God help you if you get a defective phone....

[Sandman333]

I have come to HATE Verizon. I just posted this on their FB page. This is easily the WORST customer service experience of my life with any major company.

In early November, I ordered a Droid Turbo 2 through your website using the "Designed by You" option. This was an upgrade on a 2 year contract. I have been a Verizon customer since 2008.

As soon as I received the phone it was clear that it was defective. The phone randomly disconnected from the network in areas where I have NEVER had such a problem before. Other Verizon phones, placed right next to mine, were having no network problems. Sometimes I would have to shut the phone off and restart it in order to get the network connection back. I called your technical support department and they agreed that I received a defective phone. Here is where YOUR massive customer service failure began, and it's still not over.

It took me several days of arguing with your CS reps to get a NEW replacement phone. Verizon tried to pawn me off on Motorola, the manufacturer. Motorola would only send me a REFURBISHED phone as a replacement. I paid for a NEW phone, and only a NEW PHONE would be acceptable. Motorola absolutely refused.

I got passed back and forth between Motorola and Verizon several times before I finally found a CS rep at Verizon who decided to do the right thing and labelled the first phone I received as DOA. My bill was charged a little over $320 advance fee for the replacement phone, with the agreement that this would be refunded when I returned the original phone. That rep emailed me a voucher that I was then able to use at the Motorola web site for an exact NEW replacement. I never received a return shipping label, and NONE was included with either phone when they were shipped to me.

Over the next 3 months I contacted Verizon several times. I was promised 4 different shipping labels would be mailed to me. NONE ARRIVED. I was sent 2 different links by email to print my shipping label to return the first phone as defective. Both links led to a page that said the label could not be printed. I spent HOURS in your Verizon store in Champaign (North Prospect Ave), and no one there could figure out where to send the defective phone. Of course, they refused to take it also.

Two weeks ago my wife returned to that same Verizon store and an employee there was finally able to figure out how to print a return shipping label for this defective phone. We shipped it off and Verizon received it the next day. I am STILL BEING CHARGED for this defective phone, WHICH YOU NOW HAVE. This is the worst customer service of any national company I have ever experienced. Is this how you treat your loyal customers?

 

[Jaingo5150]

Sorry you had problems sending it back. I've had to mess with the whole deal with Motorola issue on my first moto x. I'm a retailer and it was difficult for me to realize the "made for you" phones are sub contracted. Verizon has much more flexibility if it was one of their stock phones. Crazy issue though.

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[Sandman333]

There is simply NO excuse for how Verizon has handled this. It would be Verizon, not Motorola, that would charge me an early termination fee if I left them before the 2 year contract was up. I think filing complaints with the BBB and my State Attorney General under Consumer Fraud Protection is in order now. Another Verizon rep lied to us the other day when he assured us he would get back to us..... no return call whatsoever. That makes about 6 of them now. From my experience, lying to customers is standard Verizon practice.

 

[coldRooster]

I have come to HATE Verizon. I just posted this on their FB page. This is easily the WORST customer service experience of my life with any major company.

The fact that you got the phone to be processed as DOA is more then Verizon should have done. They aren't the ones that manufacture the phones, other companies are. When you do the design your own it's not going to Verizon it goes to Motorola as they are the ones that build it. A lot of your anger seems misplaced at a company who's not responsible for you getting a bad phone.

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[Sandman333]

Did Verizon sell me this phone? Yes they did. Did I pay Motorola for the phone? No, I got a bill from Verizon. When you buy a car at the dealer, the dealer is responsible. Try getting warranty service directly from the car manufacturer some time. Let us know how far you get. The dealer sells you the car. Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, etc, do not. It is Verizon, not Motorola, that would assess me an early termination fee if I left before my contract is up. Verizon needs to step up to the plate here. I paid for a new phone and got a defective phone. It was discovered to be defective within a day of receiving it. Verizon is responsible, period.

 

[coldRooster]

Did Verizon sell me this phone? Yes they did. Did I pay Motorola for the phone? No, I got a bill from Verizon. When you buy a car at the dealer, the dealer is responsible. Try getting warranty service directly from the car manufacturer some time. Let us know how far you get. The dealer sells you the car. Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, etc, do not. It is Verizon, not Motorola, that would assess me an early termination fee if I left before my contract is up. Verizon needs to step up to the plate here. I paid for a new phone and got a defective phone. It was discovered to be defective within a day of receiving it. Verizon is responsible, period.

If you buy a car from a dealer and that vehicle then gets recalled are you going to go back to the dealer and yell at them for something that's not their fault? Because according to your logic you would. Verizon doesn't manufacture equipment. Just like car dealers don't manufacture cars.

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[coldRooster]

Did Verizon sell me this phone? Yes they did. Did I pay Motorola for the phone? No, I got a bill from Verizon. When you buy a car at the dealer, the dealer is responsible. Try getting warranty service directly from the car manufacturer some time. Let us know how far you get. The dealer sells you the car. Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, etc, do not. It is Verizon, not Motorola, that would assess me an early termination fee if I left before my contract is up. Verizon needs to step up to the plate here. I paid for a new phone and got a defective phone. It was discovered to be defective within a day of receiving it. Verizon is responsible, period.

Not saying they couldn't have done something better, but th make your own Motorola equipment is made by Motorola so when it comes to replacing Verizon can't just snap their fingers and make it happen. Verizon doesn't make money off of phones so you can sure as hell bet they aren't going to take a hit and replace something they aren't responsible for.

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[doogald]

The car dealer analogy is a bad one in this case. The Droid brand is owned by Verizon, not by Motorola, and Verizon contracts out with Motorola to make and support them. It would be more like Joe the Car Dealer hiring GM to make Joe's Brand car made by GM, and the car dealer structure doesn't work that way. (Or, better, that Joe sold you a car that works on only his roads. The car market just isn't like the phone market.)

This was handled badly by Verizon, but, in hindsight, if this phone was bad within 14 days you could have returned it for a full refund. And I am pretty sure that your contract with Verizon, which you agreed to when you accepted the phone, is that they can satisfy warranty claims with refurbished models.

What's ironic in this case is that they likely had no refurbs at the time because the phone was brand new, so you would have likely received a new device anyway at the time if you hadn't been so stubborn about it. Again, even if the replacement made you unhappy, you were within 14 days and could have returned it for a full refund.

I'm sympathetic, but you didn't do yourself any favors by demanding special treatment.

I hope you get your $320 back. It may be that it just takes some time on their end to process the return.

Buy only unlocked phones from now on (iPhone or Nexus or Moto X Pure, though I know you're unlikely to buy a Moto again) from the manufacturer.

 

[Sandman333]

The car dealer analogy is a bad one in this case. The Droid brand is owned by Verizon, not by Motorola, and Verizon contracts out with Motorola to make and support them. It would be more like Joe the Car Dealer hiring GM to make Joe's Brand car made by GM, and the car dealer structure doesn't work that way. (Or, better, that Joe sold you a car that works on only his roads. The car market just isn't like the phone market.)

This was handled badly by Verizon, but, in hindsight, if this phone was bad within 14 days you could have returned it for a full refund. And I am pretty sure that your contract with Verizon, which you agreed to when you accepted the phone, is that they can satisfy warranty claims with refurbished models.

What's ironic in this case is that they likely had no refurbs at the time because the phone was brand new, so you would have likely received a new device anyway at the time if you hadn't been so stubborn about it. Again, even if the replacement made you unhappy, you were within 14 days and could have returned it for a full refund.

I'm sympathetic, but you didn't do yourself any favors by demanding special treatment.

I hope you get your $320 back. It may be that it just takes some time on their end to process the return.

Buy only unlocked phones from now on (iPhone or Nexus or Moto X Pure, though I know you're unlikely to buy a Moto again) from the manufacturer.

So, it's my fault. Got it....

 

[Sandman333]

If you buy a car from a dealer and that vehicle then gets recalled are you going to go back to the dealer and yell at them for something that's not their fault? Because according to your logic you would. Verizon doesn't manufacture equipment. Just like car dealers don't manufacture cars.

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You are damned sure not going to go to Ford corporate headquarters to get your Taurus repaired under warranty or fixed under a recall, now are you? No, you are going to go to a dealer every single time.

 

[coldRooster]

The car dealer analogy is a bad one in this case. The Droid brand is owned by Verizon, not by Motorola, and Verizon contracts out with Motorola to make and support them. It would be more like Joe the Car Dealer hiring GM to make Joe's Brand car made by GM, and the car dealer structure doesn't work that way. (Or, better, that Joe sold you a car that works on only his roads. The car market just isn't like the phone market.)

This was handled badly by Verizon, but, in hindsight, if this phone was bad within 14 days you could have returned it for a full refund. And I am pretty sure that your contract with Verizon, which you agreed to when you accepted the phone, is that they can satisfy warranty claims with refurbished models.

What's ironic in this case is that they likely had no refurbs at the time because the phone was brand new, so you would have likely received a new device anyway at the time if you hadn't been so stubborn about it. Again, even if the replacement made you unhappy, you were within 14 days and could have returned it for a full refund.

I'm sympathetic, but you didn't do yourself any favors by demanding special treatment.

I hope you get your $320 back. It may be that it just takes some time on their end to process the return.

Buy only unlocked phones from now on (iPhone or Nexus or Moto X Pure, though I know you're unlikely to buy a Moto again) from the manufacturer.

Incorrect. It's licensed to Verizon Wireless exclusively. Verizon doesn't own it. Lucasfilms actually own the brand but that's irrelevant. Motorola manufacturers the phones exclusively to Verizon as licensing deals.

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[Sandman333]

Incorrect. It's licensed to Verizon Wireless exclusively. Verizon doesn't own it. Lucasfilms actually own the brand but that's irrelevant. Motorola manufacturers the phones exclusively to Verizon as licensing deals.

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Just as only Ford dealers are licensed to sell new Fords, Chevy dealers are licensed to sell new Chevrolets, etc...

 

[coldRooster]

You are damned sure not going to go to Ford corporate headquarters to get your Taurus repaired under warranty or fixed under a recall, now are you? No, you are going to go to a dealer every single time.

Actually I go to my mechanic. But your anaology doesn't work because if you break your phone it's on you not Verizon. I'm saying if you get something defective from a SELLER it's not their fault because they didn't make it. It's the manufacturers.

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[coldRooster]

Just as only Ford dealers are licensed to sell new Fords, Chevy dealers are licensed to sell new Chevrolets, etc...

And what's your point? They're licensed to do that, it doesn't mean it's their fault when your car stops working.

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[Sandman333]

And what's your point? They're licensed to do that, it doesn't mean it's their fault when your car stops working.

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My point is, and has been, where do you go when your car stops working? The dealer. The dealer sold you the car. Where do you go when your phone stops working? Verizon. Verizon sold the phone. Motorola didn't. Verizon has me under contract because they sold the phone. Motorola doesn't. Verizon needs to take responsibility.

BTW, I didn't have the option to return within 14 days because I used this phone to extend a UDP contract. I ordered it as soon as the phone was released, but the delay in getting it shipped meant that once the defect was discovered, there wasn't enough time to return it (cancelling the contract) and then order again before the higher UDP fees kicked in (that Verizon implemented mid-November). I got stuck in a Catch-22, though before ANYONE suggests otherwise, I was playing by the rules Verizon set...

 

[Sandman333]

Actually I go to my mechanic. But your anaology doesn't work because if you break your phone it's on you not Verizon. I'm saying if you get something defective from a SELLER it's not their fault because they didn't make it. It's the manufacturers.

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I didn't break my phone. It was shipped to me DEFECTIVE. Why is this so difficult to understand? I powered it on, went through the setup process, and immediately it started randomly disconnecting from the cell network. Sometimes it required a phone restart to get the network back at all. Other Verizon phones right next to mine had none of those problems. Verizon tech support determined that it was a defective phone right out of the box. In BOTH CASES, you go back to the seller to get warranty/replacement, not the manufacturer. Again, why is this so difficult to understand?

 

[coldRooster]

I didn't break my phone. It was shipped to me DEFECTIVE. Why is this so difficult to understand? I powered it on, went through the setup process, and immediately it started randomly disconnecting from the cell network. Sometimes it required a phone restart to get the network back at all. Other Verizon phones right next to mine had none of those problems. Verizon tech support determined that it was a defective phone right out of the box. In BOTH CASES, you go back to the seller to get warranty/replacement, not the manufacturer. Again, why is this so difficult to understand?

Verizon didn't make the phone it's not their problem if it doesn't work. It's Motorola's. Why is it so difficult to understand?

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[metacuate]

Verizon didn't make the phone it's not their problem if it doesn't work. It's Motorola's. Why is it so difficult to understand?

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Verizon is responsible. You would know that if you knew anything about the cell phone business.

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[doogald]

So, it's my fault. Got it....

I did not say it was your fault, but, based on your own description of events, I believe that you overreacted. I've already explained why.

You keep bringing up a car analogy which, as I say, doesn't really fit, but if your car needs warranty repair you don't have to bring it to your dealer - you can bring it to any dealer licensed to do warranty work for the manufacturer. (Another way the analogy fails.). But here's one where it kind of works: you can't demand a new replacement car when there is a defect in delivery. The manufacturer will see that your car is repaired or it will fall under lemon laws, which means that the dealer (not the manufacturer) has to take it back and return your money, not replace it with a new car - which you could have done with your phone within 14 days. And if the dealer had a special deal that had expired by the time you returned the car, as you say about Verizon's unlimited data plan changes in your case - you won't necessarily get that special deal again from your car dealer if you return a lemon and buy a new one when the deal expired.

Again, I feel bad for you. Nobody deserves to have a bad phone delivered, and you certainly suffered some bad luck, and I hope you get the money issue settled without having to go to court.

 

[coldRooster]

Verizon is responsible. You would know that if you knew anything about the cell phone business.

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I work for Big Red so I'm quite aware how it works but thanks for your not so valuable input.

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