What on earth is this new $30 upgrade fee?
kaleyna
Enthusiast - Level 2

Talk about being nickel and dimed to death! They get us to sign up for 2 more years in exchange for the lower price on the phones. How on earth can they justify charging $30 for the "privilege"?  Shameful!

Labels (1)
Re: What on earth is this new $30 upgrade fee?
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

It isn't a "new" fee. It has been in place since April 22, 2012. http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/2012/04/bl2012-04-11.html

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

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Re: What on earth is this new $30 upgrade fee?
kaleyna
Enthusiast - Level 2

Well considering this is my first upgrade (they are every 2 years you know) it is new to me. And completely ridiculous. They get our 2 year contract in exchange for the lowered phone price at upgrade. The $30 is nickel and diming. I also discovered they would take away my unlimited data which they also did not do last upgrade 2 years ago.

Re: What on earth is this new $30 upgrade fee?
B33
Legend

One option you can choose to skip this Fee is to pay full retail.!  for a Device..

Re: What on earth is this new $30 upgrade fee?
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

kaleyna We  know it's exciting to get a new device and we also understand your concern about the upgrade fee. We wouldn't want this to prevent you from getting into a new device. This fee only applies when devices are purchased at a 2 year discount. The helps provide services such as wireless workshops, assistance with device support and reference materials, and it helps us maintain our great network coverage. Most companies have the same fee because devices have become more advanced within the past 2 years and they require additional support. The $30 fee is a small amount in comparison to paying full retail price for advanced devices. You can look into trading in your current devices to help offset the costs http://bit.ly/GGnDDC. We look forward to continuing providing your wireless needs.

sheritah_vzw
Follow us on Twitter
@VZWSupport

Re: What on earth is this new $30 upgrade fee?
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

kaleyna We know that change can be a bit overwhelming, at times. It seems as you have been with us for a while and have questions about recent updates we have made overall. As far as data, we now offer tiered data plans because we want customers to only have to pay for what they need. You can run an account analysis by signing into My Verizon and clicking the analysis section under the "I want" section then select "My plan, My Phone" and "Run Account Analysis http://bit.ly/xB4iTc then view our calling plans here http://vz.to/1lwOwRQ . Let us know if we can help address any other concerns.

sheritah_vzw
Follow us on Twitter
@VZWSupport

Re: What on earth is this new $30 upgrade fee?
kaleyna
Enthusiast - Level 2

I'm sorry what a completely ridiculous response. Sometimes I feel you think your customers are idiots. Offering other tiers of data usage for lower pricing n no way impacts your ability to keep the unlimited data package that was offered before. And charging a $30 fee to upgrade when you are already getting our commitment for 2 more years of service is nickel and diming us. I'll be finding phones on eBay and not upgrading or doing a new contract for now until other providers increase their coverage area (coverage is the only benefit Verizon now offers). Then I'll switch.

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Re: What on earth is this new $30 upgrade fee?
sprmankalel
Champion - Level 3

Keep in mind that when you purchase a device on ebay you will be buying someone else's USED device. Verizon will not provide technical support or warranty for this type of device. You can avoid the $30 upgrade fee by utilizing the Edge program. This also gives you the option to upgrade WAY sooner than 2 years and there are other incentives which you may be eligible for by enrolling in Edge.

The $30 upgrade fee does cover the cost of such services like VZW wireless workshops and in store technical support. None of which are available at any of the competitors and you still have to pay a $36 upgrade fee. Keep in mind that that all of these smartphones are way more expensive than basic phones used to be. The technology is more costly to develop and implement. VZW as well as Samsung, Apple, LG, HTC, Motorola and all others are for profit organizations. If you pay $200 on contract for a phone VZW is paying anywhere between $250 and $450 to the manufacturer. Remember that Verizon doesn't make the phones. So your $200 iPhone is really $650. Verizon pays the $450 to Apple who makes the phone. Very little of what you pay monthly goes to pay back the that $450 to VZW. They may not lose money but they certainly don't make a profit on it. Especially when you figure in the costs of maintaining the store and shipping from the warehouse to the store and everything else that is involved with making the device available to us as consumers. We are not forced into contracts any longer. We never really were. We always chose the contracts because it was the lowest out of pocket cost for us and the technology didn't change as fast as it does now. Because contracts don't work for us as consumers nor do they work for the carriers any longer there are other fees associated with them. Now if you prefer a contract the extra $30 is such a small price to pay. $230 rather than $650.


You have many choices in carriers but you will face the same hurdles anywhere. You should really educate yourself on all the other options you have. 

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Re: What on earth is this new $30 upgrade fee?
kaleyna
Enthusiast - Level 2

I have in fact educated myself. The workshops were available years ago when I last upgraded with no fee. They are also available to those who do not sign up for another contract when they change phones. Not every carrier charges an upgrade fee. And Verizon service is very expensive compared to all but perhaps AT&T. Verizon had a $5 billion profit last quarter. I'd say they are doing okay.

I've had used devices before. If you are a smart shopper they work very well. And you can also buy new devices there as well.

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Re: What on earth is this new $30 upgrade fee?
sprmankalel
Champion - Level 3

You are free to do as you wish. You asked a question. I answered.

I am a smart shopper and that is why I won't buy a used device from some random stranger on ebay. I will buy it from VZW or Best Buy where I know I will get a warranty against defects. You won't get a newer iPhone or Galaxy device for less than the price of a brand new subsidized once INCLUDING the $30 upgrade fee.

iPhone

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR11.TRC1.A0.H0.Xverizon+iphone+5s&_nkw=v...

Samsung GS4

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=verizon+iphone+5s&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l13...

VZW had had Technicians in their stores prior to September of 2012. These employees provided 15 minute 1 on 1 sessions to learn the basics of your new phone. VZW started their workshops around August of 2012, 4 months after the upgrade fee was introduced. These workshops are attended by large numbers of groups.

I also said that VZW is a for-profit organization but so is AT&T and Sprint and T-Mobile. They will all do what they need to to make money. Looks like VZW has found a way to maximize the services they provide to us while paying little out of pocket to do so while still charging us a fair price to obtain those service. That's what making a profit is.

Sprint's customers are saying the same things you are:

Sprint Community: Device Upgrade Fee

Oh, look at that...so are AT&T's customers

Charged for UPGRADE? - AT&T Community Support

So where did you get the information that not every carrier is charging it. Only T-Mobile doesn't charge the upgrade fee and that is because they don't do contracts. They force you to buy the phone at full retail but they charge you a fee for being on the Jump program of $10 a month. http://www.t-mobile.com/phone-upgrade.html

This does include insurance of $8 (they're forcing you to take it). That means $2 a month goes to be on their no contract. That's $36 per year. More than the $30 VZW want you to pay to take their 2 year contract or $15 a year.

So I would say no, you haven't educated yourself and are obviously not aware that there are fees for almost everything. Oh wait. Except VZW Edge. No fee for program like T-Mobile and, like I said, you may qualify for incentives with VZW for being an Edge customer.

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