Major changes at Verizon Wireless?

Those who want to take full advantage of the largess at Verizon Wireless need to open an account very soon because  huge changes are apparantly coming to two of Big Red's most popular programs to grab new wireless customers and keep them. If a leaked memo to Verizon employees is the real thing, starting on February 15th, Verizon will eliminate their Test Drive program. This deal allowed new Verizon subscribers to try out the service for 30 days with no risk. If the customer left Verizon by the 30th day and had his number ported to another carrier, Verizon would waive all charges on the account including activation fees and usage charges. Again, this deal will not be offered by the carrier after February 14th. The other change is to the New Every Two program which basically allowed Verizon customers to get a new phone at a subsidized price after two years with their current model. The change deals with the amount of discount that Verizon will now give to new accounts. Those paying a monthly rate of $34.99 to $79.98 on a wireless account that was opened after February 14th will now get a discount of $30 toward a new phone after two years, compared with the $50 received by subscribers whose account was opened between 2/5/06 and 2/14/09. Those paying more than $79.99 a month for an account opened between 2/5/06 and 2/14/09 receive a discount of $100 when using the New Every Two discount. Accounts that open on 2/15 or later will have the discount cut in half to $50. Sounds complex, but the bottom line is that if you want to take advantage of the Test Drive and the higher New Every Two discounts, you better run over to Verizon and open a new account before February 15th. Circle that date on your calendar in Big Red ink.

source: BGR