I bought an LG phone second hand that supposedly REQUIRED this data package to function properly. Phone was placed into service with all services blocked except for voice and voice mail.(Was set up that way due to charges being applied for "Premium" text messages, and I did not want any other services for my previous phone. Funny, the phone worked fine, even though I had to pay for that data charge, which there was absolutely no way the service was being used(IT WAS BLOCKED). I used the phone for several weeks like that and even tried to do stuff on line, but COULD NOT. THE PHONE OPERATED COMPLETELY NORMAL with that exception. It was not something that I wanted. I Called and opened everything up, and the phone has NOT OPERATED ANY DIFFERENTLY. So for the REPRESENTATIVE from Verizon Wireless, who indicated that the phones need that service, it is just so much smoke being blown in your face (Or somewhere else). The only reason that it is needed, is so that Verizon Wireless can make up for offering the lower cost talk/text till you drop plans. The phone does not need it. They just want it to be paid. If this phone was purchased second hand, what in the world can they complain about, they are still getting my business (for now). Somebody else payed the exorbitant price already. I say Verizon Wireless should "suck it up" and stop being so greedy. ATT AND Sprint/Nextel are no better to be fair.
I bought the phone SECOND HAND to use as both an I-Pod as well as a cell phone. Why should they care that I don't want to download from their exorbitantly over priced site, to upload the music. And oh, by the way, you can't do it through the phone as you could with the V. You have to load it through a card writer. I AM SURE that option will be taken away, as they probably did not think about it, the next time they come out with a new phone. LG and the other manufactures should stop doing their bidding.
I Don't have a contract with them, but still have to pay the new phone every two portion of the bill. My last new phone was in 2005. So come on. The FCC and state regulators must be getting kickbacks. The company must forget that there is a near depression going on. They also forget that they will go under if no one can afford their prices. But who cares. The bottom line for today is met. To heck with tomorrow. Typical MBA mindset, that darn near sent the country into a financial melt down. The smarter they are, is only that they are outsmarting themselves, just like wall street.
By the way, if you complain about this on their site, it gets pulled, as they are "manually reviewing all messages". I wonder why.

I CALLED VERIZON WIRELESS CUSTOMER CARE TO GET SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THERE NETBOOKS AND THIS WAS ON A WED. AND I TALKED TO A NICE REP AND GAVE HIM SOME INFORMATION TO SEE IF THERE WOULD BE A DEPOSIT ON OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT AND GAVE MY DEBIT CARD INFORMATION AND THE REP INFORMED ME THERE WOULD BE NO DEPOSIT. THEN WE GOT TO DISCUSSING WHAT I WANTED TO WITH THEN NET BOOK AND THE REP INFORMED ME THAT I WOULD BE USING TOO MUCH DATA FOR A NETBOOK AND I SAID THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. THEN THREE DAYS LATER ON SATURDAY I GET A TEXT MESSAGE STATING THAT MY ORDER HAD BEEN FULLFILLED. SO I CALLED VERIZON WIRELESS TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON AND THE REP INFORMED ME THAT I ORDERED A NOTEBOOK AND I SAID NO I DID NOT! I GOT INFORMATION ON A NOTEBOOK AND THAT WAS IT AND THEN SHE SAID NO YOU JUST ORDERED A NOTEBOOK AND I SAID MA'AM I HAVE NOT TALKED TO A REP SINCE WED. AND I DID NOT ORDER A NOTE BOOK AND YOU BETTER REVERSE THE ORDER AND REPLACE THE ORDER ON THE ACCOUNT. THE REP PUT ME ON HOLD FOR 35 MINUTES AND THEN CAME BACK ON AND SAID WELL I COULD SUBMIT A CASE AND IT WILL TAKE 3 DAYS. I SAID GREAT AND WHILE YOU SUBMIT THE CASE YOU CAN WORK ON CANCELLING MY ACCOUNT AND I WILL BE ON THE OTHER LINE TALKING TO AT&T. STARTED THE PORTING PROCESS WHILE ON HOLD AND THEN THE REP FROM VERIZON WIRELESS DONT WORRY I WILL BE HAPPY TO CANCEL OUT YOUR ACCOUNT. THEN IT TOOK 15 DAYS NOT 3 DAYS 15 DAYS TO GET MY MONEY BACK FROM VERIZON WIRELESS, . AND THATS HOW THEY TREAT THEIR CUSTOMERS.

Verizon Wireless is the most expensive cell phone company out there. They are also the biggest crooks too. They will change their plans and services without notifying customers. Check your bill every month and you will see that it is never the same amount even if you don't go over minutes, use any data, or purchase any games or ringtones. To check your voicemail it counts against your minutes, but wait isn't your number in the so called IN network? The 250 text plan which runs an extra $5 per month doesn't give you unlimited text to any other Verizon Wireless number it counts against the 250 text. If you want to text to another Verizon customers without it counting against your text you havt to go with the 500 text plan which an extra $10 per month. Be careful if you terminate your contract early, the will try to stick you with an extra month of service, even if you cancel on are before the montly billing cycle date. Ask the rep about this before hanging up. Verizon Wireless will nickel and dime you, because they cater to businesses instead of consumers.

I have been reading many common complaints on here regarding Verizon Wireless as well as other cellular companies and would like to respond to a few:

1. Complaints regarding loss of ringtones purchased through VZW when switching devices.
When you purchase a ringtone, you do not "own" it. You are purchasing a licensed tone that is licensed to the serial number associated with your device. This is a federal regulation that is in place to prevent fraud. Lets be honest, folks. If you could buy a ringtone for $1.99 and then send it to other devices, you would. This is illegal. If you get upset about it, complain to the FCC. It's not VZW's fault. In other words, yeah it sucks that you cant transfer tones, but its a license issue, not a greed one. Another option that is available to you is called "My Media Retrival" through your My Verizon account. This is a free service that allows you to retrieve licensed material on warranty replacement devices. This is only available for tones purchased in the last 90 days, again, due to licensing restrictions. Which brings me to my second point...

2. "VZW didnt tell me/ call me/text me/send me a message in a bottle to let me know I was over my minutes"
There is a website. Its called My Verizon. Its located at www.verizonwireless.com. When you sign your contract/upgrade a phone, you are given detailed literature on how to sign up for this website. It is likely that you rep mentioned it to you as well. Here, you can view your usage, your detailed bill, suspend/reconnect service, upgrade your phone, view/change your plan and basically manage every angle of your service. You are given many tools in order to make sure that you are always up to date on your account. In addition to My Verizon, your phone is pre loaded with the contact #MIN, which, when dialed, will send you a free text message notifying you of how many minutes you have used.

3. "This phone is junk. You should give me a new one"
This is probably the biggest complaint of all, and partly the fault of the cellular industry. In the 90's, VZW along with other companies handed consumers free phones in order to get consumers to sign up for service. In the decade since, not only has the industry changed, so have devices. Due to consumer demand, cell phones now are slicker, more advanced, and capable of amazing features such as touch screens, MP3 players, full qwerty keyboards, etc., all of which allow the consumer to do all of the "cool" things they want to do. These phones are expensive! The profit margin on phones, quite frankly, doesnt exist for the carriers. Carriers make their money on the monthly access charges. When you look at the price tag on a phone in a retail store, you will see the two year promo sales price, and the full retail price. Allow me to break this down for you: An advanced touch screen device retails for $449.99. Your two year promo price may be $49.99 after $50 mail-in rebate. This is a savings of $400. That phone likely cost the carrier $400 to purchase through the manufacturer. The reason that they are subsidizing the cost of the phone is that they will recoup the loss though the $60+ you are spending per month on your monthly access. Therefore, you are given this subsidy every 2 years when you fulfill your agreement and are agreeing to another 2 year contract. (New Every Two). So, as you can see, this is why you arent given a free phone whenever you want one. In addition, the company (probably due to tiring of so many near sighted customers), is now giving you this subsidy every 20 months...FOUR months prior to the end of your contract!
Now, on to the whole "this phone is junk" theory. As someone who deals with this issue in the store constantly, I can tell you with certainty that there is a pattern involved with people who constantly have problems with their phones. Many, many times, it is user error. NO one wants to hear this, but it is simply true. Two thirds of phones that go back to the manufacturer for "technical problems" are found to be functioning properly. What I see much of the time is that consumers have had their phone replaced under warranty multiple times and yet still think it is the phone and not something they are doing. Running their internal memory until it is completely full (which causes intermittent power cycling and sluggish delays in performance), failing to ever turn their phone off (which reduces capacity of running memory), and dropping and tossing their phone around all cause problems which can be passed off as warranty issues, especially for overworked tchnicians and store employees who are stretched to their limits and too busy and stressed to try and explain to yet another bitter and angry consumer that they have ANYTHING TO DO with their phone issues. Honestly, its easier to replace it then argue. This is not to say that there arent phones out there with technical issues. They are, after all, electronics. What consumers need to remember though is that they are eletronics that are being used 8-12 hours per day, 365 days per year. They are tossed around in purses, pockets, and holsters, sat on and dropped, and touch with dirty, wet, and greasy hands. Add some of those features that consumers like such as touch screens and youre asking for something to go awry. I honestly wish that Samsung, LG and other manufacturers sold their own phones to consumers at cost and then consumers brought them to the carrier for activation. Then consumers would not only realize how much these phones cost but also appreciate the extensive warranty replacement programs that we have in place for them.

These are only a few key complaints, but I felt it might help to address them just to help all of these complaining consumers understand better.

Verizons sales rep located inside Costco told me that I have a 30 day return trial if not satisfied with my new 2 year service contract. Nine days later after finding out that when verizon people called my new cell to welcome me, they were charging my minutes. On day nine I returned the phone and had my number transferred back to AT&T. When I spoke to a Verizon phone rep. she told me in anger that because I moved my number back to another carrier there would be a $150.00 penalty, and when I recieved my bill for nine days with 160 minutes used (data plan was unlimited) the bill was over $300.00. I am now planning to disconnect my in house verizon tv, phone and fiber optics internet connection. I would rather have Charter's broadband back.