Verizon Didn't Deliver $200 Gift Card Offered for Switching Cellphone Carriers

A Virginia woman said a major cellphone carrier offered her mother a rebate to join their service but never sent the money.

Marcia Jeans of Montclair talks to her mother in Colorado every day. It used to be an expensive chat, she said.

“We decided to get her a new iPhone and decided to add she came on to my account,” Jeans said.

Verizon was offering a $200 gift card to anyone who moved over to its service, so her mother left her cellphone carrier and became a Verizon customer.

Jeans had 60 days to apply for the gift card, but she said she did it within five days and received a confirmation the gift card would arrive Jan. 14.

“Then I got another email on the 22nd of December saying that my status was invalid,” she said.

According to the email, her submission wasn't received within 60 days. She immediately called Verizon.

“He said, ‘Yes, there's definitely a mistake,’” she said.

She was promised the gift card within five days, but it didn’t arrive, she said. Each time she contacted Verizon, she got the same story, she said.

“Then I spoke with a gentleman -- very, very nice -- and he said, ‘Mrs. Jeans, I promise you, you will never have to call on this matter ever again,’” she said.

She said still didn’t receive the gift card.

NBC4 Responds contacted Verizon, and soon after, Jeans got a call from the company. She got an apology and received her $200.

NBC4 Responds found numerous complaints about trouble getting those gift cards on Verizon’s customer forum.

"We take every customer complaint seriously and investigate each complaint thoroughly,” Verizon said in a statement. “We are pleased to have helped resolve this customer's issue and encourage others who require assistance to call our customer care team at 1-800-922-0204 so that we may investigate further."

“Maybe they'll change the way that they're doing this and not cause problems for other people,” Jeans said.