u/Tcolls86

I want to preface this with the fact that I understand that this is reddit and people love to hate but I am asking before anyone jumps in, please try and be kind and helpful. I am devastated at the situation and have been dealing with it for over 2 months with no resolution and I am doing this as a last ditch effort to try and have something happen with all this. I have pictures from the phone that show the apps and such but apparently can't post pictures with this post. If I find out how I will include them with an edit or in the comments.

So, it started with me upgrading to a new cell phone and 5g plan. I had noticed over a few months that the service was markedly worse. I decided to call Verizon at the beginning of February and see if they had anything to say about it. After running some tests, the agent told me that my phone had a software malfunction and that’s why it was worse. I asked if this was something I did because I’m very careful with my phone and it isn’t damaged and he assured me that it wasn’t my fault and that it was going to be replaced with a new phone. They said they would overnight me a replacement so I gave them my CA address. The next day I got an alert it arrived in NY at my parent’s address. I called about it and they apologized and sent a phone to my address.

When I got the phone, I noticed it was not a new phone but a refurbished phone. I called about it and the supervisor I spoke with assured me it was “Like new” and went through a “150-point inspection” and is totally fine. I transferred my data over and once I was sure everything was okay, I returned my original phone. The problems with my service and call drops did not get any better. If anything, it got worse. I called again and spoke with another supervisor who told me the problem is “interference from network extenders in my area.” He said he will order me a network extender and it would be here in a few days and that he would call me back to make sure it was here and how to set it up. A week went by and I never received the extender and never got a call. I called Verizon again asking for a supervisor because I wanted to know what happened. This supervisor told me that the reason it didn’t arrive is that the order wasn’t completed. He did not have an answer for why I was never called back but said he would fix it. After being on hold he told me that the network extender was out of stock and they did not know when they would get more. He assured me he would investigate and call me back with information. He never did.

After about 10 days of using the new phone, it had been repeatedly updating security updates and restarting which seemed strange. Then a few days later while I was home the phone restarted and came back on as if it had been factory reset. It was about 11pm and I was very confused and shocked but tried not to freak out. I attempted to log into google and Samsung accounts only to get messages saying I did not have permission and to contact my IT administrator for access. I had nothing on my phone so I didn’t even know who to call. The wifi was able to be connected after and I went on the Verizon app to request a call with an agent. The agent said he “didn’t know what I was talking about” when I couldn’t sign into anything and told me to contact Samsung. As it was after hours the only support, I could get from them was via text but I did get someone and gave them access to my phone remotely. After attempting to log into things they told me there was a program on my phone registered to Verizon so it was their issue, the phone was not malfunctioning. Verizon then instructed me to go to a store the following day.

I couldn’t go to work since I use my phone to work, I am a Home Health RN and had/have patient info on there and everything (it was more or less bricked) so I drove to the store they recommended only to find out it was a 3^(rd) party store and that they couldn’t help. I was given the address of the closest corporate store and went, where the manager looked at my phone and asked “where did you get this phone?” I said Verizon sent it to me and he at first didn’t believe me. At first they assumed the phone was either stolen or I got it off eBay or Amazon or something. He then informed me that the phone looked like a “demo unit” like the ones they have on the store floor. He showed me that the same apps (one of which is an MDM) were on all the store phones and that I shouldn’t have been able to activate it.

I then called customer service as he said that’s what they had to do anyway so I did that while I waited. The tech supervisor I got said he had been one for 17 years and could help. I told him that the manager said I got a demo phone from Verizon and he said “They don’t know what they are talking about. That’s not possible”. I then gave the phone to the manager that confirmed what I said and he went silent. I then spent the next 5 hours at the store trying to figure out what to do. The representative told me he could overnight me another phone but I explained that it wouldn’t be soon enough as I needed my phone for work so that manager worked out a deal with me where I would take a new phone from the store, use it, return it once I got the refurbished replacement phone and I would be given a credit for the restocking fee as the store couldn’t refund that to me but they did refund the taxes I had to pay. The service agent told me he didn't have any answers on ow to get my data back and that "sometimes technology fails". The store manager noted after we got off the phone with Verizon that nobody up to this point mentioned the device, I was sent was a “demo” unit, which he felt was suspicious so he noted it on my account and said I should pursue small claims (Not the last Verizon manager or supervisor I spoke with that would echo this sentiment.)

I spent the next few weeks pleading with various Verizon escalation supervisors receiving conflicting information that kept leading me to dead ends. I was informed that I never needed a new phone and shouldn’t have been sent one by the other representative. She said she saw no record that my original phone was malfunctioning. I was told that I live in what’s called a “Marginal Service Zone” and that it may not be possible to get the service had been paying for but that they have plans for people like me (“Marginal Service Plans”) to account for these issues and that she would send technicians out to the towers in my rea to make sure there isn’t an issue on that end and that she would call me back about that and a possible network extender. I never heard from her.

I finally spoke with an escalations technical support supervisor and he informed me that the ticket placed was not expedited to the highest level which is should have been and he would do that for me. He also informed me that a network extender would not help me. After explaining my situation to him he offered to add $400 credit to my account saying “I know this isn’t close to what I would consider appropriate compensation” but applied it anyway, even though I told him at this time I was not even considering compensation yet. I just wanted to at least get my phone/service functioning properly before worrying about any of that. He then instructed me to contact the Better Business Bureau and the FCC to get me in touch with the Executive Relations team since he truly felt I was never going to get anywhere otherwise. Again, a this point every single representative has said the same thing, that they had never heard of this happening to anyone before.

I filed the complaint and 2 days later got an email and voicemail from the Executive Team. The agent told me she would be in the office the following day and to call so we could talk. I called but was unable to get in touch with ANYBODY. It took an additional week to finally get in touch with the agent named Sharon. She said that she had been busy and told me she could get me another refurbished phone if I’d like. I was obviously frustrated by this and we spent about an hour where I explained what happened. She too said she had never heard of this happening before. She then went on to tell me there is no such thing as a “Marginal Service Plan” and that Verizon is in no way obligated to provide me the service that I pay for (For example: If I am paying for the most expensive 5G plan, but I live somewhere without any 5G or even NO SERVICE, that Verizon does not have to provide it just because I was paying for it and that they aren’t obligated to refund me any amount of money.) I was obviously upset and asked “How can this happen? Why was I given conflicting information from supervisors with 10+ years of experience? How is it that it’s okay that I was given a phone by Verizon with an MDM that erased everything, locked me out and violated my privacy?” She told me that she would speak with the “Executive technical team” and listen to the conversations I had with previously and get back to me with who may be responsible and get back to me after collecting data. She also told me I could take the old phone to a UBREAKIFIX in El Cerrito (a 45-minute drive) and that she spoke with the store and they would pay for the $100 data recovery.

I went to the UBREAKIFIX only to have the manager (a former Verizon Manager) look at the phone and tell me the data may be permanently lost due to the MDM. That she wasn’t even able to put the phone in developer mode to check anything and that she was sorry. I hadn’t explained much to her about my situation but she went on to say “I have never seen this happen. Technically this shouldn’t be possible to activate. I don’t know how they didn’t pick it up went they went to activate with e-sim under the phones IMEI and that due to the MDM your data was always going to be erased and that your privacy, along with anyone else’s info that was on the phone may have been compromised. I would take them to court and if you need a witness, I’d be happy to help.” She then gave me her contact info and told me again she was sorry.

I obviously felt defeated at this point and figured I would wait for Sharon to get back to me with info. About a week or so later I received an email saying that “Verizon understands the gravity of what happened to me” and that my situation is “Unprecedented” and had been submitted for internal review.  They then said that I have received all the “credit” that they could give me and that I am free to go to another cell provider pending the return of my current phone. I was livid so I called Sharon and asked what this even means and how it is considered appropriate response? She said “I’m not saying Verizon is or isn’t responsible. I’m saying that Verizon does not handle the phones and the manufacturer refurbishes them and sends them out” I asked so are you saying Samsung is responsible? She said “No I am not. I am saying that Verizon does not handle the phones and they are sent to the manufacturer to be refurbished.” This was the exact same response I kept getting when asking for answers on how this happened and who is responsible. I then asked if she spoke to the manager from the store or listen to my previous conversations. She said “Truthfully I did not. I was instructed by the executive team that you had been given adequate credit and that there was no need to investigate further.” I was obviously angry and explained that I have spent 2 months dealing with this issue, well over 20 hours talking to supervisors receiving conflicting information, had to call out of work, lost years of data, possibly had my information exposed and you can’t even tell me who’s fault this is? That an unprecedented event happens and all you can do is give someone is $400 and tell them they are free to find another provider after being a customer for 21+ years? She said “Oh we can give more credit. That is all the credit we are going to give you” to which I responded that I never even asked for the credit to which she said “well, we can take it back if you’d like.” She then told me as more compensation I can keep the phone that caused my problems as well, which I pointed out was pointless as it is a useless device to me or anyone due to the Vzw management and MDM apps but she seemed unconcerned about that.

At this point I asked If I could have transcripts of the conversations with the supervisors and she said if I want those, I need to have them subpoenaed. I have since been searching for an attorney, any attorney that can help and I keep getting the same response. I have called multiple attorneys and keep getting the same response, that it isn't that I don't have a case, it's just not worth it for 1 individual. It needs to be like a class action to take on a company as large as Verizon. I have no idea what to do at this ping but I am 1 person, a loyal customer and had what Verizon themselves described as an “Unprecedented Event” occur and they aren’t willing to do anything. I called about bad service and was given a phone by Verizon that I apparently didn’t need and destroyed all my data, caused chaos, majorly disrupted my personal and work life, and caused emotional distress. They simply just made everything worse without even fixing the problem I called about in the first place and now I am being told I can go shop somewhere else.

I know that this is reddit and I am sure I will get a lot of "that's why you should back up your phone" comments or some unhelpful comments. The phone had been backing up but for some reason stopped which I again am looking to. I still have the phone that caused the issue because I' holding onto hope that the data, (years of photos, vids, texts, etc) can somehow be recovered. I am hoping someone out there can offer some kind of help. I have been a customer with them for 22 years, I don't even understand how after all that it came to this but I am pretty sure it doesn't say anything about taking a phone with an MDM on it in my user agreement (which I am in the process of getting to verify.)

Anyway, for anyone that did read all this, thank you for your time.

I want to preface this with the fact that I understand that this is reddit and people love to hate but I am asking before anyone jumps in, please try and be kind and helpful. I am devastated at the situation and have been dealing with it for over 2 months with no resolution and I am doing this as a last ditch effort to try and have something happen with all this. I have pictures from the phone that show the apps and such but apparently can't post pictures with this post. If I find out how I will include them with an edit or in the comments.

So, it started with me upgrading to a new cell phone and 5g plan. I had noticed over a few months that the service was markedly worse. I decided to call Verizon at the beginning of February and see if they had anything to say about it. After running some tests, the agent told me that my phone had a software malfunction and that’s why it was worse. I asked if this was something I did because I’m very careful with my phone and it isn’t damaged and he assured me that it wasn’t my fault and that it was going to be replaced with a new phone. They said they would overnight me a replacement so I gave them my CA address. The next day I got an alert it arrived in NY at my parent’s address. I called about it and they apologized and sent a phone to my address.

When I got the phone, I noticed it was not a new phone but a refurbished phone. I called about it and the supervisor I spoke with assured me it was “Like new” and went through a “150-point inspection” and is totally fine. I transferred my data over and once I was sure everything was okay, I returned my original phone. The problems with my service and call drops did not get any better. If anything, it got worse. I called again and spoke with another supervisor who told me the problem is “interference from network extenders in my area.” He said he will order me a network extender and it would be here in a few days and that he would call me back to make sure it was here and how to set it up. A week went by and I never received the extender and never got a call. I called Verizon again asking for a supervisor because I wanted to know what happened. This supervisor told me that the reason it didn’t arrive is that the order wasn’t completed. He did not have an answer for why I was never called back but said he would fix it. After being on hold he told me that the network extender was out of stock and they did not know when they would get more. He assured me he would investigate and call me back with information. He never did.

After about 10 days of using the new phone, it had been repeatedly updating security updates and restarting which seemed strange. Then a few days later while I was home the phone restarted and came back on as if it had been factory reset. It was about 11pm and I was very confused and shocked but tried not to freak out. I attempted to log into google and Samsung accounts only to get messages saying I did not have permission and to contact my IT administrator for access. I had nothing on my phone so I didn’t even know who to call. The wifi was able to be connected after and I went on the Verizon app to request a call with an agent. The agent said he “didn’t know what I was talking about” when I couldn’t sign into anything and told me to contact Samsung. As it was after hours the only support, I could get from them was via text but I did get someone and gave them access to my phone remotely. After attempting to log into things they told me there was a program on my phone registered to Verizon so it was their issue, the phone was not malfunctioning. Verizon then instructed me to go to a store the following day.

I couldn’t go to work since I use my phone to work, I am a Home Health RN and had/have patient info on there and everything (it was more or less bricked) so I drove to the store they recommended only to find out it was a 3^(rd) party store and that they couldn’t help. I was given the address of the closest corporate store and went, where the manager looked at my phone and asked “where did you get this phone?” I said Verizon sent it to me and he at first didn’t believe me. At first they assumed the phone was either stolen or I got it off eBay or Amazon or something. He then informed me that the phone looked like a “demo unit” like the ones they have on the store floor. He showed me that the same apps (one of which is an MDM) were on all the store phones and that I shouldn’t have been able to activate it.

I then called customer service as he said that’s what they had to do anyway so I did that while I waited. The tech supervisor I got said he had been one for 17 years and could help. I told him that the manager said I got a demo phone from Verizon and he said “They don’t know what they are talking about. That’s not possible”. I then gave the phone to the manager that confirmed what I said and he went silent. I then spent the next 5 hours at the store trying to figure out what to do. The representative told me he could overnight me another phone but I explained that it wouldn’t be soon enough as I needed my phone for work so that manager worked out a deal with me where I would take a new phone from the store, use it, return it once I got the refurbished replacement phone and I would be given a credit for the restocking fee as the store couldn’t refund that to me but they did refund the taxes I had to pay. The service agent told me he didn't have any answers on ow to get my data back and that "sometimes technology fails". The store manager noted after we got off the phone with Verizon that nobody up to this point mentioned the device, I was sent was a “demo” unit, which he felt was suspicious so he noted it on my account and said I should pursue small claims (Not the last Verizon manager or supervisor I spoke with that would echo this sentiment.)

I spent the next few weeks pleading with various Verizon escalation supervisors receiving conflicting information that kept leading me to dead ends. I was informed that I never needed a new phone and shouldn’t have been sent one by the other representative. She said she saw no record that my original phone was malfunctioning. I was told that I live in what’s called a “Marginal Service Zone” and that it may not be possible to get the service had been paying for but that they have plans for people like me (“Marginal Service Plans”) to account for these issues and that she would send technicians out to the towers in my rea to make sure there isn’t an issue on that end and that she would call me back about that and a possible network extender. I never heard from her.

I finally spoke with an escalations technical support supervisor and he informed me that the ticket placed was not expedited to the highest level which is should have been and he would do that for me. He also informed me that a network extender would not help me. After explaining my situation to him he offered to add $400 credit to my account saying “I know this isn’t close to what I would consider appropriate compensation” but applied it anyway, even though I told him at this time I was not even considering compensation yet. I just wanted to at least get my phone/service functioning properly before worrying about any of that. He then instructed me to contact the Better Business Bureau and the FCC to get me in touch with the Executive Relations team since he truly felt I was never going to get anywhere otherwise. Again, a this point every single representative has said the same thing, that they had never heard of this happening to anyone before.

I filed the complaint and 2 days later got an email and voicemail from the Executive Team. The agent told me she would be in the office the following day and to call so we could talk. I called but was unable to get in touch with ANYBODY. It took an additional week to finally get in touch with the agent named Sharon. She said that she had been busy and told me she could get me another refurbished phone if I’d like. I was obviously frustrated by this and we spent about an hour where I explained what happened. She too said she had never heard of this happening before. She then went on to tell me there is no such thing as a “Marginal Service Plan” and that Verizon is in no way obligated to provide me the service that I pay for (For example: If I am paying for the most expensive 5G plan, but I live somewhere without any 5G or even NO SERVICE, that Verizon does not have to provide it just because I was paying for it and that they aren’t obligated to refund me any amount of money.) I was obviously upset and asked “How can this happen? Why was I given conflicting information from supervisors with 10+ years of experience? How is it that it’s okay that I was given a phone by Verizon with an MDM that erased everything, locked me out and violated my privacy?” She told me that she would speak with the “Executive technical team” and listen to the conversations I had with previously and get back to me with who may be responsible and get back to me after collecting data. She also told me I could take the old phone to a UBREAKIFIX in El Cerrito (a 45-minute drive) and that she spoke with the store and they would pay for the $100 data recovery.

I went to the UBREAKIFIX only to have the manager (a former Verizon Manager) look at the phone and tell me the data may be permanently lost due to the MDM. That she wasn’t even able to put the phone in developer mode to check anything and that she was sorry. I hadn’t explained much to her about my situation but she went on to say “I have never seen this happen. Technically this shouldn’t be possible to activate. I don’t know how they didn’t pick it up went they went to activate with e-sim under the phones IMEI and that due to the MDM your data was always going to be erased and that your privacy, along with anyone else’s info that was on the phone may have been compromised. I would take them to court and if you need a witness, I’d be happy to help.” She then gave me her contact info and told me again she was sorry.

I obviously felt defeated at this point and figured I would wait for Sharon to get back to me with info. About a week or so later I received an email saying that “Verizon understands the gravity of what happened to me” and that my situation is “Unprecedented” and had been submitted for internal review.  They then said that I have received all the “credit” that they could give me and that I am free to go to another cell provider pending the return of my current phone. I was livid so I called Sharon and asked what this even means and how it is considered appropriate response? She said “I’m not saying Verizon is or isn’t responsible. I’m saying that Verizon does not handle the phones and the manufacturer refurbishes them and sends them out” I asked so are you saying Samsung is responsible? She said “No I am not. I am saying that Verizon does not handle the phones and they are sent to the manufacturer to be refurbished.” This was the exact same response I kept getting when asking for answers on how this happened and who is responsible. I then asked if she spoke to the manager from the store or listen to my previous conversations. She said “Truthfully I did not. I was instructed by the executive team that you had been given adequate credit and that there was no need to investigate further.” I was obviously angry and explained that I have spent 2 months dealing with this issue, well over 20 hours talking to supervisors receiving conflicting information, had to call out of work, lost years of data, possibly had my information exposed and you can’t even tell me who’s fault this is? That an unprecedented event happens and all you can do is give someone is $400 and tell them they are free to find another provider after being a customer for 21+ years? She said “Oh we can give more credit. That is all the credit we are going to give you” to which I responded that I never even asked for the credit to which she said “well, we can take it back if you’d like.” She then told me as more compensation I can keep the phone that caused my problems as well, which I pointed out was pointless as it is a useless device to me or anyone due to the Vzw management and MDM apps but she seemed unconcerned about that.

At this point I asked If I could have transcripts of the conversations with the supervisors and she said if I want those, I need to have them subpoenaed. I have since been searching for an attorney, any attorney that can help and I keep getting the same response. I have called multiple attorneys and keep getting the same response, that it isn't that I don't have a case, it's just not worth it for 1 individual. It needs to be like a class action to take on a company as large as Verizon. I have no idea what to do at this ping but I am 1 person, a loyal customer and had what Verizon themselves described as an “Unprecedented Event” occur and they aren’t willing to do anything. I called about bad service and was given a phone by Verizon that I apparently didn’t need and destroyed all my data, caused chaos, majorly disrupted my personal and work life, and caused emotional distress. They simply just made everything worse without even fixing the problem I called about in the first place and now I am being told I can go shop somewhere else.

I know that this is reddit and I am sure I will get a lot of "that's why you should back up your phone" comments or some unhelpful comments. The phone had been backing up but for some reason stopped which I again am looking to. I still have the phone that caused the issue because I' holding onto hope that the data, (years of photos, vids, texts, etc) can somehow be recovered. I am hoping someone out there can offer some kind of help. I have been a customer with them for 22 years, I don't even understand how after all that it came to this but I am pretty sure it doesn't say anything about taking a phone with an MDM on it in my user agreement (which I am in the process of getting to verify.)

Anyway, for anyone that did read all this, thank you for your time.