Lost Cell Phone Forgiveness Plan

Question

I've been a long time customer for many, many years. I don't always take advantage of specials, deals and upgrades, but when I do, I always sign the new 2 Year Contract.  I have two lines with Verizon and would love to continue my service but have had some trouble lately that I wished could have been dealt with better.
In July of 2010, I was finally able to upgrade to a new phone and was SO excited with my new EnV Touch!!! Within a month though, the front screen on the new phone kept blanking out and I had many issues. I finally took it to the nearest store, 45 minutes away and they promptly replaced it with a new one with little question.
Less than a month later, I was in NYC and accidently LOST this phone either at a club dancing or in the cab on the way home.  I called Verizon the next day to plead my case but all they could suggest is that I suspend the line and try going to a Verizon store in NYC while I was there.  I went to the Verizon store on 34th Street near Times Square, huge location. I waited over 45 minutes to be helped and within 5 minutes was told there was nothing they could do from there and that I'd have to go on line and order a new or refurbished phone.  In the meantime, I had a friend coming into the city bringing me my old ghetto phone that I had upgraded from to reactivate.  Upon the reactivation process, the wonderful operator on the phone said that I can't order a refurbished phone through the website or at a store and that I'd have to do it over the phone and pay right then, not able to charge it to my bill.
I've never lost a phone before and I opted to NOT get the insurance after finding out that not only do you pay the monthly fee for however long until you lose or damage the phone, but there is also a $90 deductible!!!  By the time you pay all of that, you may as well just buy a new phone!!!
All State Insurance is one of the #1 Auto Insurance company's in the nation.  They have a program called Accident Forgiveness.  All of the cell phone companies are on the edge of competing with each other, it's never ending, but I'm always impressed when the 1st one comes out with the BEST and latest deal to convince people they should go with them or even switch!
Why not make Verizon Wireless the 1st cell phone company to offer a one time Lost Phone Forgiveness clause to qualified customers with good, long history with the company?  No one else is doing it and there has got to be many others like me out there, that had something flukey happen like this and get screwed by the system.  You guys give out free phones ALL the time and you'd gain WAY more business and good customer service karma by considering something along these lines.  Of course there will be the people who will try to take advantage, there are loop holes with any thing like this, but honestly, there has got to be a way to help me and my particular issue in my situation so that I remain a happy customer.  I was very, very happy with the EnV Touch, but now forced to use a broken down, old phone until the next upgrade. :-( 
Please, please, please consider this Verizon!!!  Just think of what a great commercial it would make!!! Girl goes out with her friends for a night on the town in NYC dancing, realizes just before she gets back to the hotel, after a couple of cab rides in between that her phone is gone!  What to do?!  Verizon's one time Lost Phone Forgiveness. (Can be used once every 5 years, or some stipulation like that) She goes to the nearest Verizon store, explains her story and whalla! The cool verizon customer service & sales rep in the store looks up on her acct that she's an amzing customer and presents her with her new phone, life UNINTERUPTED!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Audrey
Vermont

Answer 1

Scorpioamg wrote:
.... I've never lost a phone before and I opted to NOT get the insurance after finding out that not only do you pay the monthly fee for however long until you lose or damage the phone, but there is also a $90 deductible!!!  By the time you pay all of that, you may as well just buy a new phone!!!....Audrey
Vermont
As budone pointed out, most (if not ALL) insurance works this way...you pay a monthly, or quarterly premium, and then a deductible if you make a claim.  Phone insurance is the same - your monthly premium of $5.99 or $7.99 (depending on the device) and then a deductible.  It is OPTIONAL (unlike auto or homeowners).  Like you , we elected NOT to carry the insurance because "By the time you pay all of that, you may as well just buy a new phone!!!"
Well, you DID lose your phone, so now you must "buy a new phone".  The fact that it happened very shortly after you got your phone is immaterial; it was NOT insured.
You mention Allstate's  "Accident Forgiveness" program, and suggest a "Lost Phone Forgiveness" program for Verizon.  The two are not even comparable, the way you have suggested it, and in fact, Verizon's insurance program already incorporates that very policy (as budone also pointed out).  First, in order to qualify for the "Accident Forgiveness" you MUST HAVE THE INSURANCE.  And "Accident Forgiveness" comes at a price - "Under the program, for about 15 percent more than a standard policy, an Allstate customer can have multiple "accidents" without seeing a rate increase." 
Asurion does not raise your rates if you lose a phone or otherwise replace it through a claim, and they don't even charge a bigger premium to do this, so I'd say this is already in place.  To make it comparable, you would need to pay MORE for phone insurance, to get a free phone if you lost yours.  But to give you a free phone if you DON'T have insurance???  How many people would say they lost their phone or it broke, and want their freebie??  You can bet there would be massive abuse if this were the case.  That is just NOT going to happen.
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