Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer in Sylmar, California & Simi Valley, CA PRICE GOUGING Sylmar & Simi Valley, California

I am very disgusted and angry and you will understand why after I explain my story.

I walked into a Verizon store in Sylmar, California thinking it was the same as a Corporate store (since my phone had died and I happened to be in the area). I bought a new Incredible 2 phone for $300.  I discovered later to my disappointment that I could not hear very well on this phone (I am deaf and wear a Cochlear Implant), the screen was not big enough to be able to communicate with my deaf friends through video, and the keyboard was very small--I kept making alot of mistakes on it.  I researched online to see if there were other phones out there that I could hear better on as well as with a bigger screen and keyboard.  I discovered that they were selling the Incredible 2 for $149 online and in the Verizon Corporate stores. I went to a Verizon Corporate store closer to my home in Simi Valley and they said that they do not accept any returns or exchanges on phones from Verizon Premium Retailer stores.  They said I had to drive all the way back to Sylmar to exchange/return it there. 

Disgusted, I drove all the way back from the Verizon Corporate store in Simi Valley
to the Verizon Premium Retailer store in Sylmar (25 miles away from my home) to get my phone exchanged for another one and they did not have any working phones on display for testing.

I told the manager my story and she said I could have gone to another Verizon Premium Retailer closer to my home, which Corporate failed to tell me. I mentioned to the manager about the $149 price and she said that they do match prices with Corporate Verizon as well as online and that it was ONLY FOR NEW CUSTOMERS not EXISTING CUSTOMERS (which I found out later was a LIE). She was also very unhelpful so I left without exchanging my phone.   The bad and sad thing is ALL the retailer stores that I went to that day did not have any phones that worked for testing. 

I went to a Corporate Store in Porter Ranch, California and tested out their phones that were working on display. Finally, I decided on a Droid Bionic which was louder than some of the other phones.  Plus, it has a bigger screen and keyboard.  I left again to go to the fourth Verizon store (A Premium Retailer) in Chatsworth to get my phone exchanged and the worker there said he could not do the exchange because the manager was not working in there at that time.  I asked him to please find another Premium Retailer store with a manager on duty.  He contacted the one in Simi Valley and found a manager on duty there.  This would be the fifth Verizon store that I went to in one day.  I was very disgusted and left to the Simi Valley Premium Retailer store where they finally did my exchange and paid $299.00 for the Droid Bionic. 

I have had the phone now for about a week now and just discovered online yesterday (October 15, 2011) that the same phone was selling for $249.00.  I called the Premium Retailer store in Simi Valley to ask them if they would refund the difference since they are supposed to match prices.  The manager, Michael Harry said that their computers reflected a price of $299.00 not $249.00.  I realized at that point, that ALL premium retailer stores have poor business practices by lying and
saying that they matched prices with Corporate Verizon and Verizon Wireless online. 

In closing, I was very disgusted to learn that the Premium Retailer store in Sylmar actually RIPPED ME OFF $100.00 for the Incredible 2 phone which I exchanged for the Droid Bionic for $299.00 which I was also ripped off by the Simi Valley Premium Verizon store.  I WILL NEVER EVER EVER GO INTO A PREMIUM RETAILER STORE AGAIN!!!  They do not operate on ethical business practices like the Corporate stores or Verizon Wireless online stores.  I am really angry and had I had known about this, I would have NEVER walked into a Premium Retailer store in the first place!!! 

Signed,
A VERY DISGUSTED & ANGRY