Laws governing Cell Phone Providers

[jhudson]

Do cell phone providers have a legal obligation to make it possible to report a lost or stolen cell phone?

My cell phone was lost (turns out stolen) while traveling and I tried to report it missing from a dial phone (I had no access to touch tone phone). Verizon's touch tone system did not provide a way to speak to a human and report the phone lost. When the touch tone system finally said it would transfer me to a customer service representative it would place me on hold for awhile and finally say, "There is no one avaiable to help you. Please call back later" and hang up. I tried calling back later several times and the same occurred. I also tried to report the missing phone online (via a computer at a local library) with a passcode Veriozon had provided me and was never able to log in (the code they gave me was invalid, it said). Once I returned home and was able to report the phone stolen, they turned off the wrong phine and left the stolen one turned on. Now they want $900 in phone charges. Don't they have an obligation to make it possible (and even easy) to report a lost or stolen phone?

Thanks for any help you can give.
_J:

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Do cell phone providers have a legal obligation to make it possible to report a lost or stolen cell phone?

My cell phone was lost (turns out stolen) while traveling and I tried to report it missing from a dial phone (I had no access to touch tone phone). Verizon's touch tone system did not provide a way to speak to a human and report the phone lost. When the touch tone system finally said it would transfer me to a customer service representative it would place me on hold for awhile and finally say, "There is no one avaiable to help you. Please call back later" and hang up. I tried calling back later several times and the same occurred. I also tried to report the missing phone online (via a computer at a local library) with a passcode Veriozon had provided me and was never able to log in (the code they gave me was invalid, it said). Once I returned home and was able to report the phone stolen, they turned off the wrong phine and left the stolen one turned on. Now they want $900 in phone charges. Don't they have an obligation to make it possible (and even easy) to report a lost or stolen phone?

(1) Do you have proof of the call, e.g. long distance bill?
(2) Did you send them an email via the contact section?

I haven't seen the Verizon Wireless agreement you have but I'm guessing it states that you bear the responsibility of reporting a stolen phone. Don't have touch tone? Call a friend who can submit the report for you. Send an email using the contact section, even just general correspondence.

I'm guessing also that some of this will come down to credibility. If you have proof of your attempts, it is possible they may be convinced that they had a problem.

Now what if VZW doesn't believe you? You may have a difficult case in court. Since under the contract you would bear the responsibility, a judge may say that there is very little reason you couldn't have tried other alternatives, especially if the contact us form is easily available. Think of this in the "what would a reasonable man do" perspective.

Wish you the best of luck and I'm sorry about the phone being stolen.