Yeah, I have had to return 2 OGs and that was probably within well under a year.
The key is that it isn't due to something you clearly were told not to do. Basically hardware or software related that can be replicated for the Verizon person to see.
My cases were a) touchscreen went totally freaky, so it was like a ghost was controlling the phone. Push friends contact to call and dialed an ex. Not cool! b) after Froyo release suddenly the phone or package manager wouldn't recognize the apps moved to sd, except for every approx. sixth reboot.
Verizon was totally cool and very helpful, didn't try to snake out of it like many companies do. They immediately gave me refurbished phone no questions and new warranty starting that day.
The second time, one of the guys even tried to score me a Droid 2, but they ended up finding a Droid and manager nixed the D2.
Now Sprint back in pre smartphone days were awful. Phone wouldn't charge when plugged in, and the guy at the store said it wasn't fully making contact between the male and female parts. So I asked for a new one and he said it was my fault and I must have charged it too many times.
Too many times? I said that was ridiculous and I wanted a manager immediately. And low and behold, he parrots the same thing!
I asked if this was some kind of a joke, charging my phone too much so it would work? Nope, not a joke.
I told them to think hard about what I was going to ask and choose their answer wisely.
"You buy a new car and suddenly you can't put gas into it. You take it back to the dealer to get it fixed or replaced with a car that actually works. The dealer replies, sorry can't help you as that happens when you fill your car with gas too many times. Would that make sense?" The manager just stood there silently. So I asked again making sure every customer there could hear everything.
He told me there's nothing he can do. So I repeated that loudly. Slammed the phone down to make sure no one was missing out on the quality of customer care they could look forward to.
I suggested several places that he could store my new paperweight. And told them that they lost a customer for life. I have never again used them nor will I.
And more importantly all those lined up for purchases had set their items down and left without signing up, but made sure to thank me as they exited. All while I silently smiled at the manager.
The store was now empty except for the employees and I thanked them and told them that the pleasure was all mine.
Rule of thumb in business is that it costs twice as much to get a new client as it does to retain a current one. Verizon knows how to run a business very well from everything I have ever seen.
I would assume that you will find them to be very helpful and won't get any hassle. I think that a restocking fee would only be if you return the phone to get a different one, not because your phone was defective.
walkin the walk while tappin the talk
danceswithbongs