Verizon

[Gen]

Verizon to charge $30 to upgrade your phone
By David Goldman @CNNMoneyTech April 11, 2012: 3:57 PM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Thinking of upgrading your phone with Verizon? Better do it fast.

<span style="font-weight: bold">On April 22, Verizon Wireless will institute a $30 upgrade fee for existing customers</span> who purchase new phones with a two-year contract.

The fee would hit any Verizon customer signing up for a new two-year plan and receiving a discounted device. Early upgraders who pay the full price of a new phone would not be impacted.

&quot;This fee will help us continue to provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect,&quot; said Brenda Raney, spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) is actually the last national carrier to charge an upgrade fee. T-Mobile charges $18 for upgrades. Sprint (S, Fortune 500) and AT&amp;T (T, Fortune 500) recently doubled their fees to $36.</span>

The announcement comes at a time when carriers' profit margins are getting squeezed by hefty smartphone subsidies -- particularly from Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500) iPhone.

yah suh

[Jazz]

Re: Verizon

OH GOOD LORD! \o/

I guess I can order online and have the phone shipped to relatives - mi say dem find a way to stick it to you every way!

Thanks for the info Gen

[j-kid]

Re: Verizon

They may end up loosing some customers to di less costly competition over dis greedy move. Verizon is already expensive tuh begin wid.

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: Verizon

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: J kid</div><div class="ubbcode-body">They may end up loosing some customers to di less costly competition over dis greedy move. Verizon is already expensive tuh begin wid. </div></div>AT&amp;T charge $36 for th
e same service and has been doing so for a while.

[LinSkinny]

Re: Verizon

Every time I've had an 'upgrade' fee mentioned by any of the carriers, I've told them to cancel, and the fee has been waived. Since they're already getting me for a two year contract, I refuse to pay especially when I've been a customer for more than 5 years.

[kia027]

Re: Verizon

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: LinSkinny</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Every time I've had an 'upgrade' fee mentioned by any of the carriers, I've told them to cancel, and the fee has been waived. Since they're already getting me for a two year contract, I refuse to pay especially when I've been a customer for more than 5 years. </div></div>

yep and it works every time!

pay wha fi hupgrade wah?

Same flipping process dem use, same flipping SIM card, same network bandwidth

KMT CMY

[Gen]

Re: Verizon

them so annoying is a shame.

[Pepper]

Re: Verizon

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: J kid</div><div class="ubbcode-body">They may end up loosing some customers to di less costly competition over dis greedy move. Verizon is already expensive tuh begin wid. </div></div>AT&amp;T charge $36 for th
e same service and has been doing so for a while. </div></div>

You save the upgrade fee if you transfer to another carrier...and you get to keep your number. Some providers sell phones to current customers at a higher price than new customers. So you can end up paying more for the same phone, plus get tagged with an upgrade fee. WHY? so you can be loyal to your provider, while they are sticking it to you?