It sounds like a great deal:
“Get up to $650 value for switching to AT&T”
“Trade-in your old device and T-Mobile will pay it off up to $650”
“Get a $250 Prepaid MasterCard when you switch to Verizon”
“Switch to Sprint and we will cover your switching fees up to $400 per line”
However, a large number of wireless customers are finding out the deals can be too good to be true.
We’re hearing complaints from customers that say they were misled or even “scammed” out of the rebates, buyouts, or bonuses they were promised for switching carriers. Some customers are taking legal action!
Here are some things to look out for in these “Switching Bonus” programs:
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You probably have to buy a new phone to qualify:
Of the deals above, only the Verizon offer applies to bringing your own device.
The “Switch to AT&T”, “Switch to T-Mobile”, and “Switch to Sprint” deals all require a trade-in of your old device. If you weren’t already planning to upgrade phones, it’s worth doing the math whether you’re really saving any money under these conditions.
Be careful: What you’re told by sales reps may not be reliable:
At FairShake, we help thousands of customers with complaints against the big wireless companies. One thing we hear repeatedly is that sales reps, especially in the store, might say you’re eligible for a deal whether or not you really eligible.
For instance, the “Switch to AT&T” deal above applied to customers in a certain number of markets. We’re hearing sales reps in other markets told customers they qualified for the same deal, when if fact the customers outside the designated markets did not qualify for the deal.
You might not know until the first bill comes if you’re getting what you’re promised.
The fine print can get you:
You meet all the conditions for one of these deals. Did you know that in some cases, if you’re one day late for a payment, your rebate disappears.
It’s true, we’re hearing from customers that are denied their switching bonuses under the most arcane contract terms.
Getting tripped up by the fine print is a frustrating situation, but it’s actually one you can fight! It turns out in a lot of cases it’s not enough to bury something like that deep in the terms and conditions. If this happened to you, you may have a claim to get your switching bonus back.
The end result of these misleading offers, customers say, is huge early termination bills sent by their former carriers, which the new carrier said they’d cover, but never did. Some customers are being sent to collections and having their credit reports impacted, which is a huge a problem.
If you feel misled or scammed by one of these “Switch to AT&T,” “Switch to Verizon,” “Switch to T-Mobile,” or “Switch to Sprint” deals, FairShake wants to help. Start your claim now.
*Sorry, we don’t cover Sprint, yet, but let us know your Sprint complaint here.
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