I had a verizon cell phone where the back cover kept coming off and happened to stop by Mobile Tron in San Diego Mission Valley Mall to see if they could fix it. The gentleman fixed it and advised me I was eligible for an upgraded phone. My 2 years was not up, but not unusual for Verizon to upgrade before the contract was up. It's happened to me before at Verizon with no issues. So no red flags at this point.
I picked out my phone and Mobile Tron wanted me to sign a paper to hook up my new phone, but I noticed that the phone number on the paper was not mine but another employee's phone number. I advised them of that and the gentleman told me that it will be changed but to please sign so the phone could be hooked up. I signed. While I was there I mention 3 times that the phone number needs to be corrected and they assured me it was being taken care of.
I left and was enjoying my new phone. A few months after my purchase my employee's phone (the number on the sheet I signed) died, and he went to get a new phone and was advised that someone already used his number to get an upgrade!!! That's when I realized they never had any intention of correcting the phone number to my phone number when they had me sign the form. They just cared about getting the sale by any deciteful way.
There's more!!! Not long after that our company decided to make a cell phone service change to another company. We knew we would have to pay a couple of early termination fees to Verizon of $175 each. We made the switch. A couple of months later we received a bill from Mobile Tron for $300 for an early termination fee. I looked through all the paperwork with Mobile Tron when the above transaction took place, and I did not see anything regarding a $300 early termination fee. I called VERIZON and was advised that when we bought the phone at Mobile Tron we signed 2 contracts, one with Verizon and one with Mobile Tron. Mobile Tron never gave me a copy of that contract when the phone was purchased. Very sneaky. It really makes Verizon look bad, even though they are not the same company. But the "authorized dealer" is representing Verizon.
When Mobile Tron sent the bill for $300 that's when they gave me a copy of the 2nd contract. I feel they purposely did not include a copy of that contract at the time of purchase just so we wouldn't realize there are 2 early termination fees to pay. Some people would read that and return the phone - they want you to keep your phone.
So please be aware of any "authorized dealers" for any big cell phone service company. Please read everything they have you sign before you sign any paperwork from them. Please be aware that you are signing 2 contracts when
dealing with an "authorized dealer." They will never tell you that. They know you think it's Verizon or whatever big company you are dealing with when you sign up and never let you know they are a separate company. If you are unsure please just deal with VERIZON or the big cell phone service company directly. The actual VERIZON company is not shady and you will get honest service. The "authorized dealers" will do anything to get you to sign up.
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