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I was charged for a faulty device because Verizon processed it incorrectly

About a month ago, my phone had two problems

(1) No one could hear me unless I put them on speaker phone

(2) It would not take a steady charge

So, I took the phone into the local Verizon store and told the Customer Service Rep about the problems. I also told her that I have the full coverage insurance. She took off the back of the phone and inspected the device for damage, but no visible damage could be seen. So, she said to me, "Ok. I'm going to send you out a new phone. When you get it, just follow the instructions for returning your old phone." I got the new phone in the mail a few days later and followed the instructions to return the old phone (very simple). I was a happy camper until I saw the bill. I was charged $299 plus tax because the faulty charger is not covered by the manufacturer's warranty. This is my problem: I intended to return the phone under the $6.99/month insurance.

I knew nothing about this process when I walked into the Verizon store that day. I have since been told that, had it been processed under an insurance claim, I would have had to mail the device in and wait for it to be fixed or to get a new phone. I would have forwared my number to my home phone. That is not the ideal situation but I could have made do. I would have paid a $49.00 dedictible. Verizon, however, did not give me that option.

My complaint is that I went to Verizon, explained my problem, and advised them that I pay $6.99/month for "Total Coverage" insurance. The Verizon agent decided for me, without consulting with or explaining the options to me, to process the return against the manufacturer's warranty instead of telling me how to process it against the insurance. I relied on her expertise (because I knew nothing about this process) and am now being told by Verizon to either pay the $378 or they will disconnect my service. Excuse my french, but that is a bunch of bull caca.

(1) Verizon has made no attempt to explain why I had to put my callers on speaker phone for them to hear me.

(2) Verizon decided which process to use without consulting me or even attempting to ascertain my needs.

I feel that I should be charged only the $49 deductible, but after speaking with a Customer Service Rep on the phone after viewing the bill, "Verizon is a 3rd party in all this." Well, Verizon was a 1st party when they caused the problem.

What process should I follow to remedy this? I am going to file a claim with the Better Business Bureau tomorrow, but what else should I do? I cannot figure out how to contact their Customer Relations Department.

Thank you,

John >> personal information removed <<

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

Comments

shodges87

First of all, the insurance is not through verizon. It is a third party company called asurion. If your phone is only a month old and it is defective then it would be processed as a warranty exchange, like it was. Even if you had tried to file an insurance claim they would have told you that it is a manufacturer defect and to go through the warranty. I'm also a little confused on what phone you're talking about because this is under the galaxy nexus forum and the deductible for a nexus is $99, not $49. The charge would also be more than $299 since the full retail value of the standard 32gb model is closer to $500-600. The charger that came with your phone also has nothing to do with a warranty claim. What did they actually tell you the $299 charge was for? It's very important to actually get that information and not just guess out of anger. Did you check to make sure to they had received your defective phone? Did you use the return shipping label that was provided in the box that your new phone came in? Did you send the defective phone back in the box with the return shipping label within 5 business days? These questions need to be answered before anything.

nopayne

Thank you for posing these important questions

(1) I bought my phone in June 2012.

(2) It is a Samsung Galaxy Nexus

(3) I understand that the Asurion insurance is a 3rd party insurance, but my issue is the Verizon acted as a 1st party in processing the claim under the warranty

(4) I viewed the "Total Equipment Coverage" information on the Verizon website tonight. It stated a $49 deductible.

(5) The $299 charge, I was told, was the deductible on the manufacturer's warranty.

(6) The charger had nothing to do with the claim. I returned only the device, minus the battery and back

(7) The original phone was, indeed, received.

I am detail oriented person, and I am meticulous in my actions in cases like this.

Thank you,

John >> personal information removed <<

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

unknown

Do you understand this is a customer peer-to-peer forum? You are not talking with Verizon here. Your phone was returned on a warranty claim against your 1 year manufacturer's warranty. Your insurance policy with Asurion would not come into play. It sounds to me that Verizon disallowed your warranty claim for some reason and therefore billed you for the replacement phone they previously sent you.

By the way, insurance on a cell phone is generally not a good idea, especially at $6.99 per month. I never buy insurance on low cost electronic devices. You should read your insurance policy with Asurion as to what is covers and the procedure for filing insurance claims with them. It does not involve Verizon.

shodges87

If the phone is still within the one year warranty and the issue you are having is a software defect it is processed under the manufacturer warranty. Asurion will not process the claim if it is a manufacturer issue and will refer you to Verizon's customer service to process the warranty claim. Unless ou have a REALLY old insurance plan, the deductible for smartphones is $99 across the board. It is $49 for basic phones. You need to call back again (might as well do it now, customer service is 24/7) because there is no "deductible" for warranty replacements. They're supposed to be free replacements. The only time an extra charge is applied is if either the defective phone was never received or there was water damage or obvious physical damage (cracked screen, phone is broken, etc).

unknown

Or the claim was denied for any other reason.

okamsrazor22

John, sorry to hear about your issue. They are likely not saying you have a bad charger, but a bad "charge port". When manufacturers receive the equipment from VZW under warranty they do an inspection. Anything not covered they use to deny the claim and VZW then charges you the cost. It is not that VZW did not process it correctly, the simply handed it off and then when the claim was denied charged it back to you. You can file a claim with Asurion and just pay the deductible in that case. I would start by seeing if VZW will waive the charges. Sometimes they do, sometimes not. Start there and if they can/will not waive it just file the insurance claim.

Verizon_Support

Hello nopayne!

Right off the bat, I'm terribly sorry to learn of this situation especially considering we're not talking about just a few dollars here. And considering you took your phone in store for examination, I read you loud and clear on your concerns.

When taking advantage of the manufacturer's warranty and consulting with our team, we can only advise of your options and disclose that if damage is noticed by the folks down at the warehouse then you may be charged a damaged device fee. As described by a fellow community member, this does sound like it could be an issue with the port on the phone. Additionally, we always supply pictures of device damage anytime something like this occurs. May I ask if you received those pictures? If not, I want you to know I've begun following you and if you'd like to get in touch with our team about matters, please don't hesitate to follow back and direct message us your mobile number and billing password (or last four of your social if a password isn't present) so we can research further. Thank you for your time.

EvanO_VZW

VZW Support

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

mr_casey

>Duplicate post deleted<

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

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