Return Phone Scam/ Unreliable Customer Service

Okay, this is a lot, but please read through because I desperately need to know if anyone else has experienced something similar.

I am having the absolute worst time dealing with Xfinity and Assurant.

Part 1: Xfinity and the phone theft

On October 11, I purchased a new phone at an Xfinity store. It was delivered on October 14. On October 15, my father, who is the account holder, received a phone call from bad actors impersonating Xfinity. They claimed that the phone I had been shipped was packaged incorrectly and needed to be returned.

Unfortunately, we ultimately fell for the scam and sent the phone back. We realized our mistake approximately four hours later and immediately attempted to intercept the package, but were unsuccessful.

That same night, I filed a police report with the local police department. First thing the following morning, I contacted Comcast to report the incident and see what could be done. This seemed like a known issue that was already affecting other customers.

(Here’s a link to just one of the many discussions I’ve found about this happening to other customers:
https://forums.xfinity.com/conversations/customer-service/phone-return-fraud/6a6951d2b3ed1847a07421e2)

Why my family and the police department believe this may have involved a data breach or unauthorized access to Xfinity customer information:

- I made the purchase in-store and used my personal email address for the order confirmation.

- The bad actor specifically contacted my father, who is the account holder. How did they make that connection?

- They provided my father with his full name, address, our Xfinity account number, the exact phone model I had ordered, and the date it was shipped and delivered.

- That information wasn’t even available in my father’s email. The order confirmation went to mine. So why would they contact him instead of me?

What makes this especially concerning is that they seemed to know the internal account relationship: I’m the account manager, but my father is the account holder and primary point of contact. How would a scammer have known all of that?

After being bounced around between multiple representatives all morning and having several cases opened, I finally reached someone who seemed to understand what had happened.

This representative assured me that they were familiar with the issue, had a dedicated team that could assist, and that there was no way I would be held responsible for a phone I’d had for less than 24 hours before it was stolen through fraud. I was told all I needed to do was submit the evidence we had, including the police report, and they would take care of it.

As you can probably guess, that is NOT what happened.

After submitting all the requested documentation, the case was closed without any notification to me. I had to call back to follow up, only to be told that the case had been opened under the wrong category. So, we opened a new case under the “correct” category.

I was told I would receive an email within 24 hours with instructions on how to submit my documentation. I waited. Nothing came. I checked the case. Closed. Again.

At this point, we’re almost a month into this mess. I’m paying for a phone I don’t have, getting nowhere with Xfinity, and completely fed up with the entire situation.

So, I finally decided to bite the bullet and pay nearly $400 out of pocket for an insurance replacement.

Part 2: Enter Assurant.

I filed my insurance claim on November 6, and the refurbished replacement phone arrived on November 9.

I’ve received refurbished phones before, so I understand the deal. However, the phone I originally purchased was a Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. If you’re familiar with these phones, you know they have a crease along the inner screen. Over time, with repeated opening and closing, that crease can become increasingly prominent. Eventually, this wear can lead to the inner screen needing replacement.

The refurbished device I received already had a noticeably prominent crease. It was visibly deeper than what you’d expect on a brand-new device.

Was I frustrated? Absolutely. But things happen, so I called Assurant to report the condition of the phone.

The representative told me they would immediately initiate a replacement shipment once USPS confirmed receipt of the returned device.

Let me emphasize: USPS confirming receipt of the package, NOT Assurant’s warehouse receiving it.

I told them I’d think about it. After weighing my options for about an hour, I called back and decided to proceed with the exchange.

They emailed me a return shipping label, and the representative explicitly confirmed that if USPS received the package that same day, November 9, I would receive the replacement the next business day, November 10 (today).

So, that’s exactly what I did.

I immediately packaged the phone and dropped it off. The mail carrier picked it up before the end of the business day.

I checked the Assurant website before bed, but there were no updates.

This morning, November 10, I called to confirm they had received notification that USPS had the package and to make sure the replacement was being shipped.

And what do they tell me?

Yes, they can see that the package is in transit, BUT they won’t ship the replacement device until their warehouse physically receives the returned phone.

Huh?

That is not what I was told by either representative I spoke with yesterday. I specifically asked about this because I wanted to know how quickly I could expect the replacement, and I was explicitly told USPS confirmation was all they needed to initiate the shipment.

At this point, I’m so exhausted by this entire process that I genuinely feel like I’m going to have a stroke.

Has anyone else had such an awful experience dealing with Xfinity and Assurant?

I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who has dealt with the phone return scam through Xfinity or had similar issues with Assurant’s replacement process. I cannot believe how much time, money, and energy I’ve had to spend trying to resolve something that wasn’t even my fault in the first place.