Hi friends! Hope you’re all doing well and are safe. We had a massive thunderstorm last night and the neighborhood had some damage. A tree fell down in the neighbor’s backyard, bringing some utility cables with it. Their deck and addition have some major damage. Nothing happened to our house, except for a low hanging wire. It appears to be for cable since the electricity and Internet seem to be working fine. We don’t pay for cable TV, so there’s no way to know for sure that’s what’s damaged. While thinking about utilities, I thought I would wrap up “Think of the Savings – Cell Phone Edition.”
When we left off, I decided to stick with a cell phone instead of upgrading to a smart phone. The plan was less expensive and I knew I wouldn’t get full use of a data plan. You might also remember that I was ultimately going to have to pay $50 ($100 up front less $50 rebate) for the phone. Then I saw it for free online and was annoyed. (That was the promotional pricing at the time, the current price is now $50.)
Fortunately I totally lucked out with the Verizon customer service rep. She found a way for me to get the phone for free. At first, the plan was to deny delivery of the phone I had ordered in the store. By not accepting delivery, I would not be accepting the terms and conditions of the phone contract and avoiding a $35 restocking fee. The phone would then be returned to Verizon’s warehouse. Once Verizon received the phone, my account would be updated to show that I was still eligible for a free upgrade. Then I would be able to order the phone online for FREE!
Fast forward a few days. My awesome customer service rep was able to reroute the phone back to the warehouse, saving me the hassle of denying delivery. After my account reverted to “eligible for upgrade” status, I ordered the Pantech Crux. A few days after the transaction was finalized, I confirmed that my credit card was credited for the initial charge of $100. Victory!
As for the phone itself, I’m really liking it. The touchscreen is easy to use and I like the way it stores my text message conversations. My only beef is that the battery dies quickly after the phone is connected to a computer. However, a full charge plugged into the wall fixes the problem.
Have you had any crazy weather by you lately? Anybody else have customer service stories (good or bad) they’d like to share?
Hours to find a phone number for Verizon Wireless then at last I call and get disconnected three times. Fourth call(waiting each time) I get a customer service rep with no clue about the plan for seniors in their book. Finally, I was given the book at a Verizon wireless store.