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Before deciding to post this, I read many posts from other Verizon customers in similar situations. Before I go ahead and proceed further with an option on how to move forward, I am hoping to get more insight and advice from anyone willing to share theirs regarding my situation. Here it is:

I received a replacement phone back in late Sept. 2014, but due to other complications, I was unable to return the original phone as soon as they requested. I called Verizon at the beginning of Nov. and spoke with a rep and requested for an extension on the return of the original phone. The rep then told me that they would give me a 90 day extension FROM THE DAY WE SPOKE, which meant I had to return the phone before February, and if I returned it any later, I would be charged a late fee.

Fast forward to January 2015, and I am finally able to send back the original phone. Keep in mind, the day I sent back the phone, I was still within the 90 day extension allowance. The last week of January, Verizon shuts off all the phones connected to the account. Upon speaking with a Verizon rep, we are told that they have not yet received my phone and our lines would be disconnected until they receive the phone. I let them know that I had already sent the phone in at least a week prior to the shut off of our phones and didn't understand why it would take this long for them to get the phone. According to the label they provided for me, I expected for them to receive the phone no longer than a week after I sent it back. According to the rep, "due to weather conditions, delivery shipments may have been delayed". Then, the very next day, our phones are turned back on.

Here I am, about a month later, and our phones were shut off again. We paid the minimum fee and got our phones turned back on within a couple of hours of realizing our phones were turned off, but now we're confused as to why it was shut off again in the first place. I went to a local Verizon store and spoke with an employee about the situation. She calls Verizon Customer Service and has me speak to a rep who can better help me. According to the rep, I am being charged a $599.99 fee for the warehouse "not receiving the original phone". The rep was kind enough to do more digging for me, and he was able to find that the warehouse actually DID receive my phone, but because they received it later than expected, I am now being charged full price for the phone. Now, I understand that I was originally late in returning the original phone, but 1) I called and spoke with someone and asked for an extension (which was granted), 2) the warehouse has my phone, but still wants to charge me full price for it, and 3) they want to charge me full price because they received it a few days later than when they wanted. How is it my fault that the delivery was delayed because of weather? The rep did explain to me, though, that they count the "received date" as the date the shipment was postmarked. So, if that were true, then I still would have been in my 90 day allowance. Again, it's not my fault the warehouse received my phone late because of weather conditions.

Between talking to a store employee, talking to a customer service rep, talking to the insurance company, and then getting transferred to another Verizon Customer Service Rep, I have spent a good couple of hours, at least, trying to figure out how to fight this. I think it's unfair that I'm being charged full price for a phone that is no longer in my possession. And I even mentioned to the second customer service rep that if there are no other options to drop the charge and I absolutely have to pay the $599.99 fee, then I demand that they send me the phone back to me. If I'm being charged full price for the phone, then that means I'm buying it. Because I absolutely refuse to pay $600 for a phone that I do not have. I already had to pay full price for the phone I currently have (or rather, the original that I bought but ended up needing replaced) because I have unlimited data and upgrading would mean that I lose the unlimited data, so I'm willing to pay full price for the BRAND NEW phone that I'm purchasing at a Verizon location. I am not, however, willing to pay full price for ANOTHER phone that I do not even possess. However, the customer service rep informed me that I would not be able to get the phone back and that their warehouse had been the ones to deny to credit back the $599.99 fee after receiving the original phone. I asked for a contact number for their warehouse, since apparently, that is where the original phone is, but apparently, warehouse people cannot speak to customers.

I'm reaching my absolute boiling point with Verizon Customer Service. I've been a loyal customer for nearly 10 years, and this is the first time that I have had a major issue like this. And they seem to be unwilling to help me solve this issue. All I keep getting is "I can transfer you to our financial department so you can set up a payment plan to pay off the fee", but I refuse to set up a payment plan because that means I am agreeing to paying this ridiculous fee! Is there anybody in the Verizon community who can share their advice or opinion and help me out in figuring out how to move forward with this? I'm willing to speak to any and all employees, managers, supervisors, etc., but if all that is just going to be a waste of time, is there another option?

Thank you in advance for your help.

A.A