Verizon Lied about the Price, Gave Bad Customer Service and Locked my Account, which Charged me Bogus or Hidden Fees, which Hurt my Credit, Won’t let me Cancel and Sent my Account to Collections, Low Quality Product

Verizon Lied about the Price, Gave Bad Customer Service and Locked my Account, which Charged me Bogus or Hidden Fees, which Hurt my Credit, Won’t let me Cancel and Sent my Account to Collections, Low Quality Product

Submitted by: Anonymous | Post a complaint | Back to Complaints Forum

-While casually surfing the VZW website at roughly 11pm PST on 9/4/19, a sales rep opened a chat with me with intention to sell me a plan (I had low credit & was not planning on switching anyway)

-She aggressively pushed me towards a BOGO deal for 2 iPhone Xrs. The advertisement on the site reads “Buy One, Get One Free!” She explains that if I switch to VZW postpaid service, I’ll get a 100% free XR that is equal/lower in value to another XR. I’ll receive two prepaid mastercards worth $200ea mailed within 8wks of activation, and I’ll be eligible to receive trade-in credits for each new line ($450 for iPhone 7+ & $300 for iPhone SE). I didn’t believe it!

-I took screenshots of everything. I copied the entire transcript. I made sure I understood every detail. I double & triple-checked each stipulation. She made it clear that I would receive $1150 ($400 + $450 + $300) in cash and credits for two XRs that would only cost $750. She said YEP!

-I explained I had bad credit. She pressured me to apply anyway. I was approved for $0 down @ 0 APR for 24months!! I couldn’t believe my luck. I thought there had to be some catch. I kept asking follow up questions, but she immediately rushed to lock in the contract–ignoring some of my questions. I looked through the site as thoroughly as possible, but obviously did not go through the process of checking each phone and contract plan because she was doing that for me.

-At 11:45pm, I give her my debit card info for the $131 sales tax. She charges it. She says “IT WENT THROUGH!” I tried asking about the possibility of changing the colors and the storage at the store. Everything happened so fast, that my girlfriend and I weren’t given time to adequately review certain aesthetic choices. She said I could change anything at the store.

-She then provided the store location (~10mi East of my house). I worked 13mi NorthWest of my home and take carpools, so I asked if I could pick up the phones at a closer location in San Diego (population 1,300,000) to avoid massive Uber costs. She insists the location she gave was the only store within 50mi radius with 2 black iPhone XRs in stock (there are 14+ stores within 15mi radius). Then she was gone. She signed off.

-Next morning, I was actually worried I got scammed. When I called VZW, I learned I wasn’t scammed, but I also was told that the BOGO expired at midnight immediately after I made the purchase. I spoke with 7 different people over 6 hours by phone–some said I no longer qualified for the BOGO deal because I didn’t have the phones in my possession. Others said I did. Others said they were unsure, but that I should receive the promotion because a VZW agent explicitly guaranteed conformity to a contract that I would have otherwise NEVER had signed.

-my first bill was $430

-Over the course of the next 2 months. I continuously pursued VZW as they evaded me and lied to me. I have stacks of transcripts showing that they made a concerted effort to immediately repudiate the BOGO deal and claim that the agent was wrong.

-I explained that I made a good faith effort to understand & abide the the terms of the contract, and if she WAS lying…then I was coerced into a bad faith contract under undue influence

-I explained that if she was lying, VZW is still liable because of Uniform Commercial Code Law and US Contract Law that extends fault to them via “vicarious liability”

-They continued making promises to look into it. They even promised to honor the BOGO (and explained I may not see the change immediately)

-I continued this pattern of conducting 3-4hr conversations with agents that claimed unfamiliarity with my case. Each time I explained they were in breach of the contract. Each time they said they lied about future credits.

-IMMEDIATELY AFTER the iPhone 11’s release caused all trade-in values to plummet, I finally reached a supervisor who spent 3 hours pretending to misunderstanding what my ‘demands’ were. Each time he’d make a concession, he’d undo another until my monthly contract was more expensive. I finally demanded that they honor the trade-ins. He explained he’d be happy to, but that it’s been so long since my purchase…I’d only receive $250-$300. I demanded he honor them based on the legality of my BOGO contract. He responded that I’m not currently receiving any BOGO deals.

WHAT?!?!?!?

-after demanding the BOGO be honored lest VZW face a lawsuit, he explained he isn’t allowed to stack promotional credits (despite screenshots of advertisements & chat transcripts guaranteeing otherwise). After 3 hours, I was too exhausted; so I explained I wanted the BOGO applied immediately and that I’ll keep contacting VZW every week for the trade-ins & prepaid cards until they accept my contractual remedies. He agreed.

-The next time I chatted with an agent, I discover that my BOGO deal was only partially honored. At the time I purchased the phones, the monthly finance was $33/mo & retail value was $750. I’d been charged for both phones for months. I discovered that the BOGO promo that was finally retroactively applied was only for $25/mo–which was the cost of financing the XR after the iPhone 11 reduced all retail values. I was livid.

-It had already been 8wks. No $400 prepaid giftcards. No trade-ins. Nothing but lies and misleading facts. They even told me they’d fire or severely discipline the agent who originally sold me the contract. I DIDN’T WANT THAT. When I pleaded for them to simply honor the contract, they said they were simply unable to–even if they wanted to–but were SO SO sorry for the difficult times I’d been through; and they would “deal with their employee as the company saw fit.” In other words…Verizon was so determined to break commercial law by refusing to honor a legally signed contract, they decided to also break employment law by retaliating against the original saleswoman.

-By December & January, I’m finally promised trade-ins with a new code after I outlined every CA State & Federal law that Verizon had broken. I continued to explain that after a consulting an attorney, I can argue that Verizon’s actions on 9/4/19 constitutes Federal Wire Fraud. Because VZW is headquartered in NY and I live in CA, the original agent contacted me as a legal extension of VZW; and because she intentionally withheld the date/time of the impending BOGO expiration & critical features of the contract while manipulating my ‘reasonable expectation of services’ and personal liability. She clearly intended to financially profit from selling someone with admitted bad credit a 2yr commitment worth $1500 in hardware & $1680 in total service charges online using lies, manipulation, and omission of facts. That’s wire fraud.

-Suddenly the new agent explicitly explained–without reservation–that not only did I 100% qualify for the BOGO deal from day #1, BUT that the original saleswoman was actually correct in everything she said. He explained that she was completely accurate in her advertisement of the deal despite clearly rushing to close the deal–which resulted in her accidentally failing to mention certain features o
f the deal. This was big…especially because some earlier agents had also agreed with the original stipulations of the contract. But this was the first comprehensive defense of my reasonable expectation to receive what I’d been promised. But now I had evidence of it. And I also had evidence that VZW either lied to me about disciplining her in a manipulative effort to justify repudiating the contract…OR that the saleswoman was illegally disciplined or fired.

-So, I explained that VZW’s liability still applies to accidental omissions that hurt consumers and create the impossibility of breach conformity. Especially given VZW’s pattern of behavior since September, I explained what needed to be done to remedy Verizon’s non-conformity. I demanded pre-labeled shipping boxes due to my reasonable distrust of VZW’s past guarantees. I explained I had no intention of sending two good iPhones to Verizon without a demonstrated credit to my bill and shipping boxes (which served as legal evidence that VZW was honoring the trade-in; and therefore unable to retract it, or claim the phones had scratches that made them ineligible for credits, or to simply claim they were neither expecting phones nor received any trade-in phones). He agreed to every remedy…both in theory & in practice.

-By 2020, the literal stress & anxiety of this situation and constant need to remedy billing discrepancies of $300 took so much time & energy from me that it hurt my job performance. I lost my job (though I can’t prove causation; and filed for unemployment. I had to liquidate my savings to pay for food, rent, and a rental increase. So I desperately needed money. While I’m legally afforded the right to refuse paying for VZW’s failure to conform, I couldn’t afford to pay without the prepaid cards I’d been promised.

-At that point…VZW suspended my wireless phone service for non-payment without notice; and I had no way to conduct the unemployment interview. I immediately learned that VZW’s pricey unlimited plan didn’t allow Wi-Fi calling without additional fees. Within days, I FINALLY received the $400 mastercard I’d been promised, but it was too late. I could have retained my service if I’d received them sooner by making minimum payments. But when I called VZW Financial, they said they ‘werent allowed’ to reactivate my service until I pay the entire sum ‘owed.’ BUT I didn’t receive the 8wk guaranteed cards until mid-February (5 months aka 23 wks after purchase).

-At this point, I had not received any trade-in credits or shipping packages either, AND I was still receiving $24.99 monthly credits instead of the full $33/mo I was paying and for which I was promised multiple times. That is the fundamental & defining feature of a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE deal.

-I contacted them again to follow up on the Trade-ins and the service suspension (having to explain this entire story each time)…only to be told that the promise to honor my trade-in so late was frankly unrealistic; and that I failed to take advantage of the previous agent’s courtesy by not using the trade-in promo code

WHAT?!?

-I explained he NEVER gave me a promo code because mine had expired because verizon was illegally refusing to honor their own customer agreement!! AND he said “he’ll take care of it for me” and clearly didn’t. AND he never sent the packages. The current agent shrugged it off and said that agents don’t do the trade-ins or send packages until after customers apply their promo code…so it’s my fault and can’t expect vzw to fix it. I outlined every law vzw had broken in addition to the myriad chat transcripts I have illustrating a pattern of California state & federal commercial code AND contract law violations including false advertising, undue influence, coercion for economic benefit, impractiblity, breach of contract, bad faith, vicarious liability, and federal wire fraud. I made it painfully clear that as a consumer in CA, I acted as a bona fide consumer entering into this consumer contract; and have repeatedly offered reasonable remedies to VZW’s violation of tort statutes–all of which are captured on pages of chat transcripts that demonstrate a narrative where VZW refuses to assume to liability and even shifts the source of causation to the powerless consumer. I explained I was willing to go to arbitration or small claims and would likely win.

-Her response was angering. Rather than trying to remedy ANYTHING. She actually had the audacity to say “well I see your account shows we didn’t receive your payment until 9/5/19…so technically you never qualified for the BOGO deal.”

-I told her I had the transcript from 9/4/19 where the agent says “the payment went through.” And I have screenshots…and that it’s obvious that the Bank didn’t officially process/transfer my payment made at 11:45pm until the next day. I couldn’t believe after all 6 months of arguing, she actually tried to use a fake technicality to invalidate everything.

-I talked to another agent soon after who listened to everything I said and agreed/promised to elevate my complaint to the higher levels. I said a lot of agents have promised to do that, but nothing happened. She promised this would be forwarded and carefully looked at. When I asked about the time-frame and how I should follow up, she said it could take 7-10 days.

-Within that time, COV-19 got bad enough that VZW, ATT, & TMobile all signed a Federal promise not to terminate their customers. They even offer 60 months free for some.

-on March 13th, right after I updated my autopay…VZW terminated my account and forwarded it to collections. A collections agency called me on Monday morning for $1450.

-Verizon sickens me. I need to find every government agency and willing attorney to help me file every possible complaint for every single violation they committed.

What would you like the company to do to fix the problem? (optional)
A proper refund. I want them to honor the expectations set forth in the contract. At this point, the Uniform Commercial Code dictates that Verizon’s behavior, lies, mal-intent, bad faith, preemptive repudiation, and audacious refusal to accept ANY responsibility or liability under their contract in lieu of accepting my reasonable contractual remedy (in addition to terminating my service & wireless accessibility during the COVID-19 pandemic) legally & effectively removes me from any & all liability. Under this UCC stipulation, I have no legal obligation to accept every condition of the aforementioned contract. Under the UCC, I’m legally entitled to accept as many or as few conditions or unfullfilled remedies as I see fit. To that end, I’m no longer willing to continue as an Start Unlimited customer of Verizon Wireless with a 24-month service contract and phone payments. I accept the possession of the two iPhone XRs as paid in full with no further financial obligations or outstanding debts. I accept that they will remain unlocked (as guaranteed by vzw representatives); and that Verizon will remove any lock on the phones, their eSIMs, and any other software/hardwares, so that they are fully “unlocked” and able to be transferred to a carrier of my choosing. This remedy is non-negotiable.

Any fees & debts related to this service contract will also be forgiven in full; and they will be retroactive
ly removed from all accounts–including those under Verizon and/or 3rd party agencies, and/or Credit-reporting agencies. This remedy is non-negotiable.

I am willing to continue as a Verizon Wireless customer with the two fully paid & “unlocked” iPhone XRs only under the condition that I am allowed to use them with any available service contract (postpaid or prepaid). I am willing to continue using my current phone numbers and hard SIMs under the aforementioned remedy; and will not be coerced or effected, by the actions of Verizon Wireless, to change any aspect of my chosen service plans in such a way that causes me to incur additional and/or unforeseen costs or fees. That is to say, I will not be forced to buy new Verizon SIM cards, forced to travel (especially during COVID-19), or manipulated into making service plan arrangements that financially benefit Verizon Wireless at my detriment. Any action–whether deliberate, indirect, or accidental–will be immediately reviewed and fully remedied. Verizon has a choice as to accept the option of keeping me & the user of the second iPhone XR as possible customers with the freedom to choose new service plans. Under this arrangement, all current debts will still be forgiven, credit-checks for postpaid waived, phones unlocked (and considered paid), and reactivation fees waived in full. If this remedy is accepted, I will happily pay for whicher service plan I choose at the advertised price for each of the two iPhone XRs as if I were any other customer with a Verizon account & service plan. If Verizon accepts this remedy, I agree that both iPhone XRs will only be eligible for upgrades & trade-in deals through Verizon Wireless after 24 months following the initial purchase date of 9/4/19. If this remedy is rejected, I will be entitled to privately sell or use both unlocked iPhones as trade-ins for competing wireless service providers & carriers.

Finally, Verizon Wireless will not act in a way that results in any form of retaliation against me or any beneficiary of this remedy and/or service arrangement. This remedy is non-negotiable.

Therefore, no additional monetary compensation will be sought so long as Verizon accepts every non-negotiable remedy (which they have no legal right to deny under the UCC of California, New York, and the Federal Government of the United States).

If any part of any non-negotiable remedy is refused, altered, or rejected, I will seek compensation in the amount currently being charged and/or billed by Verizon Wireless and any 3rd party agency tasked with recovering Verizon Wireless-related debts associated with the aforementioned broken service & payment contract. I will also seek additional unspecified compensation for any current or future related harm done to my credit in addition to the full amount initially advertised & promised for the two trade-in iPhones discussed with sales rep, Jessica, on 9/4/19 (valuing $750). The total aforementioned compensation will total, at minimum $2100; and will not rule out the possibility of additional damages covering interest for late refunds, late credits, late fees (as applied by Verizon to my bill), Early Termination Fees (as applied by Verizon to my bill), and additional damages incurred by Verizon Wireless as a result of 1 count of Wire Fraud (for the initial contract of sale, and 1 count of Fraud and/or Conspiracy to Defraud a Consumer for every separate interaction (by phone or chat) with any individual agent of Verizon Wireless that refused to accept a remedy for Verizon Wireless’ non-conformity of contract (or failed to fully accept the stipulations of a provided remedy). I fully intend to move forward with these aforementioned civil charges, tort violations, and all mentioned violations of Federal statutes as signed into law by the United States Congress and described by law concerning Consumer Protection, telephone service providers & carriers, False advertising, anti-trust, and financial crimes.

I will forgo the pursuit of charging Verizon Wireless, LLC with any of these aforementioned violations of the law–for which they have allegedly committed against me and other consumers–if Verizon Wireless accepts all non-negotiable remedies. I will also forgo the immediately above-mentioned pursuit if Verizon Wireless agrees to an agreeable form of the previously provided negotiable remedy stipulating my continued use of both iPhone XRs as a Verizon Wireless customer for the 24 months following 9/4/19.

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