My sons iPhone 7 was replaced by asurion on 02/18/2018. The phone had minor water damage and was replaced at a cost to us of $150. Yesterday, March 9th, the phone stops getting service from Verizon. So we take to a local store where they reset the phone service and attempt to replace the sim card with two new ones.
We were then advised to call asurion. We call them and they tell us that the iPhone is defective and that we need to visit a local Apple store where they will repair the phone. I was very upset with asurion and determined that they knew that they sent us a defective phone. Apple publicly stated that specific iPhone 7's are defective and will be repaired at no cost. The Apple bulletin was dated 02/02/2018. asurion said it was now out of their hands.
I just got off a support chat with Verizon and negotiated a total refund on the protection plan fees paid to date on the phone.
My argument. Verizon bought the phone from Apple, we rent to own the phone. We pay a monthly fee for protection that asurion would not honor.
Don't let this happen to you. We pay a lot money for our phone services; no way should the two parties in business Verizon and asurion be allowed to push you off to a third party in this case without some customer satisfaction.
I am currently on my 3rd IPhone 7 since November (I had only made 3 payments before it stopped charging & the home button stuck, was sent a “refurb” that came to me with a stuck “home button“ - when I lost all of my contact, notes etc I was told I “should have backed it up before I returned it” it was DEAD! Plus I was paying extra for ICloud space that apparently really wasn’t backing up) & now have no volume for incoming calls unless on speaker. Like you said the IPhone 7 has known problems & sending “refurbished“ phones isn’t solving anything -I have spent hours trying to get this phone functional w/o success. If I could get rid of it totally I would in a HEARTBEAT!!!
Glad to hear you got a refund, multi-phone total protection prices jumped again. More $$ & still no fix.
Not sure where the answer is here....
Good luck!
Look at the back of the phone towards the bottom where the serial number is. If it says, asurion, go to your local Verizon store and demand a new phone. With our replacement, asurion had replaced the entire back of the phone with their own parts. This was shown to me when I took the phone to Apple. Once they saw that, they wouldn't touch the phone.
Explain to Verizon that you are making payments on a iPhone; it should neither be defective and in it entirety, it should be an Apple product.
I wish you good fortune.
We are going through this same thing right now. iPhone 7 became defective 6 months after purchase, was replaced by mailing me a refurbished phone. It has only been 6 months and now that phone has also become defective. I’ve talked to approximately 10 different people for a total of 5 hours and 23 minutes attempting to dispute this issue. They have refused to allow me to speak to someone that could offer me a credit for the time that the data would not connect to his phone, or someone that could discuss my account and how the charges relating to the defective phone will be handled until we resolve this issue, or to someone who could discuss my retail installment agreement and customer agreement and the fact that neither the contract or the agreement has anything written or implied in it that says if I receive a purchase A brand new iPhone and it becomes defective, that they have a right to mail me a refurbished device. Nothing is written or implied in my contract or customer agreement that I have to file an insurance claim for the defective phone. Matter of fact under the section titled “insurance” it only lists lost, stolen, or damaged as a reasons that I would be bound to paying the remainder of my installment agreement and would need to purchase insurance. So asking me to continue paying full price for a brand new iPhone, when they mailed me a refurbished device in the first place is ridiculous. The only options offered To me have been: them mail me another refurbished device, file an insurance claim and pay a deductibl, or my favorite one was that I just needed to upgrade his phone because it was upgrade eligibl... but that I would need to pay the $112 early upgrade fee and all applicable taxes and fees that day... I only have $187 remaining to own my device outright. Why would I pay $112 towards the device and leave only $75 left owing on my device, then have to send in my device then have to sign a new retail installment contract for another 2 years and agree to pay another $800, but still only have one device? i would essentially pay $1600, be tied in a contract to pay for 3+ years instead of 2, and still only have 1 device. When I asked if I could speak to someone that could explain the consumer protection laws and how I as a consumer was protected and that their policies were violating these laws and my rights, I was refused. I was even told by one of their employees over the phone that those laws (she was referring to state and federal laws) do not apply to me once I sign a contract with Verizon Wireless so it doesn’t matter what they say!“ so far, we still have a broken phone and they refused to allow us to speak to a supervisor or Manager that could help us resolve the matter in a way that was not only fair to Verizon, but also fair to me as the buyer. I do not have an Apple store near me and the closest one is over 60 miles away! I was even willing to complete the upgrade as long as they waived the $112 early Upgrade fee and the taxes and fees on the new device. They acted like I was trying to get something free. I said I have already paid all but $187 of an $802.50 brand new iPhone that I did not have but for 6 months... yet here I was willing to pay for another brand new iPhone if they would waive the remainder of the original defective device... it really doesn’t matter because their failure to ensure that they covered this matter and had it written in my installment contract and customer agreement really does leave things in my favor. we have at no point damaged either device. We were sold a brand new defective device originally and mailed a refurbished defective device in December. No where in my contract or customer agreement is It written or implied that I would be responsible for the remainder of my installment contract payments in the event that I am sold a defective device. It only states lost, stolen, or damaged... So I may be stuck for now, but even if they refuse to assist me with a dispute, I will hire someone who can! its sad that a company would stoop to such deceptive and unfair tactics with customers who actually loved their service!
The manufacturer's warranty you agreed to lays out the process for replacements-
IMPORTANT: BY USING YOUR iPHONE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THE APPLE ONE (1) YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY (“WARRANTY”) AS SET OUT BELOW. DO NOT USE YOUR PRODUCT UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE TERMS OF THE WARRANTY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THE WARRANTY, DO NOT USE THE PRODUCT AND RETURN IT WITHIN THE RETURN PERIOD STATED.
Which includes-
**(ii) replace the Apple Product with the same model (or with your consent a product that has similar functionality) formed from new and/or previously used parts**
The only ways to be let out of an installment agreement is if you were deceased or deployed overseas for the military.
Not debating the facts of the manufacturer’s warranty.
-Verizon also backs the 1 year warranty according to my agreements with Verizon and their website. See the following copied straight from their website. This is an issue of me paying an $800 retail price to Verizon and them sending me a refurbished phone when that’s no where written or implied in the two agreements I was required to sign. I also pay $288 monthly and have now been without my phone for quite some time. i had asked them to not charge me for the line until we were able to mediate, they refused.
1)Do Verizon's Return and Exchange Policy and a 1-Year Warranty apply to devices purchased under a device payment agreement?
Yes. Devices on the device payment program are covered by these policies.
Learn more about Verizon's Return Policy.
2)Why does the device payment program require two agreements?
An installment agreement is required to purchase a device under the device payment program. For details see How do device payments work?
In addition, device payment customers must also agree to the Verizon Wireless Customer Agreement, their calling plan, and other important terms for the services they select.
At the end of the day, this is exactly why consumer protection laws, both state and federal, protect consumers from deceptive sales practices. It was deceptive for them to allow me to pay full price for a brand new phone That broke after 6 months, then say on the phone they were mailing me a “new“ phone, but then what arrived was a refurbished phone. No one told me that policy up front and no where in the two contracts/agreements that I signed is it written or implied. I don’t mind paying for things as i cleared in my earlier post. Which was why in the beginning I offered to complete an upgrade under conditions that they waive the remaining $187 for the broken device or the $112 device upgrade fee that im required to pay even though the device is almost paid off, because we no longer have the original device. So yet again are being required to come out of pocket or penalized for more money to correct an issue that they agreed to warranty. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with MS Code 75-24-1 or the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
I have been struggling this problem since April 1st! I got up to 3 days with no service every week. Just read about the the defect Apple posted, which annoys me even more that I was sent this!
So sorry to hear about the issues with your phone, mlandis14. I know you having dealing with your concern for far too long and we definitely don't want you to struggle with this. To clarify, you received a replacement phone from Asurion that is having these issues, is that right? Do you have an iPhone 7 with model number A1660? Here is Apple's website regarding iPhones that experience "no service" in areas where there should be service: https://support.apple.com/iphone-7-no-service -RSM
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