Verizon Makes Contract and Upgrade Rules Stricter; Abandons Early Upgrades

[hachimachi]

Well... that's the nail in the coffin for me...

I'm currently on unlimited plan still with my thunderbolt, I was thinking about renewing my contract and losing the unlimited because I'm always under 4gigs/mo, but this sealed it for me.

My contracted ended 4/2 and now I'm gonna go get the note 2 on t-mo!

 

[WildcatRudy]

Well... that's the nail in the coffin for me...

I'm currently on unlimited plan still with my thunderbolt, I was thinking about renewing my contract and losing the unlimited because I'm always under 4gigs/mo, but this sealed it for me.

My contracted ended 4/2 and now I'm gonna go get the note 2 on t-mo!

Heh, I have a Tbolt myself and have been trying to figure out which carrier to go with. I've had a bit of *ahem* falling out with Sprint, so that leaves T-Mobile. Their new plan of making monthly payments for your phone, separate from the wireless fee, is definitely the way to go. But seeing that I need to leave a deposit and make a bigger downpayment due to some misfortunes along the way, it is almost as much for me to get a Nexus 4 directly from the Google Play store and buy it outright. So after I see what the finances are like at the beginning of next month, I may make the leap. I can then go with a prepaid deal at T-Mobile or any other prepaid wireless carrier that the phone supports. There is even a little-known T-Mobile deal for $30/month that offers only 100 minutes of talk time, but offers unlimited texting and 5GB of 4G data. (The data is not 4G-LTE, but why should I care? If it works on T-Mobile at high speed, that's fine for me. ) The nice thing, too, is that if you run out of your 5GB of data, you get throttled back to slower data speeds, not cut off completely. (And this is true with any T-Mo plan I've seen.)

I've looked at my Verizon bill the past few months and notice how much the little add-on fees and taxes have really been sapping me each month. They got rid of unlimited data (at a time when others are playing it up), added a $30 upgrade fee if you pick a new phone and extend a contract, and now take away a bit of our enticement to stay with them for four months. IMHO they are digging their own grave. I know the other carriers do not offer as good of a signal, but in a large metro area like I'm in, it's nearly irrelevant these days: aside from AT&T, they all seem to have a decent signal.

I'd considered sticking with Verizon and buying a used Galaxy Nexus, but since I need to trim back my plan, I'd lose my unlimited data. (I use under 1GB a month normally...so...) And the replacement plan is still more expensive than similar plans elsewhere. 4G LTE never has worked near my home, despite having it around us.

The writing is on the wall...and the letters do not spell "Verizon" anymore.

 

[BigZig]

I WAS going that route. But all this crap VZW is pulling now, I just can't continue to give them my money. I'm gonna sell my unlimited plan and wash my hands of the company entirely. Hopefully a lot more people respond the same to them being so stingy so that either the decision-makers change what they're doing or the decion makers themselves are changed

How do you sell your unlimited contract? VZW has a contract with you and if you leave your name on the contract you better trust the person your selling your credit rating to.

 

[52brandon]

How do you sell your unlimited contract? VZW has a contract with you and if you leave your name on the contract you better trust the person your selling your credit rating to.

it's called assumption of liability. I call Verizon and give them the buyer's info, then the buyer calls and talks to a representative and takes over the contract. I'm month to month now anyways though, so an ETF wouldn't be a concern anyways. But the AoL is the better way to do it for all parties involved, because it also gives the buyer the choice of changing minutes on the plan

 

[tmal2]

This whole thing is nothing more than yet another cash grab by Verizon. Under the old system Verizon, the phone subsidy would end at 20 months and many people would get a new phone forcing Verizon to start a new subsidy for that phone. Under the new plan Verizon is getting 4 more months out of each line that they do not have to subsidize. I bet that adds up to a lot of money.

 

[donzz]

It's like they're begging us to leave. The thing that bugs me the most is 2 gigs of data. WTF? After one Netflix movie and you're SOL. I can see putting a cap on it as some people are using over 50 gigs, but 2 gigs is ridiculous. My contract is up in August, I now will seriously look at other carriers. Mr Mead, Sprint, Virgin and T-Mobile thank you for your great business decisions.
:work3:

 

[Sydman]

Was due for an upgrade 4/24, finally going to get my wife away from the Droid Pro. New restrictions go into effect on 4/15, thank you big red now she has to wait four more months. I will be happy to say this year I can ditch Verizon, and next year when Google Fiber goes live I can ditch Time Warner.

 

[wheeler062505]

Don't we at least have the option to at least agree or disagree with this? Isn't this a change in our contract? And if so then those who do want out should have that option without an ETF. I personally am pretty happy with verizon, any issues I have had have always been resolved toot sweet. So far I find them the best company I have had to deal with.

 

[steeletown]

Was due for an upgrade 4/24, finally going to get my wife away from the Droid Pro. New restrictions go into effect on 4/15, thank you big red now she has to wait four more months. I will be happy to say this year I can ditch Verizon, and next year when Google Fiber goes live I can ditch Time Warner.

I customer service rep told me if you were due for a early upgrade before September 1st then you can still upgrade 4 months early. It will affect lines due for a upgrade after that date.

 

[TheOldFart]

Don't we at least have the option to at least agree or disagree with this? Isn't this a change in our contract? And if so then those who do want out should have that option without an ETF. I personally am pretty happy with verizon, any issues I have had have always been resolved toot sweet. So far I find them the best company I have had to deal with.

I haven't read the contract in a while, but I don't think that the 20 month upgrade is in the contract. I think that the contract is for 24 months and the 20 month upgrade is a sort of gift from Verizon. I might be wrong and please correct me if someone actually reads the contract before I get a chance to find and read mine.

 

[RyanPm40]

People keep saying that other plans are offering better competitive rates, but I've looked into it quite a few times, and Verizon is still a cheaper 5-person family share for us than Sprint or T-mobile..

 

[wheeler062505]

People keep saying that other plans are offering better competitive rates, but I've looked into it quite a few times, and Verizon is still a cheaper 5-person family share for us than Sprint or T-mobile..

I had just joined at&t and hadn't even been with them a week and a half when I found that verizon was cheaper than they were. Which did surprise me.

 

[kodiak799]

People keep saying that other plans are offering better competitive rates, but I've looked into it quite a few times, and Verizon is still a cheaper 5-person family share for us than Sprint or T-mobile..

Some people definitely save significant money, others do not. Probably explains why about twice a year the latest Sprint or TMo plan is going to "really hurt VZW and force them to change their money grubbing ways"...but then VZW continues to grow share and have the lowest turn in the industry.

 

[VerizonHater]

I say eff the whole upgrade eligibility issue. It doesn't bother me. There's nothing in my contract (and I am pretty sure there's nothing in anyone else's) that says I have to upgrade or for that matter to renew my contract.

I am counting the days when my contract expires. I will be probably be dropping Verizon. They are not the only game in town. There are many no-contract providers out there that can meet my needs without putting a dog collar and leash on me.

 

[wvdroidman]

Does this mean everyone who's upgrade is after the 15th has to wait until 24 months now? Also can you still use an upgrade for another line then transfer the phone to another line?