EasyPay to ease iPhone 3G transactions at Apple retail stores

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  • Reply 21 of 46
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rot'nApple View Post


    And that proves what???



    My 80 year old father whose drivers license expired but still had a photo that looked like him and we could provide supporting documentation showing the same current address in order to proceed with a transaction, however, the bank was adamant about a valid photo ID.



    So I had to take him to the DMV and provide their requirements such as his honorable discharge papers from the military and his last years State taxes that met with their approval to proceed and provide him with a state photo ID.



    Those documents had no photo ID on them and they were not good enough for the bank but they were good enough for the DMV to give him a valid state photo ID, that when the bank, which was adamant about him having, saw it, they were more than helpful! Go Figure?!



    Feel any safer now?



    Given that there was an expired driver's license, the state would have records and history of that ID, the bank wouldn't.
  • Reply 22 of 46
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PG4G View Post


    No one will be allowed to make a credit card reader for the iPhone or Touch at the current stage as they haven't allowed people to access the dock connector for 3rd party apps yet.



    But they could allow it in the future i guess :P



    That's hardly a problem, I'm sure Apple could make a special partnership with Symbol or some other company to do that. Just because it's not available in the public beta SDK doesn't mean there's no way to do it. There are still practicality issues though, I think Apple would only need a few thousand at most, that might not be enough.
  • Reply 23 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post




    Here is something ironic, I may move out of my Family Plan to save money. The Family Plan for the 3G iPhone offers only 2 options for SMS: 20¢ per text or $30 unlimited. If I move to two seperate plans, I pay $10 more a month over the Family Plan but then can add 200 SMS per phone for $5 each. A savings of $10 per month.




    You misinterpreted the family plan text plan. you can add the $5 - 200msg to a individual line on your family plan. The $30 is for all the lines on the family plan, but you can still add text to just one line.
  • Reply 24 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rot'nApple View Post


    And that proves what???




    by your logic we don't need to show ID when using a credit card or when passing through security at the airport, since a state issued ID doesn't prove anything.



    yeah i'd feel "real safe" if that were the case...
  • Reply 25 of 46
    So WHO deboxes the iphone before activation?



    They're going be opened beforehand by the boys in the back? Then the store rep in the front has to take it out (and slams it on the counter probably) during activation?
  • Reply 26 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bostocked View Post


    So WHO deboxes the iphone before activation?



    They're going be opened beforehand by the boys in the back? Then the store rep in the front has to take it out (and slams it on the counter probably) during activation?



    Part of the fun of buying apple products is the unboxing - everything perfectly in its place. I agree that having some yahoo fumble around with my new phone (plugging it in to synch with iTunes??!) while trying to crank through as many customers as possible is fraught with peril. Also, speaking your social and DL with 500 of your closest apple buddies around doesn't seem like much fun either.



    I really don't understand what problem they are trying to solve by not allowing activation at home via iTunes - that rocked. Allegedly, the phone is to be made available all over the world, so export shouldn't be an issue... Are they really that concerned with jailbroken phones once the app store comes out? I liken that to the whole napster vs. itunes scenario - once one has an easier "legal" way of getting what you want on the phone, where is the incentive? This just smacks of more big telecom AT&T BS.



    If AT&T worked this hard on improving network and reducing dropped calls (more bars my buttocks...) they'd have a heckuva lot more happy customers...
  • Reply 27 of 46
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    One of the employees at the NYC 5th Ave Apple store even fessed up to me how ironic it was that his handheld check out device ran on Windows.\
  • Reply 28 of 46
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bostocked View Post


    So WHO deboxes the iphone before activation?



    They're going be opened beforehand by the boys in the back? Then the store rep in the front has to take it out (and slams it on the counter probably) during activation?



    Out of 4 posts, three have been about people touching your phone before you buy it.

    This is really bugging you, isn't it?



    My recommendation: Wait until after the frenzy of the first few days (weeks?) and bring some Purelle hand sanitizer to the store to share with the rep. Surely after things have died down, you will be able to convince them to let you unbox it yourself...



    Of course, you know that there are people in the factories in China who are touching every HW item you may purchase before it gets boxed up. I don't know how to help you with that...
  • Reply 29 of 46
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    Of course, you know that there are people in the factories in China who are touching every HW item you may purchase before it gets boxed up. I don't know how to help you with that...



    Unlike in the US, I'll bet they all wear (very clean) gloves.
  • Reply 30 of 46
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    One of the employees at the NYC 5th Ave Apple store even fessed up to me how ironic it was that his handheld check out device ran on Windows.\



    Hey, irony in the wild. Someone call Alanis Morisette!
  • Reply 31 of 46
    bigmikebigmike Posts: 266member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    It proves that the state has verified to the best of their abilities that he is who he is. Even though faking an ID isn't difficult, by having a government issued ID it shifts the blame away from the company and the employee. People try to scam banks everyday, if the teller allowed someone to use an expired ID and the person was not who they said they were they would lose their job. The bank has rules set up for a reason. I'm not certain, but I reckon part of the requirements for being FDIC insured financial institution is to follow certain guidelines. Not to mention that DMV employees are experienced in looking at birth certificates and such as a form of ID and bank tellers are not.



    OK but doing business at a bank is one thing. This is buying a freaking phone! \
  • Reply 32 of 46
    germgerm Posts: 3member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lonestar1 View Post


    It allows them to verify that you're the person you claim to be.





    And why is this necessary? What business does Apple or AT&T have to verify my identity? Why can't I buy a cell phone anonymously?
  • Reply 33 of 46
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigmike View Post


    OK but doing business at a bank is one thing. This is buying a freaking phone! \



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by germ View Post


    And why is this necessary? What business does Apple or AT&T have to verify my identity? Why can't I buy a cell phone anonymously?



    To answer both your staements with the obvious: you're buying it on credit! They are selling you a device for $199 that retails for $599. That is the subsidized price, that means on contract. What aspects of your lives do companies give you something on credit and don't want a way to verify who you are or if you are a good loanee prior to the sale? This is not confusing of difficult to understand. If you getting something prior to actually paying for the whole thing they want assurances that will fulfill your contract.
  • Reply 34 of 46
    quagmirequagmire Posts: 558member
    What happens when my iPhone's account is in my dads name? I am an authorized user of the account. Would my dad have to be present still to upgrade and activate the iPhone? From the article I gather as I am already an AT&T customer I only need my ID to buy and activate the iPhone?
  • Reply 35 of 46
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by quagmire View Post


    What happens when my iPhone's account is in my dads name? I am an authorized user of the account. Would my dad have to be present still to upgrade and activate the iPhone? From the article I gather as I am already an AT&T customer I only need my ID to buy and activate the iPhone?



    I'd call AT&T to get a confirmative answer.
  • Reply 36 of 46
    lonestar1lonestar1 Posts: 100member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by germ View Post


    And why is this necessary? What business does Apple or AT&T have to verify my identity? Why can't I buy a cell phone anonymously?



    Because they need to know where to send the bill every month. They can't send it to "anonymous."



    Or do you expect them to provide you with phone service for free?
  • Reply 37 of 46
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by axc51 View Post


    I feel quite unsafe providing Apple my SSN and my driver's license. The former makes sense for a credit check, but what does the latter have to do with an iPhone purchase anyways? A





    it has to do with the fact that you are setting up a cell phone account. which requires a credit check. just like if you got any other cell phone from ATT. and they have to know that they are charging the person they think they are



    so if you don't give up the info, you are SOL on getting an iphone. because you have to sign up for service before they will let you walk out the door.
  • Reply 38 of 46
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jasonfj View Post


    Shouldn't Apple be a little embarrassed using handheld POS devices labelled 'PocketPC'?



    Surely they could have developed an iPhone app for that?!



    they could have, but where would they get the phones. there aren't exactly dozens of them laying around being wasted at this point.



    maybe once they swap demo phones since they aren't likely to be able to use those for anything else.
  • Reply 39 of 46
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by firemox View Post


    This would be really suck for Apple cannot handle people with existing AT&T customer that isn't using an iphone. I have $350 worth of apple gift card saved up that I was going to use on the iphone. I don't think AT&T store will allow me to use that.







    it is my understanding that the only folks that will not get phones at an apple store are those that fail the credit check and those that have company money issues (employee discount, company pays the bill etc)



    otherwise, yes you can certainly get the phone. however you are responsible for verifying whether you are eligible for upgrade or not. the system isn't going to tell Apple to warn you that you will have to pay extra cause your contract is too new. and if you fail to check with ATT, that is on you to deal with. you can't come running to Apple and complaining about the extra cost (cause it is att that is charging you anyway)
  • Reply 40 of 46
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    There have been reports that Apple won't let you use multiple gift cards for the iPhone purchase. If that is the case, a possible way around it is to buy other items at once with the gift cards, then return the items which will get you a single store credit gift card for the amount of the purchase.



    or ask if it is possible to take your 3 $100 cards and buy a single $300 one. probably is very possible and very easy.
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