Why can you NOT get a straight forward answer on upgrading to Edge?

Question

On Saturday morning I called customer care with a SIMPLE question about how the Edge Program works. The lady I spoke with gave me information that didn't make sense and told me one of my lines could move to edge and the other could only after 6 months of on-time payments. That didn't make sense to me, how could one be eligible and not the other when the explanation of WHEN would be eligible is contingent upon 6 months payments. I was so irritated I started shopping at other carriers to see what their "Edge" like programs work like and was considering switching carriers. So, I called back and spoke with another guy to find out what my ETF's were and he informed me that I COULD upgrade both lines to a Note 4 for about $5 above what my bill is a mo. each with all of the discounts applied. I told him that I would go to a Verizon store and probably upgrade instead of cancelling. So, I went to the store and was treated TERRIBLY!! I was told that I could not move both of my lines to the edge program with the Note 4. I was told I could move to Edge with both lines but one would have to be a Droid and the other could be whatever phone I wanted. I was blown away with yet another piece of information that was not matching up with what I was told. He said I could call customer care and see if they could do anything. I was BLOWN away that a corporate Verizon store would just turn me away (which was extremely demeaning and embarrassing in front of their other customers) to call customer care again and tell me my best option would be to cancel if I wanted a new phone for the line I wanted to upgrade. So, I called customer care again and spoke with another lady who correctly informed me (I think) of how it works and stated there was nothing she could do on the line that was not eligible which should have been told in the previous conversation with the guy I spoke with. One thing struck me as odd, she said the phone is on a lease with Edge so the phone is never yours, which is something NO ONE mentioned at any point in any prior conversation. So, is that true? I now know where I stand with upgrading but my original questions about how Edge works are still not fully answered and what the last rep stated brings up other questions. If it's "leased" what happens if it's broken or lost? Anyway, I was looking for what I thought was a straight forward answer to a question about how Edge works, how much it costs, and are my lines eligible, etc. and wasted a good hour on the phone and another two driving to a store just to get turned away like as though no one even cared! The last lady I spoke with seemed to care but I'm blown away with the TERRIBLE customer service and COMPLETE lack of ownership. Why can no one take the feedback and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT and then answer my questions about the Edge program. Bottom line, I'm not looking for a freebie upgrade (though maybe I should for all of the time wasted due to incorrect/inaccurate information). but I'm blown away that no one wants to do anything.
That all being said, can someone on here explain how Edge works with the discounts and is the phone really a "leased" phone? Pretty sad that I'm resorting to forums to ask other customers how it works but would appreciate any info anyone can share. I'm probably going to port both of my numbers to AT&T if it is true they are a lease and due to all of the terrible customer service.

Answer 1

I just saw in another post that if it's an "early" edge I would have to turn in the phones. No one told me that either and now I wonder if just forget Edge and port out. What's the advantage of doing Edge with all this confusion and red tape? Is an early edge considered early if you're upgrading with Edge prior to the contract end on the current phone? Verizon Customer Care and Stores REALLY NEED to be up front about this stuff! From what I see here and what others are going through Edge is a TERRIBLE TERRIBLE program.