Recovering stolen goods from a company

transient

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

If the phone was lost or stolen in Europe or the USA and then had its IMEI blocked, it is extremely easy for Apple or anyone else for that matter to check the status of it.

I used to buy and sell mobiles (usually lost property & stolen/recovered) and checked every phone before I purchased it.

I said they dont have access to the datbase in terms of checking each device as it comes into the apple store. Anyone can use CheckMEND I know but I think you know what I was getting at

agrinnall

transient wrote: »

I said they dont have access to the datbase in terms of checking each device as it comes into the apple store. Anyone can use CheckMEND I know but I think you know what I was getting at

I'm not an owner or user of any Apple devices, but if there is a way for anyone to check I'd be interested to know why Apple wouldn't do that before handing over a new device.

shaun_from_Africa

transient wrote: »

I said they dont have access to the datbase in terms of checking each device as it comes into the apple store. Anyone can use CheckMEND I know but I think you know what I was getting at

But what you stated earler was vey explicit, and you clearly said that "apple have no access to the database of blocked IMEI of devices report lost or stolen"
This comment was totally incorrect. All that any Apply store manager or staff member needs is the log in details to a Checkmend account and internet access and they can have instant access to the database of stolen or lost IMEI numbers.
Many retailers carry out credit cjhecks on potential customers so is it really too much to expect multi-million £ businesses to carry out basic security checks when buying items that are often stolen?

I used to pay about 80p per check so a company such as Apple would probably get the service for far less than this.

SuperHan

Apple are unlikely to care whether phones are reported stolen or not. They will see it as if you are possession of an iPhone within the warranty period, you are entitled to a working device and so will swap out.

Handing back the phone will be of little real cost to them, and the number of stolen phones they receive that are actually claimed is likely to be very small. As such, it's worth taking the hit and not arguing with a customer about a blocked IMEI number.

I'd be interested to know whether you get your handset back though. I wonder how far down the repair chain it has gotten, as I suppose it could now be refurbished and in the hands of another customer....

transient

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

But what you stated earler was vey explicit, and you clearly said that "apple have no access to the database of blocked IMEI of devices report lost or stolen"
This comment was totally incorrect. All that any Apply store manager or staff member needs is the log in details to a Checkmend account and internet access and they can have instant access to the database of stolen or lost IMEI numbers.
Many retailers carry out credit checks on potential customers so is it really too much to expect multi-million £ businesses to carry out basic security checks when buying items that are often stolen?

I used to pay about 80p per check so a company such as Apple would probably get the service for far less than this.

Well they dont have access to the database in terms of how a corporate company/partner have and they are not sharing information, that is what I meant. Yes they have 3rd party access to it. I dont see why Apple would pay for it when they would have a reciprocal agreement of having access to each others databases

arcon5

Often people moan when they loose a receipt or have no proof of purchase and a company won't even entertain an exchange. Apple is one of the few companies who try to put the customer experience before anything else - and in doing do have opened themselves up to fraud.

One of the downsides I guess

skivenov

auntsarentgents wrote: »

(Hopefully I am posting this to the correct forum!)

For time's sake, I will try and keep this brief:

Back in March 2013 my iPhone was stolen from my back. I reported it to the police, got a crime reference number etc.

In October I was contacted by an officer at the Met police; the IMEI of my phone had come up in an audit the police were doing. It turned out the phone was with Apple.

The person who stole it brought it into Apple, claiming it was there's and it was broken. Apple through their repair and replace program switched out the broken phone and gave the thief a brand new phone. Apple did not check the IMEI number to see if the phone was stolen. In my view this was negligent.

I have spoken to Which?, and they said that the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 applies here. Basically that phone is still my property under law, and Apple have a legal obligation to give me either the original goods or an equivalent.

I have written to Apple twice; the first letter they ignored, and after the second (where I specified I expected the phone or an equivalent to be returned in 14 days) I have been speaking to their customer service department who are being uncooperative and have said Apple can do nothing and it is not their problem.

Question: What do I do next to resolve it (this is outside of Which?'s area)? Do I make a small claim through court? This is all rather overwhelming

Thank-you for any help.

As I understand it (a friend of mine used this a lot of years back), you don't file a small claim, but make an application to a Magistrate under the Torts Act.

If you speak to your local court, they can probably tell you what the procedure is for making the application.