Situation with Verizon Wireless

[darkshadow0001]

I had a small delima with Verizon Wireless that I ended up getting taken care off, but I thought was very misleading.

Now, if you wanted to get a phone that they said was free with a two year contract, but had to wait for a rebate to get your phone for free, wouldn't you expect a check for the amount of the phone?

I had not realized that rebates now come in the form of gift cards, I thought it was still by paper checks. I bought a phone from them that I thought was going to be free eventually, but instead of getting a $50 check, they sent me a $50 gift card.

I'm like, "You've got to be kidding me." So I called the place where I purchased my phone and complained. I told them I was unhappy because I was expecting to get a check so I could pay my phone off that I had to charge at the time. I was like "this is very misleading because how am I supposed to get a free phone out of this if you give me a $50 gift card that has limited time I can spend". This is the first time I found out rebates come in gift cards now and they were like "well you can use the card to pay your bill online" but I was like that's still not making my phone free. So they finally told me some banks will cash out gift cards and I could get my money this way.

My main problem with this is I could of purchased the same phone at a normal department store for $20, and I didn't have to go through this rebate crap, and instead I went to Verizon Wireless themselves because I wanted to transfer my pre-paid account to a contract because their pre-paid was also mis-leading. I would of done this my own, but when I tried to call their 800# previously I couldn't get a hold of anyone so I thought going to their store would be more beneficial. Man, if I would of known sooner about the rebate, I would of just spent a few more bucks and purchased myself a Blackberry.

Does this sound mis-leading to you or do you think I just didn't know any better? (If it does sound misleading and you wonder why I am still with Verizon, it's because their connection works 99% of the time where ever I go )

 

[doubleohfive]

Cell phones are a racket. "Instant" rebates are a racket. Regular rebates are a racket.

I've learned -- especially through Verizon, who I've been with since 2003 -- that anything they say they'll give you, you better be ready to fight for it anyway. They're counting on people "forgetting" about the rebate check or the "free gift in the mail" so they don't have to send it.

My experience has been that when you go in to the store to get a replacement phone, you pay your insurance every month and still, when a problem comes up and requires a new phone, you still pay your deductible and then have to wait three days for the phone to arrive. They will not transfer your contacts, texts, or ringtones. They will not charge the phone for you. They "can't."

I learned in February the second time this happened to me that this is all corporate, greedy bullshit. I kicked up a shitstorm about it and they were able to pull a brand new phone off the shelf, charge it for me in 20 minutes (as opposed to the "24-hours once you open the box" they recommend) and transferred all my texts and contacts for me.

In short -- don't let them tell you anything is "by policy" or that they "can't" do something for you. It's a pain the balls but you have to fight for everything with Verizon, at least in the stores.

 

[Finn]

Um. I'd have expected a gift card that I'd have to use for purchases within the company.

 

[Finn]

Um. I'd have expected a gift card that I'd have to use for purchases within the company. It would be wishful thinking believing that a regular check would come in the mail. Years ago, my insurance company used to send me an annual check, that they send to all members. Now, they would just deduct the amount from an upcoming bill.

 

[RobertVA]

I had an insurance company send me a $0.01 rebate check once. Thats right one US cent! For some reason they decided my semi annual premium should have been a penny less shortly after the payment was due and the coverage period began.

 

[darkshadow0001]

Um. I'd have expected a gift card that I'd have to use for purchases within the company. It would be wishful thinking believing that a regular check would come in the mail. Years ago, my insurance company used to send me an annual check, that they send to all members. Now, they would just deduct the amount from an upcoming bill.

Well years ago checks were given out for rebates. I believe that's what I received when I got my first phone through Verizon, it was free with a two-year contract. I didn't know they changed it to gift cards now and if I had known that, I would of just bought a better phone at a cheaper price with the two-year contract. I like Verizon, I just thought it was a shady deal stating a phone was "free" and all you get is a gift card.

 

[RoJoHen]

Seems weird that they would make you pay at all. If the phone is free with a two-year contract, why bother with a rebate? Why not just give you the phone?

 

[RandyS]

I had a small delima with Verizon Wireless that I ended up getting taken care off, but I thought was very misleading.

Now, if you wanted to get a phone that they said was free with a two year contract, but had to wait for a rebate to get your phone for free, wouldn't you expect a check for the amount of the phone?

I had not realized that rebates now come in the form of gift cards, I thought it was still by paper checks. I bought a phone from them that I thought was going to be free eventually, but instead of getting a $50 check, they sent me a $50 gift card.

I'm like, "You've got to be kidding me." So I called the place where I purchased my phone and complained. I told them I was unhappy because I was expecting to get a check so I could pay my phone off that I had to charge at the time. I was like "this is very misleading because how am I supposed to get a free phone out of this if you give me a $50 gift card that has limited time I can spend". This is the first time I found out rebates come in gift cards now and they were like "well you can use the card to pay your bill online" but I was like that's still not making my phone free. So they finally told me some banks will cash out gift cards and I could get my money this way.

My main problem with this is I could of purchased the same phone at a normal department store for $20, and I didn't have to go through this rebate crap, and instead I went to Verizon Wireless themselves because I wanted to transfer my pre-paid account to a contract because their pre-paid was also mis-leading. I would of done this my own, but when I tried to call their 800# previously I couldn't get a hold of anyone so I thought going to their store would be more beneficial. Man, if I would of known sooner about the rebate, I would of just spent a few more bucks and purchased myself a Blackberry.

Does this sound mis-leading to you or do you think I just didn't know any better? (If it does sound misleading and you wonder why I am still with Verizon, it's because their connection works 99% of the time where ever I go )

It's not misleading at all. I got the same thing when I got my phone from Verizon. I was expecting a check too, but I didn't complain. That card allowed me to get a little ahead on my monthly grocery budget.

Every little bit helps.

 

[STR]

I had an insurance company send me a $0.01 rebate check once. Thats right one US cent! For some reason they decided my semi annual premium should have been a penny less shortly after the payment was due and the coverage period began.

One year, I was owed a whopping $2 from my federal tax return. I put the check up on the fridge because I thought it was funny. The joke gets better every year, since every time I file my taxes (which by now is completely electronic) they still have to send me my $2 refund in the original manner I requested. The check has followed me through 2 moves. I should probably gather them altogether and do something with them.

Yes, I am aware that it has cost the government vastly more than $2 to keep mailing that #### out each year, but given that I provide them with an interest free loan until I get my return back, I feel entitled to get my money's worth.

As for VZW, them and AT&T are utter scum. I would know since I worked for the latter for years. Only difference between the two is that VZW kinda knows what they're doing, AT&T doesn't so they cling to Apple's teat no matter how much they rape them on the iPhones (for every iPhone sold, AT&T cuts Apple a check for $375). T-Mobile and US Cellular are fairly ethical, at least as business go, as long as you stick with corporate reps and not franchise agents. Sprint is...inconsistent. You never know what you're going to get with them.

 

[Kestra]

Weird to hear all the bad stories about Verizon. The rebate thing seems a little bit misleading, but ultimately no harm done since you have bills to pay them anyway. I've been with Verizon for probably about a decade now and the only time I had a bad experience was with a particular store. Everything else has been great, whether it's customer service on the phone or in person. They've offered to switch my contacts and such without me even asking. I think it can really vary from store to store.

 

[Spot's Meow]

When I was shopping for a phone company to go with a few months ago I did a lot of research and read tons of reviews and all that good stuff. And I came to the conclusion that all phone companies are shitheads. For every good experience someone had with a company, there were ten bad ones to read about, and no company seemed immune. Some were better in certain areas of course when it came to reception, but they all sucked majorly in the customer service department. The only ones that seemed alright were smaller ones that were only popular in specific areas (of course none in the area I live).

Anyway, I eventually decided to go with MetroPCS because of the flat $40 monthly fee and because there was no contract, so if they piss me off majorly (which is eventually bound to happen) I can just cancel right away and choose another shitty company.

 

[darkshadow0001]

It's not misleading at all. I got the same thing when I got my phone from Verizon. I was expecting a check too, but I didn't complain. That card allowed me to get a little ahead on my monthly grocery budget.

Every little bit helps.

I did only for the fact I had to charge my phone because I didn't think I'd have to pay full price if it said free. I didn't have the cash to buy it directly, and their pre-paid service was too expensive. I wanted to use the rebate to pay off the $50 I had to charge for my "free" phone, that's why I complained. At first I decided to try and use the gift card to pay off my first payment, but I couldn't (for some reason I can never get gift cards to work online) so my bank ended up cashing the card out for me.

I was just expecting cash back of some sorts to pay off the phone, or use it for other bills. I didn't want a gift card to buy stuff I didn't need

 

[bluedana]

Oh, Verizon, they of the "unlimited texting, except we'll charge for data and connecting to the network."

 

[RoJoHen]

Oh, Verizon, they of the "unlimited texting, except we'll charge for data and connecting to the network."

Isn't that every phone company? Of course you have to pay for data if you want to use it.

 

[Kestra]

Oh, Verizon, they of the "unlimited texting, except we'll charge for data and connecting to the network."

The unlimited texting has been great for me, actually. I use it to text people, obviously, but also can use the IM service on my phone at no extra cost because it uses texts.

 

[doubleohfive]

I have an unlimited data plan on my blackberry, and unlimited Verizon-to-Verizon texting ... and 500 free texts to non Verizon phones.

The texting is great, but the Blackberry is terrible for web use and the Facebook app for Blackberry seems to refuse to upload pictures from the mobile device and there is no apparent fix for it.

So, in short ... I can text all I want but it's not really worth it to me as A) I hardly text anymore and B) all the people I do text with are on non-Verizon phones.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

the Facebook app for Blackberry seems to refuse to upload pictures from the mobile device and there is no apparent fix for it.

I had the same problem on my BB, deleting the app and reinstalling it worked for me.

 

[BrotherBenny]

I moved over to the US in December last year and I realized very quickly that American cell networks are rip off merchants from the ground up. In the UK, you can get a free phone (no rebate crap) with 500 cross-network minutes (so you can call anyone on any network) and 500 free texts for the equivalent of about $53 a month. So for two people on the same plan that's $106 a month (give or take). Right now my wife and I are paying $160 a month for the two of us and getting very little for our money except cell phones we can't in the house and up to 15 feet from the house.

Also, in the UK you can buy phones which are so cheap they're almost giveaway phones. The cheapest I have seen a phone for in the UK is about $10 (give or take with the exchange rate), i haven't seen any phone over here for less than about $50.

 

[RoJoHen]

I moved over to the US in December last year and I realized very quickly that American cell networks are rip off merchants from the ground up. In the UK, you can get a free phone (no rebate crap) with 500 cross-network minutes (so you can call anyone on any network) and 500 free texts for the equivalent of about $53 a month. So for two people on the same plan that's $106 a month (give or take). Right now my wife and I are paying $160 a month for the two of us and getting very little for our money except cell phones we can't in the house and up to 15 feet from the house.

That sounds absolutely absurd. My family and I (5 people total) have unlimited calls and unlimited texts to any network, and our bill is only $130/month.

 

[Captain Ice]

Sprint is...inconsistent. You never know what you're going to get with them.

As a former Sprint customer, I disagree with you. They are very consistent. They screw you every time you give them a chance. Between that, the dropped calls, and not getting some of my phone calls/messages for three days even though the phone was on and had 4 bars, I am now a happy Verizon customer.