Apple refuses to return repaired iPhone to owner - Page 4

Customer calls Apple to ask for phone back? Apple says not without "police report" as evidence it was stolen.

Why didn't the original owner at this point just file a police report and give it to apple? Then apple would be legally obligated to oblige right? I think you have like 6 months to file a police report with a theft.. Especially if she just claimed she JUST found out it was stolen..

Kinda like if someone broke into you house while you were in Europe for a few months and stole all your stuff.. you file the police report 6 months later when you get back and that would be totally legal...

All because Apple's name is in the story this is "APPLE" news??

I dislike hearing anyone having personal items stolen, though I must say Apple has nothing to do with this.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Steve say that the find my iPhone feature was for this sort of thing? If the victim has or had Mobile Me then they would have been able to use the "REMOTE WIPE" feature and also disable the phone by implementing a password and the robber would have no way to reactivate the phone (If their not Tech savvy).

The victim should buy a refurbished iPhone 3G (which is extremely cheap) and wait until June for the refresh.

I see this story as the consequence for not having Mobile Me. Its features all well worth the Annual Fee, which equates to less then $1 per day.

..........

I could see an email with Steve responding as such:

" What can I do?.. Mobile Me would have saved your data and information, from there you can remote wipe. Buy a new iPhone 3G or 3GS, learn from your unfortunate situation, and move on. Not that big of a deal."

Steve

Not when the lawyer is a family member...

A)I have a police report


B) apple never said "not with out a police report".. in fact they never asked for one. I told them there is a report and the answer I got was: We believe you and we're sorry that you were robbed but we don't really care.


C) I dont blame Apple for not giving me back the phone, I get that they have policies..but I don't think its unreasonable to change the policies considering the situation. I'm sure plenty of stolen iPhones have made their way through Apple at one point or another. It really cant be that difficult to flag a serial number that has been proven stolen (via whatever the deem to be valid proof) And set up some sort of procedure to deal with this, especially since neither Apple or AT&T offers insurance.

It would be up to the police to contact Apple, not the owner.
Apple would turn it over to police, not the person who reported it stolen. Then the police would review everything and turn it over to the owner.

Do you have home owner's/renters insurance?

I didn't read through 4 pages of this discussion, but I think Apple is right on with this decision based on what I read in the original post by (Kasper?). What if, for example, you bought the iPhone on eBay from a dishonest seller, whom now that they received feedback, wanted to claim it was still theirs?

Then again maybe Apple should be able to determine it really IS still her phone based on the SIM card being in the phone? But then, what if the seller purposely left the SIM in the phone when they sold it....

I think Apple did the correct action overall, but I cannot fully defend my argument.

Ken

Whoever you are, you're being rather dense. And if you registered just to play games because this non-news item was posted, you're also a troll.

The story:

Several weeks later the victim received an email from AT&T notifying her that someone had filed a request for to replace her broken phone through Apple Care. Her email was linked to the serial number of the phone so she received all messages regarding service and warranty work. After hours spent on the phone with Apple and AT&T she was notified since a police report was never filed she doesn't have sufficient evidence to get her phone back.

Duh!!

Apparently, the individual was notified about the necessity of a police report. AT&T at the very least, mentioned it. That's you're first friggin clue.

"So I call AT&T... and over the course of 12 hours I speak to a bunch of people who are all very sorry that this is the situation I'm in, but their hands are tied — they have to honor the warranty and it does not matter that it's clear the phone is mine. They would need the authorities to tell them to do otherwise," writes the victim.

See above.

They would need the authorities to tell them to do otherwise . . . uh, yeah, probably with a police report that was apparently never filed! I don't think "Officer Joe" calling Apple and AT&T would cut it, LOL. At least, I certainly hope not! What a friggin joke, LOL.

Despite the fact that she went to the precinct and had the authorities call Apple to verify her story, Apple stuck to its guns. To Apple, she has no real way of proving that she is still the owner of the phone. So Apple has refused to act on her behalf and instead chose to honor the warranty agreement.

Again, the indivudal was told to file a POLICE REPORT. This is normal. Even after they went to the precinct, one STILL wasn't filed? WTF?? Are the cops as dumb as the "victim"?? What is the big deal here? Everyone files police reports when their property is stolen, etc. Why go to such great lengths to AVOID doing what you were told to do? Unless you specifically, for some undisclosed (and potentially very interesting) reason DO NOT WANT to file a police report. Hmmm . . .

Now please get off the forums. The time you spent posting nonsense could have been better spent filling out a few simple forms. Otherwise, troll somewhere else.


You sure about that??

Because from what the article states, you didn't have one. If you have one, then USE IT, and stop wasting everyone's time.



So you have one, but Apple never asked for one OR refused to accept it, yet AT&T did ask for one and was prepared to accept it? Do you honestly expect us to believe that a) the AI article got the facts wrong, or b) that Apple refused your police report, even though AT&T asked for one??

[QUOTE=Alisax;1542572]A)I have a police report



I think thats the sentiment of the forum as well. Right?



Unfortunately Stolen items fall under (Accidental damage).

http://www.apple.com/legal/terms/iph...fwarranty.html

Don't you think it would have been simple to buy a iPhone 3G or Refurbished 3GS? The aforementioned sells for $49 (refurbished) in some locations. Also buy Mobile Me to avoid future instances like this.

I'm shocked this story has nearly 130 (and counting) comments.

Good call Quadra, I was thinking the same thing when I noticed the user registration date and the the response to the "You could have bought 4 iphones, with just 1hrs worth of an attorney's time" Their response was " Not if your lawyer is a "FAMILY MEMBER" ".

I was suspecting a Troll but wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Appleinsider looks bad for even publishing this story. At least MacRumors has stories worth reading (even though I'm not subscribed to comment)

Someone here is lying. And they wanted to test just how far they could lie before it came to filling out (and filing) any real paperwork, which if false, could get them into a lot of trouble. This person apparently isn't as dumb as they seem. Where they erred is that they thought they could accomplish what they set out to do without any supporting documents filed.

Exactly, if was that important to them, why waste time on this forum speaking to us? How can we help their cause? especially since the "FAMILY LAWYAR" is taking care of this.

I now further believe they're just a Troll who has sadly got our Attention.


.......

APPLEINSIDER PLEASE UPLOAD SOME INTERESTING STORIES THAT INSPIRE MUCH DEBATE AMONGST THE MEMBERS. I DISLIKE COMPARING SITES, BUT THE GUY WHO RUNS MACRUMORS "ARN", IS TURNING OUT SOME INTERESTING AND DEBATE WORTHY ARTICLES. DON'T YOU RUMOR PEOPLE FLOW IN THE SAME CIRCLE? Their last article "What is the role of the tablet?" generated some 546 comments in two days ....

This is just some constructive feedback AI, not to tear down.

Too bad this person has never had to file a police report in NYC otherwise (s)he wouldn't have bothered to slam the victim...police will adamantly deny any responsibility in NYC, live and learn! I had my camera equipment stolen out of a protected vehicle, spent more than an hour talking to the precinct going over every detail, even got a file number. All I needed to do was come to the police station and pick up my copy...except that they denied I ever spoke to anyone on the phone, claimed the number I had received from the sergeant was invalid and summoned me out of the office for wasting their time. My claim: $4,000, a little bit more than an iPhone. In other words, if you plan to get your iPhone stolen in NYC, Apple won't be your best friend. Live and learn.

Uhh . . right.

Possession is nine-tenths of the law.

Prov. If you actually possess something, you have a stronger legal claim to owning it than someone who merely says it belongs to him or her. Dana may say he owns this house, but we actually live in it, and possession is nine-tenths of the law.
See also: law, possession

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.


Possession is nine-tenths of the law.

something that you say which means that if you have something, it is difficult for other people to take it away from you It would be hard to ask for the piano back after they've had it for so long. Possession is nine-tenths of the law and all that.
See also: law, possession

Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, 2nd ed. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006. Reproduced with permission.

Source

It is not up to Apple to prove ownership, they are not a court it is up to the person DISPUTING the ownership of the device by enlisting the support of the legal system i.e. the police.

Randomness at its best

Welcome to AI BTW

Hmm, seems to be a lot of people answering for someone else, they made the statement, maybe they should be the ones to defend it... Well unless you are a little protective of a multi-billion dollar corporation that doesn't really care one bit about you other than getting money off you, just like any other company.

They made a statement with full knowledge that people knew he wasn't US based, so what is the point of providing US based information since they knew, and I know that those stats don't mean anything to either of us

If you look at the response to your "says who apple number one fanboy" response, he noted that according to U.S. survey's, Apple is number one in customer service. This isn't rocket science. Are they number one in the world? Considering this story is based in the U.S. ("I got robbed on the subway in Brooklyn about 2 weeks ago"), all of that is a moot point. Commonly referred to as "a rat hole". Not ONLY does Apple provide excellent, first-rate customer service, they let you walk into their stores and talk to real people. This story is about a "grey area". Retrieving stolen merchandise is NOT the responsibility of the retail outlet that services your contracts. If the story was that Apple refused to coorperate with a police investigation... I'd be highly upset with Apple. For the story to be about a request for Apple to TAKE ACTION in somehow retrieving personal property... this seems way over the line. I think the BEST Apple could or should do... is hold onto the iPhone indefinitely until it is presented with a police report it can call back and verify with the station. If the person submitting the iPhone to Apple wonders what happened, Apple can give them the police report, and tell them the device was reclaimed by the person on the warranty. --Otherwise, I think Apple could face administrative issues if fraud is taking place on the part of the original owner.

~ CB

Maybe you should read the other posts. It is simple, since that user is living in Canada, why do they post the survey results for Apple service in the US? If you don't understand that, maybe you should go on a trip, outside the US, and try and get an Apple product serviced.

So Apple US services the computers for Apple Canada? If so lucky you. I have had Apple computers serviced in two different countries, and know of people getting Apple products serviced in other countries, if the level of service we were provided is the best in the industry, then the industry is in a pretty bad way.

And what un-refutable evidence do you have that proves that the service levels in Canada are exactly the same as provided in the US?

Apple should be caned for this behavior. Where is common sense? This person should get a new phone immediately with an apology from Steve Jobs.

What behavior? Good corporate policy and common sense?

Why either of these? Apple did not cause her to lose her phone or get it stolen.

So Apple should disregard THE LAW and just make up their own rules, while we're at it why not get rid of the legal system altogether and hand it over to large corporations.

Exactly. Everything is in fact pretty clear here. They just count on people not knowing what is really going on.

Again, you are a piece of work. Where are you going exactly with this? The article is about a person living in the US (New York). You state that she received bad customer service. It is only logical then to get an answer with US numbers.

And I don't see how Apple gave bad service. They just did what they must do. You didn't think they have enough lawyers to tell them how to handle this kind of situation? Maybe you think that Apple should play police, look at the "evidence" and hand over the Iphone back to her? This would be good customer service? Wake up.

Again, learn to read. Someone made a general statement in the course of this discussion, I questioned this statement, it doesn't matter what the original topic was about, I questioned the statement made. This is where I am going with this, not hard to follow, let me know if I have to type this slower for you next time.

Ok. First, I don't understand why should the Apple customer service change from one country to another.
Here is a study for canadian cellphone users (sorry, in french), which classes Apple's support as the best (of course we are speaking only about the Iphone, but I absolutely do not see why it would be much different for the comps:
http://biz.branchez-vous.com/communi...es_115891.html

Here is another study made in England:
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2006/09/...r-survey-95057

Apple's website in France is also first (again in french):
http://www.directpanel.com/fichiers/...rce_270409.pdf

While I do understand that these numbers are not enough for an exact representation of the customers, it surely does indicate something (especially in the light of the US studies): that they are quite satisfied in general. I think it is quite safe to assume that Apple has the best customer service in the industry.

And this must piss Jobs off to no end...

Are you nuts? She called the police.They talked to her and helped her try to locate the thief. Where I come from, that is filing a police report. Besides, anyone can fraudulently file a police report if that is their concern. Apple is aiding and abetting a theft.

About six years ago, I had a brand new iMac G4 stolen (it was about a week old). I reported the break in to the police and my insurance and bought a new G4 right away. I bought the Applecare extended warranty with both computers.

Later when I called Apple for help with a problem with the second computer, I was asked which one I was calling about. At that time, I told them that the older one had been stolen and asked if they could contact me if anyone called apple support about the stolen computer. I was told they couldn't do that.

All I asked them to do was make a note on the file that the first computer was stolen so that they could help catch a thief and they refused. I don't know what it is with Apple, but they do seem to favour criminals over their paying customers.

The article clearly states that the police were called and that they took enough information to verify the owner's story. That is making a police report. Why are you favouring the thief in this story? Are you a criminal yourself?

This is how it works in Australia.

-An iPhone is stolen from you.

-You call the police they give you an event number in order to complete the police report you need to supply them with the IMEI number, if you don't know it offhand you can supply it later, using the event number.

-The IMEI is supplied to all phone networks who are required by law to block the IMEI so the phone is unusable, maybe you American's should lobby the FCC into doing this rather than fartarsing about with what goes into the App store.

-The event number is used as the basis for making an insurance claim.

-Repairs, whether warranty or otherwise are not accepted by our repair centres without a valid receipt, perhaps Apple goes beyond this by not requiring a receipt but all other phone manufacturers require it.

Further to the IMEI blocking issue, the only person who can unblock an IMEI is the original owner who supplied the report.

Apple is bound by privacy laws, by law they are not allowed to divulge personal details of people who make warranty claims without that person's specific permission.

The study in english is four years old, nothing newer? But then again, I don't live in England, Canada, or France, but I do know the three countries you listed all have services centres run directly by Apple. Other parts of Europe don't, and are serviced very differently.


It isn't safe to assume anything.

Ok, agreed, it isn't safe to assume anything. But he gave an opinion stating that Apple has the best service in the industry and given the... some numbers I could find and of course some personal experience, it is easier to agree with him.
What problems did you have with Apple to be so pissed about them? I mean, I had some minor issues, but at the end no other company gave me the same support (especially Sony and Dell).

Anyway I have a question. You said that what happened to the girl in the article was bad service from Apple. Can you tell me what precisely do you mean and what do you think Apple should do?

Apple can't do this. First they don't have this kind of registry (stolen goods) and they aren't supposed to. Second why should Apple believe you? Maybe you have the proof of ownership, maybe it is false, maybe you don't have it, it isn't Apple's job to try to find the truth. You give the serial number to the police and the police can ask of Apple to do something. That is just how it works.

I don't see how Apple is the problem. They must do the repair, this is their obligation and even the thief can sue them for not doing that. You filed a police report and the police then can ask Apple for the identity of the person and you can sue him. It is either that or there is some missing information.

I have had half my Macs fail, and in both cases, in two different countries I believe the service was very poor. I would like to compare it to another company, but I haven't had anything else (big ticket items) fail recently to do so.



I have a short memory, when did I say that?

OOps, sorry. Mistake, my bad. Wrong comment.
Half of your macs failed? Wow, I had a lot of macs, the last 4 years I change them every 6 months. Only two problems I had were a disk failure in a Performa and DVD writer in the G5. Since then the worst was an occasionally noisy fan in a Macbook Pro.
Tell me a little about your problems, I am really interested. (no irony here, just in case).

If you're the person from the story, your response here is JUST as inconsistent as your story to Apple, and you would appear to me... to be wasting their time, and asking THEM to go out on a limb to help you, when you did not help yourself. For instance, this WHOLE PARAGRAPH in the article is a justification that should never have been made. Reread it...


You clearly noted that a police report was a pain to go through, so that's why you never filed one. Above, you say "I have a police report"... which makes me think that you have a document that confirms that the police arrived at your house, documenting that you alleged a robbery. I question whether you're saying that you filed a report of a robbery, and whether you went down to the precinct and tried to identify the thief, etc.

Here's a quick test. Let's pretend Apple was an insurance company looking to reimburse you for stolen property. What would THEY need to prove you owned and lost property? A police report. This is what you lead off with with Apple (don't even get AT&T involved). If you lead off with some convoluted story about how you didn't have a police report, but now you kind of have one, and what's the difference, because your name is on the warranty... and here's a cop telling you I had my iPhone stolen... Come on.

Here's what you say:

1.) YOU: Hello. Recently I received an update that my iPhone was in for warranty repair. This phone was in fact reported stolen a week before Christmas. I have a police report that was filed, which I can fax along with my photo id, original receipt, AT&T bill and warranty information. Is there anything else you need in order for me to re-acquire my phone?

2.) APPLE CS: Hold on.

3.) APPLE CS: I'm sorry, I'm not sure we can help you.

4.) YOU: I need to speak to your manager.

5.) YOU: Hello. Recently I received an update that my iPhone was in for warranty repair. This phone was in fact reported stolen on Christmas day. I have a police report that was filed, which I can fax along with my photo id, original receipt, and AT&T bill and warranty information. Is there anything else you need in order for me to re-acquire my phone?

6.) APPLE CS: Ok, sorry for your trouble. Yes, that sounds perfectly fine. Please fax this information to our customer support fax number at 781-555-6667. We will need to confirm the police report you send with the local precinct. Also, we would still need to send the repaired phone back to the New York Apple store, but we will require photo id before it can be picked up.

7.) YOU: Sounds good.

DONE.

I can promise you the story would have ended differently if you just followed the steps above. Live and learn.

If the "thief" or someone they sold it to ever showed up at the Apple store to pick it up?

1.) Hi, I'm here about my iPhone. I send it into repair two weeks ago, but I haven't heard back.

2.) Hold on.

3.) Ok, I'm sorry, but that device was reported stolen. We can give you the precinct the police report was filed at for more information.

4.) W-what? But I got that iPhone for Christmas from my boyfriend!

5.) I'm sorry, we can't help you.

6.) This is OUTRAGEOUS!

7.) Sorry.

~ CB

Slow news day?

This article sounds more like gossip than real news. I wonder if it is even real.

This story is bull. It sounds like someone has been watching too much TV. The cops are going to come to someone's house over a phone? Right.

No. The article also states that AT&T could not help her because she did not have a police report. Or if she had one it was never used. AT&T asked for one, yet this AlisaX individual (troll) claims she had one but Apple apparently refused it?

Someone is either lying or has a bad memory. Don't get sucked in by the BS.


Let's not feed the TROLL.