Question about JUMP (T-Mobile)

[moot]

Hi there, I have a question about JUMP. I traded in my Nexus 5 through JUMP and it was decided that my N5 was "not in working condition", the volume down button was not working. As a result I was given the option to pay the remaining EIP ($154) or the $150 deductible.

I'm confused about JUMP because if I pay off either the EIP or the deductible, I would have paid the full retail value of the N5, but would not be able to keep the phone. In other words, I paid $300 for a phone I was unable to keep. It would have just been better if I bought the phone for $300 and sold it for $100, resulting in me paying $200 for the N5 vs. paying $300 for the N5 through the JUMP program.

I just don't understand the value of JUMP if you're paying full retail value for a phone that you can't keep.

 

[mountainbikermark]

My understanding of Jump, Edge, etc is once you pay the full retail it's yours to keep, that the benefit is being able to trade in your current phone before it has been paid in full for a newer one.
The insurance deductible is not the same as paying off your phone. If the phone is out of warranty or the broken button was deemed your fault and not a manufacturers defect they will not accept it back as a trade in for a new device before it is paid off. Once you do pay it off they will possibly give you a certain credit toward the purchase of a new one but you're just starting over at that point and they might not even give you credit for a broken phone. When it comes to a user broken or lost phone the buyer is still responsible for paying off the agreed amount in the contract, be it monthly installments if you're still a customer or all at once should you leave.
Jump, Edge , etc are good for those that take excellent care of their device and it still looks new after 2 years. It's not so great for the rest of us.
I'd suggest pay the deductible, finish paying off the phone monthly and at the end you'll still have a , hopefully, working phone to trade towards a new one.

Support Our Troops !!!
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Beast Mode 4

 

[FoxKat]

Hi there, I have a question about JUMP. I traded in my Nexus 5 through JUMP and it was decided that my N5 was "not in working condition", the volume down button was not working. As a result I was given the option to pay the remaining EIP ($154) or the $150 deductible.

I'm confused about JUMP because if I pay off either the EIP or the deductible, I would have paid the full retail value of the N5, but would not be able to keep the phone. In other words, I paid $300 for a phone I was unable to keep. It would have just been better if I bought the phone for $300 and sold it for $100, resulting in me paying $200 for the N5 vs. paying $300 for the N5 through the JUMP program.

I just don't understand the value of JUMP if you're paying full retail value for a phone that you can't keep.

If you paid off the charges asked of you they WOULD let you keep it, but it's broken so you'll still have to pay to get it fixed. If you pay it off then you're eligible for a new phone under a new JUMP program but unless you do, you're stuck with the old one.

Still, I'd fight this. What you could say is if you're not going to honor the phone then I want you to ship it back to me. They may say well we have no way of identifying where the phone is to ship it back and at that point you can say well I do own the phone if I pay off the balance and so you're either going to send me back my broken phone or you're going to send me back a working one but I want the phone back. In other words start using leverage and see if you may be able to get them to concede.

It's really in their best interest to honor the exchange for the phone considering the damage to the phone is so incredibly minimal with the volume button not working. The repair for that phone would cost them all of about $10. You could even argue that it was working when you sent it and unless they can prove failure as a result of obvious physical damage such as the phone having been dropped on the button, then they must honor the warranty or the JUMP program. Things fail under normal use and even without any use right out of the package so to deny the trade for a volume button isn't in any way comparable to if the screen were shattered for instance.

Get me on the phone with them and I'll get you a replacement phone and you won't have to pay that fee. I guarantee it. I've been doing this for over 20 years and i know what I can convince them to do that they tell you right off the bat they won't do. Send me a PM and I'll jump on a conference call with you and get this matter fixed once and for all. This kind of stuff pisses me off. I want to help.

 

[moot]

If you paid off the charges asked of you they WOULD let you keep it, but it's broken so you'll still have to pay to get it fixed. If you pay it off then you're eligible for a new phone under a new JUMP program but unless you do, you're stuck with the old one.

Still, I'd fight this. What you could say is if you're not going to honor the phone then I want you to ship it back to me. They may say well we have no way of identifying where the phone is to ship it back and at that point you can say well I do own the phone if I pay off the balance and so you're either going to send me back my broken phone or you're going to send me back a working one but I want the phone back. In other words start using leverage and see if you may be able to get them to concede.

It's really in their best interest to honor the exchange for the phone considering the damage to the phone is so incredibly minimal with the volume button not working. The repair for that phone would cost them all of about $10. You could even argue that it was working when you sent it and unless they can prove failure as a result of obvious physical damage such as the phone having been dropped on the button, then they must honor the warranty or the JUMP program. Things fail under normal use and even without any use right out of the package so to deny the trade for a volume button isn't in any way comparable to if the screen were shattered for instance.

Get me on the phone with them and I'll get you a replacement phone and you won't have to pay that fee. I guarantee it. I've been doing this for over 20 years and i know what I can convince them to do that they tell you right off the bat they won't do. Send me a PM and I'll jump on a conference call with you and get this matter fixed once and for all. This kind of stuff pisses me off. I want to help.

Hey just wanted to thank you for your help and tips. I took 2 weeks but after speaking to MANY people. Since I had already paid the $150 deductible and then T-Mobile credited me $168 dollars on my future EIP balance, so that I ended up with a net gain. This took way longer than I expected, but it ended up being a matter of principle. Your outrage really fueled my fire though!

BUT as it was explained to me, I'm much better off buying budget phones like Nexus in full, rather than using JUMP. JUMP is good for $600 phones, but $300 phones where you end up taking a lost.

Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it.

My understanding of Jump, Edge, etc is once you pay the full retail it's yours to keep, that the benefit is being able to trade in your current phone before it has been paid in full for a newer one.
The insurance deductible is not the same as paying off your phone. If the phone is out of warranty or the broken button was deemed your fault and not a manufacturers defect they will not accept it back as a trade in for a new device before it is paid off. Once you do pay it off they will possibly give you a certain credit toward the purchase of a new one but you're just starting over at that point and they might not even give you credit for a broken phone. When it comes to a user broken or lost phone the buyer is still responsible for paying off the agreed amount in the contract, be it monthly installments if you're still a customer or all at once should you leave.
Jump, Edge , etc are good for those that take excellent care of their device and it still looks new after 2 years. It's not so great for the rest of us.
I'd suggest pay the deductible, finish paying off the phone monthly and at the end you'll still have a , hopefully, working phone to trade towards a new one.

Support Our Troops !!!
<><
Beast Mode 4

Yeah, you're right JUMP is good for people who take good care of their phones. In the future, I'm going to go into the store, and do a trade-in IN store. So that if they give me some BS about the phone being "broken", I can keep the phone and sell it. Instead of not having the phone returned to me and needing to pay the deductible. Lesson learned. Thanks for your help!