Anyone Had Verizon Replace Faulty Tour for Another Phone?

[eg146]

In January 2010 I got a new Blackberry Tour 9630 and signed a new 2 year contract with Verizon.

First issue was the rebate for the $179 phone was declined due to "that phone has already received it's rebate".

Bottom line, I got a refurb as what should have been a NEW phone. They fixed the rebate issue but every month I was having to get a new Tour because they kept breaking down or not working at all.

In June 2010, I had enough and filed an FCC complaint regarding a misleading and deceptive contract I signed with Verizon.


Verizon corporate got involved right away since the stores kept turning me away with another refub Tour. They wanted me to close that FCC complaint ASAP and had me send proof that I had done so when I got my new phone.

They offered me a new phone but wanted me to pay $50. I said forget it, I'll let the FCC sort this out.

Then they said "OK, we'll waive the $50 and you can chose a new phone in the same price range as the Tour." They even said "it didn't have to be a Blackberry."

I decided to get the Droid 2 since I wasn't sure how the Bold's trackpad was gonna work out since it was still new back then.

Now I just noticed that Verizon changed my contract. Instead of a 2 year agreement starting January 2010, it now says it started September 2010.

I'm furious!

I didn't ask for this mess in the first place. I simply wanted a phone that would make and receive calls.

Calls were dropping like an I-phone in New York City on the AT&T network.

I even had an interview with Verizon on the phone and the call was lost 6 times in 30 minutes. Not a good way to make a first impression.

They even had the nerve to tell me to buy a $150 device to boost my signal at home. I thought that was odd since my Curve 8330 worked just fine at the same home for the last year.

Plus there were many more strange issues the techs could never seem to fix, such as the trackball not working, the phone shutting down on it's own, and disappearing applications that would reappear at will??

I called Verizon again about the contract issue and was told "if you get a new phone, you have to restart your contract. That's how it works for everyone".
They couldn't say why it didn't restart in June 2010 when I got the Droid 2 vs. September 2010.

So now this is my fault that I got a phone that RIM admitted was "problematic in design" and "being discontinued".

I'm dying to find out how "EVERYONE" else was treated when they had their Tour replaced with a new phone either a Bold or other phone.

I would like to know:

1. Who got a new phone to replace the faulty Tour design?

2. When they got the replacement phone?

3. Did you have to restart your contract with Verizon or did your current contract dates change?

You can PM me if you don't want answer these questions online. I will not use anyone's name (even screen name).

I'm just trying to get an idea for when the phone's were replaced and if the contracts were changed.


I've heard the Verizon policy changed right around the time I got the new phone and that some people got new phones and did not have to change their contract start date.

If I can get more facts from others who've had Tours replaced, I may have a better chance with my new FCC complaint.

Verizon will NOT tell me when they started allowing customers to exchange the faulty Tour's for the Bold or similarly priced smartphone.

I find that very odd that they cannot tell me that. I suppose it's because they know if I find out, I'll have a case to get my original contract dates reset which is my ultimate goal since I can't get out of the contract without faking my own death (which has crossed my mind a few times).

Thanks for your input!

[John Yester]

my contract was never changed when I went from a 9630 then to the 9650, then to the Droid 2, then back to the 9650 again. Mine was all handled by Corporate.

[rotaryguy]

Funny you write all this...

Tuesday evening about 10pm EST, I called Verizon because my trackball on my 9630 stopped moving side to side. They overnighted me a new one that shipped the next day and arrived yesterday. I activated it without issues, but within about 3 hours, I was having weird missed calls, data dropping out of 1XEV to 1xev, etc. I called into tech support today, and was moved to tier 2. Spoke with a very nice lady there who had me change some settings. I did that, and she sent me an email asking for me to let her know if I had any further issues. I did within an hour or so, so I emailed her letting her know. She replied within 5 minutes or so letting me know that what I have experiencing was a radio issue, and I would need another phone sent to me.

I at this point said what the heck, and asked if I could get a Bold 9650 in lieu of yet another 9630 since I keep having problems. 4 minutes later she said that's not a problem, and included my order number with my replacement 9650 that's a new device, not certified like new. I asked her to confirm I wouldn't get my contract renewed by doing this, and she replied to me email (so I have it in writing) that there is no change to my contract. So we'll see what actually comes but from the experience I just had, I'm pretty hopeful.

[eg146]

Wow! I had heard some similar stories but am shocked that no one has had an 8 month contract extension due to replacing a faulty phone.

This makes me want to keep pushing for what is fair and equitable. I just want what everyone else was offered. Hoping to get the contract reset so I can leave Verizon 8 months sooner than they have told me I can.

Thank you so much! I appreciate your feedback and honesty

[eg146]

Rotaryguy, I also had "radio" issues. So much so I finally learned what the heck the radio was. It had never been something I had problems with so no reason to know what it was.
I'm SO glad your request for a new phone went smoothly. Did they mention anything about re+starting your contract date once you get the new phone?

John Yester, how did you get to corporate? I kept asking for store managers then asked for their manager and all 3 stores stopped me at the store level.
I only got to corporate by filing an FCC complaint. I had NO idea they were ever going to contact me.
When did you first get a swap out from Verizon for the Bold from the Tour? Was it around last summer like me or much later?
Do you like the Bold better than the Droid?


I've been tempted to get my old curve out since the Droid was so hard to wrap my head around and understand all the features. Blackberry made it so easy to create profiles for how loud the phone rings and when while Droid needs an app for that-lol
I'm used to it now and very happy with Android but I know some people who have companies, prefer having the employees on Backberry.

OK, I'm just trying to figure out when Verizon made the decision to swap Tours for other phones if the customer had issues with the Tour.

I don't want them trying to tell me 'well we changed our policy but it was a couple months after you got a replacement phone'. That might make my fight to restore my contract start date a bit trickier.

Thanks again.