Verizon Customers Can Get Warranty For All Home Phones, Caller ID Gear

NEW YORK - For a few dollars a month, Verizon residential customers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware can now purchase warranty coverage for their telephone equipment, regardless of what kind of phone they have, who made it or where they bought it.

As an added feature to Verizon's basic optional wire maintenance plan, which covers any repairs to the wires inside the home, residential customers now can also have their telephone equipment covered under the new Verizon Telephone Protection Plan.

"This innovative new plan, like the wire maintenance plan, is designed for customers who want trouble-free service and full-service repair support from Verizon," said Glenn Pettit, Verizon product manager.

The plan covers all telephones and Caller ID display units on the customer's account, as long as basic wire maintenance and equipment protection have been purchased for at least one phone line on the account.

Under the plan, if a phone breaks, customers call a toll-free number. A technician will first talk them through the steps to check the phone to be sure the problem is with the phone. If the phone is actually broken, a replacement phone, equipped with the same features as the broken one, will be shipped immediately to the customer, usually arriving within three days. Customers ship the broken phone to Verizon.

The plan covers all kinds of home phones -- wired, cordless, 900 megahertz, those with Call Waiting ID displays and message waiting indicators and even two-line sets. Each piece of equipment must be registered with Verizon when the customer enrolls in the plan. Coverage is capped at $400 worth of equipment per year per home account. The plan covers problems resulting from normal use of customers' phones.

Customers who want their equipment repaired will be instructed to take the hardware to a nearby RadioShack store. If repairs cannot be made, equipment with the same features can be picked up right at the store.
The Telephone Protection Plan, including the basic wire maintenance plan, costs $6.95 per month. The wire maintenance plan alone costs $3.45 per month. The plan will be rolled out in New York and New England shortly.

The service can be ordered by calling the Verizon Residential Sales and Service Center whose number is listed on customers' phone bills. The sales and service center also can be reached by dialing "0" and then menu option "6" followed by option "1" for home support.

Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 125 million access line equivalents and approximately 28 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. A Fortune 10 company with about 260,000 employees and more than $65 billion in annual revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.