$60 restocking fee? Very poor Verizon reception in 95035 area.

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yu - 29 Sep 2003 20:21 GMT

We live in the bay area (Milpitas, area code 95035) and need to get
new wireless service. After reading the web, we decide to go with
Verizon because it seems it has the best network in the bay area, in
the state of California and in the nation. We signed up the family
share plan and got 3 LG 3100 phones.

Unfortunately, after we bring the phone home and try them out, they
disconnect in 1.5 minutes. We called the retail store, they asked us
to go around the house, go out to the driveway and called customer
service. Nothing worked.

We brought the phone back to them and canceled the services. The
retail store charged us $60 restocking fee! I argued I made only 2
personal calls, each 1.5 minutes before they got disconnected. The
rest of the calls are to the customer service and with each other to
diagnose the problem at their request.

The sales said he has no authority and the manager is not around. We
called the manager the next day and only got insulted for not reading
the fine prints.

Is there anything I can do?
Can I stop credit card payment and bring them to small claim's court?

I know this is an issue with the retail store. But Verizon's poor
reception is a huge factor too. I was willing to pay more to get
Verizon based on the general impression that their service is the
best.

I will insist on a full refund return policy before I sign up for my
next wireless service. Also, do not trust everything you read, Verizon
might be the best but it may also be the worst on the street where you
live.

yu

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David L - 29 Sep 2003 21:49 GMT

yc630621@yahoo.com (yu) wrote in article
<3fcbe1f.0309291121.e978834@posting.google.com>:

> We live in the bay area (Milpitas, area code 95035)

(snip)

> Unfortunately, after we bring the phone home and try them out, they
> disconnect
>
> We brought the phone back to them and canceled the services. The
> retail store charged us $60 restocking fee!

Likely, you signed two contracts, one for Verizon and another for the
Verizon agent.

If you would have bought from a Verizon Company store, the only charge
would have been for minutes used, everything else would have been
refunded.

The LG 3100 is a digital ONLY phone, no analog backup. I would not
choose a digital only phone in California.

There's a good chance other Verizon phones would have worked using
analog. Whether or not you wanted only analog service from home is
another matter.

There's also a possibility that you could have roamed on Sprint digital,
had the handset been set for it.

-
David

Reply to this Message

Steven J Sobol - 29 Sep 2003 22:29 GMT

> There's also a possibility that you could have roamed on Sprint digital,
> had the handset been set for it.

Impossible in the Los Angeles market, where Sprint's huge SID was
taken out of the PRLs.

Damn shame too, because if I could roam to Sprint I'd have reliable coverage
out here in the boonies. Amazingly, my wife's SPCS phone never has trouble
completing calls in this quasi-rural part of Apple Valley. I'm less than a
three-minute drive from solid VZW coverage, but I'm right on the fringe.

Things have improved recently, but I still have issues with dropped calls
at home.

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22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950
Steve Sobol, Proprietor
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David L - 30 Sep 2003 00:25 GMT

Steven J Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote in article
<4c2dnYHHb9uwOeWiU-KYvQ@lmi.net>:

> > There's also a possibility that you could have roamed on Sprint digital,
> > had the handset been set for it.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Damn shame too, because if I could roam to Sprint I'd have reliable coverage
> out here in the boonies.

The OP is in the SF Bay Area, just down the road, where Sprint is still
included in the PRL.

I also have near new (cheap:) Startac with PRL 50024. That's a Sprint
inclusive PRL, but before they removed LA. Wouldn't it still roam on
Sprint or
are calls totally blocked, even with the correct PRL?

-
David

Reply to this Message

Larry W4CSC - 30 Sep 2003 01:55 GMT

>I also have near new (cheap:) Startac with PRL 50024. That's a Sprint
>inclusive PRL, but before they removed LA. Wouldn't it still roam on
>Sprint or
>are calls totally blocked, even with the correct PRL?

They solved that problem in South Carolina. When the phone with the
inclusive PRL roams over to Sprint or Alltel, you get sent to American
Roaming Network as if you're some kind of non-customer with a stolen
phone.

Bastards.....

Larry W4CSC

3600 planes with transponders are burning 8-10 million
gallons of kerosene per hour over the USA. R-12 car air
conditioners are responsible for the ozone hole, right?

Reply to this Message

Larry W4CSC - 30 Sep 2003 01:54 GMT

>> There's also a possibility that you could have roamed on Sprint digital,
>> had the handset been set for it.
>
>Impossible in the Los Angeles market, where Sprint's huge SID was
>taken out of the PRLs.

You mean those tri-mode phones they sold us are all USELESS?!!

OH, NO!

Larry W4CSC

3600 planes with transponders are burning 8-10 million
gallons of kerosene per hour over the USA. R-12 car air
conditioners are responsible for the ozone hole, right?

Reply to this Message

Male Bomb - 30 Sep 2003 06:12 GMT

> You mean those tri-mode phones they sold us are all USELESS?!!
>
> OH, NO!
>
> Larry W4CSC
> No they make good suppositories so stick it up you a.s. MB

Reply to this Message

Steven J Sobol - 30 Sep 2003 15:13 GMT

>>> There's also a possibility that you could have roamed on Sprint digital,
>>> had the handset been set for it.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>>
> You mean those tri-mode phones they sold us are all USELESS?!!

No, because driving in from Arizona I roam (for free, but still roam)
analog on Mohave Wireless. ;)

I don't bother using analog here at home, though.

Signature

JustThe.net Internet & Multimedia Services
22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950
Steve Sobol, Proprietor
888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net

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Steven J Sobol - 29 Sep 2003 21:49 GMT

> We brought the phone back to them and canceled the services. The
> retail store charged us $60 restocking fee! I argued I made only 2
> personal calls, each 1.5 minutes before they got disconnected. The
> rest of the calls are to the customer service and with each other to
> diagnose the problem at their request.

This was a Verizon Wireless company-owned store? Or was it an independent
retailer or a Radio Shack?

> The sales said he has no authority and the manager is not around. We
> called the manager the next day and only got insulted for not reading
> the fine prints.

That's bullshit. I've returned defective phones to Verizon company stores
and not been charged $60.

> I know this is an issue with the retail store. But Verizon's poor
> reception is a huge factor too. I was willing to pay more to get
> Verizon based on the general impression that their service is the
> best.

In many places it is, but no wireless carrier is 100% perfect or has
coverage in every spot in the USA. That having been said, Milpitas is in a
pretty well-populated part of Cali, isn't it?

> I will insist on a full refund return policy before I sign up for my
> next wireless service. Also, do not trust everything you read, Verizon
> might be the best but it may also be the worst on the street where you
> live.

That's true of any carrier. You should try another phone - but if you
are returning the phone because it doesn't hold calls, there is no way they
should be charging you a restocking fee. The question is whether you dealt with
a company-owned store or an independent.

Signature

JustThe.net Internet & Multimedia Services
22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950
Steve Sobol, Proprietor
888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net

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