CEX Sold me a Fake iPhone and will likely refuse a refund.

Abbafan1972

I have been following this thread and it is a good outcome, yes. I am sceptical though as to whether this whole thing actually happened ?

I don’t know why the store didn’t take the phone back there and then and process the refund? 

As you said in an earlier post, it was long bus ride to the store and this would just inconvenience you further. 

savergrant

jasonwatkins said:

Well that escalated.. 

Got a call from my local CEX and the manager asked me to come in so off I went.

Apparently the investigation is already complete because they viewed the CCTV footage and saw that the day before I bought the phone it was shown to a traveller who switched it.  

And that was the entirety of what the manager told me as well in case anyone does feel the urge to ask more questions.

Anyway, I have to go back there tomorrow to return the fake phone and I will receive a full refund so to say I’m relieved is a little bit of an understatement.

Thankyou to everyone who got involved in this thread and gave some excellent advice.

It's a bit odd that they didn't ask you to bring the phone and box with you. It also surprises me that the phone wasn't labelled, especially as there may be a large number of very similar design phones in the store. When I sold 2nd hand equipment we would print a label for the item and one for the box, and that was for things which had visible serial numbers. If the phone was on show in the window it would be quite easy for someone dishonest to find a lookalike model and substitute it.

nyermen

Well hopefully a good outcome.  For the store, someone will be in trouble though - policy wasn't followed somewhere, because they're also meant to come out from behind the counter (where they have those tall locked gates) when allowing a phone to be seen/held, and watch very carefully. 

Largs

I do like to read a happy eneding when someothing went wrong.

savergrant

nyermen said:

Well hopefully a good outcome.  For the store, someone will be in trouble though - policy wasn't followed somewhere, because they're also meant to come out from behind the counter (where they have those tall locked gates) when allowing a phone to be seen/held, and watch very carefully. 

And from what OP has been told, the kind of customer they (or at least the owner) are likely to be suspicious of. I wonder if the cctv shows the substitution or they have just concluded this is the most likely explanation (and will be covered by insurance)

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Credit where it's due, good on CEX for taking the time to check and admitting fault. 

Ergates

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Ergates said:

I think the court-case equivalent of this would form part of the case for the OP.  On balance of probability - would someone trying it on go as far as taking the retailer to court?

I'd say - probably not.   But maybe it happens all the time - who knows.  (Certainly not me)

I do wonder on these points, I mean if you have the front to stand in front of a court a lie surely you'd be focusing on easier ways of dodgy dealing! 

Excactly.  Standing in a court room giving false testimony whilst on record isn't going to be the best plan for a quick buck.  A lot of effort the amount of reward too.

It'd be like a burglar breaking into a police station to steal the microwave.

dumpster_fire2025

Grumpy_chap said:

Once the OP has the refund, it might be worth considering whether such a high-spec phone is necessary and / or whether it is worth the extra to buy from Apple direct (given that no-one else currently has discounts compared to AppleStore).  If the OP can wait, there might (or might not) be deals in the New Year?  

Apple don't do deals so they may as well but it from Apple today. The plus side is that their warranty is pretty exceptional. They just replace rather than argue the toss (which they will if you buy it elsewhere.)

Silvertabby

Glad this saga has had a happy ending.  Feel compelled to say, however, that if I was paying a substantial amount of money - not just for a phone -   I wouldn't  have accepted a display model that had been played with (or, as in this case, switched).  It would have to be in a sealed box, brought from the stockroom, or I would take my money elsewhere.

Zinger549

Silvertabby said:

Glad this saga has had a happy ending.  Feel compelled to say, however, that if I was paying a substantial amount of money - not just for a phone -   I wouldn't  have accepted a display model that had been played with (or, as in this case, switched).  It would have to be in a sealed box, brought from the stockroom, or I would take my money elsewhere.

CEX sell second hand goods. The phones on display are the ones available. That might of been the only 17 pro max they had.