New Verizon phone four months early?

December 20, 2005 8:14 PM

I've heard that if you're a Verizon Wireless customer, the reps are allowed to give you a new phone four months before your contract is actually supposed to renew - sort of a secret rule. Is this true?
posted by gottabefunky to technology (8 comments total)

I'm pretty sure all the companies do that. When I was with Cingular I was able to upgrade my phone months before my contract ended. Of course I had to sign a new contract and whatnot. Now I'm with Sprint and they told me they have a similar policy.
posted by handshake at 8:24 PM on December 20, 2005

In my experience with Verizon, it's been closer to two months early than four, but still, the basic idea is correct (new two-year contract required, of course). And they also give you a $100 credit towards a new phone if you've been a customer for two years.
posted by pdb at 8:29 PM on December 20, 2005

I'm a Verizon customer with a two-year contract set to expire this March. I spoke to a representative for about 20 minutes in November about getting a new phone; and to cut a long story short, he offered me a cheap phone for free but said I'd have to pay full price for the model I wanted. (I was asking for a discount.) I said I'd wait until March and just get the phone I wanted, free, when I switch to Cingular. And so I shall.
posted by cribcage at 8:40 PM on December 20, 2005

I wanted to upgrade a while back and was told that it was 60 days, but they could do it at 90 with a "special exception". uh huh.
posted by FlamingBore at 9:10 PM on December 20, 2005

There must needs be a thread consisting solely of secret rules.
posted by mecran01 at 9:37 PM on December 20, 2005

Threaten to quit. Don't be a dick about it, but let them know that your phone isn't as cool as you figured it would be, and you'd like to discontinue service. Guaranteed, they will offer you a new phone if you sign up for another X years of service.

I used to be a Cingular rep, and this kind of policy isn't limited to a single company.

Bonus karma points: Doing it this way ensures that the rep you're speaking with gets the company kickback, whether it's bonus bucks or some lame t-shirt.

...yeah, we always got shirts where I worked.
posted by Imperfect at 10:21 PM on December 20, 2005

Wish I would have known this a few months ago. :o)

We had been with Nextel for several years--well past our contract--when we needed to upgrade our phones. They had a really good special running, though, and we ended up paying less than the cost of one phone for 2 phones, data cables, and car chargers.

The rep I talked to gave us $50 off each phone, though--on top of the really good deal. We had to renew for 2 more years, which was fine, as we've been satisfied with the service. At any rate, she didn't say "why" she was giving us the extra $50/phone discounts, but it might have been their policy.
posted by Mrs. Smith at 5:36 AM on December 21, 2005

I was 45 days out when my Motorola phone, on Verizon's network, completely died. I got no "early" phone, despite asking nicely followed by threats to quit.

However, the sales rep who was so obstinate about "the rules" no longer works for Verizon Wireless. Some justice!
posted by WolfDaddy at 7:49 AM on December 21, 2005