Verizon Introducing $20 Fee to Upgrade Your Smartphone

[oneMadRssn]

We don't need regulation (as associated fees). We need people (CUSTOMERS) to start voicing their opinion with their wallet and take their business elsewhere. But people don't care. It's easy to rant and rave on a forum, but not so easy ditching Verizon for another carrier, so nothing ever happens.

That would be nice if the situation was that all carriers were otherwise equal. 3 of the 4 major carriers charge a fee for this nonsense - so voting with the wallet won't necessarily do much. Further, the most important factor in choosing a carrier is coverage. There are many many towns in the US where there is one carrier with acceptable coverage, no real choice there. There are even people in major cities where the big 4 do offer coverage, but for whatever reason their apartment, house, or place of work is in a dead spot. A significant percent of the population cannot really choose the one carrier that doesn't charge this fee.

 

[techwhiz]

If you buy from the Apple store and you tell them it's for Verizon, they collect the $20.
If you buy an unlocked device and activate it yourself, there is no fee.
Moral, buy unlocked devices and swap the SIM yourself.

 

[DVNIEL]

Wait... I have to pay $20 to "upgrade" my phone that I flat out paid at full retail price?


Brilliant.

 

[npolly0212]

I wanna know what it is that they need it for? I tell them what iPhone I want, they then walk in the back and tell me they don't have that color in the size I want, so I tell them another one. Which in turn, they walk back a second time and pick it up. Then I proceed to take it out of there hands and open it and set it up myself?

You know cause walking 10 steps to the back of the store, and proceeding to take my credit card and swiping it definitely requires so much physical demand that they need to take more money out of my pocket..

 

[rdlink]

I have a plan. My 2 year contract on my iPad expires in September. Going to kill the service on it and just use it as a WiFi device after that. Right now Verizon has an advantage because I commute via bus, and the terminal where I catch my bus has a Verizon repeater, and no other carriers get good service down there. But in October the bus gets replaced with a train that boards above ground. So TMO here I come. Verizon, I hope you enjoy losing $165 a month for many years just to extort an extra $20 fee.

 

[tdar]

This is such nonsense, and a shining example of why telecom needs regulation.

Take SIM card out of old phone, insert it into new phone. Go online, and update the IMEI numbers if needed. How does this warrant a $20 fee?

You don't even have to do that. When a customer gets a new phone you scan the barcodes on the side of the box. The system then removes the old phone and it's sim and replaces it with the new one. Of course if you get your phone at the Apple store - Apple employees do it for them.


The cell carriers are getting like the airlines - Junk fee after junk fee after junk fee. Soon like the airlines, they will be making more money off of the junk fees than for the service that you are paying for. Thanks again Wall Streeters.

 

[eccentricglow]

Is this fee different from the activation fee they already charge?

 

[MrGuder]

Verizon is like Disney World price gouge you $15.00 for a cheeseburger but your forced to pay it.

 

[frumpy16]

This is such nonsense, and a shining example of why telecom needs regulation.

Take SIM card out of old phone, insert it into new phone. Go online, and update the IMEI numbers if needed. How does this warrant a $20 fee?

You want the government to solve this for you? It's not the government's job and I don't trust them to get it right anyway. The answer is that if you are outraged by the fee (I am), you discontinue your relationship with Verizon and, eventually, they have to change the policy or otherwise gain new business back. This is a self-solving problem. The issue is that people like to complain and have someone fix this problem for them but they're not actually upset enough to take the action necessary to solve the issue (switching providers). You can't have it both ways.
[doublepost=1459445256][/doublepost]

That would be nice if the situation was that all carriers were otherwise equal. 3 of the 4 major carriers charge a fee for this nonsense - so voting with the wallet won't necessarily do much. Further, the most important factor in choosing a carrier is coverage. There are many many towns in the US where there is one carrier with acceptable coverage, no real choice there. There are even people in major cities where the big 4 do offer coverage, but for whatever reason their apartment, house, or place of work is in a dead spot. A significant percent of the population cannot really choose the one carrier that doesn't charge this fee.

T-Mobile's competitors spend a lot of money marketing the message that they have better networks. I've had them for about a year now and the T-Mobile network is strong. Give it a shot before you write them off (if you haven't already). Plus, cellular phones are not essential services like electric or gas. Simply disconnecting it if you're truly outraged by a fee like this will not cause the world to stop spinning on its axis.

 

[codelode84]

This is such nonsense, and a shining example of why telecom needs regulation.

Take SIM card out of old phone, insert it into new phone. Go online, and update the IMEI numbers if needed. How does this warrant a $20 fee?

Or switch to t mobile

 

[tcphoto1]

And the difference between the activation and this upgrade fee would be?

 

[Braderunner]

How else are they supposed to get their money? Gotta rob people.

 

[BJMRamage]

They should have found a way to make the Activation Fee into a fee that has the acronym B.S. then at least you know the truth.

 

[mbh1976]

This is such nonsense, and a shining example of why telecom needs regulation.

Take SIM card out of old phone, insert it into new phone. Go online, and update the IMEI numbers if needed. How does this warrant a $20 fee?

Because the vast majority of users have no clue how to do the above and have to call/chat with a live human to get it done. Those people need to be paid, hence, the new fee. At least they are being transparent about it!

 

[YoitsTmac]

I find this odd because I just paid the $20 activation fee when I financed my mom and my iPhone SE. Thirsty mofo's are quiet about that stuff

 

[Shauntipson]

You pay way to much for mobile. I pay £18 month. Unlimited data.

 

[iamMacPerson]

I know exactly what this is for. It pays for those classes VZW offers in store that almost no one (especially Apple users) use. It's BS that we have to pay for it. Before whenever I'd upgrade, I'd call in and tell them exactly that. I didn't get off the phone until the upgrade fee was waived entirely. The constant, nagging threat of a customer of 20 years leaving for AT&T usually gets them off their high horse.

 

[oneMadRssn]

T-Mobile's competitors spend a lot of money marketing the message that they have better networks. I've had them for about a year now and the T-Mobile network is strong. Give it a shot before you write them off (if you haven't already). Plus, cellular phones are not essential services like electric or gas. Simply disconnecting it if you're truly outraged by a fee like this will not cause the world to stop spinning on its axis.

I have tried TMobile. About a year ago I got a loaner phone to try it in a bunch of places. It does work in most places - just not as many as Verizon or ATT. I like to ski, and one place TMobile was consistently worse at are the backroads between a major highway and a ski area. That is exactly the place where I would need at least some minimal coverage to ensure Waze keeps on giving me the right directions, and it's exactly the kind of place I would get lost in.

I would also dispute that cellphones are non essential. The government certainly sees them as essential as they are included in the Lifeline program. I know I wouldn't be able to do my job without a cell phone.

You want the government to solve this for you? It's not the government's job and I don't trust them to get it right anyway. The answer is that if you are outraged by the fee (I am), you discontinue your relationship with Verizon and, eventually, they have to change the policy or otherwise gain new business back. This is a self-solving problem. The issue is that people like to complain and have someone fix this problem for them but they're not actually upset enough to take the action necessary to solve the issue (switching providers). You can't have it both ways.

3 out of 4 major carriers have this fee, and the one that doesn't have objectively the least coverage. Only a minority of the US population even has a choice in the 4 major carriers, most folks realistically can only use 2 or 3 due to differences in coverage. Change carriers is lot easier said than done.

You can distrust the government, but this sort of thing is precisely the government's job. When a necessary utility runs amok as an entire industry, where there isn't sufficient consumer choice for market pressures to the right the course, the government should step in and regulate.

 

[2457282]

This is such nonsense, and a shining example of why telecom needs regulation.

Take SIM card out of old phone, insert it into new phone. Go online, and update the IMEI numbers if needed. How does this warrant a $20 fee?

No. I change or upgrade my devices all the time on AT&T and I have yet to see a $15 anything.
If I have AT&T do the upgrade via a new line or I buy the device through AT&T there is a fee. Not if I bring my own and upgrade an existing line.

If you reuse your sim card and simply place the old sim in a mew phone, there should not be charge. I do this and I do not get charged. However, if you get a new sim, you will pay. That has been my experience. The problem is most people do reuse the sim. If you go to apple they sell you a phone with a sim already in there, they will not switch the sim over and the same is true at most telco stores.

 

[Tubamajuba]

If we take Verizon's explanation at face value, we must either conclude that T-Mobile has magically found a way to not "support" their upgrades, or they don't offer upgrades at all.

I'll be waiting for Verizon to explain that.

 

[v3rlon]

"Can we bill you now?"

Seriously, what is all this nonsense that these clowns keep spawning?
Reading things like my cell phone and cable bill, it reads like every made-up thing.

Line Access Fee? I would like my service without this. Oh, you can't provide service without this, then its a part of the @#$! monthly bill. Don't tell me its only $29.99 if it flat doesn't work without this other stuff. AT&T family sharing plan: Add a line for only $15. I went to AT&T.

"So I can add a line for $15?"

AT&T "yep"

Me "That is exactly $15.00? not $15 plus a bunch of miscellaneous fees and taxes. The TOTAL is $15 a month?

AT&T: "That's right. Its only $15."

First bill arrives at +$21 and change. I go back to AT&T. You said...

If T-mobile reached my house, I would be there already.

 

[eastcoastsurfer]

If they really cared, they would spend money on new towers (not upgrading old towers) so I could actually use T-Mobile .

First, many towers are not owned by the cell companies anymore. They are leased from companies who deal in 'vertical real estate'. Second, everyone says they want a tower for better service and then fights having one put up nearby. TMO would love having more towers and would spend money on them. It just takes time for approval and build out.

Finally, TMO has been spending tons of money on their network. I have been happy with my TMO service, and it has gotten better and better. At this point they have reasonably prices plans, 'free' EIP loans, included international data and text, and always improving network. They would have to do a lot of bad to lose me as a customer now.

 

[SPUY767]

I'm glad I'm with T-Mobile who doesn't charge upgrade fees for changing a few numbers in the computer.

T-Mobile has been amazing for me. I have 5 Lines and a data plan for my iPad for less than $150/mo.

 

[mac4good84]

lol yes the good old fees. I recently early upgraded from a 6+ to a 6s (form factor) under Sprint. I paid $50 for the early upgrade which was fine, went towards the bill of the phone, but then also an early upgrade fee of $30 which is standard regardless. Sometimes you can get out of it if you really push your case to leave them on the phone or in store, I didn't this time because we weren't switching anywhere else. Its really absurd at this point with all the money they are pulling in but this is the just the same old, same old.

"Support fees". Cute.

 

[lparsons21]

I've been contemplating just switching to prepaid, this may make that sooner than later.
Current bill is $45.50 for data/talk/text with military discount plus some taxes and of course a few BS because we can fees. That's for 1Gb data which works for me.
I can go to prepaid with 2Gb for $45 flat + sales tax.
Gotta pay off the phone first though I think.