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Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / Verizon / May 2007Verizon 100 Free Minutes "offer"
I received a mailing from Verizon yesterday offering me 100 free minutes, which I can claim by phone or at their website and accepting their "offer". Now, "offer" is a legal term that implies a contract is being created, and a contract implies that the thing being offered is in exchange for something. Yet they don't say what it is I'm agreeing to in exchange for the 100 free minutes. Do any of you know whether there's some hidden catch, or are they just using the word "offer" incorrectly? I *can* see why they might make customers affirmatively accept a *gift* of 100 free minutes--because they want to make them available for 60 days only, after which they disappear after they aren't used. So this enables Verizon to run the 60 days starting with the moment the customer accepts them. > I received a mailing from Verizon yesterday offering me 100 free > minutes, which I can claim by phone or at their website and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Do any of you know whether there's some hidden catch, or are they > just using the word "offer" incorrectly? Yes, there's a catch, no, it's not hidden, no, they're not using the word incorrectly. To claim the 100 free minutes you must go to the website or call, did you? I'm pretty sure if you do, you'll be given all the terms and conditions attached and an opportunity to agree to or reject the terms. Check it out.  SignatureXS11E, Killing all posts from Google Groups The Usenet Improvement Project: http://blinkynet.net/comp/uip5.html >> I received a mailing from Verizon yesterday offering me 100 free >> minutes, which I can claim by phone or at their website and [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > all the terms and conditions attached and an opportunity to agree to or > reject the terms. Check it out. The very first page requires the customer to check off a checkbox labeled "I accept 100 Free Anytime Minutes to be applied to my billing statement." It won't do me any good to read what I've agreed to after I've already accepted the offer. What a sleazy campaign. Harlan Messinger wrote on [Wed, 30 May 2007 13:12:18 -0400]: >>> I received a mailing from Verizon yesterday offering me 100 free >>> minutes, which I can claim by phone or at their website and [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > statement." It won't do me any good to read what I've agreed to after > I've already accepted the offer. What a sleazy campaign. 100 minutes for one billing cycle only. Hardly seems worth it. > The very first page requires the customer to check off a checkbox labeled > "I accept 100 Free Anytime Minutes to be applied to my billing statement." > It won't do me any good to read what I've agreed to after I've already > accepted the offer. >What a sleazy campaign. Indeed-- and it's a glove fit with how they do business and treat customers ;-) > Do any of you know whether there's > some hidden catch, or are they just using the word "offer" incorrectly? No catch. Someone they can't control is measuring the churning over a certain period of time. VZW is trying to plug the leaks making them look like a bad investment to the elite. Offering you 100 extra minutes drops the churning, instantly, for the period of time the measurement is going on, 60 days. As this really costs VZW NOTHING, it's a win-win for them. It makes marginally-loyal customers into loyal customers. After I had fled to Alltel and had been on their $39/700 minute plan for 4 months, paying on time of course...Alltel sent me a free 100-minutes- for-life addition to my plan. Isn't that great?! The catch on Alltel is the 100 minutes they gave me are the FIRST 100 MINUTES OF EVERY MONTH, before my usual plan with Free N/W kicks in. This uses up the 100 minutes, ASAP, so we can start using up those 700 minutes AFAP (as fast as possible). I was unsuccessful in trying to change the way this works so unlimited N/W minutes don't eat the 100 mins first every month. I never use up all my minutes, anyways, so the free 100 minutes is just an administrative exercise that results in no gain for either Alltel or me.... VZW's probably works the same way...just delaying when the month's clock begins, depending on how much you talk at the beginning of each pay period. Larry SignatureGrade School Physics Factoid: A building cannot freefall into its own footprint without skilled demolition. > No catch. Someone they can't control is measuring the churning over a > certain period of time. VZW is trying to plug the leaks making them look > like a bad investment to the elite. Good theory, except that Verizon has the lowest churn and highest net additions in the industry. Maybe they're going for an all-time record... Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote in news:f3l3c6$vjq$1 @aioe.org: > Good theory, except that Verizon has the lowest churn and highest net > additions in the industry. Maybe they're going for an all-time record... New sales brochures come in today?? Larry SignatureGrade School Physics Factoid: A building cannot freefall into its own footprint without skilled demolition. > New sales brochures come in today?? Beats me- I'm neither a Verizon employee or even a customer. I do, however, try and keep up with an industry I used to be involved in (I was a Cingular exclusive dealer in the late 90's and early aughts.) Maybe this constitutes a "change in contract", which, when accepted by a Verizon customer, might preclude that same person from later trying to wiggle out of their Verizon contract because Verizon introduced some wording / contract change on their end... >> New sales brochures come in today?? > > Beats me- I'm neither a Verizon employee or even a customer. I do, > however, try and keep up with an industry I used to be involved in (I was > a Cingular exclusive dealer in the late 90's and early aughts.) I got the letter offering an extra 100 minutes and it is pretty clear on my letter that is in return for extending your contract by one or two years. I was not on a contract at the time so I could have changed to another carrier without penalty. It came from the retention department and I went for it. > Maybe this constitutes a "change in contract", which, when accepted by a > Verizon customer, might preclude that same person from later trying to [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >> however, try and keep up with an industry I used to be involved in (I was >> a Cingular exclusive dealer in the late 90's and early aughts.) |
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