Verizon Will Start Charging a $30 Upgrade Fee Starting April 22nd

[SquireSCA]

So, those jumping to Sprint - why? You will be paying $36 to upgrade the next time, plus if you're on the grandfathered unlimited data on VZW you lose it. C-ya. Hope you don't go to Sprint and come back here complaining when they throttle and limit data in the future too.

You are losing your Unlimited plan with VZW anyway.

These companies are posting record profits during one of the worst economies in decades, and they still add more fees while providing less and less?

Cell phone carriers are THE most predatory companies out there. I consider them worse than tobacco, oil and even lawyers... Enough is enough already. But when all 3 carriers do the same thing, you have nowhere else to go and they know it, and so we have a monopolistic market that nobody can do anything about. Sucks.

 

[TheOldFart]

Aside from better upgrade pricing, what are some of the other better options? (Genuinely asking, not trolling.)
When I was looking for the best deal on my Galaxy Nexus, it was honestly cheaper to upgrade through Verizon themselves.

We got our last 2 phones through Best Buy, as they were about $100 less (free at BB) than Verizon at the time. However, some of the phones that I was considering besides the ones that we got were less at Verizon. I'm guessing that it is about 50/50 which is cheaper. If my memory is correct, it seems like phones that had been out for a few months were less at BB and new phones were the same or less at Verizon.

 

[Vulcan1600]

You are losing your Unlimited plan with VZW anyway.

Not true. If you stay with a smartphone and do not put a "dumb phone" on your account, if you've got unlimited, you'll keep unlimited data.

 

[SquireSCA]

Not true. If you stay with a smartphone and do not put a "dumb phone" on your account, if you've got unlimited, you'll keep unlimited data.

No, you don't. They can call it unlimited, but when they throttle you after a mere 2GB down to 56k dial-up speeds, it sorts defeats the purpose, no?

The days of Unlimited data with VZW are over... Today they charge more and give you less and we just take it.

 

[justin82]

Not true. If you stay with a smartphone and do not put a "dumb phone" on your account, if you've got unlimited, you'll keep unlimited data.

I hope your right .. i am not going to leave VZW no reason best service for now i am on unlimeted data and i use it like such..

 

[DJTaT2]

Aside from better upgrade pricing, what are some of the other better options? (Genuinely asking, not trolling.)
When I was looking for the best deal on my Galaxy Nexus, it was honestly cheaper to upgrade through Verizon themselves.

you didn't shop around then, wire fly and amazon are cheaper then Verizon on the gnex.. $99 for new contract and $229 for upgrade its $299 regardless at Verizon

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using DroidForums

 

[Laur3nNewm4n]

you didn't shop around then, wire fly and amazon are cheaper then Verizon on the gnex.. $99 for new contract and $229 for upgrade its $299 regardless at Verizon

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using DroidForums

Well, then I don't know what happened, but I got it for $230 at Verizon which was the same or less than other places I looked.

 

[jntdroid]

No, you don't. They can call it unlimited, but when they throttle you after a mere 2GB down to 56k dial-up speeds, it sorts defeats the purpose, no?

The days of Unlimited data with VZW are over... Today they charge more and give you less and we just take it.

I didn't know they were officially doing that - did I miss that memo?

I hope your right .. i am not going to leave VZW no reason best service for now i am on unlimeted data and i use it like such..

That's what a lot of people are forgetting. Verizon still has the most reliable and widespread 3G network and never (ok rarely) drops calls. Their 4G is by far the biggest, and they're pushing forward extremely hard and spending a lot of money to do it. Their 4G isn't the most reliable yet, but it's in its infancy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of this fee, but people need to relax at least a little bit about this.

Ideally we'd all move to prepaid plans with Virgin, Boost, T-Mobile, etc. But the bottom line is their service is not near as good or reliable, and their devices tend to be low to mid-range (well, all except for T-Mobile).

 

[77Pat]

Well, then I don't know what happened, but I got it for $230 at Verizon which was the same or less than other places I looked.

I think it depends on the promotions running. Verizon had the Rezound for $50 when Best Buy and Staples had it at $200. Amazon and Wirefly matched though.

When I bought my Droid X, Costco had the best deal. My sister and mom bough direct from Verizon (Incredible and Droid 2) since they were able to mix the B1G1 sale.

I know earlier this year, Best Buy had a promotion where you could sign up and get a bonus gift card if you bought a smartphone from them. I just received an offer in the mail from Staples where I can get a $50 gift card with any Smartphone purchase above $49.99.

 

[justin82]

No, you don't. They can call it unlimited, but when they throttle you after a mere 2GB down to 56k dial-up speeds, it sorts defeats the purpose, no?

The days of Unlimited data with VZW are over... Today they charge more and give you less and we just take it.

i have never been throttled on any of my lines we use over 16 gig on each line (3) of them .. never been throttled .. i have heard rumors they throttle no hard evidence

 

[AuxiliaryPie]

If VZW really were throttling, everyone would know about it. They only throttle the top 1% of users, IIRC. The guys using a dummy line as a home ISP, they're getting throttled. But to keep it on topic, the fee is BS, they make enough money without it

 

[meishkov]

Start a petition and when enough people sign it they'll back up. They claim cost from things like workshops etc are the reason. I've never been to a workshop wtf. Sounds like big red is blatantly greedy

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using DroidForums

I know for real, how about they shut down these "workshops" which r probably run by idiot Verizon employees anyway, and just redirect them all to droidforums. I'm sure they'll all be happy in the end since we can help them troubleshoot their new phones, ans Verizon will save money from not having these worthless workshops open in the first place. Win win for everybody, and they get to scrap this new $30 disgrace of an upgrade "fee".


Sent from my OG using DroidForums

 

[meishkov]

You are losing your Unlimited plan with VZW anyway.

These companies are posting record profits during one of the worst economies in decades, and they still add more fees while providing less and less?

Cell phone carriers are THE most predatory companies out there. I consider them worse than tobacco, oil and even lawyers... Enough is enough already. But when all 3 carriers do the same thing, you have nowhere else to go and they know it, and so we have a monopolistic market that nobody can do anything about. Sucks.

Amen man. Its tough to think about on a daily basis because it makes me so dam frustrated. And I can't do anything about it today to change it. The people who CAN change it and have the power to do so never will, cuz it'd be like they're just throwing money away straight outta their own pocket. These companies work for the government, don't get it confused, and the govt is only available to those who pay the most, the more you give them, the more they'll protect you every way they can, ie writing laws to favor your company and it's tactics. Like a big Italian Sicilian mob, you know what they say, the more things change the more they stay the same. So sad

Sent from my OG using DroidForums

 

[xeene]

No, you don't. They can call it unlimited, but when they throttle you after a mere 2GB down to 56k dial-up speeds, it sorts defeats the purpose, no?

The days of Unlimited data with VZW are over... Today they charge more and give you less and we just take it.

I use hundreds of gigs every month and not once have I been throttled. According to vzw rep they only throttle 3g on congested towers during peak time.

 

[loki993]

i have never been throttled on any of my lines we use over 16 gig on each line (3) of them .. never been throttled .. i have heard rumors they throttle no hard evidence

I use hundreds of gigs every month and not once have I been throttled. According to vzw rep they only throttle 3g on congested towers during peak time.

I'm sure your right, but there is nothing that says they wont start doing it eventually and don't think for a second that they wont. Just wait until they get more penetration with 4g phones and other devices. I'm sure its fairly clear right now but wait until the 4g starts getting congested. Those of us with unlimited will be the first people they target.