Verizon is teh suk

[AZRedhawk44]

I lost my innernetz yesterday.  I use Cox for my home innernetz and work from home about 90% or more of the time.

I called Cox when it went down, and they said they'd get to me by afternoon of the next day.  Sigh.  I knew more people in my neighborhood would eventually be calling, because I saw some unsecured wireless networks that also stopped traffic at the default gateway.

So, I called Verizon to get my phone hooked up to a data plan.  I said "sell me the sky... unlimited bandwidth, turn on my phone so it can tether my laptop."

They said "your phone is teh fail.  Too old and uncool."

I said, "my contract is up in June... make a note in my account that I can buy a new phone now at a cheep price, and I'll sign a new contract."

They said, "ever heard of HK?  Despite the fact you've been a 6 year customer... You suck, and we hate you."

I said... "You'd rather have me pay the measly $75 contract break fee and jump to another carrier?"

They said... "No, we'd rather you buy an Android for $600 instead of $200."

I said... "Bite me."

So, I went down to the Sprint store and got an HTC EVO Shift 4G.  I got a badazz data plan with uberunlimited data.  Not even a 5GB cap.  100% uncapped.  I could hotspot my phone and hook up bittorrent to my laptop and I have no data limit.  I got an 8-node hotspot application capability.  So now I have redundant internet access when my home internet goes offline.  And so much bandwidth that I could, if I wanted to, go on a road trip across country and work theoretically would never be able to tell I was ever out of the office.

Screw you, Verizon.  You suck.  And I hate you.

[RevDisk]

So, I went down to the Sprint store and got an HTC EVO Shift 4G.  I got a badazz data plan with uberunlimited data.  Not even a 5GB cap.  100% uncapped.  I could hotspot my phone and hook up bittorrent to my laptop and I have no data limit.  I got an 8-node hotspot application capability.  So now I have redundant internet access when my home internet goes offline.  And so much bandwidth that I could, if I wanted to, go on a road trip across country and work theoretically would never be able to tell I was ever out of the office.

Screw you, Verizon.  You suck.  And I hate you.

*perk*   Tell me more about this!

[AZRedhawk44]

*perk*   Tell me more about this!

It's technically a 4G phone and I have a 4G data plan... but 4G is only in about 6 test markets in the US and Phoenix isn't one of them.  Should be up in Phoenix in a month or two.  So, it works at 3G speeds right now.

My plan breaks down as:

Everything Data 450 - 69.99 (minus 10% discount for my credit union, makes it 62.99)
Sprint Mobile Hotspot - 29.99
Premium Data add-on charge - 10.00
Equipment warranty - 7.00
Taxes/surcharges - 7.09

Total:  $124.07 monthly.

It's an expensive cell plan.  But it gives me a LOT of freedom to go anywhere I want, any time I want.

[AZRedhawk44]

And I get a $125 "Sprint wants to screw Verizon too, because they hate them also" credit, for bringing my phone number over to them.

And I got a whole whopping $5 credit for my old Verizon craptastic phone.

And I also have a rebate form for $100 for the phone.

I was $303 out of pocket, out the door for the phone, some screen protectors, and a plastic belt carrier that also serves as a protective shell around the phone.

I'm getting $225 total above in incentive/rebate, making the whole cost to me equal to $75 for breaking Verizon's contract, and $75 for my new handset, plus an increased cell phone bill that I was willing to accept anyways.

[Devonai]

I like Sprint, I've been with them since 1998.  I currently have the same plan you do but without the tethering.  If speeds could rival my ISP (someday, I hope), then I could cancel my home service and save a few bucks.  Right now I do lots of gaming and streaming so I can't rely on my phone.

[Physics]

I also just migrated from Verizon, who I absolutely hated.  They once sent me across town to go into a physical store for a problem that the store was never capable of even diagnosing.  That was just one instance.

I picked up an Epic, which I really like.    

I should point out, that you should be able to tether without paying as long as you have a usb cord.  I'm pretty sure the tether subscription is only for wifi.  Of course then you only get 1 connection.  I haven't actually tried it yet, but when I plug my laptop into my phone, it gives me the option of tethering.

[Brad Johnson]

So you're a couple months away from the end of your contract period (a contract you signed as agreeing to the terms) and you're pissed they won't abrogate the contract just so it's convenient for you? Not to be harsh but you need to get real.

(sent from my Verizon phone with unlimited data and text, and that will work without roaming charges in a whole boatload of places where Sprint-exlusive phone won't).

Brad

[mtnbkr]

So you're a couple months away from the end of your contract period (a contract you signed as agreeing to the terms) and you're pissed they won't abrogate the contract just so it's convenient for you? Not to be harsh but you need to get real.
Brad

I've been a Verizon Wireless subscriber for nearly a decade (late 2001) and was a Verizon (not wireless or telecom) employee from 2000 until 2010.  They would frequently upgrade your contract in the last few months of an existing contract in the interest of keeping you as a customer.  Especially when you were upgrading services and phones.  Frankly, I'm surprised they wouldn't accommodate AzRed.  I did this, my parents did this, other folks I knew did this.  They wouldn't let you out of a contract early, but they never had issues renewing/upgrading one a few months ahead of schedule.

Chris

[Ben]

I have the Evo and Everything Data 450. Love it. I roam all over BFE and never get charged. Also free calls to any other cell no matter the carrier.

I don't know how much longer Sprint will be able to hold out on the unlimited data, but they've been standing firm so far.

[CNYCacher]

(sent from my Verizon phone with unlimited data and text, and that will work without roaming charges in a whole boatload of places where Sprint-exlusive phone won't).

Fail.

Sprint uses Verizon's network for roaming.  Sprint does not charge extra for roaming, or data roaming.

All Sprint customers have all the coverage that you do (Verizon Network), plus faster data rates in most places (Sprint Network).

Oh, and they pay less than you do.

[RaspberrySurprise]

So you're a couple months away from the end of your contract period (a contract you signed as agreeing to the terms) and you're pissed they won't abrogate the contract just so it's convenient for you? Not to be harsh but you need to get real.

(sent from my Verizon phone with unlimited data and text, and that will work without roaming charges in a whole boatload of places where Sprint-exlusive phone won't).

Brad

No I'd say he's pissed that they wouldn't cut him a small break on his phone price by letting him re up a month or two earlier than they normally would (at least I know ATT will let you re-up with cheaper phones about three months) so that he could give them much more money every month with a large data plan contract.

Being willing to bend a bit now would have made them more money down the road. Now they are making none from him and Sprint is instead.

[Jim147]

Fail.

Sprint uses Verizon's network for roaming.  Sprint does not charge extra for roaming, or data roaming.

All Sprint customers have all the coverage that you do (Verizon Network), plus faster data rates in most places (Sprint Network).

Oh, and they pay less than you do.

Unless it's new, that doesn't work in my area. Verizon phones work and Sprint phones don't.

Want to hear a funny? I used to have a Sprint phone for work. (I've know one of the execs for about 20 years) It wouldn't work on their campus, it was a dead zone. If I had to do service around Sprint, I knew I could take a long lunch without the office being able to reach me. (They did get that fixed, but it took years.)

jim

[Brad Johnson]

Sprint phones work on the Sprint network, which is great if you live along an interstate corridor or large metro area.  Don't live there and expect to pay huge roaming fees unless you get one of the unlimited plans.  Several of our agents found out about that the hard way.

Brad

[T.O.M.]

About 5 years ago, we left AT&T for Verizon.  Less expensive plan with much better service.  When we decided to go to smart phones, about 4 months short of our 2 year contract end, Verizon cut us great deals on the LG Ally, and I've been pleased with the phone and service.  We got our 10 year old a basic cell for "emergency" use, and when he started getting strage (abusive and sexual) texts and voice messages, they got us a new number for him in about an hour, no charge and no issues.  Sorry your experience has been bad, AZ, but so far Verizon has earned my business.

[Brad Johnson]

No I'd say he's pissed that they wouldn't cut him a small break on his phone price by letting him re up a month or two earlier than they normally would (at least I know ATT will let you re-up with cheaper phones about three months) so that he could give them much more money every month with a large data plan contract.

Being willing to bend a bit now would have made them more money down the road. Now they are making none from him and Sprint is instead.

Being willing to bend or not, a contract is a contract.  Expecting people to disregard one because it's convenient for you (even if it is in their best interest, too), is unrealistic.

Brad

[mtnbkr]

Being willing to bend or not, a contract is a contract.  Expecting people to disregard one because it's convenient for you (even if it is in their best interest, too), is unrealistic.

Brad

It is not unrealistic when they do it time and again.  It's pretty much a given that you can upgrade in the final months of your contract, they even have internal guidelines to that effect.  Why they refused to in this case is baffling.

Chris

[CNYCacher]

Unless it's new, that doesn't work in my area. Verizon phones work and Sprint phones don't.

Want to hear a funny? I used to have a Sprint phone for work. (I've know one of the execs for about 20 years) It wouldn't work on their campus, it was a dead zone. If I had to do service around Sprint, I knew I could take a long lunch without the office being able to reach me. (They did get that fixed, but it took years.)

jim

Been that way for me for over two years.

Sprint phones work on the Sprint network, which is great if you live along an interstate corridor or large metro area.  Don't live there and expect to pay huge roaming fees unless you get one of the unlimited plans.  Several of our agents found out about that the hard way.

Brad

The unlimited plans start at $59.99 I think and get free roaming on Verizon's network.

[Brad Johnson]

The unlimited plans start at $59.99 I think and get free roaming on Verizon's network.

Careful, their cheapo unlimited plan isn't as unlimited as you think.  The "unlimited" part refers to data and text only.  Talk time is fairly limited until you get up into the $80-$100 range.  It's great for folks who do nothing but text each other and post to Facebook all day, but for someone who actualy, you know, talks on a phone, it's not so good.

Brad

[AZRedhawk44]

No I'd say he's pissed that they wouldn't cut him a small break on his phone price by letting him re up a month or two earlier than they normally would (at least I know ATT will let you re-up with cheaper phones about three months) so that he could give them much more money every month with a large data plan contract.

Being willing to bend a bit now would have made them more money down the road. Now they are making none from him and Sprint is instead.

I've got several friends that have been able to do what I tried to do.

I was paying $49 for my cell bill two months ago.

I bumped it to $69 for unlimited text... I hate texting, but women seem to like it for whatever reason.   When I had an $80 bill due to $0.20/message texts, I got the unlimited texting plan.

I called and said "sell me moar, plz" and they said they wouldn't accommodate me unless I paid full retail for a phone rather than giving me a discounted rate on a phone.  Economically, it just made the most sense to pay $75 to get out of their contract and go with a different carrier.

And instead of making $125/month from me, Verizon is making $0.

Their choice.

[Brad Johnson]

I called and said "sell me moar, plz" and they said they wouldn't accommodate me unless I paid full retail for a phone rather than giving me a discounted rate on a phone.  Economically, it just made the most sense to pay $75 to get out of their contract and go with a different carrier.

They sell you that "discounted" phone based on the revenue they generate over the life of the contract.  That makes up the diff between the cost of the phone and what you pay over the contract period.  If you're several months short of fulfulling the contract period they haven't recovered the full amount.  Ergo, no trade up to another discounted phone until the contract period is up.

Also, you will be required to pay the full contract period.  Don't be one of the dumb ones who says, "I have another phone with another company now, so nyah, nyah, nyah, I'm done with you."  Do that and you should expect the remainder of your contract amount (i.e. three months worth of billing) to show up on your credit report as an unpaid balance, a balance that will never go away until paid in full no matter how forcefully you try to argue it.

I see it every day, especially with twenty-somethings who tend to plan-hop.  The unpaid balance pops up on their credit report.  They give some rambling diatribe about how their phone/plan/company/service was "teh suk", that they changed companies because of it, and that they "just shouldn't have to pay that because, well, it's just not right!".  Sorry, but you signed a contract, kid.  Don't fulfill it then, get to fulfill it now (plus potentially stiff penalties, interest, and collection expenses).

Brad

[AZRedhawk44]

Brad:

I confirmed with Verizon that is was a mere $75 fee to get out of my contract before starting on this.

Cracked me up that I could can my contract for $75 and feasibly walk into a Verizon store as a "new" customer and get the exact same deal as if I walked into a Sprint/T-mobile/AllTel/ATT store.

The customer service aspect is what made me jump carriers.  I was willing to DOUBLE my cell plan payments.  I wasn't cutting my cell plan.  Good business is to accommodate customers like that.  Especially ones you've done business with for 6 years.

[Brad Johnson]

If that's the case then you may have just gotten a goober customer service flunky who was ignorant of all the options or simply unwilling to work with you within Verizon's system.  Sucks, but it happens.

Brad

[mtnbkr]

If that's the case then you may have just gotten a goober customer service flunky who was ignorant of all the options or simply unwilling to work with you within Verizon's system.  Sucks, but it happens.

Brad

That's why I've always asked for a supervisor or other point of escalation when the first person I speak to can't/won't help.  I'll never understand why the folks you run into at the lowest levels try so hard to save the company a dime while causing them to lose a buck.  My dad was a retail manager for nearly 30 years and had to break this habit in most of his subordinates.  Sometimes it's better to give the customer what they want to keep their business and make them happy. 

Chris

[CNYCacher]

Careful, their cheapo unlimited plan isn't as unlimited as you think.  The "unlimited" part refers to data and text only.  Talk time is fairly limited until you get up into the $80-$100 range.  It's great for folks who do nothing but text each other and post to Facebook all day, but for someone who actualy, you know, talks on a phone, it's not so good.

Brad

Weird.  I get 1200 minutes on both of my el cheapo plans.  That doesn't count nights and weekends (starting at 7pm) nor calls to any cell phone on any carrier.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

1200?  i have a daughter  she sneers at your 1200 mins. whats she gonna do the last 2 weeks of the month?