You don't have to trust them, just that they're an option customers have. BTW, you don't get a crap phone with someone else's problems. "Defective" phones go back to the manufacturer for review & refurbishment. When complete it's certified to be in "like new" working condition and sent back to the carrier for use for warranty or for sale as a CPO. Interestingly, some 30 to 50 percent of all "defective" phones are found to have nothing wrong. So what does that say about how customers deal with their carriers?