Verizon Customers -- please read me. . .

[DiscoPuppy]

I need to have something explained to me because I fail to understand Verizon's logic on this.

I have brand new service with Verizon. I bought myself a T720 that I've been fairly satisfied with. Last night, however, I damaged my cell phone (left it in my jeans pocket and went through the wash). Unfortunately I didn't take out an insurance policy so I understand that I'm on my own as far as replacing the phone. It's my own fault for being stupid enough to be so negligent, so I've accepted the fact that I shouldn't expect Verizon to help me out as far as replacing my handset.


I strolled into my local Verizon store to try and replace my phone this morning. After explaining my situation, I was politely told that I am required to pay FULL RETAIL PRICE for the replacement phone. Well, let's see -- I paid $149.99 for the phone when I started service; now they want $259.00, the full retail price, for me to replace it.

Can someone explain this logic to me please? Why should I be penalized for being a Verizon customer in getting the better price? I was even willing to give them my ex-phone from t-Mobile to qualify for the rebate, but still that was not good enough. It was full retail price, or no phone at all.

I called Verizonâ??s customer service (twice, just to see if I can catch someone on a good day). They all seem to follow the same script. â??Iâ??m sorry but when you started service, you signed a two-year contract. We extended the special promotion price because of thisâ?�. Ok, fine â?? but why canâ??t I get the special promotion price again? Iâ??m still within my 15-day trial period.

I went back to the store to get whatever cheapest phone they had and the same girl was there. She advised that it was maybe in my best interest to take out the handset insurance policy on my broken phone and call back customer service in a week or so to file a claim. Although this suggests that I engage in fraudulent activity, I accepted anyway and plan to go through with filing a claim to replace my handset.

So my question is am I SOL if I happen to lose, or otherwise damage my phone to the point where I canâ??t use it anymore and have to replace it? Why am I not entitled to the same price that I originally paid for or the price of a new phone for a new customer?

[xtoddler2]

Most insurance companies do this thing where they call your phone back, to ensure is working properly. In addition, if they can not verify it working, your insurance doesnt qualify. They also do a 20+ day waiting period, to ensure that your not doing fraud.

Your best bet, is to cancel Verizon and start over. Call them, and give them an address that is way out of the coverage area, and your cancel fee is waived. Its less hassle, and less incriminating then fraudulent use of insurance.

[ockidd15]

Verizon's phone prices that are advertised are for NEW CUSTOMERS only. This is to attract customers into signing up a contract with them. However, to upgrade or replace a phone while in your contract period, you will have to pay full retail price. Verizon is not the only company doing this. All cellular companies used to do this. However, T-Mobile recently joined Cingular in offering thier phones at one price, whether you are a new or existing customer. The only difference is they offer rebates to new customers, thus lowering the price. Here's an example:

(Hypothetically) I get a T-Mobile 3390 that normally sells for $50 but since I'm a new customer, I get a $50 rebate so my phone is actually free. But let's say I break or lose the phone (T-Mobile doesnt offer insurance) and I go to the store to buy a new one. It'll only cost me $50. Sometimes, I can go to Best Buy or Circuit City during a sale and get it for $10. Before they changed policy, it would cost about $200+. Sprint is the same but thier phone prices tend to be no less than $100 so its a little more expensive, but at least they don't charge full retail to replace those delicate color phones.

Now Verizon on the other hand hasn't changed yet. As a new customer, I can get the V60i for $149, but with rebates I get it for $99. I break the phone, they'll ask about $300 to replace it or maybe $200 on eBay.

This is why its advisable to either buy thier insurance (which personally I think is a rip-off) or have your homeowners/renter's insurance cover you cell phone. It used to be that cellular companies don't care once you are a customer. They only care about potential customers. Once they have you in contract, you really have limited options.

If you decide to take xtoddler2's advice, be aware of one fact: If you do get the opportunity to terminate your contract without paying the fee, then you can't go back to Verizon right away and sign up again. They'll have you in thier database. I know its T-Mobile's policy that once you terminate a contract, you can't sign back up until after 3 months. You might have to either go with a different carrier or have someone else sign up for you.

[mreg]

Originally posted by: DiscoPuppy Can someone explain this logic to me please? Why should I be penalized for being a Verizon customer in getting the better price? I was even willing to give them my ex-phone from t-Mobile to qualify for the rebate, but still that was not good enough. It was full retail price, or no phone at all.

Verizon subsidizes the price of a phone as a promotion for a new customer, to the tune of up to a couple of hundred dollars. A standard manufacturer's warranty comes with the phone. In case you haven't noticed manufacturers' warranties protect agaiunst defects, not physical damage inflicted by the customer. Verizon also provides you with the opportunity to purchase insurance, to cover the type of damage that occurred to your phone. You declined to purchase that insurance. So what exactly do you "fail to understand"?

[DiscoPuppy]

Originally posted by: mreg Originally posted by: DiscoPuppy Can someone explain this logic to me please? Why should I be penalized for being a Verizon customer in getting the better price? I was even willing to give them my ex-phone from t-Mobile to qualify for the rebate, but still that was not good enough. It was full retail price, or no phone at all. Verizon subsidizes the price of a phone as a promotion for a new customer, to the tune of up to a couple of hundred dollars. A standard manufacturer's warranty comes with the phone. In case you haven't noticed manufacturers' warranties protect agaiunst defects, not physical damage inflicted by the customer. Verizon also provides you with the opportunity to purchase insurance, to cover the type of damage that occurred to your phone. You declined to purchase that insurance. So what exactly do you "fail to understand"?

I "fail to understand" Verizon's logic on why I have to pay the worst possible price when I'm a customer. You gave me the same gobbledigook Verizon did when I called them and it just doesn't make any sense. I realize I didn't take insurance when I started service. I realize that the damage I did to my phone is not covered by any warranties. All I want to do is pay the same price I paid for my phone when I started service. I guess checking on eBay's a good idea.

[crood]

The price you originally paid was a discount for signing a new contract, not the retail price of the phone. People who sign up for a 1 year contract pay more than people who sign up for a two year. Look at it this way, you buy something on sale. It breaks, you go back to the store and the sale is over. You wouldn't get the same price. Verizon loses money on the phone in order to make money on the contract. You've already bought the contract, so they just lose money by selling the phone at the discounted price. Your best bet would be to try EBay.

[DiscoPuppy]

Originally posted by: crood The price you originally paid was a discount for signing a new contract, not the retail price of the phone. People who sign up for a 1 year contract pay more than people who sign up for a two year. Look at it this way, you buy something on sale. It breaks, you go back to the store and the sale is over. You wouldn't get the same price. Verizon loses money on the phone in order to make money on the contract. You've already bought the contract, so they just lose money by selling the phone at the discounted price. Your best bet would be to try EBay.

Thanks a lot for your explanation. I understand now. :-) By the way, do you know whether the T720 is more of a junk than the Audiovox 9500?

[mreg]

Originally posted by: crood The price you originally paid was a discount for signing a new contract, not the retail price of the phone. People who sign up for a 1 year contract pay more than people who sign up for a two year. Look at it this way, you buy something on sale. It breaks, you go back to the store and the sale is over. You wouldn't get the same price. Verizon loses money on the phone in order to make money on the contract. You've already bought the contract, so they just lose money by selling the phone at the discounted price. Your best bet would be to try EBay.

You're wasting your time. This guy doesn't care about the facts, he just "thinks" that he can break or lose his phone once a week and that Verizon should insure him for free.

[DiscoPuppy]

Originally posted by: mreg Originally posted by: crood The price you originally paid was a discount for signing a new contract, not the retail price of the phone. People who sign up for a 1 year contract pay more than people who sign up for a two year. Look at it this way, you buy something on sale. It breaks, you go back to the store and the sale is over. You wouldn't get the same price. Verizon loses money on the phone in order to make money on the contract. You've already bought the contract, so they just lose money by selling the phone at the discounted price. Your best bet would be to try EBay. You're wasting your time. This guy doesn't care about the facts, he just "thinks" that he can break or lose his phone once a week and that Verizon should insure him for free.

I didn't say that at all. If you read my original message and my subsequent replies, I have wholeheartedly admitted that the damage was my own fault and that I am willing to pay out-of-pocket to replace it. I was never expecting Verizon to replace the phone or insure it for free.

Thanks to the friendly advice of a few, I now know why I can't pay the same price that I paid for the phone when I started service - which was the purpose of my originally posting this topic.

[ockidd15]

Originally posted by: DiscoPuppy Thanks to the friendly advice of a few, I now know why I can't pay the same price that I paid for the phone when I started service - which was the purpose of my originally posting this topic.

Yeah, with Verizon you can't. If you had T-Mobile, Cingular or Sprint you can as I explained earlier. Hope you can find a replacement for cheap. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[VTEC01EX]

As for the T720 vs. CDM9500 question, it's a tough one. The T720 is buggy, has poor battery life, and a decent screen. The 9500 is BIG, has poor battery life, and a very good screen (that you can't do much with, as there isn't anything on GetItNow for it yet anyway). As many problems have been posted about buggy T720s, I would probably go for that phone, just because the CDM9500 is just too big. I like to carry my phone in my pocket, and I tried the salesman's 9500 at the VZW store the other day, and it's just too big to do comfortably. Although, if you want a flip phone with slightly better battery life and fewer bugs so far, you might want to check out the LG VX4400.

[DiscoPuppy]

Originally posted by: VTEC01EX As for the T720 vs. CDM9500 question, it's a tough one. The T720 is buggy, has poor battery life, and a decent screen. The 9500 is BIG, has poor battery life, and a very good screen (that you can't do much with, as there isn't anything on GetItNow for it yet anyway). As many problems have been posted about buggy T720s, I would probably go for that phone, just because the CDM9500 is just too big. I like to carry my phone in my pocket, and I tried the salesman's 9500 at the VZW store the other day, and it's just too big to do comfortably. Although, if you want a flip phone with slightly better battery life and fewer bugs so far, you might want to check out the LG VX4400.

Thanks! I had the opportunity to check out the 9500 in detail at the Verizon store. It's really kewl and all but it's just plain UGLY!!! I suppose I shouldn't complain about a phone if it gets good reception and works reliably as the 9500 supposedly does, but I just can't get over just how much of an eyesore it is and how big and clunky it would be to lug it around.

[Suliman]

OK, let's do a side by side. Width of the 9500 is the same as the 720. Depth of the 9500 is the same as the 720. Overall length when opened the 9500 is less than 1/4" longer than the 720.. Egad, it's SO HUGE compared to the 720. I know it looks so much bigger, but another poster surmised it has more to do with the lines of the phone making it appear bigger than it actually is. As far as "kewl" goes, I haven't seen a woman drop her draws yet because of the cell phone I was carrying, so until one does, I'll just use the phone to make calls.

Suliman

[DiverDown]

Listen go and buy the insurance, sit on your ___ for 2 weeks and then call the company pay th $50 deductible and they will send you a new phone.

This is legal and in no way am I condoning you do this, but hey if your so adamant on not paying the full price for a new phone, then you'll probably have no problem doing this.

You probably won't get caught either since i'm sure like a half a million people do this everytime.

[Letitride]

VZW or indirect subsidize the "low" purchase price of your new or upgraded phone, sometimes with additional rebate, in part due to market competition. When one opt for a 12 month contract and decline the insurance, it is a calculated risk taken and even more of a higher calculated risk on a 24 month contract. I settled for a free loaner phone from my indirect of 8+ years when my phone failed and I didn't (never did opt for or want to pay for it) have insurance on it, until I qualify for an upgrade price on a newer phone. Look at it this way, it cost more in parts & labor if you have to repair your car after a major accident vs. buying a new one - it just hurt more mentally & cost more if you don't have collision coverage - it's more than the deductible that you will be paying for without the proper insurance.

Why not try a post or do a search in the Marketplace as there are likely T720 users willing to sell their "slightly used" VZW phone for less than the full retail price of a new phone at the corporate store.

Saw a recent post in phonescoop.com on a used T720 for sale by VZW user.

[violentgremlin]

You probably cannot get away with the insurance replacement on the T720. The phone needs to be trouble free for 30 days after you add the insurance feature if you did not add it at activation and they will check your call activity on that phone you started service with. It's not as easy as you think to pull it off. There are a lot of terms and condtions to their insurance policy.

On the other hand, if they did not subsidize the orignal cost of your phone, you would be paying the same (retail) price $259.00 when you bought it the second time.

Glad the 9500 is working out for you.

[ak47]

Disco:

I deal with your situation everyday...it pretty much follows what others have said, you bought the phone at a subsidized price, you agreed to a contract and did not take out insurance..tough if you break/soak it/loose it. I will tell you this. In some stores, they may sell you a FRU phone (a reconditioned phone) for $50 and then make you add the insurance ($4.99 in Atlanta). It is basically up to the manager, but he or she is not under ANY obligation to do this for you, if he or she does it, it is as a favour to you pure and simple. If not, you will end up getting stuck paying he full price retail cost. Your best bet is to visit your local store(s) and see if the manager will agree to what I told you, otherwise go the insurance route as others have suggested you do. Just for the record, the price of the deductible is what the insurance company paid more or less for the phone, so even then they are not really loosing any money, in 10 months, they will get it back from you.

Keep in mind that VZW or Cingular et al are in business to make money, not to give stuff away. It is just like any other merchant or business. If we sold our gave away our products or services, we would not be in business long and this would then be an academic issue. I sympathise and understand your predicament, but please understand ours also.

Try the solutions that I and others have offered to you and hopefully soon you will be back on track.

[DiscoPuppy]

Originally posted by: ak47 Disco: I deal with your situation everyday...it pretty much follows what others have said, you bought the phone at a subsidized price, you agreed to a contract and did not take out insurance..tough if you break/soak it/loose it. I will tell you this. In some stores, they may sell you a FRU phone (a reconditioned phone) for $50 and then make you add the insurance ($4.99 in Atlanta). It is basically up to the manager, but he or she is not under ANY obligation to do this for you, if he or she does it, it is as a favour to you pure and simple. If not, you will end up getting stuck paying he full price retail cost. Your best bet is to visit your local store(s) and see if the manager will agree to what I told you, otherwise go the insurance route as others have suggested you do. Just for the record, the price of the deductible is what the insurance company paid more or less for the phone, so even then they are not really loosing any money, in 10 months, they will get it back from you. Keep in mind that VZW or Cingular et al are in business to make money, not to give stuff away. It is just like any other merchant or business. If we sold our gave away our products or services, we would not be in business long and this would then be an academic issue. I sympathise and understand your predicament, but please understand ours also. Try the solutions that I and others have offered to you and hopefully soon you will be back on track.

Thank you for your thoughtful message. I understand what you're saying. However, I don't need Verizon's customer service telling me it's yourfaulttoughluckhaveaniceday. Some manager in the Bellevue customer service called me and explained the whole "we're not in the business to sell cell phones; we make our money selling airtime" schpiel. I already know this. This is evidenced by my willingness to replace the phone out my own pocket. I wasn't looking for sympathy from Verizon; and I wasn't looking for freebies from Verizon. However, I will say this: I would have been nice to have been disclosed all this at the time I started service with Verizon. I came from t-Mobile where they freely exchanged handsets - no questions asked. This is why I was surprised when I changed to Verizon. I started service via the web, and yeah I DID see a little checkmark next to where I would have opted for an insurance policy. It just didn't make sense at the time to add another $4.00 a month for insurance on a phone I paid $179.00 for. I just figured I'd be out that amount to replace it. There really should have been some sort of pop-up message prior to finalizing my order warning me that NOT taking out an insurance can result in my paying FULL RETAIL PRICE for any phone as a replacement in the event that something happens to it.

It turns out that caught this very nice lady on Verizon's customer service line this morning to discuss a different situation. She suggested exactly the same thing you mentioned. She WAS able to find a refurbished T720 and offered to overnight it to me ON THE PREMISE THAT. . . I pay the $50.00 deductible and take out the $3.99 a month insurance on it. I eagerly accepted and we were both on our merry little way.

I guess the moral of this story is that if you're a clumsy, forgetful person like me, it's probably a good idea to opt into the insurance program.

[ak47]

Disco:

I am glad that this mess worked out for you in the end. Word up: Whenever you have a problem, keep in mind that the person at VZW (or any other company for that matter) that is helping you may or may not be as they say here in this site, a neophyte, greenhorn, or a junior member. I wish that I could tell you that what happaned to you is an isolated experience, but it is not. Some sales person or customer service rep either do not know, or else forget to tell or also wants to make a commission and fail to disclose information. You made the right decision by coming here looking for information and that is something that in the wireless industry is sorely needed. For example, many times customers are not aware that to break a contract with VZW, they will charge you $175 early termination fee. However, just like in your case if you have a situation were service is poor and you cannot place calls, or your bill is constantly wrong, the company can make an exception.

I have worked both at the customer care centre as a customer care person (the one in Alpharetta Ga. just north of Atlanta) and now I am in a company store as a customer support rep. I have seen both sides of this type issues many times. I think that at some point in time, maybe a few years down the road, either competition or federal regulation will force ALL wireless companies to standarize and streamline a lot of this issues.

Why?

Although cell phones have been in use since the mid 1970's (What Mannix used in his tv show of the late 1960's was not cell technology strictly speaking), it was only until the mid to late 1980's that this technology started to take off, and unlike the POTS (industry lingo for Plain Old Telephone Service), the wireless phones are still an evolving and growing product with wireless web, text messaging and who knows what else down the road. In this still fluid situation, it will take time and experience for both industry and government to work out the kind of consumer protection laws and service policies that we have or had had in the POTS service.

I could go on and on, I do not wish to bore you, I just want to pass along some insigts to you of what the wireless world is like at least from my perspective as an insider.

Once again, I am glad it all worked out for you.

[mreg]

Originally posted by: DiscoPuppy Originally posted by: mreg Originally posted by: crood The price you originally paid was a discount for signing a new contract, not the retail price of the phone. People who sign up for a 1 year contract pay more than people who sign up for a two year. Look at it this way, you buy something on sale. It breaks, you go back to the store and the sale is over. You wouldn't get the same price. Verizon loses money on the phone in order to make money on the contract. You've already bought the contract, so they just lose money by selling the phone at the discounted price. Your best bet would be to try EBay. You're wasting your time. This guy doesn't care about the facts, he just "thinks" that he can break or lose his phone once a week and that Verizon should insure him for free. I didn't say that at all. If you read my original message and my subsequent replies, I have wholeheartedly admitted that the damage was my own fault and that I am willing to pay out-of-pocket to replace it. I was never expecting Verizon to replace the phone or insure it for free. Thanks to the friendly advice of a few, I now know why I can't pay the same price that I paid for the phone when I started service - which was the purpose of my originally posting this topic.

It's nice to see that you changed your view from "the same gobbledigook" to "friendly advice."