Water Damage Claim in BS to Invalidate Warranty: I want a Class Action vs. RIM/AT&T

[SoxFan]

AT&T and RIM are claiming the red water damage indicator means they have no liability for faulty parts. I have had two breakdowns due to flimsy workmanship on my Blackberry: the trackball popped out and was lost and the USB input has now broken. Also, the back clasp is wimpy and the back falls off easily/accidentally.

AT&T claims that the warranty is not valid because the red water damage indicator is exposed.

First, there has been no water damage -- the indicator itself is faulty.

Second, these manufacturing defects have nothing to do with water -- they are manufacturing/hardware defects.

I presume others have had similar problems. I want to assemble a class action against AT&T and RIM. They are using a faulty argument to avoid legitimate liability for manufacturing defects. The broken parts have nothing to do with water. The electronics work fine. And then, there's the fact that I haven't had water damage, outside of normal use.

[JSanders]

Good luck with it.

I am moving this Rants and Raves.

[audit]

Funny this thread should pop up as I had problems with my wife's Razor and both my kids Sync's this weekend. Both show as they have water damage and I know for a fact that non of them have been anywhere near water. My wife's Razor won't charge or turn on and my kids Sync's shut off after an hour.

I ordered some replacements off ebay this weekend for them because the AT&T store wouldn't cover them under warranty. Even my 8310 is showing as it has water damage and that has NEVER and I mean NEVER had water in it or on it but it works just fine but I showed it to them and they said that I'm one of the few that have obvious water damage but the device still works.

[Sith_Apprentice]

just as a little note that was floating around before, heat related to battery malfunction can change these indicators as well. this is to all liquid indicators not specifically blackberry. apparently under certain circumstances a malfunctioning battery will cause the indicators to change color. used to happen from time to time on Nextels that i would be working on.

[TBOLTRAM]

There are two indicators on a BB if I remember. One is on the battery and one is hidden inside. If the one inside shows moisture damage then you are toast. If it does not then you may have some legal postion.

Did you see both of the indicators or only the one on the battery?

[audit]

On my BB they just see the one on the inside as I just swapped to a extended life battery on it a couple weeks ago because I was using it so much that I needed that extra life out of it when I wasn't near a charger. I'm not bothered by it. I'm more pissed at the store because I went there at 7:45 Friday night and they close at 8pm. They locked the doors as soon as we got out of our car and said they were closed and pointed to the clock that said 8pm on their wall. The store manager was looking at her watch and looking at the wall and said sorry we're closed. That really pissed me off.

I was able to get the 3 replacement phones off ebay for under $85 shipped anyhow so at least I'm covered there.

[adorkable]

That whole water damage voiding the warranty, even from construction faults, has always been weird to me. It would make sense if something was wrong with the phone that obviously could have been caused by water damage, but what if your phone has some other problem?

This past summer, my friend's 3yr old son through her phone in the pool. I don't remember what kind of phone it was other than it being a flip phone. I was in the pool at the time and grabbed it before it sank too far, and she immediately took it home and dried it out. Everything worked fine for the next several months. Then, back around Thanksgiving, the mechanism that help the phone open broke. When she opened it, the thing would just flop back closed. The odds of that issue being caused by water damage are pretty slim, but because the indicator was red, they wouldn't replace her phone free of charge. She put up a big stink but eventually had to pay full price for a new phone. :\

[NJBlackBerry]

Good luck getting certified for a class action.
Seriously - how about small claims court - you may have more luck there.

[VirexInc]

Originally Posted by SoxFan

AT&T and RIM are claiming the red water damage indicator means they have no liability for faulty parts. I have had two breakdowns due to flimsy workmanship on my Blackberry: the trackball popped out and was lost and the USB input has now broken. Also, the back clasp is wimpy and the back falls off easily/accidentally.

AT&T claims that the warranty is not valid because the red water damage indicator is exposed.

First, there has been no water damage -- the indicator itself is faulty.

Second, these manufacturing defects have nothing to do with water -- they are manufacturing/hardware defects.

I presume others have had similar problems. I want to assemble a class action against AT&T and RIM. They are using a faulty argument to avoid legitimate liability for manufacturing defects. The broken parts have nothing to do with water. The electronics work fine. And then, there's the fact that I haven't had water damage, outside of normal use.

ok this may shed some light on the issue. the water damage indicator doesnt mean it has to be submerged completely in water to be activated. any type of water condensation will cause this (i.e leaving the phone in the bathroom when your taking a hot shower.) the smallest amount of condensation or even if your hands were sweaty when you took the battery out can cause this.

this is the tricky part, as for a class action suit you might as well forget this because the definition of class action is when the "majority" of the users with that device have the same problem and its a known defect in the water damage indicator for that device. you are going to have to convince the company that the phone was defective before the damage indicator showed water damage and that is not going to be an easy fight. so hopefullt you have insurance on the phone instead.

[irishguy24]

Originally Posted by audit

Funny this thread should pop up as I had problems with my wife's Razor and both my kids Sync's this weekend. Both show as they have water damage and I know for a fact that non of them have been anywhere near water. My wife's Razor won't charge or turn on and my kids Sync's shut off after an hour.

I ordered some replacements off ebay this weekend for them because the AT&T store wouldn't cover them under warranty. Even my 8310 is showing as it has water damage and that has NEVER and I mean NEVER had water in it or on it but it works just fine but I showed it to them and they said that I'm one of the few that have obvious water damage but the device still works.

crappy week.....and your carrier must suck dumped my peral into a puddle of water...brought it in they replaced it on the spot for me.....my curve actually got thrown into the water took me 20 minutes to find it.....replaced it same day still dripping with water....love t-mobile stores here

[adorkable]

Originally Posted by irishguy24

crappy week.....and your carrier must suck dumped my peral into a puddle of water...brought it in they replaced it on the spot for me.....my curve actually got thrown into the water took me 20 minutes to find it.....replaced it same day still dripping with water....love t-mobile stores here

You must have just gotten lucky with whoever was working at that time. I know when I called T-Mobile on Monday to order a replacement for my Curve that was having reboot issues, the tech asked me to look for the square sticker near the SIM card and tell him if it was white or red. After telling him it was white, he went on to explain the water damage policy which is pretty much, "if it's red, you're screwed." T-Mobile's warranty is apparently no different than most carriers. :\

[wabbit]

Wirelessly posted (8830: BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

The "water" indicators are just a poor excuse from any mfg. Its very possible to activate them w/o getting a phone wet. Also what is bs is what if you stored some thing since electronic device can be stored in a higher humidity then powered/working conditions. Did it actually get water dmg.

[Sith_Apprentice]

the replacement has to do with the carrier not manufacturer. if you get mad, get mad at them.

[reeferaddiction]

i guess you could say that the replacement has to do with the carrier, or the moron that replaces your phone when it has obvious liquid damage, but the fact is that if your carrier does replace a phone that has liquid damage the manufacturer is not going to compensate them for that phone. cell carriers are just the middle man with phone warranties.

[NickfromIL]

As far as Verizon goes, even if they give you a free replacement, and RIM deems it not a warrenty covered fault, they charge your account full retail of the replacment they gave you.

[mizditz101]

Originally Posted by NickfromIL

As far as Verizon goes, even if they give you a free replacement, and RIM deems it not a warrenty covered fault, they charge your account full retail of the replacment they gave you.

Tmo does this too...
When I got my phone replaced the lady I was talking to said that if it's decided that the problem was my fault for any reason, I get charged $300 for the phone. Or if the water indicator was red, I would get charged the $300 as well..
Luckily I had no problem... But I'm sure others have!

Usually, when talking to a CSR though, if it's "your fault" they don't even give you a new phone.
I had a scratch on my LG 6000, and my antenna was also broken... The lady said "There's a big scratch, which means it's your fault. And that's a pretty nasty scratch too. Your only option is insurance for $50."
It was stupid... but yeah, I know Verizon wont replace phones if there's too much physical damage, because they "can't tell" if the problem is your causing or manufacturers... That LG was one of two I've had to pay for through insurance, both phones were too "damaged" physically to be replaced through warranty...

[ERDude]

Say what you will about Sprints customer service, their Total Equipment Replacement program would have covered this. Unlike AT&T, Sprint covers all their phones under the program of 7 bucks a month.

[NickfromIL]

Total Equipment Replacement with Sprint has a $100 deductible though don't they? Assurion with Verizon is only $50. Either way it is still way cheaper than full retail.

[ERDude]

Originally Posted by NickfromIL

Total Equipment Replacement with Sprint has a $100 deductible though don't they? Assurion with Verizon is only $50. Either way it is still way cheaper than full retail.

No it's $50 on lost, stolen or damaged and $0 for normal wear and tear or equipment malfunction.

[kurichan]

The water damage indicator is not indication that the device was submerged or got wet; it's only evidence that the water damage indicator had moisture on it.

Once a month, I open the door of my 8703e and wipe the dust and gunk that accumulates off with a damp tissue. In the process, the indicator becomes moist and changes color.

'nuff said.