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melstrom

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 1, 2018
2
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I signed for a package delivered by FedEx and it turned out to be an iPhone X with an invoice for $999. It says refer to your Device Installation Agreement for important information, terms and conditions, which of course I don’t have access to since I didn’t order it. Presumably they are going to bill me monthly for the cost of the iPhone, probably broken down into 24 installments. I have heard the Verizon customer service can be a bit frustrating to deal with. I would appreciate any advice on how to proceed. I would like to return it with the least inconvenience as possible.
 
If you didn't order that phone, there's a chance your identity may have been stolen, and someone has unauthorized access to your Verizon account. I would take that phone right back to a local Verizon store, return it, and ask how that phone was requested, and by whom. Start there. Otherwise, is there any additional information on the receipt that arrived with the phone, regarding how it was purchased, when, etc.? That may help in unraveling your mystery delivery.

If you don't personally have Verizon as a carrier, a thief may have accessed someone else's account, shipped it to your address hoping they could intercept, and failed miserably.

Or... someone could've fat-fingered their house number.
 
I signed for a package delivered by FedEx and it turned out to be an iPhone X with an invoice for $999. It says refer to your Device Installation Agreement for important information, terms and conditions, which of course I don’t have access to since I didn’t order it. Presumably they are going to bill me monthly for the cost of the iPhone, probably broken down into 24 installments. I have heard the Verizon customer service can be a bit frustrating to deal with. I would appreciate any advice on how to proceed. I would like to return it with the least inconvenience as possible.
Verizon customer service is fine. Like all companies you’ll have some good reps and some bad reps.

If you didn’t order the device then it doesn’t belong to you. Just contact Verizon and explain the situation.
 
I signed for a package delivered by FedEx and it turned out to be an iPhone X with an invoice for $999. It says refer to your Device Installation Agreement for important information, terms and conditions, which of course I don’t have access to since I didn’t order it. Presumably they are going to bill me monthly for the cost of the iPhone, probably broken down into 24 installments. I have heard the Verizon customer service can be a bit frustrating to deal with. I would appreciate any advice on how to proceed. I would like to return it with the least inconvenience as possible.

If you have a corporate Verizon store in your area, then I would just drive it there personally and they can look further into the situation, otherwise it’s not going to be any inconvenience for you to call Verizon on the phone, explain the situation as others have noted, and they will tell you _exactly_ how to return the phone being that it’s not your property clearly.
 
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Just drive it back to the Verizon store. I would be careful with stuff like this as someone could have done the upgrade with your account etc.
 
I would add that you should log into your account right away and verify your password works and your service/lines/etc is all correct.

I vaguely remember hearing about people obtaining lines on people's accounts, then illegally selling "free" long distance for making expensive foreign calls.
 
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I would add that you should log into your account right away and verify your password works and your service/lines/etc is all correct.

I vaguely remember hearing about people obtaining lines on people's accounts, then illegally selling "free" long distance for making expensive foreign calls.

I don't actually have a Verizon account. I called Verizon and they said just take it to FedEx and say it was sent to the wrong address. I don't know if I can get a receipt from FedEx that I returned it. I would have preferred they sent me a return label, but maybe because I am not a customer they didn't want to do that. I don't want them to be billing me after I have sent it back. The invoice has my name and address on it and I signed for the package. I saw this explanation of a scam and think it might be relevant:

Here's the low down on this scam..

A nefarious person uses credit info of a victim and orders phone(s), online or over the phone to be delivered to victim's house. They use the victim's address so that there are no red flags when the order is running through credit or fraud at Verizon. They create an email, that they have access to, which they attach to the account so they can obtain tracking information. When it's shipped they contact the shipping carrier to either redirect the package or hold so they can pick up in person. If successful they walk away with a FREE (to them) brand new phone (usually iPhone). Verizon offers device installments and free shipping so the fraudster doesn't need payment to process this order.

Victims will either end up with a phone they never ordered because the fraudster wasn't successful in redirecting package (there's only a small window of time this works). These devices can be returned at any corporate store and they'll give you proof that you returned device and close account. Account info is given to fraud team for investigation.

Or they will end up with bills for service and a phone they've never ordered. Which also should be handled by fraud to remove any credit reporting impacts.

Please return the phones!!!! Fraud cost money and those costs will probably trickle down to consumers eventually. Plus... I think it's the right thing to do. It's not yours because you didnt pay for it, and it's not Verizon's fault you personal credit info was obtained and used for fraud.
 
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