Sorry to hear about your situation. I have the full TEP on my Thunderbolt since purchsed new June 2010. I was told this covers repairs beyond the manufacturers warranty, and also theft, loss, or any user damage, no questions asked. This is administrated by Asurion. The Sprint rep laughed and also said, even if you run it over, it will be covered with the full TEP package(minus $100 fee for a claim). Well, it was true for me. I did sighn up for TEP, luckily. I noticed a crack in the rear camera lense, while cleaning it, and do not know how this happened. I am very careful with the phone, but only have a screen protector on, with a belt clip carrying case. Anyway, I called Sprint and they advised me to take it in, or make a insurance claim. I made a claim online at Asurion's site. This was painless. It took minutes also. I was sent a new Thunderbolt in 3 business days, although it was stated 5-10 business days for this model. I was told this was to be a refurb, but when I got it, complete packaging like my original, it looked new. I opened it, then called Asurion, jus to make sure. They told me because of the still high need for this phone, and user damage's returns, they had no refurbs ready and could only send me a new one. I thanked them, and fired her up, and activated it onlinethrough my account on Sprints website. Asurion also stated they only want the damaged habdset back, no battery, nor charger, nor accessories. I have this for about 1 week now, and notice it works better (smoother, faster, screen more bright and crsp, and speaker louder) than the first gen I bought last year...
May 23, 2011, 05:41:17 PM