VZW Stores vs. Authorized Agents

We've always gone directly through the Verizon stores, but some of the
"authorized agents" (like http://www.letstalk.com/) seem to be
offering better deals than VZW and and phones that VZW stores don't
even carry (I want a 6256i and am eligable for NE2, but the two jsut
don't seem to go together).

Other than better(?) service on phones and plans, is there an
advantage to the VZW stores? Any "gotchas" to watch out for with
authorized agents?

Thanks!

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 07:01:42 -0700, saynoto2spam <saynoto@2spam.com>
wrote:

>We've always gone directly through the Verizon stores, but some of the
>"authorized agents" (like http://www.letstalk.com/) seem to be
>offering better deals than VZW and and phones that VZW stores don't
>even carry (I want a 6256i and am eligable for NE2, but the two jsut
>don't seem to go together).
>
>Other than better(?) service on phones and plans, is there an
>advantage to the VZW stores? Any "gotchas" to watch out for with
>authorized agents?

Stay away from authorized dealers; they're often crooks.

One told a friend of mine that if he signed up for a T-Mobile plan,
they'd pay his early termination fee with Verizon. Guess what... He
got locked into a contract with T-Mobile and received a final invoice
from Verizon for $175.00 - The merchant never paid and denied making
the claim.

In another case, a fiend was sold a $15.00 per month Cingular plan
that didn't exist. His first invoice was $25.00 and there was nothing
he could do about it; he signed the contract. The merchant lied and
said it was a 'misunderstanding'.

They're fast talkers; you've got to watch them.

A_C

It seems to me that you have two STUPID friends.


"Agent_C" <Agent-C-hates-spam@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:3ghrp19ooeo6te75joaqcs6902fdja4ues@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 07:01:42 -0700, saynoto2spam <saynoto@2spam.com>
> wrote:
>
>>We've always gone directly through the Verizon stores, but some of the
>>"authorized agents" (like http://www.letstalk.com/) seem to be
>>offering better deals than VZW and and phones that VZW stores don't
>>even carry (I want a 6256i and am eligable for NE2, but the two jsut
>>don't seem to go together).
>>
>>Other than better(?) service on phones and plans, is there an
>>advantage to the VZW stores? Any "gotchas" to watch out for with
>>authorized agents?
>
> Stay away from authorized dealers; they're often crooks.
>
> One told a friend of mine that if he signed up for a T-Mobile plan,
> they'd pay his early termination fee with Verizon. Guess what... He
> got locked into a contract with T-Mobile and received a final invoice
> from Verizon for $175.00 - The merchant never paid and denied making
> the claim.
>
> In another case, a fiend was sold a $15.00 per month Cingular plan
> that didn't exist. His first invoice was $25.00 and there was nothing
> he could do about it; he signed the contract. The merchant lied and
> said it was a 'misunderstanding'.
>
> They're fast talkers; you've got to watch them.
>
> A_C
>

I prefer doing business directly with the companies.

"saynoto2spam" <saynoto@2spam.com> wrote in message
news:fh0rp1tk0im2msm31i5hpmvgi40n9d1ubb@4ax.com...
> We've always gone directly through the Verizon stores, but some of the
> "authorized agents" (like http://www.letstalk.com/) seem to be
> offering better deals than VZW and and phones that VZW stores don't
> even carry (I want a 6256i and am eligable for NE2, but the two jsut
> don't seem to go together).
>
> Other than better(?) service on phones and plans, is there an
> advantage to the VZW stores? Any "gotchas" to watch out for with
> authorized agents?
>
> Thanks!

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 07:01:42 -0700, saynoto2spam <saynoto@2spam.com>
wrote:

>We've always gone directly through the Verizon stores, but some of the
>"authorized agents" (like http://www.letstalk.com/) seem to be
>offering better deals than VZW and and phones that VZW stores don't
>even carry (I want a 6256i and am eligable for NE2, but the two jsut
>don't seem to go together).
>
>Other than better(?) service on phones and plans, is there an
>advantage to the VZW stores? Any "gotchas" to watch out for with
>authorized agents?
>

When you deal with one company instead of two and have a problem, it's
one less set of fingers to point at someone else, and one less entity
to point at.

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 22:09:05 GMT, "Ben Skversky"
<bskversky1@verizon.net> wrote:

>It seems to me that you have two STUPID friends.

As consumers, yes. One's a lawyer, the other is a software
professional. In every other aspect of their lives they're brilliant.
Put them is front of a salesman and their IQ drops 50 points. All too
typical in the this country I'm afraid.

See my recent posts of STUPID American consumers in general:

http://tinyurl.com/9z3xf
http://tinyurl.com/82p82

A_C

"saynoto2spam" <saynoto@2spam.com> wrote in message
news:fh0rp1tk0im2msm31i5hpmvgi40n9d1ubb@4ax.com...
> We've always gone directly through the Verizon stores, but some of the
> "authorized agents" (like http://www.letstalk.com/) seem to be
> offering better deals than VZW and and phones that VZW stores don't
> even carry (I want a 6256i and am eligable for NE2, but the two jsut
> don't seem to go together).
>
> Other than better(?) service on phones and plans, is there an
> advantage to the VZW stores? Any "gotchas" to watch out for with
> authorized agents?
>
> Thanks!

Indirects will often have a separate and additional ETF, usually for six
months or so. In some cases I believe it is stipulated the phone you get
must remain active on the line for that period i.e. no ESN swapping.

SL

saynoto2spam wrote:
> We've always gone directly through the Verizon stores, but some of the
> "authorized agents" (like http://www.letstalk.com/) seem to be
> offering better deals than VZW and and phones that VZW stores don't
> even carry (I want a 6256i and am eligable for NE2, but the two jsut
> don't seem to go together).
>
> Other than better(?) service on phones and plans, is there an
> advantage to the VZW stores? Any "gotchas" to watch out for with
> authorized agents?

The resellers often have additional terms related to cancellation. OTOH,
they also often have a better selection of handsets, including sometimes
offering handsets that have been dropped by the company stores.

Costco appears to be the best option for new service, but they didn't
seem to want to deal with contract extensions and handsets.

If you see a phone that you want, and it's not on the Verizon web site,
try calling Verizon and inquiring about it. Sometimes they remove phones
from their web site that are actually still available.

Thanks for all the input!

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 16:32:28 -0800, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote:

>saynoto2spam wrote:
>> We've always gone directly through the Verizon stores, but some of the
>> "authorized agents" (like http://www.letstalk.com/) seem to be
>> offering better deals than VZW and and phones that VZW stores don't
>> even carry (I want a 6256i and am eligable for NE2, but the two jsut
>> don't seem to go together).
>>
>> Other than better(?) service on phones and plans, is there an
>> advantage to the VZW stores? Any "gotchas" to watch out for with
>> authorized agents?
>
>The resellers often have additional terms related to cancellation. OTOH,
>they also often have a better selection of handsets, including sometimes
>offering handsets that have been dropped by the company stores.
>
>Costco appears to be the best option for new service, but they didn't
>seem to want to deal with contract extensions and handsets.
>
>If you see a phone that you want, and it's not on the Verizon web site,
>try calling Verizon and inquiring about it. Sometimes they remove phones
>from their web site that are actually still available.