I went to Verizon (my cell phone provider) to get a message removed from my inbox (from a different problem....) The guy there was happy to remove the message for me and fixed the problem...that's not why I'm writing a review.
The problem started when I asked if I could upgrade my phone to a newer version. he looked up my account and said I wasn't eligible till Oct. ....BUT, if I was interested I could get a special price on a tablet. Cool He showed me some features and said I'd have to sign an additional 2 year contract for the tablet and it would add approximately $10 to my monthly bill. OK, I thought. Seemed really nice. When I got home, my cell phone AND my laptop froze. [I should mention, I'm 63 years old]. To top if off, my daughter-in-law was expecting to go to the hospital the next morning and I was waiting for updates because she was very close to labor to deliver their new son..... So, now (other than the tablet, I'm frozen out of my laptop (with Facebook) and my cellphone. I couldn't check the weather either. Yesterday morning, I tried calling Verizon and they don't answer the phone. (If they do, it was longer than I was able to wait) So I went there. I walked in and said I wanted to return my tablet (that I purchased the day before) because it has locked up my laptop and phone. He told me they would take the tablet back but there would be a $70 "restocking fee"...I paid $100 so that hardly seemed fair. He told me it was because now it's Used. The man that helped me asked to see my phone....which now was unfrozen. I told him what happened and also that I was locked out of any updated information about my daughter-in-law. He said my tablet couldn't have done that and that I was wrong....maybe there was something wrong with my laptop...and my phone. I said I doubted it because I hadn't had any problems till I brought the tablet home and could my devices "think" the tablet was a "threat"...he said no....but then told me to go home and leave the tablet in the car...go into the house, turn every thing on and they should work...then it was OK to bring the tablet in. That worked....great! I don't know why he didn't tell me to do that in the first place. I did mention that I'm not "Techie.' I also realized that there's no reason for me to have a tablet because I text with my phone and I email with my laptop because I TYPE. I'm a "baby-boomer" and I didn't grow up typing with my thumbs. For me, that's a waste of time and I'm not very fast. I also don't need a tablet for books because I have a Nook and I told him that too.
So, realizing I didn't have any use for a tablet but didn't want to waste $70 (I'm a widow, living on a fixed income)....I thought I'd donate my tablet to a fundraiser scheduled for 9/7/14. It's a benefit for victims of a workplace shooting. (Information available if needed)... I took the tablet back to the Verizon store and explained that although I still don't have a need for the tablet, I decided to donate it to a fundraiser and wanted to know if I needed to do anything to the tablet before I donated it. Also, since I was within the three day "grace period" I'd like to cancel the additional phone number for the tablet. He told me I should take the $70 restocking fee as a loss and not to donate it because it will be cheaper to take the loss. I told him I already said I was going to donate it and won't be going back on my word. He also said I can't get out of my contract (even tho it has been less than 3 days) because the tablet was sold as a special price ONLY if you signed an additional contract.
My head is spinning. They seem to have me coming and going and it seems that I'll be paying for an additional phone number for a tablet that I have donated (to a very worthy cause) and it also seems like I'll be paying for it for two years.
I hardly think that's fair. It's very confusing to go into that store and just as confusing to go onto their website.
I thought I'd turn a problem into something good but it seems I'm going to pay and pay and pay and pay...... read more