At this Verizon store not owned by Verizon, the staff sold a woman a phone she did not need [telecom]

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by Christian Hetrick

When Bonnie Parkhouse walked into what looked like a Verizon Wireless store in July to buy a case for her new flip phone, she received disturbing news: the device was about to become obsolete.

Parkhouse, a 68-year-old retired professor, said a salesperson at the New Britain retailer told her the bare-bones phone wouldn't work once Verizon phased out its 3G network in months. Parkhouse didn't want a smartphone, but was talked into buying a Samsung Galaxy S6 for $668.