Sprint Service and Repair fee increasing 11/8

[dedub]

If you are doing the one up program, your phone is essentially leased.

[Fraydog]

If my phone with VZW breaks, I have to have them ship a replacement. Most of the Sprint stores around me have repair centers. Now if I lived in Sprint native coverage, one of the reasons I'd have Sprint over VZW is that there's a good chance I could get the phone repaired on site. With VZW, I don't know if they have any on-site repair places period, I know they don't in the STL Metro.

 

Even with the increase, it seems as if Sprint coverage plans give you a little more security than Verizon's.

[jamesinclair]

If you are doing the one up program, your phone is essentially leased.

 

More than essentially, it is leased, as you have to give it back.

 

 

 (Buy a TV from Walmart and ask them to repair it, and see how far that goes.)

 

I buy all my big ticket items from Costco.

 

Not only do they handle any warranty issues, they extend the warranty by a full year for free.

 

Sprint would do well mimicking Costco, rather than Walmart.

[koiulpoi]

You guys arguing about this do realize that the vast majority of customers with these sorts of non-TEP issues are outside of that one-year window anyways, right? Issues due to manufacturer's defects tend to show up right away, and those due to wear and tear are, well, dependent on the level of wear. The "second year" customers are the ones being charged this $75 most of the time.

 

I've personally thought that Sprint should simply roll ESRP in to the rate plans and charge ERP separately, so that everyone's phone is always covered for at least warranty issues. It would massively raise customer satisfaction, while still giving people that option of buying phone insurance, whether through Sprint or another company. After all, that's what people think insurance is for.

[utiz4321]

 

If you are 12-19 months into your contract and do the sprint one up as an early upgrade you are required to give sprint your current device as part of the requirement to upgrade early and end your current contract. That means you are turning in the old device for zero dollars.

 

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

Not really, the early upgrade fee is not charged. So you are turning in your current phone for that value, whatever it is at the time.

[koiulpoi]

Actually, come to think of it... outside of TEP, Sprint stores all follow Apple's pricing guidelines. Which means, Sprint actually does cover all warranty issues for that first year. Of course, year two also follows Apple's pricing, which is $229 for a repair/replacement for the 5/5C/5S. Funny how Apple keeps getting special treatment.

[Fraydog]

It's a small increase. 

 

Also, the big 2 charge much higher deductibles. 

[S4GRU]

If you are doing the one up program, your phone is essentially leased.

It is essentially a lease, but without the benefits of a lease.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[lilg740]

You guys arguing about this do realize that the vast majority of customers with these sorts of non-TEP issues are outside of that one-year window anyways, right? Issues due to manufacturer's defects tend to show up right away, and those due to wear and tear are, well, dependent on the level of wear. The "second year" customers are the ones being charged this $75 most of the time.

 

I've personally thought that Sprint should simply roll ESRP in to the rate plans and charge ERP separately, so that everyone's phone is always covered for at least warranty issues. It would massively raise customer satisfaction, while still giving people that option of buying phone insurance, whether through Sprint or another company. After all, that's what people think insurance is for.

I'd be happy with that. I think that would be on par with industry standard. I remember with AT&T they would either ship you a replacement with a prepaid label, or you could drive to the replacement center and pick on up.

[utiz4321]

If you are doing the one up program, your phone is essentially leased.

If you lease something you have to give it back. This is not true with one up, you could go 24 months or pay off the phone when ever you want and not give the phone back. Lease is not the right metaphor. It is a trade in program.

[dedub]

If you lease something you have to give it back. This is not true with one up, you could go 24 months or pay off the phone when ever you want and not give the phone back. Lease is not the right metaphor. It is a trade in program.

 

I understand what you are saying, however if you go the 24 months or pay off the phone, then there is ZERO point in even being in the one up program.

[utiz4321]

I understand what you are saying, however if you go the 24 months or pay off the phone, then there is ZERO point in even being in the one up program.

Sure there is, if you go the whole way through you pay an extra 88 dollars over two years. That is 88 dollars so you don't have to put any money down, have the option to upgrade at one year (even if you don't use it you had the option ) and you don't have to carry insurance for the last 8 months or so (the price of the deductible and buy out the one up are about the same)... The last benefit makes up for the 88 dollars extra that you spend on the phone.

[ThomasM]

I had two DSL modem/routers in three years fail. Windstream would not handle the OEM warranty for me. The only thing they were willing to do is sell me another one, or lease me a replacement. And it sounds like you were leasing yours from Comcast.

 

If you leased your phone from Sprint, I could see them handling it for you like Comcast. Because they would actually be the Owner of the device.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

A good example of this is DirecTV.

 

When they started out, the customer had to buy everything themselves-the box, the dish, everything.  If it broke down, the customer could buy a new one or return it to the manufacturer for their warranty service.

 

But then DirecTV decided this irritated customers too much so they went to a leasing model where ALL the boxes were leased and, of course, had to be returned if the service was canceled.  For a $20 S & H fee, they replace a failed box which is MUCH CHEAPER than having to buy a new one or with today's shipping costs send it to a manufacturer.

 

Of course, a satellite (or cable) box isn't like a cellphone.  You don't often hear of a satellite box being dropped in a toilet! 

[dedub]

Has anyone determined what insurances are currently the best overall, considering price over lifetime of device, deductibles, hassles, etc.

 

I've never tried it, but I've heard that you can get phones insured via your home owners insurance for way cheaper and with minimal deductions, but I am assuming that would vary on your insurance agency.

[halcyoncmdr]

Here are the simple facts related to Sprint directly:

 

The majority of Sprint customers subscribe to TEP (~80%).

There are some that just have ESRP or ERP (~2%).

The rest (~18%) do not have any phone protection through Sprint.

Of these, only about half (~9%) are still within the manufacturers warranty at any given time.

 

The cost to Sprint to have a third-party vendor repair/refurbish/etc. a device is a fixed cost per device contracted between Sprint and this vendor (VTO in Sprint's case). The manufacturers do notdirectly refurbish most Sprint replacement devices (there are a few exceptions like Blackberries and iPhones). These replacement devices all cost Sprint money (ranging from ~$50-$300 depending on model), often much more than it would be if the part fixed is field-repairable. Surprisingly, most parts on phones are NOT field-repairable. An earpiece speaker on the Samsung Epic for instance can be replaced in the field, however the Epic Touch on the other hand has very few field-repairable parts, the earpiece is not one of them). The Galaxy S3 on the other hand has quite a few field-repairable parts, and the S4 has even more than that. The more that can be fixed in the field, the less Sprint has to pay for refurbished device replacements, it's the main reason the S&R stores are still around. All of the competitors did away with field repair, and thus their replacement costs skyrocketed upwards, despite not having to pay for technicians anymore, their repair/replacement costs are almost double what they were before, and they usually don't replace anything that would be even partially outside the warranty guidelines.

 

On the other hand, the cost of these newer devices for Sprint to refurbish (~$50-$300 remember?), are much higher than they were a few years ago, not to mention back 5 years ago when I started. The TEP/ESRP plans pay for the entire Service and Repair program that Sprint offers, and then some. All technicians, all field-repair parts, all refurbishment costs, it is all funded solely by TEP/ESRP nationwide. This is why I don't see S&R going away any time soon, or Sprint changing the structure of the replacements/warranty guidelines. As it is, for 82% of customers they are covered without any sort of payment out of pocket, because they are enrolled in one of the protection plans. Another 9% are covered by the manufacturer. That leaves just 9% without any coverage, and a nominal $75 charge to repair or replace the phone, because they are out of warranty and chose not to get protection on their device.

[halcyoncmdr]

I understand what you are saying, however if you go the 24 months or pay off the phone, then there is ZERO point in even being in the one up program.

 

Not true.

 

You are not in contract with One Up, so there is no ETF if you choose to leave Sprint. You simply either give your phone back, or finish paying it off.

 

When upgrading you do not have to pay full retail price for a device, you simply pay the taxes at time of purchase (and perhaps a deposit in the future, currently waived right now)

 

You get a $15 credit off your monthly plan cost, offsetting much of the purchase price of your device. Don't forget about this part (that's $360 over a 2 year period). If you simply paid full retail price for a device, your plan is still the full price per month, therefore you pay an additional $360 in 2 years that you didn't need to. There is absolutely no reason for you NOT to choose One Up instead of paying full retail.

[dedub]

good points, something to consider.