Verizon cuts returns to 14 days, upgrades pushed back to 20 months 63
by Derek Kessler
Mon, 10 Jan 2011 9:47 pm EST
Mon, 10 Jan 2011 9:47 pm EST
We might see see the Verizon iPhone announced today, but life as a Big Red customer is about to get a little less comfortable. In a pair of moves, Verizon has cut their return policy from 30 days to a measly 14 days (two weeks, if you’re so inclined), while also simultaneously axing the 13-month upgrade option, leaving customers to wait until the 20th month of their contract to qualify for any discounts on a new handset. The return policy is effective January 16th, while the “simplifying” of the upgrade policy (Verizon’s word, not ours) will take effect as customers re-up their contracts. Who wants a Verizon Pre 2 now?
Source: Android Central
63 Comments
sprint is looking better each day that goes by cheaper plans 30 day return and 1 year up grades with 69.00 plan or higher
Ya Sprint is hands down the best deal out there.. I don't know why Sprint has such a bad rep..
Anyways, I bet Verizon had to do this because all the new android phones that keep coming out, too many users were taking advantage of the upgrade every 13 months.. since a new android phone comes out every 2 weeks or so :Roll: it makes their semi new phone seem like outnews very quickly... android phones are flooding the phone market and cannibalizing themselves...
I agree with your Sprint comment and I can prove your Android comment wrong.
Why?
First off, this applies to new contracts ONLY, not current ones.
Second off, it comes on the heals of the iPhone release.
i was actually about to ask if it applied to current contracts, tnx for the answer
Just proves that Verizon doesn't care about their customers.
They think that because they have such a "great phone lineup" and the "best network" that it enables them to treat their customers however they see fit.
The sick part?
They will likely continue to gain customers.
I have never given a dime to Verizon and I am happy to say that will never change.
I switched from Verizon to Sprint because of the customer service, and the price.
I will never go back to Verizon, they are rude and they change you for stuff just because they want to, even when you don't order it.
This just goes to show they don"t care about customers, they just want to ripe you off.
A few years ago Sprint though they were all high and mighty too. They did not have such a good customer service. Look at where it got them. Now they are struggling just to survive. I would think if Sprint doesn't follow in Verizon's foot steps, they have a good opportunity to to gain market share, providing they get some good new WEBOS phones soon. :)
They've simplified my decision to not renew my contract next year. Kudos!
Verizon has to 6e the 6iggest rip-off of ALL time when it comes to WIRELESS.. I love SPRINT AND would NEVER LEAVE..
Well, good news is you can at least get out of your contract scott free with the new ToS. If you wanna switch to a carrier that doesn't treat their customers like poo-poo, that is.
Effective going forward. Existing contracts maintain original contract terms.
I'm not sure it only applies to new contracts. I just logged on to Verizon and was told that I was not eligible for an upgrade until 9/2011, which is 20 months into my contract.
I'm betting this is because of the cost of subsidizing all those iPhones - and locking people in when they find out that Verizon doesn't handle the iPhone any better than AT&T.
Especially with all the Droids on VZW. From what I understand, Android is the most data-hungry platforms out there. Add the iPhone to that, and it'll screw everyone. Glad to be on Sprint, even more so after the VZW announcement today.
I love to hate Verizon. I have had mixed results from customer service, but generally it is good. I have been on several carriers including ATT and Sprint and no other carrier has given me the coverage I get with Verizon. Verizon costs me a little more, but I never worry about whether I will be able to make a call.
I have never, ever, ever, had an issue making a phone call on Sprint.
That is not the point though. [and thank you for proving my post on here as correct]
Sometimes, you just have to have respect for yourself as a customer.
I second this.
I've been a Sprint customer for about 10 years. I have never once thought about leaving them. They might as well etch my name and number into a piece of granite and stick it at the head of their parking lot, since I have zero intention of leaving them.
I have had next to zero issues making calls. The *only* times I've had problems is now that my Son is in Scouts (I'm an Assistant Scout Master now too), there's been a couple campouts in the middle of no where that my phone was sitting in a roam zone with 1 bar. My GF lives on the fringe of Amish country in PA and she (and I when I'm there) get great signals. There's a small dead zone near a local hospital, but that's almost to be expected and my old company BB Curve(s) both on VZW and ATT were dead there too.
I pay $152 for three phones (two are Pres - my Son will get my Pre- when the next webOS phone comes out), full & unlimited everything, 1500 day time minutes (which only applies to land lines! - unlimited minutes to ANY mobile phone).
Can't beat that!
M.
I know what you mean. Sprint's coverage is utter crap for me, no matter where I go (even different states) there's like a dead spot on every other block. Walking into a building kills my signal. I have to leave my phone on Roam Only at home because Sprint won't comp me the Airave and I refuse to pay for it, PLUS in my area the crappy Alltel tower has priority over the Verizon tower, so even Roam Only is a pita. Traveling through Virginia, it's roam country. I would love to go back to Verizon, if it didn't completely fuck over its customers and charge more a month (plus I get a 23% discount on everything with Sprint and only 17% off voice only on Verizon). But not that badly. I'd dump my smartphone for a prepaid dumbphone before that happened.
I usually have good coverage with Sprint and I am very happy with their unlimited data plan. I am paying about $170 per months (taxes included - Family share 1500 minutes, unlimited text and true unlimited data plan) for the four members of my family. That's because I also have my corporate 25% discount so that make it even cheaper. I occasionally use MyTether to get data as well and Sprint doesn't balk at me. I am also a premier member so I can get a new phone very 12 months, which I am waiting for a new Palm phone to update to.
Also, when my Sprint voice coverage went bad, I simply switched to roamer only mode on my Pre and I roamed to Verizon voice network occasionally (voice only no data) to get my coverage and Sprint doesn't charge me anything.
I got the best of both world, cheap plan, true unlimited data and both Sprint and Verizon voice coverages.
Now if Palm can come out with a world phone with good bettery, my mobile life would be almost perfect.
The fact that my Sprint plan runs me $57, my GPS works, and I get an upgrade every year if I want it is the only reason I'm on Sprint, so I hear you on the discount. But like I said, in my home area, Roam Only is kind of a joke because Sprint forces me to roam on a further away Alltel tower than the closer Verizon one (some ppl do actually live in rural areas with regional carriers, so I always kinda laugh at the Verizon roaming bonus). And even if you're traveling down the highway roaming on Verizon, your data is a measly 1x. So, I can't say I'm particularly happy with Sprint as I'd hate getting reamed by Verizon/AT&T and a prepaid cellphone at this point is going to run me $50 anyway for data, so I just stuck with Sprint.
How is it that you're bragging about this. I pay a little less than this on VZW for 3 lines @1400 minutes and unlimited txt. that includes data on two of the lines.
For this, I get better coverage than anyone I know on Sprint, ATT or Tmobile. And I never have to worry about roaming because VZW doesn't charge for it. I do have to wait about 22 mos for New every two and other phone upgrades...
I do get a corporate disc...
While VZW isn't perfect, It's better to me than the competition.
My dilemma is, do I buy the iPhone or wait for HP to announce something great? I guess if Feb 9 disappoints, I'll be online on the 10th getting me an iPhone.
Uh, yeah... you only have 3 lines and only have data on two! If you would have 4 lines and data on all 4, you'd be paying WAY MORE! Glad you like Verizon, but lets not compare apples and oranges... two completely different things!
Sounds good to me. If cosumers continue to allow them to get away with such punches in the gut, slaps, etc, then it will continue to become less and less about the customer.
most don't take the time to do in-depth research to compare each carrier and history tells them this. It's the same thing we see today with the fact the avg cutomer doesn't have a clue about their phon's OS, so phone makers/sellers are exceeding target sales beyond their wildest dreams....my point is cosumers must take back control by punishing carriers when they blatently slap us in the face.
Many on Big Red will complain, but not punish them.
Hard to punish a carrier when you have to wait 2 years to do so, or pay an extortion fee to break the contract. That's how they get you. Two years after you're pissed at them, they're banking that you've forgotten what they did, got used to it, and will re-up.
In the first paragraph, it says "customers will be eligible for promotional pricing as well as special offers that we make available." Now looking only at this picture, are they saying that when they have a promotional price (like when they come out with a new Palm phone) all customers on a two year contract will be eligible for it? And that this will go for any promotional price? If thats the case, then getting rid of the upgrading policy is fine right? Its pretty much upgrade when there is a promotional price or special offer? maybe I'm looking at this wrong.
I think what you're reading is more of making it seem "less severe" than what it really is.
Well if what I said isn't the case, they have some explaining to do.
I think the whole thing begs having some "explaining to do"
I mean honestly... is there really any justification for doing this?
Not really...
.
Like I said...no one cares how they are treated as a customer.
American's have thrown out care for that a long time ago.
Kinda sick if you think about it.
Well they have this big announcement and all today. Hopefully this is touched on there. If I have to wait til next year to upgrade when HP/Palm is supposedly coming out with all these new devices, thats going to suck. Im pretty sure I was going to be eligible for upgrade in the next couple months.
I think it only applies to new contracts....so if you are eligible 4 an upgrade you will still get it!
I'm thinking that the Jan 16 date is when the iPhone will actually land in stock, and a ton of people will probably want to switch to one, and they'll let them. That will lock everyone who buys into a brand new 2 yr contract which wont let them upgrade until 20 months.
You're reading it right. New product rollouts of significance (like the Droid X last summer and the upcoming iPhone) will always supersede the "standard" upgrade policy. Verizon, if they haven't already, will almost certainly will be mailing flyers to all their wireless subscribers in the next two weeks prior to the February 3rd pre-order date. And it will likely say that, no matter where you are in your current contract, you will be able to purchase the iPhone (and maybe any other smartphone) for the lowest promotional price. That's how it was handled for the Droid X and I see no reason why they wouldn't do the same with the iPhone. Upside: if the Pre 2 drops between now and the end of February, it's very likely subscribers not eligible for upgrade will be able to do so with "just" a two-year contract renewal. Sure, you're locked in for 20 months after that...but it's a possibility.
But the kick in the head will always be free.
No coincidence this is happening just as they are getting the iPhone. People will bitch about it but that won't stop them from going there, something Verizon is well aware of.
I've had my Pre for 20 months as it is...waiting for "the coming months". So what's the big deal?
Oh look. Verizon is being... Verizon.
The Verizon iPhone just got announced, looks like the Pre 2 is now DOA - dead on arrival.
Update: Pre 2 was DOA the moment it was announced.
The big red is well big now so just like ATT when you have an iphone in the line and big customer base, you no longer need soo many perks and afford being a bigger pain to fatten the wallets.
Then again who cares about the 20months? Ive had my Sprint Pre since launch so it proves I can wait or just buy the phone outright :)
I'm on sprint and have to put my phone in roam only(thank you preware) just to get service at work and even at home....i live and work in a city..sprint has terrible,terrible reception and regardless of these issues with verizon I will be switching as soon as new hardware is out and my etf is expired
Sounds like you have issues with the phone itself.
How do I know that?
Because there's NO WAY IN HELL you maintained a contract that costs around $2400 [or more] for a two year contract, given the 30 day money back guarantee, when you can never get service anywhere.
Period.
Actually it's about $1800 for 2 years with Unlimited 450. I have the exact same problem. I live in Illinois which is not a Sprint area, but an affiliate company, iPCS. So the service sucks and I have to use Roam Only at home and work. I have WiFi in both places so that covers data. It doesn't cover MMS however. And in general Sprint has terrible coverage around here, but I suffer through simply because Verizon is far more expensive and doesn't let you upgrade as often. AT&T is also bad here - which is why no one I know has an iPhone yet. So no, it's not the phone. It's iPCS coverage.
You can just call Sprint and tell them to cancel your contract ETF-free. I'm still on Sprint, but they cancelled my contract 10 months in, no penalty, and put me on a month-to-month because of the crappy home coverage. I mean, I wanted an Airave, but that was the absolute least they ould do.
VZW can suck it. You know this change is tied to adding the iPhone as well. It might have even been required by Apple.
Is Verizon's coverage really vastly superior to all other carrier, that they command such a large number of subscribers? I keep reading/hearing about how terrible and un-customer-friendly they are, so I don't understand how they are the largest carrier in the US... can someone explain?
No, it's actually not.
But they have convinced everyone that their service IS vastly superior.
And in the US all you have to do is that.
We don't believe in facts.
Other than Verizon, I have only been on AT&T. All I can say is that in my opinion, customer service is better and the phone reception is better. I cant speak for Sprint.
I've always been a Verizon customer so I can't compare, but I've always had good reception. My family has always had good customer service. When you call them, they can speak English and they know what they are talking about. I had a problem with my Pre, so I called Verizon first. The person tried their best to help, but couldn't so they referred me to Palm to see if it was hardware. Palm wouldn't talk to me on the phone without paying $$$, so I had to chat online with them. Palm couldn't fix the problem on my phone either, so Palm was going to have me mail my phone to them and then they would mail one back (10 days turnover or something). I could pay extra for them to send a phone to me first. I said "no thanks", called Verizon back and they overnighted a phone to me for free since it was still under warranty with no hassle.
You can look at a coverage map and make your own conclusions. From what I see, Verizon has their own coverage pretty much everywhere except some whitespots in the West and sprinkled up and down the East Coast. Sprint has some coverage in clusters around big cities and along stretches of highways and roams pretty much everywhere else (basically all that grey on their coverage map is Verizon).
So eould this constitute the opportunity to get out of contract with verizon? I would love for the wife and daughter to be able to join me on sprint?
No.
As PreDogs said...
"Effective going forward. Existing contracts maintain original contract terms."
It's not authoratative, since I've always been on VZW. Never had a bad experience untill recently (when shopping for a Pre+) and always told myself the good experience and was worth the xtra $$.
Still in contract, but gotta say, Sprint is looking better and better for when it's time to re-up.
HA. Ha!
Verizon burned me a couple of times and I'll never go back
Verizon finally got their iphone but it's only CDMA, no LTE.
This means that next year, Apple will release their LTE phone for Verizon and make more money. Typical strategy.
At&t's network should finally lose some congestion and probably work better. Also, they'll probably start with the new ads stating that Verizon's iphone can't do simultaneous data&voice. Let the ad wars begin. lol
Is it Feb 9th yet? ;)
verizon.. verizon... verizon... smh.. facebook has become very powerful.. so i decided to see what would happen if i did this! ha! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Verizon-is-Evil-Im-leavingleftwill-never-s...
Here in the UK they axed the 30 day return policy long time ago.. its 14 days if you buy on-line, however if you buy your phone contract in store then its 7 days.
Doesn't make it right.
they cant do it in CA state law 30 days to return goods. new phone in 20 months no thanks.Sprint looks better every day and 4g is fast were i live. i just worked a surf contest in H.B CA Evo has flash so i could watch the surf web cast on my phone keep showing ipone users what there phone couldn't do they were bummed i love it iphone is nothing special
It's Not all bad news, one of the new features is the ability to transfer and upgrade from one line to another (which I will do either when Pre 2 is announced, or for another device).
The Only Thing I don't understand is "NE2 members will no longer be enrolled in NE2 after upgrade"
So Does that mean, after my next upgrade I will only recieve the Subsidized price of a phone every two years as opposed to subsidized + extra amount off. That's how I read it at least.
All the more reasons to hate Verizon.
I switched from VZW to Sprint 4 years ago & I will never go back. I had tons of customer service issues with Verizon, and there was NOTHING to justify the extra expense associated with being their customer. They are a joke.
Sprint's coverage isn't perfect, but Verizon's isn't either. Several members of my family have VZW, and when I'm with them they have poorer reception in the same few areas that I do.
And as if I needed any reassurance that staying with Sprint is the right choice, VZW goes and makes another customer-unfriendly policy change.
Ban that account already.