Verizon's deceptive recycling program

Duplicate post - please see discussion here:
https://community.verizonwireless.com/thread/807642
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I went to Verizon Executive Customer Service you can find your area Customer Service head here:aboutus.verizonwireless.com/leadership/executive/
You'll get a call from one of their reps in a couple of days. It'll be an Atlanta GA number. They'll listen to your complaint and they are now aware that there are many people that have been affected just like you. They are supposedly looking into this 3rd Party company they hired to handle the device recycling to see what the problem is...?
They gave me $75 credit statement as a "good faith" however I'm still not satisfied. I was quoted $350 for an excellent phone. I've totaled $138 out of the $350 I was quoted. I feel completely robbed. My phone would've sold on eBay in excellent condition for $400. I did this program in '12 and it worked fine, no problems. I'll never do it again.
I also complained to my Attorney General Office as well as the BBB. I would recommend all avenues. Many, many people have been screwed over. Good luck!

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Verizon's iphone recycling program - deceptive business practice

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https://community.verizonwireless.com/thread/808778
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Reuse and recycling program deceptive?

BEWARE! I want to lodge a complaint about the Reuse and Recycling Program. There may/may not be a deceptive practice in operation that Apple and us sorry customers were not aware of. This happened to me -- I read through the condition checklist for my computer on Apple's R&R web pages and my machine had a value around $178. I decided to go ahead and shipped the MacBook to PowerOn (they actually run the program I suppose as subcontractor for Apple). PowerOn inspected my computer and said its condition was poor (and only worth $65) because the optical drive wasn't working and would not read a DL (dual-layer) disk. I don't know what DL is but I knew my computer could read and write dvd's, including the Mac OS disks without any problem. I declined their offer of $65, and they then offered $85. I rejected that also and asked for the machine to be returned, which they did. Upon return, my Mac still reads and writes cd's and dvd's with no problem. At the beginning of this R&R process there was no mention of any performance requirement beyond the norm, merely "Does its internal hardware function properly?" My equipment did and still does. No mention of DL disks. I think that is extemely unfair, and a waste of time for all parties concerned. Some people might even say it is a deceptive practice. Apple customers beware!

No commercial recycle program is ever going to give you anything near what your system is worth. You would likely get several times what they offer selling it on your own. The price they give you in the beginning is only an estimate. You were of course honest in your responses, but people could just as easily say something works that doesn't. They really can't give a final value until they inspect the machine. "DL" means dual layer. Reading dual layer disks is a basic disk function. The value of the drive is greatly diminished if it can't read dual layer disks. Most current drives with read and write dual layer, but reading dual layer has been a standard for quite a few years. Many disks may come on dual layer media. There is an expectation that the drive should be able to read them. They would likely need to replace the drive. I wouldn't say there was anything deceptive. You just need to understand how these companies work. You'll always be much better off selling on your own. Even for a completely dead system, you would be able to get more for just the parts. Check out eBay to get an idea of what systems similar to yours are selling for. If it's in good working order, you'll easily be able to sell it for more than twice what you were originally quoted.

Do not use Recycling Program - sell an old phone yourself

This program is absolutely a scam. I wish I'd done my due diligence and read this board before I sent my phone in. I had an iPhone 4s and I just upgraded my phone - only because they had a promotion in March to upgrade to the 5c for free. Otherwise, my 4s 16GB phone worked just fine. The phone had been kept in a case with a screen cover the entire time I owned it. It was pristine. So I logged on and got an estimate for 200.00. I figured that anywhere between 100 and 200 dollars would be a fair price for a phone in such good condition. So when I received and activated my new iPhone 5c, I backed up all of the 5GB of apps and data on my 4s, then I removed find my iPhone, and reset the phone to the factory settings. "Hello" was streaming across the screen, just like the phone was brand new.
A few days later I received the envelope to return the phone to Verizon. Yesterday I logged on to see the status and it read "phone will not power up". That is an absolute lie, unless Verizon did something to damage the phone. The phone was in perfect working condition when I sent it to them. I called customer service. I got bumped from person to person. Finally I asked for a supervisor. The gal that came on the phone "Courtney", was rude and not very helpful. She did say that she was escalating my complaint. When I asked her who her supervisor was, she said, "I don't have one". I asked who do you report to? Her reply was "No one." I said, you are not the CEO, you have a boss, what is their name and contact information? She refused to give it to me and then put me on hold - for almost 10 minutes. Another lady who was nice but not helpful, came on the line and claimed to be her supervisor. She also claimed that someone from customer service would be contacting me. Nothing.
Today I get my voucher for 36.00. That is a completely unfair amount for a 16GB iPhone 4s that was in perfect working condition. Obviously after reading all of these posts, the standard Verizon response is "The phone will not power up". Because of Verizon's lack of customer service, unwillingness to discuss the matter, and general lack of cooperation from their recycling program department - this seems like a major scam to screw people over.
We have been loyal Verizon customers since their first merger with GTE. We spend quite a bit with this company on domestic and international service. After major customer service problems earlier this year, I almost left. When I asked them to deactivate our account they suddenly became super customer service oriented. Now that I've upgraded one of our phones and we are in a contract, they are back to their old lack of customer care. Shame on me for getting sucked back in. I have no problem paying the fee to break our contract, and I am currently shopping other wireless providers.
Regarding their recycling program - I have filed a complaint with the BBB, and as others have done, I will start investigating class action. It seems that there are many of us in the same boat.

Wow...amazed that I wasn't the only one cause I thought it was a fluke that Verizon failed to follow through on the valued $200/each for two phones I sent in to recycle. BOTH phones were taken to an authorized dealer I've worked with for years. The manager there prepared BOTH of my phones to be sent in to recycling program and were valued at $200 each. I got an email saying one was $200...the other was $36. That one for $36 was in perfect condition. I called and was told the "FIND MY iPHONE" had not been deactivated. Interesting since I watched the manager prepare BOTH phones the same way before I mailed them. I've been told by TWO Verizon employees the same thing happened to them and there was such a thing as escalation. I escalated the request to be reviewed AFTER contacting Apple to be assured my phone was able to be used by them. I escalated it twice and was sent an email saying they would not give me the money nor would they return my phone (as I requested) so that I could sell it for what it was worth. You can not talk to a manager about these situations as they hide behind their computer screen and send emails to tell you they wont back up their word to give you what they agreed...and they wont back up their manager/ representative who prepared the phone...and they wont honor YEARS of being a faithful customer. Instead I feel I was lied to and taken advantage of....all for $136 in Verizon's pocket. I will be seriously considering changing carriers after this escapade...especially now that I'm seeing that this is an ongoing issue (that even employees told me they encountered). Unfortunate that good quality customer service has been ditched by Verizon Wireless...I thought they had more integrity than that. I would like to see a refund of $136 which is duly owed to me or my phone to be sent back in the same great condition so that I can get what its worth for it.

Recycling program ripoff!

I recently recycled my iPhone 5 (in perfect working condition) through Verizon's recycling program because they were going to give me a gift card for $129! BUT they ended up emailing me a gift card for only $22.86 for a working iPhone 5! What is going on here Verizion?! This is an absolute rip off and if I knew ahead of time that you were going to do this, I would have taken my business elsewhere!

It is a scam. I have a friend that is an attorney that I have asked them to look into this for me. When looking for a new phone on the Verizon wireless site, My decision to purchase from the site was because of the $50.00 mail in rebate and the gift card for the "appraised" value of my phone. I decided to check the appraised value first before making my decision. It was valued at 100.00. (I have a screen shot of it) Now that I have purchased my new phone, the "appraised" value is only $11.00 (only two weeks later) and I cannot even complete the process online. I get an error message that says process cannot be completed at this time. I've been a long time customer of Verizon. But AT&T here I come. I'll be switching carriers as soon as I can. What a ripoff.

Device Recycling Program is a nightmare!!!!!

On top of everything I've had to do to switch to Verizon being a nightmare, now the last item, getting (5) $200 gift cards for trading in 5 old iphone 4 & 4's. One iphone 4 will only get $36 because it was apparently not unlocked, which is impossible because we did them all the same way at the same time. Then a iphone 4s will only get $36 because of an apparent "cracked screen" which unfortunately was not there before it was shipped, so who is at fault here??? Verizon when will you wake up and see this program is not working and needs to be done onsite at the stores NOT though the mail. Seriously, I'm not dumb to send a cracked screen and think I would get $200 but I shipped it in your required packaging so I guess I have to eat the other $164 just because it got thrown around in the mail. RIDICULOUS!!!!! I WILL NEVER TELL ANYONE TO SWITCH TO VERIZON!!!!

Hi, just to update my previous post, VZW Trade-In Support emailed me to say that they are making an exception to the rule (I'm not sure why since I am in the right) about reduced trade in value for locked phones. I'm not going to bother arguing that it was in fact unlocked since they are giving me the difference to make it the full $200 program value.
Here is the email (hope it helps you):
Dear Valued Customer,
Recently you participated in the Verizon Device Recycling Program and the value you received for your Apple device was lower than the original appraised value because you failed to turn off the “Find My iPhone” (or “Find my iPad”) feature before sending the device to us, as indicated in the trade-in instructions. Find My iPhone can help locate your device if lost, but also blocks activation by a new owner. Because of this Verizon (or any other trade-in program) cannot offer full value for devices with Find My iPhone enabled.
Nonetheless, as a courtesy we have elected to waive the deduction in this instance and issue you a supplemental credit in the amount of $164. You will receive this payment in the form of an additional electronic gift card within two days.
Submission ID: xxxxxxxxxx.
To disable “Find My iPhone” in the future, you can sign into your Apple iCloud account athttp://www.iCloud.com to see active devices and turn off the feature.
We thank you for your business and hope you enjoy the additional gift card value.
Regards,
Verizon Device Recycling Team

Trade in / Recycling program return policy?

I am wondering if I send in my phone to the trade in/recycling program and it is denied........will it be sent back to me or will Verizon keep it and not pay me?
The website says that devices will not be sent back, but when I was chatting with a Verizon representative she said it would be sent back. Which is it?

You don't get the phone back. And they add what ever the allowance for the early upgrade on your account. Figure $200-300 bill if your phone fails inspection.
IF it is damaged in shipping, you have to prove it, or you get stuck with the bill.
i Say, keep the phone or ebay it.

Iphone 5 recycling program

if my iphone 5 is included within the recycling program ,,am i gonna have like a new one or replaced with a new battery??

Go to this site here--Verizon.
Fill out the questionaire. They will look into it. Other people have had that same issue also.

Reuse and recycling program

has anyone tried apple's reuse and recycling program in greece ??? did it work fine ???

No commercial recycle program is ever going to give you anything near what your system is worth. You would likely get several times what they offer selling it on your own. The price they give you in the beginning is only an estimate. You were of course honest in your responses, but people could just as easily say something works that doesn't. They really can't give a final value until they inspect the machine. "DL" means dual layer. Reading dual layer disks is a basic disk function. The value of the drive is greatly diminished if it can't read dual layer disks. Most current drives with read and write dual layer, but reading dual layer has been a standard for quite a few years. Many disks may come on dual layer media. There is an expectation that the drive should be able to read them. They would likely need to replace the drive. I wouldn't say there was anything deceptive. You just need to understand how these companies work. You'll always be much better off selling on your own. Even for a completely dead system, you would be able to get more for just the parts. Check out eBay to get an idea of what systems similar to yours are selling for. If it's in good working order, you'll easily be able to sell it for more than twice what you were originally quoted.

Iphone recycling program

I recently sent a message that was critical on Verizon's recycling program. They rejected it for some reason. Why?

A message on these forums? If so, then it was most likely because another user reported it for having violated the forum TOS. After a post is reported, it is removed immediately until it can be reviewed by the moderators. After review, it will either be returned as-is if there were no violations or the content will be edited to remove the violations and then returned.

Verizon Wireless Trade-In Program is a scam!

I recently traded in my iPhone 4s as part of Verizon's Recycling Program. I activated a temporary phone on the line until I received the gift card via email. Having received it, I attempted to purchase a new phone to replace the temporary one, but apparently I can only do so at full retail cost. I was never told that this would be an issue for me. In fact, I expressly asked if this could affect my contract in any way, and was told that it would not. I was given the assurance that all I had to do was perform a Device Swap, much like I did to activate the temporary phone, which by the way was no problem at all - it was a breeze!
Obviously, there are communication problems between the Recycling Program and the rest of VZW. I spoke with multiple representatives at the Recycling Program, who checked my account and never notified me that I would have to pay full retail cost on a new phone. This is absolutely ridiculous! And of course, I cannot get my iPhone back.

Totally true... I sent in my PERFECTLY working phone (VERY VERY (removed) about keeping my phone working 100%) and I received an email saying the phone would not turn on even though my phone worked 100%!!!!! I have a Verizon Wireless employee that inspected my phone before shipping and he will vouch for me. This is complete **, this program is a scam. I have called NUMEROUS times about reaching a solution but NO ONE has helped me.
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HT1435 how long does the recycle program take or do they give you an ipod straight away when you are at the store.when you buy from the store do they do free ipod engraving

how long does the recycle program take or do they give you an ipod straight away when you are at the store.when you buy from the store do they do free ipod engraving

How recently did you switch? If it's less than 60 days, then Verizon simply reinstates your previous account. The fact that you were on the EDGE plan and mailed the devices back, and they apparently are somewhere in the system, could cause complications, and it might just work out that you just go back on the same plan and they set you up with the same devices. I'm not sure how it will go - but since you are still being billed for the devices...

Apple's iPod recycling program apply to iPhone

My 4th generation iPod finally died on me and I'm thinking of using this as my excuse to replace it with an iPhone. I'm wondering if the iPod recycling program (http://www.apple.com/environment/recycling/), w/ it's 10% rebate on the purchase of a new iPod, might apply to an iPhone purchase...?

The words you quoted in your intial post
"Bring your old iPod to an Apple Retail Store and receive a 10 percent discount on the purchase of a new iPod.* "
sat it all. Turn in an old iPod (except Shuffle) and get a discount on a new iPod.

Apple's iPhone Recycle Program

If I take advantage of Apple's recycle program and exchange my iPhone 4 for an Apple Store gift card, can I then use that card towards a new iPhone in the same transaction (covering any additional cost of course)?

You can use the card to purchase a new iPhone but it will be a separate transaction.

IPhone Reuse/Recycle program.

If you take your iPhone into an Apple retail store for the reuse/recycle program, do you get an Apple Store gift card in store, or do they just go through the process of sending it in for you and you still go through the same waiting process? Just wondering if it is worth it to take it into the store, or if I should just send it in myself.

Some Apple stores do on-site credit. Others do not. You'll need to find out from the local store what their specific programs are.

Verizon's deceptive recycling program

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