Virgin won't replace my defective phone?!

[nemirn]

I recently convinced my girlfriend to switch Virgin mobile. She likes my Optimus V a lot.
She has a few months left on her crappy AT&T contract.
When the contract is over, she plans to get Virgin's 1200 minute/month plan.

I went ahead and purchased an Optimus V about a week ago from the Virgin website, knowing that these are currently selling like hotcakes, and didn't want to take a chance later on a phone that she might not like.

The problem is, the Optimus V she received has a pretty poor display. The screen is not bright (not even at 100% brightness), the pixels are not crisp, and there is a sickly yellow/green tint.
I contacted Virgin about this, to which they replied that they would only exchange the phone after activation.
(Since she is still on her AT&T contract, we have no need to activate her phone at this time.)

This seems a little unfair to me. I received a defective phone and think it's wrong to require the customer to take any additional action in order to have it replaced.

Does this mean I have to begin the paid plan? Or can I activate the phone without paying?

Any advice or insights?

Thanks! Love this forum!

 

[Takenover83]

Tell them it does not work, and you have no intentions of attempting to activate a none working phone. Ask for a replacement. Or better yet, go back to the place you purchased and ask for a replacement.

 

[nemirn]

Thanks for the response and affirmation.
Since I bought it directly from Virgin, I have to deal with them through e-mail.


P.S. I joined SugarSync with your referreal.

 

[Takenover83]

My apologies. I incorrectly assumed you did not get it directly from Virgin Mobile. Many new folks picked up their V's from Target around Black Friday for $50.

Edit: Awesome

 

[tobashadow#AC]

Tell them it wont activate either.

 

[notown]

activate it now , return it , and use the phone for that month.. you can wait for the att contract to end still

if you deactivate then you still have 60 days to re activate with the same plan and number if you care..

 

[joshgee]

In my experience they respond way better when communicating through twitter. I never call anymore if I have a problem. I just tweet them.

Sent from the Hubble Space Telescope.

 

[Ascariath]

You have the yellow tint too? I thought I was the only one. Anyone else who recently bought a V lately, have the same problem?

 

[Don_GT]

I bought 3 optimus v's ( one for me, my girlfriend, and my sister). Two of them had the new screens and one has the old screen. I compared all 3 and the newer screens seems to have a yellow hue to them and are less vibrant. It's kinda bugs me that I gave my sister the good screen, but the V is a awsome phone either way.

 

[paulkruger]

CONTACT: Virgin won't replace my defective phone?!

CONTACT INFO: Virgin Mobile
===============
Maggie Vaccarella
Customer relations.
Direct Line: 908-607-4158

Margaret.Vaccarella at virginmobileusa.com