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HTC Thunderbolt - yes, I know, first generation phones have issues a lot (yadda yadda) but that's not the point. It's the phone I have...
In a nutshell:
Phone broke. I had insurance. Called in. Spent $75 for a new phone to come to me and authorized the $275 hold on my credit card.
New phone arrives in four business days.
No 4g. No 3g. Only 1x. Tried a slew of different fixes - nothing worked.
Called in. Requested new phone. New phone sent out.
Received new phone in six business days.
Sent back old two via the provided shipping labels.
Just discovered today the front facing camera does not work, all black.
So basically, phones are clearly not tested to make sure they work. They just send pieces of junk. Now I have to call the insurance dept again to have a third phone shipped out? This is getting ridiculous. I want my $75 back and them to pay me for my time which is not free in dealing with this. I use my phone for personal and business needs and am definitely leaning towards Apple for my next go.
Thought I'd voice some frustrations here for public view. You would think that it should be simple: I get a new phone, it works.
But nope. Oh and of course, I have to cough up money for new screen protectors too.
PS: I'm just tired of having to deal with this. I don't want to call in and wait on hold and talk for however long, wait another week, and just hope this phone works, reinstall all my stuff/etc. I just want to go to a store, get a phone, have it work, the end. But nope, buy at a store, but insurance is 800 number nightmares. Too bad I can't get a different phone that actually works since the HTC thunderbolt is a joke and gets worse reception than old school droids and keep my old unlimited plan...
PPS: I should have known I was in for trouble when the phone boots up, the lightening/thunderbolt sound it is supposed to make sounds majorly distorted. That should have been a first clue I got mailed another bogus phone.
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Yah I agree, insurance is a bad idea on a 300 device. Works better for cars and houses
also please go to phoneclaim.com, since vzw didnt give you that phone
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Who is the insurance through?
Sorry, see Commonsense beat me to the comment.
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Both of you may be right that insurance is a bad idea. However, if the service is there, and it is used, it should work. The insurance company name is Global Warranties.
The escalated customer service department through them finally called me, left a voice mail to let me know they are sending another replacement phone and did not leave a call back number aside from the generic 800 number. Awful service.
Next step we are on is that I requested that department call me back which is apparently run by a guy named Adam. I requested he actually leave a contact information for him because it seems unfair that his call can come anywhere in the next 48 hours, and I have to guard my phone to be available to take it or we start all over? How odd.
Either way, if this is not resolved to my satisfaction, I will be filing a Better Business Bureau claim against both Verizon and Global Warranties.
I want a WORKING version of my phone, not a broken refurbished junk piece or a comparable new phone of a different model without losing my existing plan.
The reason for the claim against Verizon is they have refused to do anything about this other than refer to me to the Insurance company which clearly is nonfunctioning.
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You also need to contact your local attorney general. They will help you by contacting both companies on your behalf. The illegal tactics that these companies use need to be stopped!
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UPDATE: Have sent the following to company and parent company:
Hello,
This email has been sent to both Global Warranties and the Wireless Protection Program emails as I am not sure which is the appropriate email to write to. The phone number I am provided to work with is: 866 582 6716.
Please reference account: ----------- for the following:
Here is where we stand:
Case opened 06/19/2012 due to broken phone and Global Warranties contacted for insurance replacement of said phone.
$75 fee charged for the service. $275 placed on hold on my credit card until original phone shipped back.
Global Warranties sends replacement phone as agreed
Replacement phone arrives and is broken - it does not connect to 3g or 4g and multiple steps were taken to correct this issue to no solution resulting in wasted hours.
Global Warranties contacted regarding the issue, apologizes profusely and sends a second replacement phone.
Replacement phone arrives and is broken - the sound does not work for ring tones, loud speaker, music, etc. The front-facing camera is non-functioning (black screen). Assembly is not correct as bright light flashes through bottom of screen.
Global Warranties contacted, I am informed that a new replacement phone will be sent out after I send the original phone (the broken one I had) and the first replacement phone. I want my $75 back for all the hassle and having now received two broken replacement phones instead of a working phone. I am informed the escalated customer service dept will contact me (I believe the person in charge of that dept is named Adam). This call is to take place within 24 hours as stated.
Adam calls two business days later (4 actual days later) and leaves a voice mail which is barely able to be made out. It sounded like he stated a new phone was sent out and leaves only the generic 800 call back number.
Global Warranties contacted and I asked to speak with Adam. I am informed that is not possible and I cannot be provided his contact information. I ask to have Adam call me back with a way to contact him and I am informed that request has been made.
So here is where we stand:
I have mailed in my original phone and first replacement phone as instructed. I am working with the second replacement phone which is broken but I need a phone before I can send it in. I have NOT received the third replacement phone so I can't send this one in until I get it. I have no way of tracking where that third replacement phone is as I do not have tracking information for it. I can't use the label I was given by Global Warranties to send in this phone until I get a working and fully functional replacement phone. The escalated customer service department has NOT contacted me nor have I received a voice mail to reflect they have but I missed the call. I feel as though I have become lost in a crack of poor customer service and, frankly, customer service that does not care about their customers.
I need to know what the plan is by Global Warranties to fix this. This is most likely the first time you have heard of this situation so please understand this is an information gathering email rather than a formal complaint. I am hoping that once provided this information, we can resolve this.
So here is what I propose:
My $75 back which I was charged. This will offset some of the amount of time spent and the impact this has had on both my personal life and business as this phone is used for both. We are not talking minutes on the phone, but hours.
The $275 hold removed from my credit card since I have fulfilled the agreement on the first phone call which that authorization was placed (the return of my original phone and the fist replacement phone). At no time was I informed I will have that hold continue throughout this process of receiving multiple broken phones.
A call from the escalated customer service department to explain why they chose not to contact me a second time as I requested and was told they would.
Full retail credit to go to the local Verizon store to purchase a comparable phone. As per my discussion with the second-to-last customer service representative I spoke with through Global Warranties, it sounds like there is an actual problem with the make and model of my phone and that this is going to be a reoccurring issue.
If I am sent a third non-functional HTC Thunderbolt, then that would be even more proof of the before mentioned statement and I should receive full retail credit to purchase a comparable phone at a local Verizon store.
Please note that this has now taken a month of my life to work with broken or barely functional phones as of today's date. This is simply a matter of wanting the full service and fully functional phone that the insurance was paid for.
Thank you for your time in this matter. I am sure we can find an equitable solution.
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I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt to correct this before contacting the attorney general or other sources.
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Crescendo wrote:
Either way, if this is not resolved to my satisfaction, I will be filing a Better Business Bureau claim against both Verizon and Global Warranties.
I want a WORKING version of my phone, not a broken refurbished junk piece or a comparable new phone of a different model without losing my existing plan.
The reason for the claim against Verizon is they have refused to do anything about this other than refer to me to the Insurance company which clearly is nonfunctioning.
I thought Verizon uses Assurion for insurance coverage on phones. Has it been changed to Global Warranties?
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That is what I thought but when I asked the company name when I was on the phone with them, they said Global Warranties. Maybe they used to use Global Warranties and switched to Assurion.
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Verizon has been using Assurion since long before the TBolt was released.
I'm wondering, did you purchase your phone at a Verizon Corporate store or a 3rd party reseller. If the latter is the case, then you could have purchased insurance from the preferred vendor of the 3rd party reseller instead of the preferred vendor of Verizon. Regardless, I don't see the gripe against Verizon.
If I purchase a car from Toyota and insurance from Allstate, I do not complain to Toyota if Allstate does not give me the service I feel I am entitled.