Smart Phone Issues with Verizon Phones

[tonyamae81]

Good morning,

This is kind of a rant / question since I see Verizon Customer service looks at these yet they don't have an email address that I could locate to send them an email.

I have been with Verizon for years and have multiple phones with them so you can just imagine my bill (which isn't the problem).  For the last 5 years I have had an Apple phone and never had a problem.  I upgrade to the Apple 7 plus and within 3 days everyone I speak to starts telling me that can't hear me.  I tried putting them on speaker, factory resetting my phone, taking off the otter box, you name it nothing changed.  I was very upset because one we all know IPhones are not cheap and when I went to the Apple Forum, I found this was an ongoing problem with the IPhone 7 and I wasn't the only one and there was no fix other than utilizing a headset.  Why should you have to utilize a headset for such an expensive phone. 

Well, I got fed up with this issue and so I went to my local Verizon store (same store I bought the phone from) and told them that I was over it at this point I just want a smart phone that will work and not mess up and have malfunctions because this is my business phone.

The Salesman recommended the Google 7, so that was what I purchased.  I bought the phone on June 2.  Last Wednesday, the phone had an LG update and that's when the problems started. The phone started telling me there was moisture in the usb port. (The closest to moisture that phone has came is humidity, I live in Florida)  The only way you could charge the phone at this point was by turning the phone off plugging in the charger and then turning the phone back on and allowing it to charge.  Once you unplugged the phone the moisture message came back.  Then the phone stopped connecting via android auto to my truck and a warning showed stating the USB was unable to be found.  To get bluetooth ONLY to connect takes approximately 10 minutes of retries.  So fed up again I took the phone back to the store. 

The salesman tried to resolve the problem.  He went through everything.  Tried a new cord, tried connecting to his own vehicle to see if it was my bluetooth, called technical support and did what they said, no improvement.  Technical support told him that this was a new issue with the update so reboot the phone from factory and no more problem.  WRONG.  He did this.  As soon as the phone reopened same error messages returned.  So the salesman then called Verizon.  Now this is where my RANT begins. 

The salesman advised "Louis" the representative on the phone of the issues.  Louis then had the salesman put me on the phone.  Louis advised me this was a known problem with the update which makes the port "More Sensitive" to moisture and so the solution was to utilize a blow dryer aimed at the port when this message appears or I can have a refurbished phone (for my only 2 month old phone).  I advised Louis that this still wouldn't help with the connection issues.  I then advised him I had a concern.  My concern is, "If this is a proven issue then why would sending me the same phone with the same update solve the problem?  What happens when this replacement phone does the same thing".  Louis advised me to hope that it didn't and if it did, I would have to utilize the hair dryer and wait for an update from LG. 

This upset me.  I told Louis that I found this a ridiculous solution.  I spend a lot of money with Verizonand I get sold not one but two phones that don't work and the most recent of the phones is only two months old and this is the only solution.  Why should I have to be patient for an update with a new device.   Louis advised, " I NEVER TOLD YOU TO BE PATIENT, I said you would have to wait for an update and then told me this was technology and it happens.  I told Louis that I felt if Verizon was selling me a product that I have had for less than 90 days that has a proven problem (without a current solution) then I disagreed with being given a refurbished phone and felt that this was cheating the consumer but if this is my only option than I had no choice but to try because I need my phone.  Louis advised me I did not have a choice.  So I asked him how long the process would take to just get the replacement phone on the way.  Louis advised me I needed to be patient.  Louis then began to read the terms and agreements very quickly about trading in the phone.  When he got to the warranty part he was talking so fast I couldn't understand him.  I requested he stop for a second because I was confused.  He continued to talk.  I advised him again to hang on I had a question.  He stopped and said what question.  I asked Louis if I understood that the new phone would come with a 90 day warranty even though my old phone had longer?  Louis advised me, "IF YOU WOULD LISTEN TO ME THEN YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD ME SAY THAT YOUR OTHER WARRANTY TAKES OVER SINCE IT IS LONGER THAN 90 DAYS".  I advised Louis now angry might i add that I was listening to him I just didn't understand.  Louis asked me if I needed it read to me again for understanding.  I stated no, I did not now I understand.  He read it again anyway.  At this point I am tired of Louis.  At the end of his rudeness he requested to know if he could help me with anything else and I advised him apparently he couldn't help me with anything and gave the phone back to the salesman. 

I want to know how this is acceptable.  Why do they not have to give you your money back or exchange your new phone for a different model even if you have to pay a price difference.  To me this practice is unacceptable and unfair to consumers.  What is the continued problem with this and why isn't there a solution.

[vzw_customer_support]

We hear you, tonyamae81. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. The CLNR (refurbished) device policy to which you are referring is the industry standard, and is used by all carriers. We'd be happy to discuss things with you, if you wish. Just send us a Private Message on Facebook, or follow/DM us on Twitter. To discuss anything personal, or regarding your customer service experience, we will only discuss this privately over Facebook PM or Twitter DM. Thank you for understanding.

James_VZW

Follow us on Twitter at @VZWSupport

If my response answered your question, please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

[dburkes]

When I scroll through all the Verizon folks posts on the community forums, I keep seeing canned responses from the Verizon So-called "experts":@(

If Verizon cannot really answer a question, then a  No Response is better than "I feel your pain", etc. It insults all the customers.  I think the only good thing about these forums, we get to share the pain of being a VWZ customer.

However, we can all thank the FCC, for allowing this to happen.  Please complain to the FCC, we all need to use our voices, and complain nicely and loudly.