Back in November of 2013 I purchase a brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and signed a 2 year contract. Less than 3 months later, the phone started randomly cycling power on its own, the screen would freeze, service would drop out randomly, and at one point, the flash started going off on it's own in the middle of the night while it was on the charger. Outside of the power cycling, the only way to remedy the problem was by doing a battery pull and resetting the device.
I called into customer service to report the issue, and they had me go through various trouble shooting steps, which ended with them sending me a "certified like new" device. I received the new phone, and within 2-3 months, it started doing the same thing. So another call to customer service and a couple more hours on the phone, they decided to send me another "certified like new" device. At this point, I expressed my disappointment with the certified like new devices and that I only had a new phone for less than 3 months. At that point, the representative stated that if this happens again that he would send me a new device. He then gave me his email address and told me to contact him it the problem returned or if there was anything else going on.
Well you guessed it, the phone started doing the same thing as the old ones. I emailed the representative, Wilton, four times and he did not respond to even 1 email. I called customer service and was bounced from department to department and was talking to people for over 2 hours on this tour, and they stated that there were no call notes to be found stating that a new device was to be sent out if the problem occurred again. They said that they did not see any call notes from this guy but after me probing and making suggestions, I told them to check the sales order that had to be created to send out the replacement device to me. I spoke with management and they said that they were going to look into this and call me back. That was over a month ago and I have heard nothing.
I gave it a couple of weeks and called back and they told me that there was nothing in the system describing this conversation and after speaking to a manager, he said that they were able to locate where Wilton worked and that they would reach out to his supervisor and they would track down the call and listen to it. If in fact Wilton did state that he would send em a new device, they would honor this and ship it out. The manager stated that he would call me a week later to discuss the findings. 2.5 weeks went by and I never heard from him or anyone from Verizon.
So today 8/23/14 I call to check the status of this, and was on the phone for over 3 hours. Bounced from one department to the next, and there was absolutely no communication from one department to the next, so I had to repeat this long drawn out story each time. Keep in mind, I spoke to 6+ people in one phone call. The technician in customer service said that they could not solve the problem transferred me to a manager. They said that they were going to connect me to tech support because they were the ones that had to process new phones. I was placed on hold and she said that after having the phone replace 4 times, that tech support would replace the device with a new one.
Once connected to Tech support, I of course had to tell the entire background story, and the tech support rep stated that they never send out new devices and that I was misinformed. I expressed my extreme displeasure and feel that I was misled on multiple occasions. There was no follow up done by any of the representatives that said that they would contact me, and in the end, I spoke with a woman for over an hour, that told me that my options were to: 1. send the phone directly to Samsung and wait for them to repair it and return it to me. They may send a new device or used one but she did not know. 2. purchase a device at full price. 3. Upgrade my device for a discounted price. 4 upgrade another line on my account and use that one. 5. Send my phone in and have Verizon buy it back at a reduced price, and purchase a "pre-owned" device. or 6. Or get another certified like new device sent out to me.
At this point I am extremely disappointed with Verizon, their customer service, and their resolution of problems. There was not one person that I spoke with that was able to handle the issue, and I am now stuck with a used phone that I paid close to $400 for. What are my options and who do I take this to to solve it and return to my good feelings toward Verizon? Is there an email address? A phone number? ANYTHING? I would be happy even with then breaking my contracts and not charging me so that I can move on with a different service provider at this point.PLEASE HELP!!
Signed,
An extremely disgruntled and disappointed customer
>> Personal information removed to comply with the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service <<
Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator
You were already told your options. You listed 6. What more do you want?
What I want is what they stated they were going to do. They said that they were going to send me a new phone not a used one, and they have not done this. They are now saying that it is not their policy to send new phones. If that is the case, then 3 different people should not have told me that they would do this then.
It is not VZW's responsibility to warranty your phone. They send you a phone that is sent to them by Samsung. They do this so that you don't have to go to Samsung directly for warranty issues. Should you think that you are somehow exempt from Samsung's warranty clearly stated in the information included in the phone's box my recommendation would be to contact Samsung directly. I'm so nice that I looked up their number. It is 1-800-987-HELP.
You do have another option......Switch to Sprint. They will reimburse your ETF. You've already stated your willingness to change carriers.
You seem to have a problem calling them time and time again. Sorry for the straight forward but if I had the first problem on the phone I would of been in a company store explaining it all. As their representatives will be there the next day and you would of gotten the right answer the first time. See they switch the phone out for a new refurbished phone and that is always what you will get not a new one. That is part of your phones warranty. It has nothing to do with Verizon but the people that made the phone and you will get the same thing from any other provider. That is how the phone makers deal with flaws in their product. If that has happened to once and the other phone did the same thing just means you got one that was not fixed and that does not happen often but does happen from time to time. Just get a new refurbished phone again and hope it all works out this time. I know if you were to go to a store you would be better off. As I have nothing but good things to say about the company store I go to. Keep in mind their are some stores that say they a verizon store but are just an authrized Verizon dealer. Try to stay clear of them as they cannot help you like a true company Verizon store can.
An ongoing problem that happens on multiple device is usually indicative of a software problem. If that is the case, and suspect it is, the OP can have 20 replacements and it would happen. You ask, what makes me an expert? I have a few years in the industry and troubleshooting mobile devices.
So what do I do about it?
So all the phones have the same exact troubles huh? Do you have a memory card in it? What do they have in common? Same battery/ Google account/Sim?
A software issue.
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
