[Concept]

Well I pulled my pearl out of my pocket this morning and the trackball and the sliver ring around it fell out. Called and talked to RIM and T Mobile and neither will replace it under waranty because they say its physical damage and has to be replaced under insurance. So now I gotta fork out another $110 to get it replaced. Sucks because I didn't do anything to break it. When the ring came out only two prongs were left. I am assuming that the other two broke off. RIM checked to see if there were any other claims for the same issue to see if could be replaced under waranty. Turns out someone else had a trackball fall out but I guess the ring didn't fall out too. So my claim wasn't exactly like theirs and could not be considered a manufacture defciency. So I guess I'm the guinee pig for everyone from here on out who has the same problem. If anyone knows of anyone having the same problem please point out the post where they discribe it. Maybe if I can complie enough posts about back trackballs I can get my $110 back from the insurance people. Hopefully thats what will happen. I did a quick search and all "trackball problem" posts pertained to not scrolling one way or the other and not about my problem.

Anyway I just wanted to say that I am pearless for the next couple of weeks until I can get it replaced. I'm deployed to Iraq so I have to send my old one home, get a new one sent to my house in the states, then get my wife to mail it to me. About a 2 week process in all. Rim won't see their Pearl back from me for almost 3 weeks though. It will take about that long just to get it back to the states so my wife can mail it back to them.

Same thing happened when my dell laptop crashed about a month ago. Had to go through the same process of mailing it home just so my wife can mail it off.

It really sucks because I just got my 2gb micro SD card today.

[SirCharles]

sorry to hear that man. I would be really mad if RIM/TMo wouldn't replace it.

If you haven't caused it serious physical damage, it sounds like a defect to me. You may want to argue and/or threaten TMo.

Use customer service as a leverage..
say you have been a customer for a while... etc etc... TMo really pride themselves on being high-quality customer service.

May not work - but worth a shot .

I doubt that RIM would replace your handset.

[Concept]

Originally Posted by SirCharles

sorry to hear that man. I would be really mad if RIM/TMo wouldn't replace it.

If you haven't caused it serious physical damage, it sounds like a defect to me. You may want to argue and/or threaten TMo.

Use customer service as a leverage..
say you have been a customer for a while... etc etc... TMo really pride themselves on being high-quality customer service.

May not work - but worth a shot .

I doubt that RIM would replace your handset.

I tried that before. I was getting charged for sending phone calls to voicemail while I was over here. I was like what the %^*? How can you charge me for a phone call that I never took. Threatened to leave and they were like whatever. They were able to disable my voicemail on my handset while I was over here though.

At first they didn't wanna even replace my Pearl by insurance. Talking about how it has never been on the network because I don't make phone calls with it. Only text messages. Its on a family plan so my pregnant wife has a way to reach me for emergencies but I never make or take phone calls on it. It costs way too much ($2.99/minute) to do that. My tmobile chip sits in my old 7290 on my desk and only is used for emergencies for the most part. I used my pearl with a local Iraqna chip in it 99% of the time.

[djspiel]

amazing how even with insurance you gotta pay.. makes me so mad

[greggebhardt]

Originally Posted by djspiel

amazing how even with insurance you gotta pay.. makes me so mad

It is because so many have screwed over the insurance on phones, they are now getting their revenge. I don't see it even worth the cost.

[djspiel]

dude i paid 49.99 for my fhone from letstalk.com



insurance 110.00 (thats more than fhone)

[Concept]

I'm sure your 49.99 was with a 2 year contract. I already have a contract with tmobile so that wouldn't work for me.

[kathrynhr]

Yikes! Sorry to hear about that! Especially the part about the insurance people not wanting to cover you because you don't make enough calls... what that has to do with the device itself is beyond me.

Not cool. Not cool to do that to anybody, but especially to someone serving in a war zone!

[controlair]

One of our user's trackball stopped working horizontally yesterday.... Not as bad as your case but speaking of functionality, only scrolling vertically makes it totally useless.

Calling my carrier Cingular to get it repaired / replaced.

[Concept]

Also, my phone is not being replaced really by insurance. Its actually is going to have to be bought for $150 and tmo will credit me back $40 when they get the old phone. Its because I never made a call on it since I got it. I only sent or received text messages so they couldn't verify it was on the network. So because of that I can't make an insurance claim.

[canonbomb1987]

Originally Posted by Concept

Also, my phone is not being replaced really by insurance. Its actually is going to have to be bought for $150 and tmo will credit me back $40 when they get the old phone. Its because I never made a call on it since I got it. I only sent or received text messages so they couldn't verify it was on the network. So because of that I can't make an insurance claim.

That really sucks how they are giving you the run around. You would think that having the IMEI number and PIN # would be enough info to verify that you truly had the phone.

[Concept]

Originally Posted by canonbomb1987

That really sucks how they are giving you the run around. You would think that having the IMEI number and PIN # would be enough info to verify that you truly had the phone.

I did give them the IMEI #. All they said was, "yeah we see where you purchased the phone with the number but we can't find where you used it." The last record they had of me using a phone on the network was 20 Aug 06. The day I left for Iraq. I guess because it roams onto a different network over here they can't trace it.

[keithc]

You should call your local paper and TV stations and let them know that TMO is crapping all over our folks in uniform. They should run it from the angle that TMO is being paid on monthly contracts by service folks for zero return service, and also appears to have a maximum profit agenda with no regard for your circumstances. I would be flipping mad if it was me.

[Steve]

Wirelessly posted (Cingular 8100 Pearl: BlackBerry8100/4.2.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

So looking at it from my point of view: My wife and all the other Deaf BlackBerry users would be screwed over by TMO because they don't have a voice plan?

Bah!

They're not very consistent.

Steve

[phidauex]

If I were Tmobile I'd be working to provide really good service to service men and women deployed to Iraq. Both because its the kind thing to do, particularly when many people over there have been there a lot longer than they thought they'd have to be, and keep being redeployed, and need to talk with their families, and also because it would be great press. "Tmobile replaces troop equipment faster than US government does!"

peace,
sam

[absoluteevel]

Originally Posted by Concept

I did give them the IMEI #. All they said was, "yeah we see where you purchased the phone with the number but we can't find where you used it." The last record they had of me using a phone on the network was 20 Aug 06. The day I left for Iraq. I guess because it roams onto a different network over here they can't trace it.

T-Mobile allows you to call their customer service with no charge while abroad. Dial +15059983793 from your T-Mobile phone. This is per the T-Mobile website. I assume that would qualify as a voice call.

BTW, if you did not know, T-Mo has an unlimited international emails add-on plan for an extra $19.99 per month. Might be of use to you (if you get your Pearl replaced) since you should be able to exchange photos in somewhat real time.

[edit: argh, it says no GPRS roaming agreements are available in Iraq. Hopefully that has changed/will change.]

Good Luck.

[Concept]

Originally Posted by absoluteevel

T-Mobile allows you to call their customer service with no charge while abroad. Dial +15059983793 from your T-Mobile phone. This is per the T-Mobile website. I assume that would qualify as a voice call.

BTW, if you did not know, T-Mo has an unlimited international emails add-on plan for an extra $19.99 per month. Might be of use to you (if you get your Pearl replaced) since you should be able to exchange photos in somewhat real time.

[edit: argh, it says no GPRS roaming agreements are available in Iraq. Hopefully that has changed/will change.]

Good Luck.

Your right, there is no data on the network over here. It doesn't matter what provider you use, Iraqna, AsiaCell, Anther Iraq. They all only have GSM with no data. I wish they did have data. I'd be on yahoo messenger chatting with the wife every day.

If I was deployed to kuwait, I'd pay the extra 20 bucks a month cause they have data there even in the middle of the desert where all you can see is damn sand dunes, I'm still able to pull in 3 or 4 bars and data. I guess there's nothing to block the signal so they need less towers.

I've made calls from my T Mobile chip before in Iraq and tmo still didn't even register those. It has something to do with them roaming to these networks with no data. I guess they can't pick up specific cell phone information without data.

[SirCharles]

any luck with getting your handset replaced yet?

[gadgetfanatic]

CONCEPT,

Thank you for your service to your country. Sorry to hear about your bb.

[jsf]

Here's a thought that just occurred to me...

If TMo are being sticklers about your Pearl having never been on their network, and if you need to ship is back to the States to your wife anyway before getting it replaced, why not also send your TMo SIM, and have her register the Pearl on the TMo network? Then maybe you'd get a better response from them.

At the very least, I'd consider having her register the replacement Pearl on the TMo network, so if something like this happens again they can't feed you that same crap.