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An Arkansas couple claim they fell victim to Verizon’s “bait and switch” scheme in a two for one iPhone deal.
According to plaintiffs George Wise and Barbara Gilbert-Wise, this deal was “purposefully deceptive, false, unconscionable, fraudulent, and also allowed Verizon to be unjustly enriched.”
The plaintiffs claim that, in May 2019, Mr. Wise went into their local Verizon store seeking to take advantage of Mother’s Day promotions.
Specifically, he aimed to take advantage of the deal which reportedly allowed consumers to “Buy iPhone XR, iPhone XS MAX, iPhone XS, or iPhone X and get a free iPhone XR (or take $750 off a second iPhone X model)” when “adding a new line on Verizon Unlimited.”
While at the store, a Verizon employee allegedly told Mr. Wise that he would be able to participate in the promotion. Mr. Wise says he was told he would receive a second iPhone free of charge if he added an additional line to his account and purchased another iPhone, promises which were “all consistent with Verizon’s Mother’s Day Promotion.”
Based on these representations, Mr. Wise reportedly chose to participate in the bargain by adding a phone to his account and purchasing a new iPhone as a gift for his wife Mrs. Gilbert-Wise. He expected he would receive an additional iPhone free of charge, which could be used by his son on his recently added phone line.
However, Mr. Wise says he was deceived into authorizing installment payments for the supposedly “free” iPhone. He was reportedly charged for the phone in June 2018 on their first bill following the transaction.
“Mr. Wise purchased the new iPhone for his wife and added a new line to his Verizon account based upon the false, misleading, deceptive, and unconscionable advertising, and further, has had to pay for the additional iPhone that was falsely promoted as ‘free,’” the Verizon class action lawsuit claims.
“As a result of the false, misleading, deceptive, and unconscionable advertising identified in this pleading above, Plaintiffs and the Class have commonly suffered actual financial losses from the addition of the cellular phone lines and resulting charges, and the payments and continuing payments for the two new iPhones — one of which was falsely promised to be free.”
According to the Verizon class action, Mr. Wise attempted multiple times to resolve the issue. However, Verizon has allegedly refused to issue a credit for the “free” iPhone, “thus, its false, misleading, unconscionable, unjust, and fraudulent charges for the ‘free’ iPhone and additional line remain.”
The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of Arkansas consumers who purchased an iPhone XR, iPhone XS MAX, iPhone XS, or iPhone X from Verizon and added an additional line to their Verizon account between May 1, 2019 and May 31, 2019 based on promises that they would receive a free iPhone XR added to the new line.
Were you promised a Verizon deal but were later denied the supposed benefits? Share your experiences in the comments section below.
Plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by Scott Poynter and Daniel Holland of Poynter Law Group and Clarke Tucker.
The Verizon Bait and Switch Class Action Lawsuit is Wise, et al. v. Verizon Wireless Services LLC, et al., Case No. 60-cv-20-1970, in the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas.
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346 thoughts onVerizon Class Action Claims iPhone Promo Scam
I was a new customer 7 months ago and they have double billed me every single month, my bill was supposed to be around 200 they have billed me over 400 every month and that was supposed to include a 29 $ internet that I was guaranteed (verbally by store) would work – I have been fighting with them and store over and over for getting this either fixed or returned and they kept saying they could make it work and now they say the “30 days” is past so they do not want to refund the 800 dollars they have billed me for internet they want to give me a 100 credit.
It was supposed to come with 3 free phones which we now all know is just a payment plan for a phone, the lines were supposed to be 45 per month and they have charged me 100 each- and without getting my acceptance, tacked on cloud, insurance and all sorts of crap. The store ripped me off completely, cant believe i was so naive – I’m not usually like that, but after 6 hours at the store (the first time) then several hours every time you go in and/or call you feel its got to work out because your already in that deep. The store rep omitted, lied, misled, me completely then they blame it on verizon billing and pretend to fix it with calling them while you wait for hours and get some ridiculous amount credited and you are told its all fixed only to find out it is not. Then you are told it is all your fault. i am in Washington state and want to sue them because this is completely horrible what they are doing across the nation/world. Every time i was in the store someone else was either in there for hours on end being told all the same i was told or coming back with the same type of switch and bait that the CORPORATE STORE said we encountered – including a very elderly man that walked in just the other day and said he was ripped off over 600 and i over heard them telling him he turned in an ipad and he said he has. never even owned one. i wanted to get his name but i knew he was in there for hours when i was being ‘dismissed’ and told they would probally not ever refund me for the internet that literally never ever worked.
WHERE DO WE GET HELP????
I have fallen victim to a bait and switch scam by Verizon as well. They need to be sued. I would love to be contacted by a lawyer for help.
Well, I didn’t suffer any bait and switch but, I did fall for their trade in promo that promised $1000 on the new Samsung 23 Ultra. Got an email they received my phone and would be doing estimate. It was a notebook 20 in perfect condition. After that, never heard another word. I started inquiring on where my rebate was and they said it was applied. Yet, my pay off states I owe 1149 on a 1349 phone after I’ve paid 230. So, if you add what I supposedly owe 1349 and 230, that’s 1349 so, WHERE is the supposed credit?
I’m getting nothing but a run around from some very rude customer service reps. Not the kind of service I started with back in the 90s and being this is my last phone because I’m chronically ill, not the experience I was expecting. I probably won’t even live long enough to pay it off.
So, I’ll be filing with the BBB, FCC and ADA as I’m disabled to file complaints. May not get anywhere but, its worth the effort after seeing all the complaints on google.
Yes, I would like to join this or another related class action. I accepted the “buy one get one” iPhone offer. After finishing my 24 month contract I wanted to pay off my phone and switch carriers. I was told that I also had to pay off the balance of the “free” phone since it was financed and the remaining balance of the promotion (which was broken down into monthly credits instead of being applied upfront) would not be given. I stated that this was not in any of my documentation. The response was that it is just part of all Verizon promotions. I told them that the paperwork specifically says there is no pre-payment penalty which is was this amounts to. They said there is no penalty, just that the balance of the promotional credit will not be provided if I pay it off early. This is clearly deceptive advertising and is fraudulent. Financing was not required at the time of purchase to receive this promotion. When I asked how I would have received the promotion if I had not financed, they did not answer. This was via chat and I have screen shots of the entire conversation. I would love to talk to a lawyer about being part of a class action against Verizon for this deceptive and dishonest practice.
I got scam and credit ruined behind Verizon and over charged for many many months and just a sorry as can be now promo offers never received service dis connect and credit score 69 points negative if the a law suet im ready to sign in I want all my money forward backwards and credit back asap just total crooks and rude as all get out lie to you in person stab in back
On April 15th I agreed to accept a free cellphone from Verizon. They took my old cellphone in exchange and now they are charging me $849.00 for so called free cellphone.
Verizon is absolutely corrupt. Now that my (so called “free” phone which cost me 1200.00) is paid off I am going to look for a new carrier. But at the moment they are still charging me for my paid off phone. They have been pestering for months that I am qualified for another “free” phone.
I am so sorry to hear about your situation with Verizon. I am paying $849.50 for the so called free cellphone. Is there anything we can do?
Quit paying these CROOKS
Everyone in every state really should sue Verizon, this is just one of their scams. Sprint used to defraud it’s customers, look where that got them – big salaries and bonuses for executives – while pushing Sprint out of business. Verizon is drunk with power, like the old SciFi movie the Blob, growing bigger by mayhem and just rolling along. The little guys must unit and swarm the Blob, with Class Action Consumer Fraud Lawsuits everywhere.
Where. Do. I. Contact. Claims ? Verizon. Billed us on. Acct that. Phone was not useable ! Phone has been blocked n. Shut off ! Said I used wrong. Password xxxx ! Took phone Apple n lost most. DATA but phone was reactivated , my. Password ! Refuse rebate on. Acct said. I AM NOT. Authorized acct. HOLDER ???? Want to. File. Claim against. VErizon , theft ! FCC also file. Complaint. NO. Actions
We’re told to send in iPhone for credit toward an upgrade. Qualified for a decent amount to minus the new phone and was ok. Then get a bill saying that the iPhone trade-in was not good enough and practically charged full price for the new phone/s. Might as well sell on eBay or Facebook, etc. Bait and switch are exactly what they are doing. Please add me to this class action against VERIZON BAIT AND SWITCH case 60-cv-20-1970. Thanks ! Or refer me to any new ones please.
They are doing it again with their most recent home internet promotions. Their Verizon Community page is filled with complaints about not receiving the promotional incentives worth roughly $500-$1000 for signing up for home internet. I was told repeatedly to continue to be on the lookout in my email for over 6 weeks. Today, I was told they were no longer offering the incentive and that I had missed the window to receive the rebate, but as a curtesy they would credit my account $100 for giving me bad information. It’s not just me though, they did it to many people. I’m embarrassed that I recommend others to sign up.