Previous Note 7 owners - how do we upgrade to the Note 8 without being penalized by Verizon?

[tk3765]

A couple of questions .  Was the original phone on a payment plan with Verizon?  If so, was there a balance on the phone?  Did you add the phone to a Verizon account, as a second line or as the primary line?

Talking to Verizon last week, even if someone went through the Samsung offer, they are still required to pay off the previous phone with Verizon, plus, the phone being paid off has to remain an active line with the associated fees, during the payments or the full amount becomes due on the next bill.

[tk3765]

Mama..you still don't get it.  Most of the people who got caught up in the recall had traded in older phones..they had no choice but to go with a new phone and subsequent contract as they couldn't get their old phones back unless they went back on a payment plan and paid for them...again.

The original S7 and S7 Edge, which I think most went to, originally had the annual upgrade/50% option, but by the time the 2nd recall occurred, that promotion had ended.

So yes, agreed, the recall was not the fault of Verizon but it would be much better customer service to re-instate the annual upgrade option and allow the former Note 7 owners to use the Note 8 promotion to apply to their payoff balance and take the Note 8 at full cost; no money would be lost by Verizon and in fact, most likely, they would make money as the payoff balances are mostly likely less than the promotion being offered.   No one is looking for a free ride..just a fair one.

[JACQUIA1908]

I say we call scam! And use the Haag #VZWNote8Scam

The samsung promo says note 7 owners can turn in any working phone in good condition to get half off. That means we could’ve turned in an old phone, get the 425 promo, then trade in this ([Removed]) S7 and get the trade-in value of that phone. We’ve just been had!!!

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Message edited by Verizon Moderator

[Jealbr]

I would recommend everyone file a fraud complaint with the FTC against Verizon and Samsung: - FTC Complaint Assistant

Samsung, Verizon, and several other carriers all promised we would be able to turn our loaner phones and not be penalized once the Note 7 was fixed or the next iteration came out. They lied and as such scammed people into getting locked into 2 yr contracts. That's called fraud and forcing folks to pay off a loaner phone is called extortion.

Here's what I filed in mine:

On September 14, 2016, Samsung and the U.S. CPSC issued a recall of the Note 7 phone "due to serious fire and burn hazards." Consumers were instructed to return the phones to the place they were purchased and a replacement Note 7 would be issued. However upon doing this the second Note 7's were also recalled due to the aforementioned. It was during this second recall that Samsung and Verizon stated that we would be given loaner phones to use until either the Note 7 was fixed or the next iteration was released. On August 23, 2017 the Note 8 was released. Upon trying to turn the loaner phone back in I was denied and was informed I would be required to pay the remaining balance on it even though we were assured this would not be the case. As such myself and many others were deceived into believing we would be able to turn the phones in with no penalty incurred because they were "loaners", This has resulted in many of us being fraudulently locked into 2 year contracts. Verizon has used this recall as a means to scam consumers into contracts for phones they would not have otherwise entered into.

[SNOOP1975]

Completely agree RACBRO3! The Verizon executive office is handling this so much better than I expected. Top-notch customer service from this group, which in turns means I will be with Verizon for the long run! And thanks to all who first recommended we contact them!

[CHERRIEBOMB18201]

I have been a Verizon customer for many years and I am happy with there response. 

[tk3765]

This is the process for former Note 7 owners to upgrade to the Note 8 without having to pay off the replacement phone.  The initial process cannot be done in the Corporate store or authorized retailer locations.

Users need to contact customer service at 800-922-0204 and specifically indicate the Note 7 to Note 8 Escalation promotion.  An alert came up on my account indicating I was a previous Note 7 owner so the flags are in the system.   Given that the promotion has been in effect now for a few days the process may be getting easier.

Customer service will contact the department handling the process and that department will initiate and process the credit. On the next bill, or by the bill after anyway depending upon bill closing date, the customer will see a charge for the rest of the cost of the phone but will also see the same amount in bill credit. 

However, the credit is immediately applied and the customer now has the option to process the new upgrade online or in-store (whether only corporate or also through retailers they didn't indicate). I looked at my account, only 10 minutes or so after the end of the call and I was upgrade eligible with the trade-in program.

All replacement phones are eligible for the promotion; it is based on whether or not the customer was a Note 7 owner and not which phones were taken instead.  From what I understood from some of the questions I got during the call, but I didn't confirm, the customer also is not locked in to buy the Note 8 if they take advantage of this promotion.  Since the promotion pays off the remaining payments, it is like the customer did it themselves. Still, I would ask to make sure. 

As with any upgrade the customer has to pay the taxes for the phone up front, but this wasn't a surprise. Included in the overall fees are the taxes, upgrade fee and first payment on the phone.

The only snag I am still hitting is that my Edge isn't coming up for trade-in; the system is still indicating a "phone on loan payment" error.  No one I have spoken with indicated a standard trade-in wouldn't be allowed by taking advantage of the escalation promotion, and, given that I am getting e-mails indicating account changes, I am guessing the flag just needs to process through the system.   

Hope this helps.

[tk3765]

Update: 

The "loan" flag still hadn't cleared.  I accessed chat today and the CS rep was able to remove the flag and start the trade-in process.  They sent the trade-in box out as a priority so it'll be here tomorrow. 

This seems to be a common issue but easily resolved via call/chat to customer service.

[tk3765]

Bad news..the trade-in effort on the Edge continues.  3 chat sessions, 2 phone calls and still can't get resolution. 

On a secondary..I also traded in my Note 4.  Initially, the trade-in value was a flat $240 which presented itself as a one-time, or one-time plus follow on if the previous bill was less, bill credit, however, the confirmation of phone receipt e-mail I received indicated that no, the trade-in is a bill credit of $10/month over 24 months.  Similar to the Note 8 promo, all of the credit will only get applied if a full 24 months of payments are applied.  If I were to pay off the 8 early, the trade-in credit for the Note 4 stops.  This does not make me happy at all.  Had I known that up front I most likely would have opted for another way to get the trade-in value, but, can those sites be trusted to actually pay?

[kathy65793]

What a shame that a company as big as Verizon has to do business this way. I personally have not sold a phone that way but you see on here that a lot of people have and were happy with the deal they made. I know if I am getting a new phone that I will sell my old phone to one of the more reputable company's in stead of sending it into Verizon and keeping my fingers crossed that they give me the credit that they say they will. I hope you can get things worked out like they said that they would do. Keep us posted