Buy one get one free, what a croc!

[random155]

So i bought an eris, and wanted to get one free for my wife. They said that I couldnt because she is not currently enrolled in the data plan, she has a normal cell phone. I said, ok, well I want to get her data service... they said, she couldnt upgrade service until her contract was ready for the upgrade. What a croc of shit. Good job Verizon!! I want to pay you more money a month, butyou wont let it happen... really smart decision there.

 

[erjennin]

If you read the fine print, it says only with new line activation. They need the two years of service to get their ROI (return on investment).

However, if I were you, I would call the *611 and tell them you are willing to re-sign/renew your wife's contract if you can get the upgrade. Sometimes you'll find the right rep that is willing to think outside the box.

 

[MisterMcGoo]

Yeah I wanted to get a second one to sell on craigs list but no such luck. It really is poor advertising to say that. I could've got one for my wife, but 1.) she doesn't need it and 2.) she's on her parents plan that we don't pay $0.01 for. Still, it's really not buy one get one free. It should be "buy one -- activate another line for a different Eris that you don't pay for." That might be too big of a slogan for an advertising sign though.

 

[Needsdecaf]

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

 

[alprazolam]

Do you have a kid that can benefit from a cell phone? I wanted my sons to have a cell so I got one of my old ones and activated it so that I could get the free line. I then took the new line and swapped it out so that I could have my Eris on my established number and my sons had the new number. Added $9.99 per month but now they can call grandparents and stuff like that.

 

[Nabraham]

Yeah I wanted to get a second one to sell on craigs list but no such luck. It really is poor advertising to say that. I could've got one for my wife, but 1.) she doesn't need it and 2.) she's on her parents plan that we don't pay $0.01 for. Still, it's really not buy one get one free. It should be "buy one -- activate another line for a different Eris that you don't pay for." That might be too big of a slogan for an advertising sign though.

Goodnight, how old are you guys? Your wife is still mooching off her parents!? Nice, might want to cut the chord at some point.

 

[foxxylelee]

On the commercials and in print it states with a new 2 yr contract...not with a new line. It either has to be two numbers eligible upgrades..or you would need to upgrade and add a new line of service

 

[dave.helm]

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Or a free dog.

Just sayin'

 

[OfTheDamned]

Well, I think you guys should sue them. I know that some of you are going to say, "...but there is fine print" and I say fine print smine frint! Reading fine print is for losers! If the big print says that something is free then it should be free! I cannot believe the nerve of Verizon. They actually wanted you to get another line or sign a contract?!?! WTF?!?! This is obviously just another attempt by Verizon to make money, those evil bastards. It is time we stand up to these greedy corporations that try to make money off of the services and products they provide us. What do they need all that money for anyway? It isn't like they have a bunch of employees to pay or towers to maintain or share holders to appease. They really should just be stopping by our homes ever day and giving each of us a dozen phones. Matter of fact, I am going to sue them for NOT stopping by my house and giving me a dozen phones every day.

 

[jreed2560]

Well, I think you guys should sue them. I know that some of you are going to say, "...but there is fine print" and I say fine print smine frint! Reading fine print is for losers! If the big print says that something is free then it should be free! I cannot believe the nerve of Verizon. They actually wanted you to get another line or sign a contract?!?! WTF?!?! This is obviously just another attempt by Verizon to make money, those evil bastards. It is time we stand up to these greedy corporations that try to make money off of the services and products they provide us. What do they need all that money for anyway? It isn't like they have a bunch of employees to pay or towers to maintain or share holders to appease. They really should just be stopping by our homes ever day and giving each of us a dozen phones. Matter of fact, I am going to sue them for NOT stopping by my house and giving me a dozen phones every day.

Well played

 

[Wolfedude88]

Goodnight, how old are you guys? Your wife is still mooching off her parents!? Nice, might want to cut the chord at some point.

What if they just got married? Anyways why does it matter what someone else does, if it saves money and the parents are okay with it, then what does it matter to anyone else?

 

[Peaser]

We got a free one for my husband even though his 2 year Verizon plan wasn't up yet. They weren't happy about it and grumbled but we got them to do it.

 

[KE4NYV]

I have one even better...

Both my wife's phone and mine were under the same Alltel account. We were bought by Verizon and I became the one thing I never wanted to be, a Verizon customer. So we went along with it since our new home is in the middle of nowhere and sadly, Verizon is the only guy in town. We were getting monthly bills with Verizon's name on it and Verizon had no problem sending me a nasty gram with their letterhead when I missed our bill payment by a week, one time.

So I go into the store to upgrade to an Eris, since I was up for renewal and I see the BOGO deal. I knew my wife's phone had at least 9 months left, but I wanted to see if I could get in on the deal. So I asked them if they would be willing to let me renew BOTH phones for two years and get two Eris units instead of just the one. They said they would only upgrade me and she had to wait longer. They also told me that once she left the family plan we had, we would have to move to a Verizon family plan, which was about $15 more a month.

The kicker, the rep actually told us "Well, you are former Alltel customers and you are still under their old contract, so we really can't do anything about that. You are kind of in no man's land, not really represented by either company.". Yes, she actually told me that. I came right back with "You bought the god damn company, you own the contracts now and you certainly have no problem sending me a bill with Verizon's name on it!". She went on to give me some half-ass explanation about how our contracts were still with Alltel, even though they did not exist anymore and they legally could not "break" that contract.

I ended up getting one Eris for my upgrade and walked out with her old phone. I will upgrade her when they let us, but the bad part is I will have to give up the better and cheaper Alltel plan at that point.

Just a sore point with me.

 

[Berwyn Bill]

I got my Eris mid December when my New Every Two anniversary rolled around. Paid $49 bucks (after the rebate is figured in) at the Verizon store (Westchester, IL), renewed my family plan for two years and got the data package for my line (wife still had a while to go for the NE2).
Then I hear about the BOGO deal about a week and a half later. Go back to the store and ask if I can get a 2nd Eris for free under the deal since I'm still within the 30 day guarantee. Guy said yep, set me up with a phone for my wife and it was free after the $100 rebate (signed her up for the data plan, of course). No crap about new lines or her upgrade timing or anything.
The guy even set up all the gmail stuff and showed us how to download some apps to get us started (ATK, Ringdroid...).
It kills me to see a company shoot itself in the foot by nickel and diming its customers over hardware. No wireless company lives and dies by hardware sales, it's the user contracts that count. Guess I was lucky to find a VZW Store with a manager and staff that get it.
So if you're near Westchester, IL (outside of Chicago), hit the store at the corner or Cermak and Wolf. Hector was the guy who helped me.

(& no I'm not a VZW shill. Hell, I used to have ATT so VZW is a slice of heaven for me!)

 

[hrbib21]

The promotion clearly states WITH NEW LINE ACTIVATION. If you aren't doing this, NO FREE PHONE. I simply don't see where the confusion lies.

 

[Berwyn Bill]

The promotion clearly states WITH NEW LINE ACTIVATION. If you aren't doing this, NO FREE PHONE. I simply don't see where the confusion lies.

Well, all I know is I've been a Verizon customer for a few years now and got the BOGO deal from a regular Verizon store. I've gotten my rebate cards in the mail already and swapped them out for cash at the bank. Total cost for two Eris phones after rebates: $49 plus tax (got $50 off for my New Every Two when I got my phone on the first visit).

No new line activation needed in my transaction.

It may all boil down to finding a VZW store where the manager has given the go ahead to make the deals. I know I've dealt with many companies where you get one answer from one rep and another from the next one. Maybe it also matters to go to an official VZW store as opposed to a reseller (Best Buy, mall kiosk, smaller wireless business, etc.).

 

[mightymousehhd4]

As with everything with them when calling *611, if at first you don't succeed, try try again. Any time I have ever had a rep say no to something, I called right back and the next one said sure. They tried to say I wasn't able to upgrade for another month, but when I called back the next rep said sure and I was able to get the BOGO deal.

 

[Wolfedude88]

As with everything with them when calling *611, if at first you don't succeed, try try again. Any time I have ever had a rep say no to something, I called right back and the next one said sure. They tried to say I wasn't able to upgrade for another month, but when I called back the next rep said sure and I was able to get the BOGO deal.

^This, I do things like this all the time. If I don't like what I hear from one rep, call again. I usually talk to someone after a few attempts that will help out.

 

[Berwyn Bill]

If you're in a VZW store and are having trouble getting anywhere, ask to speak to the manager. If he/she gives you the run around, just say "OK, I guess I'll need to try calling Verizon," and dial up VZW customer service. Odds are, you'll get some progress before you have to dial but if you don't, just do the above until you get the deal you want. Bonus points if this gets done with the manager standing right there.

No one should have to resort to being a douche to get something which is clearly being done for others by VZW but if you're getting the shaft from the person you're dealing with, it's an eye for an eye, IMHO.

 

[civichater]

I am still trying to figure out why people are still so mad at Verizon?? If you are a long time customer, then you should know what the policies are on upgrades and bogos. This isn't a new concept or promotion that they just started doing!! And, in general, the store only had the ability to move the upgrade date about 7 days.

 

[MisterMcGoo]

Goodnight, how old are you guys? Your wife is still mooching off her parents!? Nice, might want to cut the chord at some point.

Thanks for the tip, but I wasn't looking for advice.

 

[DDustiNN]

I don't know what the problem was, but I had no issues at all. I am on a family plan (mom, dad, sister, me), and my sister and I were both able to use the BOGO offer upgrade to the Eris. Neither of us had a data plan at that time, but adding it to each line was no problem.

Are you sure you were eligible for a phone upgrade though? Maybe that could have been the issue. We were both due for an upgrade, so we had no problem...

 

[Wolfedude88]

I would just ignore some comments.

 

[OfTheDamned]

Well since it is share time

I wanted to get the Eris and my girl (hating her BlackBerry) wanted a new phone as well. We are on a family plan and her upgrade date was December 25th (no idea how that happened) and mine was not until Jan 11th 2010. We also decided to drop our land line and just add a line so that we could have a home phone (don't ask, she wants it and I couldn't care less). So I called 611 and explained what I was trying to do to the CSR, also adding the caveat that I wanted to get the 2 phones at Best Buy to avoid the whole mail in rebate deal. The CSR explained that the little lady was not eligible until Dec 25th and that that date could not be budged. She then asked me to hold for a moment and when she returned told me that my line could be upgraded now and I could add the line as well.

I had another problem with Best Buy. When I called the one by my house they told me that they would not honor the Bogo. I then called 6 more stores until one said, "Sure, no problem."

All of this horrible, grueling work that I went through took me about 20 minutes. This also led to me picking up both of these phones for $25 a piece and saving an extra $60 a month for not having a land line.

 

[Slugdoc]

Although it seems counter intuitive, those of us who are parents will understand that Verizon's policy of inconsistency (some people can get the free phone without new line or being due for renewal -- I did -- and some can't) is what breeds the resentment.

Many of you above answer, "That's the company policy, stop whiining".
But it's not really the corporate policy. The policy seems to be there is a written policy, but individual reps or managers can do what they please.

So bottom line - if someone else got it, you should get it too. Either someone eventually gives it to you, or eventually corporate says screw it, we wrote the policy for a reason, and now we will enforce it.