Forum Discussion
Assurant Damaged Device Returned - Not Recived
I filed a claim with Assurant in early February 2020- they denied it at first then after another call they approved it. I received the replacement and returned my damaged phone on 2/7/2020 via USPS using the label they provided.
I called after receiving the second notice that the phone was not received as it should have been delivered by then. Turns out it had been delivered on 2/11/2020, but there was no phone inside the envelope.
I called Assurant and was told that the envelope was sealed, but that the ends were opened. Sounded to me like the way they probably open these when they arrive and process the claim. Regardless, they said i would have to file a claim with USPS and that if they did not find the phone i would be charged non returned fee for it. I asked them to share there notes with me, so that i could use them when filing a claim with USPS, she said she could not. I asked that the call be escalated and the manager proceeded to tell me that was correct and that USPS has a contact with them and they could share information directly with them. At this time she also said that the envelope was not opened, but referenced tampered claim.
As requested I have submitted the claim with USPS, but we are almost at the 30 day mark so they will be passing a fee to T-Mobile and 15 days later it will be billed and they can not undo it even if USPS finds the phone. To say i am unhappy with Assurant is an understatement as they are going to charge me up to $600 for the damaged phone that i know was returned.
I have been a long time custom with T-Mobile and have had a couple of claims over the years and have had no issues with the damaged phone being received by Assurant. I do not want them to pass a charge over to T-mobile for something that i know is incorrect. I am asking T-Moble to review my account and help me resolve this with Assurant.
Same issue, they are liars and thieves. I will be contacting my representatives and all other avenues to have them investigated as well as the BBB. Stole nearly $1000 from me. And I have all documentation and photographs as well as witness to verify. I hope others pursue this the same way. Unethical business practices are becoming common practice in the U.S. and we need to stop allowing it. Strength in numbers. So follow through. Even if they eventually fold and correct the issue for you it shouldn't deter you from contacting reps and atty general to file a complaint. Attempted robbery is still a crime. And it may help the next person not get robbed.
I’m going through this right now. Any update on what the lawyer said?
robbyd44 wrote:
I filed a claim for a cracked screen in Feb. 2021. The claim was approved and I was sent a new (most likely refurbished phone). This, after I paid a $99 deductible, not to mention hundreds of dollars in insurance premiums, over the years.
A week after I shipped my old phone back to Assurant via USPS, in the Assurant prepaid envelope that they had sent me, I checked the tracking number on the USPS site. The package had been delivered. I thought no more about the matter.
About a week later I received a letter from Assurant, saying that they had not received my package. I called them, and gave them the tracking number and delivery date. The rep thanked me and said that he would take care of the situation.
This was back in Feb. Heard not a thing more about it, until now. On my May bill from T Mobile, I have a charge of $510 from Assurant for the old phone that I sent back to them in Feb.
I called T Mobile immediately, asking what the charge was for. The T Mobile rep said that he would transfer me to somebody who could help. He transferred me to Assurant!
I was then told, by the Assurant rep that they had found the package, but that there was no phone inside. So, the EXACT same story that I am reading all over the internet, as well as on this site, concerning this company.
Assurant says that they have opened a new investigation, and it should be complete in 3 days. What this means, I have no idea, but guess I will find out. Outrageously, they want me to call them back after 3 days, to find out the results of the investigation.
I have contacted a lawyer, who after seeing all of the EXACT same complaints from, literally, hundreds of people on the internet, is considering a class action law suit.
I have also contacted my representatives in the U.S. Senate, in the U.S. House of Representatives, my State Legislators, and have filed complaints with my state’s consumer protection bureau, as well as the Better Business Bureau.
Was there Resolution to this? Unfortunately, having the same issue for past 3 months and haven't been able to resolve it.
This happened to me as well. They said is my responsibility to get a confirmation at the drop off. But usps doesn't do that. LMFAO!
It’s terrible. So after I posted my last update saying we finally got it resolved - apparently we did not. They still charged us for the phone. I called Assurant and talked to 2 managers in 2 different departments. They told me that the representative who said we would not be charged was lying. And I asked what policy do they have in place to reprimand the employee who lied - she said there is not policy in place for that. Basically they are not going to do anything about it. Plain and simple. Nobody gets in trouble on their side and we have to pay the charge.
I was furious. I spend several hours on the phone that day trying to get something to happen. But I'm not wasting any more of my time on this BS. We are looking for a new company to insure our phones.
I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH TMOBILE. IN MAY 2023, I HAD A HANDSET WARRENTY EXCHANGE. I GOT THE REPLACEMENT. I RETURNED THE DEFECTIVE PHONE. TMOBILE HAS THE NERVE TO SAY I DID NOT RETURN THE CORRECT PHONE. I DID RETURN THE CORRECT PHONE. NOW MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN BILLED $845.45. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS. THIS IS SCREWING UP MY CREDIT REPORT. I HAVE SPENT 40 HOURS OVER 6 WEEKS ON THE PHONE WITH TMOBILE’S REPS. EACH PRMOMISED TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE, AND EACH PROMISED TO CALL ME BACK. ALL WERE EMPTY PRMOMISES. NOBODY FIXED THE ISSUE, AND NOBODY HAS EVEN TRIED TO CALL ME BACK. I AM A SENIOR CITIZEN, ON A FIXED INCOME. I DO NOT HAVE EXTRA MONEY TO PAY FOR A PHONE THAT I ALREADY RETURNED ON TIME. I NEED HELP. I HAVE RUN OUT OF OPTIONS. ONE SO CALLED “MANAGE”, CALLED ME A LIAR. HE SAID THAT I NEVER RETURNED THE PHONE. IS THIS HOW YOUR LOUSY COMPANY TREATS A LOYAL CUSTOMER FOR OVER 20 YEARS? I THINK NOT. TMOBILE HAS TO MAKE THIS RIGHT. I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SUE THIS POOR EXCUSE FOR A COMPANY. HOW DARE YOU TREAT ME SO HORRIBLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHAME ON YOU TMOBILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just want to say thank you to the last response. It appears to have work. I’m not seeing a charge on our upcoming bill.
Everything was done via email. We followed all of the steps that Assurant told us we must do (even though we knew what the outcome would be)… filed a report with USPS.. you can’t file an actual claim with them because they don’t buy insurance on the box they provide (we politely pointed out the irony of this.. the insurance company not paying for insurance). In our email we suggested that they take a look at the security footage since it appears the package was indeed delivered.
Thanks again for the advice. Hopefully someone puts an end to this. Until then, we will be looking for a new company to insure our phones.
One more word of advice… it didn’t come to this for us, but file a complaint with the BBB if you must (this is why we followed all of the required steps, so that they couldn’t blame us for anything). I noticed that they have an A rating on BBB. This is because they have resolved all of the complaints submitted. So it appears they are willing to play ball in order to keep their good rating.
I ended up getting this all straightened out without having to pay anything. Assurant tried to hit me with the charge on my T-Mobile bill so I called customer service and immediately asked to be transferred to a manager. The manager that answered couldn’t have been any better. After I explained everything to her she called assurant and got to a second or third tier manager there and told them that, given my account history and time with the company, T-Mobile wasn’t going to let me get stuck holding the bag. She left me to talk to the Assurant manager and I asked if there were cameras overlooking the receiving department. She said yes so I asked if they would send me the footage from the day my package was received so I could include it with a mail fraud complaint. About 2 minutes later all was forgotten and the charge was removed from my bill.
Don’t give up and, for the love of God, do not try to get anywhere with the first person who answers the phone when you call. Demand that they connect you with a manager. If that person can’t help, demand another manager. I bet I spent a total of three hours on the phone but I finally got high enough on the food chain that I got it dealt with. That’s been the case with a couple of issues I have had with them. Keep pestering until you get someone with the stroke to handle your problem.
Also, from the tone of the conversation I had with the T-Mobile manager, they are well aware that there is a serious problem with Assurant but you have to keep in mind that they, on their level, have no say in who T-Mobile corporate decides to do business with. I was polite and didn’t blame or yell at the manager and she went out of her way to help me out. Be firm, but nice.
Exact same situation. Package “received but already open and no phone inside” Still happening.
For those who said they would file claims with BBB or consult with a lawyer – any update??
Well, now my suspicions are confirmed. I just had the exact same thing happen. I got a replacement phone and sent the old one back. According to Assurant they received the package at the warehouse but now, two weeks later, it still hasn’t been “scanned” back in so they are saying that I will have to pay a missing device fee if they don’t find it. It sounds like they have a pretty big issue in their warehouse. The rep told me that the scan was all-important because I could have sent back an empty envelope. I’m still trying to figure out what benefit, exactly, I gain by doing that when they have my name, address, phone numbers and credit card information. This appears to be a pretty good scam they have running where they make the customer pay for things that are completely out of their control. I say this because I’m also trying to figure out why a USPS employee would want to risk a good paying job to steal a phone that is A) already broken and B) they have no idea what is wrong with it. I give credit where it’s due, their replacement speed is lightening fast, but then to get hammered on the back end of that by them basically treating me like a scammer kind of cuts the enthusiasm of their replacement efficiency. Thankfully it is a cheap phone so I will just send the replacement back to Assurant and buy a new one from T-Mobile, but I will be damned if I’m going to pay Assurant for what is obviously an issue on their end. I’m also not going to pay new retail for a reconditioned replacement phone they sent me. The $50 replacement cost already covers the cost of the reconditioned phone plus what I pay every month for insurance.
