A Geldpress reader - let’s call him “Mr. B.” - provided the information for this piece.  Mr. B. has been a loyal Sprint customer for over 10 years, and currently has a family plan with five handsets and an average bill of over $200 per month.  Approximately 6 months ago, he upgraded one phone to the LG Rumor, otherwise known as the LG Rubbish.  Sprint’s currently advertises a buy one get one free special on the LG Rubbish, and based on the accounts from Mr B and countless others, you will certainly need a second one after the imminent failure of the first.  But if your second free Rumor Rubbish goes bad, neither Sprint nor LG will honor the warranties they provided.


The warranty is near the end of the user’s manual for the LG Rumor Rubbish.  It clearly states that:

The limited warranty for the unit and enclosed accessories shall be a period of one (1) year from the date of original purchase.

But just like any other warranty, it lists specific limitations, such as “Defects or damage resulting from use of the product in other than its normal and customary manner”.  Mr. B. was never concerned about these limitations because he took good care of his phone, and had faith that either Sprint or LG would take care of any problems, especially within the one year stated warranty period.

The exact problem Mr. B. had with his problem is very similar to the problem reported by countless other Rumor buyers.  The phone simply lost its ability to charge.  He first tried a second charger, and when that didn’t work, he took it back to the Sprint store.  Mr. B. did not have the Sprint equipment protection plan on his account, but he was assured by Sprint that it was no problem.  The equipment protection plan would have allowed Sprint to give him a new phone on the spot, with no questions asked.  But nonetheless, the phone was still under warranty, and LG was responsible for either fixing it or replacing it.

Mr. B. requested a return authorization number from the LG service center (Wireless Operations), and shipped the phone to their service center for repair.  Approximately 2 weeks later, the same phone was returned to him, unrepaired and unreplaced, and with virtually no explanation.  A short note on the repair invoice simply stated “This phone is being returned as is:  Un-repairable“.  Mr. B.’s natural instinct was shock and dismay, and he called the service center for an explanation.  They stated that the charging pins on the main circuit board had fallen off, and it would have cost them more to repair it then to replace it.  Mr. B. stated that he did not care how much it cost them because he had a warranty, and they needed to honor it.  The LG service representative just kept insisting that they could not help him, and that they would not honor the warranty.

Mr. B. was truly perplexed, dismayed, and shocked, but there was nothing he could do about it.  Both Sprint and LG Electronics are enduring severe financial struggles.  Warranty service is undoubtedly very costly, but the solution of not honoring warranties that Sprint and LG are pursuing is bound to end in tragedy for both.

Do you have a broken LG Rumor?  Complaint about LG warranty service?  State your gripes in the comments below.  And if you have been denied warranty service from LG, you can submit your Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint here:

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