Let me ask you something. How many times have you broken your phone, while in the states... and not on purpose? In the last 10 years. I have broken 0 phones. Savings 7x12x10=$840. And with those savings, I can afford to buy a 46" LED HDTV.
If my EVO dies, there is an HTC hero on ebay for less than $150. I can manage till june.
If my next phone dies 10 months from now, I can go back to the EVO. problem solved.
The problem in this thread is a Quality issue. If a Phones charge port breaks because you are unplugging the phone..... then the port is weak, or the cable is too stiff. Either way, it shouldnt be an insurance issue. (The OE cable is stiff, compared to MOTO's cable)
Even if I had insurance, I wouldnt want to pay $100... because the phone has an obvious factory defect.
You are correct. I hate lawyering for free, but this is how it goes.
1. Implied Warranty:
The Uniform Commercial Code, that is a compendium of suggested statutes that has been adopted by every state, in various forms, states that there are implied warranties that, though not necessarily explicitly stated in every contract, only can be removed by explicit language within the contract. The implied warranty that would apply to this HTC port issue is known as the "warranty of fitness of use". This warranty states that a product must do what it is intended to do. Thus, a USB port must be able to be connected and unconnected many, many times, successfully. When the USB port does not, then HTC and Sprint are in violation of the implied warranty for fitness of use.
2. Defective product:
A product can be defective in two ways, 1. defect in manufacture; and 2. defect in design. For instance, the bolt holding the blade on a new lawn mower could be a 1/2 inch bolt that sheers off during normal use. That is a defect in design--they should use a 9/16 inch bolt. Another defect would be if the blade is held on with a 9/16 inch bolt, but it was not tightened down to a high enough torque, and the bolt comes loose during normal use. That is a defect in manufacture. In the issue of the HTC USB port, it can be argued that it is both a defect in design and in manufacture, because the port is unsupported by a plastic fitting or collar (design), and it is not correctly soldered to the mobo (manufacture).
3. Class action:
This type of legal action protects the consumer when the damages suffered from a bad act do not merit the cost of individual litigation. Are you going to spend $5,000 in legal fees to recover property damages that total $500--no. In a class action, a number of individuals can form a "class", and bring a suit against a bad actor, and in that manner, reduce the cost of litigation, and increase the amount of the potential recovery. Important to a class action is to identify the class. That is why it is important that people post about this HTC port problem. Maybe if enough people have the same problem, they can get together; form a class, get a lawyer, demonstrate to the lawyer that there is $ to be made; and get a monetary recovery from the bad actor.
That's it. Don't say I never did anything for you.