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On launch day, 3 weeks left with Verizon contract

D

djrobsd

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 2, 2008
825
25
Hi everyone,

I'm sure I am not the first person to have this problem, but on iPhone launch day, I still have 3 weeks left with my Verizon contract. Do you think that Verizon will charge me the ETF if I port my number over to AT&T and my new iphone?

I don't mind paying for 3 more weeks of service even after I port, it's a LOT less then the ETF. Do they usually pro-rate the ETF if there's less then a month to go on the contract, or how does it usually work?

Or, should I just activate the phone with AT&T and port my number over when my contract expires?
 
djrobsd said:
Hi everyone,

I'm sure I am not the first person to have this problem, but on iPhone launch day, I still have 3 weeks left with my Verizon contract. Do you think that Verizon will charge me the ETF if I port my number over to AT&T and my new iphone?

I don't mind paying for 3 more weeks of service even after I port, it's a LOT less then the ETF. Do they usually pro-rate the ETF if there's less then a month to go on the contract, or how does it usually work?

Or, should I just activate the phone with AT&T and port my number over when my contract expires?
Click to expand...

You will be responsible for your ETF. You have to cancel on the date your contract ends. If you cancel even a day sooner, they will charge you the ETF. Just wait 3 weeks..saves a bunch of money...I am sure there will be plenty of iPhones ;)
 
I'd call Verizon, not AT&T. They're the ones you have the contract with.

If I had to guess, I'd say that you're not really terminating the contract, you're just paying the final payment and then moving on. So what if you port the number to another phone -- you're still paying Verizon for the service.
 
I'd go ahead and switch. Verizon changed their policy so they only charge you a prorated ETF, depending on how much time is left. Fortunately my contract ended June 1st. Now I just have to deal with this sucky phone for a few more weeks.
 
jpruitt said:
I'd go ahead and switch. Verizon changed their policy so they only charge you a prorated ETF, depending on how much time is left. Fortunately my contract ended June 1st. Now I just have to deal with this sucky phone for a few more weeks.
Click to expand...

You have to have a contract signed AFTER the change took affect. They did not grandfather people into that program.

If you port your number, it CANCELS your contract! Do not port before talking to VZW. If you just go and port, you will be charged the ETF and will not be able to negotiate a thing.
 
Or... get this: WAIT the 3 weeks, use your VZW phone, and avoid the extra charges and the long lines at launch. Is it really going to kill you to wait the 3 weeks?
 
just wait, least amount of hassle and headache, i always try to minimize contact with CSRs of any kind, they tend to be more confused than you are about policy and procedures
 
djrobsd said:
Hi everyone,

I'm sure I am not the first person to have this problem, but on iPhone launch day, I still have 3 weeks left with my Verizon contract. Do you think that Verizon will charge me the ETF if I port my number over to AT&T and my new iphone?

I don't mind paying for 3 more weeks of service even after I port, it's a LOT less then the ETF. Do they usually pro-rate the ETF if there's less then a month to go on the contract, or how does it usually work?

Or, should I just activate the phone with AT&T and port my number over when my contract expires?
Click to expand...

Same thing happened to me on the 1st gen. I had to wait the 3 weeks, because when you port your number, you call AT&T, NOT Verizon, so there is no way to talk to them about it. Just forward you Vz number to the iPhone, then when your Vz contract expires, call AT&T, and 'bam' your iPhone is now your old Vz number. It worked like a charm for me.
 
I just called Verizon TODAY about the same issue...they will charge $175 even if you port the day before. I am on a family share line so I told them it is ridiculous to charge that much when they'd only get $10 from me and I'd be willing to pay that....but they still have to charge $175...their policy in which $5 is taken off every month is for newer contracts and doesn't apply to mine so I doubt it will apply to yours. I am just going to get a new number when I start with AT&T.
 
gceo said:
Same thing happened to me on the 1st gen. I had to wait the 3 weeks, because when you port your number, you call AT&T, NOT Verizon, so there is no way to talk to them about it. Just forward you Vz number to the iPhone, then when your Vz contract expires, call AT&T, and 'bam' your iPhone is now your old Vz number. It worked like a charm for me.
Click to expand...

Cool, that might be the way to go. Did AT&T charge you extra to port the old number over after activating their own phone number, or is this standard procedure?

I know when I got my Verizon phone, my old # was a corporate # at my previous employer and they had not released it yet, so Verizon had assigned me a temporary number until I was able to get authorization to port, and they didn't charge extra, so hopefully AT&T is the same.

And yes, I agree with everyone, WAITING is always the best thing, but heck, they might run out of phones and not get any more back for several months, and besides, I waited out the first generation iphone for this and I just can't wait any more, it's killing me!!!!
 
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