Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Warranty

Voided Warranty?

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:30:07 -0800

Is a Dell technician going to discover I've opened the computer before? The video card on my Dell XPS M1330 has crapped out. It's under warranty, so a quick chat with Dell support has them sending a technician out to replace the motherboard in the next few days. I just remembered, however, that I've opened the laptop a few times to clean dust out of the fans and adjust a cable that was being pinched. Will the tech be able to tell, and more importantly, will they refuse to service the laptop or charge me under the grounds that I've voided my warranty?

The problem I'm having with the M1330's video card appears to be widespread (see: "colored vertical lines" problem), so it's unlikely that i caused or affected it in any way by opening it up.

Ray Bans Warranty

dunderwood — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:57:18 -0800

Have any of you sent off a pair of ray bans to be fixed via warranty w/ out receipt? Last christmas my friends gave me an awesome pair of ray ban wayfarers as a gift and I've enjoyed them ever since. Recently however, one of the "Ray Bans" logos has become loose on one of the arms. Its not too big of a deal right now but it really bugs me to know that it could eventually fall off.

I do not have the original receipt but I know they are still in warranty. Have any of you guys dealt with this situation and if so, how did it work out? Should I try sending them in anyways?

Am I smart to buy this dumbphone... or not?

Unicorn on the cob — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:44:42 -0800

I'm thinking about buying the Sonim XP3. Does anyone here own one or know someone that does? Asking primarily because I'll have to order it online; the only store carrying it is on back order and I can't futz with it before buying. As someone who notoriously destroys things quickly and frequently, I can't see any reason not to spend more money on a dumbphone that has an awesome warranty and is virtually indestructible. I already have a Blackberry for Web access, don't IM on the go and abhor video games of all kinds. I'm really just looking for a contract-free Unicorn-proof phone; I'm happy with my tertiary devices, but have gone through a score of cheap, crappy, annoying contract-bound phones through AT&T.

If it matters, my current contract runs out a year from now with AT&T.

Please do not try to convince me to get an iPhone; I've already had one and sold it because I hate the touch interface and already own an iPod and a Blackberry for music/browser stuff, but the GPS feature would be nice to have.

Anyone own one of these things? Personal experiences? Negatives? Positives? Thank you in advance!

How can there be water damage if there was NO WATER??

moojoose — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:22:25 -0800

Wireless provider says my phone has water damage--it never touched water/liquid. What to do next? About 2 days ago, my cell phone (Samsung A767 through AT&T) started cutting out when I was talking. Now I can't hear anything, not even a ring. Supposedly people on the other end can hear me fine. The rest of the features of the phone work fine. I just bought this phone in May, so it's still under warranty.

I took the phone to the AT&T store, and they said they couldn't do anything for me--there was water damage. This phone has never come into contact with water or any other liquids. It is either in my purse or pocket at all times, never on the counter, the bathroom, etc. I do, however, live in the Pacific Northwest, which is a particularly moist and rainy environment. Googling finds a website full of complaints that this phone claims false moisture damage.

Now what? We've had this account with AT&T for over 10 years and never required a replacement until right now. Surely that should count for something?

Contract based on 36 months with a 3.7% APR

Xurando — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:03:17 -0800

Help me figure out why my new Ipod Touch seems to be playing podcasts at faster than normal speed and to fix the problem. When I play back podcasts on my new 32G Ipod Touch it sounds like the speeded up portion at the end of car ads. Music seems to be okay but it's hard to tell. I played a piano sonata and it didn't sound speeded up. I would search the Apple/Ipod knowledge base for an answer but I don't know what to call it. I've looked in preferences but nothing seems to address my issue.
Any ideas?

Is it worth getting an Extended Service Plan for PRK?

JeremiahBritt — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:20:59 -0800

Getting PRK done next month, which comes with a one year warranty for free "touch ups". For an additional $400 I can get a 10-year warranty, but does PRK regress passed the first year? I'm not a candidate for LASIK.

Other details:

I'm going to Eye Doctors of Washington in DC, after shopping around and going to consults at 4 other places in the area.

The cost without the warranty is ~$3600 (reduced due to insurance matching).

I am severely myopic and have astigmatism, which increases the chances I'll need a touch up, but if I do, it will most likely happen within the included guarantee.

We will probably move from the area within a couple years, maybe even to the other coast, so touchups would actually cost $400 + travel + hotel.

Those who have had PRK, have you noticed any degradation after your vision stabilized in 6 months?

$400 doesn't seem like a lot for piece of mind money, but moving (increasing the actual cost) and the low rate (anecdotally from friends) that have degraded make it seem like a worry tax.

I'm afraid perceived value (it's my frikken eyes) may be clouding my judgment of actual value.

Saw this question, which had answers relating low-to-no degredation, but was specifically LASIK.

I'm aware that this may result in opinion answers, but I respect your opinions.

How can I get Geek Squad to replace my laptop?

emilyd22222 — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:38:01 -0800

How can I get Geek Squad/Best Buy to replace my laptop? In a couple of hours, I am taking my computer to Best Buy for repairs under my 3-year extended service plan, which expires in a few months. Right now, the computer is having a hard time recognizing the AC adapter, which has happened about 4 times with this computer- they always replace either the motherboard or the adapter itself. It also tends to go through periods where it processes very slowly, and Geek Squad hasn't been able to ID the problem. It completely crashed a couple years ago, requiring data recovery and serious repair work. I've heard that sometimes they'll offer you a new computer when you've been in for repairs enough- I was planning on buying a new one when my service plan expires in August, but I'd like to see if I can get a free one out of them.

What could I say or do to get them to give me a new one?

Help me work out how best to deal with a dealership.

Effigy2000 — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:34:23 -0800

We bought a brand new car a couple of weeks ago but the windscreen is scratched. We're pretty sure that the dealer did this but we don't really have any proof. What are our options? About three weeks ago we bought a brand new car from a respectable Toyota dealership. When we picked the car up, the salesman showed us all the features and how to work all the nobs and switches and so forth.

This involved testing the windscreen wipers. It wasn't raining at the time and when he turned them on we heard a bit of a scraping noise, and both my partner and I have since discussed how we (silently) wished at the time that he hadn't done that. But we were pretty excited about getting the new car and just wanted to get out of there and drive so we didn't pay it too much mind.

Anyway, about a week passes and we're driving the car and my partner realises there's a big scratch along the front of the windscreen, following the path that the windscreen wiper would have taken. Obviously we're a bit pissed off.

But the truth is, apart from our suspicions, we really have no proof that this is how the scratch got there. It has rained a few times between now and then, so our wipers have been used, but when we did we didn't hear the same screeching noise we heard before.

We want to take this up with the dealer, and see if we can come to some kind of arrangement. But since we have no hard evidence that they're responsible, we're pretty sure that they'll just say something like "well how do we know you didn't do it sometime in the last three weeks?" And that would be a fair call, to be honest. However, I'm hoping that since they are a large, respectable dealership they might be willing to meet us halfway on this.

Should I bother taking this up with them? If so, what do you think should be my plan of attack? Do we have any recourse at all here? I'm in Brisbane, Australia, if that means anything at all.

Lemon law or lemonade recipe?

cedar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:27:02 -0800

I need a source for NY state law (not NYC) pertaining to the sale of used cars. We recently purchased a used SUV (1998 Ford Explorer) from a licensed dealer. Upon subsequent inspection it was discovered that the front drive shaft had been removed -- yes, removed -- disabling the front wheel portion of the on-demand all wheel drive.

It is my thinking that this is a major oversight on the dealers part (and ours, hell, we bought it with half the drive train missing and didn't even notice) and clearly his responsibility. Is this accurate?

The warranty was 30 days or 1000 miles, we're at day 26 and 700 miles.

Extra bonus question: the ball joints also need replacement. It is my understanding that while no longer a part of NYS inspection it is part of the dealer "inspection" and while not explicitly covered by the drive train warranty should not have been overlooked by the dealer before putting the car on the lot.

HP laptop warranty question

SweetTeaAndABiscuit — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:09:56 -0800

Warranty filter: My HP laptop is covered under an extended warranty for a host of known problems with wireless cards, power issues, etc. Now my laptop is having problems with these issues and HP has authorized me to send it in for free repair. The original a/c adapter was broken and replaced with a generic one. Instructions for returning the laptop say to include the a/c adapter if having problems with the computer starting with battery only (I am). My question: Will returning it with a generic a/c adapter instead of the original one void my warranty and lead to HP not making this free repair? Would it better just to ignore the instructions and NOT include the adapter and hope they will fix it anyway?? Thanks for any light you can shed!!

Wet Audis and the Bills they Cause

rileyray3000 — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:13:10 -0800

My 2006 Audi A4 is having ignition coil problems. And the dealer is saying because it's water damage related, it's not covered under warranty. I have NOT had the engine cleaned. I have NOT driven into a lake and I live in California where rain is minimal. Help me to not be screwed. So here's the short story for car people. For non-car people it tends to read a little longer:

I drive a 2006 Audi A4 2.0 quattro

1) had an accident where I rear ended someone. VERY minor. Cosmetic damage and the compressor for the AC. Took the car in two days later to an insurance company approved body shop.

2) Got the car back. Drove fine for one day. Then next day I start the car and it cranks but won't turn over. Have it towed to the body shop. They discover it's an ignition coil and possibly the left passenger side housing of said coil. According to Audi, cannot possibly be related to crash. Get it towed to the dealer. Says it's under warranty, should be fine

3) Got call the next day from the dealer saying it's water damage related. That rust has gotten on the interior of one of the ignition coils and that water damage is NOT covered by warranty.

4) Now I'm being told to pay 675 bucks.

The service tech says that they see a lot of that from pressure washing engines. I called the body shop. They say there's dust on the engine and that they clearly didn't pressure wash it. And they also say the hood was never off the car.

I have NEVER cleaned under this hood. I park the car in covered parking. So i guess my main question is how did this happen and what do I do about it?

But then there are the minor questions related to it:

-Can anything else LOOK like rust and maybe my dealer is mistaking it?
-Are there any known issues with ignition coils and rust?
-I park next to a constantly leaking pipe in my covered parking. Could the excess moisture just get in the car over time?
-Who do I go after here? Is the body shop guy full of crap or is the dealer? Or do I go after my landlord?

swapping controller cards, voiding warranty?

grandsham — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:49:55 -0800

Can I temporarily swap out the controller board on my seagate hard drive without voiding the warranty? I have a Seagate 7200.10 500GB hard drive that I fried the controller board on (fed 12V into the 5V connector, blew what appears to be a fuse or voltage regulator). I have made an RMA request, and a replacement drive is coming on monday

while I had most everything backed up, there are a few things I still want to get off of the drive. I have an identical drive that I could swap the controller board for, but I don't want to invalidate my warranty by doing it. so my question:

1) will removing the controller board invalidate my warranty if I reattach the broken board before I send it back?

2) will Seagate be able to tell if I have removed the board if I reattach it (there are no "this will void your warranty stickers" on the board, but I am worried about tamper-evident screws and the like)?

Will they fix it?

Venadium — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:52:33 -0800

Has anyone had Nikon gear that you bought used serviced under warranty? Is this possible, or is Nikon's extended warranty non-transferable? I've got a lens (28-70 2.8 AF-S) that I want to send in to Nikon to have checked out. The person I bought the lens from filled out and mailed in the extended warranty card when he first bought the lens, so it's still under warranty until September of next year. They were also kind enough to include a copy of the original receipt from B&H that clearly shows the lens and serial number, along with all the other things he bought that day.

I've searched around a bit but I haven't found any clear answer as to whether or not I'll be able to get the lens serviced under warranty or not. Some are saying no, that the warranty is not transferable and if I want it serviced I'd have to have the original owner send it in for me (which probably wouldn't be a problem, but he isn't exactly local and it would just end up taking longer), and then some are saying it should be no problem as long as I include that B&H receipt and maybe also a note stating that the item was a gift (the original sales receipt is usually required anyway when getting warranty service).

Does anyone have any experience with getting used equipment repaired under warranty? I'd call Nikon myself right now if they were open, and I was hoping to get an answer or two before I go to the UPS store to send the lens out in the morning.

Should I return a HD under warranty if it contained personal info?

Auden — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:02:29 -0800

Hard Drive Crashed after a week... should I risk a return under warranty if it contains personal info? My newly purchased 750GB hard drive from New Egg is giving me a death-click after only a week ... but for that first week I transferred several over a dozen GBs of music, movies, and personal info. At this point, I'm not even sure what's on there (or "was" on there), although I'm sure that I wouldn't want others to have access to that data. The drive seems completely gone and not salvageable, but... what generally happens with such drives when returned? Should I risk an exchange, if New Egg allows for one?

My Samsung DLP has required multiple repairs since July

neilkod — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:48:05 -0800

My out-of-warranty Samsung DLP has been plagued with issues for the last 6 weeks. Routine issues, or do I have recourse? Samsung HLR4667WAX/XAA DLP. First week of July, my DLP's bulb died after 6500 hours. Fine. I can handle a bulb-I knew this was inevitable as soon as I bought the set (about 2004). After $129 and a 10-minute DIY, I was up and running.

Two weeks later, the color wheel went out. Cha-ching - Another $125 dollars and a slightly more complicated repair. After I installed the color wheel, I ran into issues where the set's colors would go all wonky and then it would shut itself off after about 5 minutes, with the lamp warning flashing. I went into the service screen and reset the bulb life counter-that seemed to fix the problem. TV worked fine for about another week to ten days.

Then, for whatever reason, the TV wouldn't turn on AGAIN. That, or it took far too long. Then not at all. For a few days, the TV would power on as long as turned the TV on before the Xbox. If the Xbox was already on, the TV wouldn't turn on. Now, the TV is back to not turning on at all. I get a blinking lamp indicator.

Discount-merchant, who I bought the lamp from, wants me to send the lamp back so they can test it and determine if its OK. According to their website, the bulbs have some ungodly failure rate, like 3 out of every 10,000 are DOA.

A call to 1-800-Samsung was no help, they wanted no part of me because it's out of warranty.

I've performed many other checks on the TV-I've ensured that all of the connections are tight, that the inside is clean, and that the lamp-cover-switch is in its proper position. There are no unusual noises coming from the set-I can hear the whirr of the fans and the color wheel.

Audio seems to work OK - I'm just not getting any picture.

I understand routine maintenance-but this many issues within a short timeframe seems unacceptable. Executive Customer Service is closed on the weekend - I'll try Monday, but can I expect them to lend a sympathetic ear?

iPhone + Warranty + Messed up screen = Free Replacement?

ZackTM — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:01:56 -0800

iPhone still under warranty... screens acting crazy... what should I do? I've had an iPhone since about March 2008. I am sort of clumsy compared to the average person, and the iPhone has hit the floor a few times but nothing too serious.

Tragedy struck though a couple weeks ago. The phone hadn't been dropped in several weeks, but the screen started acting funny. At first it just had 3 thin lines running down it on the left side. As each day went by, more and more lines started showing up. They move around, sometimes blocking the entire left quarter of the screen, sometimes showing parts that were previously covered up. There is a small ding on the side of the phone NOT showing the lines. As the glass is not broken, I firmly believe this is an issue unrelated to dropping and I want it covered by the warranty.

Anyways, I want it fixed and I really don't want to have to pay more per month for the new data plan if I replace it with the 3g version. What can I do/say to the Apple Store employees to get them to fix or replace my phone? I'm not above fudging the details if it can get the job done. I'm okay paying some money to get it repaired if necessary.

Warranty service for hacked iPhone?

aeighty — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:21:55 -0800

iPhone is freezing constantly. How do I send it back to Apple? I live in Canada and so have my phone jailbroken so I can use it with a canadain carrier. Unfortunately the last week or so the phone has started freezing to the point of being unusable. Of course this can be blamed on the "hacking" but the last software update was months ago. I suspect this is a hardware failure and as such, Apple needs to take care of it. I bought this phone last November, so it should still be under warranty.

Any ideas how to play this with Apple support?

Is Square Trade warranty a good idea?

flotson — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:58:46 -0800

Does Square Trade honor their warranties? I've seen more good than bad reviews, but the good ones smell a little sock puppety. Anyone here have direct experience?

I just bought a lovely camera (canon tx1) on ebay and will buy the warranty if I have reason to believe they'll actually honor it.

MacBook with dead logic board: how to proceed?

sparrows — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:51:38 -0800

Logic board died on my friend's two-year-old MacBook (one year out of warranty). Should she pay for repair ($700 + labor), or sell the carcass for parts and buy, say, a used iBook? She's kept it in flawless condition and the screen is perfect (no bad pixels), so maybe she could get a decent amount selling it for parts? She does not have an eBay account and is not in an active Craigslist area.

I don't know the exact specs, but it's whatever was the least expensive new white MacBook in early summer 2006. (Its HD is 80GB, and I know she got the stock drive, if that helps.)

She does not have much money and this is her only computer (in fact this is her FIRST ever computer). The 700+labor quote is from an Apple Authorized Repair Center (she's a long drive from the nearest Apple Store).

Ugh. :(

Brought a car in for service during warranty, and it wasn't fixed. Do they still have to fix it later?

JeremiahBritt — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:41:35 -0800

During the warranty period, we took are car in twice for what I assumed was a transmission problem. Both times they told us it we were crazy. Now I think the problem has rendered the car undriveable, but the warranty is expired. Are we screwed? Basically, it was a very specific, weird problem (2005 Volkswagen Beetle). When decelerating to a stop from ~30 mph, the car would jerk suddenly and make a "thunk" noise, but not every time. About once a month.

Unfortunately, my work schedule and the shop's hours required that my wife bring it in. One time they told her it was the window washer fluid in the back rolling around (which wouldn't shake the car), and the other time they couldn't duplicate it. I figured it was annoying, but since they couldn't make it happen, I didn't know what to do. The car had plenty of other electrical problems (windows twice, engine temperature thing, traction thing, etc.) that they fixed without complaint.

I decided to just live with it and to try not braking so hard.

This morning my wife was driving to work, going up a hill from a stop light, when the gas pedal stopped making the car go forward, as if it was shifted into neutral. No warning lights came on, and the engine ran as always. She turned the car off, restarted it, and drove along as normal.

Obviously, now I'm worried about that happening on the freeway, especially since we live in the D.C. and people tailgate like crazy.

My main question is: is there anyway for us to get this problem treated as if it was under warranty still, since we took it in twice and they failed to fix it?

My other questions are: is my guess as to the problems being related accurate? Is there anyway to prove they are?

Thanks.

Whoops should have checked ALL the paperwork

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:03:10 -0800

Ooops. Really should have checked the service history before I bought the car... I recently bought a second-hand car, a Mazda, from a local non-Mazda dealership. Unfortunately, in my excitement about buying the car, I forgot to check one thing (actually, I forgot to check a few things, but this one's a whopper): the service history.

According to the paperwork... it doesn't have one. Not even the pre-delivery checkout is filled in according to the warranty/service book, even though there's a separate checklist form that shows it was actually complete - at the official Mazda dealership which sold the car, new. That same book contains a stern warning that "Failure to properly maintain your vehicle can result in your warranty being voided in whole or in part". I think that the car has been maintained and looked after properly, but I can't prove it.

Some details: the car is a 2006 Mazda 6, 21000 miles on the clock, and visually is absolutely flawless. As far as I can tell, it's also mechanically flawless, there's no sign of any problems at the moment. I have a full year's state inspection certificate to show that the car is in good condition from that point of view. However I deliberately bought a car within the manufacturer's warranty period to get the associated peace of mind that I'd be covered if anything went wrong.

I know I was a complete idiot for not checking the service history before I agreed to buy. During a recent trip to my local Mazda dealership (not the one who sold the car originally) because of an engine warning light, I took the car in to the service department. They didn't ask to see paperwork, but cleared the fault on the car computer (it was due to loose gas cap) and said there was no charge, as it was under warranty (based on the VIN, which proved the age).

My questions:
- The (non-Mazda) dealership sold the car to me as having "the balance of the manufacturers warranty". If I am refused warranty coverage by Mazda in the future, do I have any legal comeback against the dealer who sold me the car?

- The (non-Mazda) dealership have confirmed to me (verbally) that they performed a service on the car according to the schedule before I bought it, just before the 24-months mark (when one would be due). Should I get them to fill in the appropriate box in the warranty book, even if that leaves 3 or 4 boxes unfilled before it?

- The local Mazda dealer fixed a problem "under warranty" based on the car's VIN (granted, it was effectively a "free" fix for them, taking 3 minutes and using no parts, but they'll doubtless have billed Mazda for the work). Might they have access to the car's service history, if it had been done at another Mazda dealer (e.g. the original sale dealership)? Should I ask them, and risk them declaring my warranty invalid from this point onward?

My alternative seems to be the "head in the sand" approach and hope and pray that if anything goes wrong, I can get them to honor the warranty at that point - perhaps "lose" the book completely...

I'm in Texas, if that makes any difference to the answers you give. Anonymous to avoid potential legal implications with who-knew-what-and-when.

Do appliance installers avoid attaching water lines?

madmethods — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:10:37 -0800

Scam-Filter: Do appliance installers commonly try to avoid attaching water lines? I bought a washer/dryer and a refrigerator, with delivery and installation (supposedly). The washer/dryer folks came, put the washer/dryer where they were supposed to go, and hooked up the dryer. Then they said "oh, we don't have the right hose for the washer, you'll need to go buy one and hook it up yourself".

Well, lo and behold, a couple of hours later the refrigerator guys came. They put the refrigerator in place, and then said "oh, we don't have the right hose, you'll need to go buy one and hook it up yourself".

This was enough to trigger my scam detector. Do appliance stores commonly try to avoid attaching water lines? Something to do with liability and/or warranty coverage? This is in the US (Oregon), btw. If all I'm getting is delivery, and not installation, I could just buy the bloody things directly off the net.

Dell says take a downgrade or wait 2 months to fix system

dejah420 — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:26:37 -0800

I bought a high end Dell laptop for my business. When I purchased, I bought the 3 year OMG "complete care" warranty. Two days ago, the system bluescreened with a "memory parity 500 error". System won't reboot. In the last couple of days, I've spent over 6 hours on the phone with tech support, none of whom are native English speakers, to be told that my options are to either wait 3-6 weeks for a replacement system, or to accept a significant downgrade in components to have a tech come out and repair the system. Am I just screwed if I need to get my system up asap? For the record, I'm using someone else's system to post. I have an ancient alienware that I'm going to pull out of the closet and try to limp along, but the laptop is my primary business computer which has all of my company database info and all kinds of other goodies.

The downgrades that they are suggesting that I accept are to take a significant downgrade in video cards...to two generations below my high end nvidea ge force, a downgrade in system board, and slower memory than the fast mem I paid for.

If I refuse the downgrade; they're saying that I can't get a replacement system before the end of April, and I can't get replacement *parts* before the end of May.

The complete care contract says that replacement parts must be "functionally equivalent", which doesn't, to my non-legal mind, seem to suggest that a downgrade is what I paid to insure.

Is there some trick to getting Dell to honor their warranty that I'm missing?

HP Laptop died 2 months out of warranty

criticalbill — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:59:47 -0800

A few lights blink, but no-one's a home. No bios, no whirring, no help from the retailer (PC World UK, and no I didn't go there, this question is for a friend)... PC World say that the motherboard is finished and that it will cost more than the £700 original cost to fix it.

Now this thread offers some good sounding advice for someone in a very similar position but with two vital differences: it was still in warranty and they are in the US, so the tip for getting to a Level 2 rep probably won't work so well.

My main question is am I right in thinking that the warranty is not the be-all and end-all of the situation? 14 months is very much like 12 months, if you ask me, especially for a underused and never dropped, no spills, no damage etc. laptop. (This thread seems to say that EU regs say a warranty must be minimum of 2 years, does anyone know if this has any force in the UK?) Secondly, has anyone got any good tips for handling HP UK?

My car is not running out of warranty!

special-k — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 13:01:42 -0800

An auto dialer seems to be calling my cell phone frequently about my vehicle running out of warranty. How do I stop it? I know it's illegal for auto dialers to call cell phones. Gooling the number tells me I'm not alone. I called Verizon and asked if they could block this number. They said that they couldn't do it. The agent noted on my account that this is illegal and the only thing she could suggest was that I call them and ask to be removed from the list. Others in link 1 have noted that this didn't work.

What are my options?