I recently purchased 3 new iPhone 12 Pro's. I ordered them from Best Buy online and paid for them in full. I picked them up, went home and popped the SIM card in them and was all set. Now I find out I was charged a $40 upgrade fee for two of the phones. I called Verizon to asked them why I was charged a fee for 2 out of the 3 phones.

First I was informed that without the upgrade fee, there would be no service to the device. (Even though I was only charged for 2 and the 3rd device works just as well) And I could only use them "on WIFI". I challenged them by stating that all 3 devices which were order, paid for, picked up and turned on, on the same day, had the same service and coverage.

Then I was informed, it was to provide manufacture warranty. I asked how that was different from the already included 1 year AppleCare, to which the response was that it was in fact the same. I informed the representative that there is no additional charge on any Apple device, regardless of wether it has cellular coverage, for the standard 1 year AppleCare hardware coverage. He stated that if there was a hardware defect, the device could be sent in and reviewed by Verizon prior to it being sent to Apple for service. I asked him, how this differed from my taking my Apple device with a hardware issue to the apple store or sending it into apple. He did know.

They were unable to inform me what the upgrade fee exactly covered or what additional service it provided. The rebuttal then was that it is an "industry standard". Which I challenged, as I have 12 lines with another carrier and have never experienced such a fee. Then I was informed the fee would only be $20 if I had ordered the item online (which I had) but the same service would be provided as the $40 fee.

I asked if there was a fee if I went directly to the Apple store to purchase the phones, they stated there would not have been a fee. They went to explain further that it was a "loop hole" as the service, end user experience and coverage would be the same. The representative actually stated, "I wonder why that loop hole hasn't been closed yet."

So there you have it, the upgrade fee is a bogus variable charge which does not impact the end user service or experience. The "loop hole" which I will be using going forward and I recommend to anyone (especially if you have multiple devices you need to upgrade) is to purchase phones directly from the manufacturer (Apple in this case) or out of the Verizon reseller network.