I think you guys might be forgetting the $100 "Advanced Device Credit" VZW knocks off their PDAs when you subscribe to the data plan. That would put the phone at $99. Only people without a data plan would be stuck at the $199 price.
From what I hear though, VZW corporate is cracking down on people getting data for a month and then canceling it. Now you actually need to keep it for three months or they are forced to backcharge your account. This is what I have been told by my friendly local Verizon rep. This may or may not be true, but he was quite clear on what he understood the policy to be.
The rep is wrong, a company can't force you to keep anything, there is no penalty for adding or removing services even for the advanced device credit. Now they can take the credit away, which is more likely, but we can't make you keep something for 3 months. Even when reps do that as an offer when trying to talk you out of a full rerate, like I'll give you x credit if you keep y plan for z amount of time. the representatives can't do that, something upper management actually frowns on, i've been coached on it lol.
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I think you guys might be forgetting the $100 "Advanced Device Credit" VZW knocks off their PDAs when you subscribe to the data plan. That would put the phone at $99. Only people without a data plan would be stuck at the $199 price.
From what I hear though, VZW corporate is cracking down on people getting data for a month and then canceling it. Now you actually need to keep it for three months or they are forced to backcharge your account. This is what I have been told by my friendly local Verizon rep. This may or may not be true, but he was quite clear on what he understood the policy to be.
The rep is wrong, a company can't force you to keep anything, there is no penalty for adding or removing services even for the advanced device credit. Now they can take the credit away, which is more likely, but we can't make you keep something for 3 months. Even when reps do that as an offer when trying to talk you out of a full rerate, like I'll give you x credit if you keep y plan for z amount of time. the representatives can't do that, something upper management actually frowns on, i've been coached on it lol.