verizon would be guilty of false advertising and misleading both prospective and current customers. No matter what, Verizon is in the wrong here. Give me the card.

[KH-OrnEsh1]

Hi The_Badger

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Please check your Private Messenger Inbox for a message from a Verizon Support agent. You can find your Inbox by clicking on your username at the top right corner of this page and then clicking the envelope icon that appears at the top of the menu. Please direct all correspondence concerning your issue to the agents who will be assisting you privately.