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Verizon contracts

J

jimburn69

Member
Sorry I posted this in BIONIC posts.
There is a petition going around for Verizon to drop there contract and to sell phones off contracts in the same manner that T Mobile has. I think this would be a good idea for us consumers.Not to be tied up to a 2 year contract.
Just a thought. If enough people are interested Verizon has said they may do this.
 
I think if they include the option to make payment plans for the phone, it would be an excellent thing for consumers. Being able to change carriers at a whim would greatly increase competition among them, which would drive prices down.
 
Forgive me for being so blunt and Captain Obvious, but hasn't T-Crap just changed from early termination fees to paying off the phone fees? Isn't Verizon offering the ability to pay for a full priced phone off contract in monthly payments doing the same thing, just without officially going off contract?

Imagine the SGS3 bought this way. They retail for $599 for the 16 GB version. That is $50 per month (in round numbers). You have 6 months left on your contract after buying it, and still owe $300. Your contract is up, and you leave because you just can't stand it anymore. Verizon says "Go for it! Just pay off the phone and you're free to leave." Hence, the ETF becomes a device payoff fee.

I like how it's an option now, but I don't like the 24 month upgrade change (none of us do). So, how is this really changing anything? Isn't it just bait and switch?
 
gloriousnumber1 said:
Forgive me for being so blunt and Captain Obvious, but hasn't T-Crap just changed from early termination fees to paying off the phone fees? Isn't Verizon offering the ability to pay for a full priced phone off contract in monthly payments doing the same thing, just without officially going off contract?

Imagine the SGS3 bought this way. They retail for $599 for the 16 GB version. That is $50 per month (in round numbers). You have 6 months left on your contract after buying it, and still owe $300. Your contract is up, and you leave because you just can't stand it anymore. Verizon says "Go for it! Just pay off the phone and you're free to leave." Hence, the ETF becomes a device payoff fee.

I like how it's an option now, but I don't like the 24 month upgrade change (none of us do). So, how is this really changing anything? Isn't it just bait and switch?
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Well on tmobile your bill will be cheaper when you pay the phone off or if you bring your own phone, with Verizon the bill is the same no matter if you bring you are on contract or if you pay full price.
 
Wolfedude88 said:
Well on tmobile your bill will be cheaper when you pay the phone off or if you bring your own phone, with Verizon the bill is the same no matter if you bring you are on contract or if you pay full price.
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Well, if my bill on Verizon was $100 per month, and I bought the SGS3 for $50 per month, my bill would be $150 per month for a year, then back down to $100.
 
gloriousnumber1 said:
Well, if my bill on Verizon was $100 per month, and I bought the SGS3 for $50 per month, my bill would be $150 per month for a year, then back down to $100.
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True, but part of that 100 is for paying off a subsidy, whether you bought a subsidized device or not. That's why t-mobile has basically called out all the other carriers by saying they're not going to do what the other big 3 do. They are severing service and device charges into two separate bill items instead of keeping them bundled together and charging you for the subsidy whether you took it out not. Plus even if you did take the subsidy, and you finish paying it off, your bill doesn't drop. It's like taking out a car loan and even after you finish paying it off, you still have to pay the back. It's simply outrageous that people are fine with that practice.
 
Do what happens if you don't like Verizon? Sure, you can switch carriers, but you vzw phone won't work anywhere else. It's not like having an unlocked GSM phone.
 
gloriousnumber1 said:
Well, if my bill on Verizon was $100 per month, and I bought the SGS3 for $50 per month, my bill would be $150 per month for a year, then back down to $100.
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The point is your bill wouldn't be $100, it would be less. Also, subs on VZW continue to pay the higher fee due to a subsidized phone long after the phone is paid off.
 
jhawkkw said:
True, but part of that 100 is for paying off a subsidy, whether you bought a subsidized device or not. That's why t-mobile has basically called out all the other carriers by saying they're not going to do what the other big 3 do. They are severing service and device charges into two separate bill items instead of keeping them bundled together and charging you for the subsidy whether you took it out not. Plus even if you did take the subsidy, and you finish paying it off, your bill doesn't drop. It's like taking out a car loan and even after you finish paying it off, you still have to pay the back. It's simply outrageous that people are fine with that practice.
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How is part of the bill a subsidized phone? I have never heard this and I don't understand it. When you buy a phone at subsidized price, such as $200, you are on a contract which is designed so you don't simply walk away, sell it, then go to another carrier. If I buy a phone somewhere or bring my own that I didn't buy subsidized, can someone explain how my bill would be lower?
 
gloriousnumber1 said:
How is part of the bill a subsidized phone? I have never heard this and I don't understand it. When you buy a phone at subsidized price, such as $200, you are on a contract which is designed so you don't simply walk away, sell it, then go to another carrier. If I buy a phone somewhere or bring my own that I didn't buy subsidized, can someone explain how my bill would be lower?
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You buy the phone for 200, but that phone actually costs more than that. Verizon, as well as the other carriers, are too greedy to eat the extra couple hundred dollars. So instead of adding it to the red on their bottom line, they pass a little bit of it off to the consumer each month in a customer's monthly bill. However, the carriers up until now (since T-Mobile has called out the rest) have hid this fee and just bundled it into the bill.

Another thing to notice is that the etf decreases based on the number of months you have been under the contract. That is because the amount it decreases by each month is a little bit less than what you pay towards making up for the subsidy.

Where the real shady practice is that if a customer does finish their contract, the carriers do not remove this fee and continue to keep it hidden as if it actually wasn't part of the bill, even though it is.

You may not believe it's part of the bill, but it is and the Verizon executives have even said it is is public statements. T-Mobile even admitted to doing it as well and called out everyone else because they still do it.
 
jhawkkw said:
Another thing to notice is that the etf decreases based on the number of months you have been under the contract. That is because the amount it decreases by each month is a little bit less than what you pay towards making up for the subsidy.

Where the real shady practice is that if a customer does finish their contract, the carriers do not remove this fee and continue to keep it hidden as if it actually wasn't part of the bill, even though it is.

You may not believe it's part of the bill, but it is and the Verizon executives have even said it is is public statements. T-Mobile even admitted to doing it as well and called out everyone else because they still do it.
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Well I know that the ETF is there so that you will pay for the phone full price if you leave early. Does that mean they just inflate the price of the full priced phones? Is there a way I can see that fee or do they add it to the price of the service such as data, voice, etc?
 
It's bundled into the service, which makes it invisible in your bill. That way even if you're not on contract and thus not paying back the subsidy, they can charge the customer for it and they won't raise issue with it since they can't see it.
 
jhawkkw said:
It's bundled into the service, which makes it invisible in your bill. That way even if you're not on contract and thus not paying back the subsidy, they can charge the customer for it and they won't raise issue with it since they can't see it.
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Interesting! I guess other than building and maintaining a giant high speed network, they must pile up all our cash like Scrooge McDuck.
 
jhawkkw said:
It's true, revenue was about 1.95 billion last quarter for them.
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Really, if I wasn't 100% convinced that Verizon has the best coverage and overall delivers the cadillac quality service for cadillac price, I wouldn't be here. I had T-Crap, and it was worse than 2 tin cans and a string. Everyone else seems significantly less dependable. It's peace of mind also because since I haven't had a land line in so long, I know I need something that will work as good as anything can be expected to. If they ever screw me over and there is no resolution, I will leave like I did with the people I previously mentioned. I left early and paid an ETF because of the voicemails a day late and no service inside my apartment in a populated area, when they wouldn't let me out of my contract.
 
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