Verizon’s Trade In “Any Phone” Offer for a Free iPhone 16 Pro Questioned

Regular reader and commenter Joel V. recently caught a bit of nasty fine print by Verizon Wireless in a new TV commercial.

Most viewers would understand the ad to say that if you trade in any cellphone in any condition, Verizon will give you a free iPhone 16 Pro. It would be reasonable to assume that you have to buy a plan from the company because they are simply not just handing out free phones without any catches.

*MOUSE PRINT:

What our consumer caught was this tiny disclosure that was on the screen for about one-and-half seconds:

Rather than the trade-in offer being good on “any” phone as the commercial explicitly states, it is only valid on these three brands: Apple, Google, and Samsung. What about people who own a phone from Motorola, LG, ZTE, OnePlus, or another brand? They’re out of luck apparently.

Additional terms of this offer are not orally stated in the commercial. But like a similar offer we dissected last December (see prior story), Verizon buries the full details in a three-second on-screen disclosure in tiny print toward the end of the commercial. Those terms include the requirement to purchase the iPhone 16 Pro for $999.99 (either pay upfront or be charged equal monthly payments) and get 1/36th of the purchase price back in a billing credit rebate each month for three years. You also have to sign up for Verizon’s most expensive plan, Unlimited Ultimate, for about $100 a month.

We asked the company why it advertised this trade-in offer as applying to “any” phone when in fact it only applies to three specific brands, why it doesn’t orally disclose other important requirements, and whether they are going to change the commercial. The company did not respond to multiple inquiries.

Consumer World has asked the National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs to take on this case because of the deceptive nature of the commercial.