[dakranii]

Shopping around for prices on the 928 I came across a promo on Staples' website about a $35 Activation Fee Bill Credit from Verizon. What I can't figure out is if this is just a Staples promotion. It doesn't mention Staples in the fine print, but I can't locate it anywhere else. Also trying to figure out if this works for upgrades. It doesn't appear that it does: "Offer not valid...on an existing line of service."

Edit: missed the second bullet, new line of service only.

[pma]

Speaking of Verizon fees, when did they start charging a ridiculous $30 "upgrade fee"? That nonsense is just beyond the pale.

[Serious Tone]

Yeah its seriously ridiculous. It had to have started within the last 2 years about. I don't remember paying it last time I upgraded.

[srkirby]

It started sometime in Q4 of 2012. I hate that fee.

[icstars989]

They need to pinch just a few more dollars out of us. *228 takes a bit too much effort and man power.

[psiu_glen]

It started sometime in Q4 of 2012. I hate that fee.

Earlier than that, somewhere around June 2012. I used my last NE2 credit and just beat the upgrade fee going into effect.

(bought an iPhone 4S and sold it for a nice profit)

[deadwrong03]

has anyone gotten any confirmation if this is legit or not?

[Laura Knotek]

has anyone gotten any confirmation if this is legit or not?

It's legit. From the Customer Agreement:
Can Verizon Wireless Change This Agreement or My Service?

We may change prices or any other term of your Service or this agreement at any time,but we'll provide notice first, including written notice if you have Postpay Service. If you use your Service after the change takes effect, that means you're accepting the change.

[Fear the Cubans]

The upgrade fee started around May or last year. Honestly it is just a fee that helps Verizon to recoup the loss they take when they sell a subsidized phone. Apple and Amazon have the most to blame for this. Its no secret that any company loses money on each iPhone it sells. Accessories are what help to bring the company closer to recouping the subsidy...but now with knowledge of accessory prices on Amazon, less people are buying accessories in store.

Also, every other company charges it, so I'm sure Verizon figured they should get in on some free money.

[dakranii]

has anyone gotten any confirmation if this is legit or not?

are you referring to the $30 credit? I believe it's legit, but I think it's Staples only. Some deal they made with Verizon to make themselves more attractive to phone buyers I guess.

[deadwrong03]

it doesn't say staples anywhere on the ad to so you should be able to call in an get this fee waived

[RapidTurtle]

Radio shack has it also.

[Mainer82]

Speaking of Verizon fees, when did they start charging a ridiculous $30 "upgrade fee"? That nonsense is just beyond the pale.

You can always talk them out of that.

[RapidTurtle]

Looks like NewEgg has it .

[millercrew5]

I bought my phones thru newegg on June 1st. Activated them on the 3rd when I got them thru the mail. Called Verizon on the 8th about getting my activation fees waived and no deal! Called again today and only got one waived. I had 3 lines with Sprint that I brought over to Verizon and only got the one wavied. I am totally bummed about that! That is a total of $105 dollars that I could have back. I still love the faster speeds with Verizon and my Lumia 928 but so far the customer service is -1 for Verizon. Still nothing to be totally bummed about right?!?!?!??!

[Fear the Cubans]

Wait, so Verizon has terrible customer service because they won't waive your activation fees? Verizon would have been out of business long ago if they said yes to everyone.
If NewEgg was running a promo with act fee credits, they should show on your first or second bill. Its applied systematically, and won't even begin to generate until after the return period passes.

[WasteSomeTime]

Verizon charges fees wherever it can. A company that greedy would have difficulty going out of business.

[chase1963]

I ordered a black 928 tonight through telesales. The only reason i resigned with VZW is due to a new smoking offer for upgraders. (Dumb to Smartphone) $60. per month - Unlimited talk, Text with 2 Gigs of LTE Data. I also said i wouldn't agree to any of it unless they removed the silly "money grab" $30. upgrade fee. They did. I also had them throw in free overnight shipping. All ya gotta do is not let them control the sale. I literally had to have the telesales agent repeat the offer 3 times... couldn't believe it. True story though..

[deadwrong03]

I ordered a black 928 tonight through telesales. The only reason i resigned with VZW is due to a new smoking offer for upgraders. (Dumb to Smartphone) $60. per month - Unlimited talk, Text with 2 Gigs of LTE Data. I also said i wouldn't agree to any of it unless they removed the silly "money grab" $30. upgrade fee. They did. I also had them throw in free overnight shipping. All ya gotta do is not let them control the sale. I literally had to have the telesales agent repeat the offer 3 times... couldn't believe it. True story though..

is that the only way to get that plan is to go from dumb to smartphone?

[Rick2340]

I ordered a black 928 tonight through telesales. The only reason i resigned with VZW is due to a new smoking offer for upgraders. (Dumb to Smartphone) $60. per month - Unlimited talk, Text with 2 Gigs of LTE Data. I also said i wouldn't agree to any of it unless they removed the silly "money grab" $30. upgrade fee. They did. I also had them throw in free overnight shipping. All ya gotta do is not let them control the sale. I literally had to have the telesales agent repeat the offer 3 times... couldn't believe it. True story though..

I assume somebody from Verizon called you and you negotiated this deal. I didn't see this anywhere on their website.

[chase1963]

Actually, it was offered to me after i called in. It isn't on the site.

Your Plan

LOYALTY B2SP $60/2GB/UNLIM TALK&TEXT



Plan Features


Text Messaging Pay Per Message

Streamlined Billing

Caller ID

BUSY TRANSFER

3-Way Calling

CALL DELIVERY

Call Waiting

No Answer / Busy Transfer

Call Forwarding

Basic Voice Mail

Unlimited IN Calling

Unlimited Messaging

Unlimited Text Messages

CALL & Messaging Block

SDM REMOTE QUERY ENABLED

4G DATA TRANSPORT

Data Roaming USA & Canada

RTR FOR CAPPED PLANS $0

Pay Per Message

DYNAMIC-PRIVATE IP

4G INTERNET ACCESS

4G APPLICATION ACCESS

Total Equipment Coverage

CONSUMER PDA

2GB/$10/1GB

[chase1963]

Yes.

[millercrew5]

Do not miss understand my first post! I am happy they waived one fee for me! I am upset at my "luck" of totally missing that offer, but I still got a heck of a deal paying only 30 bucks for the 928! I agree Verizon has to make their money also. Shouldn't have -1 the customer service....my bad

[DavidinCT]

If you call them and give them a little bit of a hard time, they will wave or give you a refund about it.

[Annie61]

As a call center rep for Verizon via Xerox (xerox pays my wages) the chances of getting either the $35 activation fee for a new line of service or the $30 upgrade is slim to none. We are told everyday those two fees are not to be waived. If you're one of the few who does get it waived, a manager had to approve it because we are limited to crediting a customers account to $20 - anything above that has to be approved by a supervisor. Also, Verizon offers two day delivery for free as a standard service, so overnight delivery for free is definitely a win!
And one final note....when you call in (at least to Verizon) and you're angry with the company but not the representative you spoke with & you get a call to complete a survey afterwards & you select "fail"...that goes against the representative and not the company. It affects our paycheck & we're threatened with termination if that "fail" brings our resolve stats to below 94%. I know, because a customer clearly stated she was not upset with me & requested a conversation with a supervisor about what happened to her at a store. That supervisor promised to call the customer & didn't & she then received a survey call, selected "fail" & went against my record. And no one at Xerox (who provides the customer support for Verizon) will do anything about it. So all you angry folks at Verizon....select "fail" only if the representative was a total jerk, not because you're upset with Verizon's business practices.