Need some insight from another rep regarding T-Mo and Asurion

[efn77mx]

I was listening in on a rather disturbing conversation between my sister and a t-mobile rep last night. Here's a bit of background on this. A few days ago when she finally changed the wallpaper image on her 8320, she noticed a lot of dust under the lcd lens cover. She asked me to take a look at it, and I found that the lens cover was coming unglued on one side. Since we were out and about yesterday, we stopped at a T-Mo kiosk at a nearby mall. The rep there said it was not a manufacturer defect, and the insurance that she pays monthly for, will probably not cover it because there is physical damage on the phone (REALLY minor scratches). Okay, then why the F*** is she paying insurance for, if they won't cover damage? I told her to calm down and walk away...and we'd call t-mo later in the day.

This is where I need another rep's advice. She explained her story to the customer service rep, that the cover was coming unglued and dust was getting onto the lcd display itself. She mentioned what had happened at the t-mo kiosk, and inquired about paying the deductible and having the phone replaced. This is where I want to beat my head against the wall. The rep told her, that she could NOT use the insurance until the manufacturers warranty had expired. WTF????

So am I to understand, that she's being charged every month for a service that she CANNOT use until she's had the phone for a year? I would think that she'd be entitled to have ALL the money she's paid so far, REFUNDED to her, if she's not allowed to use this service. Am I in the wrong for thinking this? Or was this T-Mo rep just completely full of unbelievable bull****?

Oh I feel the need to add that at NO time, did she become irate with the service rep. On the contrary. I'll give her MAD props because she handled it a lot better than I would've.

[NorrisCell]

Originally Posted by efn77mx

I was listening in on a rather disturbing conversation between my sister and a t-mobile rep last night. Here's a bit of background on this. A few days ago when she finally changed the wallpaper image on her 8320, she noticed a lot of dust under the lcd lens cover. She asked me to take a look at it, and I found that the lens cover was coming unglued on one side. Since we were out and about yesterday, we stopped at a T-Mo kiosk at a nearby mall. The rep there said it was not a manufacturer defect, and the insurance that she pays monthly for, will probably not cover it because there is physical damage on the phone (REALLY minor scratches). Okay, then why the F*** is she paying insurance for, if they won't cover damage? I told her to calm down and walk away...and we'd call t-mo later in the day.

This is where I need another rep's advice. She explained her story to the customer service rep, that the cover was coming unglued and dust was getting onto the lcd display itself. She mentioned what had happened at the t-mo kiosk, and inquired about paying the deductible and having the phone replaced. This is where I want to beat my head against the wall. The rep told her, that she could NOT use the insurance until the manufacturers warranty had expired. WTF????

So am I to understand, that she's being charged every month for a service that she CANNOT use until she's had the phone for a year? I would think that she'd be entitled to have ALL the money she's paid so far, REFUNDED to her, if she's not allowed to use this service. Am I in the wrong for thinking this? Or was this T-Mo rep just completely full of unbelievable bull****?

Oh I feel the need to add that at NO time, did she become irate with the service rep. On the contrary. I'll give her MAD props because she handled it a lot better than I would've.

It sounds like she has been dealing with some severely misinformed reps.

Call care and ask to be transferred to BB support. Explain the situation. They may or may not deem it physical damage. If they do, hang up and call 866-268-7221 for Asurion. Your insurance with Asurion covers ALL physical damage at ALL times as long as it was not intentionally inflicted.

[fjerske]

Even if it was intentionally damaged, the insurance will cover it. You could even buy a replacement housing and change ot your self (if your comfortable with it and would be cheaper too).

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[NorrisCell]

Originally Posted by fjerske

Even if it was intentionally damaged, the insurance will cover it.

This is not correct. The terms specifically exclude intentional damage. You don't have to be honest about the cause of the damage, of course

[efn77mx]

Thanks for the input. I guess the only logical explanation is that this particular rep was misinformed. I spoke to my sister earlier, who'd spoken with t-mo again during her lunch break. She was told they could send out a replacement phone. If the one she sends back shows physical damage that would've caused the lens to come unglued like that, then she'd be charged 100 bucks. Which I agree is still less expensive than what her deductible would be if she does go through Asurion. And this would certainly be cheaper than changing carriers, which is what she was wanting to do last night when she got off the phone. But I talked her out of that. Just because I'm with Verizon, it doesn't mean that I don't think highly of T-Mo, because I do.

As far as the type of damage goes...the only times I've intentionally damaged a phone in the past, is when I have no intention of replacing it whatsoever. If she's dropped that phone (and I don't see any evidence of that at all) then it was purely accidental. I have seen replacement housings and such on various sites. But I didn't want to void her warranty, and I feel an infinite times more comfortable taking an engine apart and putting it back together, than a very small electronic device.

The phone will be replaced. Now whether or not she's charged for it, that's yet to be seen.

[Myveggies]

I don't think she should be charge one cent if the phone is still under the first year's warranty. Assuming it's not your sister's fault, this is a manufacturer defect.

If you bought the $5.99 PHP bundle then the warranty still works and you still should not pay anything. If you bought just the $4.79 insurance and it's been more than a year, you can always just call Asurion and say you lost your phone (don't say stolen because you might need police report) and pay the deductible for a replacement.

Under NO circumstance you are out of luck on this issue at all.