14+ Year Customer / AOL Transfer / Unprofessional Service
ctastin
Newbie

In advance, I apologize for being so long-winded...

I am currently on my parents plan, and we have been Verizon customers since 2001.  There are currently 3 active lines on the account.  I was recently married, and my wife and I (also Verizon) are wanting to start our own plan.

To start this process, I checked the online account to find the contract end/upgrade dates were not what i had thought.  I knew pretty accurately when I got my current phone, as well as my parents.  One line should have been eligible for upgrade since January 2015.  The other 2 will be eligible in December 2015.  The upgrade dates on the account did not reflect this, it said all 3 lines would be eligible in December 2015.  I called to dispute this matter.  The lady I spoke with was friendly and professional, but she told me there was nothing she could do.  Basically, she said the dates on the account are what they are, they couldn't be wrong.  I was very confident they were in fact wrong, so she connected with Apple support on a 3-way call.  I gave the gentleman from Apple my serial number and other information.  He verified WHEN the phone was purchased (Jan 2013), who it was purchased from (Verizon), who purchased it (me), where it was shipped to, and the date and time it was activated (Jan 2013).  The lady with Verizon Customer Support was speechless, but she did whatever she had to do to remedy the situation.  It took about 36 hours for the situation to be handled, but I was appreciative it was fixed.


So now, the upgrade dates are as follows:

CURRENT UPGRADE DATES

My line: Dec 2015

Mom's line: Dec 2015

Dad's line: Jan 2015 (eligible)

Apparently, several years ago someone lost or broke a phone and needed an upgrade (probably me).  At that time, an upgrade was TRANSFERRED between my line and Dad's line, which Verizon allows.  Since that time, any time either line upgrades, it's transferring an upgrade from the other.  As long as we're all on the same plan, that's fine.  Our current devices were purchased around the following:

DEVICE PURCHASE/ACTIVATION DATES

My line: iPhone 5 - Jan 2013

Mom's line: iPhone 4s - Dec 2013

Dad's line: iPhone 4s - Dec 2013

As I stated, I upgraded in January 2013 but transferred the upgrade from my Dad's line.  Same story for him in December 2013.  So, ON PAPER, the contract end dates are as stated above.  Again, if we're all on the same contract, this is fine.

My issues come now that I'm trying to get off my parents plan onto my own.  I want to keep my number, as does my wife (BTW, her contract ended in May, that's why we've waited until now to get a new plan).  I'm told the only way to keep my number is to perform an AOL.  That means my number AND my upgrade date transfer over to MY new account, at which point I can choose which plan I want to go with.  So...At this point, if I complete an AOL, my upgrade will be December of 2015, although I've had my current device for about 28 months (2+ years).

What I want to happen is this:  I want the contract/upgrade dates on my line and Dad's line to be flip-flopped.  As a result, Mom and Dad will have the same contract/upgrade dates (they have been upgrading at the same time for years anyhow), and my line will be eligible for upgrade immediately.  If you're following along, no one is trying to get out of a contract or get anything for free.  I've been "under contract" for 28 months.  Mom and Dad, in December 2015, will have been under contract for 24 months each.

I called Customer Service again and explained my situation.  The gentleman explained the "rules" to me yet again.  I reiterated what we were trying to do and that it's not trying to cheat anyone out of anything.  He said he understood 100% what I was saying, but that "rules are rules" and there was nothing he could do.  The gentleman suggested I just complete an AOL.  I refuse to do that because then my upgrade date will be December 2015, at which point I will have had my iPhone 5 for 35 months.  He then suggested that I transfer my Dad's upgrade to myself, upgrade my phone, THEN complete an AOL.  I refuse to do that because then my Dad cannot upgrade his iPhone 4s until May 2017.  The gentleman then suggested I transfer my Dad's upgrade to myself, get a new phone, complete and AOL, then in December of 2015, give my Dad my 6 month old iPhone 6 "as a Christmas present" and I could upgrade yet again in December (since the current upgrade date would transfer with my phone on an AOL)!  Unbelievable.  I was so furious I just hung up on the gentleman.


Shortly after I called Customer Service again to speak to someone different.  I was connected with a lady and explained everything above.  She understood 100% and agreed that what I was asking was logical and fair.  She explained very quickly that there was nothing she personally could do to help me, but she would connect me to her manager.  She came back and said her manager was in a meeting, but she would get him to call me back ASAP.  She did mention to me that it was possible I complete and AOL and MIGHT could get a manager to manually give me an upgrade once the AOL was complete.  This was around 3 o'clock yesterday (5/13).  I never got a call back.

After work, I went to the local Verizon store.  I thought surely if I can explain this to someone in person, I can get it resolved.  Went in, explained everything above, was told there was nothing they could do personally.  It was recommended I call Customer Service back.  I wasn't just "brushed off", the representatives at the store were very helpful in trying to get this matter resolved quickly.  A representative called into Customer Service and then passed the phone over to me.  I went another go-around with another lady on the phone, explained everything.  She agreed what I was asking was logical and fair, so she put me on hold to see what she could do.  This Customer Service person noticed immediately the contract end date and upgrade date on my Dad's line did not match (as the upgrade date had been manually over-ridden last week, but not the contract end date).  I don't know how none of the other Customer Service people noticed this.  She did some digging and eventually put an "override" on the contract end date.  I was back-and-forth on hold in the Verizon store for over an hour.  While on hold, a representative in the store was filled in on my situation.  She said, well this is ridiculous.  She told me that if the person I was on the phone with could not help me to ask for their boss....and so on until I reached someone that could help me.  I was on hold for so long, I had things I needed to do so I had to leave.  The Customer Service lady on the phone was very helpful and really was trying to do anything she could.  She updated the contract end date on my Dad's line to the correct date, but this does not help my situation.

I called BACK into Customer Service this morning.  I was going to take the advice I was given and ask for the boss until I got to someone who would fix this situation.  I was connected in Atlanta.  I explained my situation yet again, and was told "there's nothing we can do."  I said I appreciate it, but I would like to speak to your supervisor.  The lady told me, "it is what it is, there's nothing my supervisor is going to do to change it."  I told her I didn't care, I wanted to speak to her supervisor.

I was connected to the supervisor in Atlanta.  I explained to her the situation AGAIN.  She agreed it was fair, but said there's nothing they can do.  I asked her why.  She said "because we can't change contract dates."  I explained that if she would look at the notes on my profile, she would see that the upgrade date AND contract date on my Dad's line was in fact manually changed.  She became irritated and defiant with me.  I tried to rationalize with her that the dates CAN be manually changed because I've just had that happen, but she kept saying that it's not possible.  I tried to rationalize with this:  technically, my Dad could cancel his line, continue to use my line, and I could go open a new account today.  My dad's number would then be my old number, and I would have a totally new number, BUT they keep their same upgrade dates (Dec 2015) and I would get a new upgrade by opening a new account.  This hypothetical situation is perfectly legal by "the rules" and the supervisor agreed I could do that.  This hypothetical situation is also EXACTLY what I want to happen, but we do not want to lose our current numbers.  All she could say is, well that's not possible due to the contract dates and you can't flip-flop the dates.  She then tried to give me a lecture on the "principle of a 2 year contract," but she couldn't comprehend that 3 lines on 2 year contracts equals 72 collective months and flip-flopping the contract dates on 2 of the lines STILL means the 3 lines are, collectively, under contract for 72 months.  I asked to speak to HER supervisor and she told me (with an attitude) that she didn't have a supervisor.  I said, ok well I want to speak to your boss, whoever is above you.  She said, "the people above me do not take calls from customers."  My blood was boiling.  Up until this point, I made the mistake of not keeping record of who I talked to.  I asked her information.  Her name is Traci [personal information removed] She refused to give me her last name.  At this point I just got off the phone, again with NOTHING being accomplished.

I'm furious.  My family have been Verizon customers since 2001...14+ years.  What I am asking is 100% logical and fair, and I've spent the better part of 3 days now trying to resolve the matter.  We aren't trying to skip out on any fees or get a free upgrade.  I am wanting to start ANOTHER Verizon plan (which includes a new 2 YEAR contract), one that is actually more expensive than the one my parents are on.  I am also wanting to purchase an iPad (from Verizon) and add it onto my plan.  It's a plus for Verizon to get the new business, but they are making it impossible.  I'm at a loss as to where to go from here.  I really do like Verizon's service and I do not want to change carriers.  But if no one is willing to help a long-time customer accomplish what is fair, I don't know if I'm willing to continue to be a Verizon customer.

Can anyone help me?

Personal Information removed as required by the

Message was edited by Verizon Moderator

Labels (1)
0 Likes