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Is data contractual (if I switch from a smartphone)?

S

srav

Lurker
Hi everyone! This is my first post :)

I got an LG Revolution two months ago as my part of my family's family plan. We knew Verizon was going to introduce capped data, and had finished our contract with T-Mobile a month before, so we wanted to sign up asap. I wasn't 100% sure at the time if I even needed a smartphone (I'm a college student who has wifi most of the time, and my laptop is light enough to carry around in my backpack), but I thought I did, so I signed up.

Now I'm beginning to doubt whether paying $30/month for data is really worth it for me (especially since my college isn't in an LTE service area and the laptop wifi at school would be just as fast as my phone's 3G), and I was just wondering what my obligations are under the contract.

I know I can't cancel the data and still use my Revolution, but could I cancel the data and buy a feature phone?

If I were to do that, would I have to return the Revolution? (which I got free from Amazon Wireless)

And what if, someday in the next two years of the contract, I decide I do finally need a smartphone? Would I be eligible for those little "upgrade to a data plan" promotions that Verizon has where they subsidize the phone? (like the one right now with the $100 rebate; as a college student, I don't think I could ever justify buying a phone for full price!)

Thanks for any help/advice! I've been wandering around these forums for a while, and I figured if you guys didn't know the answer to those questions, no one (other than maybe a VZW customer service rep) would :)
 
If you read the contract you agreed to with Amazon, chances are that you agreed to pay them back the price they subsidized the phone for if you remove it from your service while under contract.

This would not be a smart thing to do.
 
You're probably going to have to turn the phone in or pay the difference between the subsidized price and full retail price of the phone. Basically, it's a preventative measure to keep people from buying a phone at an upgrade price and selling it for a profit.
 
+1 on what everyone else has said. But also, even though you don't see using it now, if you switch to a feature phone you lose unlimited data for good. You can switch between smartphones but a feature phone's data plan is treated as a different type of data plan. So switching to that will kill unlimited data for you (per a Verizon CSR).
 
Absolutely stick with it. You never know when you'll need it. LAN could go down and you'll need to tether... 4G is expanding rapidly now... don't want to lose it forever. Plus, you're STILL paying less (one cent) than the MINIMUM 2-gig/month plan. So just keep it. It will be WELL worth it. Not to mention data calling. Doesn't matter if you have a Devour or a Bionic: It's the PLAN that you want.

Edit:

I was thinking about doing the same thing because my Eris is pretty much crap now. But when Verizon said they were ending the unlimited plan, I changed my mind REAL quick.
 
You absolutely can switch phones and cancel your data plan. You can either buy a phone at full retail price from Verizon since you are not eligible for an upgrade yet (new every two years) or you can get a phone some other way and have Verizon switch the contract to the "new" phone. You can buy a used phone and do this or a new phone at full price (ie no contract discount) from some other retailer.

Data is absolutely NOT part of your contract. Of course if you drop your unlimited data plan, you can never get it back. If you add data again at some point in the future, it will be the tiered plan.
 
sic0048 said:
You absolutely can switch phones and cancel your data plan. You can either buy a phone at full retail price from Verizon since you are not eligible for an upgrade yet (new every two years) or you can get a phone some other way and have Verizon switch the contract to the "new" phone. You can buy a used phone and do this or a new phone at full price (ie no contract discount) from some other retailer.

Data is absolutely NOT part of your contract. Of course if you drop your unlimited data plan, you can never get it back. If you add data again at some point in the future, it will be the tiered plan.
Click to expand...

The first paragraph is correct IF you got your phone through Verizon. But the OP got his/hers through Amazon. Companies like Amazon, Wirefly, Letstalk, Best Buy Mobile, etc. usually have a clause in the contract that says if you do anything to change your plan during the first 6 months, you are subject to a equipment recovery fee (usually anywhere from $250 to the difference of the retail price of the phone). The reason being is they offer the phones for much less than the carriers do. To be able to get their money back you have to be on the plan you signed up for for at least 6 months. If you make changes to the plan you may be costing them a boatload of money. So they make it a blanket policy that if you change your plan in that period your are subject to the fee, even if the change in plan costs more.

That's why I have always been leary of going with companies other than the carrier for my phones. If you know with absolute certainty that you won't have to change your plan in those first 6 months, then it's a great deal. But if not, it might end up costing you the same as if you had gotten it at full retail price. The kicker is if you up and cancelled service completely in those first 6 months, you'd not only be subject to the fee of the company offering the phone, but also the carreirs ETF, for a grand total of $600+. Something to think about.
 
i bought my phone from Amazon Wireless.

You can change PHONES with no penalty.

You CANNOT change PLANS without penalty though.

So if you want another smartphone that's fine, but you cannot make changes to your actual plan for 6 months.

I have confirmed this with Amazon since my Charge is all screwy and it's after the 30 days. I am getting a d3, and i called to make sure i wont get penalized and they confirmed this.
 
what everyone said here is pretty spot on. That is the biggest drawback to purchasing a phone from online retailers. They absolutely will charge your card the full retail amount of the phone, or the difference in what was paid if you make any changes to the plan.

As far as VZW is concerned, when there is a smartphone on a plan, it has to have at least the $30 data package. No way around it. I sell phones every day, and vzw's system automatically puts the data on the plan if its a smartphone.

If you switch from a smartphone to a basic phone thats okay with vzw, you will obvioulsy have to pay full price for the basic phone, but you will have issues with amazon, no doubt about it. Again, thats the catch for getting the phone so much cheaper than any actual premium retailer/corp store.

There is no workaround for the data thing at this point. however, vzw just went to something called account level billing, which is basically setting the stage for a "family data plan" at some point in time (no ETA currently).

HOpe this helped a little, and again, be wary when purchasing phones from online retailers, always read the fine print!!
 
you dont have to stay away from online retailers, just know what you're getting into. I am very happy with Amazon Wireless!
 
Shurple said:
you dont have to stay away from online retailers, just know what you're getting into. I am very happy with Amazon Wireless!
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree with that. Like I said in my previous post, if you know with certaintly that you won't be chaging your plan, or can find a way to make sure you don't change it, then it's a great deal.

Something else I recalled after my last post, I believe that warranty issues are also handled by the retailer (amazon, wirefly, etc.) for a certain period. I remember almost getting a phone through Walmart (I believe they are partnered with LetsTalk) and if you had issues you had to go through them for warranty for I think the first month (could've been three months). I don't remember for sure since it was over a year ago when I asked. But that's something else to consider as well.
 
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