"FREE" router offer from 2 years ago

[AMP4]

Did anyone else get the "free" Quantum Gateway Router 2 years ago., and now upon renewal being told that I would now have to pay monthly rental fees ...Maybe I didn't read the fine print (and I'm not seeing anywhere on my account page to read them now!), but it seemed like I was getting the router to keep....   this is from the "renewal" 2 years ago:

Current home phone plan + Fios Quantum 50/50 Mbps Internet (4X MORE Speed) + Quantum Gateway Router (worth $199.99) absolutely FREE!! All of these at just $95.75/mo inclusive.

When I called, I read them the wording, and I was told that this was meant to be "free rental" for 2 years. 

Did anyone else take this offer and think they were getting the router to keep, or am I wrong in thinking so....  

[jonjones1 · Accepted solution]

Verizons interpretation of “free” must be like their “limited-unlimited”

contact your states Public Utilities Commission or Public Service Commission and explain it to them. This agency will contact Verizon executive escalations department who will contact you.

i know at different web sites the free router has been discussed.

i would also use the fine you want to renege on the router I go elsewhere like cable where the modems are free. And you lose thousands of dollars in revenue because of this situation.

[karannmill]

YES!   I am in the same boat as you. Every time I tried to renew online it was adding the router rental. I finally inquired on Live Chat that why would I pay a fee for a router I already own. That rep told me the free one wasn't the latest technology, and so they would send me a new one and that is why I would be charged a fee.  I wasn't really buying that explanation and so I confirmed again that what they were saying was the new router was "new and improved" and that's what I'd be paying for.  Fast forward about a month later and no new router.  I Live Chat again just tonight to ask where my new and improved router is, and I'm told more or less what you were told, that the "free" router was for a limited time.  I asked when I was shipped that router. It was 18 months ago, so of course I no longer have the mail offer for the so-called free router.  This rep also told me the router I received is already the best and newest and implied that maybe I misunderstood what the other rep had told me. On my new plan it clearly shows the full rental fee and the discount applied. On my old bills there is never any indication of any rental/router fee which would lead me to believe that it was free and not "free, for a limited time" only.  Why would I have upgraded from my no fee router to a free router that's not really free in the first place?  What also really annoys me is that they can't even get their stories straight/consistent.  And, just because you answer questions and say "sorry for any confusion" doesn't mean it's to my satisfaction or that you have "resolved" anything.   By the time you've rented their router for the 24 mo contract, you could/should own it, which is how they get you, because you know the minute you buy it, they'll tell you it's no longer compatible or some other story, that there's a new one that you'll have rent or buy, and then you're back at square one.   It's all pretty shady if you ask me.

[CW211]

I am having the same issue right now.

In 2017, they had it all on printed flyers and online ads, and I even asked the sales rep multiple times back then--and everything/everyone said that the router would be mine to own if I renewed/upgraded my internet service. Even my bill has been showing $0 equipment fees or discounts this whole time. And now, every sales rep I talk to interrogates me about the router and tells me the offer had actually consisted of no rental fees.

I don't like these rotten sales tactics, if that's what they're doing.

UPDATE: After I had one rep look at my bills from back then, she agreed. But now she's telling me that they will need to rent me a new router. I don't want a new router. I have a Quantum gigabit gateway that works fine.

[LawrenceC]

Hi CW2,

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

[LawrenceC]

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