Venting...

I love my Blackberry Curve 8310 and its features. But recently, I had a problem with it and spent hours trying to get it resolved between ATT who referred me to Blackberry who said I should get the phone replaced since it's still under warranty.

Called AT&T who said that according to their records, I bought a refurbished phone and it's out of warranty. Went to the AT&T store where I bought it, and armed with my receipt, asked them to correct their records.

Tried to get the phone exchanged at the store, they told me to call the warranty department. The warranty people asked if I dropped my phone --- who hasn't? So I said yes. And there's the rub: they said that because I dropped my phone it voids the warranty! It doesn't matter if I was sitting in my chair and dropped the phone on carpet --- it's akin to dropping it from a 3-story building. The warranty is voided!

After arguing with the rep, I asked for the supervisor who wouldn't budge. They said to send the phone to Blackberry and have Blackberry fix it (which means I will be without a phone during that time). She also said that if they replace my phone, they will give me a refurbished phone and that if they find some damage to the phone I send back, that they will charge me $300 which is about the price of a new phone. So why give me a refurbished phone?

I had a TREO 650 before, and hated that phone. Switched to Blackberry --- should have switched carriers then instead of signing up for another two years. Not worth the headache of not being able to switch carriers.

Here's a link to a review of Cell Phone providers. http://cell-phone-providers-review.toptenreviews.com/. Although AT&T is ranked higher than some, I still think their customer service is the pits.