Iphone 6 upgrade
sandman220
Newbie

So I heard about this through the advertisement I had seen both on TV and on the Verizon website. So I decided to do a little research on it. And it seemed to be legit no catch, no misinterpretation. Until I checked the forums where people were being told that they needed to be eligible for an upgrade to be a part of this deal. Which is exactly what I was looking for seeing as how this is exactly what happened last time a promotion like this was offered. Doesn't say anything about that in the ad, or anywhere I could see online except for these forums. You'd think that this time around you guys would actually put something in the ad that clearly states this. But no. It seems like Verizon just likes to cause a commotion for no reason over these things. And frankly I'm getting kind of tired of it. Most people will probably end up switching to one of these other carriers that are offering to buy them out of their contracts just so they don't have to deal with the constant confusion all the time. Just seems like its turned into a big thing that could have easily been avoided by just adding that little extra piece into the advertisement. Its getting kind of ridiculous don't you think.

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Re: Iphone 6 upgrade
Cruser2008
Contributor - Level 2

They do in fact tell you that  new 2 year activation is required if you read under the promotion on the home page of the Verizon site, that has been on the site for over a week.

"Available for iPhone 6 16GB. $199.99 2-yr price – $200 VZW trade-in gift card.New 2-yr activation req'd. Trade-in must be in good working condtion."

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Re: Iphone 6 upgrade
sandman220
Newbie

I didn't say it didn't indicate activation of a new two year plan was required. They forgot to inform everyone that you need to be eligible for upgrade. They weren't exactly clear on that if you watch the ad. From the looks of it there's quite a few people who aren't too happy about it.

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Re: Iphone 6 upgrade
rcschnoor
Legend

People are simply unhappy because they were hoping to get something for which they obviously weren't eligible. If people actually thought they didn't need to be eligible for an upgrade, they could simply buy phone after phone after phone at that price. With these phones currently selling for $500+ on ebay how could ANYONE possibly think this would be the case????

At Verizon OR ANY PROVIDER for that matter, "new 2-yr activation req'd" means you must be eligible to enter into a new 2-yr contract. It has always meant that, it always will mean that.

Hoping it doesn't mean that and having "quite a few people who aren't too happy about it" is simply people hoping to get something for nothing.

I would certainly be unhappy if I were to hope for a business venture where I could purchase a phone for $200 and then immediately turn around and sell it for $500+ knowing I could simply purchase another one for $200. After all, if I thought I was eligible for the promotion when I was under contract, I could purchase as many as I wanted at that $200 price and STILL only be stuck with Verizon for a 2-yr period. Common sense isn't what it used to be.Smiley Happy

For example, I make the purchase at $200 even though I am still under contract. I turn around and sell the phone for $500, which would undercut the aftersale market by a considerable amount. I just made $300. I purchase another phone for $200 even though I am still under contract.  I turn around and sell the phone for $500, which would undercut the aftersale market by a considerable amount. I just made $300. I purchase another phone for $200 even though I am still under contract.  I turn around and sell the phone for $500, which would undercut the aftersale market by a considerable amount. I just made $300. I purchase another phone for $200 even though I am still under contract.  I turn around and sell the phone for $500, which would undercut the aftersale market by a considerable amount. I just made $300. I purchase another phone for $200 even though I am still under contract. I now have a phone and am up $1000. I can understand why "quite a few people aren't too happy about it"!!!!!!!!!

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Re: Iphone 6 upgrade
Cruser2008
Contributor - Level 2
Correct, in order to sign a contract you have to be eligible for an upgrade, therefore it does clearly state that you have to be eligible to sign a 2 year contract.
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Re: Iphone 6 upgrade
ce_erickson
Enthusiast - Level 2

rschnoor yes, I agree. If I sign a contract and I get a phone, I should have to wait until the contract term expires to get a new one. But Verizon heavily invested in advertisement and press releases that said IF I am willing to "extend" my contract by another 2 years, I can have the iPhone 6 for free when I trade in my 5s. And in those ads is no qualifying language of any kind... nor is it legally plausible that reasonable person would know "re-up their contract for two more years" means ... well only if you don't have a contract anymore.

CNet heard the same thing: Verizon offers free iPhone 6 with trade-in, 2-year contract - CNET

And so have many, many other confused people who have posted in this forum. They are confused because the advertising is intentionally misleading in order to get people into Verizon stores where they can make subjective decisions on their own about how profitable it will be to serve x vs y customer.

sandman220 I do not have any interest in doing anything more than getting what was advertised, but I am tired of Verizon making false and misleading claims and walking off like it did not happen. This is totally Class Action material.

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Re: Iphone 6 upgrade
Cruser2008
Contributor - Level 2

All comercials and ads that you see will always have a type of fine print or some auctioneer talking a mile a minute at the end saying all of the fine print. Everything for free with Verizon required a NEW 2 year contract, everyone knows that you can not sign a new contract unless you are already out of contract.

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Re: Iphone 6 upgrade
rcschnoor
Legend

ce_erickson wrote:

But Verizon heavily invested in advertisement and press releases that said IF I am willing to "extend" my contract by another 2 years, I can have the iPhone 6 for free when I trade in my 5s. And in those ads is no qualifying language of any kind...

You are absolutely correct. There is NO QUALIFYING LANGUAGE OF ANY KIND which states if you are currently under contract you would be eligible. Therefore, the normal rules would apply which means you need to have completed your current contract to be eligible.

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Re: Iphone 6 upgrade
sandman220
Newbie

I'm not saying that "oh they should do something cause people are unhappy" I'm saying that its stupid of them as a company to sit there and wonder why people are either buying out their contracts or switching to a provider who offers to buy out their contract. Its not just because of the false advertisement it also has something to do with the pathetic customer service. And in the agreement of use it states that if you go and sell equipment you bought from the company they terminate your contract and hit you with a fee or take legal action so therefore  that giant rant you just went on is pointless cause you'd do it once and theres a possibility of the company suing you and losing a whole hell of alot more than what you made off that one phone. So tell me what would be the upside to going through that whole process?

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Re: Re: Iphone 6 upgrade
ce_erickson
Enthusiast - Level 2

I agree, it is silly the way this is being handled. There are those who want to auto-label our claims as us just being unhappy, but the facts are the facts. I walked into three VZ owned stores. Only one could roughly explain the promotion and the other two stores has sales reps who said there was no promotion at all for current customers. They were all eager to get me in their iPad to check me in, but before they did that only had one question: "is there an upgrade promotion for the iPhone 5s as advertised?" The answer was either "no", "I think it expired", or "let me check your account" aka, can I sell and upgrade today.

The Federal Trade Commission simply states, "When consumers see or hear an advertisement, whether it’s on the Internet, radio or television, or anywhere else, federal law says that ad must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence."

I would offer the following as ample evidence that Verizon is misleading it's customers:

a) mass confusion in its own online forums and its employees widely varied answers to the same question;

b) mass confusion in the stores - employees don't even know the rules, in many cases they are claiming to know nothing of promotions;

c) media representations of the promotion, according to Verizon, not being accurate and Verizon making no effort to correct false information in popular media.

The motivation to allow this to happen: get people in the stores, get them converted from other carriers, pat current customers on the head and tell them we are just wanting something we cant have.... sorry you heard it that way come back in a few months....

A Class Action is not a first resort, its a last resort. But the good it might do is end the abusive practices that mislead consumers.

Here we are, loyal Verizon customers; we deal mediocre service, we pay our bills, we let stores jerk us around, and when corporate can't get a promotion straight such that CNet, a highly respected media outlet, proclaims that they interpret Verizon's promotion to mean: "[Verizon] announced Tuesday that it will give customers a free 16GB iPhone 6 when they trade in their old phone and re-up their contract for two more years." and as of today they have not demanded redaction of that claim, its clear they want that misinformation out there because it benefits the business. I have yet to find someone that can link me to a web page on Verizon's own website that clearly states the offers - much less one that has been posted when the promotion was announced. All there are is either Verizon employees stating different versions of the facts OR people whose motivations are unclear, telling us we are imagining things...



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