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A quick question regarding Buddy Upgrade and Fascinate BOGO

ghdtpdna

Android Enthusiast
Nov 19, 2009
302
45
A friend of mine has two lines eligible to upgrade.
I only have one line to upgrade.
The friend's second line currently has a dumbphone.
He will do the bogo and get two Fascinates
I will just get a random dumbphone.
I activate the Fascinate on my line. His second line activates the dumbphone.
Is this possible/legal? Can I still get the insurance and 30 day return?
Thanks.
 
I'd love to know the answer to this too. my friend has a family plan with 4 additional people, 2 of whom already have a data plan but don't need a new smartphone. she is more than willing to give me the other phone. I only have a calling plan but would call to add data and activate the phone. I think we would have seen this posted in the forums before if it was possible.
 
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A friend of mine has two lines eligible to upgrade.
I only have one line to upgrade.
The friend's second line currently has a dumbphone.
He will do the bogo and get two Fascinates
I will just get a random dumbphone.
I activate the Fascinate on my line. His second line activates the dumbphone.
Is this possible/legal? Can I still get the insurance and 30 day return?
Thanks.

It won't be possible because he will only qualify for bogo if he adds a data plan on BOTH phones with 2 yrs contract, that means he will be billed for data for 2 yrs, even if he gives the phone to you and uses the dumbphone.

maybe there is a workaround, I dunno, but I doubt thats possible.
 
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It won't be possible because he will only qualify for bogo if he adds a data plan on BOTH phones with 2 yrs contract, that means he will be billed for data for 2 yrs, even if he gives the phone to you and uses the dumbphone.

maybe there is a workaround, I dunno, but I doubt thats possible.

incorrect. if you remove a phone that requires a data feature the data feature is then removed also. so if your friend does the bogo and gets 2 fascinates and then deactivates one and puts a basic phone on that line he will only have 1 data plan. and then gives that phone to you, you will be able to activate it and will have the data feature. bt when it goes on your account now the manufacture warranty is gone and the return policy for the 30 days would be up the the store he got it from since it has been on 2 accounts. to the manufacture if a phone switches accounts the warranty is gone and you cannot do insurance. now if you get a dumb rep at a store they may put insurance on it bt they are not suppose to. cause its considered providing your own equiptment and the insurance company does not cover those. only ones bought brand new on the same account. nothing that changes accounts
 
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incorrect. if you remove a phone that requires a data feature the data feature is then removed also. so if your friend does the bogo and gets 2 fascinates and then deactivates one and puts a basic phone on that line he will only have 1 data plan. and then gives that phone to you, you will be able to activate it and will have the data feature. bt when it goes on your account now the manufacture warranty is gone and the return policy for the 30 days would be up the the store he got it from since it has been on 2 accounts. to the manufacture if a phone switches accounts the warranty is gone and you cannot do insurance. now if you get a dumb rep at a store they may put insurance on it bt they are not suppose to. cause its considered providing your own equiptment and the insurance company does not cover those. only ones bought brand new on the same account. nothing that changes accounts
What I simply activate it on my line, and never on my friend's line?
THanks.
 
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incorrect. if you remove a phone that requires a data feature the data feature is then removed also. so if your friend does the bogo and gets 2 fascinates and then deactivates one and puts a basic phone on that line he will only have 1 data plan. and then gives that phone to you, you will be able to activate it and will have the data feature. bt when it goes on your account now the manufacture warranty is gone and the return policy for the 30 days would be up the the store he got it from since it has been on 2 accounts. to the manufacture if a phone switches accounts the warranty is gone and you cannot do insurance. now if you get a dumb rep at a store they may put insurance on it bt they are not suppose to. cause its considered providing your own equiptment and the insurance company does not cover those. only ones bought brand new on the same account. nothing that changes accounts

You still can't. You only qualify for BOGO if you keep both phones on your account for 2 yrs, and those 2 yrs require data. If you remove 1 phone, or remove data, you will be charged ETF.

It's like this, Verizon says, I'll give you two fascinates for the price of 1, but you have to promise to keep data on your account for both lines for 2 yrs. If you remove data on either phone, or remove one of the lines from your account prior to 2 yrs, you will get an ETF.

so you are locked into 2yrs of data, you can't give one away to your friend.

Basically they are giving you the phone for free, so they can charge you data for 2 yrs. You can't take the free phone, then cancel the 2nd line and keep the phone, it doesn't work that way. sorry.
 
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You still can't. You only qualify for BOGO if you keep both phones on your account for 2 yrs, and those 2 yrs require data. If you remove 1 phone, or remove data, you will be charged ETF.

It's like this, Verizon says, I'll give you two fascinates for the price of 1, but you have to promise to keep data on your account for both lines for 2 yrs. If you remove data on either phone, or remove one of the lines from your account prior to 2 yrs, you will get an ETF.

so you are locked into 2yrs of data, you can't give one away to your friend.

Basically they are giving you the phone for free, so they can charge you data for 2 yrs. You can't take the free phone, then cancel the 2nd line and keep the phone, it doesn't work that way. sorry.

not true. you WILL NOT get an ETF if you remove the data. to qualify for the bogo, you simply need to renew the contract.

so, your buddy can do the bogo, and give you the phone. the phone will be activated on his second line in the system, but then he will be able to re-activate the old phone, and you will be able to take the fascinate and activate it on your line.
 
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Taken directly from Verizon.com

Special Offer!
Buy one, Get
One FREE*

*with new 2 yr activation per phone on voice plan with data pack $29.99 or higher req'd


Meaning if you take the free phone, then cancel the data package, you will be charged an early termination fee for the data. You are only getting the free phone by signing a 2yr data contract.

Trust me, you can't take the free phone then cancel, Verizon is not that stupid, and never would do that.

You can give the phone to your friend, but then you are stuck paying 29.99 for 2 yrs data, unless you friend wants to pay you every month.
 
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Taken directly from Verizon.com

Special Offer!
Buy one, Get
One FREE*

*with new 2 yr activation per phone on voice plan with data pack $29.99 or higher req'd


Meaning if you take the free phone, then cancel the data package, you will be charged an early termination fee for the data. You are only getting the free phone by signing a 2yr data contract.

Trust me, you can't take the free phone then cancel, Verizon is not that stupid, and never would do that.

You can give the phone to your friend, but then you are stuck paying 29.99 for 2 yrs data, unless you friend wants to pay you every month.

you're still interpreting it wrong. the 29.99 is required for as long as the smartphone is active on the line.

what i said before is true. i work for verizon wireless, and i am absolutely sure you do not have to keep the phone on the line with the data for 2 years. you have to keep the line for 2 years, but not the data feature.
 
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vibrant you are wrong

Okay so this issue is really bugging me, because I may be wrong, you may be right. If you are right, then getting a free fascinate, and cancelling the data package at a later time, without any fee is awesome.

So I just spoke to a verizon rep, they told me, the data package is absolutely required for 2 yrs, it is a contract i'm signing which includes voice and data for 2 full years on the free bogo smartphone of my choice.

Can someone else, call verizon and see if the information I was given is correct or is 09Lexus correct.

I may switch to Verizon, and I don't need data on all lines, so getting a free fascinate then canceling data would be awesome, but I don't think this is possible.
 
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saw a tv commercial, they said if you buy the fascinate any other smartphone is free. strange wording, any other? does that mean they are excluding the second fascinate as free?

It means you can get any smartphone of equal, or lesser value ($199.99) so that would include a second Fascinate as well.

And to answer your other question. I added a line to get the BOGO deal for 2 Fascinates because I only had 1 upgrade available. The new line ended up with an LG Dare with only voice and no thing else, while my wife and I ended up with the Fascinates, previously had a Droid 1 and an HTC Eris. So we still ended up with 2 lines with data/email plans, but one additional line for my son.
 
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i renew nearly every year and I've even taken my Droid off my primary line on occassion and never recieved an ETF. Verizon only cares about the contranct not the data plan. Vibrant is wrong, regardless of what that particular rep told you(which he probably wanted to deter u from using "hand out' upgrades anyway).
 
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So I have a question then...I have two lines that are eligible for upgrade and say I want to do the BOGO deal and get two fascinates one for me and one for the wife. Hers is the primary line and she has a BB with a data plan already and she's happy with her phone. Could I activate both fascinates on the two lines to get one free then if she doesn't like the fascinate just re-activate her BB and keep the fascinate as a backup or sell it without getting the ETF or any other penalty since she would still be using the line and paying a data plan just not using the fascinate??
 
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So I have a question then...I have two lines that are eligible for upgrade and say I want to do the BOGO deal and get two fascinates one for me and one for the wife. Hers is the primary line and she has a BB with a data plan already and she's happy with her phone. Could I activate both fascinates on the two lines to get one free then if she doesn't like the fascinate just re-activate her BB and keep the fascinate as a backup or sell it without getting the ETF or any other penalty since she would still be using the line and paying a data plan just not using the fascinate??

yes, you can absolutely do that.

and, i work for verizon, and i PROMISE all of you, you can get a free fascinate for the second line, and activate a non-smartphone device and get rid of the data. with verizon, you are NEVER obligated to keep a feature on your line unless the device you are using requires it. when you sign the 2 year contract, you are simply agreeing to keep that line for 2 years. it doesnt necessarily even need to stay a voice plan. you could activate an aircard and make it a mobile broadband. i promise you all that you are not signing a contract to keep data on the line. you just have to keep data for as long as a smartphone is being used on the line.
 
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Correct me if I'm wrong in any of this. I am eligible for my New Every Two upgrade. I want to do the BOGO deal ( Fascinate ) and give my fiancee the other phone. She is leaving her family plan b/c she is getting the shaft and coming to my family plan. Now would she be able to keep her current number? And would it be considered a new two year activation since it's adding a line to my plan?

Thanks in advance,

Mike :D
 
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yes, you can absolutely do that.

and, i work for verizon, and i PROMISE all of you, you can get a free fascinate for the second line, and activate a non-smartphone device and get rid of the data. with verizon, you are NEVER obligated to keep a feature on your line unless the device you are using requires it. when you sign the 2 year contract, you are simply agreeing to keep that line for 2 years. it doesnt necessarily even need to stay a voice plan. you could activate an aircard and make it a mobile broadband. i promise you all that you are not signing a contract to keep data on the line. you just have to keep data for as long as a smartphone is being used on the line.


Ok, correct me if I'm wrong, but the reason that Verizon raised the ETF to $350 is because people were abusing the BOGO offers. They were signing up and getting 2 phones, then dropping the second line, selling the second phone, and in reality getting the first phone for free. Verizon loses out on one of the data plans they used to subsidize the cost of the two phones and taking a loss on one of them.

Now I know I can switch to my old phone if my smartphone goes bad, but then Verizon loses out on the money for the data they use to subsidize the smartphone. If this was done on a family line, and they sold the phone, the money they would get for it would more than cover the cost of the $9.99 for the extra line.

So my question is, did they only raise the ETF so people wouldn't cancel the line after they sold the second phone? Because I thought that if you signed up for a line, then cancelled in the first 30 days, the equipment you got when signing up had to be returned. Otherwise they would be taking a loss on the full cost of the phone. If they switched the second line to a dumbphone, they lose about half the cost of the phone (as most dumbphones cost around $250 or half the cost of a smartphone). Does that sound reasonable?
 
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