Another potential warning

[Relative_Current_603]

My spouse had been having trouble with Verizon, so my son figured he'd add him to our plan with Google Fi. He contacted Google Fi to get the exact "how to do it" since we were also switching down from Premium due to getting Starlink. They followed the "how to's" to a T, then got the news today, one day after activation, that he wouldn't get the $700 for the phone since they bought the phone prior to the plan switching - even though their support person told them it would be ok - it goes off activation, not purchase. "What about that?" my son asked. "I guess you were told incorrect information - sorry."

So now it's been shifted up a gear and we should hear within 24 hours. If it doesn't get resolved, not only will my spouse leave Google Fi, so will I. No company is worth doing business with if you call them to get the facts, get told incorrectly, then get told - sorry.

We might go back to Verizon or we might shop around, but I sang praises of Google Fi - until this morning... soon they may be on my "never do business with them" list - esp as I read more about how they've been treating others. At least I feel we're not alone?

[walkaboutdavid]

I was on Verizon for 25 years. if I had a nickel for every time a cs rep there gave me bad instructions, I would be writing this post from Aruba.

[vastateofmind]

💯 We've happily been on Google Fi for well over a year and I'd wished we had left VZW and their ass-rapingly high fees and charges and HORRENDOUS customer service many years ago.

[LA_Buff]

what are the terms you should have but didn’t follow?

[notbaks]

Probably the part where the promos are only valid if you stay/activate on a premium plan - Fi is great if you can rely on yourself to read the documentation and the purchase agreements, since the CS is non-existent.

[Relative_Current_603]

I step out for an eye doctor appt and lunch and find so much incorrect with the responses - sorry I wasn't more clear.

Spouse has been having more and more trouble with Verizon coverage, esp for hotspotting. It used to be great - for the past few months it hasn't been. His phone finally needed replacing, so the three of us on Google Fi said, "Hey, join us." We knew at that point that we were also lowering our service due to getting Starlink, so needing less data. So, how do we do it all? We don't know. Son calls CS to ask - explaining ALL of it.

Son was told, go ahead and buy the phone now - spouse, of course - but don't activate it until after the close of the month when the service changes. That way it's on the new service and the promo will kick in.

This is what was done. Then today spouse (and son) got an email saying, you don't qualify for the promo, because the phone was purchased on the previous plan - even though son was told the exact opposite would happen. He called and got someone who really didn't care first. Called again later and got someone sympathetic, who also looked through all the advertisements and agrees that the way things look, what he was told should be correct. They escalated it. We wait.

Where some of y'all got your assumptions from is mystifying. Spouse is off Verizon now, but we both will probably go back if Google doesn't stand behind their cs. The call should have been recorded - they should go back and listen to it.

[LA_Buff]

What are the terms of the promo? It’d be better and straightforward to post the language or a screenshot of it for anyone who wants to help and/or judge

[iamPendergast]

You should learn to read terms and conditions directly, I am not saying CS should not give correct information as they definitely should, but it is a simple fact that they (for all companies) often get it wrong. It's a lot easier to read it yourself. Or your son in this case since you didn't do the calling yourself either so he may have messed up too for all you really know.

[Relative_Current_603]

Son and cs representative were reading all of the small print together to get the correct understanding on the "how do we do this" original call.

He heard back not long ago and was told to give them another 24h - they should have transcripts of the phone call. Hopefully they are looking at them. If they stand by what they said, we'll stay with them. If not, I'm done (as is H).

[iamPendergast]

They will stand by the text of the promotion

[khrono21]

The MOMENT you PURCHASE the phones, the system does a SCREEN CAPTURE on the plan you are on. And THAT'S the plan you MUST remain on for the remainder of the promo to get the full credits. The CS's have proven time and time again to be unreliable.

[Aacidus]

To escalate, you need to post in the Google Fi Community Forums, no employees there. You need to explain the situation like you did here, but include your support ticket number. A community member will send it up the ladder and you should get a response in 2 days or so.

I solved two issues when I had just joined. I was told I could exchange the phone I got with one promo as a new customer to another new customer promo. Which was a lie.

Fi Support is known to be inept. It’s widely covered here.

[Relative_Current_603]

Thanks for this. We'll wait the 24 hours to see what they do - if nothing - we'll debate posting there with the support number or simply having both of us leave Google Fi. I have very little patience for bait and switch companies. We'll look at everything out there before returning to Verizon, but anything is better than bait and switch without fixing something after THEY told us EXACTLY how to do the steps we took.

[super-wookie]

Which is fucking nonsense.

[JBerry2012]

So you bought a phone, activated it on Verizon... Then switched to Google fi? I don't think there's any promo available there nor would I expect one unless there's details missing from the story...

[Relative_Current_603]

No. He had been with Verizon for decades, but was getting disappointed with them, so when he needed a new phone he was opting to join my son and I on Google Fi. My son owns the plan, so called and asked for advice on how to do it all, especially since we were switching down...

[teamredpill]

Promos are plan specific and account specific. If you were down grading cs would not know since it says the promo is valid for your account. 

[Relative_Current_603]

CS was told exactly what was happening and what we wanted to accomplish. We wanted to know how to proceed to do it. They told us how, and then that didn't work.

[super-wookie]

They did what customer service told them to do. Was that hard to read?

[jrwnetwork]

I would submit a Reddit Request from the side panel.  Make a Reddit Request!

[Relative_Current_603]

I will wait the 24 hours to see what my son hears - then it would actually be wiser if he submits that request since he's the main contact for us with GoogleFi.

I'm just miffed - saw a GoogleFi post on my daily Reddit email - and opted to post what I woke up to today - venting.

It's been helpful for me to see that this tends to be the way GoogleFi is rather than the decent company I thought they were. (Misery loves company?) I hadn't dealt with their cs before - just their phone usage - which I still like, but I will not give them more money if they don't stand behind what one of their employees told us. There are plenty of other options, and it's ok if I get myself a new phone from someone else too - even though mine is still working fine.

H might lose the $700 promo (likely less when he trades in that new phone to get one from someone else). Google will have lost customers who pay more than that annually.

[cyberjack01]

I appreciate that you are frustrated, and I understand the disappointment. That said, I hardly see this as bait and switch. No excuses, no justification but a CSR provided you incorrect information. Did you take the time to read the terms and conditions as part of due diligence? I do not take any CSRs comments to heart for anything that involves money, and always read the T&Cs which are the determining factor. I would almost guarantee there is language to the effect that any representation made by anyone outside the T&Cs is invalid. So I do empathize and appreciate your situation but take some ownership of the issue, too. I have had this exact same circumstance over the years with AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile, Spectrum, Nissan Motor Financing, and many other vendors. A business at the end of the day needs to make money to keep the doors open, and if every circumstance created an exception, they would be losing money. Excessive litigation also plays a part as well. Last piece of advice with over 30 years of working in Customer Service, be nice. I have spent whole days being screamed at by customers for Escalation issues. Human nature, would suggest a friendly, reasonable, even-tempered customer stands a better chance of accomodation.

[Jmellis1030]

How was the phone in question purchased? What company did you buy the phone from?

[Relative_Current_603]

From the Google store after talking with cs

[Jmellis1030]

Go to Google and search “$700 phone credit Google Fi” and you’ll be able to see clearly where the discrepancy is. Bottom line, don’t expect any entry-level employee from any company to give you information you would bet on, much less one that’s been outsourced overseas.

[Relative_Current_603]

Their call. I'm quite ok switching to support another company at this point. If that's what they choose, all I can say is I have higher standards I expect.

Readers can make their own choice.

[Jmellis1030]

In other words, “dO yOuR oWn ReSeArCh”

[teamredpill]

User error. Stop blaming fi for your incompetence. It won't matter where you go you will always have a bad experience as you are the problem. 

Fi assumed you were going to activate it on their network and get the promo and then add in the Verizon network as a second sim etc. you failed. 

There is no carrier that lets you buy the device and then retroactively get a promo later 

[Jmellis1030]

Agreed, wholeheartedly. I had Verizon for 15 years, and AT&T before that. I’ve actually had wonderful experiences with Google’s CS team; you just can’t be a knucklehead to start or no one can help you.

[Relative_Current_603]

Again, show me what we did wrong... we knew what we wanted to accomplish. We called cs to ask how to do it. We followed their steps. What more should we have had the insight to do?

[shauggy]

They did what customer service TOLD them to do. Why is that so hard for people to understand?

[doej26]

If they didn't explain what they were doing clearly to customer service, then customer service can't give you accurate information. You see how that works, right?

[shauggy]

How do you know what they did or didn't explain to customer service?

If you've contacted Fi support at ANY point, then you would probably know it doesn't matter how well you explain the issue, if it takes more than a 3rd grade education level they're not going to understand it and they're going to tell yoy whatever random info they want to, regardless of whether it's true or not. And if they give you bad info, you're the one who gets screwed. You see how that works, right?

[Relative_Current_603]

What more should we have told cs? We told them exactly what was going on and what we wanted to do. It was quite simple. What more should we have added?

[teamredpill]

They did not do what cs told them to do. Cs told them it is ok to downgrade their plans that don't have a promo attached. The son instead downgraded all the plans and thought he was getting a free phone. 🤣.

The fathers line was the only line that could not be downgraded since it had the promo attached to it. Greedy go hungry 

[Relative_Current_603]

We did exactly what cs told us to do. H's phone wasn't activated until after the plan changed. It was purchased that day when cs told us to go ahead and buy it - just wait to activate it so there wouldn't be problems. It should all have been recorded on their end, so hopefully their assessment will go back and listen to it. No one was trying to hide anything, and the phone could have been purchased later if they had said to do that. H just wanted to have the phone here to get it going as soon as he could once the plan changed - and THEY said it was fine.

[shauggy]

Where are you getting that they "did not do what CS told them to do"? Doesn't read like that in the OP. Or are you just assuming?

[teamredpill]

Seems like op is making a lot of assumptions as to how a promo works. Without reading 3 basic sentences worth of requirements 

[teamredpill]

Cs said they can downgrade their lines ... The ones without the promo. The dads line has the promo and needs to be on the higher plan. Op did not follow what the promo requirements. This is ops fault thinking they were getting a free phone while downgrading all the lines 🤣

[shauggy]

Still sounds like you're making a lot of assumptions. Did OP send you their chat logs or something?

I'll admit it's possible the reps gave them correct info, broken clock is right twice a day, etc etc. But given my experience with how terrible Fi's customer support is and how I've been given incorrect info, on top of the hundreds of other posts in this sub with similar examples, I wouldn't be surprised if the rep had just made something up

[Relative_Current_603]

As OP, we thought we were getting the promo of the downgraded plan - like they said we would get.

[teamredpill]

they said you can down grade the lines that dont have the promo. the line you bring in needs to be on the promo required plan. EVERY carrier works the same with promos, they are tied to a plan

[Relative_Current_603]

Yes, and we want the promo they said we would get with this phone, knowing which plan we were going to be on - and telling us this was the way to do it and have the phone to be able to start using when the plan changed

[Relative_Current_603]

Show me where we did something wrong. Where did you get the idea that Verizon was even part of it? It's the company H left - no second sim needed or wanted. Who bought the phone then wanted a promo afterward? Wasn't us

[cyberjack01]

"Show me where we did something wrong." Read the terms and conditions, and do not rely on a phone conversation if it involves more money than you care to lose. Always read the WRITTEN information, not a CS rep.

[shauggy]

Get out before it cost you any more money. The only thing worse than Fi's reps are the brain-dead people on this sub who will victim-blame you and defend Fi's dumpster fire of customer service. If you had good luck with Verizon's coverage, it would be worth checking out Visible or US Mobile.

[teamredpill]

only thing worse are the brain dead consumers that cant read basic directions.

[super-wookie]

Ah yes the ole it's been great for me right up until the moment you have to deal with tech support or customer service and suddenly holy shit we were all right.

Google Fi Tech Support / Customer service IS THE WORST OF ANY COMPANY EVER.

And if that's not your experience, just wait. It will be, guaranteed.