Ditching Verizon, Transfering Number, etc.

[Mac In School]

I'm thinking about just paying the early termination fee, and jumping on the iPhone bandwagon. I'll need to keep my number.

How does the process work with all these factors involved? Do I activate via iTunes, and check a box that says "transfer my number" then call Verizon to cancel?

That seems like the most logical progression, but if I cancel with Verizon after I've opened up the account I've lost all negotiation power (If I had any) with Verizon to get the ETF down.

Suggestions?

 

[aross99]

I bought my iPhone at the Apple store, and then went to the AT&T store to open my AT&T account and transfer my number from Verizon. I started a family plan, so I figured that would be better than just opening my account through iTunes.

AT&T did the transfer and I went home and activated my iPhone. I didn't even have to call Verizon to cancel.

I don't know if you can negotiate on the ETF, but I do think they are pro-rating them now...

 

[mrwizardno2]

When I bought mine, I had zero interaction with VZW. I activated in iTunes, and the number was ported. You don't have to call or anything. Be prepared, though, you'll pretty much immediately be charged the ETF.

I would call in after, you may be able to negotiate for them to halve the ETF. They offered when I did it, but I wasn't under contract (they play dirty) and after enough complaining and calls, they finally dropped it all.

 

[avaloncourt]

To mirror what everyone else has said, the transfer process will take care of it all.

As long as that's the only phone on your account then the act of transferring the number will instantly terminate your account with Verizon. You'll get a bill for the Early Termination Fee. Make sure that everything you put in for the AT&T account (name, address, etc) exactly matches your Verizon account or the automatic porting process could get derailed and they have to intervene and run it manually. The automatic process is very quick.

 

[Sonicjay]

To mirror what everyone else has said, the transfer process will take care of it all.

As long as that's the only phone on your account then the act of transferring the number will instantly terminate your account with Verizon. You'll get a bill for the Early Termination Fee. Make sure that everything you put in for the AT&T account (name, address, etc) exactly matches your Verizon account or the automatic porting process could get derailed and they have to intervene and run it manually. The automatic process is very quick.

What he said. And the prorated ETFs depend on what date you signed up for service. If you signed up before a certain date (can't remember it off the top of my head), you have to pay the full $175. But yeah, worked very smoothly.

 

[Mac In School]

avaloncourt brings up a good point. Mine is not the only phone on the plan. It's a family member, and mine is the "child" phone.

 

[mets1125]

avaloncourt brings up a good point. Mine is not the only phone on the plan. It's a family member, and mine is the "child" phone.

It doesnt matter you do not have to contact vzw. Once you port vzw will send your # to att. If the rest of your family members keep the vz lines they are just going to be paying for there own without your.

 

[avaloncourt]

avaloncourt brings up a good point. Mine is not the only phone on the plan. It's a family member, and mine is the "child" phone.

Well, that's fortunate then. You'll only get popped for the ETF fee once. If it had been the primary it would have cancelled the primary and killed all the phones attached to it then you would have been hit with ETFs for all of them.

 

[Mac In School]

Wow. That would have been ugly.

 

[cmtrekker]

Do you need the actual old phone?

My Verizon TREO 650 was just stolen (good riddance) and I plan on getting an iPhone this weekend (in spite of wanting to wait for a newer version). Do you need the actual phone or some serial # to port my phone number over to my new AT&T iPhone service??? THANKS.

 

[Hummer]

My Verizon TREO 650 was just stolen (good riddance) and I plan on getting an iPhone this weekend (in spite of wanting to wait for a newer version). Do you need the actual phone or some serial # to port my phone number over to my new AT&T iPhone service??? THANKS.

You'd have to go through the service creation process in an ATT corporate store and then when you get the iPhone, in iTunes just select that you are already an ATT customer.

 

[Pookieinc]

I have a question about this:

Say we have a primary, with 4 secondaries. The primary and one of the secondaries have their contracts up.
One of the three left with their contracts has about a year to go, another JUST signed up again, and another has about a year or less as well.
If we wanted to get all of us onto an AT&T plan, how much would we be paying for Early Contract Termination fees?

 

[Hummer]

I have a question about this:

Say we have a primary, with 4 secondaries. The primary and one of the secondaries have their contracts up.
One of the three left with their contracts has about a year to go, another JUST signed up again, and another has about a year or less as well.
If we wanted to get all of us onto an AT&T plan, how much would we be paying for Early Contract Termination fees?

I thought you'd only incur the ETF if the primary canceled early. I was the secondary on my mother's account and when I left they didn't charge her anything mainly because she kept the same plan she had.

 

[murdoc158]

I have a question about this:

Say we have a primary, with 4 secondaries. The primary and one of the secondaries have their contracts up.
One of the three left with their contracts has about a year to go, another JUST signed up again, and another has about a year or less as well.
If we wanted to get all of us onto an AT&T plan, how much would we be paying for Early Contract Termination fees?

It depends when each contract was signed. You best bet is to call VZW directly and ask them. I signed a contract last May with VZW, and my wife signed in April 2006. It's a good thing I called, because my ETF was $135, and my wifes would have been $175. It depends when you signed the contract. VZW started pro-rating ETF's sometime last year, but I've yet to see a specific date mentioned.

 

[murdoc158]

I have a question about this:

Say we have a primary, with 4 secondaries. The primary and one of the secondaries have their contracts up.
One of the three left with their contracts has about a year to go, another JUST signed up again, and another has about a year or less as well.
If we wanted to get all of us onto an AT&T plan, how much would we be paying for Early Contract Termination fees?

It depends when each contract was signed. You best bet is to call VZW directly and ask them. I signed a contract last May with VZW, and my wife signed in April 2006. It's a good thing I called, because my ETF was $135, and my wifes would have been $175. It depends when you signed the contract. VZW started pro-rating ETF's sometime last year, but I've yet to see a specific date.

 

[avaloncourt]

I thought you'd only incur the ETF if the primary canceled early. I was the secondary on my mother's account and when I left they didn't charge her anything mainly because she kept the same plan she had.

Unless you paid full retail for every one of the phones all the phones are subsidized. Any subsidized phone is going to fall under an early termination fee if you kill it before the two year term is up. That's what you signed on that 3 foot long receipt they handed you with each phone.

 

[Mac In School]

What if we bought our phones elsewhere (eBay)?

 

[avaloncourt]

Did you? This is the first you mentioned it. If so, you wouldn't be penalized for early termination of subsidy but you already named off the number of contract months related to each phone. That's your contract for each phone. A phone with 1 year left would have an $87.50 ETF. A phone with three months left would have $21.88. Your numbers came from somewhere. Whatever time you have left in contracts per phone would be applied to the ETF of each phone.

 

[Mac In School]

It's sort of a strange situation, I guess. I'm not sure who Verizon considers the phone to be "from". I haven't actually purchased a phone from Verizon in several years. None of the phones I purchased from them are still under contract.

A few years ago I bought a Treo on eBay. A while later it ended up dying because of a Palm software update. Even though I didn't buy it from Verizon, they replaced it for me. Then they replaced it again and again and again. Finally, when they realized the Treo was never going to work, they gave me a Blackberry. No charge to me. The replacement with the Blackberry was within the past year. I've since sold that phone, and got another used phone. None of the Treo replacements, the blackberry replacement, or the current phone extended my contract. It's up in August of this year.

Complicated, huh?