My cell phone broke in half, and then my battery died...
How frustrating is that?! Unfortunately i can't blame anyone but myself here, well i can about the battery just sucking, but it was def. ME who dropped it on the asphalt and cracked it in two. Literally, it broke in half! And not just like the battery falling out or anything, but more like the top screen split from the keypad portion :(While it sucked for a few days not having it, i have to admit that i felt a wave of relief when it shattered. i mean, we're connected to those things like crazy these days! I have to admit it was pretty refreshing for a hot second...until my poor little fingers missed my texting games ;(
So what did i do? Well, the first day i hit up the Verizon store and started to explain how much of an idiot i was when they cut me off! At first i was pissed, but then i realized they were helping me save my breath as it really didn't matter WHAT happened to it - they offered to replace it at NO COST! (i sometimes LOVE Verizon.) And you wanna know why? Cuz I had one of those Asurion Warranties!!! haha...those little $5.99 a months finally did something for me!
And that's really the point of this whole thing - If you're a clutz, those cell phone warranties can pay handsomely.
Now, i realize a lot of you frugal ones would rather do without (like my girl over at fighting foreclosure) cuz those extra "fees" pile up fast. BUT, i really just wanted you all to know that a) they work, and that b) it's something to consider if you're dufus like me. Now, as for the battery problem? HAH! Those little ba$tards are only covered for ONE YEAR! (Stupidly, i forgot to ask about this on the first Verizon visit, so i had to go back 4 days later)
"One Year?!" I cried to the Verizon Rep after waiting another 53 minutes to be seen.
"Yup, all batteries are covered for only one year" he calmly shot back as if it's common routine.
"Ohhh i see...So you force us to sign up to 2-year contracts, but the battery will only last for 1 year? That's interesting" i spout back...feeling a bit bad as i know exactly what the poor guy goes through in customer service. It's not HIS fault, but unfortunately he's gotta deal w/ me ;)
"I'm sorry. That's company policy." he retorted.
"Okay, well then i'd like to buy another warranty to cover the battery", i said trying to one up him.
"Nope, sorry we don't have those. We have no control over the manufacturing of them."
"i see....." i said defeatedly....not knowing what to do next.
***blank stares shot back and forth from us***
"would you like to buy a battery then?" he finally chimes in.
"how much?"
"$45 + tax."
"no thanks....i'll go on eBay"
I thought i was pretty clever on that last one ;) i wonder how many people say that sorta stuff in their store? I really just wanted to get a jab in, but then the Mrs. told me she sees them on there all the time. So i figured why not? I buy everything else on there anyways. So i hopped on and what do ya know? There are a slew of them!!! And we're not talking about plain ol' batteries here, but pink ones, yellow ones, green ones, gold ones, you name it! All customizable AND brand new from the manufacturer!
So i bought one. A GOLD one! haha...and now, i have a brand new phone at Zero cost (if i dont' think about the monthly fees) and a spankin' new battery for $4.80 :) What a deal! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you turn a bad situation into a bearable situation. Let's face it, cell phone stuff just sucks in general, so anytime you can wiggle your way outta some costs it's total glory all around!
Labels: phone service, warranties
posted by J. Money at
11:38 AM
19 Comments:
The battery on my Motorola has died a couple times on me. The phone itself is great, one of those Razors, but I think the shelf life is about a year for the battery. There's a lot of really great deals around on new batteries, so don't feel forced to go through your service provider.
I'm glad your warranty worked for you! Me, just got notice that they did in fact drop my warranty as requested - so now I just better not drop it!
Nice work! Last fall I threw my commuter cup of tea (It has a screw top lid) into my purse and quickly realized that it was not closed all the way when I reached into my purse to make a call and discovered an inch of tea at the bottom! Phone drowned. Paid for a new one out of panic. I am not nearly as resourceful as you!
Well, I am glad I have Assurion insurance with Verizon, too. Verizon Wireless...gotta love them. And a GOLD battery??? Lovely. :)
I'm glad the warranty worked out. I never even thought to get a warranty and I drop my cell phone more than my son drops it! I'm going to be in the market for new services soon so that is something I should look into.
A GOLD battery?
*ROFL*
Pimpin'.
Cell warranties aren't for everyone, but they sure are for crazies like me ;) And how cool that they come in GOLD! hah! i almost switched to the black (which matches my phone) at the last second, but i thought "Self, why not jazz it up a bit and pimp that bad boy out? (as you mentioned Gey!) You'll probably need another in a month anyways, so what's the harm?"
and that i did. the best $4 bucks and no shipping costs i've ever spent ;) well, besides beer of course. and on that note, i'm off to go get some.
Happy weekend my lovelies.
I SO need a cell phone warranty! My phone has so many dings and chips in it due to impact with asphalt and concrete. I will say that if you're clusmy (like ME) do NOT get a flip phone. I have a TMobile sliding phone and it has endured sitting out in a pile of snow for the whole night, and countless falls, and sitting in dew drops for another night-- but it still survives!! Flip phones are WAY too prone to breaking, I reccomend a bar or sliding phone 100%.
Cell phone companies are corrupt, and to whomever said Razors are good phones, you are full of it. My dad is in the next room playing wtih TWO of them (one is my old one) trying to get the Operating Systems to stop malfunctioning on ONE of them so he doesn't need to sign ANOTHER contract extension. They make our phones to only last a year or two so that we pay to replace them!
Also, if you're having a hard time with your batteries, google how to extend their life or read your user manual-- it can be done!
J. Money- HA! Love the gold battery :)
One more reason for me to HATE Sprint! I have one of those Asurion warranties with Sprint and it doesn't cover SQUAT! And if I'm not mistaken I pay something like $7/month and then when I break the darn thing I have to pay a $50 DEDUCTIBLE!
Now I'm curious. I have never seen a gold battery. Heading over to eBay to take a look.
I have a cheap phone that has worked well for a couple of years, but recently has been tough to hear on. When I called Verizon last week, I was told I can get a new phone next month as part of my contract. Perfect timing.
-1MansMoney
When I renew my contract for my cell phone I keep my old as my insurance policy just in case I break or lose my other one. This way I don't have to pay the extra insurance fee.
We got a warranty after the second or third phone was dropped and stopped working.
We still haven't had to use it, though, so I suppose that money could have been put to better use over the last 18 months or so... Oh well, better safe than sorry. especially now that we're on a month-to-month plan. We don't want to have to sign up for two whole years again.
OOoh, yeah keeping your old phone when you upgrade is a GENIUS idea! Of course, that's only if it still works ;) I'd say only 1 of my last 5 phones still worked decently when the time came for a new one. Great idea though for sure.
@ShanSoPink - yeah, it's funny cuz Verizon's plan says there's a $50 deductible too, and that you have to mail it it at times, but maybe it's different if you actually walk into a store instead of filing over phone?! The last 2 times i did this, and got a brand new phone at $0.00 deductible was from going into the store...every time i call they tell me something different :(
@ka1t_lyn - agreed! flip phones = not good for us clumsy ones ;) which is what i had. which broke in half. haha...as for your RAZR dilemna, true they *were* the #1 phone sold, but surely not the "best working" one! the newer ones are better, but def. not in the top list that's for sure.
You do have to realize that batteries wear down like tires on a car. It would be silly to expect my tires on my car to be replaced if I used my car warranty to replace the transmission. What makes things worse is these little buggers wear out even if they're never used.
"At a 100% charge level, a typical Li-ion battery that is full most of the time at 25 °C or 77 °F will irreversibly lose approximately 20% capacity per year." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery
The warranty use to be 3 months with a pro-rated discount up to a year and they extended it to a full year. Pretty cool if you ask me.
I'll agree that it's cool they upped the warranty period like that, but for a battery to lose 99% of it's life in a little over a year is pretty messed up. Not the carrier's fault of course, but unfort. it becomes their problem.
The last phone call i made on this battery lasted a full 2 mins and 36 seconds before powering off...and that was on a fully charged battery. I think this post is more to help people understand that we have options out there rather than a bashing on the carriers (although i will admit i'm pretty harsh ;) ). I'm all about getting better service & product elsewhere w/out digging yourself into a longer contract.
And today i start using the brand spankin' new gold battery! So far so good too, i got all my bars up and already had a call lasting over 4 minutes w/ no issues whatsoever ;) All hail eBay!
I don't usually like the cell phone warranties but my current phone is a Motorola Q9c. It would be too expensive to replace and I have a toddler running around the house. The insurance is peace of mind for me. If my phone were cheaper I wouldn't have bothered.
I have to have a warranty on the Marine!Goth's phone - he's so hard on them.
So far (since he got his first phone in HS)
1) drowned in the lake (and an MP3 player he won, too) - he jumped in without thinking of what was in his pockets.
2) dropped into lake from a canoe - also his Oakley sunglasses - last time I bought him THOSE!
Karla (threadbndr)
3) dropped into the engine of a USMC HummVee that he was working on. It hit the flywheel and shattered.
4) dropped onto a friend's driveway when he was under the friend's car doing an oil change, then the friend backed over it.
5) dropped into an oil barrel in his shop
That boy should NOT be allowed to BEND OVER!!!!
hahahhaa, omg that is too funny. what a bunch of loons! but it's not their fault, they're guys - that's what we do :) my dad is the MASTER of drowning phones. know where his favorite place is? the toilet! haha...he's done that at LEAST 3 times that i can remember, and the funniest part is that he was in the Marine Corp and everyone gives him $hit for it :) (not literally, of course) it's awesome cuz they were all work phones and so he would have to explain how, exactly, he lost them...good times.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Back to Budgetsaresexy.com