Small rant - Verizon

[maroonandwhite]

I finally got fed up with getting bad replacement devices from Verizon that are supposedly "like new" and bought an iphone 4 off of ebay. I finally recieve the phone and call in to activate it and they tell me the ESN number is logged as lost/stolen. This is partly my fault for not asking the seller but most of the listings have "BAD ESN" listed if it is in fact bad. They say the last person that had the phone activated has to call in and tell them to remove the flag. Of course the guy on ebay says he got it from a friend/someone gave it to him. He has agreed to give me a refund (which hasn't shown up yet). I should get my money back either way since I payed with paypal.

The question that Verizon could not answer is why can you not look up the info of who registered it last and give them a call. They didn't have to give it to me but rather call themselves. If it is marked as lost/stolen wouldn't it make sense to contact the person and verify that it is found? I don't expect them to activate it for me but they could at least report it found and get the guy selling stolen items. I could then collect my money back from ebay/paypal.

Sorry for rambling but I have had a bad month with cell phones. I plan to meet a guy in person this evening to purchase a used iphone and activate it right then and there. I will also ask him to explain to verizon that I am now the legal owner of the phone.

[peejman]

My wife has been down the road of poor replacements from Verizon as well. We will not buy another HTC. Much as I dislike Apple, I'm leaning toward iphone4 at our next upgrade in a month. As for why don't they call about it? Because it would require them to make an effort and they don't care enough to bother.

[maroonandwhite]

I'm the same way. I love the android OS over Apple but the devices themselves are not on the same level. I went through 3 or 4 Droid bionics then 3 Razr's. I had enough.

[mikegideon]

I'm switching to an iPhone today. My Droid will be retired. Never tried the used phone route.

[Spots]

I'm fed up with verizon. When my contracts up I'm out for good. I've been waiting on the Droid bionic ICS update for a year now, and now we have devices with Jellybean. So much for buying a flagship phone....

[maroonandwhite]

I believe the "100 point inspection" that Verizon says is done on all refurbished devices is a joke. Something is always messed up on them whether it be a physical blemish or internally.

As far as buying a used phone I have had mostly good luck with them. The way Verizon handles this ESN stuff is weird though. All of the newer phones are going to Sim cards though so maybe it will be a little better in the future to activate a phone and less risky buying used.

[maroonandwhite]

I'm fed up with verizon. When my contracts up I'm out for good. I've been waiting on the Droid bionic ICS update for a year now, and now we have devices with Jellybean. So much for buying a flagship phone....

I'm torn about them. The service (signal wise) is outstanding and better than any other carrier IMO but mostly everything else sucks.

[S&WForty]

My wife has been down the road of poor replacements from Verizon as well. We will not buy another HTC.

Wow. I thought that was limited to my Samsung Galaxy Nexus replacement that wouldn't keep a cell or 3G/4G signal for more than a minute at a time regardless of signal stregth/tower location. I read online that nearly all Galaxy Nexus "refurbs" were that crappy. Now I read your comment.

[Spots]

I literally just got the ICS update. Phone is updating right now. I love my Droid OS, but hate verizon as a service.

[maroonandwhite]

I have seen where folks complained to the BBB and actually received new phones but who wants to go through all that. It is in fact there policy though so it's hard to argue with. They are nowhere near "like new" though.

[S&WForty]

I believe the "100 point inspection" that Verizon says is done on all refurbished devices is a joke. Something is always messed up on them whether it be a physical blemish or internally.

And if you return a dead phone with a external blemish, they may charge you a few hundred bucks. I've learned more unfavorable things about Verizon over the last two months to really make me question if I'll stick with them after my contract is up.

[maroonandwhite]

I literally just got the ICS update. Phone is updating right now. I love my Droid OS, but hate verizon as a service.

Haha funny how stuff works out ain't it.

[Troutburger]

We went through the Verizon phone scam too. My wife had 8 HTC's that were just garbage.

She returned phone #6 and got phone # 7. Phone # 7 turned out to actually be phone # 5 that she had just sent back as it still had some of her photos on it. Refurbished my @$$.

When phone #8 tore up she sent it back, and verizon said it had water damage and refused to cover it. It was a monsoon when she mailed it back, so my guess is the box absorbed water in the mailbox overnight.

We raised hell and they were gracious enough to let her pay the ins deductible and get into an Iphone for like $150 or so.

My Motorola Android had the best operating system I have ever used, but they tore up all the time too.

Our Iphones have been flawless. Hers even took a dip in the pool. Not as good a system vs the android, but it always works which is a plus.

Verizon vs Charter battle of the crappy customer service...

Edited October 24, 2012 by Troutburger

[peejman]

I'm torn about them. The service (signal wise) is outstanding and better than any other carrier IMO but mostly everything else sucks.

Exactly. They've got the best coverage in this area, but otherwise... meh.

....

Verizon vs Charter battle of the crappy customer service...

Truth. Charter will not get any more of my money. I'm thinking hard about doing the same with Verizon, but I'm not real keen on the alternatives.

[mikegideon]

I literally just got the ICS update. Phone is updating right now. I love my Droid OS, but hate verizon as a service.

Try AT&T for awhile. Won't cure your Verizon hatred, but will convince you to put up with it

[Spots]

Truth. Charter will not get any more of my money. I'm thinking hard about doing the same with Verizon, but I'm not real keen on the alternatives.

This is my issue. I want to leave verizon so bad I can't stand it, but on the otherhand, all the other options suck when it comes to coverage. And I don't live in town, which makes the coverage issues that much worse.

[maroonandwhite]

Well I haven't had a phone for a week now and it is a lot more of an inconvenience than I thought it would be. I have often contemplated just not having one but I am convinced otherwise now.

[BryanP]

The phones my wife and I are using now (Samsung Stratosphere Android phones on Verizon) were both bought used. In my case I bought them both off Craigslist, met the person locally, called Verizon and had them verify the ESN was good before I paid for and took possession of the phone.

When it comes to eBay, (or anything else for that matter) If you're getting too good of a price then someone is getting screwed and it's probably you.

Edited October 24, 2012 by BryanP

[maroonandwhite]

Also a little known ebay fact for those who may not have known. There is a semi-hidden option in the help menu that will let you type in the sellers ID and transaction number that will give you there phone number. The guy sounded VERY surprised when I called him up looking for a refund.

[Jesse]

Lol i dont answer phonecalls unless i know the number. Im surprised he answered for you.

[Guest FIST]

Charter and Verizon will never get another penny from me. I'll do without if need be.

AT&T is not much better but at least I'm not getting a bill for $600 for four phones I neither had or ever heard of. It wouldn't be too big a deal if they would just fix crap, instead they make it painful hoping you'll give in first.

[TGO David]

We're in Verizon-Hell right now on their shared-everything metered data plan. We recently switched from the coveted Unlimited data plan when I added a line to our plan for my mom. Their records showed we used about 2GB per month on average and could realize significant savings with the new plan. Since then the different lines on the plan at random will suddenly report 50% data used and then almost an hour later report 90% used, then they fall back down.

My wife had it out with them on the phone earlier and suddenly our reported data fell to something like 0.50 GB for the current month. Less than 6 hrs later it was back to reporting 50% used.

Seriously... W T F.

We've about had it with Verizon at this point. Their answer was for us to go ahead and upgrade to the next tier data plan or pay the overage and then submit to have it reimbursed to us. Um, not a chance in hell.

[TripleDigitRide]

I hope you get your money back, but don't be surprised if you don't. Buying a smartphone, especially an iPhone, from eBay is very risky. iPhone thefts are up something like a zillion percent, and many of them end up on eBay. If you must buy used, by from someone on Craigslist and have them meet you at your carrier's store. That way you are in a relatively safe location, and you can have your carrier check to make sure the phone hasn't been reported or stolen.

[maroonandwhite]

Just did that and got a good deal! Still waiting on a refund on the other one though. If he doesn't ebay will eventually.

[Wingshooter]

I have gone down that road of returning phones over and over under the insurance and finally demanding a new something else after the fourth or fifth return. The refurbished phones always have problems of thier own.

I just renewed my verizon contract a few days ago. My Droid X2 was starting to have issues. I went with the Samsung Galaxy S3. It's a nice phone. No problems yet, but I liked the Motorola better. I have been so torn between the Samaung S3, the Razr HD and the iphone5. I like the Android OS better, but I know iphone just flat works (kind of like 1911 vs glock I guess). I have a few days left to return the S3 and choose another. Decisions, decisions....