Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Hey, I tried

[Yes, this move was conveniently timed, as T-Mobile's network has been projectile vomiting all week. This story isn't really about T-Mobile, though.]

I've had a Verizon account for over 15 years.

I was paying for way more than I needed, though. So I decided to downsize my plan. I looked on their website and the cheapest plan I could find (with more than 1GB of data) was $60 a month.

Then I did a little comparison shopping. I went on T-Mobile's website and they had a prepaid plan with 5GB of data for $25 a month. Unbelievable.

Because I've been a Verizon customer for so long, I made the effort and called in to ask them if there were secret plans that I couldn't find. Turns out, there were--prepaid plans that were not easy to locate, because it's not how they make the most money.

The prepaid plan I looked at was 3GB of data for $35 a month. Close enough, with the loyalty bonus.
I said sign me up.

And then the murders began.

I have an HTC 11, a super-powerful phone from late 2017. Verizon told me that if they disconnected me from the post-paid plan and reconnected me for the prepaid plan, that my phone wouldn't work, because the database said it was incompatible with the network.

"Maybe you should tell my phone," I said, "since it's been working fine for three years."

The issue was that the database identified my phone as a 3G phone without 4G capability (absolutely incorrect). At least, that was the consensus.

Not a problem, right? A crippling problem, actually. There was no workaround, according to customer service and the prepaid department.

Seriously.

That first call took over an hour, and then I made a second call which ALSO lasted an hour, and there was no resolution.

Oh, I could buy a new phone. That was their best idea. 

I went to the T-Mobile website and signed up for the prepaid plan (surprise, my phone is compatible with their network). The SIM came in the mail two days later. I popped it in and it worked.

You may be asking how Verizon could make it so difficult for a customer of fifteen years to continue paying them money each month.

That is a very good question.

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