Just canceled iphone 6, beware of Verizon Trade in program. Regret it all.

Question

Today has been the 2 week mark since I first used Verizon's trade in program.  I canceled my sprint ( $100 ETF ) and decided to move over to Verizon since they were offering a $200 Gift Card if I traded in my Iphone 5.  Sounded like a great deal, and I went ahead and switched over and got a new Iphone 6 from Verizon.
Fast forward 2 weeks later to today, I noticed an email saying my device had not been received.  I decided to go online and chat with a woman who informed me that the email was automated, but I should wait at least 6 weeks.  6 weeks is not an acceptable time frame in my opinion, so I told her I would cancel my service if they can not at least locate my phone.  They were unable to locate my phone, and claim is still has not been received. 
I looked around the forums here, and low and behold a number of users are claiming they sent in perfectly working devices only to be given a $36 Gift Card because of a cracked screen.   They are unable to locate the phones for tons of users, and this really worries me.  She also let me know that there is no tracking number whatsoever on the package.  As a consumer, I find this completely unacceptable.
Hoping they could offer further help, I went to my local Verizon store here in Battle Creek, MI.  I informed the manager Cam that I was planning on returning the phone because I feel that my trade in was being mishandled and pointed him to the forums where users were complaining about the program.  While talking with Cam I noticed a couple checking out the Iphones, and the Verizon rep in the store, who was a very nice gentelman was explaining the trade in program.  I could not help myself from saying out loud not to trust the brown envelope that they give you since there is no tracking and I believe my phone was possibly lost or stolen and that I would not receive any credits.
Cam immediately told me to leave, threatened to call the police and told me that I was soliciting.  I explained to Cam that I was here for a return, not to solicit a sale of any kind and that I too was a Verizon customer and was only sharing information on the trade in from my experience with other fellow Verizon customers.  He asked me not to say it again or he would call the police, so I childishly said brown bag a few times before quietly waiting to be helped.  The return was processed after this, and I argued the $35 activation fee be removed from my account and I also argued the $35 restocking fee because they did not hold up their end of the trade in deal.
I realize that I am being fairly impatient here, with it only being 2 weeks and I did overreact a little after the police were threatened.  I do however lack any sympathy for Verizon not being able to process these trades in a timely manner.  They knew well ahead of time that the Iphone 6 was going to cause a ton of trade ins and they could have been more readily prepared.
After I returned home, I got online and spoke to Zach from Verizon who I tried a second time to have the activation and restocking fee returned to me.  He told me that it was fair charge and would not be removed so I gave in and agreed that it was my fee to pay.  I want to share a few excerpts with my chat with Zach because although he is a Verizon employee, he admited to me the faults of the trade in system.
Visitor: At least just the activation should be waived, since I was paying to activate a phone I had for 2 years, not 2 weeks.
Zach: Well those fees are valid charges  so they're not something I can waive. The activation fee is for new line activation and that?s waived if returned within 3 days but your paying for a line of service to be activated.... which it was. As far as the restocking fee goes that charge is to recoup some of the costs that we incur because you've returned that device. That phone can no longer be sold as new because it's been opened and used and since you returned that for a full refund of the purchase amount we end up losing money on that return so that $35 fee is assessed. None of these fees were charged in error. I'm sorry that this was the decision that you felt you had to come to especially when this would have ended up with you getting the credit for that trade in within a couple of weeks. 
Zach: We could have helped you research that submission and work with the trade in center to find your device but you made the decision to go ahead and cancel service and return the phone so that limits what we could have done in that case since it's already been cancelled/returned.
Visitor: I see you are all about the money, glad to no longer be a customer then.
Visitor: You are lying on that last post Zach.
Visitor: The trade in submission is a completely seperate process than me buying the iphone and returning it.
Visitor: So you are not willing to help me, because you can't find my phone.
Zach: You're right about that process, and though I can't find your phone we can partner with the trade-in team to work out a solution.
Visitor: I am filing a complaint against Verizon with the Better Business Bureau and I will name you as one of the people who went out of their way to not help me.
Visitor: I can not believe I just read that you could have helped me, but won't since I returned the phone.
Visitor: That was flat out wrong, you deserve to be punished for that misinformation.
Zach: I'm not saying I won't help you. I'm saying that our options are now more limited because you returned that device.
Visitor: That is not an accurate statement.
Visitor: The options are exactly the same as they were.
Visitor: You can search by submission ID, phone number, and email, which provides no results.
Visitor: Your other option, calling the trade in department, is also still available.
Visitor: Those were your 2 options before and after I returned the phone, and those are still the same 2 options you have now. The fact that your company goes out of your way to argue ridiculous points makes me 100% happy I returned my device while I had a chance to.
Visitor: Now I want my phone back.
Visitor: The iphone 5 that is.
Zach: Well, not exactly. Your trade-in would have been worth $200 with a iPhone 6 purchase, however since that phone has been returned and service has been cancelled then the trade in value may be less. Have you contacted the trade in center at all about the device you shipped to them?
Visitor: No that should be your job, I'm right here on the website that had me use the cheap brown evnvelope in the first place.
Visitor: if you go check the forums on verizon
Visitor: people are straight up trashing the trade in system
Zach: In my experience it takes about 3-4 weeks. 6 tops
Visitor: $36 for broken devices given out to people that sent in working phones
Visitor: other phones never being received
Visitor: it's all over the verizon forums
Visitor: did this worry me? yes
Visitor: and did it have an affect on me returning the phone? absolutely
Visitor: and the reason is that not ONE verizon rep replied with a solution, 1 guy was credited the $200 and they still claim they never got his phone
Visitor: the rest of the people are out of luck, and they will not help them
Visitor: this should be reported to the FCC too
Zach: Can I offer you a personal suggestion?
Visitor: i'm going to talk to a lot of people tomorrow
Zach: Not necessarily the VZW suggestion but from one person to another?
Visitor: sure
Zach: Call the 877-247-3846 number (the trade in program support center) and ask to speak to a manager and escalate the issue through them. Have them give you a timeline on when to expect an answer. If that timeline is not met, then escalate again. I've had to do this, I don't tell a lot of customers that because it doesn't look good but I think it's important in this conversation that you know that I have been through the exact same situation.
Visitor: Alright thank you Zach
Zach: And I was able to get it resolved after about a month from the time I sent it in but it took me having to follow up. I hate that you may have to do the same thing and I hope you have an easier experience than I did... my situation was almost two years ago so I expect that to be better and I hope it is for you
Visitor: I do appreciate the help you've given. Unfortunately I'm out a $35 activation, a $35 restocking fee and a $100 ETF from sprint. It's too little too late, I guess I can pay my wifes bill with the gift card since I no longer have a cell phone.
Zach: You're very welcome, I did add the 1GB of free data and the 50% off your $40 smartphone charge which will be reflected on your bill moving forward as my way of saying sorry for the mess and I know it doesn't fix everything but I hope it at least helps in letting you know that I do care about your experience.
Visitor: I really screwed myself for work, and talking to my family and everhthing. Lost my phone number that I had for the last 8 years.
Zach: Well, I wouldn't give up on the trade in just yet. and that 50% off saves you $240 over the next year. So it's every little bit that I could do.
Zach: Well.... here's this....
Visitor: It doesn't matter, my cell phone number that I had for almost a decade is out in the wild now. It's quite depressing thinking about everything honestly.
Zach: We can reactivate that line of service that you just cancelled
Zach: was that the number you're worried about?
Zach: the 419 number?
Visitor: yeah
Zach: What if we reactivate that and then get you a phone ordered from our system?
And then it hit me, even Verizon admits the faults with the system trade in system.  I wish I would have been more patient and I wish I never returned the phone, and I almost wanted to say yes to Zach activating me a new phone.  I overreacted in this situation, but I'm just so stubborn sometimes I wouldn't back down.  I felt like threatening Verizon with canceling was going to get me farther with figuring out my trade in credit, and at the end of the day it only cost me more money.
So now I'm out of:
$78 Last month bill to Sprint ( Only used 1 week of this month, but they will not prorate since I was under contract )
$100 Early Termination Fee to Sprint
$35 Activation Fee from Verizon
$35 Restocking Fee from Verizon
Out a Total of $248, have no phone at the moment and my Sprint Iphone 5 that I sent in has still supposedly just vanished into thin air.  I'm mad at myself for trying to stand up as a consumer and say no, because at the end of the day I was happy with my device.  I guess I'm going to go without a phone for awhile and think about my poor choices in this whole situation,  if I could go back in time I would have just waited and kept the phone.  Hopefully this helps someone else out because I spent a lot of hard earned money and time on this whole ordeal.

Answer 1

They do not know where your phone is yet because it has not had enough time to go through the process yet. I also started to worry when two weeks had passed and my iPhone 5S was still showing not received on the status website. That's when I joined this forum to see if anyone else was having the same problem. What I found out was that some people had been given reduced value for their trade in, but I also found posts from people like myself that were worried that their phone was lost and then came back and posted a week or two later that they had received their gift card.
I decided to chill and give it some time and about a week later my gift card arrived. If it had been for less than the promised amount I would no doubt still be upset and posting about it like the many posts I still see on here on a regular basis.
This is no doubt a popular program for Verizon. I would imagine there have been thousands of phones traded in. There are going to be at least some screw ups in the process. There is no point in getting ahead of yourself and assuming your case will be one of the screw ups unless it already is. Verizon has been consistently posting that it could take 4-6 weeks for processing. You will at some point likely hear the status on your traded-in phone. Patience would not hurt in this case.