Verizon Wireless ripoff Cell service sucks and would only give me refurbished phones! San Francisco California

That pretty much sums it up.

Even if you return the device to Palm (who actually warrants the phone- NOT Verizon), you may get a refurbished phone in exchange from them. You will just have to wait weeks for it as opposed to Verizon being the "middle man" and giving you another phone quicker.

Same holds true for camcorders, cameras, dvd players, etc.

Refurbished equipment is tested and meets or exceeds the manufacturer's original specs. Also, many NEW products right off the line fail. Mainly because new items are not tested as rigorously (sp?) as refurb items.

I am not sure if Verizon repairs phones or not. Most carriers don't- hence the exchange.

As for insurance, that covers if the phone is lost, stolen or damaged. It also picks up after the manufactuer's warranty expires and covers just about everything. All insurance has a deductible and $50 seems the norm for phone insurance. By the way, not all carriers offer insurance on PDA's. Make sure you ask that if you switch carriers.

No... I don't work for, hold stock in, have any association with, or affection for Verizon.

Hope this helps.

John I had the same problem. People don't want to replace a $500.00 phone with a refurbished phone. If refurbished phones were that great people would pay for them from day one. Verizon Sucks.
Jason
El Cajon,
CA

I can totally see why you would be upset when you purchase a device and it stops working within 3 months. I'd be pretty upset myself, and actually have delt with the same thing through a competing company.

But with that being said, I'd like to point out that the return policy is fully explained and actually agreed to at the point of sale. This is actual verbatim which is available on the verizonwireless website.

"If your phone malfunctions as a result of a manufacturing defect after the return and exchange period but within the first year that you own the phone, Verizon Wireless will either exchange your phone for a like unit or one of comparable quality at no cost to you, or assist you in sending the phone to the manufacturer's authorized repair facility."

Verizon Wireless is just an airtime and service provider, not a handset provider. You beef is actually with the provider of the phone. Verizon just allows you to recieve an immediate replacment instead of making you wait for your device to be sent back to your manufacture to be repaired. Imagine if after you took it into a store the agent says "ok, that should be ready in about 3-4 weeks. We will contact you when Motorola sends it back." You would be furious that you agreed to pay for service on a monthly basis but wouldn't be able to use it due to the handset didn't work correclty.

And also I dont quite understand why everyone is always so upset with the idea of a refurbished phone, a refurbished phone is exactly the same device that you just traded to vzw. They take your phone, give you a reburbished and then your old device gets passed onto the manufacture. The manufacture quality tests the phone fixes the issue, and sends it back to the service provider to be used as another refurbished replacment. That cycle continues as long as the phone being returned is not damaged in anyway.

In closing, all providers have this same practice. From cell phone companys to satellite tv providers ( i know i worked for the biggest). This is not new and not some snyde business act. This is an industry standard.