<p>Am I wrong to be crabby about this? My d was due for a new phone, so she renewed her 2 year plan and told the woman at a Verizon authorized dealer that she wanted one of the free phones. A few days later she discovered that the phone would not keep a charge and that it had old phone messages on it. We later found out that the phone had been assigned to 3 other accounts before she got it. She returned that phone. The one they replaced it with would also not hold a charge. We returned that one. They gave her a different phone which to me look like a couple years old. Yesterday, my d said that the back is warped and we found out that it was refurbished. I am taking it back tomorrow. Am I out of line in expecting a new phone- by that I mean one that no one else has had, is not refurbished or hasn’t been sitting so long that the batteries are worthless.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re out of line. When she takes it back, tell them this is the fourth time. They should really bend over backwards to make sure she gets a decent phone.</p>
<p>I’ve had Verizon Wireless for 10 years and, while I hate hate hate the whole 2-year contract renewal whenever you do anything, they’ve been OK, more or less.</p>
<p>That is ridiculous! I’m taking my D to get her new phone this week, and when we say “new”, we mean “new”. D has broken the screen on her model twice in one year so she’s using my two year upgrade. I’ll stick with my old reliable. S had the chocolate and he broke two, too. Verizon’s clarity is great, but I don’t like the quality of their phones.</p>
<p>go to [Cell</a> Phones, Cell Phone Plans, Cell Phone Accessories - Verizon Wireless](<a href=“Verizon: Wireless, Internet, TV and Phone Services | Official Site”>Verizon: Wireless, Internet, TV and Phone Services | Official Site) instead of the brick and mortar store. You can get better deals and they deliver in just a few days.</p>
<p>Yes the 2-year thing is a pain, and yes the batteries can go bad after some time, and yes the phones don’t seem to last long when used by students. But you’re being treated RUDELY and for no good reason. The Verizon people have been been very decent to work with (especially in comparison to the Cretins we previously had to deal with at ******). Perhaps it’s the specific Verizon store. </p>
<p>PS, It’s time for us to renew our Verizon contract too. Apparently our history of lost and broken phones preceded us. The counter lady suggested we hold onto our existing phones as spares, even though we’ll be getting new ones!</p>
<p>Thank you all for confirming my feelings. kathiep, I have learned my lesson. I did not realize the difference between VW and the authorized dealers stores until now. I will never use the authorized dealers again. I have always had good service from Verizon Wireless themselves. I do have the Verizon Rep’s phone number, so I will be calling them no matter what happens tomorrow.</p>
<p>Onward, when I got my “new every 2” this last fall, the VW rep suggested I pick my phone from their online store. There are far more choices of “free” phones. I got a nice “chocolate” that if I’d have picked it up at the store would have cost out of pocket, online, 100% free.</p>
<p>i love verizon… i’ve only ever dealt with a verizon store directly. when my new every 2 contract was up, i went there and picked out a phone. i had everything in my hand within 5 minutes, and when i said to the guy helping me that i was thinking of changing my text messaging friend due to having new friends not with verizon (i had unlimited texting with verizon but a small number included to non verizon). he checked my records and saw that i had actually gone over my amount that month… and he made my change retroactive to the month prior. I was so happy… that probably saved me a bit of money, haha!</p>
<p>I’ve only had phones from T-Mobile & AT&T. The offers wireless companies have at BestBuy, Costco and other places are attractive but I have generally gotten my best deals directly via the toll-free T-Mobile # (& brick & mortar AT&T). </p>
<p>I have generally been able to get the toll free # at T-Mobile to throw in free phones I could not get anywhere else. I have been very happy with the service as well. </p>
<p>My sister likes to get their Verizon wireless phones from BestBuy & get exactly what they want, sometimes even with a free gift card or BlueTooth or something else thrown in.</p>
<p>An advantage of purchasing phones at Costco is that they will stand behind the phones and you also get a 90-day no questions asked return ability for the phones purchased via Costco AmEx, EVEN if dropped in water, broken or other problems.</p>
<p>Hope you are able to get things worked out–sounds like you’ve had an AWFUL time with Verizon & certainly does NOT bode well. I had been considering switching plans to another company when we need to renew, but maybe not. I may just stick with T-Mobile, since they’ve actually worked pretty well for us.</p>
<p>I ordered 2 of our family’s phones online through Verizon. You do have to watch the small print under the phone shown online, because some of them do say “refurbished”, particularly some of the free phones. But I was able to get the brand new free phone with no shipping cost delivered in 1 or 2 days. It couldn’t have been easier - no rebates to file. The only negative is that you can’t see the phone or handle it until you get it in the mail. Although you could go to the brick & mortar store, look at it, then go home and order online.</p>
<p>And I have been told that the online offers and rebates can differ from the in-store offers and rebates on the same phone. Online offer was usually better.</p>
<p>Good tip about the online store - my D is also overdue for an new phone…we’ll have to check this option out.</p>
<p>We visited a brick and mortar store three times before deciding on a phone and then I went to the on-line store and ordered it. It was a better deal then the store. While at the on-line site I also used the backup assistant ap [Tools</a> & Applications: Backup Assistant](<a href=“http://products.vzw.com/index.aspx?id=fnd_toolsapps_detail&appId=2033494]Tools”>http://products.vzw.com/index.aspx?id=fnd_toolsapps_detail&appId=2033494) to store all my numbers. When I did it, it was free as long as you had created an account, I see now it says it’s $1.99. This is great to have in case you lose a phone or when you change phones, you just download all your contacts.</p>
<p>We got some free phones via the toll-free # with T-mobile but it made an irritating humming sound so we asked that they send us a different phone & model for free, which they did & we sent back the one D didn’t want. It was all fast & free & they even paid postage for the exchange. I’ve been very pleased, even tho I really like the T-mobile guy who works at the local mall. He admits he can’t meet the prices and deals I am offered via the toll-free office.</p>
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<p>I was just in the Verizon store last week checking out phones. We’re thinking quite seriously about switching from Sprint to Verizon, which means we all need new phones. I would never get one that I hadn’t seen in person, so the store works well. Last week there was an online Verizon offer of free activation. The guy in the store said they never offer that, and that the offers can vary, web vs. store. But, then he gave me this whole spiel about how it can be tricky to activate phones that you order online. Any truth to this, or was he just feeding me a line.</p>
<p>Also, not to hijack this thread, but if we switch, I want a phone with a QWERTY keyboard. Any recommendations?</p>
<p>CBBBlinker - it’s a sales ploy…just like the car salesman that tells you “this price is only good until tonight” - sorry, the offer is good until the car is off the lot. Period. I really hate this kind of selling.</p>
<p>Blinker, I have the env2 by LG. I got it the day it first came out… what a coincidence that my contract was up that day. I had gone and looked at phones like 45 different times and couldn’t decide which I wanted. Finally the day of my contract I went in, saw this phone for the first time and bought it right up. I forget how much it cost at the time, but that was almost a year ago so I’m sure it’s came down in price since then.</p>
<p>NO problem activating on-line and I’m a minimal techie - you just follow the simple directions.</p>
<p>I have NEVER had trouble with activating my phone when I have used the Toll-Free T-Mobile phone # & have not heard of others having any hassles either. The one limitation is if you do have any problems and want/need to exchange the phone, you have to call the toll-free # instead of going to a brick & mortar place. THe brick & mortar folks can help you with how to use it or you can call the toll-free #.</p>
<p>If you want a discount (we get one because hubby is a federal employee), you can only get it when you use the toll-free phone #, not the brick & mortar (at least with T-Mobile).</p>
<p>If you work for a large company check for an employee plan. We get about 15% off our phone bill due to employee of XXX plan. But I had to look for it and sign up on the web site that was connected to my company benefits.</p>
<p>CBBBlinker ~ I have activated several cell phones that we purchased online. And in each case had to have the phones switched around because we would use the upgrade of whatever phone was eligible (we have 4 on the family plan), then switch it to whoever needed the new phone. And, like kathiep, I am no techie - not even close. But I can follow simple directions! The Verizon CSR’s are usually great.</p>