Read an interesting Cnet.com article that Verizon users may like to know:
What it takes to keep your Verizon unlimited data
Dear Maggie,
I have been a Verizon customer for well over five years now. When the company announced it would no longer offer its unlimited data plans, I bought a smartphone for one of my sons, so that his usage would be unlimited. My other son was not interested in any of the smartphones Verizon offered at the time. We asked a Verizon Wireless representative in an instant message chat online if an unlimited data plan on his basic feature-phone would count for him being grandfathered in so that later he could get a smartphone and keep his unlimited data plan. The rep told us that he would in fact be grandfathered in when buying a smartphone. So I added unlimited data to his plan.
Last night I went to purchase him the Motorola Droid Bionic, the phone he wanted, and was told that he must switch to a tiered plan by a representative in the store. Now I have conflicting answers after the tiered plans are in place. I don't know how to resolve this. Can you offer some advice?
Thanks,
Denise
Dear Denise,
I have some bad news for you. I contacted Verizon Wireless to ask them about your situation. And Brenda Raney, the company's spokeswoman, confirmed that the rep you originally chatted with online was wrong.
She said that customers who have an unlimited data plan on a Verizon Wireless smartphone may keep their plan when purchasing another smartphone including the Motorola Droid Bionic. But customers who have an unlimited data plan on a Verizon Wireless basic phone (non-smartphone) and move to a smartphone will need to move to one of the new usage-based plans that begin at $30 for 2GB of data. That's the policy. She apologized for the customer service rep who offered the misinformation, but she offered no suggestions for making an exception.
If you saved the chat session in which the rep provided the wrong information, or you were able to get that rep's name and ID, you may be able to talk to a Verizon supervisor about making an exception. But from what Brenda Raney told me, it doesn't seem like they will budge.
On the bright side, unless your son is a very heavy data user, he will likely be fine with the 2GB data plan. That said, I know it must be frustrating for you since you had expected he would have the unlimited plan now and in the future. But to be honest, it's hard to say whether Verizon will continue to offer the unlimited plan to existing customers in the future. So in another year or two, it may not matter much that he didn't get grandfathered into the unlimited data plan.
Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-2...-verizon-no-problem-ask-maggie/#ixzz1XTOFX5x9
That's good news to me, as I thought that I would have to get a tiered plan when I get a new smartphone to replace my current one.
What it takes to keep your Verizon unlimited data
Dear Maggie,
I have been a Verizon customer for well over five years now. When the company announced it would no longer offer its unlimited data plans, I bought a smartphone for one of my sons, so that his usage would be unlimited. My other son was not interested in any of the smartphones Verizon offered at the time. We asked a Verizon Wireless representative in an instant message chat online if an unlimited data plan on his basic feature-phone would count for him being grandfathered in so that later he could get a smartphone and keep his unlimited data plan. The rep told us that he would in fact be grandfathered in when buying a smartphone. So I added unlimited data to his plan.
Last night I went to purchase him the Motorola Droid Bionic, the phone he wanted, and was told that he must switch to a tiered plan by a representative in the store. Now I have conflicting answers after the tiered plans are in place. I don't know how to resolve this. Can you offer some advice?
Thanks,
Denise
Dear Denise,
I have some bad news for you. I contacted Verizon Wireless to ask them about your situation. And Brenda Raney, the company's spokeswoman, confirmed that the rep you originally chatted with online was wrong.
She said that customers who have an unlimited data plan on a Verizon Wireless smartphone may keep their plan when purchasing another smartphone including the Motorola Droid Bionic. But customers who have an unlimited data plan on a Verizon Wireless basic phone (non-smartphone) and move to a smartphone will need to move to one of the new usage-based plans that begin at $30 for 2GB of data. That's the policy. She apologized for the customer service rep who offered the misinformation, but she offered no suggestions for making an exception.
If you saved the chat session in which the rep provided the wrong information, or you were able to get that rep's name and ID, you may be able to talk to a Verizon supervisor about making an exception. But from what Brenda Raney told me, it doesn't seem like they will budge.
On the bright side, unless your son is a very heavy data user, he will likely be fine with the 2GB data plan. That said, I know it must be frustrating for you since you had expected he would have the unlimited plan now and in the future. But to be honest, it's hard to say whether Verizon will continue to offer the unlimited plan to existing customers in the future. So in another year or two, it may not matter much that he didn't get grandfathered into the unlimited data plan.
Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-2...-verizon-no-problem-ask-maggie/#ixzz1XTOFX5x9
That's good news to me, as I thought that I would have to get a tiered plan when I get a new smartphone to replace my current one.
