[Q] Question about returns of damaged devices - Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III

Hi, and if I'm breaking any etiquette or there's a post someone can point me to, feel free to give me a smack upside the head!
Here's my issue. I've had the S3 since release, and it's been a great phone to me. On my birthday this past weekend, a friend decided to play a prank and was going to do something to my phone (probably change my background to something stupid, who knows.) I noticed my phone missing very quickly, called it using another phone, and in his drunken stupor he tried to "cutely" hide it in his jacket and completely missed the pocket and threw the phone, quite hard, onto the floor. This resulted in a crack screen, but the phone does turn on yet.
Now here's my issue. This phone has been rooted since the instant I was able to, and was running a KitKat ROM at the time of the accident. I did have the extra insurance, which I utilized and filled out honestly without thinking about the fact the phone isn't stock (next day I was still a tad drunk. Mid 30's crisis and all that.)
So now I have to return the phone. What is my best bet? Should I attempt to get it back to 4.3 using these instructions (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2586319) if I can even get into the recovery blindly? Should I damage it more? Am I worrying for no real reason at all? I'm at a bit of a loss here. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks all.

Cowmunist said:
So now I have to return the phone. What is my best bet? Should I attempt to get it back to 4.3 using these instructions (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2586319) if I can even get into the recovery blindly? Should I damage it more? Am I worrying for no real reason at all? I'm at a bit of a loss here. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks all.
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Click to collapse
If you filed an insurance claim, don't worry about it. Asurion doesn't check to see the OS, like Verizon does when you try to 'warranty' the device. If it's broken, they sell it for parts or they refurbish it, flash it stock and Verizon is never the wiser to what they had to do to your device.
I speak from personal experience.

beepea206 said:
If you filed an insurance claim, don't worry about it. Asurion doesn't check to see the OS, like Verizon does when you try to 'warranty' the device. If it's broken, they sell it for parts or they refurbish it, flash it stock and Verizon is never the wiser to what they had to do to your device.
I speak from personal experience.
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Click to collapse
Great, that's excellent to hear. It's in pretty bad shape, honestly. I generally take good care of my devices, but it's been around the block a few times now. This is the first time I've actually ever had to use my insurance, so I wasn't sure about how they handle it.
I had heard some bad things about the replacement devices they send out due to being refurbishes, but so far the replacement device I've gotten works well. It's battery lasts for quite a bit more than the two I switched between before, too, which is nice.

Cowmunist said:
Great, that's excellent to hear. It's in pretty bad shape, honestly. I generally take good care of my devices, but it's been around the block a few times now. This is the first time I've actually ever had to use my insurance, so I wasn't sure about how they handle it.
I had heard some bad things about the replacement devices they send out due to being refurbishes, but so far the replacement device I've gotten works well. It's battery lasts for quite a bit more than the two I switched between before, too, which is nice.
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Don't worry about the refurbishes... I've had 5 total in my years with Verizon and have never had serious issues. AND if you have the 'extended warranty' coverage with them, like I do, if the phone wonks out, take it to verizon as a warranty replacement. The only problem I ever had was a wonked modem (hardware) on an old Droid RAZR; I took it to VZ and they warrantied it it, giving me a brand new one. Note, you might get a refurb through the warranty process, but VZ has a lemon rule, so if you have to return 3 of the same device, you can get a different model, brand new.

beepea206 said:
Don't worry about the refurbishes... I've had 5 total in my years with Verizon and have never had serious issues. AND if you have the 'extended warranty' coverage with them, like I do, if the phone wonks out, take it to verizon as a warranty replacement. The only problem I ever had was a wonked modem (hardware) on an old Droid RAZR; I took it to VZ and they warrantied it it, giving me a brand new one. Note, you might get a refurb through the warranty process, but VZ has a lemon rule, so if you have to return 3 of the same device, you can get a different model, brand new.
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Click to collapse
Lemon rule is not true. You MIGHT get an employee who is soft and doesn't want to hear you complain about your phone anymore and make you an offer they're not supposed to. If you do, good for you I guess. But there is no lemon rule. Your warranty covers the phone you purchased, not a different model.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

My wife worked as a tech in a store for 3 years and I've personally had a manager tell me that's their policy when I had 3 Droid 2 phones go to crap on me. Maybe it's changed, but vz had a lemon policy that my wife used to have to abide by.

beepea206 said:
My ex wife worked as a tech in a store for 3 years and I've personally had a manager tell me that's their policy when I had 3 Droid 2 phones go to crap on me. Maybe it's changed, but vz had a lemon policy that my ex used to have to abide by.
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Click to collapse
I'm a tech in a corporate call center. They don't have techs in corporate stores anymore. I don't know about vendors, but all replacements go through either tech support or customer service. Like I said, you might get someone who just wanted you to go away and offer you something you are not entitled to, and of course there are instances when exceptions are made, but as a policy, warranty covers purchased device.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

flyestAC said:
I'm a tech in a corporate call center. They don't have techs in corporate stores anymore. I don't know about vendors, but all replacements go through either tech support or customer service. Like I said, you might get someone who just wanted you to go away and offer you something you are not entitled to, and of course there are instances when exceptions are made, but as a policy, warranty covers purchased device.
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Click to collapse
Must have been something her regional manager had as a customer service policy in those specific stores; she was told it was a company policy, but that could have been a misstatement.
Anyway, to the OP, don't worry about refurbishes.

beepea206 said:
Must have been something her regional manager had as a customer service policy in those specific stores; she was told it was a company policy, but that could have been a misstatement.
Anyway, to the OP, don't worry about refurbishes.
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Click to collapse
Yeah definitely don't worry about "refurbs". Most refurbs are phones that have nothing wrong with them and were sent back because of user error or they wanted a different phone and thought if they said there was something wrong with it they'd get a new one. Refurb really only means it can't be sold as new.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

flyestAC said:
Yeah definitely don't worry about "refurbs". Most refurbs are phones that have nothing wrong with them and were sent back because of user error or they wanted a different phone and thought if they said there was something wrong with it they'd get a new one. Refurb really only means it can't be sold as new.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
I dealt with a similar situation in my old compy shop 10 something years ago. We were resellers for a few brands (Acer, Lenova, some others) and the Acer "refurb" units were pretty much all returns to big box stores from people that decided that the laptop didn't fit their needs. Lenova refurbs, on the other hand, were just that. They were still very reliable, though.

Ive heard of the "lemon rule" but never had the option. Wat ive heard from am employees its not a policy but they make exception like that to keep customers happy and coming back. Its more of a YMMV type of thing. Honestly i wanna work at a vzw store ill put xda as my reference . Once i was opening up an insurance claim over the fone the lady was nice look up my info amd told me of i had extended warranty wich i did to go tp vzw and ask for a new fone. The lady was nice most reps would of jst taken my money. Is the deductible still $100 for thr S3

Related

Call AT&t Mobility to have Captivate shut down issue resolved with a new phone

So after months of shutdowns and BS from AT&T and Samsung, AT&T has finally come through. I spoke with someone in the "Office of the President" and after checking into the issue, they overnighted me a NEW Captivate (my phone was purchased in August, so I am well out of the 30-days). Their statement was that the defective phones are not supposed to be in the new lots or refurb lots, as it is against their procedures to knowingly sell defective phones. I would suggest taking your complaints there. The number is 1-800-331-0500. Be firm and upset, but be respectful. They will work with you.
I hope this helps to resolve the issues you are all having with swapping out your defective phones with a NEW Captivate.
It will help...eventually. I did the same thing, the first phone they sent me started doing the same thing (worse even) and rebooting withing 48 hours. I called them back complaining and the woman told me they knew of the issues and unfortunately they were recycling the phones that had issues for a while. She assured me this would not happen this time around. They sent me a 3rd one at that time (with next day shipping) and I recieved it on Monday. I'm happy to say I haven't had any problems with it...YET.
We'll see. I could tell the first one they sent me was an obvious refurb (the label under the battery had only one string of numbers and nothing else on it). The one I recieved this Monday was labeled and looked like an actual new one. The other one also seemed to have had a different screen, not near as good of color and would look bad at an angle, this new one seems perfect thus far.
Good Luck!
I still have until July if I have more problems to get even more Captivates as they told me they will keep sending them and will NOT replace for a different phone.
I'm just curious, when you do this, how long do they give you to send the old phone back?
rpicaso said:
I'm just curious, when you do this, how long do they give you to send the old phone back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You use the same shipping box to send it back, prepaid. If I remember correctly it's about a week before they will follow up and then after about two weeks you get charged the full price for a new phone.
The paperwork in my box stated you have 10 days.
They tried to talk refurb, but I had already gotten one of those and it shut down on me 5 times the first morning I had it. I sent that one back with a nasty note. This is definitely a new phone, with orginal packaging. The build date is 12/26/2010 (according to Samsung website) and it's a 1012 revision. I am hopeful...
smyrnaheather said:
They tried to talk refurb, but I had already gotten one of those and it shut down on me 5 times the first morning I had it. I sent that one back with a nasty note. This is definitely a new phone, with orginal packaging. The build date is 12/26/2010 (according to Samsung website) and it's a 1012 revision. I am hopeful...
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Click to collapse
Cool! let us know how it goes.
Does ur build. 1012 have 3 button recovery/download mode? Did it come loaded with Jh7?
smyrnaheather said:
So after months of shutdowns and BS from AT&T and Samsung, AT&T has finally come through. I spoke with someone in the "Office of the President" and after checking into the issue, they overnighted me a NEW Captivate (my phone was purchased in August, so I am well out of the 30-days). Their statement was that the defective phones are not supposed to be in the new lots or refurb lots, as it is against their procedures to knowingly sell defective phones. I would suggest taking your complaints there. The number is 1-800-331-0500. Be firm and upset, but be respectful. They will work with you.
I hope this helps to resolve the issues you are all having with swapping out your defective phones with a NEW Captivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
born_fisherman said:
Does ur build. 1012 have 3 button recovery/download mode? Did it come loaded with Jh7?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Comes loaded with JH7. I have no idea what the 3 button download thingy you mention is. I haven't gotten into rooting phones, and etc.
What do you think of this:
I went to a warranty center and had my phone exchanged, only to find out (not until I got home) that the IMEI of the replacement phone also falls within the range of potentially problematic phones.
So, rather than settle for what they gave me, I went back the next day and asked if they had any newer phones or, more specifically, any that weren't in the range of IMEIs that have been identified by Samsung as possibly having the shutdown problem. They didn't, so then I called the 800# and talked to their Android specialist.
The specialist told me that I shouldn't worry about it, since all of the bad phones had been removed from inventory. I found that hard to believe, but was at a loss for what to say, so I ended up doing the master reset and was scheduled to talk to them again to see if that did the trick.
Should I leave it at that and assume he was correct telling me that all of the bad phones had been removed from inventory, or should I force the issue and "demand" a newer phone, so as to avoid possible problems 3, 4 or 5 months down the road (or worse, after the warranty is up)??
Anyone have any first-hand knowledge of whether AT&T took all of the bad-range phones or I'd stock? Anyone been told something similar by AT&T?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I am on my 4th replacement from the warranty department. They have not removed the affected phones from inventory. This 4th phone has it and is going back. I am in the middle of trying to get them to send me a new phone. I had called. they referred me to some specialist and they took my info and are scheduled to get back to me... I hope it all ends well.
Only refurbished phones
Hi,
I talked with android specialist on their warranty dept number, but they are adamant and reiterating that they can only give refurbished phones. My phone is 32 days old. 2 days over their normal 30 days return period
I feel being cheated. Is there a way to do something about it?
bulletguy said:
Hi,
I talked with android specialist on their warranty dept number, but they are adamant and reiterating that they can only give refurbished phones. My phone is 32 days old. 2 days over their normal 30 days return period
I feel being cheated. Is there a way to do something about it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried bringing it back to the AT&T store? They're usually a little lenient about the 30 days.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
This phone was purchased from amazonwireless.com. After talking with 3 different reps I was able to convince them to send new replacement phone. But they didn't promise to send me a new phone (IMEI not in defective phone's range). Lets see how it goes with new phone. Else my only option would be to get refurbished phone from AT&T.
Contact the better business bureau, the FTC, and any other complaint site. They actually responded to my BBB complaint - so it may be the best one to go thru.
After my THIRD one I got lucky and when I went to the AT&T store there was a Corp rep there. They didn't believe me at first that the warranty department told me I have to keep getting the same phone, then they called for me. After they found out I wasn't joking I got a replacement...not just a replacement, but a different phone all together (NOT the Captivate). Seems everyone at ATT is well aware that basically this phone has major defects.
Oddly I do know two other people that have one, and they have never had a problem, funny how I had a problem with my original and ALL 3 replacements....Then again, this 3rd Captivate I had when at the att store I found out was actually my original phone shipped back to me again!!! WTF!
Damn, I bought my phone on launch date and not a problem (now that GPS is fixed with custom roms for me )
Looks like those jokers at ATT just cycling defective phones and hoping for customers to just give up on wasting time and stop contacting them.
Thats ATT for you, or any big corporation for that matter.
If it weren't for the custom roms, I would feel similar. Wasn't very impressed after using stock captivate for a while. I'm glad I didn't go through that!
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
man, i'll have to check if my gf's captivate is still having the reboot issue, if so, I'll have to push for a new phone.
Fall0n said:
man, i'll have to check if my gf's captivate is still having the reboot issue, if so, I'll have to push for a new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have her call 877-707-6220 to explain. It's the Executive Level of customer service. I have come to learn that the people in this department can do anything - if you are nice enough to them. And, they are well aware of the shutdown issue.

Stupid enough not to put the phone back to stockbefore returning it to ATT

Hi Guys, this is my story
Recently I have saw a black mark on my screen that would not go away. In addition there were some spots that were also visible.
I have went to a ATT service spot and ask for a replacement, the guy looked at my phone and agreed to give me a refurbished phone.
I am worried about two things:
1. the guy said that if the spots were caused by water I will pay 500$. Truthfully, the phone was anywhere near water but it does look like water damage....
2. The phone that ATT took was rooted.
Do you think that I have a big bill coming on?
* really worried...
Regards
B
borisb said:
Hi Guys, this is my story
Recently I have saw a black mark on my screen that would not go away. In addition there were some spots that were also visible.
I have went to a ATT service spot and ask for a replacement, the guy looked at my phone and agreed to give me a refurbished phone.
I am worried about two things:
1. the guy said that if the spots were caused by water I will pay 500$. Truthfully, the phone was anywhere near water but it does look like water damage....
2. The phone that ATT took was rooted.
Do you think that I have a big bill coming on?
* really worried...
Regards
B
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my discussions with the att warranty department (ie. last three days), anything that they can constitute as user damaged, they will charge you 399 dollars for the refurbished phone.
So technically since the phone was rooted, unless the att tech reflashed it before sending it out, you have voided your warranty.
Even if its a HW issue?
What are the chances that they will reflash it? probably zero.....
Has anyone had something like this?
borisb said:
Even if its a HW issue?
What are the chances that they will reflash it? probably zero.....
Has anyone had something like this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even if its a hardware issue, while the phone is rooted the warranty is voided.
I am not sure never worked at att, but I am guessing they just put it in a box and ship it.
The most they do is wipe user data.
In all honesty, I would argue with them if they do charge. Reason: " the guy at the stand did not check it first. " all blame should fall on him because he furnished you with another phone without checking it first.
ATT rep.. The phone you provided us is no longer under warranty due to it being voided.
You.. The guy at the store gave me a new phone and said everything was ok. Why am I now being charged. Did he break it? .
ATT Rep.. I am sorry for the confusion.........
Something like that, just play really dumb like you have no idea what there talking about, and chances are the will void the charge due to employee negligence.
Now if you signed something agreeing to take the phone with the chance of being charged anyways, you may be **** out of luck. But its worth a shot. I know when it was cingular, our returns department never even checked the phones, the most we checked for was the water mark stickers. And even that was not always checked. When we sent them off to the manufacturer for exchanges we shipped them out in bulk and by doing so they realy couldnt tell what came from who.
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB using Tapatalk
xKrisx said:
Now if you signed something agreeing to take the phone with the chance of being charged anyways, you may be **** out of luck. But its worth a shot. I know when it was cingular, our returns department never even checked the phones, the most we checked for was the water mark stickers. And even that was not always checked. When we sent them off to the manufacturer for exchanges we shipped them out in bulk and by doing so they realy couldnt tell what came from who.
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The last part of that has changed since they use imei's now.
I think you will be fine. You giving the Warranty Department too much credit. You will be fine.
i guess it matters on how hard the warranty guyz wana work... hopefully they will get the phone on a friday lol good luck
A year or so ago i was buying a mytouch 3g in a tmobile store and the guy selling me the phone told me about how i could root the phone and wireless tether for free!
I even asked him if it would void the warrenty and he said it wouldnt!
I hope it will be OK.
Do they sent it to ATT o directly to HTC?
mudknot2005 said:
Even if its a hardware issue, while the phone is rooted the warranty is voided.
I am not sure never worked at att, but I am guessing they just put it in a box and ship it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right. He taped it up before me (for one of my earlier captivates) and when I asked if they would reset or anything like that, he said it'll go directly to Samsung. Its a good thing I always wipe data before I return any phone.
So my guess is, for phones returned within 30 days that wud come as refurb, they will be within AT&T. But for any hardware issues they won't even bother to look into it and simply return the phone to manufacturer.
I sent a rooted Samsung captivate (told them it had random shut down issue which was a known issue it didn't have that prob gps was crappy) in that was rooted and nothing happened. A lot of times its not cost effective for a manufacturer to check all that stuff. Remember they have to pay a tech by the hour to do all that. Its usually more cost effective to just refurb and either resell or use as a replacement. I'm betting you'll be ok. I wouldn't worry about it until you hear from them. And like the other guy said play dumb.
Carlrobling said:
I sent a rooted Samsung captivate (told them it had random shut down issue which was a known issue it didn't have that prob gps was crappy) in that was rooted and nothing happened. A lot of times its not cost effective for a manufacturer to check all that stuff. Remember they have to pay a tech by the hour to do all that. Its usually more cost effective to just refurb and either resell or use as a replacement. I'm betting you'll be ok. I wouldn't worry about it until you hear from them. And like the other guy said play dumb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T doesn't bother until the manufacturer comes back. I remember reading on Captivate forums where some people got billed full amount after a couple months cos Samsung came back to AT&T charging them.
diablo009 said:
AT&T doesn't bother until the manufacturer comes back. I remember reading on Captivate forums where some people got billed full amount after a couple months cos Samsung came back to AT&T charging them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure it has happened. Not everyone gets lucky. I will say this ATT techs aren't very bright. When i first got my inspire (used from craigslist) i put my sim in and it said it had a sim lock. I called tech support they told me they didn't know what it was. Then tried to tell me it was cause someone tried to root it and failed. I later figured out on my own that it was a bad sim and after having it replaced it worked perfectly. So i wouldn't count on ATT but Htc its a roll of the dice. Keep us posted let us know how things turn out.
Some of you are giving far too much credit to the warranty department. I can't speak for AT&T as I don't work for them...But I do, do tech support for Philips Electronics... In all honesty, 1 out of every 15 people here is technologically advanced. Most people work here because its a job.
The way our warranties work is 2 ways.
1. We either say screw it and send another product
or
2. The product comes in for testing, we test it...If it works, it goes back, if not, we replace it. 99.99% of the time, the people testing the product are not smart enough to look for alterations to the software.
Again, this is how we work here, and I can't speak for AT&T.
tribalartgod said:
Some of you are giving far too much credit to the warranty department. I can't speak for AT&T as I don't work for them...But I do, do tech support for Philips Electronics... In all honesty, 1 out of every 15 people here is technologically advanced. Most people work here because its a job.
The way our warranties work is 2 ways.
1. We either say screw it and send another product
or
2. The product comes in for testing, we test it...If it works, it goes back, if not, we replace it. 99.99% of the time, the people testing the product are not smart enough to look for alterations to the software.
Again, this is how we work here, and I can't speak for AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not only not smart enough but like you said its just a job and they don't even bother to care. Like i said earlier there techs aren't very bright and tried to tell me someone tried to root the used inspire that i had. He even went around and asked other techs that's the only problem it could be he said. After some trial and error I figured it out called tech support back told the lady this time what i figured out she agreed and made note on my account that i could get a free sim. Glad i don't bother believing everything i hear lol and would rather do my own research first.
P.S. Its like that everywhere you go. People are all the same from job to job you see the same things everywhere lol.
BAleR said:
A year or so ago i was buying a mytouch 3g in a tmobile store and the guy selling me the phone told me about how i could root the phone and wireless tether for free!
I even asked him if it would void the warrenty and he said it wouldnt!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And if the rep said that they will give you a free phone every 6months you would believe that too?
jaw2012 said:
And if the rep said that they will give you a free phone every 6months you would believe that too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never said I believed it, just quoting him
When htc gets the phone they will wipe it and put it back to factory because there is no need of anything on the phone and anything done on the phone software issues could be the problem, so always best from there stand point to have it back to factory. That is exact reason any time u call about anything with pc or phone they want u to restore to factory.

New Verizon policy on replacing 4G devices?

So on Saturday i called Verizon to complain about my proximity sensor not working... i couldn't take hanging up on my friends anymore, and I did try blowing it out with compressed air... No dice.
We went through the normal troubleshooting routine. "Did you try pulling the battery?" "Lets try a Factory Reset" "Call #237 and try to trip the sensor" "Have you tried turning it off and back on again?" with exception to the last one... IT Crowd anyone? Well once the rep was satisfied that I wasn't BS'ing him, we started the replacement process. I gave my address and the whole normal routine, i was placed on hold for a few minutes as the "order wouldn't go through" or something....
At that point I was told that a new policy had been put into effect with replacing 4G devices.... Verizon was going to have to send me a "Recovery Box" where I had to send back my Thunderbolt, and they would send me the replacement within 3 to 5 days. WTF! I explained that this was ridiculous and such, and kindly asked to speak to a supervisor who told me the same thing.
Today, i received the "Recovery Box", and will be sending my Thunderbolt back. What interested me was this paragraph that was in the "RETURN INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR 4G LTE DEVICE" pamphlet: (I will gladly scan and post if there's interest...)
"NOTE: For problems covered under the manufacturer's warranty, you will receive a replacement device within 3-5 business days after shipping your defective device. Your replacement device may be reconditioned.
For problems not covered under the manufacturer's warranty, your defective device may be returned to you in the same condition."
I'm wondering if after all of the issues with rebooting phones simply being a software upgrade, if Verizon is doing this to prevent any more of their CPO phones going out.... and if those reboot phones will just be updated and sent back to customers... Anyway, that was my story. Anyone else have this issue.... or was a lot of smoke just blown up you know where?
Never seen that before mine was just sent in like a few days back with no problems
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
It's probably so they can avoid replacing phones for things like water damage or dropped phones (i.e. obvious user inflicted problems).
I believe they are trying to force us to use the insurance if we have it and screw us if we dont. I have a TB, but just had more or less the same thing happen with my sons Casio phone. The Casio needs a battery but verizon doesnt have them and can not find one for it. Was sent the like new referb #3 and told to put old battery in #3 then file insurance claim because of battery. Doesnt this sound a wee bit like fraud. Still has manufacture warranty on it. My thought is that we still have the manufactures warranty on our TBs maybe we should try contacting HTC for that warranty,
as verizon doesnt seem to want to stand behind the products they sell any more. Or pay the $99. 00 deposit and loose our TBs. I am very unhappy with verizons customer service and I believe that like Sprint was 3 years ago we will get told to go screw ourselves live with your junk phone, shut up and pay your bill any way. Thats why I left Sprint after 8 years. Verizon is #1 now and will forget about us customers that got them there. I feel bad things coming in the near future
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
I had to get mine replaced and they sent me one overnight with no issues. I had to pay 12.99 for the overnight shipping instead of waiting for snail mail to bring me a new phone. I had no issues with anyone on the phone. This was last week btw. Sounds like either have had a couple replaced and they want to check it first or you got some person being a prick on the phone.
Get bestbuy insurance. They will replace it in the store. Mine had a speaker problem and they took about 15 minutes to review it and showed geek squad while I walked around the store. 15 minutes later I hear my name is needed in mobile. The said ok we do see there is a technical malfunction and you will get a replacement.
Sounds like user error to me...
SOUNDS LIKE RULE CHANGE 101.
Is the recovery box for t.e.c. cause the reason its purchased is to always have a phone shipped next day if under 12pm.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
I had mine replaced last week with no problems, and again on Monday (the 2nd replacement) which I should have on my doorstep when I get home. Last week they sent it ground for free and I would've had to pay $12 for overnight, yesterday they did overnight for free.
Edit: the first time I called they said I had to go into a store to have them check it out, I was rooted and running BAMF. I put it back to stock to take it into the store and had no problems from then on.
Were you rooted/running a different Rom? That may be why they told you that.
It's probably so they can avoid replacing phones for things like water damage or dropped phones (i.e. obvious user inflicted problems).
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Well then they would charge the customer $500+... isn't that a 'win' for them?
Get bestbuy insurance. They will replace it in the store. Mine had a speaker problem and they took about 15 minutes to review it and showed geek squad while I walked around the store. 15 minutes later I hear my name is needed in mobile. The said ok we do see there is a technical malfunction and you will get a replacement.
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I had nothing but trouble with their "Black Tie" insurance a couple years ago...
Is the recovery box for t.e.c. cause the reason its purchased is to always have a phone shipped next day if under 12pm.
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Yeah its TEC, if you mean i'm sending it back to VZW. *confused*
eraursls1984 said:
Were you rooted/running a different Rom? That may be why they told you that.
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Before my call to Verizon, yes I was rooted.... but I unrooted, made sure the problem was still there, and then called in to troubleshoot with Tech Support
Topher227 said:
Before my call to Verizon, yes I was rooted.... but I unrooted, made sure the problem was still there, and then called in to troubleshoot with Tech Support
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I think he meant did you tell them you were rooted. I mean that should be obvious not to, but you never know
No, i didn't tell them i was Rooted....
"Whats Rooting?"
would have been my response, if asked by VZW tech support....
Hmm this is a first for t.e.c. diag hard reset prob still there reman sent out.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
I went to the store last night and had them confirm the problem I was having. They put me on the phone with the rep and after paying the overnight fee had my replacement at 12:30 today, just have to send the old one in.
Sounds like u got the "special treatment".
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
I'm just hoping that their system was down and the rep was too lazy too fix the problem.... and just made me jump through some additional hoops....
I really hope this isn't a new policy.
rickyrick3513 said:
Get bestbuy insurance. They will replace it in the store. Mine had a speaker problem and they took about 15 minutes to review it and showed geek squad while I walked around the store. 15 minutes later I hear my name is needed in mobile. The said ok we do see there is a technical malfunction and you will get a replacement.
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Click to collapse
Best Buy does have the best insurance. I will never buy a phone from Verizon or their crappy insurance. I seriously don't know how they can legally get away with calling their insurance "insurance" I have had multiple phones and two PS3's replaced by buying their "Black Tie" insurance. It is always a smooth transaction if something goes wrong with anything covered.
Had two replacements both with overnight shipping free.

Verizon's headache of customer service...

Restored my phone to stock two days ago and updated from Froyo to Gingerbread. Official HTC/Verizon update. Guess what? Broke my internet (in the best way to say it.) I had flaky 3G connection and no 4G at all. Most of the time, it would be at 1X or no data connectivity at all.
Went through all the steps of soft resets, pulling battery, factory resetting, toggling mobile network state, toggling data connectivity, toggling roaming, toggling between CDMA only and CDMA/LTE. You name it (in the range of things that didn't void warranty) and I did it. Nothing.
So I call customer service, and the woman said that she WOULD send out a SIM card, but it'd be faster for me to go to the Verizon store and they'd replace it for free, no hassle. So, went down to the store (It's only about five minutes from my home) got it switched out, bam. Had 3G, that was it. The rep was pretty busy and wanted to rush me out, so he said "It's fine, just give it ten minutes. Thanks for coming by." Twenty minutes later, sitting in my room and notice that...oh darn, no internet connectivity at all. Went through all the basic steps again, and nothing.
By this point, raging.
Call their tech support and they say that they're sending me a new thunderbolt (yay!) So, yesterday it came in (after I had to call Fed Ex and correct my address because the woman completely got it wrong lol) Unbox it, put in my SIM and SD cards and my battery, start it up. Worked just fine. Praise Jeebus! Left it that way for the rest of the night because I didn't need to use my phone, but when I made a call this morning, I realized that my phone speaker was making a grinding metallic buzzing like noise...
Great.
So I call in, and the techie I talked to told me to call Asurion since it was a CLNR (Made me mad since they said it'd be a brand new phone) and they told me I'd have to pay a deductible! So I hung up and called Verizon back (still using a rather polite tone after all the bull****) and quickly gave them the whole story and informed them of how Asurion wanted me to pay $100 for a new phone because the phone I had JUST gotten was broken and was shipped that way. They apologized, said they didn't know why Asurion would do that, and said I should have another Thunderbolt on my doorstep tomorrow.
If this one is busted as well, I'm going to throw away Mr. Nice Guy and raise hell. I've been with Verizon for almost four years now and they just keep giving me the runaround. This is absurd. Not the first time some crap like this has happened because of a malfunctioning phone.
Whenever you call VZW, you should ALWAYS choose the "cancel account" option at the teleprompt. It will automatically escalate your call to a high level tech who actually knows his/her **** and is authorized to make more changes than the low level peons.
If there's something wrong with the one they send me tomorrow, I'm calling them right off the bat and asking to be transferred to their retention department lol. Same thing, I guess. I'm going to rage and tell them give me a NEW phone. Not dealing with another broken refurbished phone. Some warranty THAT is.
What makes me even more mad is the fact that they sent me to Asurion when I found out that Asurion no longer handles ANY of the warranty issues. So they knew I'd be charged to pay for a new phone because THEY screwed up.
I had the exact same thing happen...no 4g. They sent me a new SIM, nothing. Sent me a new phone, buzzing in the earpiece. Only difference was that I happened to notice it right away when I was testing the phone. Called them back and they just sent me another replacement phone, no questions. Never had to go through Asurion because it was broken when I got it. Weird that they made you do that. Second new (refurb) phone I got worked great and 4G is back.
The Thunderbolt I got today was a brick. Seriously? lol. I called Verizon to cancel my account due to all the bullsh*t and the supervisor said she'd send me a brand new Rezound instead of a CLNR Thunderbolt. Well, nice knowing the Tbolt and everyone on the forum. Best of luck to all the devs, I hope Twistd gets ICS up and running for you guys
I've been with VZW for 12 years, no bad experiences...wish they'd send me a Rezound!
It doesn't seem like Verizon had bad customer service. You got a lemon of a phone.
They're sending you a brand new Rezound. Doesn't sound like bad customer service to me.
Sent from my HTC Mecha using xda premium
OP...So YOU broke your phone (voided warranty, Verizon needs not offer any assistance in fixing it). Then blame them for the software issue you created? To top if off you get a "free" upgrade from Verizon (refurbished of course), and then are surprised that it is not of the highest quality. Sounds like you need to jump back in to reality, as well as take responsibility for your own actions before "raging" against others for them. You should be jumping for joy that you got a new phone, not crying about it.
I have had to deal with all major cell phone vendors as part of my job. I can tell you without any question what so ever that Verizon has by FAR the best customer service of all cell phone vendors.
turbosrrgood said:
OP...So YOU broke your phone (voided warranty, Verizon needs not offer any assistance in fixing it). Then blame them for the software issue you created? To top if off you get a "free" upgrade from Verizon (refurbished of course), and then are surprised that it is not of the highest quality. Sounds like you need to jump back in to reality, as well as take responsibility for your own actions before "raging" against others for them. You should be jumping for joy that you got a new phone, not crying about it.
I have had to deal with all major cell phone vendors as part of my job. I can tell you without any question what so ever that Verizon has by FAR the best customer service of all cell phone vendors.
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Absolutely. You don't have outsourced customer service and they actually care about how happy you are.
Geez, the whiney kids and their sense of entitlement.
Sent from my HTC Mecha using xda premium
turbosrrgood said:
OP...So YOU broke your phone (voided warranty, Verizon needs not offer any assistance in fixing it). Then blame them for the software issue you created? To top if off you get a "free" upgrade from Verizon (refurbished of course), and then are surprised that it is not of the highest quality. Sounds like you need to jump back in to reality, as well as take responsibility for your own actions before "raging" against others for them. You should be jumping for joy that you got a new phone, not crying about it.
I have had to deal with all major cell phone vendors as part of my job. I can tell you without any question what so ever that Verizon has by FAR the best customer service of all cell phone vendors.
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Click to collapse
u realize he said he went back to stock....went through the update THEN he had connectivity issues...then 2 lemons later they decide to give them a phone. also, the rant was BEFORE the new phone...
He was very patient and calm until the 4th time he was wronged by either broken phone/software in which case i believe was not his fault, then he raged, tbh some people would have already raged way before this guy did. Also i dont think he meant verizon is bad at customer service but he was frustated after getting like 3 diff. broken phones which is also not his fault. Just my 2 cents
Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using xda premium
turbosrrgood said:
OP...So YOU broke your phone (voided warranty, Verizon needs not offer any assistance in fixing it). Then blame them for the software issue you created? To top if off you get a "free" upgrade from Verizon (refurbished of course), and then are surprised that it is not of the highest quality. Sounds like you need to jump back in to reality, as well as take responsibility for your own actions before "raging" against others for them. You should be jumping for joy that you got a new phone, not crying about it.
I have had to deal with all major cell phone vendors as part of my job. I can tell you without any question what so ever that Verizon has by FAR the best customer service of all cell phone vendors.
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Click to collapse
Ha. Ha ha ha. I had forgotten I posted here, actually.
A software issue I created? No. I don't call returning to their stock image then updating to THEIR update MY issue. The rep I spoke with said that it wasn't an unknown issue. No, I only got a "free" upgrade after they sent me a phone with a broken ear speaker and one that didn't even turn off.
I'd be glad about the new phones if they weren't junked as well. My first Rezound pretty much burned out, and the new one has a yellow tinted screen with pink soft keys instead of red and horrible light leakage.
I understand where you'd be coming from if I had said "wahwahwah" about it all.
But Jesus, you can't tell me if you had gotten two bad phones in a row you wouldn't be raging. And now I've gotten two more that were junk.
Please, tell me more about how I have to jump into reality.
CanesDrew said:
Absolutely. You don't have outsourced customer service and they actually care about how happy you are.
Geez, the whiney kids and their sense of entitlement.
Sent from my HTC Mecha using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Sense of entitlement? Right.
Yeah, they care so much that one of them sent me to Asurion when it was clearly a warranty issue with the first refurbished that I got. Not to mention the woman that told me she had written a few notes on my system to aid in the process after all of it to get the Rezound...when she never did. The next rep I spoke with had no clue what I was talking about. So, once again, sense of entitlement? Please. Do elaborate after you understand that their software update broke my radio connection, the second phone I got was busted, the third was busted, the first Rezound burned out after a week, and the new Rezound has horrible build quality issues.
Might want to actually read my first post before you try to act like I'm being a "Waaaaaaaaah gimme new phone because I had one issue!"
Out of maybe 12 times I've had to call Verizon due to busted phones, I've had 2-3 that I would actually rate as satisfactory. The others certainly weren't pleasant. I know the busted phones are completely HTC's fault (at the time of the original post, I thought it was Verizon who certified the devices. Yes, ignorance on my part), but that doesn't excuse how many times I've pretty much gotten very cold and bitter treatment.
Is there a point to this thread? If not, mods please close.
th3_g00b said:
u realize he said he went back to stock....went through the update THEN he had connectivity issues...then 2 lemons later they decide to give them a phone. also, the rant was BEFORE the new phone...
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I think he himself caused a mismatch in radios. I don't believe that a factory reset that takes you back to Froyo replaces the radios with Froyo compatible radios. In any case it sounds like a case of rooted incompatible radios that was causing his issues.
-Frank.
Sent using Tapatalk 2
I understand the OP's frustrations. I have been with Verizon for 6 years now after my company was bought out by them. I could have went somewhere else at that point but I stayed for the sake of the reputation I had known Verizon to have among others I knew.
I went through a point of time where 2 of us on the plan had bad phones, known issues etc. They shipped out warranty replacements and they didn't work right either etc. I have had good customer service from them before, but I think its really just the luck of the draw with them. We went through 12 different shipments before they finally decided to send us phones that worked. This was not the fault of any screwing with the phone's technology, this was stock.
In Verizon's defense, this will always be an issue. Companies with high customer service ratings will always have at least 1-2 peons that don't care working for them. And it may just be the luck to get that 1 peon on the phone at the time....
Don't give up on a company because of one bad situation if you have many others to look at as good. They are a good company (for the most part) with some bad seeds...it happens to most if not all.
Glad to see your phone was taken care of!!!

Need some help

So I decided to try AT&T(Currently with Sprint) just to see how much better the network was due to how horrible Sprints network is. So I went and purchased the AT&T One X. I absolutely loved the phone and the difference in download speeds is just ridiculous. Well I had the phone for about a 1 1/2 days and was having a problem where the phone would just randomly reboot and was getting to be a major pain. So I went to AT&T and asked if I could swap it for a new one. After about 30 minutes of going back and forth and threatening to cancel my contract they agreed to give me a replacement but I would have to pay the $35 re-stocking fee, but they didn't have the color I wanted so they found another store that had one. I went there to pick it up and noticed that the seal on the box had already been cut. I thought, maybe they just cut it open while I was on my way. I also noticed the guy couldn't get the phone to turn on and come to find out it was completely dead, which was weird because the first one I bought had almost a full charge when I got it. So I took the phone and after I got home I was looking around in the settings menu and noticed that the battery had over 2 days of use and I only had the phone for an hour. So I called the store and asked the guy why that was and he told me they were probably doing tests with it in the store. I told him I didn't want a phone they were messing with in the store and that I wanted a brand new one. Well he hung up on me. So I went back to the store I bought the first one from to see if there was anything they could do and they said for 1, I can only swap out the phone once within my 30 day period and 2, since the phone came from the other store they would have to be the ones to replace it and if I wanted to cancel my service I would have to pay another $35 restocking fee. So my question/questions are, (1) Has anyone noticed that there battery had been used for any amount of time when you first got the phone and (2) For anyone that may work or has worked for AT&T in the past, am I entitled to a new phone since clearly my phone had been used and was not new? Sorry for such a long post but I thought I would get the best advice if the whole story was laid out. I know getting a phone that had been played with for a couple hours may not be a big deal to some but to me I paid for a new phone and that's what I want. Thanks in advance for any help or advice you may be able to give.
Get your new phone.. [email protected] ATT
Sent from my ROOTED HTC One X using xda premium
When I got my one X they opened it for the first time right in front of me, it still had the plastic seal on the box.
Go back and demand they give you a new phone. You should never have had to pay the restocking fee for the first one and you sure as hell shouldn't have to get stuck with a phone that wasn't new. Good to see you here, btw. I hope you decide to stick with the One X, it's an amazing phone... I don't miss my E4GT at all now that I have this thing. Gonna be theming for us?
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
_MetalHead_ said:
Go back and demand they give you a new phone. You should never have had to pay the restocking fee for the first one and you sure as hell shouldn't have to get stuck with a phone that wasn't new. Good to see you here, btw. I hope you decide to stick with the One X, it's an amazing phone... I don't miss my E4GT at all now that I have this thing. Gonna be theming for us?
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
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Thanks guys for all the feedback. I really appreciate it. Ya, they made me feel like I'm crazy for wanting a new phone. As long as they agree to give me a new phone I plan on keeping it and I definitely plan on building themes for it. If not then they can have it back and I will stick with what I have. I have never been treated so bad. One thing I think they could get a few lessons in from Sprint are Customer Service. By the way, good to see you here as well.
one word paragraphs lol
The_Zodiac said:
one word paragraphs lol
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Sorry
10char
Any update? Did you bring it back in?
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
battery left in the phone can be different...but they should open the package infront of you...or you can ask for a new phone...unless you were not promised for a new one.
_MetalHead_ said:
Any update? Did you bring it back in?
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya, I took it in and the guy that was there said he was the one that personally opened it and he opened it to show a customer and may have forgot to turn the phone off. He said that he would not take the phone back because there was nothing wrong with it. Even after I threatened to cancel my service he said, that's fine but I will not take it back since there is nothing wrong with it. He said if there was something wrong with it that would be a different story but since there isn't then there was nothing he could do about it.
Tiffany84 said:
Ya, I took it in and the guy that was there said he was the one that personally opened it and he opened it to show a customer and may have forgot to turn the phone off. He said that he would not take the phone back because there was nothing wrong with it. Even after I threatened to cancel my service he said, that's fine but I will not take it back since there is nothing wrong with it. He said if there was something wrong with it that would be a different story but since there isn't then there was nothing he could do about it.
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Click to collapse
That's kinda BS but whatever... if there's nothing wrong with it then I'd just keep it. Think of it this way, it's still for all intents and purposes brand new, still has a full warranty (though not too many of us here care about warranties lol), and if something does turn up to be bad with it, then you can exchange it. Don't let your bad experience with a couple idiots at the stores overshadow the excitement of getting such an amazing phone. I know I am completely obsessed with mine, I really feel the same way I did when I got my OG EVO 4G 2 years ago... not even my E4GT was able to give me that feeling again. This thing is so damn cool, just enjoy it and forget about all this BS. That's my two cents
_MetalHead_ said:
That's kinda BS but whatever... if there's nothing wrong with it then I'd just keep it. Think of it this way, it's still for all intents and purposes brand new, still has a full warranty (though not too many of us here care about warranties lol), and if something does turn up to be bad with it, then you can exchange it. Don't let your bad experience with a couple idiots at the stores overshadow the excitement of getting such an amazing phone. I know I am completely obsessed with mine, I really feel the same way I did when I got my OG EVO 4G 2 years ago... not even my E4GT was able to give me that feeling again. This thing is so damn cool, just enjoy it and forget about all this BS. That's my two cents
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Click to collapse
I agree. It really left a bad taste in my mouth and I was really considering just canceling my service because the customer service I've received from AT&T has been horrible so far. But I absolutely love this phone and it's almost impossible to think about giving it up. Thanks for all the advice.
I'd call at&t customer service and complain about paying a restock fee on that first return. defective devices NEVER should have a restock fee. Since you're new customer, and can cancel service with NO penalty, I'd be shocked if they didn't give you some kind of account credit, probably more than the 35 dollars you were charged. I've found AT&T's phone reps to be very good in the past and as always you catch more flies with honey.
Good luck.
Tiff,
Was this a corporate store or one those preferred retail stores? If it's a corporate store you need to call AT&T over the phone and tell them how you were treated. Let them know the whole story and that you were charged $35. That's not what is suppose to happen.
If it's one of those preferred retailer stores, I'd return it and go to the corporate store and buy it there.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
droidiac13 said:
Tiff,
Was this a corporate store or one those preferred retail stores? If it's a corporate store you need to call AT&T over the phone and tell them how you were treated. Let them know the whole story and that you were charged $35. That's not what is suppose to happen.
If it's one of those preferred retailer stores, I'd return it and go to the corporate store and buy it there.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly it was a corporate store.
Sent from my HTC One X using Xparent ICS Blue Tapatalk 2
You should definitely call AT&T and get the restocking fee back. It's crazy to make you pay extra just to have a working phone.
Don't know if they'll give you a new phone though. Did you do a factory data reset on the one you have to wipe it?
Call customer service and ask for retention department first off when they transfer u tell the rep Ur thinking about canceling and tell them y(Ur story) and see what they say..also u could call att corporate hq I did that once...filled. formal complaint with presidents assistant and Mr. Riko griffin called me back next day and gave me..I said GAVE me TWO vivid at no cost all cuz some dumb a** told me that he COULD give me a discount but wasn't going to and didn't have to tell me y lol so if u tell them Ur story they will fix it
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

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