It depends if I've options: Sometimes one doesn't, especially with prepaid mobile carriers. Some years back, I had a pre-paid phone through T-Mobile and had or

It depends if I've options: Sometimes one doesn't, especially with prepaid mobile carriers. Some years back, I had a pre-paid phone through T-Mobile and had ordered a refurbished phone from their website. Wound up needing repairs, under warranty. Since it was prepaid, no loaner phone. The cheapo I picked up worked better as a flashlight than phone. But back to the story: I sent it in, and it didn't come back. I called a few times, being told that nothing was there. Then being told it was returned to me and I should have it. Each rep had a different story. Each time I called, I had to go through the same troubleshooting to even be able to get anywhere. Most refused to escalate the call. This is pretty on-par with pre-paid phone customer service - I remember at&t had 2 separate departments for it. At the time, if you didn't have a contract, you didn't matter. I finally got online and found an e-mail address for their cooporate office, complete with the name of the service manager for the company. I wound up speaking with one of his people in the main office. Soon, I was sent a replacement phone. Other times, usually with more traditional utilities, I've not been so lucky as the state i lived in had a weak public utilities commission. Much luck to you.