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I've been paying for so called "insurance" with my cell phone plan for YEARS. Last year I had to file my first claim ever, when my cell phone was stolen. I allegedly received a 'new' replacement phone under my insurance coverage.

A couple of days ago my cell phone instantly died without any damage being done and without any warning whatsoever.When I went to a repair shop, they inspected the phone and determined that it wasn't 'new' when I received it; it was refurbished and had apparent internal evidence of previous water damage, that I know for certain I have not caused in the time that I've owned it.

The repair shop owner explained to me that Asurion Insurance Company deals in refurbished, water damaged phones, passing them off as NEW to the insured. He said they don't disclose this to consumers, as was the case with me. He said the motherboard is basically a ticking time bomb in these phones and it's only a matter of time when it shorts out because water damage gets so far inside. He said there is no one I can complain to and nothing I can do against Asurion because they are too big and this is too widespread of a problem...they are doing it to millions of people!

If you have cell phone insurance, ASK them if the phone you are getting is new or refurbished. MAKE them give you a NEW one and MAKE them certify that in writing; so if you can proove they lied, maybe you can come back to them when it dies and hold them responsible.

Most of all: DON'T TRUST THEM!!!!!!!!!

Location: Waltham, Massachusetts

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Guest

I have replaced phones several times with no issues with this company. Every device has worked up fine for the remainder of the time I had it.

This week I received replacement phone from them after our phone stopped working for unknown reasons. It worked fine for 16 days and then the screen went white right in the middle of a text.

. I called and the CSR walked me thru things. It still didn't work and they are sending me a replacement for this one.

They were very nice and helpful.

Hopefully this one will be okay. It is the first time ever we had a problem with a phone we received.

Guest

Letรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs clear the air, here.

I know that this thread is old and maybe not even being followed anymore, but I need to vent some frustrations.

I manage the cellular service for a large corporation. I am the Point of Contact for close to 10,000 cellular lines of service across 4 regional/national carriers.

I deal with Asurion on the average of 5-6 times per week. Apparently there are 3 different Asurion branches: Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T. It seems as though they occupy different sites-- possibly even telecommute.

At any rate-- the Asurion reps from Verizon and Sprint seem fairly astute and mostly friendly. The AT&T reps are absolutely, hands-down, the worst. I cannot convey with words alone how bad they are- but I'll say this: disconnected almost every time I call. When I call back, Iรขโ‚ฌโ„ขm usually disconnected again. The third call might result in a dis-interested sounding rep (drugs? lack of sleep? World of Warcraft on another monitor? I dunno) that usually tells me that she can't verify my account with AT&T รขโ‚ฌล“BECAUSE CUSTOMER CARE IS UNAVAILABLE" The last time THAT happened I managed to get in touch with AT&T's customer care in under 2 minutes, not the 20 minutes that I was on hold with Asurion)

Here's another POINTER, by the way: If you dropped or somehow broke you phone and it stopped working- MAKE SURE IT HAS VISIBLE DAMAGE! If there are no signs of damage, Asurion will NOT warranty it. Call Asurion, file your claim, then-- once it's approved --DAMAGE THE PHONE! drop it in a glass of water and smack it with a hammer. These people (again- the AT&T Asurion people, NOT Verizon and Sprint- they are usually okay)are criminally negligent and legally (mentally) handicapped. The policy covers loss, damage, and theft. รขโ‚ฌล“It just stopped workingรขโ‚ฌย isnรขโ‚ฌโ„ขt covered.

The icing on the cake is that, if you keep calling back- you'll eventually get a rep that some clue of what they are talking about. Sad, but true.

Keep in mind that replacing an AT&T Blackberry or iPhone at FULL RETAIL (no insurance) will cost anywhere from 300-700 bucks, depending on which device you have... so... the insurance, even WITH a $100-$200 deductible is still the only way to fly. Asurion has the market cornered, so customer service really doesn't factor into their equation.

Hope this helps.

Guest

Asurion is garbage. You pay the fee every month for insurance, and then pay a $125 deductible and you get a phone that doesn't work.

Does that sound right? Thats what i just experienced with my blackberry. I called AT&T and they told me they couldnt exchange it for a new phone without paying the difference. What a joke!

I didnt ask for a refurbished phone! Its what YOUR company gave to me and now you cant exchange it? And the best part is if theres a difference in price and quality between new and refurbished why are you giving phones below that standard to your customers that pay you hundreds a month?

Answer that... :(

Guest

Is it worth having the insurance becasue lately I have had to pay the $100 fee twice within one year plus the $84 for the insurance for the year. A few more dollars and I can have another new phone. Things that make you go mmmmmmm

Guest

your right if people would read befor they sign, ask befor they agree to, and accept that nothing in life is free, stop blaming everyone else for what happened to there devices blame self the csr did not break steal or loose your device YOU DID take responsibilty

Guest

Oh gawd pleasse! Get out of here!

were not children, learn how read and ask questions. Do you get around life not doing that?

Because if you do the honestly you deserve to be "ripped off". Bunch of complainers.

Guest

This great company just shot down my claim because in between my phone being broken and having to fill out all there *** forms for a new one i used and old phone i had, so they voided my claim because i switched out the sim card. When i told them what was i suppose to do for the 3 or more days between filing the claim and waiting for the new one i was told that i was suppose to just not have a phone and wait for the new one.

So basically i pay a monthly fee for the service but im not gonna be prorated for however many days it takes these high school dropouts to handle my claim.

So i did what all of us consumers need to do CANCEL ASURION. Just save your $6 a month and by the time you need to use this *** insurance, when you add up the premium and the deductible you are way better off without this *** insurance!!!!

Guest

Asurion is the worst.. I have verizon and have had it for years, a while back they had a decent insurance company, had to use it once adn got a brand new phone.

Now, back in October I was working and lost my phone, Asurion sends me a refurbished one that jsut doesnt work right and now a few months later I find my original new phone that I paid full price for and Asurion tells em its their property cause i didnt findit within 7 days. I cant send their *** refurbished phoen back that i spent a $50 deductible on and get my original one reconnected.

They are absolutely useless and now the guy tells me I have to send my phone that I paid full price for to them cause its their property and they will reuse it for someone else. wtf, why can they reuse it for someone else and not me..

Guest

I just want to thank all the asurion [t-mobile] customers that took the time to read the terms and conditions of the insurance (it clearly states that you may recieve a new or like new phone. it also states that there is a deductable if the phone is lost, stolen, or damaged, and the last thing it also states that if you switch you sim card to another phone and you use it there is a possibility that your original phone may not be coverd)..

I am a csr with asurion and it bugs the *** out of me when customers call me and are yelling and screaming because they have to pay a duductable... get a grip, NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE!!

Guest

:( i would like to add that i have had to replace my phone through asurion 2 times. now the fisrt phone didnt work right, people could not hear me and i got realy poor recepition!

the 2nd phone i recevied had water damage! the stickers on the back where already red when i got it!!!! THEY DONT TELL YO U THAT A RED STICKER IS BAD!!!! RED MEANS WATER DAMAGE!

so look closely of you have a red sticker (little dot) call them back emdiatly! they told me that water damage VOIDS my warenty!!! i had to fight for 2 hours to get any one to listen to me from asurion! fianly i got a new phone.

tho it is a refurb, its a diffrent one! maybe this new onw will be better, if not then ill be back onthe phone! so every one please be advised taht RED STICKERS ARE BAD!!!! CALL THEM EMIDIATLY YOU ONLY HAVE 7 DAYS TO CALL THEM WHEN YOU GET YOUR PHONE IF IT WAS MESSED UP IN SHIPPING!

and people need to report them to BBB!! its the only way they will actualy listen to peoples complaints!

Guest

I was sent a refurbished phone from Asurion that is a peice of ****. It shuts off mid conversation at very least once a week.

Also it stops receiveing service randomly and has to be turned off and on. Yeah your right Asurion is very professional and they don't cut corners.

Oh i sure hope there isn't a department of Asurion that goes on these forums and tells about how professional they are. That wouldn't be very professional would it.

Guest

Ok for Miss JoDee that was screaming at Asurion for a deductible...when the rep from TMobile signed you up for insurance, did you not ask questions about how the insurance works? Did you not read the brochure and paperwork you were sent by Asurion?

Why are you not screaming at the store reps who misinformed you when they added on the insurance?

oh and the deductible? it's not based on what you paid for the phone - cause everyone knows that when you sign a two year contract, they basically give you a FREE phone - or greatly reduced in price phone...now, had your precious $20 phone broken within the first 6 months of your contract, do you really think TMobile will sell you another one for that price? NOPE..you are already under contract for another 1 1/2 years...which means you will pay FULL sticker price for a replacement without insurance directly through TMobile! Oh and don't base your price on the nice little $19.99 price stickers online or in the store - read the fine print - that price is with a 1 or 2 year service agreement..

you folks really need to stop acting like children and read/inform yourselves/ask questions..

boggles the mind

Guest

Hi I work for asurion and I want you to know all of our phones are cleaned tested and inspected EVRY single one. As opposed to NEw phones off the line which are inspect 1 out of every 1000.

send out new phones and would never tell you we do.

All of our calls are monitored and checked to make sure we are saying the thing needed to keep the policy in effect. We do have a 30 day replacement service if for some reason the phone we send out is broken we will replace it at no cost to you if within that 30 days.

Guest

Asurion deals in both new and refurb phns, As previously stated it is in the terms and conditions of the insurance, You are repossible as a customer to inform yourself of any service you sign off for. I understand that we all have had a bad experience one time or another. However if you asked for something without informing yourself then there is no one to blame but yourself.

Guest

Look, I know you may be upset with T-mobile/Asurion. If I didn't read the things people send me in the mail- I'd probably be in the same boat.

However, it is time to take a bit of responsibility for once in your lives. For your information, when you enroll in Asurions phone insurance program, you receive information about the service in the mail directly from the company and it is within the first month of service. If you chose not to read this information- that would be your problem. Seems like everyone likes to assume that every company is out to get them.

Must be a very paranoid lonely life. No one said it would be a brand new phone if you run into problems the paper says they will replace your phone with a new or like new phone. Also, no one said it would be free. Stop and think about it.

When you get car insurance, you pay monthly. If you get in an accident, you then have a deductable. You dont just get off scotch free!

(And if you do, let me know who they are because they probably wont be in business long.) A company who gives everything for free will never succeed and thats just the truth! Asurion is not a charity.

Guest

I had a T-mobile bought it over 2.5 years ago, they automatically signed me up to the phone protection service and only said that my phone would be replaced with a new phone if something happened to it. Yesterday, my phone suddenly died, I went to T-Mobile, they had me call Asurion from their store, when they told me that there was a $20-$140 deductible I went off and was screaming at the lady on the phone about how much of a rip off that was when I only paid $20 for the phone for signing a 2-year contract, there were about 20-customers in the store and they just stopped and listened, not one walked out with that insurance and I want everybody to know what a scam this is.

I am turning them into the Better Business Bureau. If I see another $3.99 charged on my phone for this so called insurance I told the T-Mobile gal that she would be talking to an attorney.

I got another T-Mobile phone for another $20 and another 2-year contract but only because my service has been good as far as the phone goes. I have gone online to see how many people are upset about this and there are alot of us, we should all start a class action lawsuit against this company to get our money back!my name is JoDee and my e-mail is jodee2002@***.com

Guest

Fwang your annoying. The phones they send as replacements are garbage.

I'm on HOLD with Asurion right now trying to get some type of info on my THIRD replacement phone in 1 1/2 months.

The last 2 they sent me had previous water damage that they were aware of, as they stick white stickers over the red stickers that indicate previous water damage. Fwang, you need to go back to cell phone repair school, and get a life

Guest

Actually, you are wrong. There is a 50/50 mix of new and reconditioned phones.

Doesn't it surprise you that the guy that's "repairing" your cell phone is against Asurion? If Asurion wasn't around, he'd be making a KILLING!!

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