I'm very annoyed with Verizon right now...UPDATE Post #25

[MELSMICE]

Per our current 2-year contract, 4 out of our 5 phones were able to be replaced today.

We went to the Verizon store & chose 4 phones, all with substantial rebates. I began filling out the rebate forms at home & while reading them I realized that these "rebates" are in the form of a debit Visa card. I was so angry, because never once was it explained that these are not cash rebates, but debit card rebates. If we would have ordered the phones on line, as we have done in the past, we would have gotten an instant rebate.

The only reason we didn't order them on line is because we have had so many problems with 2 of the 4 phones that we just wanted to get them as soon as we could. Neither of the phones mentioned above will charge & one of them won't even make or accept phone calls - it will only text. Both of these phones have been returned more than once over the last 20 months because of problems (they are the LG Chocolate)

So, DH placed a call to Verizon to ask about what the deal was & why the store rebate was not presented to us honestly. Got the run around, of course. We put all the phones on our credit card, with the intention of using the rebates to pay for them when they came in.

We were told 2 different things............

#1 - we could get a cash advance through the ATM & then use the cash to pay for the phones. I have never even heard of this & I don't want to be charged to use the ATM with 4 different debit cards.

#2 - we could take the VISA debit cards to the bank & deposit them in to our account. Has anyone ever done this? I have never heard of this either.

We could pay our Verizon bill with them, but our intent was to pay the VISA bill with the rebates. What a pain in the neck.

I'm really upset about the fact that the sales rep never mentioned it was a debit card & not a cash rebate. There were 5 of us there & not one person remembers her saying this.

Anyone ever used a VISA debit card in one of the 2 ways mentioned above?

I do realize that we could return the phones & just order them on line, but what a hassle & what a waste of our time. I would have done that originally had I been told the rebate was not a cash rebate in the form of a check.

Forgot to add - I did check to see if I could pay my VISA card on-line with the VISA debit card and at this point I can not.

 

[kwelch10377]

I am almost positive that you can not do either of the options they said. Many retailers that offer rebates are switching to give VISA debit cards vs checks.

Once you get the rebate you may be able to call the company that issues the rebate and see if they can replace it with a check (I know the rebate company that my company uses allows this)

 

[Lorix2]

We received 2 rebates in the form of VISA cards. I just swiped them at the local store and had the money go right back on the account.

Maybe you could do that and pay the credit card bill with the cash you would have paid the cell phone bill with, kwim?

 

[snowy76]

We sent ours in about 3 weeks ago and got the cards this week. I went right to the bank and cashed them in (actually, I had the cash deposited into our checking account... it took about 3 minutes longer than depositing a check). Since they carry the Visa logo, any bank should be able to do this. HTH

ETA: One thing I would NOT do is use the cards at a regular retailer, like a grocery store. My MIL had a lot of trouble doing this, as her grocery bill was higher than the amount on the card. The register kept declining the debit card as overdrawn.

 

[PixieDust32]

This visas are like debit/gift cards. You can use them to buy things online, or at the store and if you want your cash just get the cash out.

Also about the online credit, yes you get it right away but then you have to go to the verizon store to get the phones activate and you have to pay about 20 per line.

To be honest, I don't see anything wrong with the debit cards, I like them better, before we had to deposit the check in the bank, wait until clear and then use the money, with the card, I can buy things online, pay at the store, restaurant etc.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I dont think you can do either of those things with the Visa card...
but just jumping in on the Verizon aspect. My dad was just on the phone with them this evening as well. They got new phones a few weeks ago with some special promo, and their bill ended up being $250 when it should have been about $100 less. My dad was upset, come to find out some of the things they were charged for the salesman said were free. They compensated him for some, but not all...

I hate cellphone companies

 

[PixieDust32]

We sent ours in about 3 weeks ago and got the cards this week. I went right to the bank and cashed them in (actually, I had the cash deposited into our checking account... it took about 3 minutes longer than depositing a check). Since they carry the Visa logo, any bank should be able to do this. HTH

ETA: One thing I would NOT do is use the cards at a regular retailer, like a grocery store. My MIL had a lot of trouble doing this, as her grocery bill was higher than the amount on the card. The register kept declining the debit card as overdrawn.

Yup! Or just tell the cashier to use it for the exact amount on the debit card and then you'll pay the rest with cash or whatever your method of payment is, otherwise they charge you $1.00 per swipe.

 

[AshleyW]

I got the Visa debit cards for my rebates through Verizon as well. I just took them to Wells Fargo and had them deposited into my checking account.

 

[PixieDust32]

Per our current 2-year contract, 4 out of our 5 phones were able to be replaced today.

We went to the Verizon store & chose 4 phones, all with substantial rebates. I began filling out the rebate forms at home & while reading them I realized that these "rebates" are in the form of a debit Visa card. I was so angry, because never once was it explained that these are not cash rebates, but debit card rebates. If we would have ordered the phones on line, as we have done in the past, we would have gotten an instant rebate.

The only reason we didn't order them on line is because we have had so many problems with 2 of the 4 phones that we just wanted to get them as soon as we could. Neither of the phones mentioned above will charge & one of them won't even make or accept phone calls - it will only text. Both of these phones have been returned more than once over the last 20 months because of problems (they are the LG Chocolate)

So, DH placed a call to Verizon to ask about what the deal was & why the store rebate was not presented to us honestly. Got the run around, of course. We put all the phones on our credit card, with the intention of using the rebates to pay for them when they came in.

We were told 2 different things............

#1 - we could get a cash advance through the ATM & then use the cash to pay for the phones. I have never even heard of this & I don't want to be charged to use the ATM with 4 different debit cards.

#2 - we could take the VISA debit cards to the bank & deposit them in to our account. Has anyone ever done this? I have never heard of this either.

We could pay our Verizon bill with them, but our intent was to pay the VISA bill with the rebates. What a pain in the neck.
I'm really upset about the fact that the sales rep never mentioned it was a debit card & not a cash rebate. There were 5 of us there & not one person remembers her saying this.

Anyone ever used a VISA debit card in one of the 2 ways mentioned above?

I do realize that we could return the phones & just order them on line, but what a hassle & what a waste of our time. I would have done that originally had I been told the rebate was not a cash rebate in the form of a check.

Forgot to add - I did check to see if I could pay my VISA card on-line with the VISA debit card and at this point I can not.

Yes, you can take the cards to your bank and get the cash and it should be no fee.

You can also deposit the money, just go there with your deposit slip and swipe the card, make the deposit for the exact amount in the cards. No problem.

You can also use the cards to pay for your bill at any verizon store.

 

[xCourxCorex]

Yup! Or just tell the cashier to use it for the exact amount on the debit card and then you'll pay the rest with cash or whatever your method of payment is, otherwise they charge you $1.00 per swipe.

Right! If your rebate card is for $50, tell the cashier - "$50 on this card, please". That's how we have to do it at my store. I've had a lot of customers using Verizon rebate cards lately, btw.

 

[georgina]

I was given a Visa debit card recently as part of a paid university study and told I could use it to withdraw funds at an ATM. They even told me what the PIN was, so I believe you can do it. I just used it at the grocery store to buy a gift card of the same amount.

We bought our Verizon phones at Costco and the rebate for the phones was instant.

 

[MELSMICE]

Thanks everyone. I feel better after reading these replies.

 

[AKL_Megs]

No real advice...

I just used mine to pay for gas, and then took the money I would have used for gas and did with IT what I would have done with the rebate had it been cash.

 

[PixieDust32]

You're welcome!

 

[datgrt@fw]

We went to the Verizon store & chose 4 phones, all with substantial rebates. I began filling out the rebate forms at home & while reading them I realized that these "rebates" are in the form of a debit Visa card. I was so angry, because never once was it explained that these are not cash rebates, but debit card rebates. If we would have ordered the phones on line, as we have done in the past, we would have gotten an instant rebate.

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I also went to our local Verizon Store this past week to upgrade our phones and I ask the sales associate if the prices in the store were the same as the prices online. Her reply was 'Yes' that the prices are the same "We are all Verizon"! I decided to wait until I returned home to go online to compare the different phones and when I did the prices online were in fact much different! The same phone in the Verizon Store was listed at $99.99 with a $50.00 mail in rebate/visa debit card and I could buy it online at the Verizon website for $19.99 with no rebate and no shipping cost! I contacted Verizon and ask why I was told that the prices were the same in the store as they were online. I was told that the prices online are always less and the sales associate knew that and should have told me! I was also told that the reason she may not have told me was that she knew if I purchased the phones online she would loss her commission. I ordered the 2 phones online and paid $19.99 each and if I would have purchased the same phones in the Verzion Store I would have paid $99.99 each and had to deal with the rebate/visa debit card. Even after the rebate the phones would have cost me "$49.99" each in the store and I paid "$19.99" each online which saved me "$30.00" per phone! The phones were also delivered to my home the next day with no shipping charges and I programed/activated the phones myself for free!

I would recomment that anyone thinking about upgrading their phones to always check online for the best deals!!!

Doug / datgrt@fw

 

[phorsenuf]

On a side note. I always order my phones through them online. They always arrive the next day. Every single time. When they come I open the back, go to the verizon website and activate them online. Easy peasy.

 

[N.Bailey]

This visas are like debit/gift cards. You can use them to buy things online, or at the store and if you want your cash just get the cash out.

Also about the online credit, yes you get it right away but then you have to go to the verizon store to get the phones activate and you have to pay about 20 per line.

To be honest, I don't see anything wrong with the debit cards, I like them better, before we had to deposit the check in the bank, wait until clear and then use the money, with the card, I can buy things online, pay at the store, restaurant etc.

We have always activated our phones either online, or by calling Verizon. Unless I am confusing what you're saying, there would be no need to visit the store to have the phone activated (they even have a toll free number just for activation). I might be forgetting, but I don't believe we paid a $20 activation fee either. I think we did when we initially signed up with Verizon, but I don't think we've paid it at each renewal since. I could be forgetting though.

Op, I'd check with the bank. I don't think you would be charged a fee to deposit it directly into your account, but I do believe you would be if you visited an ATM machine to get it.

 

[golfgal]

I got a Verizon debit card when I upgraded last Jan. I used it at Target-just asked them to put $50 on this card, paid the rest with my bank debit card, no issues at all.

 

[VickiVM]

We have always activated our phones either online, or by calling Verizon. Unless I am confusing what you're saying, there would be no need to visit the store to have the phone activated (they even have a toll free number just for activation). I might be forgetting, but I don't believe we paid a $20 activation fee either. I think we did when we initially signed up with Verizon, but I don't think we've paid it at each renewal since. I could be forgetting though.

Op, I'd check with the bank. I don't think you would be charged a fee to deposit it directly into your account, but I do believe you would be if you visited an ATM machine to get it.

You're correct about the activation fee - when the phone is ordered online, the fee is waived.

 

[chabs]

You didn't say what type of phones you bought, but something to consider is checking the Best Buy ads. I got my Env3's at Best Buy a lot cheaper than at Verizon. They are authorized Verizon stores so you would be able to get the same service-only cheaper. The promos at Verizon were $79.99 (after $50 rebate-so it you would have to pay $129.99 up front) and at Best Buy they were free if you were adding a line or $50 with the 2 year phone upgrade price. I was able to add a line for my DS with the free phone and upgrade my phone for only $50 instead of shelling out $260 up front and waiting for the $100 in rebates to come back. I even took the Best Buy ad to Verizon and they wouldn't price match. You may want to look into returning the phones and buying them from Best Buy. I find that the phones cycle about once a month and they are always the same price. For example, one week it is the Env3, the next Motorola (can't think of the name-something white that my DD wanted). Hope this helps!