Feeling Duped and forced to pay more

[realism51]

Got an offer in the mail back in May 2011 stating that I am eligible for an early upgrade for my cellular device with verizon. Had been with verizon a year now with a Droid Incredible and took into consideration the upgrade offer since the Droid incredible had been removed and basically not supported after a year of being out, (Dissapointing). I do a lot of research online about the phones I was eligble for and when I called in I grilled the Sales rep about the HTC thunderbolt, asking all questions about its functionality, problems, signal strength, updates. SR informed me that he had one and had had no problems with it and it was the best phone ever with no problems. I Order the phone on June 1st and get it on the 4th of June and start testing it out and playing with it, found out it had some issues like weak signal strength, video recording resulted in nearly no sound. Camere would F/C often and was really sluggish for a bit. Called Verizon CSR and was trnafered to tech department who told me that there is an update coming out to fix the problems associated with the video recording but was unsure when but would be within 30 days. I asked if it took longer than that and never was released I would have a phone that I could not utilize how I needed it, since my job requires me to have access to such things. The Tech person stated that she understands and would include in the notes that she will be extending my 14 day return period to 30 days since she was a supervisor and had the authority to do so.

June 10th rolls around and the update pushes through to my phone, instead of fixing the issue it bricked it into an endless cycle of restart and then would go to the screen with the green droid and a yellow ! inside of a triangle. (and no, I dont know how to root a phone so thats not the cause [Store rep asked me if it was rooted and then explained what rooted was]...

Calling CSR and sent to tech support and was told that I could take it into the store and just exchange it out. Took it into store on the 11th and exchanged TB for new one that updated fine. Got home and by the 12th I had already had several restarts, lack of data capability, no internet, txt messages not sending, video recording still no sound really, battery was way bad. Battery also got hot, temped with IR thermometer at 109 degrees, left a nice hot spot on my leg. Called Verizon CSR and told them what the new phone was doing, and I was told that they would send me out a refurbished one, I protested this to the fact that this was already a replacement phone that was 1 day old and that a refurb would not be acceptable. After being placed on hold for a few minutes the CSR came back on phone and said that I could take it into the store and exchange it for another one, I asked about the 30 day extension on my return period and if this new phone had same issues that I could just return it and cancel out my extended two year service plan. There was no record of that in notes I was told. Was upset that I was lied to, but hey the sales rep told me it was a great phone with no problems reported. So I took the 2nd phone back the the store and got a 3rd replacement and everything was swapped out including the SIMM. 

Before I even got home it restarted on me, data connectivity was slow and near non existant and would not connect despite being in perfect 3G area service that I had no issues with my Droid Incredible in the past. Did the same things as the 2nd one minus the battery temp, thank god that was painful. txt messages wouldnt send and with all 3 phones, the person on the other end could barely hear me and i could barely hear them, ear peice or speakerphone. I called back in a few days later after dealing with the store and they reset my phone and did all sorts of techie stuff to it with no change. 

Verizon CSR on the phone and I asked if I could just return the phone and get my account credited for the cost of the phone and to undo the extension of the 2 year agreement since I had only had this 3rd phone for a few days. I was told that NO they could not do that because it was beyond the 14 day return period and that even if you received a new phone to replace a malfunctioning unit it did not restart with that phone and since there was no record of the 30 day extension that I was out of luck. CSR told me that they would not be willing to send me out another phone to replace it but what they could do for me was to let me pick out a new phone at 2 year agreement prices (iphone not an option [fine by me, im not an apple fan]) and they would renew my contract for 2 years. I told her I didnt like that idea and that it would cost me a lot of money for a new phone, the CSR said I could take my malfuncitoning device in and get credit for it that would go towards the purchase of a new phone. I told the CSR that I would think about it and call back after talking to the local Verizon store and doing indepth on phone reviews. 

Well after doing a lot of research theonly phone that can compare was the droid charge which was $299 and it still had reported lag problems. (have to have a good camera for work.) I then looked at the trade in value of the TB online with Verizon $200. Okay so that puts me out the taxes and early upgrade fee that I had to pay, So even if I went with another phone of same or lesser value I would be out like $45. Wasnt happy with that but got really upset when I called Verizon store here and explained to them what happened and what I was told and because my phone was a malfunctioning unit that they would not be able to offer me the full $200 for the phone. It was suggested I sell the phone on ebay to get more out of it. 

I am looking at it as I paid $245 and some change on June 1st for a phone that had to be replaced 3 times and still is not working correctly and now I am being told that the only option I have for a working phone is to purchase another at 2 year pricing which would be another $245-$345. So right now Im looking at $500-$600 in space of two months to get a workable phone. excuse me, a chance at a workable phone. I do not like this sort of an idea.

I dont see what the big deal is with letting me return the TB and cancel out the extended contract term and go back to using my Droid Incredible until my contract is up in april 2012 and I can pick up a better phone at that time. 3 replacements within 20 days and now Im stuck with one that isnt working remotely like it should. At the asking price I could have purchased a unit in full price and not had a 2 year contract and just went month to month and if the phone failed I could send it direct to manufacturer for assistance. 

I am wondering if selling the TB for what I can get out of it on ebay and paying the ETF and shopping for a new carrier would work, but dont they all have problems? I guess if they all have problems go with the cheaper one right?

Just not sure what to do. Just feel lied and tricked into an extra year at extra cost for a phone that doesnt work. 

[budone]

I understand the frustrations. But this is where doing your homework comes in.  The phone had been out nearly 4 months when you got the TB. Ya think a sales rep is going to come out on their first 4G phone and say, "Yeah the phone works, but its a new model so it has some issues we are working through. You may have data drops, but you can get around it by activating airplane mode and turning it off". How many do ya think they would sell??

Ya think a car salesperson would let you know of all the recalls and issues a particular car has had that you are interested in?

Luckily for me, the phone has been ok.... I have had a few data drops, but nothing near what others have stated. That is why sometimes I wonder if it is sometimes user and app related. 

[Wildman]

Sorry to here you have had so many issues but I agree with Budone that you may have wanted to research a bit more before you picked the device because the items you spoke of has been brought out on several forums as well as on this site, I do not see how you missed the post on these things...  I can say I guess I am a lucky one when it comes to my device because I really havent had any major issues with me device, I admit the device isnt perfect and they still need to iron out some bugs but so far it hasnt been any issues that I cant deal with for now. Actually I actually love my device..

If you want you can check out my post on my impressions of the device posted at http://community.vzw.com/t5/ThunderBolt-by-HTC/Impression-of-HTC-Thunderbolts-vs-the-Motorola-Droid-...

Hope you find a solution....  Good Luck

[gina7289]

Try to get a refurbished of another devise like an LG and see if u like it. Explain to tech that u have had so many serious incidents with the thunderbolt.

[Wildman]

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The main issue is because the user got another device and there was no extended time to test the new device, this happens because this isn't a option that the normally present when trading malfunctioning device and since they only had 14 days to return device and the user had 3 devices and probably went way over the 14 Day return policy they are stuck in the device because the reps are following the policy to the book..  Also a solution (Which I don't fully agree with) but since the user doesn't want to exercise the right to accept it at the time of offer, I will bet this offer wont be offered if they call back now.  

I have learned that if you do not accept a offer when presented to you, you might run into issues if you try later.

Now I understand that a manager reported that they will extend the 14 day to 30 but without any verification the statement will not fly with Verizon, this is why I note every conversation and information on rep that I speak to because things like this happen when you have so many CS reps that you could come in contact with.

At the moment Verizon isn't totally the problem hear because in this world you have to followup on things if you want them to happen and taking a persons word these days go no where with me. 

I mean no disrespect but it is wise to cross your "T's" and dot you "I's" to avoid issues like this.

[vereyezuhn]

When you returned your first couple TBolts for new ones, did they say you can ONLY switch it for a new TBolt, or is that just what you picked? If they were letting you use your 1 exchange for any phone, I would have picked a completely new phone, especially after reading all the complaints on here.

Also, if you can get in touch with a supervisor by calling CS, they can pull your call records from when you spoke with that CSR who extended your 14 day return period and actually hear that they said that.

[gina7289]

If its very important have them pull the voice of the conversation up so u can be proven to be right.

[realism51]

I had asked about them to check it and see who was that I had talked to but was told that they couldnt tell me of things like those only of what logs are in notes in the account. Ive given it some considerable thought over night and decided that its not worth it financial for me to even pursue a purchase of a new phone with the agreement that they had offered. A business should honor agreements with their phones. Right now Im looking through my records to find the service agreement and contract and I came across a prior replacement phone slip for my wife's phone that was replaced last october and it stated there were 30 days to return/exchange, I wasnt given any slip like this which leads me to believe the possibility of ohaving a 30 day cycle.

I want to say my ETF was $150, which may be a quicker way to end this problem before I get too disenchanted with Verizon. 

I dont know if a complaint to the BBB or the FCC would expidite the process of a resolution but I ill be hopeful if it decides to take that route. 

[crabbyone]

I thought  all Verizon phones had a 1 year warranty. If you are having trouble with a device under warranty, you can get it exchanged. After several exchanges of the same item, ask to speak with a manager about getting a different device.  I have had to do this once and kept the receipts from the 3 faulty devices and when I went back the fourth time in less than 2 months, I asked to see the manager and explained the situation, showed the receipts and he approved my getting a different phone.

Good luck!!

[budone]

If you just got the phone in June, your ETF is $340.

Look for a PM.