Got the approval from the wife, there's still a hurdle

[Comineeyeaha]

Ok, gang, it's time to put our heads together. I took my wife into the Verizon store yesterday to try and convince her of how cool the Fascinate is, and it works. So well, in fact, that she has instructed me to get us a pair of them as soon as possible. The only problem is her line doesn't upgrade until January. I called Verizon last week and they told me they can't move her date up as she is just the secondary line on our family plan. Now, I know there are ways to game the system, I'm hoping somebody here has some experience in getting Verizon, or any phone company, to move an upgrade date forward by 3 months.

Any ideas? I'd love to join the community for real!

 

[astraelraen]

I thought verizon would pretty much bend over backwards to get anyone without a data plan into one, even if they wanted an early upgrade.

 

[Comineeyeaha]

We both have a data plan already, or else your theory would be sound. We've got a pair of Storms, and after she got her hands on the fascinate I'm pretty sure she wants to throw her Storm away.

 

[HeftyOrb]

Secondary lines don't get the date moved. Only the Primary can do an early upgrade at the one year mark. Best you can do is wait till your with in the 30 days of the Upgrade date and try a corporate location. I've seen them approve the upgrade on a secondary line with in 30 days

 

[Comineeyeaha]

I'm pertty sure thats what i'll be stuck with, but I REALLY want to get rid of our storms!

 

[coltsbr]

How long has it been since you (the primary) upgraded?

If its been 2 yrs you can change your wifes line to primary and get her and early upgarde and you can get your standard upgrade.

 

[bkorver]

There is always the "add a line" option. If you have a dumb phone laying around, you can add a line to get the deal on the Fascinate, then transfer the dumb phone to the added line asap. Downside... 10 bucks a month to your bill for 2 years. It's sixes...

 

[Comineeyeaha]

We both upgraded at the same time. My early upgrade has been available since like May, and the NE2 comes up in January for both of us. Maybe I should get on the horn with them and tell them I'll do whatever it takes with switching lines around just to get it. I joked with them on 1 call that I might open up a 3rd line just to get the phone, and I think they thought I was serious. Maybe I just need to talk to the right person.

 

[jnewell]

Secondary line should be OK for contract renewal discount if last renewal was 20 months ago. I got that discount from VZW two weeks ago - three phones were out of contract and the fourth expired in December. Depending on dates, you should just about be there.

 

[coltsbr]

We both upgraded at the same time. My early upgrade has been available since like May, and the NE2 comes up in January for both of us. Maybe I should get on the horn with them and tell them I'll do whatever it takes with switching lines around just to get it. I joked with them on 1 call that I might open up a 3rd line just to get the phone, and I think they thought I was serious. Maybe I just need to talk to the right person.

That's what my wife and I did. We just opened another line to have an extra phone at the house. That way we could both get the Fascinate.

 

[egg_head]

Sounds like what you need doesn't make business sense for Verizon.
Your best bet is renewing your primary line and adding an additional line for $9.99/month.
Once it's all billed out, reactivate old equipment on the new number and switch the Fascinate over to your line that wasn't eligible.
Hell, if you don't really need to keep that one number that expires next year, drop it and use the new number you added to buy the Fascinate.

 

[joebob2000]

Sounds like what you need doesn't make business sense for Verizon.
Your best bet is renewing your primary line and adding an additional line for $9.99/month.
Once it's all billed out, reactivate old equipment on the new number and switch the Fascinate over to your line that wasn't eligible.
Hell, if you don't really need to keep that one number that expires next year, drop it and use the new number you added to buy the Fascinate.

I am in an eerily similar situation (two Storms, and January before the second line is eligible) and this is what the VZ rep suggested. The part that didn't make sense was that ultimately it would result in an extra two year contract hanging around for the full two years. The rep explained "well you end up spending an extra $240 but you get to take advantage of the BOGO and you get to upgrade now instead of in four months." I asked point blank "if there is a switcheroo why can't I just cancel the old line when it expires in May" and he gave me a funny look and said "you will have the extra line for two full years." Why wouldn't you just be able to cancel the older contract in May when it ends, and be back to one?

 

[dbdynsty25]

Why wouldn't you just be able to cancel the older contract in May when it ends, and be back to one?

You can. That's what I'd do if the wife doesn't mind getting a new cell number.

Add a line with the Free Fascinate...transfer her old number to a "dumb" phone @ 9.99 a month until the number is out of contract (in May) and then just cancel that line. That way you're only out the ten bucks a month until her old line's contract is up. That's the best way to do it monetarily at this point.

 

[Comineeyeaha]

I am in an eerily similar situation (two Storms, and January before the second line is eligible) and this is what the VZ rep suggested. The part that didn't make sense was that ultimately it would result in an extra two year contract hanging around for the full two years. The rep explained "well you end up spending an extra $240 but you get to take advantage of the BOGO and you get to upgrade now instead of in four months." I asked point blank "if there is a switcheroo why can't I just cancel the old line when it expires in May" and he gave me a funny look and said "you will have the extra line for two full years." Why wouldn't you just be able to cancel the older contract in May when it ends, and be back to one?

Yeah, you probably got in on the same BOGO I did last may and bought 2 storms because it was an "iphone killer", right?

I would go with the option of adding a line and then cancelling it later, but I really don't feel like blowing an extra 240 over the life of the phone just to save money now. I'd end up spending more in the long run when I could just wait.

Sigh, not the answer I was hoping for...

 

[Comineeyeaha]

Sounds like what you need doesn't make business sense for Verizon.

Unfortunately I'm well aware of this. You can't blame a guy for trying though, right?

 

[NickA]

Just add the extra line for 9.99, the sell the 2 Storms on eBay to offset some of the cost of canceling the agreement on the new line. You won't get much for the Storms at this point, but it's better then paying the whole 350 to cancel the new line. Not to mention you can add that third line again when the next new phone comes out that you want.

 

[joebob2000]

Yeah, you probably got in on the same BOGO I did last may and bought 2 storms because it was an "iphone killer", right?

I would go with the option of adding a line and then cancelling it later, but I really don't feel like blowing an extra 240 over the life of the phone just to save money now. I'd end up spending more in the long run when I could just wait.

Sigh, not the answer I was hoping for...

My problem is that my wife doesn't want to give up her storm unless her next phone is free. Other than the bigger screen I honestly don't have much of a case to make as neither of us have any of the "legendary" storm 1 problems. If my phone would just up and break like the nine million other forum peeps who had one...

 

[Comineeyeaha]

My problem is that my wife doesn't want to give up her storm unless her next phone is free. Other than the bigger screen I honestly don't have much of a case to make as neither of us have any of the "legendary" storm 1 problems. If my phone would just up and break like the nine million other forum peeps who had one...

Ha! If only, right?

The guy at the Verizon store told me that we can push her upgrade up to now, but then he wouldn't be able to also approve BOGO on it. This tells me that it can be done, though, so maybe I'll get someone on the phone to approve the early upgrade, and then go buy them at Best Buy where they can price match the bogo. That sounds like a lot of work, though, when I could just be patient.

 

[nevrdun]

Well, if you boil it down the add a line may not be a horrible option. Right now you've got BOGO, in a few months you may not.... so then your probably 199 each. You're then looking at a $40 difference, not so huge. Just a concideration.

 

[joebob2000]

Well, if you boil it down the add a line may not be a horrible option. Right now you've got BOGO, in a few months you may not.... so then your probably 199 each. You're then looking at a $40 difference, not so huge. Just a concideration.

If we were both hankerin' for a new phone, I would say the $40 is worth it. As it is, who knows if there won't be a better phone with a BOGO in January to make our "patience pay-off" $240... I could probably stand to hold off for a global Android phone (probably the moto Droid 2 global ed.) since I am out of the country a few times a year and it would be nice to not be out of service in GSM-only areas. Maybe by then the Storm 4 will be out and I can keep my wife's blackberry addiction satiated.