Buy insurance for your epic..no more instore warranty repairs/replacements

[Mikey47]

@#^%$ I called the TEP to claim my daughters phone lost.... The phone is 25 days old and they would NOT cover it. You can NOT make any claims for the 1st 30 days. Now they flagged my daughters phone as a denied claim and I will not be able to replace it with there insurance. Even if I wait the 5 days to meet eligibility requirements and report it again. it is too late for me as the phone has been flagged in there system as lost. I had to pay FULL price for a new phone no rebate and no new service discount.

Make sure you wait a full 30 day before making a claim using TEP or you will be screwed.

Huh? That makes absolutely no sense. Are you sure you have exhausted all CS routes on this one? I would contact Sprint ASAP and escalate this, that is ridiculous. When I saw this post I thought you were going to say that since she lost it the same day you added the insurance they were going to deny it...

If this was the policy, it would have to be written somewhere, force them to provide the documentation of this clause in what you signed for the insurance. Insurance (no matter what kind) should become binding at the point that you pay for it, or as explained in writing. I am sure that they had no problems adding this insurance to your account and prorating the the period of time until your next bill.

I would fight this big time!!

 

[mcp6530]

yes, that is accurate. they have a waiting period so people can't just buy the insurance after they lose their phone and then call it in and get it replaced.

 

[Mikey47]

yes, that is accurate. they have a waiting period so people can't just buy the insurance after they lose their phone and then call it in and get it replaced.

Nope, it is covered please see this link: Support - Article

I supposed the could argue that the phone was not turned on after TEP became effective, but I would assume that a teenage girl at a football game would have her phone on and sending and receiving numerous texts and phone calls (well, at least if she is anything like my teenage girls).

 

[BrianFX]

(I honestly don't blame them, they have the lowest prices of all carriers, I'd rather they have this as a way to earn extra revenue than to increase their plans....)

They're really not as price competitive anymore with the 4G fee. If another contract opt-out fee change happens, I might take the opportunity to see if I can ESN swap to prepaid. Virgin's $25 unlimited data plan looks mighty delicious..

I have a difficult time actually buying the insurance, my husband listens to a lot of Clark Howard (financial talk radio expert)...and from what I understand from what my husband has said about it is, all the "extended warranty" stuff is a HUGE money maker for the company selling the warranty

One of my clients was a large insurance firm which handled Asurion claims processing, it is indeed a huge cash cow (as is most insurance in general).

 

[Palm-a-PREciation]

So out of curiosity, I went to Clark Howard's website to see what he had to say about cell phone insurance, and this is what he posted in 2005 about it (I think it pretty much still applies now though)

Oct 12, 2005 -- Should you buy cell phone insurance?
Should you buy cell phone insurance? Almost always the answer is no. But most people agree to pay for cell phone insurance when they sign their contract. They end up paying about $5 a month for the insurance, plus a deductible if your phone gets damaged or you lose it. One current lawsuit is even alleging that cell phone insurance is fraud. The suit states that you’re paying insurance on a used phone. That’s right. When you turn in your damaged phone and get another one, it’s usually “refurbished” anyway. Consumer Reports weighed in on this topic and said the only reason people should get cell phone insurance is if you own a very expensive phone. Insurance rates are the same for a $500 phone and a $50 phone. So, it makes no sense.

Should you <a name=cell>buy</a> cell phone insurance? on clarkhoward.com

I think the Epic would fall under the "very expensive phone" category, which is where he said people should buy the insurance.

 

[Bryan87]

I see people saying about buying a phone off if Craigslist, same goes for Ebay, BE CAREFUL! Heres a tip so you dont get screwed. If you do buy a USED PHONE from someone else, try to make it LOCAL, and not farther than driving distance. Its because ppl do sell, STOLEN/BLOCKED phones, with BAD ESN's online, and YOU HAVE NO WAY of telling. So if you have to buy thru Craigslist or Ebay, make sure to MEET with that person LOCALLY and ONLY pay for the phone AFTER the phone activates SUCCESSFULLY, that way ur not stuck with a brick of a phone that you cant use!
Hope this Helps someone!

 

[milominderbinde]

Quick question, can you drop the insurance at any time....I could see paying for insurance for the first year or so, but then when the phones depreciate, and if you can find them for under $100 or so on Craigslist, then drop the insurance since you could replace it cheaper on Craigslist then the insurance . (don't know if that will happen with Evos and Epics, but also didn't think it would happen with Palm Pre's and HTC Hero's a year ago either, just the nature of technology, in a year, it's all outdated, which depreciates the value)

Yes, you can drop the insurance at any time.

 

[Palm-a-PREciation]

I see people saying about buying a phone off if Craigslist, same goes for Ebay, BE CAREFUL! Heres a tip so you dont get screwed. If you do buy a USED PHONE from someone else, try to make it LOCAL, and not farther than driving distance. Its because ppl do sell, STOLEN/BLOCKED phones, with BAD ESN's online, and YOU HAVE NO WAY of telling. So if you have to buy thru Craigslist or Ebay, make sure to MEET with that person LOCALLY and ONLY pay for the phone AFTER the phone activates SUCCESSFULLY, that way ur not stuck with a brick of a phone that you cant use!
Hope this Helps someone!

So true, the only way I'd buy a phone from Craigslist is to meet the person at a Sprint store to make sure the phone will activate, and then give the person the money..