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The Verizon Run Around

Here is my saga so far.

First I called tech support to figure out what was wrong with my
phone and they were unable to trouble shoot because I don't have another phone
line to call them from (in the market for job currently, so I can't even call
from a work phone). They suggested that I go to the store to have a tech look
at the phone. The first time I went in to have a tech look at the phone they
told me that the problem was with the update and not the phone and there would
be a new update soon that would fix all of the problems. They told me to just
wait it out a few more days get the new update and if that didn't fix the
problems to come back to the store for a switch out. This is the point that I
started researching the problem and found this forum.

The new update came out and I still had problems so I went back
to the store for a second visit. The store told me the three switch out options
were X, Incredible and Charge, then told me that the Charge wasn't in stock.
They keep trying to push the X and Incredible instead and I keep telling them
that if I had wanted a Motorola or an HTC that I would have picked one of them
when I bought my Fascinate. They told me to try another factory reset and see
how it works over the next couple days and if it still has problems to come
back the following week and hopefully they would have Charge's available.

After the factory reset and still having the problems, I went
back the next week for a third time with the same issues and the manager spends
10 mins staring at a computer screen and say the Charge still isn't in stock, I
then asked when they would have more and why they were available online and he
then told me "its not like really even an option anymore".

After wasting my time and flat out lying that he was actually
checking on the Charge (he was just staring at the screen because he wanted to
look like he was attempting to find one) he then tried to tell me that it
sounded like it was a problem specific to my phone. When I told him that this
is and has been an ongoing problem since the first update and that his trying
to tell me that it must be in the wiring in my phone was insulting my intelligence,
he was dismissive and told me that he had done all he could and I would have to
call their customer service department.

I called Verizon again and tried to get tech support to help me
through an online chat support or any other method, both the tech and he
supervisor suggested that I go to a neighbor’s house to use their phone or have
a friend come over so that I could use their cell phone. At this point I have
wasted time and gas money making 3 separate trips to the store (mind you I am
not employed every penny is being watched and I need to have a reliable phone
for my job search and networking), am now being asked to go door to door asking
other people to let me in to use their phone, make yet another trip to the
store where I want to cuss out the manager or wait until I can trouble a friend
to take time out of their life to hang out with me while I trouble shoot this
stupid phone.

Sadly I have been with verizon for over 15 years, pay over $100
per month for their service and am ready to drop them over this incident. They
seem to be of the opinion that this is my problem and I should waste my time
and money trying to fix the screw-up, with the only other option being to
accept a phone option that I had no interest in to begin with. I had a Samsung
and I want a working Samsung in return, but I refuse to continue to be used as
a beta tester or guinea pig while they fix the Fascinates.

Comments

AnAngryPole

I fully understand where you are coming from; see my post in this forum(An open letter to VZW....). My recommendation is to persevere and move higher up in the chain of command! I personally contacted through email my regional VZW president with all my detailed information on this situation. I received a personal call back from VZW Corporate and two new Droid Charges to my home! As loyal customers we deserve better treatment by the corporate stores in general;though through the years there have been some truly helpful and caring individuals that I have dealt with! Good luck and God Bless!

DBJohnston0104

What email address did you send it to cause I've talked to about 10 different people both on the phone and in-store and they all say something totally different. I'm very aggravated!!!!

David

rcschnoor

DBJohnston0104 wrote:
What email address did you send it to cause I've talked to about 10 different people both on the phone and in-store and they all say something totally different. I'm very aggravated!!!!

David

At the top of the Verizon Wireless page, click on "About Us".

On the page that comes up under "Verizon Wireless Overview", click on "Leadership".

Find the President of the area in which you reside and click "View Profile".

At the end of the profile, there will be a "Contact : <name of person>.

Click on the name and an email form will pop up to which you can send you correspondence.

SFObrien

As I have stated before it seems the manager of each corporate store is allowed to run it as they see fit. Guess if they don't like some policies they just make their own, and yes I HAVE seen this first hand.

Doughdaddy

DF78, here is my letter I just sent them. Now to wait for more run arounds.

Ms. Clark,I am writing you in hopes of getting some kind of assistance with VZW's terrible customer service and the constant run a rounds I have recieved. Here is my latest experience I have had with your company. On June 14th I bought a Samsung Fascinate via telesales, the rep was very nice and assured me that I was getting a great deal on a very reliable phone. I commented on a friends warning to me of how he and his wife do not get calls on theirs. He again assured me the phone was very reliable and had no known issues, and in fact, that he had one and did not have any issues with his. I recieved my phone the next day as well as the extras I purchased and activated it. I did not seem to have any issues immediately but noticed after a couple of days that many of my calls went directly to voice mail and that my phone never rang. During a casual call with VZW I was advised that a recent update (ED04) had caused an issue with calls not being recieved and that an update was coming. I was told this a couple times.
I had been getting more upset with the consistant missed calls and on July 22nd I had enough. My father died that morning and the first two calls my family placed to me went directly to voicemail. Since it was 6:50AM I could never wake up to a missed call. The third call rang, woke me and I went to the hospital. After that I was again advised by VZW that an update was coming and it would fix the issue. What I was never told was that VZW had a replacement plan set up to replace my device with a different one that did not have any issues. I was never given that option.
On July 29th the update was pushed to my Samsung Fascinate and my troubles got worse. My battery life decreased and my missed calls increased. I again contacted VZW and talked to tech support who advised me that the update fixes the issues but I told them it didn't. They performed several tests including calling my phone, of which a third of the calls went to voicemail with out ringing. A comment the tech made angered me when she said "Gee, if you had called the other day I could have sent you a new Droid X2 or HTC Incredible2, but they stopped that yesterday. All I can do is send you a new Fascinate". This angered me because that information was withheld from me earlier. Instead, they wanted me to wait two days until Monday August 1st before they would do anything while they waited for the update to finish rolling out.
On Sunday, July 31st I called back because I was having too many problems and the tech this time (V. Montemayor) tried to help but wanted to do what VZW loves to do which is to force a reset of the phone (erase all data). During this the phone froze and she requested I pull the battery which "bricked" my phone. I had to stay up most of the night fixing my phone myself. She also had advised that VZW stopped the swap program and the only thing she could do was to order a used Fascinate and send it overnight. Since I had no choice I accepted.
My used Fascinate arrived Tuesday August 2nd and I activated it on my line. I noticed that this one had half as many service bars (only one actually) as my previous one and that after 90 minutes had killed my fully charged battery. The same battery that lasted almost a whole day in my original phone. I was told that if I had any issues I should call right away which I did. I went through this whole story with the tech (P. Diviness) and after about 20 minutes of trying fixes and complaining, I was told that the supervisor (B. Dyer) had authorized a Droid Incredible 2 to be sent out to replace the defective Fascinate I had. I was told it would go overnight and arrive Thursday.
On Wednesday, August 3rd (today) I had not yet recieved an email about the shipment so I called. I again had to spend 15 minutes rehashing my entire saga with the tech (Peter Muller {edited for privacy}) and was told that the order for the phone was cancelled and no one called or emailed me. He advised me that they would not be sending me another phone and that the whole problem I was having was all related to my SD card and the third party apps I have on it. He insisted that I use the phone in safe mode for 48 hours. When I questioned this and how my SD card was at fault he said he has seen it many times and that most issues are related to 3rd party apps and not actually the phone or VZW's fault. So now I have a smart phone that is not smart, a phone with 2gb memory that is not supposed to be used for apps and I pay for data which I can only use to browse the web with and not use any of the 150,000+ apps in the Android Market that VZW advertises on TV, web and print which is the basis of a smart phone.
My issues are these; I have been lied too from day one, the telesales guy knew of the issues (VZW knew since ED04 went out) but lied to me when asked; I was missled when I questioned the missed calls and told only of a pending update not a currently running swap program; I had my phone bricked by tech support which I had to fix and received a worse phone than I had; I was again lied too when told they would swap my phone for the DInc2 and was told tonight that I would never get another phone and would only get used phones if these continue to fail.
I can't believe that VZW would treat people like this. I am not a new customer, I have been one for about seven years and spend an average of $210 a month. Why do I get lied to, treated like a child and misled continuously? Is this SOP on VZW's part? Do you train your people to treat clients like this? I assume you do since it seems to be so wide spread on VZW's part. I am asking for the last time to have another phone sent to me; either a Droid X2 or Droid Incredible 2. I do not want a phone that VZW knows is not right and has not worked correctly since I bought it.
Please let me know what you can do to assist. I will wait 24 hours for a reply before I assume you don't care and forward this to others.

JoeL_VZW

@doughdaddy

I will be sending you a PM to resolve your situation.

Thank you

Doughdaddy

Joe,

Thank you for your call. I will update this forum message on Friday if everything works out the way you said.

nienie

All I have to say is-"WOW". I also "had" a Samsung fascinate but a few weeks ago was able to have my phone replaced and so I now have a Droid X2. I bought my fascinate in October of last year and it ran well until about March. I then started to have some weird issues with the blue screen of death, vibrating until I took the battery out, phone would freeze and of course missed calls, texts and texts not sending. I completely understand how frustrating this is and hope Verizon does right by their customers and swaps out this crappy pieces of junk.

Bottom line is if Verizon sold it and stated it would work with their plans therefore it is a Verizon problem. When you pay big money every month for a phone and data plan it better work. You wouldn't pay for electricity if you only sometimes got it. Unfortunately, Verizon is making this very difficult on their customers and as I see it are not keeping true to the contract. I do know that if you dont like to argue or don't have thick skin you shouldn't call customer service and if that is the case find someone who can call for you. In order for you to get anywhere you have to get a technician that will listen to you. Refuse the million resets, and refurbished crapinates- NONE of them work. Stand firm and let them know what you expect and that your expectation is a comparable replacement phone. Remember there are call centers all over so if you don't like the {word filter avoidance} on the phone, hang up and call again. I just hope people keep calling and harassing Verizon until they get a new comparable replacement phone.

Another option is to contact your attorney general. I think what Verizon is pulling is a scam. I feel for the customers that have been complaining and where never offered a replacement phone. Furthermore, for Verizon to still be selling these phones in June is atrocious. They knew that these phones had major problems and should not have been selling them until they were fixed- PERIOD!!! Unfortunately, I don't think there will ever be a fix for most of the phones. There might be an occasional person who lucks out with a good phone but even that isn't a sure thing.

I wish all Samsung fascinate owners the best of luck. Stick together and keep complaining. Maybe some national attention on the news or articles in the paper might help. Just remember, you deserve a phone that works as this is what Verizon does is sell cellular phones. You paid good money for your phone and most of them are not that old of phones. It is a known problem and you deserve a phone that works. Don't let them give you a run around. Good Luck....

DBJohnston0104

JoeL_VZW wrote:
@doughdaddy

I will be sending you a PM to resolve your situation.

Thank you

Can you help one more out? I'm so tired of being given different answers. From the callers end, it seems like VZs computers aren't networked together.

I was told that I could swap mine out for a Charge by a tech even though the offer had expired because they knew that people were still having issues after the ED05 update, which I had. So I rushed to the store and stated to them that I had spoke with VZ tech support and they notated my account. This was at 8:05 PM, closing time. With the store manager standing behind her, she told me that she didn't see anything like that on my account. Frustrated, I called back to tech support and he told me that it was there and that he could see that it had been notated at 7:55 PM. He made further notes and that was that.

The next morning, I went the VZ store and they told me that they could no longer order me a replacement. So guess what, I called tech support again... They then told me that the stores have the authority to make the decision and that they could call to see if they would do it. So she put me on hold and called the store. They came back and told me that the same the store told me, obviously. That phone call ended with me telling them that I would try to call another store to see if they would honor it.

So I called another local store and he told me something different, imagine that. He said that he could swap it out for a DX or Inc2 but it would push my upgrade date back one year. That didn't sound right so I hung up with him.

So I call tech support, again. This time the lady told me that it had expired and that there was nothing she could do. She said that she could basically send me out another Fascinate. So I asked to speak to her supervisor. She asked me to hold and then immediately came back and said, "Oh I forgot to tell you, I can swap it for an Incredible 2." Hmmm..... Suddenly remembered that... So I told her that would be fine and settled for the Inc2 instead of the Charge because I was just tired at this point.

About an hour later, my brother calls me and tells me that he had called in about the same issue and they are sending him a Charge! Now I'm very aggravated!!! It sucks knowing that you're being lied to by a company that you pay money to provide you with a service!

So I call tech support again and immediately ask to speak to a supervisor. Phyllis gets on and I could tell instantly that she didn't care about helping me out but she was more or less just gonna get me off the phone. Her point was that the offer had expired and that nothing could be done. I then asked for a corporate email contact and she had her tech give me a PO Box address and said that they don't have an email address.

I tried calling back one more time and immediately asked to speak to a supervisor but the lady said that they were all in a meeting and that their computer systems were down so she couldn't access my account. So I explained the situation to her and she said that she had just gotten an email about the offer that stated that it had expired and that they should no longer honor it. She eventually took down my name and number so that her supervisor could call me back. I never heard from her. At this point, I'd say that's about par for the course.

With all that said, I'm just frustrated that I've been running all over town, took time off from work and spent hours on the phone for something that I know can be done. It's just bad business!

David

DBJohnston0104

I just talked to my nephew who said that he called and they offered him a Charge yesterday. Sheesh!

phylshin

Seriously? I thought the replacement program was over.... I'm going to call in today and get mine replaced.

df78

The way I last left my situation was being told by the cancelation rep that he would look further into the situation and then call me back, that was Tuesday and I still haven't heard back from him.

So I sent an email to my regional Verizon president lastnight and received an email response asking me to call in to to their executive relations office. I called in and they asked for my cell # and then said that someone would be in contact with me hopefully same day but within 24 hours. So I guess I get to wait one more day plus any shipping time in order to get a resolution. There doesn't seem to be any real concern or time sensitivity on Verizon's part, I guess my business isn't that important to them.

If I don't hear back from them within 24 hours I will be taking my business elsewhere.

DBJohnston0104

I was supposed to get a call back today too and so far nothing. I'm about to call them and see what kind of excuse they drum up this time...

David

df78

Another update. After sending an email to the regional president on Wed and getting a call on Thur to say that they would call me within 24 hours, I get a call today from the presidential customer service team to say that due to their heavy case load that they will try to get to me sometime next week. I explained that I still have an unreliable phone and I have waited way to long already and was told that they were not a one call solution line and perhaps I should go deal with the store for tech support. I asked if the guy had even read my email (in which I stated I won't go back to the store after my experience there) and he confirmed that no he did not read it and was just calling to confirm the receipt of my email.....

This is completely unacceptable and I am done with Verizon they have just grown to large off of the back of customers like myself and my family to turn around and be so cavalier and dismissive.

tawest64

I so feel (all) your pain. Because of the runaround, I don't even want to go into a Verizon store, call customer service, etc. I'm about to just pay full price for a new phone. I don't have time to mess around with something that Verizon should be bending over backwards to fix and yet they are all running away - in different directions.

On another note KROGER called me on my home phone today to alert me that I did indeed purchase some ground turkey a few months ago and that the turkey has been recalled and to please if I still have it bring it back for a refund. If Kroger can track and call all their turkey buying customers and make moves to make things right by providing awesome customer service then Kroger needs to teach Verizon a thing or three. It's really NOT hard to please a unhappy customer. Really.

TominqueBo_VZW

Hello df78,

I understand time is valuable and having a working device is very much needed. We definitely do no want to loose you as a customer and we attempt to assist all customers as efficiently and effectively as possible. I am aware of your experience, but I'm not fully sure what exactly is taking place with your device. If you are still experiencing the issue I would like to assist. I know your mobile device is the only device you have at this time, but I would still like to try to assist via phone. If you can PM me with your name and mobile number(alternate number if there is one) so I may further assist that would be great. Thank you.

df78

TominqueBo_VZW - I sent you a PM with my contact info.

I have still not received a call back from the executive resolution team.........not really surprised by that either.

Mali09

Good luck. No one returned my call either. They even asked a good time to call. That was last month.

cperk78

August 18, 2011 - I have been reading about the numerous problems that many Verizon customers seem to be experiencing with both their Samsung Fascinate phones and customer service. I, too, have experienced problems with my phone and am absolutely shocked by the way that Verizon has handled this issue. I have been without any text messaging capabilities for at least one month (if not more) and am intermittently experiencing dropped and missed calls, freezes, force closes and blank screens. I am beyond frustrated at this point. I believe that what Verizon is doing is illegal. I have documentation that Verizon knew about these problems with the Fascinate as early as September 2010, yet continued to market and sell the device at full price without any warning of the potential defects—this is dishonest and misleading, and in Tennessee, I believe it is a gross violation of our consumer protection act, which prohibits businesses from engaging in “unfair or deceptive” business acts or practices. Marketing and selling an expensive phone to unsuspecting consumers without disclosing its KNOWN defects is, in my mind, an “unfair and deceptive” business practice that Verizon should not be permitted to continue. I sent the below letter to the following individuals today in an attempt to try to get my phone problem resolved:

CT Corporation System (TN’s Registered agent for Verizon Wireless Services, LLC)
800 S. Gay St., Ste 2021
Knoxville, TN 37929

Steven E. Zipperstein, Vice President-Legal and External Affairs/General Counsel

Charlie Falco, Vice-President - South Area Customer Service

Jerald M. Fountain, President - Carolinas/Tennessee Region

Roger Tang, President - South Area Region

Daniel S. Mead, President and CEO

TN’s Office of the Attorney General - Consumer Advocate and Protection Division

Verizon Wireless Store in Murfreesboro, TN (580 North Thompson Lane)

I urge everyone who has had similar issues and has been lied to and misled by Verizon to contact these individuals, as well as your state Attorney General’s Office (Consumer Affairs Division), as well as the Better Business Bureau and anyone else you can think of who might be able to help customers get this issue resolved in a fair, honest, just manner. Good luck!

August 18, 2011 Letter:

My name is Claire {edited for privacy}, and I am an attorney in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (which is located just outside Nashville). I am writing in an attempt to resolve a dispute with Verizon regarding recent problems I am experiencing with my phone. I purchased the Samsung Fascinate on October 27, 2010, at the corporate Verizon Wireless store in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which is located at 580 N. Thompson Lane. I initially enjoyed the phone very much. In addition to purchasing the phone, I also purchased the home dock, a phone case and car charger. However, approximately a month ago, my phone automatically/involuntarily performed a software update (or some similar operation), which has effectively rendered my Samsung Fascinate useless. The touch screen intermittently freezes and stops working. The apps frequently freeze and “force close.” I have not been able to receive all of my phone calls, text messages or emails. I have voice mails where no missed calls are shown. When I send a text message, although my phone indicates the text was sent successfully, I learned (after several detrimental, extremely frustrating mis-communications involving both personal and business matters), that my text messages, actually, have not been going through as indicated, and in fact, text messages that I “sent” weeks ago have been delivered to intended (as well as unintended) recipients weeks later. Needless to say, my cell phone situation has been a mess for the past couple of weeks, and the problems only continue to worsen in both frequency and severity.

On July 23, 2011, I read several forums on the Verizon Wireless website regarding the Fascinate—some authored by other Verizon customers and some by Verizon employees. I also spoke with a Verizon employee regarding my situation. I was informed that the problem I am experiencing with my Samsung Fascinate is a “known” software problem, of which Verizon is (and has been) well aware. I was told both directly (through a Verizon representative) and indirectly (through posts by Verizon employees on Verizon’s website and posts by other Verizon customers), that the Fascinates would no longer be replaced or refurbished due to the numerous known problems with the phone. Instead, consistent with the enclosed materials (which reflect the types of representations Verizon has made to me and to other Verizon customers), I was informed that I could replace my defective Samsung Fascinate with any of the three following phones: (1) the Samsung Charge; (2) the HTC Incredible 2; or (3) the Motorola Droid 2. I was told that if I wanted to replace my phone with the Samsung Charge, I would need to go to my local corporate Verizon store to complete the exchange, but that an exchange for either of the other two devices could be handled on Verizon’s website. Verizon never mentioned anything about this exchange option “expiring,” etc. After carefully considering my three “replacement options,” I selected the Samsung Charge, primarily due to its similarity to the Fascinate and the fact that I would not have to totally re-familiarize myself with a new, completely unknown phone. I allotted approximately 1 ½ hours of my work day on Monday, August 8, 2011, to go to my local Verizon store and effect the transaction that I had read about (on Verizon’s website) and been told about on July 23, 2011.

Needless to say, my experience at the corporate Verizon store in Murfreesboro did not go as expected. Much to my surprise and disappointment, I received zero customer assistance in effecting the transaction previously represented to me (and other Verizon customers) on Verizon’s website and through its technicians, employees and agents. I spent an hour and a half in the Verizon store on the phone, myself, with a technician named Aaron (who said he worked in second-tier technical support) while three store employees—Jeremy, Carlita (the store manager) and another male employee—literally stood behind the counter and watched me attempt (unsuccessfully) to resolve my dilemma on my own, occasionally asking me what the person on the phone was saying to me. While Aaron (the gentleman I spoke with on the phone) was very polite and at least seemed as if he was attempting to help me, he ultimately reported to me that the computer “wouldn’t let” him place an order for the Samsung Charge to replace my defective Samsung Fascinate, despite telling me earlier in our conversation that he would order me the Charge, yet stating that if I didn’t actually receive the Charge, I would receive “something similar.” I ended my call with Aaron feeling extremely frustrated and deceived by Verizon, as I had gotten no where in the store or on the phone and was late to a meeting due to the amount of time I had to spend in Verizon in an attempt to get what I paid for—a Samsung smartphone that works. Carlita and Jeremy were incompetent, unhelpful and exhibited very poor customer service skills. They literally did and said nothing. They were utterly useless and might as well not have even been there. They put me on the phone with tech support and stood there. It was insulting and disgusting. When I initially spoke with Jeremy upon my arrival at the store, I explained to him the 3 options I had been given and that I had selected the Samsung Charge for my replacement phone. At the time, he did not act as if that would be a problem. Only later in our interaction (when they had me call tech support from their store) was I informed that the “deal” allowing me to get the Charge in place of my defective Fascinate had “expired.”

My position is that this is not a “deal” in any way, shape or form. I am a full-time wife, mother and attorney. I am constantly on the go and rely on my cell phone, primarily, for business purposes. More importantly, I have a 12-year-old daughter to whom I must be available by phone at all times. My family and I are long-standing, loyal Verizon customers. Year after year, I have trusted Verizon to make sure that I am accessible to my family, my clients and my business colleagues, but, this time, Verizon failed me. On top of being sold an expensive phone with “known” software defects and “bugs” (which were known to Verizon at the time I purchased by phone on October 27, 2010), Verizon now refuses to: (a) honor the replacement policy I was informed of on July 23, 2011, by allowing me to replace my Fascinate with a Samsung Charge; (b) provide any refund or store credit for returning the Fascinate phone accessories (home dock, car charger and phone case) I purchased when I bought my defective Fascinate and which are useless to me without a properly operating Fascinate.

Respectfully, it is my position that Verizon is in violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act (codified at Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-101, et seq.), specifically Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-104, which prohibits “unfair and deceptive acts or practices.” I purchased a smartphone (as well as a handful of accessories for the phone) less than one year ago (still under manufacturer’s warranty) that is anything but “smart” and does not perform as advertised and intended. Moreover, on July 23, 2011, when Verizon agents informed me of the so-called replacement “deal,” permitting customers to exchange their defective Fascinates for a Samsung Charge, Verizon failed to disclose that the “deal” would expire five days later (July 28, 2011). Apparently, as evidenced throughout the enclosed documents, many other Verizon customers have experienced virtually identical product and customer services problems, which leads me to conclude that Verizon has implemented a company-wide policy of knowingly continuing to market and sell defective Samsung Fascinate phones to unsuspecting consumers and then offering a bait-and-switch “remedy” for what amounts to nothing more than a deceptive sales tactic by Verizon in the first place.

I request that my defective Samsung Fascinate be replaced by a new (not refurbished or used) Samsung Charge, consistent with the “deal” that was offered me on July 23, 2011, and that I be permitted a store credit, refund, etc., for the cost of the home dock, car charger and phone case that I purchased for my Fascinate, as the accessories are no longer useful to me since the Fascinate is defective. I do not want to try another Fascinate to see if it will work, due to the nature, duration and volume of the problems Verizon has knowingly experienced with the Fascinate since at least September 2010 (before I even purchased the phone), yet continues to sell unsuspecting consumers without any disclosure of the known defects. The only other replacement phone that will be acceptable to me is the iphone 4, as I purchased my Fascinate only because the iphone was not yet available through Verizon. Otherwise, I would like the Samsung Charge, as I was told I could receive less than one month ago. I request no more or less from Verizon than its fairness, honesty, basic courtesy and compliance with the law, and I sincerely hope that this matter can be resolved without any further inconvenience to me. Unless I receive an immediate, satisfactory resolution of this clearly-documented issue, I plan to prepare a lawsuit against Verizon (requesting class action certification), which will be filed no later than Monday, September 13, 2011. I sincerely hope that Verizon will simply honor its representations and right this unfortunate, inconvenient situation for its customers. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you and to a swift resolution of this issue.

nickjr

cperk78 wrote:
August 18, 2011 - I have been reading about the numerous problems that many Verizon customers seem to be experiencing with both their Samsung Fascinate phones and customer service. I, too, have experienced problems with my phone and am absolutely shocked by the way that Verizon has handled this issue. I have been without any text messaging capabilities for at least one month (if not more) and am intermittently experiencing dropped and missed calls, freezes, force closes and blank screens. I am beyond frustrated at this point. I believe that what Verizon is doing is illegal. I have documentation that Verizon knew about these problems with the Fascinate as early as September 2010, yet continued to market and sell the device at full price without any warning of the potential defects—this is dishonest and misleading, and in Tennessee, I believe it is a gross violation of our consumer protection act, which prohibits businesses from engaging in “unfair or deceptive” business acts or practices. Marketing and selling an expensive phone to unsuspecting consumers without disclosing its KNOWN defects is, in my mind, an “unfair and deceptive” business practice that Verizon should not be permitted to continue. I sent the below letter to the following individuals today in an attempt to try to get my phone problem resolved:

CT Corporation System (TN’s Registered agent for Verizon Wireless Services, LLC)
800 S. Gay St., Ste 2021
Knoxville, TN 37929

Steven E. Zipperstein, Vice President-Legal and External Affairs/General Counsel

Charlie Falco, Vice-President - South Area Customer Service

Jerald M. Fountain, President - Carolinas/Tennessee Region

Roger Tang, President - South Area Region

Daniel S. Mead, President and CEO

TN’s Office of the Attorney General - Consumer Advocate and Protection Division

Verizon Wireless Store in Murfreesboro, TN (580 North Thompson Lane)

I urge everyone who has had similar issues and has been lied to and misled by Verizon to contact these individuals, as well as your state Attorney General’s Office (Consumer Affairs Division), as well as the Better Business Bureau and anyone else you can think of who might be able to help customers get this issue resolved in a fair, honest, just manner. Good luck!

August 18, 2011 Letter:

My name is Claire {edited for privacy}, and I am an attorney in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (which is located just outside Nashville). I am writing in an attempt to resolve a dispute with Verizon regarding recent problems I am experiencing with my phone. I purchased the Samsung Fascinate on October 27, 2010, at the corporate Verizon Wireless store in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which is located at 580 N. Thompson Lane. I initially enjoyed the phone very much. In addition to purchasing the phone, I also purchased the home dock, a phone case and car charger. However, approximately a month ago, my phone automatically/involuntarily performed a software update (or some similar operation), which has effectively rendered my Samsung Fascinate useless. The touch screen intermittently freezes and stops working. The apps frequently freeze and “force close.” I have not been able to receive all of my phone calls, text messages or emails. I have voice mails where no missed calls are shown. When I send a text message, although my phone indicates the text was sent successfully, I learned (after several detrimental, extremely frustrating mis-communications involving both personal and business matters), that my text messages, actually, have not been going through as indicated, and in fact, text messages that I “sent” weeks ago have been delivered to intended (as well as unintended) recipients weeks later. Needless to say, my cell phone situation has been a mess for the past couple of weeks, and the problems only continue to worsen in both frequency and severity.

On July 23, 2011, I read several forums on the Verizon Wireless website regarding the Fascinate—some authored by other Verizon customers and some by Verizon employees. I also spoke with a Verizon employee regarding my situation. I was informed that the problem I am experiencing with my Samsung Fascinate is a “known” software problem, of which Verizon is (and has been) well aware. I was told both directly (through a Verizon representative) and indirectly (through posts by Verizon employees on Verizon’s website and posts by other Verizon customers), that the Fascinates would no longer be replaced or refurbished due to the numerous known problems with the phone. Instead, consistent with the enclosed materials (which reflect the types of representations Verizon has made to me and to other Verizon customers), I was informed that I could replace my defective Samsung Fascinate with any of the three following phones: (1) the Samsung Charge; (2) the HTC Incredible 2; or (3) the Motorola Droid 2. I was told that if I wanted to replace my phone with the Samsung Charge, I would need to go to my local corporate Verizon store to complete the exchange, but that an exchange for either of the other two devices could be handled on Verizon’s website. Verizon never mentioned anything about this exchange option “expiring,” etc. After carefully considering my three “replacement options,” I selected the Samsung Charge, primarily due to its similarity to the Fascinate and the fact that I would not have to totally re-familiarize myself with a new, completely unknown phone. I allotted approximately 1 ½ hours of my work day on Monday, August 8, 2011, to go to my local Verizon store and effect the transaction that I had read about (on Verizon’s website) and been told about on July 23, 2011.

Needless to say, my experience at the corporate Verizon store in Murfreesboro did not go as expected. Much to my surprise and disappointment, I received zero customer assistance in effecting the transaction previously represented to me (and other Verizon customers) on Verizon’s website and through its technicians, employees and agents. I spent an hour and a half in the Verizon store on the phone, myself, with a technician named Aaron (who said he worked in second-tier technical support) while three store employees—Jeremy, Carlita (the store manager) and another male employee—literally stood behind the counter and watched me attempt (unsuccessfully) to resolve my dilemma on my own, occasionally asking me what the person on the phone was saying to me. While Aaron (the gentleman I spoke with on the phone) was very polite and at least seemed as if he was attempting to help me, he ultimately reported to me that the computer “wouldn’t let” him place an order for the Samsung Charge to replace my defective Samsung Fascinate, despite telling me earlier in our conversation that he would order me the Charge, yet stating that if I didn’t actually receive the Charge, I would receive “something similar.” I ended my call with Aaron feeling extremely frustrated and deceived by Verizon, as I had gotten no where in the store or on the phone and was late to a meeting due to the amount of time I had to spend in Verizon in an attempt to get what I paid for—a Samsung smartphone that works. Carlita and Jeremy were incompetent, unhelpful and exhibited very poor customer service skills. They literally did and said nothing. They were utterly useless and might as well not have even been there. They put me on the phone with tech support and stood there. It was insulting and disgusting. When I initially spoke with Jeremy upon my arrival at the store, I explained to him the 3 options I had been given and that I had selected the Samsung Charge for my replacement phone. At the time, he did not act as if that would be a problem. Only later in our interaction (when they had me call tech support from their store) was I informed that the “deal” allowing me to get the Charge in place of my defective Fascinate had “expired.”

My position is that this is not a “deal” in any way, shape or form. I am a full-time wife, mother and attorney. I am constantly on the go and rely on my cell phone, primarily, for business purposes. More importantly, I have a 12-year-old daughter to whom I must be available by phone at all times. My family and I are long-standing, loyal Verizon customers. Year after year, I have trusted Verizon to make sure that I am accessible to my family, my clients and my business colleagues, but, this time, Verizon failed me. On top of being sold an expensive phone with “known” software defects and “bugs” (which were known to Verizon at the time I purchased by phone on October 27, 2010), Verizon now refuses to: (a) honor the replacement policy I was informed of on July 23, 2011, by allowing me to replace my Fascinate with a Samsung Charge; (b) provide any refund or store credit for returning the Fascinate phone accessories (home dock, car charger and phone case) I purchased when I bought my defective Fascinate and which are useless to me without a properly operating Fascinate.

Respectfully, it is my position that Verizon is in violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act (codified at Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-101, et seq.), specifically Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-104, which prohibits “unfair and deceptive acts or practices.” I purchased a smartphone (as well as a handful of accessories for the phone) less than one year ago (still under manufacturer’s warranty) that is anything but “smart” and does not perform as advertised and intended. Moreover, on July 23, 2011, when Verizon agents informed me of the so-called replacement “deal,” permitting customers to exchange their defective Fascinates for a Samsung Charge, Verizon failed to disclose that the “deal” would expire five days later (July 28, 2011). Apparently, as evidenced throughout the enclosed documents, many other Verizon customers have experienced virtually identical product and customer services problems, which leads me to conclude that Verizon has implemented a company-wide policy of knowingly continuing to market and sell defective Samsung Fascinate phones to unsuspecting consumers and then offering a bait-and-switch “remedy” for what amounts to nothing more than a deceptive sales tactic by Verizon in the first place.

I request that my defective Samsung Fascinate be replaced by a new (not refurbished or used) Samsung Charge, consistent with the “deal” that was offered me on July 23, 2011, and that I be permitted a store credit, refund, etc., for the cost of the home dock, car charger and phone case that I purchased for my Fascinate, as the accessories are no longer useful to me since the Fascinate is defective. I do not want to try another Fascinate to see if it will work, due to the nature, duration and volume of the problems Verizon has knowingly experienced with the Fascinate since at least September 2010 (before I even purchased the phone), yet continues to sell unsuspecting consumers without any disclosure of the known defects. The only other replacement phone that will be acceptable to me is the iphone 4, as I purchased my Fascinate only because the iphone was not yet available through Verizon. Otherwise, I would like the Samsung Charge, as I was told I could receive less than one month ago. I request no more or less from Verizon than its fairness, honesty, basic courtesy and compliance with the law, and I sincerely hope that this matter can be resolved without any further inconvenience to me. Unless I receive an immediate, satisfactory resolution of this clearly-documented issue, I plan to prepare a lawsuit against Verizon (requesting class action certification), which will be filed no later than Monday, September 13, 2011. I sincerely hope that Verizon will simply honor its representations and right this unfortunate, inconvenient situation for its customers. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you and to a swift resolution of this issue.

I sure hope your are successful in obtaining an Charge, several of us are in the same boat but unable to get one.

thornbe

Claire,

Thank you for taking on this crusade against VZW. I agree, since VZW might have known about the numerous issues with the Samsung Fascinate, they should allow client's that are experiencing issues to replace their Fascinates with a "new" device.

My wife and I both have the Fascinate and they each have their own issues. My Fascinate has terrible reception/cell strength. I can be in the middle of my work parking lot (major metro area) and consistantly get "Connection error - retry" messages over 3G. The signal strength indicator constantly fluctuates from 3 bars to 0 bars. The Samsung Fascinate has a very low SAR level at 0.57 for digital. This may be one of the reasons the signal strength is so poor. Actually, Samsung has the most phones with the lowest SAR rating.

SAR Ratings

http://reviews.cnet.com/2719-6602_7-291-1.html?tag=page;page

Samsung SAR Ratings

http://www.sarshield.com/english/radiationchart-samsung.htm

Let's see where this goes.

Thanks again,

Tim

wardcst24

Did Verizon ever get back to you ?

Thanks

Elitist_Jerk

You where offered something on one day--you declined.., a software update came out to fix the issue on july 28th, you can't go at the end of the next month to get the replacement. To date the software issue has been resolved

cstephens

This is the EXACT situation I've been describing, but the call center techs tried to make think I was crazy and that there was never an offer to exchange the Fascinate for a Charge. When I continued to push they offered me a Droid X and an Incredible 2. I feel the same way, I passed up on those phones for a reason and chose a Samsung. So, if I'm going to swap then I want a Samsung!!! Not a Motorola or an HTC. Well, my husband and I are getting the same run around. Empty promises of supervisor call backs. Nothing. The only supervisor that SAID he could authorize it then says he can't do anything because the offer has now EXPIRED and all he CAN (CORRECTION: WILL) do is send me out another crappy FASCINATE!! We asked for corporate's address and/or contact, he refused to provide any. So, I had to resort to searching the net for a contact. It has been nothing but a constant frustration. Right down the the fact that I had called in with complaints of problems, after the Froyo update, DURING THE SWAP OFFER and was NEVER TOLD ABOUT IT. In fact, when I asked for a different phone the tech support told me all I could get is another Fascinate. Fast forward to today, and now I can get any 3G phone (no IPhone or no 4G phones) but I'll have to sign a new 2yr agreement to get another phone other than a stupid Fascinate!!! Such the runaround!!

cstephens

i just drafted a letter and contacted the executive leadership and legal counsel, documenting my issues with the Samsung Fascinate and all the runaround that I've received in my request to replace this phone for one that works. I contacted the following:

John Bianchi, VP, National Customer Service

Joan Bowyer, VP, Midwest Area Customer Service

Ken Dixon, President, Midwest Area

John Granby, President, Michigan Region

William Peterson, VP, General Counsel and Secretary

I advise everyone else to do the same!! Look for your regional leadership under the "About Us" link and find the "Leadership" link for a list of the VZW executives you can complain to regarding this poor service.

cstephens

After send out emails to all the people I noted, I did receive a call from Executive Relations, Office of the President of Verizon Wireless. They listened to my list of issues and voiced concerns over how this is handled, as well as, I thru in several of the commented issues of mulitple people in this community. They extended me an offer for a 3G phone of my choice instead of just an Incredible 2 or Droid X2, but maintained that I could not request an iPhone or a 4G device (which is fine! I did not want a 4G device anyway) So, I went into a corporate store and looked over all their 3G phones and decided that I wanted to try the Droid 3; which was my other choice when I switched to a droid phone last October. Let's see if this one gives me the issues that I had with my Samsung.

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