More than 300,000 BMW owners will soon be eligible to claim their portion of a $478 million settlement over allegations that a design defect resulted in water damage to electrical components in vehicles’ trunks. [More]
water damage
Verizon Charges Customer $299 For Refurbished iPhone That Never Worked
By 3.4.13
It hasn’t even been two years since a New Jersey teen first received his iPhone 4. He’s since been through four of the devices, following a string of faulty refurbished replacements. To rub salt in that wound, Verizon Wireless charged him $299 for the most recent refurb, claiming the damage was his fault. [More]
How I Got Verizon To Credit Me $300 And Admit My Phone Had No Water Damage
By 10.26.12 — Updated: 10.29.12
When Justin’s phone failed, Verizon Wireless insisted that there was water damage to it, and billed him $299 after initially sending a warranty replacement with no fuss. Then, a month later, Verizon sent the administrator of the account, his mother, a bill for the replacement phone. It had water damage, they insisted, even though the moisture sensors remained un-tripped. Justin babied that phone, and resented the “abuse.zip” file name that Verizon gave the compressed set of pictures that they sent him as proof. So he employed the executive e-mail carpet bomb. [More]
Void Your Mobile Phone Warranty: Move Somewhere Humid
By 1.26.12
Until recently, Israel was a happy and loyal T-Mobile customer of almost a decade. He’s also that person left who’s still using a BlackBerry. He sent his phone in for a warranty exchange, dutifully checking the liquid damage sensor first to make sure his phone hadn’t been dunked. But TMo charged him a fee for water damage anyway, because the real moisture sensor is buried inside the phone, and told a different story. Because Israel had dared…. to live in Miami. [More]
Washer Floods House, Sears Puts Dams Up In Front Of Customer
By 7.29.11
When his washing machine from a Sears Outlet failed during its very first load of laundry, flooding the house, Rob thought that everything would be okay. Replacing the defective washer was a painless and easy process, thanks to the staff of his local store. Getting Sears to cover the thousands of dollars’ worth of water damage to his home…not so much. [More]
Can High Humidity Void Your iPhone's Warranty?
By 8.23.10
It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity that can kill your iPhone, reports the South China Morning Post. Apple says their phones are built so that humidity doesn’t accidentally trigger the device’s water sensors, but users in Hong Kong, where humidity can reach 95%, say their devices’ warranty claims are unfairly getting rejected for water damage, even when not a drop has touched them. Humidity test results tell an unflattering tale: [More]
Is The iPhone 3G Liquid Sensor A Filthy Liar?
By 9.20.09
Here’s the $199 question. What does it take to set off the moisture sensor on an iPhone 3G? Immersion in water? Sweat from a vigorous workout? Using the phone on a humid day? The truth is somewhere on that continuum, and many iPhone users claim that their warranties have been unfairly voided when normal use set off the sensors.
So You Want To Sue The Company That's Screwing You Over
By 9.18.09
Jon wants us to recommend a good lawyer to sue HP for screwing him over on laptop repairs. We do not offer legal advice like that. We do, however, believe strongly in the power of small claims court.
Is This Computer Water Damaged? Circuit City Says Yes
By 9.25.08
Robert bought an extended warranty from Circuit City, but they won’t honor it to repair his broken computer because they claim it has water damage. Robert writes, “As God is my witness, this computer has never seen water,” and he sent us the photos Circuit City sent him.
Save A Wet Cellphone
By 10.16.06
There was a time when the best place to charge our cellphone was near an open window in our apartment. One day, it stopped working and we took it into the Verizon store to get it fixed. The first thing they did was open up the battery case. On top of the Verizon LG phone battery was a small dot, normally white, that changes color when the battery has been exposed to water. As such, they phone was no longer covered under warranty and we ended up signing a new contract just so we didn’t have to pay full retail for their phone. We wished that instead we had known about these neat tips (again, at WikiHow) on saving your wet cell phone.
The Taxman Is Really, Really, Wet
By 7.12.06
Boon for those who filed their returns in used lunch sacks?
