No refund for returned phone

[infantrytroop22]

I had a replacement iPhone 5 sent to me to replace the defective one I initially received and for some reason Verizon charged me and told me that I would receive a refund when I sent back the defective one. Well, I sent back the defective phone and now Verizon will not issue me a refund because it was "returned outside the 14 day return period." No one ever told me that I needed to send the phone back during any certain period and it does not make sense that an exchange would be subject to a return period. Bottom line is Verizon now has the phone but will not refund my money. If I knew they would pull this rip off I obviously would have just kept the phone that I have now paid for. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get my money back? This is completely inequitable that Verizon has the phone and my money. I have already talked to the supervisors at the call center and they are no help.

[kaebfly]

Was your phone processed as a return or was it being replaced under warranty (since you say it was defective)? Assuming it was a warranty replacement they usually require that you return the defective phone within 10 days (the paperwork they sent with it should have stated something along those lines. Maybe that's why they charged you? At any rate...if they won't refund you then I would demand that they return the phone that you've been charged for...unless of course, they actually charged you full retail for the device you received. I would call and ask to speak to another supervisor and have them explain again in detail what is going on....if it still seems odd then ask for the phone to be returned to you since you have been charged for it (assuming the charge wasn't for the phone you currently have). They may or may not return it (in some cases I think the paperwork will state circumstances when a device won't be returned to you). You also need to make sure they aren't saying that the defective device you returned wasn't damaged (water damage for example) and due to that the warranty was voided...in which case they would charge you for the replacement. In that instance I think you might be forced to eat the cost or try to legally fight it (anyone that may have had a similar experience might be able to give you more help on that end).

[infantrytroop22]

I do not know how they processed it but I am pretty sure it was a return since it was a new phone.  No one ever told me how long I had to send back the defective phone and I ended up sending back the brand new replacement phone that they sent me anyway.  I did ask them to send me back the phone since they charged me for it but they refused.  Their reasoning for not providing me with a refund because I did not send back the replacement phone (which by the way, was also defective) within 14 days is just a sorry excuse they are using to rip me off. 

[kaebfly]

Well if they were doing it as an exchange then you only had 14 days from the date of original purchase. That is shown on your receipt and should show on the documents that you received originally (and can also be seen on the digital documents that you can view in My Verizon for any of the documents that pertain to your account). If you returned the 2nd device after all of this happened then you would still be charged because you only get one exchange during the initial 14 day return/exchange period. Unfortunately, if you returned devices expecting a refund versus just a warranty exchange then you were responsible for making sure you did so before that period ended. If it was a warranty exchange and it was shipped to you then on the paperwork that told you how to return the defective device it would clearly tell you how much time you have to return that device before you are charged full retail (I think)...and warns you that you may be charged for the defective device if the defect is due to non-covered damage. Were you able to get a refund for the 2nd device? If so, then it's probably because they treated that device as a re-order versus an exchange...which would mean that you were still tied to the original return exchange/return policy on the 1st device (again...even if you weren't verbally told about the return policy it is shown on any receipt or billing invoice you received with your order so the info was there. It should have also been shown when you placed your order IF you ordered online. If you purchased in store then it was on your printed receipt...even though it would have been great if the info was also verbally stated to you). Unless there is something else going on that I'm missing. It all sucks, but honestly, based on what you've said so far it appears that you weren't done wrong...you just didn't pay attention to the return policy on your receipt and feel like not being told verbally is the issue. Again, this is assuming there isn't something I'm missing here. If you know for a fact that you were never given any documents that state the return/exchange period (receipt, billing invoice) and can truly prove it then you might have something to argue. As far as the defective devices go...if I understand correctly, when they sent the replacement device you were charged again? Which sounds like you were allowed to purchase another device and would be refunded the money for the original device IF it was received before the end of the return/exchange period. That is the only way I can see either device being treated as a return or exchange versus a warranty replacement...

At any rate...since you never said what the defect was it's hard to help you on that end...although I guess it doesn't matter since you don't have either device. I think the bigger issue is the fact that you are now responsible for a 2 year contract regardless of if you have the devices now or now. Not sure if you were already a VZW customer and turned on an old device or if you paid full retail to begin with (so no 2 yr contract). If you feel truly ripped off and that none of the above should apply to you then you can seek legal help...that's about all I can think of for you to do at this point. Hope you can get some sort of resolution or understanding to what exactly happened in your situation.