Verizon Wireless to charge customers $30 for upgrading to a new phone

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 64
    jupiteronejupiterone Posts: 1,564member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by some internet dude View Post


    Sprint, ATT, Tmobile, charge around 30 for new line activation, but they don't charge for upgrades.



    AT&T certainly does. It's been $18 to upgrade to a new iPhone ever since the original.
  • Reply 22 of 64
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by some internet dude View Post


    Sprint, ATT, Tmobile, charge around 30 for new line activation, but they don't charge for upgrades.



    Yes they do
  • Reply 23 of 64
    sandyfsandyf Posts: 42member
    Time to bail the 2 year upgrade carousel. Given all the wifi availability, I'll keep my iPhone 4 (and iPad 3) for the simple convenience of contacts, emails, reading, video, browsing, ad infinitum, and buy a dumb-phone family plan with no forced data and unending charges. Unless you're compensated by your company, a dumb-phone is pretty smart.
  • Reply 24 of 64
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jrfields321 View Post


    ATT is now charging $36. I received the info this morning when I check my contract status by dialing *NEW#



    Looks like they raised it. It was $18 when I upgraded in October. Now it's the same as the new customer activation fee.
  • Reply 25 of 64
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JupiterOne View Post


    AT&T certainly does. It's been $18 to upgrade to a new iPhone ever since the original.





    I am confused by this article. Where exactly does the $30 fit in?



    If someone has an iPhone 4S (16 GB) and they upgrade to the new iPhone one year into their contract, how much do they pay?



    (assuming the price remains the same $199)



    I thought that I paid $75 ETF last time but after checking AT&T website it says:



    Early Termination Fee

    $325 minus $10 for each full month of your Service Commitment that you complete



    That would calculate to $205 if you were 12 months into your contract.



    What am I missing?
  • Reply 26 of 64
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by darrylk1 View Post


    Looks like they raised it. It was $18 when I upgraded in October. Now it's the same as the new customer activation fee.



    Wow, that's F*cked
  • Reply 27 of 64
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    I am confused by this article. Where exactly does the $30 fit in?



    If someone has an iPhone 4S (16 GB) and they upgrade to the new iPhone one year into their contract, how much do they pay?



    (assuming the price remains the same $199)



    I thought that I paid $75 ETF last time but after checking AT&T website it says:



    Early Termination Fee

    $325 minus $10 for each full month of your Service Commitment that you complete



    That would calculate to $205 if you were 12 months into your contract.



    What am I missing?



    This is an Upgrade fee. In addition to the ETF, it's for the privilege of being able to buy a new phone and lock yourself into a new 2 year contract.
  • Reply 28 of 64
    ktappektappe Posts: 823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by yensid98 View Post


    Why isn't the DOJ investigating this insane business practice?



    Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.



    (No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)
  • Reply 29 of 64
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bongo View Post


    What the article doesn't seem to include is that AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile have been charging this fee for quite awhile now. AT&T was charging $18 and it sounds like they are going to raise it to $30 to match Verizon.



    That's an $12 for, let's say, 10M - 20M customers that might upgrade this year. I.e., $120M - $240M more that they are "raising" to "match Verizon."



    As a comparison, even the low end of that range is higher than the (supposed) $100M that DoJ claims iBooks has screwed customers over, cumulatively, since the time the "agency" model was introduced.
  • Reply 30 of 64
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ktappe View Post


    Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.



    (No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)



    Not to make it political, but the problem is, the other guys think that more regulation and higher taxes will solve everything. I am paying a lot already.



    Both sides are messed-up, and we, as consumers and voters, are caught in the middle.
  • Reply 31 of 64
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by darrylk1 View Post


    This is an Upgrade fee. In addition to the ETF, it's for the privilege of being able to buy a new phone and lock yourself into a new 2 year contract.



    I don't understand where the fee is warranted. No one at AT&T has to do anything. The Apple store rep did all the work selling and activating my last phone. Is this charge to everyone or just people who buy their phone through the carrier?



    I'm planning to buy the unlocked version next time so I'm wondering if they will charge me to activate it, not that $30 is that big of a deal.
  • Reply 32 of 64
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Not to make it political, but the problem is, the other guys think that more regulation and higher taxes will solve everything. I am paying a lot already.



    Both sides are messed-up, and we, as consumers and voters, are caught in the middle.



    Exactly. Neither side is perfectly right and both sides hold blame. Any other belief is fallacy.
  • Reply 33 of 64
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ktappe View Post


    Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.



    (No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)



    You may not be trolling, but that just means you don't understand that your favorite politicians do the exact same things as the ones you hate, they just put a friendly face on for you.
  • Reply 34 of 64
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ktappe View Post


    Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.



    (No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)



    You may be well intentioned, but I believe it doesn't matter who you elect. Congress with majority democrats passed bank reform legislation in 2009 to protect against all the evil things banks were doing to steal money from poor people. Now banks just find different ways to nickel and dime people, mostly the same poor people that the legislation was supposed to help. (eg. no more free checking accounts, but if you carry a high enough balance you still get free checking)



    The same would be the case with phone companies if legislation was passed. They're going to get their money one way or another. If you close this hole they'll just go the other direction. You can't legislate business into a corner, there's always another way.
  • Reply 35 of 64
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ktappe View Post


    Because Americans keep electing conservative politicians with the mandate that business can do no wrong, regulations are evil, and we want "smaller government." If you want stuff like this to stop, show it in November.



    (No, I'm not trolling. I'm 100% serious. The only way you get consumer protection is to vote for politicians who pledge it instead of those who shun it.)



    I'm not taking one side or the other, but I have a question. Do you genuinely believe that conservative politicians are the only politicians that will screw you over for their own interests?
  • Reply 36 of 64
    So, the "Can you hear me now?" network becomes the "Can you pay me now?" network.
  • Reply 37 of 64
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BigBillyGoatGruff View Post


    I'm not taking one side or the other, but I have a question. Do you genuinely believe that conservative politicians are the only politicians that will screw you over for their own interests?



    they certainly aren't the only politicians that will screw over the electorate, but conservative politicians seem to be the only ones who vocally make it their stated mandate.
  • Reply 38 of 64
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cameronj View Post


    You may not be trolling, but that just means you don't understand that your favorite politicians do the exact same things as the ones you hate, they just put a friendly face on for you.



    Agreed. I think it will remain that way until we have term limits on Senators and Representatives. No more career politicians. If you want to make a career out of politics you have to move, and get elected, in a new state every 2 terms.
  • Reply 39 of 64
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    Agreed. I think it will remain that way until we have term limits on Senators and Representatives. No more career politicians. If you want to make a career out of politics you have to move, and get elected, in a new state every 2 terms.



    I approve of the term limit idea (would require a constitutional amendment, and it would have to be brought up by a convention, as Congress would NEVER do that on their own), but that's not enough.



    Make it illegal for politicians to hold office, or at least make it logistically (within the mindset of the people) impossible to get elected if you're a politician.



    If you want to hold office, have an actual career in an actual field first. Sure, USE politicians to handle the process of you BEING elected, but if you're a politician, you should NOT be allowed to hold office.



    We need accountants in Congress. We need businessmen. We need regular people who have shown through actual work in their field that they are successful and can improve said field (or others) by your being in power.



    Oh, look at me; this is a Verizon idiocy thread, not politics! Heavens.



    To be back on topic, I reiterate my belief that the telecoms need shut down and investigated for their highway robbery.
  • Reply 40 of 64
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by yensid98 View Post


    Why isn't the DOJ investigating this insane business practice? Charing users a start up fee is bad enough (I still don't understand why a provider needs money to start my service) but charging users a fee when they stay with their carrier and upgrade is outrageous.



    glad i have the phone i want for a few years. am sick of these gouging ba$turds.
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