Carrier Verizon Misled Me on Available Upgrades - Advice?

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A couple weeks ago I called Verizon about getting four of the lines on my account upgraded to Edge. I have a 10GB plan, so the savings is worth it, and a couple of the lines need new phones pretty badly.

Now - I was told that every line was eligible for an "Early Edge" upgrade. However, when I went to actually do the upgrading? All these upgrades have disappeared, and suddenly all my contract end dates are showing mid 2016.

Being told that I had these upgrades is noted on my account, but the upgrades are now gone.

How should I address this? It seems like something has happened with my account to change the contract dates and remove the upgrades, but I have no knowledge of it, and didn't make any changes myself. I've called into Verizon, and every single time it's a different story/excuse/brush off.

Verizon is the only carrier in my area, so doing the ETF and going to another carrier isn't an option. Overall I'm happy with the service - but not the customer service.

Has anyone else had this kind of issue? Is there any hope to get a resolution, or am I basically SOL? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cbflip2000]

I would ask Verizon why all your contracts are pushed to mid-2016, basically 2 years from now and you didn't sign a new contract or got new devices. Something is off about your account.

 

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I would ask Verizon why all your contracts are pushed to mid-2016, basically 2 years from now and you didn't sign a new contract or got new devices. Something is off about your account.

That's what every single person that I've talked to at Verizon has said. But they can't explain to me why a phone that was bought out of contract has a two year contract on it now. Nor why a new line used another line's upgrade for a phone.

In the past two days I've spent roughly 12 hours on the phone with Verizon, a local verizon store, and Best Buy, where I purchased the phones.

The least helpful was the Verizon store - I talked to a manager, and he basically just told me in ten different ways that he can't do anything but set me up with new lines, and has no power whatsoever to change anything on any account.

 

[cbflip2000]

Next step I'd try is calling corporate and escalate the issue until there's someone who can help. If it's not solved then file a complaint with the BBB. Someone from the Presidents office should contact you. If they still don't fix it then you can file for arbitration where a 3rd party will determine outcome with the supported evidence and pay for other damages.

 

[luckydcxx]

i wouldn't bother going to the verizon store or best buy again. just deal with corporate on the phone, I'm sure they will get it straightened out eventually.

 

[St.Icon]

i wouldn't bother going to the verizon store or best buy again. just deal with corporate on the phone, I'm sure they will get it straightened out eventually.

Is adjusting contract dates and restoring upgrades something they ever do? If this is like a one in a million chance, I'm just going to go buy some out of contract 5Ses and call it a day. But if there's an actual chance of a real resolution on this, I'll keep trying.

 

[luckydcxx]

Is adjusting contract dates and restoring upgrades something they ever do? If this is like a one in a million chance, I'm just going to go buy some out of contract 5Ses and call it a day. But if there's an actual chance of a real resolution on this, I'll keep trying.

100% they will fix this. They record their calls, they can go back and see you never upgraded your contract. Ask to speak with a manager right away, you have to be almost nasty to them to get what you want.

 

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100% they will fix this. They record their calls, they can go back and see you never upgraded your contract. Ask to speak with a manager right away, you have to be almost nasty to them to get what you want.

That's the thing though - they're claiming that I upgraded them. They can't provide any contracts whatsoever on the account, but that's not stopping them from telling me that I'm locked in for two years.

 

[cbflip2000]

That's the thing though - they're claiming that I upgraded them. They can't provide any contracts whatsoever on the account, but that's not stopping them from telling me that I'm locked in for two years.

If they can't provide a contract whatsoever on the account. You are legally bound to leave Verizon. Tell them you did not agree to extend the contract another 2 years without new devices.

 

[617aircav]

You went to do the upgrades and they were not there, what did you do next? Did you just walk away or did you make any changes to your account?

 

[St.Icon]

You went to do the upgrades and they were not there, what did you do next? Did you just walk away or did you make any changes to your account?

No changes whatsoever. There's nothing to change on it. The store rep was basically out of it, and wouldn't help further. I left and called Verizon, explaining how rude the store rep was.That call was roughly four hours long, and resulted in nothing but a bunch of notes on my account basically saying that it's all messed up and needs review.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

Sounds like Best Buy upgraded your lines to new contracts instead of signing you up for Edge. If I understand correctly, you bought 4 new phones and have 4 contracts until 2016? If you paid $199 each, then that's almost certainly what happened.

If so, I'd go to Best Buy and try to return the phones and make sure your account is restored to how it was previously. Then go to the Verizon store and sign up for Edge (personally I never do account changes through a third party which is why I recommend this).

If Best Buy did set you up for Edge, then something happened between them and Verizon that needs to be fixed, but I'm not sure what.

Someone on here said that AT&T will let you switch to their Next program from a contract if you upgraded after a certain point, but I'm not sure if Verizon is doing the same. Unlikely if they haven't resolved this yet.

 

[St.Icon]

Sounds like Best Buy upgraded your lines to new contracts instead of signing you up for Edge. If I understand correctly, you bought 4 new phones and have 4 contracts until 2016? If you paid $199 each, then that's almost certainly what happened.

If so, I'd go to Best Buy and try to return the phones and make sure your account is restored to how it was previously. Then go to the Verizon store and sign up for Edge (personally I never do account changes through a third party which is why I recommend this).

If Best Buy did set you up for Edge, then something happened between them and Verizon that needs to be fixed, but I'm not sure what.

Someone on here said that AT&T will let you switch to their Next program from a contract if you upgraded after a certain point, but I'm not sure if Verizon is doing the same. Unlikely if they haven't resolved this yet.

That's the thing - the last phone purchase was several months ago.

I called yet again to both Best Buy and Verizon. Best Buy can't/won't do anything. The verizon rep told me that they can't do anything about contracts, dates, or upgrades, but to check back on the 30th, as "big changes are coming to the Edge program that will help resolve the issue."

Whether or not that's true will be found out next week. If it isn't, I'm just going to go buy some contract free 5Ses and hold out for some coverage from another carrier.

 

[cnotes2019]

That's the thing - the last phone purchase was several months ago.



I called yet again to both Best Buy and Verizon. Best Buy can't/won't do anything. The verizon rep told me that they can't do anything about contracts, dates, or upgrades, but to check back on the 30th, as "big changes are coming to the Edge program that will help resolve the issue."



Whether or not that's true will be found out next week. If it isn't, I'm just going to go buy some contract free 5Ses and hold out for some coverage from another carrier.

The last phone purchased? But several lines have contracts extended into 2016? Does verizon show what phones are on each line? Are theu in fact the phones you have in your possession? Are they saying those are the phone purchases that extended the contracts?

 

[617aircav]

OP you are not being clear. In your original post you made no mention of buying phones. You said you had upgrades available, why were they available, how long has it been since your original contract? Maybe the upgrades being available were an error as you have not completed you original contract.