Apple Refusing Refund/Replacement – Wrong (Possibly Counterfeit) iPhone Supplied – Where Do I Stand?

tixilixvix

Hello,

I’m hoping someone can help or advise as I’m at my wits’ end with this situation.

I purchased an iPhone 16 directly from Apple. Delivery was via DPD to my workplace. The parcel was marked as “delivery attempted – recipient not present”, despite no knock being made (there is CCTV at work). I was then told to collect the parcel from Local Post Office, which I did the following day.

When I opened the sealed Apple box, I discovered the phone inside was not the device ordered. There was no packing slip or delivery note. The phone supplied was an iPhone 17 Pro Max, which I now understand is likely a cloned/counterfeit device. The box itself did not appear tampered with.

I contacted Apple immediately upon opening it. At their request, I powered on the phone and followed troubleshooting steps with their advisor. I reported that the phone was glitchy, behaved oddly, and would not allow normal iCloud login. I did not set the phone up or use it beyond Apple’s instructions.

Apple investigated for around 12–13 days and have now stated that:

• They believe the correct phone was sent

• The delivery was completed correctly

• They will not offer a refund or replacement

• They say they will “only deal with the police”

I contacted North Yorkshire Police, who have confirmed in writing that this is not a criminal matter and falls under civil consumer law, so they cannot assist.

Despite this, Apple are still refusing to resolve the issue.

To add important context:
I am the parent of an 8-year-old child with Type 1 Diabetes. This phone was purchased specifically so I could monitor his glucose levels, as his previous phone became incompatible with his medical monitoring software. I am currently unable to reliably monitor his levels, which is unsafe and extremely stressful.

I have:

• Photos of the phone, box and packaging

• Delivery records

• CCTV coverage from work

• Written confirmation from police that this is a civil matter

My questions are:

• Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, is Apple not responsible for goods being as described?

• Can Apple refuse a refund/replacement simply by claiming they sent the correct item?

• What is the best next step if Apple continues to refuse (Trading Standards, Letter Before Action, Small Claims, Section 75 if applicable)?

I am absolutely not a scammer and reported this immediately, but I’m being made to feel like one.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated — thank you for reading.

tixilixvix

tixilixvix said:

Hello,

I’m hoping someone can help or advise as I’m at my wits’ end with this situation.

I purchased an iPhone 16 directly from Apple. Delivery was via DPD to my workplace. The parcel was marked as “delivery attempted – recipient not present”, despite no knock being made (there is CCTV at work). I was then told to collect the parcel from Local Post Office, which I did the following day.

When I opened the sealed Apple box, I discovered the phone inside was not the device ordered. There was no packing slip or delivery note. The phone supplied was an iPhone 17 Pro Max, which I now understand is likely a cloned/counterfeit device. The box itself did not appear tampered with.

I contacted Apple immediately upon opening it. At their request, I powered on the phone and followed troubleshooting steps with their advisor. I reported that the phone was glitchy, behaved oddly, and would not allow normal iCloud login. I did not set the phone up or use it beyond Apple’s instructions.

Apple investigated for around 12–13 days and have now stated that:

• They believe the correct phone was sent

• The delivery was completed correctly

• They will not offer a refund or replacement

• They say they will “only deal with the police”

I contacted North Yorkshire Police, who have confirmed in writing that this is not a criminal matter and falls under civil consumer law, so they cannot assist.

Despite this, Apple are still refusing to resolve the issue.

To add important context:
I am the parent of an 8-year-old child with Type 1 Diabetes. This phone was purchased specifically so I could monitor his glucose levels, as his previous phone became incompatible with his medical monitoring software. I am currently unable to reliably monitor his levels, which is unsafe and extremely stressful.

I have:

• Photos of the phone, box and packaging

• Delivery records

• CCTV coverage from work

• Written confirmation from police that this is a civil matter

My questions are:

• Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, is Apple not responsible for goods being as described?

• Can Apple refuse a refund/replacement simply by claiming they sent the correct item?

• What is the best next step if Apple continues to refuse (Trading Standards, Letter Before Action, Small Claims, Section 75 if applicable)?

I am absolutely not a scammer and reported this immediately, but I’m being made to feel like one.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated — thank you for reading.

Update / Clarification

Just to clarify an important point following further research:

Since reporting this to Apple, I have discovered numerous online reports describing this exact scenario as a known scam, involving sealed boxes containing cloned or counterfeit phones. I was completely unaware of this at the time and only learned this yesterday.

When I opened the package, I genuinely believed I had received a genuine Apple device sent in error. I contacted Apple immediately and only powered on the phone at Apple’s request, following their instructions during the call. I did not set it up, use it, or attempt to activate it beyond what I was told to do.

Had I been aware this was a known scam at the time, I would never have powered the device on at all.

I’m mentioning this in case it’s relevant, as it further supports that this issue arose before the item reached me, not due to anything I’ve done.

eskbanker

If Apple's position is that the phone you have isn't the one they delivered, i.e. effectively accusing you of switching, then it'll ultimately come down to their word against yours, so the only place to resolve that is likely to be small claims.

visidigi

The common theme on these issues are where DPD (or any courier, but Apple primarily use DPD for phones) claim they could not get the delivery done first time, and this allows the driver/scammer hours to make a very convincing go of a sealed package. Which to the untrained eye will look factory sealed but has infact been very cleverly opened, or label replaced. DPD really need to get a grip of this problem as its especially rife with them it seems.

A few things to ask Apple....

Does the IMEI of the phone they shipped match the one you got?
Was the IMEI on the phone box the same as the phone inside?
Does DPD show a label was reprinted for your delivery (making it VERY easy to swap boxes) - DPD will know if a reprint was done if Apple ask them.
Does the IMEI number that apple shipped you show as connected to to iCloud and if so with what email address - e.g. does it prove its not your email.

Finally...

Tell Apple you are more than okay for them to block the IMEI they sent you as you don't have it. No sane person would ask Apple to do that if they had stolen it!

MyRealNameToo

Presumably you are talking about a continuous glucose meter, buying a dedicated reader is going to be more reliable and cheaper than an iPhone. If you are in the Abbot Libre Freestyle family then their product recall only impacted sensors being read by a mobile, by all accounts the dedicated reader was receiving the accurate reads unlike the phone. 

Its also a little unclear why you had "trouble shooting steps" for a phone that you hadn't even attempted to turn on.

If someone has intercepted your parcel and switched the contents then it is a criminal matter, the police arent interested because they won't catch who's done it so hurts their stats and it is ALSO a civil matter so ultimately you are unlikely to be out of pocket so some will consider it a "victimless crime" because in some peoples mind big companies can't be victims. 

1) The CRA makes them responsible for the goods until they are in your hands so yes in principle they are responsible however there may be concerns that the genuine phone was delivered and you are presenting another device claiming to be what you received

2) No, in principle they can if they allege you received the right item though

3) Firstly you need a report to confirm it isnt a genuine iPhone, presumably you arent near an Apple Store? It's up to you if you want to claim from Apple or a credit provider under S75. One won't definitely be easier than the other to deal with.

screech_78

It’s a weird story. 

Whilst I’m sure there are many honest people in the world, I reckon a lot of people who received an iPhone 17 Pro Max instead of a 16 would be thinking they’d won the lottery. 

Your child’s medical needs are completely irrelevant, sorry to say. 

Ultimately, it would be a LBA and small claims court. 

ETA: stop bolding certain words. The majority of posters on this forum can read just fine. 

tixilixvix

screech_78 said:

It’s a weird story. 

Whilst I’m sure there are many honest people in the world, I reckon a lot of people who received an iPhone 17 Pro Max instead of a 16 would be thinking they’d won the lottery. 

Your child’s medical needs are completely irrelevant, sorry to say. 

Ultimately, it would be a LBA and small claims court. 

ETA: stop bolding certain words. The majority of posters on this forum can read just fine. 

Apologies, I was quite anxious and wanted to make sure I got all the relevant points in.

molerat

Until these suppliers and couriers admit there are organised crime syndicates working within them at all levels and actually do something about it the customer will carry on getting stiffed. 

MyRealNameToo

molerat said:

Until these suppliers and couriers admit there are organised crime syndicates working within them at all levels and actually do something about it the customer will carry on getting stiffed. 

Other than in many cases its the company that gets stiffed because the customer ultimately gets a refund

PHK

Just one thing. If DPD were delivering, how did the parcel end up at the post office?

Anyway, what you need to do is write to Apple with the crucial points (the item you received was not an iPhone 16), that they have unfairly refused to replace it and if they don't supply the iPhone 16 in the next fourteen days then you'll take court action.  You'll also want them to collect the incorrect phone and packaging so that they can investigate what happened. 

If they don't play ball then make the claim online.  

MyRealNameToo

PHK said:

Just one thing. If DPD were delivering, how did the parcel end up at the post office?

Post Offices can be a "DPD Parcel Shop", the ones round us all are, dont know if all are.