mocoblog

BEWARE: Shady Verizon Salespeople (They lie and cheat.)

A few months ago I posted about getting a new celly from Verizon. I forewent on LG’s VX-9800 and went for the Motorola e815. This after realizing how little I needed a QWERTY keypad, after using a v551 for a few weeks, after realizing I didn’t want a Verizon standardized interface, and for other obvious reasons.

So the day before Thanksgiving I was off to Menlo Park Mall (Edison, NJ) to get my new EV-DO capable e815. I was greeted by their “greeter” and then handed off to a salesperson after telling him I wanted the e815. The phone was priced at $149.99; I knew this before going in. I also knew that I am entitiled to $100 from Verizon as part of their New Every 2 Years program and that there was a $50 mail-in-rebate. Basically, I was getting a free phone. I was accomodated by the ex-highschool/JuCo footballer looking guy with a crew cut. My mood: tired and non-confrontational. After he retrieved the phone from back, I noticed he also brought out an accessory pack containing a holster, car charger and stereo headphones. I never asked for it. During the process I also changed my plan, dropping my minutes and cost somewhat significantly. He noted to me that the case of the phone was expensive to repair if damaged and that I should use the holster. Thought nothing of it at the time. I inquired about a data-cable. He indicated that it would cost $39.99! I told him that was too much and would buy if off the internet. He offered me 10% off and said that I would need an official Motorola/Verizon one in order to not void my warranty. Fair enough… but I wasn’t about to buy it at the time. I indicated that my buddy had a cable for his v710. He told me that it was a different cable! I didn’t feel like arguing. He said I would need to use their cable and they would be able to tell if I used a non-Verizon/Moto cable if anything happened to my phone. (What a crock!) So here is the kicker… When I was about to pay he told me the phone was normally $200 (not $150 like was advertised) and that I was entitled to $100 off for being an existing customer and another $50 manufacturer’s rebate. My total out of pocket would be $50, but I would have to come up with $100 now. I went along with it; although I didn’t like it. So of course in the bag goes the box for my new phone and the box of accessories. According to the receipt it is $49.97 worth of accessories which I never asked for in the first place. Now I know why he told me to use the holster- that way I would open the blister pack for the accessory kit I did not want in the first place. Clever. Extremely shady, but clever nonetheless. It gets better. After reviewing my bill it appears that he also tacked on an insurance which I did not ask for. Needless to say, within 15 days I returned my accessory package and cancelled the insurance on the phone. (knock on wood.) I should have returned the whole phone to throw off his quota, but I love it too much.

So, when cell shopping this Christmas, please be aware of shady cellphone salespeople.