[onlymiah]

I am having a problem with the screen of my Storm 2 phone. I contacted Verizon Wireless and they informed me there is nothing they can do for me because I did not purchase the phone from them, despite the fact that I purchased this phone new from the Verizon counter in my local Wal-Mart. They told me Wal-Mart was wrong to have sold me this phone without either a contract extension or a new contract. Verizon said they have no proof that I did not purchase this phone on eBay and am now trying to get a "certified like new" replacement phone. This is making me very upset. Wal-Mart said there is nothing they can do as it is past their 30-day return window. Verizon Wireless said there is nothing they can do because they have no proof I purchased the phone through them. Verizon gave me a phone number to contact RIM. I call that number and am told I have to use their pay per incident technical support. Where do I turn? RIM warranties their phones 1 year from date of purchase, yet why am I stuck with a lemon phone and no way to get a replacement? Can anybody help me here? I have my original sales receipt from Wal-Mart, yet that is not good enough proof for Verizon that I did not purchase this phone on eBay!! ARGH!!!

[1812dave]

Bummer. Your story is illustrative of why I always buy my phones from a Verizon factory store--NEVER an authorized reseller. If I have to swap out a defective phone, I know I can do it at the factory store with no hassle other than waiting my turn if the store is busy.

Chalk this up to a lesson learned.

[onlymiah]

I just received a reply from RIM email. They are giving me the same run around the phone system did. Wanting me to purchase a technical subscription or pay per incident technical support.

[onlymiah]

This just absolutely floors me! I just go through to RIM on the phone. They are very sorry but there is nothing they can do for me since I did not purchase the phone through a carrier!! WHAT ON EARTH???? They manufactured the phone, yet they can provide me no support? The phone is branded Verizon, yet they can offer me no support. Where do I turn???

[o4liberty]

Did you activate the phone on verizons network as soon as you bought it? If you did Walmart is a authorized dealer and with a receipt they should cover it under warranty. You are leaving something out this does not seem right.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[o4liberty]

What is the problem you are having with your screen?

[onlymiah]

No, I am not leaving anything out. I purchased this phone from Wal-Mart. Drove home and activated it immediately on the Verizon website. Verizon told me they can see I activated it on that date. Wal-Mart said there is nothing they can do for me because it is past the 30 day return window (I purchased this phone on 11/13/2009).

The issue I am having with the screen is with clicking. I can be typing and it will click more than once, selecting the wrong letter or a menu that I do not wish. Other times it just shuts down the program I am typing in. Other times I touch the screen and it does a rapid fire series of clicks in succession.

If Wal-Mart made the error in selling me this phone without a contract extension or new contract, how is that my fault?

[o4liberty]

Have you tried reloading the os in the phone? If that doesnt work you should send a email to verizon corporate and I thing they will take care of it I have always had good luck with that.

[Ultrafied]

RIM warrants to carriers for a year, not to an individual. Verizon appears not to have been provided the correct documentation by WalMart to give you any service. This is WalMart's responsibility. As Dave said earlier, great reason why to buy within the carriers own stores. Good luck.

[tech_head]

Hi,

I can see where Verizon won't deal with the phone since they did not sell it they are under no obligation beyond insurance. If you have TEC then the issue "should" be different. RIM didn't sell the phone and tell you to go through the carrier which is not out of line, since trying to handle warranty claims on an individual basis is a nightmare.

Walfart bears the responsibility.
Another reason I only buy from Verizon directly and never shop at Walfart for anything.

[1812dave]

Hi,


Another reason I only buy from Verizon directly and never shop at Walfart for anything.

Wally World is fine for staples. I get sodas and juice for about 1/2 the price of my local supermarkets (like Lucky). I'm not about to by high tech stuff there. No way!

[EnergyPlus]

Ok, so now everyone has advised you with words of wisdom, which is fine, but isn't helping with the more immediate problem. First, WalMart IS a "satisfaction guaranteed" store. I suspect, if you fight them hard enough (as in, go up the chain of command) you can win this. There's a famous story, written in a business book I once read, that tells of a big, regional meeting with Sam Walton as the keynote speaker. The room was picked with the managers and assistant managers from the multi-state area. The room fell silent as Sam took the stage. Taking a sip of water, he reached under the podium and pulled out a Sears Craftsman hammer. Holding it up, he announced "This hammer was returned to Store # (xx or whatever). I'd like to know who authorized this return?" Nobody spoke, afraid the ax (or hammer in this case) was going to fall. Finally, a hand reluctantly came up. "I'm manager of that store, sir." "Would you please come up here?" Sam asked. The manager came to the front of the room, afraid of what was going to happen. Suddenly, Sam reached out, shook the guy's hand and congratulated him! "You took this hammer back, knowing full well that it did NOT come from our store. But, the customer got their money back and then went and spent it elsewhere in our store. THAT is "customer satisfaction."

Your situation is not even remotely close to the fraud that was committed in the story, so really, you should be able to win this, you just need to reach the right person and keep a civil head about you (in spite of your frustration). If need be, right corporate headquarters in Arkansas and tell them (and please, keep us posted!).

[1812dave]

Ok, so now everyone has advised you with words of wisdom, which is fine, but isn't helping with the more immediate problem. First, WalMart IS a "satisfaction guaranteed" store. I suspect, if you fight them hard enough (as in, go up the chain of command) you can win this. There's a famous story, written in a business book I once read, that tells of a big, regional meeting with Sam Walton as the keynote speaker. The room was picked with the managers and assistant managers from the multi-state area. The room fell silent as Sam took the stage. Taking a sip of water, he reached under the podium and pulled out a Sears Craftsman hammer. Holding it up, he announced "This hammer was returned to Store # (xx or whatever). I'd like to know who authorized this return?" Nobody spoke, afraid the ax (or hammer in this case) was going to fall. Finally, a hand reluctantly came up. "I'm manager of that store, sir." "Would you please come up here?" Sam asked. The manager came to the front of the room, afraid of what was going to happen. Suddenly, Sam reached out, shook the guy's hand and congratulated him! "You took this hammer back, knowing full well that it did NOT come from our store. But, the customer got their money back and then went and spent it elsewhere in our store. THAT is "customer satisfaction."

Your situation is not even remotely close to the fraud that was committed in the story, so really, you should be able to win this, you just need to reach the right person and keep a civil head about you (in spite of your frustration). If need be, right corporate headquarters in Arkansas and tell them (and please, keep us posted!).

Don't get his hopes up too high. The rules for returns are spelled out clearly at Walmart. It is what it is and if he gets them to replace it, so much the better, but let's not get ahead of ourselves with your feel-good story.

[dkingsf]

Wally World is fine for staples. I get sodas and juice for about 1/2 the price of my local supermarkets (like Lucky). I'm not about to by high tech stuff there. No way!

I have to agree with the above though. If you buy a TV or something like that from WM and have a problem you can take it back within 30 days, no problems. Not sure why not a phone.

I think you need to check again with them. Talk to a "manager" and go to the big guy if you need to.


EDIT: OOPS, sorry didn't read that it's past the 30 day window. You are stuck I believe. WM Rules!

[onlymiah]

Thank you for your replies. I wrote to Verizon again (hey it can't hurt). I was not rude or nasty, I stated my case and told them it was not right or fair for me to take the loss on their resellers mistake. I have not heard back from them. In their prior email to me they told me how much my "loyalty and longevity" means to them. I told them if they mean what they say they will resolve this matter. I don't know if it will do any good or not. I know different times dealing with customer service, it all depends on who you talk to in what results you get. One Verizon rep told me they charge to change your phone number, I called later they told me that is wrong they do not charge. So who was right? Anyway, my phone is not un-usable, it does it by fits and spurts, sometimes a hard reset fixes it for a while and other times it doesn't fix it. I can also try talking to Wal-Mart tomorrow and see where that gets me. I guess lesson learned, always order right through Verizon's website or their corporate store. I never dreamed that they weren't allowed to sell you a phone without a contract or a contract extension. I thought if you were paying full price for it, they will sell it to you. I could also sell it on eBay "As Is" (making that clear in the listing) and see what I can get out of it. That is better than eating a $500 phone!

[dkingsf]

Thank you for your replies. I wrote to Verizon again (hey it can't hurt). I was not rude or nasty, I stated my case and told them it was not right or fair for me to take the loss on their resellers mistake. I have not heard back from them. In their prior email to me they told me how much my "loyalty and longevity" means to them. I told them if they mean what they say they will resolve this matter. I don't know if it will do any good or not. I know different times dealing with customer service, it all depends on who you talk to in what results you get. One Verizon rep told me they charge to change your phone number, I called later they told me that is wrong they do not charge. So who was right? Anyway, my phone is not un-usable, it does it by fits and spurts, sometimes a hard reset fixes it for a while and other times it doesn't fix it. I can also try talking to Wal-Mart tomorrow and see where that gets me. I guess lesson learned, always order right through Verizon's website or their corporate store. I never dreamed that they weren't allowed to sell you a phone without a contract or a contract extension. I thought if you were paying full price for it, they will sell it to you. I could also sell it on eBay "As Is" (making that clear in the listing) and see what I can get out of it. That is better than eating a $500 phone!

Here's one thing to try. I have had some issues with screen being hard to press at times and it has cleared up when I upgraded my OS. Try that, make sure you are on the latest OS 713 or even go back to the SaskaTel 517, which seemed to have no errors when I was on it.

Check and if you are on 607 OS, dump it. I had nothing but problems with it, although many have had great success.

Can't hurt, right?

[onlymiah]

I thought maybe an OS upgrade would fix the problem and I upgraded to 713 and I am still having the issue. Somebody mention reloading the OS? How do you go about this? Is that using the security wipe and starting over fresh?

[paulwright1]

so you have absolutely no Proof of Purchase from Wal-mart ie receipt, bank statement etc? From my experience Wal-mart should have the serial numbers of the devices they purchased

[onlymiah]

YES! I have proof of purchase. I have both the original receipt AND the charge on my credit card statement.

[dkingsf]

so you have absolutely no Proof of Purchase from Wal-mart ie receipt, bank statement etc?

No he said he's got that, the issue is the "past the 30 days" thing. That's Walmart policy. And since they are reseller, warrant is his only option. That should be VZ or RIM.

[dkingsf]

I thought maybe an OS upgrade would fix the problem and I upgraded to 713 and I am still having the issue. Somebody mention reloading the OS? How do you go about this? Is that using the security wipe and starting over fresh?

Try lyricidals hybrid based on 713 at this link:
Storm2/9530 - .758 Hybrid (713/607/591-Based) - Downloads - BBHybrids Forums

If it's truly a hardware issue it won't help. But like I said, I've had some problems with phone, bb, back and end buttons being hard to press and it cleared up magically with change of OS.

You might also try a downgrade to this: http://forums.crackberry.com/f145/ne...nguage-439179/ worked great, do the wipe and reload after you back everything up. Use the "device switch" procedure out here to save everything, then backup, then wipe, then load OS, then restore if needed.

PIA but if it works your $500 phone will be worth $400 now.

[1812dave]

Thank you for your replies. I wrote to Verizon again (hey it can't hurt). I was not rude or nasty, I stated my case and told them it was not right or fair for me to take the loss on their resellers mistake. I have not heard back from them. In their prior email to me they told me how much my "loyalty and longevity" means to them. I told them if they mean what they say they will resolve this matter. I don't know if it will do any good or not. I know different times dealing with customer service, it all depends on who you talk to in what results you get. One Verizon rep told me they charge to change your phone number, I called later they told me that is wrong they do not charge. So who was right? Anyway, my phone is not un-usable, it does it by fits and spurts, sometimes a hard reset fixes it for a while and other times it doesn't fix it. I can also try talking to Wal-Mart tomorrow and see where that gets me. I guess lesson learned, always order right through Verizon's website or their corporate store. I never dreamed that they weren't allowed to sell you a phone without a contract or a contract extension. I thought if you were paying full price for it, they will sell it to you. I could also sell it on eBay "As Is" (making that clear in the listing) and see what I can get out of it. That is better than eating a $500 phone!

Glad to hear you are being pro-active. Keep us posted on results. Good luck.

[Scotty001]

Do you not have a Fit for purpose legislation or manufacturers warranty in the usa ?? if i purchased an item ie Cell phone, TV etc etc in the UK and it malfunctioned within 12 months from date of purchase you just take the item to the store with the receipt they will send it to the manufacturers for repair / investigation or if its within 28 days they just replace the item there and then , Surely you have some consumer rights other than if i brakes after 30 days TOUGH !!!! go into the store and ask for a copy of their sales of goods act (or your equivalent) and consumer rights act have a read through and then go back to then with the faulty device and say show me in this document where it says if the item brakes after 30 days you have no rights at all. or show me on the original sales receipt you have for me that if the item malfunctions after 30 days you have no responsibility to me for selling an item that is not free from defect or faulty build after 30 day usage. again in the UK items come with free from manufacturers defect / faulty build for 12 months. aka fit for purpose in all manners if its touch screen THE SCREEN NEEDS TO WORK AS INTENDED for a minimum time period that CANT be as little as 30 days cold it if so all items sold in the usa would be designed to fall apart within a month so you would need to buy another one.

[yungcrum]

You could just call them back and have better luck with another rep. I bought my storm 2 from wirefly.com and when my screen wasn't working i called Verizon and they sent me a like new replacement the next day. I don't even have a warranty on my phone.

[EnergyPlus]

Not sure how our warranties compare to those of the UK. We do have various lemon laws and such, but essentially, warranties are covered by: the retailer of the product (and they determine their own warranty parameters) as well as a manufacturer's warranty which is typically longer than that of the retailer. WalMart's warranty on this, as I understand it, is only good for the first 30 days, which leaves the OP out of luck since he's had it for 7 or 8 months now. Still, it should fall under the warranty of RIM itself (1 year). I know though, that sometimes you just have to speak with someone else and go up the chain of command to get customer satisfcation.

Do you not have a Fit for purpose legislation or manufacturers warranty in the usa ?? if i purchased an item ie Cell phone, TV etc etc in the UK and it malfunctioned within 12 months from date of purchase you just take the item to the store with the receipt they will send it to the manufacturers for repair / investigation or if its within 28 days they just replace the item there and then , Surely you have some consumer rights other than if i brakes after 30 days TOUGH !!!! go into the store and ask for a copy of their sales of goods act (or your equivalent) and consumer rights act have a read through and then go back to then with the faulty device and say show me in this document where it says if the item brakes after 30 days you have no rights at all. or show me on the original sales receipt you have for me that if the item malfunctions after 30 days you have no responsibility to me for selling an item that is not free from defect or faulty build after 30 day usage. again in the UK items come with free from manufacturers defect / faulty build for 12 months. aka fit for purpose in all manners if its touch screen THE SCREEN NEEDS TO WORK AS INTENDED for a minimum time period that CANT be as little as 30 days cold it if so all items sold in the usa would be designed to fall apart within a month so you would need to buy another one.