Number porting issues
Afisherm
Enthusiast - Level 1

Hello,

We have two lines with Verizon and towards the end of 2019, we decided to add a third phone.  We bought the phone new from an online vendor; the phone was unlocked and supported on Verizion (Moto One Action).  The phone originally came with a Mint Mobile prepaid SIM and we decided to try their service first.  They are a T-Mobile MVNO, so activating the phone on their network was clearly activating it on a non-Verizon network.  The activation went fine but we ultimately decided to port the number into Verizon.  I called Mint Mobile to obtain the PIN and account number and I submitted a port request via the Verizon website.  I also ordered a Verizon SIM online and went to the local Verizon store to pick it up.  I swapped SIMs, the phone came up with Verizon as the carrier and all seemed good.  Data worked, texting worked and we assumed calling worked.

However, we soon found out that texting was only working outbound, and inbound texting only worked when the texts were sent by certain people.  A common problem seemed to be the the texts that could not be received were iPhone users.  We also discovered that the phone could not receive calls, but could make calls, at least to certain numbers (home landline and our two other Verizon phones).  The number and phone showed up on our Verizon bill, adding an additional $67(!!) a month on the first bill cycle.

My wife took the phone to a Verizon store to try to get the issue resolved.  They had her do the basic troubleshooting steps we already had done (deleting contacts and re-adding them, etc.) and then did some research on the number.  The Verizon rep stated that there was no record of a port-in at one point and also stated that the number was only half ported (not sure how there could be no record of a port, yet the number is half ported?).  When asked what was meant by half ported, the rep said sending worked, but receiving did not.  However, that was not true, as our other two Verizon phones had no trouble sending texts to the third Verizon phone.  The Verizon rep also stated that since 30 days had gone by since the port-in, the number was lost and we would need to request a new number; they would be happy to do that in the store, but it would cost $20 or we could do it online for free.

So lots of questions:

How can we have a phone number active on our Verizon account, which was previously active on a T-Mobile MVNO account without the number being ported?
If the number is only half-ported (whatever that means), why can some phones send texts to and receive texts from the third phone?

Why are we being billed an additional $67/month for a phone number and a phone that shows up on our account, yet Verizon claims was never ported to our account?

To add additional insult to the problem, because we had gone the BYOD route, we applied for the $250 rebate.  The terms and conditions that were posted at the time stated that BYOD ported in to postpaid plans were eligible; however after submitting the rebate, it was eventually rejected, stating that only unlimited plans qualified.  NO where was this listed up front - not on the Motorola website, which advertised the promo, nor on the VZW site (the tablet promo did state unlimited postpaid, but the phone just said postpaid - nothing about unlimited).  Judging from the other forum posts, it seems the rebate promos are just a bait and switch tactic to get users to switch and Verizon makes it exceedingly difficult to receive valid rebates in a timely manner.  And make excuses or ways to get out of paying the rebates in other situations.

Regardless of the rebate, I need to know how to get our third phone working with full service.  However, I do not think that I should have to pay another cent to Verizon to activate a new number, or whatever needs to happen.

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Afisherm
Enthusiast - Level 1

Two weeks, no response...  With nothing to lose, I put the Mint Mobile SIM back in the problem phone.  The devices that previously could not send a reply text now can send texts to the new phone, so whatever nonsense the Verizon Wireless store staff were saying about the number no longer being valid and that it had gone back into the void is bogus.  We were told we would have to get a new number and go through activation again.  The old number is still working mostly fine with the old carrier, although my wife and I have now lost the ability to text it (phone calls work fine, regardless of which carrier they are sent to or from).

Obviously something in the port-in process failed.  But whatever happened, was not enough for Verizon to not bill us for the number in January, along with an activation fee.  And bill us for the line again in February.  So now it looks like I've somehow got a number with two completely different carriers and both are happy to sell me service, as if nothing was wrong.  I can't attempt a port-in again to VZW, because it says the number is already with Verizon (which directly contradicts what the Verizon Store rep says, namely that the number doesn't exist anymore and we need to get a new one).

For the suckers that fall for the BYOD rebate, you're just out the rebate amount.  I fell for it, I'm out of the rebate AND I'm being billed for a line that I can't really use.