Let me start out by saying I've been a loyal Verizon customer for many years. I'm not even sure how long now but it has to be over 6.
On March 4th I decided to finally upgrade my phone and purchased the Blackberry Priv online. I was given 3 options for purchasing the phone:
- Purchase the phone outright
- Sign a new 2 year contract and purchase the phone at a discounted price
- Purchase the phone on a payment plan
I decided to go with option 2, believing that it would be the most affordable route. I had no intentions of leaving Verizon so a 2 year contract was no big deal and I could just pay the approx. $350.00 (including taxes and fees) and not have to worry about a payment. I was not informed, or possibly did not catch that I would lose my $25.00 per month discount, which over 2 years adds $600.00 to my plan. Now, had I chosen the payment plan I would have maintained the $25 discount and my device payment would have been about $32.00 per month. So the formula I came up with shows $32 - $25 = $7 //// $7 x $24 = $168 //// $350 + $600 = $950 //// $950.00 - $168.00 = $782.00 . The difference in cost between the 2 plans over 2 years is approx. $782.00. Which is crazy!
So here is where the fun really begins. Remember I bought the phone on the 3/4. Now my billing cycle ends on the 18th of every month but for some reason Verizon did not release my bill until 3/21, this puts me out of the 14 day return period. On 3/21 immediately upon reviewing my bill and seeing that I no longer received my $25.00 per month discount, I called customer service. After explaining to customer service what had happened they informed me that I was not eligible for a return but to go into a corporate store and see what I could do. So after work I go to the corporate store and they inform me that they can't return the phone because it's outside the 14 day window BUT then the rep sits me down for about 20 minutes to tell me that I was actually over the course of 2 years only losing like $80 or something like that. I tried to explain to him that his math was way off but ended up leaving frustrated. So I go home and do the math myself, writing it down so I could show him. I went back yesterday 3/23 and showed him my math and he then agreed that I was correct but that there was still nothing that could be done at the store and informed I needed to call customer service. So I go outside and call customer service and they tell me that the only way I can return the phone outside of 14 days is with an in store manager approval. By this time I was too upset to go back inside there. I have been given the run around by Verizon for days now and I could not have gone back in there like an adult and spoke calmly, so I left again.
This is absolutely insane! I don't even want to return the phone! I just want my plan changed and my money that I paid up front returned and my discount returned. Anyways I'm hoping someone from Verizon picks this up and does the right thing. I've been as calm and patient as possible but I'm starting to feel like you guys don't care that I was ripped off. I work for a large corporation and I know there's always a way to get things done.
Please make this right. I will be headed back to the corporate store later to speak to a manager but I'm really hoping this is resolved before then.
Best Regards,
Micah
