Is it really gonna be several more months?

[belome]

I'm out of contract and have been for a long time. I have a 3 phone family plan and was all excited to switch to Verizon so I can get better phones.

My thinking was, that if I simply dumped Alltel and got Verizon I'd end up paying all the signup costs (100 bucks?) to become a new Verizon customer.

However, I thought if the billing merger was a month or two out, I could tough it out, become a Verizon customer and then upgrade my phones. The upgrade wouldn't require me to pay the 100 dollars in fees. [or so I think]

If its really gonna be much later this year, I guess it makes sense to suck it up and switch now?

Thoughts? Do you think they are gonna do anything nice (phone discounts etc) to the people who wait out the Alltel merger fully?

[belome]

PS - I already got the letter stating I would be ported over to Verizon within the next few months.

[Mobile Mike]

belome, welcome to Wireless Advisor.

Since you got a letter from them, I'd wait it out. It's hard to say whether you will get a greater discount because of the integration than anybody else would signing up or renewing normally, but you never know.

There will always be a large selection of phones Verizon carries, so by the time you're switched over, I'm sure you'll find a phone you really like.

It wouldn't hurt, though, to give Verizon a call to see if there would be an advantage to waiting or to just go ahead and sign up now.

[belome]

Thanks Mike,

I guess I could talk to Verizon, but I was assuming they are gonna be pretty tight lipped about everything until they actually start getting people switched over.

I was all set to just wait it out until I saw the sticky at the top saying it might be late 09, that is what got me thinking. I recived my letter quite awhile ago, probably sometime in late February.

If they do plan on making me an actual customers soon, I'll wait it out. I would think they would want to give some type of 'thanks for becoming a Verizon customer' trinket to those of us who aren't under contract and stuck it out. [or maybe I'm just being overly optimistic... who knows.]

Thanks again.

[Mobile Mike]

Originally Posted by belome

Thanks Mike,

I guess I could talk to Verizon, but I was assuming they are gonna be pretty tight lipped about everything until they actually start getting people switched over.

I was all set to just wait it out until I saw the sticky at the top saying it might be late 09, that is what got me thinking. I recived my letter quite awhile ago, probably sometime in late February.

If they do plan on making me an actual customers soon, I'll wait it out. I would think they would want to give some type of 'thanks for becoming a Verizon customer' trinket to those of us who aren't under contract and stuck it out. [or maybe I'm just being overly optimistic... who knows.]

Thanks again.

Keep in mind, what I posted in the sticky is general. It may be late '09, but it could be much sooner than that. I was going by what was said in Verizon press releases about the subject. It's better for them to give a long-range date for integration than to get caught with their pants down if things aren't done by a too-early estimated date.

Calling Verizon and asking when you'll be able to move over to their service is a valid question. What discounts they'll have when that occurs is not one they'll have answers to yet.

And as I said in the previous post, see what your options are about switching early since you're out of contract with Alltel and won't have an ETF to worry about. I think early switching for those under contract is the bugaboo right now because the ETF won't be waived versus your out-of-contract situation.

[bikebryan]

Originally Posted by belome

Thanks Mike,

I guess I could talk to Verizon, but I was assuming they are gonna be pretty tight lipped about everything until they actually start getting people switched over.

I was all set to just wait it out until I saw the sticky at the top saying it might be late 09, that is what got me thinking. I recived my letter quite awhile ago, probably sometime in late February.

If they do plan on making me an actual customers soon, I'll wait it out. I would think they would want to give some type of 'thanks for becoming a Verizon customer' trinket to those of us who aren't under contract and stuck it out. [or maybe I'm just being overly optimistic... who knows.]

Thanks again.

The notices sent out in February had nothing to do with the actual billing conversion. Those letters generally will go out four to six weeks prior the billing conversion and will spell out pretty much EVERYTHING you need to know, including any plan changes. The first round of conversionsl will be happenning in the next several weeks so the first round of customers have already been given their notices.

[belome]

UPDATE - I went to Verizon. Picked out phones had everything setup... then they went to port my numbers and couldn't. [Even though their website and their 1-800 number sales guys said I should be able to.]

The reason. I used to live in Mid-MI and the numbers are Mt Pleasant MI numbers [I live in Lansing now]. Verizon wasn't the A or B system there so to this day they can not sell phones there. Somehow, since my numbers are from there, they were unable to port them.

Which means??? I don't know. Can't wait to see what happens when they try to convert me in the next few months and run into the same problem. So, it looks like I just sit and wait and see where it goes. I refuse to give up my three numbers, been there done that, huge PITA.

[bandit390]

If you have 4 months or less you can port over to verizon now without paying ETF and verizon will even waive activation fees.

Not everyone will apply, see example above this post.

Also, your last month with alltel will not be pro-rated. So do it near the end of the billing cycle.

[belome]

Originally Posted by bandit390

Also, your last month with alltel will not be pro-rated. So do it near the end of the billing cycle.

Yeah, I called them... I had to get the phones online so I was ONE DAY over my billing cycle... sounds like they are gonna pound me in the rear.

I will do some MAJOR _____ing if I get popped 125 bucks for ONE day of service.

[bikebryan]

Originally Posted by belome

Yeah, I called them... I had to get the phones online so I was ONE DAY over my billing cycle... sounds like they are gonna pound me in the rear.

I will do some MAJOR _____ing if I get popped 125 bucks for ONE day of service.

Complain away. Guess what - you agreed to that provision (billed last full month with no proration should you disconnect early during that month) when you took the service with Alltel. It's in the terms and conditions.

So you have no leg to stand on and Alltel won't budge.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by belome

Yeah, I called them... I had to get the phones online so I was ONE DAY over my billing cycle... sounds like they are gonna pound me in the rear.

I will do some MAJOR _____ing if I get popped 125 bucks for ONE day of service.

Yes they will bill through the entire month. The best time to cancel, or port out, is a few days before your billing cycle is over as bandit said. This way if there's a delay in shipping or the porting process, you're still covered.

If you have multiple lines and just want to cancel or port one or two, make sure that you make those lines secondary on your account. Last year I canceled one of my lines which was the primary line on my account several days into a new billing cycle. The next month, I found out they tried to bill that line, and the new primary line both the $60 charge for that month which I didn't expect (IMO it was ok to bill the $60 for one primary line even on the line I canceled, but then all other lines should have been $9.99 for that same period according the the plan). I got the extra charges dropped through retentions along with an additional bonus credit because I still had active lines out-of-contract with alltel but I won't make that mistake again. No other reps in the store or by calling in could help, and it sounds like since you're no longer a customer, retentions may not be willing to help either.

[belome]

I called them today and they pro-rated it to $2.50 for my one day of service.

[spleck]

Originally Posted by bikebryan

Complain away. Guess what - you agreed to that provision (billed last full month with no proration should you disconnect early during that month) when you took the service with Alltel. It's in the terms and conditions.

So you have no leg to stand on and Alltel won't budge.

Complaining takes so little energy, but it costs the company at least $20/hr to listen to it.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man”

From ‘Maxims For Revolutionists’ by George Bernard Shaw

[belome]

Originally Posted by belome

I called them today and they pro-rated it to $2.50 for my one day of service.

Yeah... now today I get an automated message saying I owe them over 100 dollars.

Hopefully, after this last round of talks with the retention department I got it settled.

Ugh... too many departments that don't communicate between each other...

I was very happy and loyal Alltel/CenturyTel/Century Cellunet customer for about 13 years and they are really messing that up by not handling this situation better.

[bandit390]

Originally Posted by belome

Yeah... now today I get an automated message saying I owe them over 100 dollars.

Hopefully, after this last round of talks with the retention department I got it settled.

Ugh... too many departments that don't communicate between each other...

I was very happy and loyal Alltel/CenturyTel/Century Cellunet customer for about 13 years and they are really messing that up by not handling this situation better.

Depending on how much the credit is and how they do it, it will go to their supervisor or another department for approval and they usualy go by policy Meaning they deny the reps credit, because last month is not pro rated and also policy over rides whatever a rep tells you.

But you can always call and ask.

[belome]

Originally Posted by bandit390

But you can always call and ask.

Part of the frustration is that I'm in the dark. I can no longer log into my account because I'm no longer a customer. They never sent me a paper bill. Had it not been for the automated call telling me they were going to 'cut me off' I would have never known.

Basically... they almost messed up my credit rating because it would have went to collections... after they told me the account was settled in full.

So, next week I'm going to call back... go through the whole thing again. Eventually, they will either fix it or make me pay.

[james16841]

Originally Posted by bandit390

If you have 4 months or less you can port over to verizon now without paying ETF and verizon will even waive activation fees.

Not everyone will apply, see example above this post.

Also, your last month with alltel will not be pro-rated. So do it near the end of the billing cycle.

Does this apply to certain areas in the country, or can anyone move over to Verizon from Alltel within their last four months of contract?

[belome]

UPDATE - After yet another call back in early June they calculated my account again and said I now had a zero balance and the account was closed.

So yesterday I get a 'bill' in the mail. I open it up with my blood simply boiling... after further review, I now hadve a $12 CREDIT.

WTF???

They are supposed to send me a check.

I just can't believe that after all this time, after they told me my account was paid in full and closed... that they are new sending ME money. What a cluster ____.