Returned defective device under warranty but was still charged for it
jleonard711
Enthusiast - Level 2

I recently did a warranty exchange on a defective Note 4 which stopped charging after only about 2 months of owning it (it would just vibrate repeatedly when plugged in, but the battery would never charge). And when I was able to put a charged battery into it, which I got from a friend's phone, it would only work for about 5 minutes before giving me a warning that it was shutting down due to overheating. When I filed the warranty claim I was told that if I didn't return the defective device within 5 days that I would be billed for the full retail price of the phone (which was around $700). I told the customer service rep that I might need more time than that to attempt recover the data on my phone since it wasn't working properly, and she replied that after 5 days they will defintely bill be for the device - but then added that I could still return it after that and I would be credited back whatever I was charged. That gave me some peace of mind knowing that I would have time to work through the issues I was having with the phone and hopefuly get all of my data off it (pics, texts, etc).

Well a few weeks after I got the new phone I received a text message saying that since I hadn't yet returned the defective device that I was being charged $732. In that message, however, it also once again stated that if I did return the device then I would be credited back for that amount.  (side note: Don't even get me started on what a crock it is that you get billed the FULL RETAIL NEW PRICE for the device even though I was sent a used/factory reconditioned device with no battery, back cover, charger or other peripherals!! But that's beside the point because I was planning to send it back and get that money back anyways.)

At that time I still hadn't been able to recover everything from the phone due to its erratic behavior and only being able to use it for a few minutes at a time - and only after pulling the battery out of my working phone. So I wasn't able to get much done in any given day because I can't go for too long without a battery in my working phone, and with 2 small kids I also don't have hours of free time every day to sit there waiting for the phone to reboot every time it overheats and shuts down. I also called a Verizon store to ask them if they could think of another way to recover my data with the way the phone was behaving, and they said there wasn't anything they could do since it wouldn't stay on long enough to do a full backup. I also mentioned that I had already been billed for the defective device not being sent back yet and asked if there was going to be a problem with how long it was taking me to recover everything, and once again they reassured me that once I was done recovering my data I could send it back and get credited for the amount which was charged - just like the person had told me at the time the claim was filed, and just as the text message had mentioned.


Well between speding the time when I had it working on the recovery, and transitioning over to a new position at work, and taking a few trips out of town, before you know it a few months had passed. The $732 had long since been billed to my account and was paid promptly by me with my debit card. I decided it was time to really buckle down and finish getting everything off that phone so I could send it back and get that money back. So I did, I finished it up, sent it back using the pre-paid shipping label, then about a week later I got a notice that the package had been delivered on May 13th. I gave it about a week expecting to either see a credit on my bank account or on my May 20th bill for the returned device. Neither happened. I gave it another 2 weeks, and when I still hadn't received any sort of credit or even a notice that the return had been received and credited to my account, I then decided to call and talk with customer care. I explained the issue, the customer service person looked up the return in the system, said that she was able to see that they received it back on May 13th but for some reason the credit hadn't been processed yet, so she was going to manually submit a credit form for the return and I should receive confirmation via email and/or text within the next week. Perfect! Everything was fine up until this point.

A week came and went, and I still hadn't received any notice of a credit being issued to me. So I called in again today to follow up on the matter, and this time the person that I spoke to told me that I won't be receiving a credit because I took too long to return the device. She also said that since I had sent the device in outside of the return period that they are also not able to return the device - so basically they are keeping my money AND my phone!! WTF!??!  She explained to me that there is a 90 day time limit, and once those 90 days are up then Verizon will neither issue a credit to my account, issue a refund to my credit card, or return the device to me. I told her I'm sorry but there's no way I'm going to let that happen because I was never told that there was a 90 day time limit on returning the device for a credit. On the 3 different occasions I was told by Verizon (once on the phone at the time of the claim, once via text, and once in a Verizon store) that I could return it after being billed and get my money back, AT NO TIME was any specific timeframe mentioned for that. And it was also not listed in writing with the paperwork that came in the box with the replacement device. When I pointed that out to the representative on the phone, she scoffed and made some rude comment about how I should know better than to expect to get my money back after 3 months. I politely told her that Iwould like to speak with her supervisor because clearly she had no interest in helping me out.

So then a supervisor gets on the phone, tells me she has looked over my case, and that in this situation there is nothing that she can do because the device was not returned on time. I once again pointed out that I was never informed that I only had 90 days to be able to return the devide for a refund of the $732 charge, and they can't expect hold me to a binding timeframe if I an never told what that timeframe is. What if it was 10 days instead of 90 and I sent it back on day 12? She said well it's not 10 days it's 90 days which should be plenty of time, and in fact I should have never been told about the 90 days becuase that is "internal information which isn't supposed to be shared with customers". So she basically told me that Verizon blatantly and intentionally doesn't disclose the 90 day timeframe, but still somehow expects people to abide by it? How in the world does that make sense???

So here I am, out $732 - which I paid as soon as I was billed for it, just as I pay every bill on time and always have for the 7 years that I have been a Verizon Wireless customer. I sent back the defective phone back as instructed to get that $732 credited back to me (again, I was never told about any specific time constraints for that return). And now, Verizon is trying to tell me that they're keeping my money AND the phone that was returned - which by the way I don't want back because it's broken, so don't even make the offer to send it back, that's not the point. Since I kept up my end of the agreement and sent back the device then I demand a refund of the amount that I was charged. Had I at ANY point been informed that the device must be returned within 90 days to get that charge credit back to me then I would have made absolutely sure to do that. But since Verizon Wireless did not explicitly and clearly disclose those terms, then I cannot be expected to be bound by them. I was simply told "to return the device once I was done retreiving my information and then I would be creidted" - and this is exactly what I did, and refunding that charge is what I expect you to do. I will not stop figthing this until I receive a full refund, and I will make this matter as public as I need to if you guys refuse to uphold your end of the deal.

Please reply and let me know when I can expect to receive this credit.

Thank you.

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Re: Returned defective device under warranty but was still charged for it
Snn5
Legend

Peer-to-peer forum.  You'll need to contact Verizon as we cannot access this info for you.  No matter what, the defective phone must be returned ASAP within the 5 day frame.  There is no grace period.  You have a long battle ahead.

Re: Returned defective device under warranty but was still charged for it
Weth
Legend

Your were told you had 5 days to return the phone, not once, but at least TWICE! You were then told you would definitely be billed for the device. Then you let days turn into weeks turn into months, well past any reasonable grace period of 5 days. And now you are mad, hopefully at yourself. How can you even imagine a 5 day period can morph into some extended no limit period? That rep that you point to that you say gave you no time period, she had no way to think you would take the 5 day time limit she did say, and by indicating you needed a little more time to take that to meaning 18 times the limit.

If you are lucky, you will get a small token amount credited, but as far as getting full credit - long uphill climb in Siberia is in store.

You will get little traction in reporting this. No reasonable person would expect a 5 day limit have a grace period of 90 days, and I think the 90 days is awfully generous already.

Re: Returned defective device under warranty but was still charged for it
Snn5
Legend

Keep on calling them then.  A rep will Direct Message you, or attempt to anyway, sometime in the next 2-3 days.

Re: Returned defective device under warranty but was still charged for it
jleonard711
Enthusiast - Level 2

I understand that this is a public forum, but I also know that Verzion moderates it and reads the comments. I'm just trying whatever avenue I can to get this resolved.

And about the 5 day limit having no grace period, that's not what I was told at any point by any of the representatives I spoke with. The 5 day period is just the timeframe when they will charge you for the unreturned device, and I have no issue with the fact that they billed me for it after that time - hell, I even paid my bill in full including that charge! Again, that's not what I'm complaining about. I agreed to that, and I was fine with those terms because I was also told the charge would be reversed when I sent the device back.

But when they tell me that I can send it back after I recover my data and get the charge reversed, if there is a time limit on that, just as there was for the initial 5 days before being billed for it, then that timeframe should be clearly stated. They should have said something like "You can still return it to receive a refund of that charge, but you only have 90 days do so." If they are going to hold people to certain terms, then those terms need to be disclosed, just like the 5 days were disclosed, and not some "secret number of days" that they aren't supposed to tell customers.

Re: Returned defective device under warranty but was still charged for it
ScurvyPirateChicc
Enthusiast - Level 2

I get what u mean I and my son are going through .

Two lines are being chRged on my account. Each person tells me differ net things so I got myself a recorder for calls an recorders the calls n I have a manager telling me I won't b charged anything more than my monthly bill.  But I was in fad credited for both lines. But that's not the case and I asked for a manager to call me back an that request was on the phone to a person and he sent a email to the manager that I spoke with and that was three weeks ago . I'm not paying my bill until they fix this.  Or I have all rights to use recordings and photos I have in court too. 

Best wishes to you.

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Re: Returned defective device under warranty but was still charged for it
ScurvyPirateChicc
Enthusiast - Level 2

I'm still dealing with verizon... phone is shut off again now. And I still don't have my answers

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Re: Returned defective device under warranty but was still charged for it
Weth
Legend

ScurvyPirateChicc wrote:

I'm not paying my bill until they fix this...

... phone is shut off again now.

Wow! what a surprise, they shut your phone off when you don't pay your bill. And now you have even more costs to turn it back on.

You never said what the actual problem is.

The Verizon agreement clearly states you must continue paying during any dispute.

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