I was initially denied my N7 recall...
I will admit, I have a N7 with a cracked screen. I could write another thread about this all together, seeing that Gorilla Glass 5 is rated to impact a 5 foot drop with 80% success, I cannot imagine that it could not handle a 3 inch drop...
Anyway, I call Sprint today asking what to do about my recall. They initially said that because my screen is cracked it has voided the warranty and they will not accept the phone for its recall. They advise me that I should call Samsung and they can resolve this issue. I call Samsung and get the same run around. The representative says that because there is screen damage there is nothing they can do. Despite explaining that the phone took a 3 inch drop and that my belief that the screen should not have suffered any damage. They said I can send the phone in for a 2 week "investigation" and they can tell me if the screen is faulty or not. Otherwise, they advise that I call back Sprint and have them handle the situation.
I ask for a supervisor and am put on hold for about 5 minutes when the Samsung representative comes back and says that we will call Sprint together and try and resolve the situation. I am put on hold again and a woman named Jennifer from Sprint customer care answers and explains that she just spoke with the Samsung representative and would be happy to help me with my recalled N7. I politely ask if the Samsung rep had explained about the cracked screen and to no surprise, Jennifer had no idea what I was talking. She said that the Samsung representative said nothing other than to help me with a recalled N7 before hanging up.
I explain the situation to Jennifer much like I have explained the situation to you. She says that she is calling the Sprint store that I initially spoke to as it is her understanding that all the N7s have been recalled and that the cracked screen should not be a problem for a recall. Jennifer comes back and explains that not a single manager will be at that Sprint store until Thursday and the current representative at the Sprint store would not take my N7 back citing the warranty issue. Luckily, Jennifer at Sprint customer care is the bomb and after another 5 minute hold me she comes back and says she re-read the entire recall contract, noting that in the contract is specifically states that ALL N7s, regardless of condition, must be recalled and exchanged. Yes, she took time to re-read, investigate, and not just cite a warranty issue.
Jennifer to the rescue! What a story it would have been if my N7 exploded and I had to explain that the Sprint store denied my recall... She made notes in the chart as to the conversation but was not able to authorize the exchange herself until the manager returns to the store. There doesn't appear to be any N7s in the area at the moment so I cant exchange the phone regardless, so this story remains open at this point. I have a good feeling that the N7 will be exchanged but I could have easily just have thought, "oh, well the warranty is voided" and never been able to exchange my recalled N7. I would have ultimately taken up the fight that something is wrong with the screen given that it should have never cracked in the first place, but it will be nice to correct the explosive issue... I hope... more to come this week.