VZW tech agent accused me me of fraud

[soulcurrent]

Just wanted to report this. I'm pretty pissed and offended.

I called tech support for the third time because of an issue with my Eris not receiving texts. I spent an hour of useless troubleshooting with him having to turn my phone off and on a bunch and doing a factory reset. After that didn't fix it (surprise surprise, all that inconvenience for nothing) he tells me I'll have to have it replaced with a refurb. I told him that I don't consider a refurbished phone to be an equal replacement and I'm happy to pay a fee of some kind to get a new Eris, just like I would if I went through the insurance (cause those are new, right? if they're refurbs I'll be pissed...). He LAUGHED at me, and said "Every time a phone comes to the end of its term people call in with excuses to get the new model. This is why we don't make exceptions, or else more people like you would be calling in."

Excuse me? I *never* mentioned a new model. I said I wanted a new Eris, not a refurb, and I was even willing to pay a fee for it. (Taking this opportunity to mention that he said there are new Eris's available, so a refurb wasn't my only option but it's the only one he was willing to give me.)

In any event, the focus here is not whether I should be unhappy about a refurb (ya ya it's 'like new', whatever), it's that he accused me of lying and manipulating, essentially of attempting to defraud Verizon. Really, it is not that unreasonable. Eff you verizon. And eff this Eris now too.

 

[willdogs]

Eris' are no longer made, so chances of you getting a "Brand new" one are almost Zero

Yes, insurance provides you with Refurbs, not new phones.

Yes, that was wrong of him to accuse.

 

[soulcurrent]

Eris' are no longer made, so chances of you getting a "Brand new" one are almost Zero

That's why I mentioned he said there /were/ some available. Doesn't mean he was right. Clearly he was wrong about a lot on this call.

Yes, insurance provides you with Refurbs, not new phones.

Dang Not that I was going that route, just dang that I was wrong.

 

[AntiBling]

Ya they get pretty uptight when you suggest "new" phone. When I was about ready to smash my Eris and they needed to send me a refurbished one, I asked if I could pay the extra money to just upgrade to a Motorola Droid, they shot me down pretty quick.

 

[willdogs]

Rule #1 of getting a new/replacemnt phone from VZW

Don't Ask for it.

Once they exhaust all troubleshooting steps and nothing is fixing your issue, they will most likely offer it.

They all follow a "script" and I'd bet money that their script most likely has an entry to deny people who call ASKING for an upgrade/replacement.

 

[soulcurrent]

Rule #1 of getting a new/replacemnt phone from VZW

Don't Ask for it.

Once they exhaust all troubleshooting steps and nothing is fixing your issue, they will most likely offer it.

They all follow a "script" and I'd bet money that their script most likely has an entry to deny people who call ASKING for an upgrade/replacement.

I didn't ask, he brought it up. I only argued when he said it would be a refurb.
Edited to add that his supervisor is supposed to call me tomorrow.

 

[lilbballer27]

I agree asking will not get you anywhere but if you get a rep that is bad or you do not agree with simply hang up and call again. There are thousands of customer reps waiting to answer the phones. You will get one that will understand and be more helpful to you.

Its worked for me so far. The last call I made I told the lady about my problems and she said ok we will send you a refurb eris which i told her I was un happy about but would accept it. I also said that if it has any problems like mine now what are my options? She said that she will note on my account if the new Eris they send me has problems they will swap it out for the Moto Droid.

So by proof I know you can not ask for a new replacement they will offer you. You just have to find the right rep who is in a good mood.

Hope this helped a little bit.

 

[lukesdiesel]

Eris' are no longer made, so chances of you getting a "Brand new" one are almost Zero

Yes, insurance provides you with Refurbs, not new phones.

Yes, that was wrong of him to accuse.

I just received a brand new eris from Asurion about 12 days ago. They still have new Eris's in stock.

 

[tproctor]

My wife just got a brand new Eris from Asurion last night. I had to call tech support because the activation didn't take the first time and they were pretty good about it. I hated to spend 30 minutes on the phone with them, but it got fixed.

 

[Frisco]

Verizon techs are the same as just about any customer service rep anywhere, from shoe sales reps to McDonald's order takers; they have a spiel they're trained to deliver to the customer in a given situation, but it is against the backdrop of their own personality and mood at the moment.

Somebody mentioned hanging up and calling again; good advice. That can even work in a Verizon store; ask for another rep there, or, the best, kindly leave and go to another store in town or in a town near you.

 

[TheDanimal]

They don't have a set script they follow when on a call, but they do have certain things they're supposed to say during the call but it's not like calling a foreign call center where they have to follow a script through the whole call. They also have troubleshooting guides so they check everything they should be checking. Tech support doesn't really have the ability to decide if you get a new phone or not, that's up to customer service or retail stores or even asurion. The tech reps will put in an order and the company that handles the exchanges sends you what they have. That particular rep was an idiot for accusing you of trying to get a new phone, i bet their supervisor will have some things to say to them about that.

 

[ticklemedaly]

I just received a brand new eris from Asurion about 12 days ago. They still have new Eris's in stock.

Asurion sends out refurbished units. Even if it looks new, some part of it is refurbed.

 

[Podivin]

I agree that he shouldn't have said what he said. However he never actually used the word fraud, nor did he even really imply that. Here merely stated that people will try things to get the newest/next model in line (which I have no problem believing), and he (wrongly) lumped you in with that group of people.
You might want to call Verizon to air your grievance, but I wouldn't say he accused you of fraud.

 

[smacky]

They always mention that the call is being monitored and recorded for quality purposes. Give VZW a call and tell them what happened.

Before doing this, did he explicitly say you were trying to "scam" them or did he just imply you did? Either way is bad, but the latter seems like just a slip up on his part. There really are people that tried to upgrade when a phone goes EOL. I might be one of them, despite having legitimate issues with my Eris.

 

[ravenzero]

this is why i never get insurance, at least not through verizon, you can have phone added to any home owner police, or you can go through squaretrade

Screw asurion

 

[MrWilliams]

My refurb works like a charm.

 

[doogald]

you can have phone added to any home owner policy

Not ours. Our company will not cover portable electronic devices at all, for any price, with any deductible.

 

[Haxcid]

Not ours. Our company will not cover portable electronic devices at all, for any price, with any deductible.

You need a better plan. My renters insurance covers my phone, car while parked at home, and all personal items we own.

 

[W4LLY]

I'm using a refurb phone. No different than the one I origianly got, honestly. Don't see what the big deal is.

Generally a refurb can be someone buying the phone, opening it, walking out the door, and then walking back in to return it because they don't like the color. (I've seen this happen with iPhones before at work) we have to return them to the warehouse, so they can be refurb'd, generally.

 

[piccolo775]

Ya they get pretty uptight when you suggest "new" phone. When I was about ready to smash my Eris and they needed to send me a refurbished one, I asked if I could pay the extra money to just upgrade to a Motorola Droid, they shot me down pretty quick.

When I started having issues with my Eris a couple of months ago, they offered me a refurbished Moto Droid, but I declined. I just wanted my Eris replaced with another Eris, which is exactly what I got.

 

[xx_bishop_xx]

My refurbished has been solid for the 2 months that I've had it. Certainly beats the experience I had with my original store-purchased unit.

 

[Demache]

I'm using a refurb phone. No different than the one I origianly got, honestly. Don't see what the big deal is.

Generally a refurb can be someone buying the phone, opening it, walking out the door, and then walking back in to return it because they don't like the color. (I've seen this happen with iPhones before at work) we have to return them to the warehouse, so they can be refurb'd, generally.

I don't get it either. My refurb has zero issues. Whereas my store bought one developed the trackball issue within the first month of having it.

It seems that people have this phobia of getting a device that isn't "brand-new". In reality, sometimes the refurbs are better, since they actually have someone looking at the individual device and cleaning it up and replacing the parts. As long as it has no scratches, and works perfectly fine, I consider it to be [like]new. Mine even came with a diagnostic sheet for the radios in the phone showing that it passed quality control.

 

[doogald]

You need a better plan. My renters insurance covers my phone, car while parked at home, and all personal items we own.

I am not a renter. I do have personal property protection, but they will not cover small personal electronics like phones, ipods, etc., for accidental damage or loss, as Assurion does, or Squaretrade does. I think stolen property is covered, but only if it is stolen from within our property.

 

[soulcurrent]

I don't get it either. My refurb has zero issues. Whereas my store bought one developed the trackball issue within the first month of having it.

It seems that people have this phobia of getting a device that isn't "brand-new".

I'm not afraid of getting a refurb. It's like getting a used car (and yes it's a bad comparison, every car to phone comparison is and there's always someone on these boards that points that out) and I get used cars all the time, but in THIS case I won't accept it. It's not about the phone, it's about the principle.

Generally a refurb can be someone buying the phone, opening it, walking out the door, and then walking back in to return it because they don't like the color.

I'm well aware of that, but since the Eris isn't being made anymore I think the chances of getting one of those is pretty slim. (Confirmed by a Verizon store manager)

That particular rep was an idiot for accusing you of trying to get a new phone, i bet their supervisor will have some things to say to them about that.

Except that his supervisor didn't call me. Shocking. I sent off an email to customer support and I'll try to get in touch with that supervisor tomorrow.

I'm ready to throw the phone out the window and tell Verizon to sod off. ETF be damned. They'll get it, eventually, one nickel at a time.

 

[andrizoid]

Eris' are no longer made, so chances of you getting a "Brand new" one are almost Zero

Yes, insurance provides you with Refurbs, not new phones.

Yes, that was wrong of him to accuse.

i believe its Eri