Verizon does not honor warranty on refurbished phones

[skipper719]

Very upset with Verizon. I purchased an iPhone 5 directly from Verizon thinking that I could trust them to provide a quality phone, and provide a warranty. I was give a 1 year warranty on it, which I was very satisfied with. The phone was for my college student daughter who needed a reliable smart phone. She then had multiple problems with the phone, and had to exchange it several times. The first one was sent directly from Verizon, who kept leaving her apartment number off the shipping label so the phones were sent back twice before they got it right. When she had to exchange it again, the call center suggested exchanging it at the store. The latest one that she exchanged developed a battery problem and had very poor voice quality...a very poorly refurbished phone. She returned it to the store to exchange it and was refused. They said that the phones that they exchange only have a 90 day warranty, and that the original 1 year warranty from the first phone no longer applied. I strongly feel that Verizon should have given her a warranty until the end of the original warranty, or 90 days after the exchange, whichever is later. My daughter did not follow up with the phone center, but I did. By that time, the original warranty had expired, but I figured Verizon wants to keep their long-term customers happy and would take care of us. I was wrong. They backed up what the store said...the original warranty was no longer valid once used. There was only a 90 day warranty remaining after it was exchanged. I was shocked and asked for a Manager override. The Manager refused. I was only offered an upgrade, but had to sign a 2 year contract. Not interested. They suggested taking the phone to our local Verizon store and pay for a new battery installation. After much difficulty getting someone to answer the phone at the store, they told me that the batteries in iPhones are not replaceable. I told him that the Call Center said that they were. He said that they are not able to do that, even though they are the prime Verizon store in the area. He said that we would have to send it in for repair. We took it to Batteries Plus, who gave us great service and replaced the battery. They said that they had to replace several missing screws, another indication of a very poor refurbish job by Verizon. Verizon's prices have risen above the competition, and I no longer feel like a valued Verizon customer. I will be looking at other provider plans.

[kaebfly · Accepted solution]

If the original one year warranty was still in place (meaning if the original phone never had an issue that warranty would still have time left on it) you could have went through Apple for warranty service. If there was an Apple Store in your area you could have had it taken care of there immediately or you could have contacted Apple online to initiate warranty service. Something else worth noting....there was a recall for iPhone 5 batteries. If your daughters phone was considered one of the affected ones (even with it out of warranty) they would have replaced it for free and will reimburse you for paying for it yourself if you used an authorized Apple repair facility. You can verify if her iPhone falls under the program here: https://www.apple.com/support/iphone5-battery/

You only have a short time left to do this since they extended the program until January (it's been going on since earlier this year). So you need to check and immediately request a refund. You'll need your receipt showing the repair and you will need to make sure it is an authorized repair facility. If it was not then it's possible they will deny the claim...but do it anyway just in case.

[kaebfly]

Oh...and them telling you that the battery is not replaceable was not true. It's not replaceable in the sense that you aren't supposed to do it yourself or you void the warranty but it is replaceable as you have found out. I wonder if you went to an authorized retailer versus an actual corporate Verizon store.

[skipper719]

Thanks for the quick response, and the information on the battery recall. I was not aware of the recall. Wish Verizon would have sent us a notice, since it was purchased directly from Verizon on-line. I still don’t think it is fair that I was given a one-year warranty on the refurbished warranty, and that warranty was replaced by a 90 day warranty once it was replaced. The original warranty period should have been honored from the date of the original purchase. The battery was replaced at a Batteries Plus store, which is not an authorized Apple repair center. I’ll try to make a claim anyway.

[kaebfly]

Verizon wouldn't send you a notice...nor does Apple...at least not that I know of. You would have to check the website or when reporting an issue a rep may tell you about it. Also, if you follow any Apple news you probably would have come across the info. I periodically check the support site so that's how I came across it. I came across it months after I paid to have mine replaced. I submitted my claim and was refunded the full amount (at that point I was no longer using the iPhone and had upgraded to an iPhone 6 Plus but still owned it).

[tbo27]

yeah that's not good. try to get the extended warranty on her line in the future during an open enrollment or at purchase

[mama23dogs]

The one year warranty is not replaced by the 90 day replacement device warranty.  Whoever told you that was wrong.

THe 90 days replacement warranty can extend the one year warranty past the one year date of original purchase. 

Apple as a much better reputation with refurbished phones than any company.  Use your receipt and deal directly with Apple.

I Don't know why Verizon doesn't send all Apple warranty issues to Apple directly as ATT does.  ATT has an agreement with Apple that requires all issues go direct to Apple once the 14 days return period ends.