I have a Droid4. It's a replacement from Asurion. My previous phone had a loose charger port so the verizon tech suggested I not send it in via Verizon, and that I use my insurance. Well, they didn't tell me it would be $100, so that was fun. Not.
The charger port was loosened because of shitty design by Motorola. THEIR charger does not fit snugly and easily allows bending at the SLIGHTEST touch. Still, Verizon said that would be considered damage on my part so I went the insurance route.
So, this new phone. Well, "new". I spent several hours on the phone with a wonderful verizon rep last night. She had me back up my phone, do a hard reset and my ear speaker still didn't work. It goes in and out occasionally. She said it sounded like a software issue and was sending me a replacement. Amid the terms and conditions she read me was something about how if they determine it was damage, they can charge me $299. I asked her about that and she said it doesn't sound like it was damaged.
I googled "verizon replacement damage charge" and saw dozens and dozens of reports of undamaged phones being sent to verizon and then the customer being charged for a "damaged" phone with photos of corrosion from water damage.
The only water my phone has been exposed to are the occasional tears and sweat. Since DROID4 is supposed to be water resistant, I assume it hasn't be water damaged. THe sticker by the SIM card is PRISTINE.
However, the ear speaker is pressed to my face and on hot days, maybe sweat dripped into it? Shitty design yet again, you should be able to USE YOUR PHONE WITHOUT DAMAGING IT.
I want to check and be able to prove that my phone isn't damaged before I send it in. How can I do that? While my rep was really nice, I question that it's a software issue if a reset didn't fix it. What if it's a hardware issue? I am NOT paying $300 for a phone I'm going to use for a few months. My contract is up in June and if this can't be fixed at no cost to me I'm just going to use it on speakerphone. And what if it isn't damaged and, like so many in my google search, Verizon makes up bogus damage photos and charges me? Many customers saw results by sending out dozens of emails or going to small claims court. I'm not going to court over a freakin phone.
If I take it into a verizon store, can they check the phone for damage and send it back from there, recording their findings?
Note to others, don't pay that useless insurance. I've paid $8/month for several years now, $100 for the replacement phone, at this rate I could've gotten an iPhone or something. yeesh.
Even if you had it looked at in a Verizon store there is no guarantee that the issue is not via damage to the ear port.
Not saying you did it, if you had supplemental insurance on the device the damage would have been covered but a deductible would have applied. so you are in a catch 22 at the moment.
Many people have said that after it was sent back Verizon claimed it was physical damage. And ding their account.
Do not give your device to any Verizon store or reseller, others have said they did so and they were charged for a lost device.
again it does not make me comfortable.
The other option is to call Motorola and have them fix it and then send the same device back to you. There are service centers all over and you may be lucky and be close to one. This way even if they say its damage, you pay a smaller price to get it repaired than if lost, stolen or damaged according to Verizon.
Good Luck
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