Asurion broke my phone?

[Members_RC]

I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy 23 & traded my old Galaxy 20 as part of the purchase. It was in full working condition with no marks, scratches or cracks on the screen & was assessed to be worth $155. They charged me $155 as a security deposit which was taken from my account straight away. I followed the instructions provided by Samsung Trade-Up & took it to Australia Post who packaged it up & sent it to Asurion. They inspected my device & claimed that its physical condition did not match the information I provided when I completed the Samsung Trade-Up & sent me photos of a phone with a cracked screen. They also claimed they will charge me a mis-grading device fee of $155.

I had a case & screen protector on my old phone since I bought it. My old phone left my possession with a flawless screen. It then allegedly turns up in Asurion's possession with a cracked screen. Was the flimsy packaging that Asurion instructs Auspost to send devices back inadequate as many people have complained about? Or did Asurion accidentally or deliberately break my phone once it was in their possession?

After several emails trying to resolve this matter & having all of my questions to Asurion ignored, they say that they will return the device to me. So I have sent them a device in full working condition with no marks, scratches or cracks on the screen. They have taken $155 from me. And now they want to send me a phone with a cracked screen and keep my $155. I am absolutely incredulous that they are even attempting to get away with this. Asurion's behaviour has been absolutely disgraceful & unacceptable. There are many reports on many websites that document the same unscrupulous behaviour from Asurion. I wish I had read them before I entrusted my old phone to them so I could have avoided them. Hopefully Samsung take note of the increasing weight of evidence against Asurion & find another partner because they are harming the name & reputation of Samsung. 

[Cgers80]

I sent a old S8 in only lost $5 on it so not so bad but it was working before switching it off and posting and they said WiFi didn't work on it when testing the funny thing is I downloaded and ran the trade up program only on WiFi before sending it in.

[Members_RC]

Sorry to hear that. They claim that their assessments are fair & reasonable but the large amount of complaints about Asurion suggests otherwise.

[WilmerLarrota]

What a bad experience, in Colombia one could take the device to the Samsung store to have it evaluated directly, can't it be done here?

[Dolgogi]

If you're buying from the physical store, yes you can.

[Members_RC]

Given my location, it was easier to send it off for assessment. I thought I would receive the same level of professionalism & customer service as if I took it to a Samsung store but that clearly hasn't been the case. I won't make that mistake again.

[uchetia]

Did u record a video of the phone before sending out?

[Members_RC]

I thought I was dealing with a reasonable & trustworthy company so didn't think that I would have to go to such lengths. Now, after reading so many reports of poor customer service & incorrect assessments, I would absolutely recommend that everybody does this if they need to use Asurion. But try and avoid them completely if you can.

[Members_RC]

I've had to email them four times after my initial enquiry & I'm still no closer to a reasonable outcome. Their attitude is solely obstructionist. I think I've repeated questions at least three times that they continue to ignore. They still want to send me a broken phone & charge me $155 to do so. This is utterly ridiculous.

[Cgers80]

Threatened TIO and see where it goes