Apple refuses to return repaired iPhone to owner

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Comments

  • Reply 81 of 189
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    From the original story...

    Quote:

    "And really, what would a police report do for an iPhone that was stolen on a NYC subway a week before Christmas?"(



    What good would it do?

    It would allow you to get your iPhone back.

    It would allow you to file on our insurance.

    The police could contact you if they recovered it.

    The police could contact you if they arrested someone wtih your iPhone and you could go in for a line-up.
  • Reply 82 of 189
    ronboronbo Posts: 669member
    Nevertheless, the thief should have been identified in the process. They should have been able to say ?We can't legally NOT do the replacement, officer, but we'll be happy to tell you when the guy is coming in to pick it up.?
  • Reply 83 of 189
    This is from the consumerist after all. They aren't exactly known for following up on stories or checking sources.



    Of course this is not Apple's fault. That lady is stupid for not reporting it stolen as several other people have mentioned here. Even now, she should go to the police and file a report at at least try to subpoena Apple to give her the address of where it is being shipped.



    But either way, this is typical Consumerist fanning the flames of hate for a company that is only peripherally involved in the situation being reported on.



    The day the Consumerist actually performs investigative journalism, interviews both parties and does research is the day we should take them seriously. Until then, they're just noise makers.
  • Reply 84 of 189
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by a_greer View Post


    I am not a lawyer, but one has to assume that if she called the police, and they dedicated manpower to do a search, there is a report for that somewhere, maybe not a serial number, but certinly at least a list, something like "items stolen, 1 handbag, content of bag: wallet containing x credit/debit cards, y ID cards, and $z in cash, wireless phone, makeup, etc" or perhaps just "item reported stolen stolen: wireless phone" Or perhaps there is a 911 tape that would suffice, if she mentioned the stolen items in the call it should appear in a police report as the reason for dispatch.



    Apple has evidence in the form of original sales docs that it belongs to the victim...this should be an open and shut case...



    Apple is not a court of law and is in no position to determine ownership. No company would be so foolish as to believe it had the resources or the authority to determine ownership. There are tens of millions of iPhones out there, tens of thousands must be lost or stolen, and a highly litigious society waiting to take Apple to court for attempting to determine proper ownership.



    Seriously - do a lot of people believe private companies have the authority to rule on ownership cases? Why would any company put themselves in that position?
  • Reply 85 of 189
    jmmxjmmx Posts: 341member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by caljomac View Post


    Thats just rediculous. Apple should give it back to the owner, after providing recipts or something



    Yes - But WHO is the real owner? Maybe they should keep it until the 2 parties iron it out?



    If they were to give it back, would any EBay or Criagslist sale be safe?
  • Reply 86 of 189
    jmmxjmmx Posts: 341member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post


    I see this as a failure of the NYC police department. If they were called to the scene of a crime they should be their job to file report.



    NO! The victim of the crimes has to file a report. Especially if police do not physically go to a scene. Do YOU want to pay for the police to fill out paperwork every time some one calls in? Don't you think that the victim needs to at least sign it?



    Most people know - if you want any hope of retrieving your stolen goods - then you need to file a report. Period.
  • Reply 87 of 189
    I'm the Alisa of this story. I would like to make it clear that I DO HAVE A POLICE REPORT. -- Shortly after I sent Consumerist my email, i realized that I was wrong in assuming that it would be obvious that i filed a police report once the police told me they couldn't do anything since i didn't have one. For what ever reason consumerist didn't edit that post to state this information. So even with a police report Apple still refuses to do anything. I am now working with a lawyer to see what my options are legally.



    Thanks
  • Reply 88 of 189
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Swift View Post


    he lives in the United States?



    Maybe I am wrong, but since I went through passport control when leaving the US and entering Canada, I just assumed Canada wasn't part of the US.
  • Reply 89 of 189
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MobileMe View Post


    Your denial of the FACT would be classified as Sigmund Freuds "Denial of Awareness" if in any other forum.





    .......





    Good Job Q610



    You got denial from that question? it was a simple question, if he doesn't live in the US, why provide links for the US. They aren't providing his service
  • Reply 90 of 189
    After reading this story, I think it's pretty clear why Apple did what they did. In fact, I'm not surprised at all.



    Apple is in my eyes a perfect example of why having the right corporate structure in place is everything. They are the most organized company I see around these days, and openly admit that their #1 priority is sales & new customers. With that said, why would they waste resources or reputation with a situation like this? The fact is that they're not responsible for your phone's whereabouts and for all they know, she could have been trying to hijack the phone from someone else. Okay, so she had the police call, yada yada, but I actually see it from their shoes & understand why they prefer not to get involved with such a situation. I actually think that from a corporate standpoint, they did the smartest thing that they could have done.



    Apple even lets MobileMe users track their phone's location, remotely wipe it & lock it. Who's fault is it that she chose not to subscribe to that service?



    With 11.3 million iPhones shipped within the last QUARTER, how can you expect them to help 1 person get an iPhone back from a thief? Fact is, it's the local authorities responsibility. Now whether NYPD would give a %$^@ or not is a totally different story. If they got it back, I think some detective's kid would get an iPhone as a belated Christmas present over her getting it back.



    In summary, Apple played by the book on this one & you can't blame a company for doing that, . . . ever.
  • Reply 91 of 189
    rbonnerrbonner Posts: 635member
    -Removed
  • Reply 92 of 189
    rbonnerrbonner Posts: 635member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jfanning View Post


    You got denial from that question? it was a simple question, if he doesn't live in the US, why provide links for the US. They aren't providing his service



    awesome trolling. Why not provide them from the US, they are probably easier to come by. Do you have an actual point to make from all this?
  • Reply 93 of 189
    Get an Android phone and move on. Do not know why people are messing with Iphones anymore anyways. Android phones have come a long way and you do not have to mess with AT&T just to get a good deal on the phone.



    Thanks..
  • Reply 94 of 189
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rbonner View Post


    awesome trolling. Why not provide them from the US, they are probably easier to come by. Do you have an actual point to make from all this?



    Because 50% of Apples customers are not in the US. That is a good enough reason, plus the original poster doesn't live in the US, so US based surveys are useless as they don't reflect the service levels of Apple in their country, or mine for that matter. There are two points, do you want some more as well?
  • Reply 95 of 189
    rbonnerrbonner Posts: 635member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jfanning View Post


    Because 50% of Apples customers are not in the US. That is a good enough reason, plus the original poster doesn't live in the US, so US based surveys are useless as they don't reflect the service levels of Apple in their country, or mine for that matter. There are two points, do you want some more as well?



    Here is what get's me thinking, you have not asked a question. You accuse him of being a fanboy, and then find some mystery fault with his response, as if it was his responsibility to provide you with global customer service stats. He answered your question in a reasonable way, and if you need any further evidence, google is there for you.
  • Reply 96 of 189
    djrumpydjrumpy Posts: 1,116member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tcphoto View Post


    Can I prove ownership with a receipt for the phone? Perhaps a series of bills stating my name, address, phone listed on plan from my AT&T online account or the last bill from the month that it was stolen? Can the Police write a report from a that happened days, weeks or months ago? I would camp out at the store that the phone was left at and produce the documents and wait for the criminal to arrive. Apple and AT&T should grow some stones and do the right thing. If you can produce those documents I would challenge the criminals claim of ownership.



    Apple doesn't honor a bill of sale when it comes to a warranty. They honor the serial number, which indicates the phone manufacture date. Owner is irrelevant for warranty claims. It is not Apple's place to retrieve stolen property, nor are they authorized to do so. The police should be the ones 'camped out' to retrieve it, and somehow I don't think it will be worth their time to do so for a stolen phone.
    • This girl didn't file a report.

    • The 'cop' on the phone has no way to prove they are such.

    • Apple has no way to verify the owner of the phone.

    • AT&T's contract is based on the SIM, not the phone.

    How exactly would you want Apple to decide who was the rightful owner? What if the 'thief' was this woman's ex-boyfriend and she was out for a little revenge? Apple is not part of the judicial branch, they are a company honoring a warranty as required by law. They have no business deciding legal ownership due to lack of action on this woman's part. That is for the legal system to handle.
  • Reply 97 of 189
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I suspect Apple will reconsider their policy on this.
  • Reply 98 of 189
    atkinsatkins Posts: 10member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jfanning View Post


    Because 50% of Apples customers are not in the US. That is a good enough reason, plus the original poster doesn't live in the US, so US based surveys are useless as they don't reflect the service levels of Apple in their country, or mine for that matter. There are two points, do you want some more as well?



    You are a piece of work, aren't you?

    These comments are relative to the article. If you say that Apple has bad customer service referring to this particular theft which happened in the US, it is normal that you get a response with US numbers (given that the theft happened in New York).
  • Reply 99 of 189
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by esummers View Post


    I imagine the phone was stolen then sold on eBay. If they were to give the phone back to her they would be taking it away from the new owner (who is not the thief). It is a tricky situation. I'm not sure what the legal precedent is on this. If they properly escalated the issue with Apple, my guess is that the law does not work in the victims favor.



    The legal precedent on receiving stolen goods? Yeah... they should really come up with some laws to cover that one....
  • Reply 100 of 189
    atkinsatkins Posts: 10member
    This is really a small mess, but I don't see where is Apple's fault. They are not going to replace the police. Even if she does have a proof of ownership, she must show it to the police and it is only the police who can ask of Apple to take actions.



    But anyway the story seems a bit unbelievable. Police dispatched to search for an iphone, calling Apple? Come on.
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