Verizon to Customers- If You Don’t Read the Fine Print (and Read Our Minds) That’s YOUR Problem

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Ever heard of the “bait and switch”? Of course you have. That’s the game in business that advertises one product and then, when it is not available, pushes you to buy something else. In almost every case the “something else” costs more and offers less. It is certainly not the most consumer-friendly approach… to say the least but it works for the bottom line.

Well, Verizon might not be playing the “bait and switch” game but they certainly have found their own way to screw customers. Here’s the story-

Our friend Joel Evans bought a Samsung Tab from Verizon and quickly discovered that their “policies” all play into lining Verizon’s pockets and, in the process, do nothing to treat customers with the respect they are due.

Here is a taste of what Joel encountered…

Verizon Wireless really screwed up the Samsung Tab with pricing and policy

I’ve been playing with a Samsung Tab from Verizon Wireless since November 11th. I will share my impressions of the device in the coming days but in the interim, I wanted to let the world know about how crazy Verizon Wireless has made the monthly payment for data usage, and what other fees are lurking.

When I purchased the Tab I paid $599.99 for the Tab itself, $39.99 for a case, and $44.80 in tax. So, my total price was $684.78. Since I purchased the Samsung Galaxy Tab without a contract, I expected to pay a premium, so this first part didn’t really bother me. However, moments after leaving the store, I read the fine print on the Verizon Wireless receipt. I have just now confirmed what the Samsung Tab will really cost me to operate on Verizon Wireless’s network.

First off, if you purchase from Verizon Wireless and decide that the Tab is not for you, you will be hit with a $70 restocking fee. If that’s not bad enough, if you return it after three days of having purchased it, you will not be credited back your $35 activation fee either. Oh, did I forget to tell you about that fee? Yeah, in addition to the price of acquisition, Verizon also throws a $35 activation fee onto your first bill.

The above would be bad enough, but it gets worse. The receipt that you get when you purchase the Tab has an estimated monthly bill on it. Since I opted for the $20 per month for 1GB, the first estimated monthly payment was a whopping $88.36!! Needless to say, this sounded alarm bells so I called Verizon Wireless to discuss it.

Want to find out what Joel discovered during this “We’re the phone company, we don’t care because we don’t have to” episode? Read it over on zdnet.

Seriously Verizon… there is this new thing called the Internet and it lets people discover the many ways big business tries to take advantage of them. Here’s a thought… charge a fair price for your services and let people pay it.

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.

8 Comments on "Verizon to Customers- If You Don’t Read the Fine Print (and Read Our Minds) That’s YOUR Problem"

  1. Verizon…wow.

    For the last two weeks, I have been around and around with Verizon. I think I finally got satisfaction. We’ll see when my next bill comes, but it doesn’t change the fact that I was lied to over and over and over.

    Where I live in a rural part of North Carolina, you either have a Verizon cell phone or you have to put up with a sorry signal. I tried a pre-paid GoPhone to test the AT&T network, and couldn’t even get a signal inside my house.

    I had an old plan with low minutes for $25 a month. I was surprised when it came time to upgrade my phone that I was eligible for a smartphone. According to the Verizon website, I could keep my current plan as long as I added a $15 per month data plan.

    Long story short…this was a bait and switch. The phone was compatible with my existing plan, but the $15 data plan wasn’t…but the $15 data plan was a requirement.

    Another lie in the process early on was a rep who said I’d get the phone for $49.99. When I agreed to order it, she charged me $161 instead. Another rep fixed that when she activated it, but then SHE lied by saying she would take care of putting me on the $15 data plan and then put me on a $44.99 data plan instead.

    I did eventually change plans once they offered a “loyalty” plan for the same $25 price I had been paying. Actually, if this works, I came out better on minutes. As I said, we’ll see when the bill comes.

    It’s entirely possible the last rep (the only one to mention the option of a loyalty plan) lied as well.

    • Wow wow wow. My reception on AT&T stinks and I was thinking about switching when the iPhone comes to Verizon. These stories remind me why I left them a decade ago. AT&T stinks but this… This is even worse. After these stories… I think I’ll stick.

  2. Verizon to Customers- If You Don?t Read the Fine Print (and Read Our Minds) That?s YOUR Problem #gadgets http://bit.ly/asVAMT

  3. Verizon to Customers- If You Don’t Read the Fine Print (and Read Our Minds) That’s YOUR Problem http://bit.ly/9yu5aa

  4. Warren Antiola | November 20, 2010 at 10:57 am |

    RT @stevenagata: Verizon to Customers- If You Don’t Read the Fine Print (and Read Our Minds) That’s YOUR Problem http://bit.ly/9yu5aa

  5. RT @stevenagata: Verizon to Customers- If You Don’t Read the Fine Print (and Read Our Minds) That’s YOUR Problem http://bit.ly/9yu5aa

  6. RT @GearDiarySite: Verizon to Customers- If You Don’t Read the Fine Print (and Read Our Minds) That’s YOUR… http://goo.gl/fb/kgg1p

  7. Verizon to Customers- If You Don’t Read the Fine Print (and Read Our Minds) That’s YOUR Problem http://bit.ly/cVRIUq

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