Appalling service from Apple Help

Ergates

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82152706#Comment_82152706

That sounds like storage (where the photos are kept) rather than memory (which is used by apps whilst they're running).

teachergirl

Ergates you could well be right but because I did think it was for a short period of time I can't spend hours sorting 🤦🏼‍♀️

UPDATE…. to be completely fair to apple they have always said they will compensate me for the poor service . Looking at my emails it looks to be a very fair 3 figure sum.

I am not celebrating yet until I have spoken to a human and checked exactly what the offer is for.

Also…..still no word on my replacement phone 😢

dumpster_fire2025

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82152659#Comment_82152659

The diagnostic said it had a hardware fault. There is nothing to indicate it said what the hardware fault was or how it was caused.

Could there be a hardware "fault" that flags in their diagnostics but on reciept of the phone turns out that it's been run over by a car or some other form of physical damage that would not be covered under warranty? I'd suggest so.

Could there have been a legitimate hardware fault that, upon receiving their shiny new replacment phone, the OP decided they were in fact not going to send the replacement back and instead woudl keep it and maybe get it repaired? I'd say so.

It's unreasonable, outside of extremely low value items, to expect to be able to retain the "faulty" item whilst also being sent a replacement. People are far too dishonest for that.

dumpster_fire2025

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82152676#Comment_82152676

You can just book a Genius appointment online and take it into the store, it doesn't matter that you bought it online.

Ergates

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82152860#Comment_82152860

Faults that are discovered within the first 6 months are assumed to have been present at time of purchased until proven otherwise. It's Apple's responsibility to prove otherwise, and until they have done so they should act on the basis that it was an inherent fault.

Yes, it could have been run over by a car or dropped in the toilet. But that's Apple's problem. Likewise, if OP decided to keep the old phone once the new one arrived. Apple are a big company, they can afford lawyers to deal with that kind of situation.

flaneurs_lobster

Likewise, if OP decided to keep the old phone once the new one arrived. Apple are a big company, they can afford lawyers to deal with that kind of situation.

Don't need lawyers, do as they do with trade-ins - you don't send us the old handset inside 2 weeks then we brick the new one.

dumpster_fire2025

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82153192#Comment_82153192

Yes, it IS Apple's problem which is why they protect against this by not shipping out brand new replacements without getting the allegedly faulty device back first, which is no different to just about any other electronics supplier that I'm aware of, as well as most suppliers of other products.

Seems odd that you're picking this hill to die on. What the OP expects of Apple is above and beyond what almost everyone else provides, and is also above and beyond what the law provides for. How does the retailer prove that the goods are faulty if the purchaser insists on retaining them until a replacement is in their possession?

sheramber

We have bought several Apple products from Apple online over the years.

On the two occasions we have visited the Genius Bar we have not been asked if they were bought in store or online.

teachergirl

Dumpster . I have had many phones with apple over the years and as others have said when you trade in they send you the new phone first and trust you to send back the trade in. However the point you are missing is that I was not offered the chance to just take it to a Genius Bar. THEY REQUESTED IT TO BE SENT BACK so they could replace it. I had only had the phone for 2 days I did not want to send it back, I would have much preferred to go into a store.

I think their compensation to me actually shows that they admit that they have messed up my exchange at their end. Currently I am still awaiting my call back. New phone is showing as arriving next week.

dumpster_fire2025

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82153797#Comment_82153797

But you're not trading a phone in, you're returning a phone under warranty.

Even with the trade-in programme they will charge your card for the full amount of the device you're purchasing, and they will credit the value of the trade-in back to your card (or finance if you choose the finance option) when they receive it and appraise it, so there's no point that you have two phones and Apple is left hoping they'll get one back and not be out of pocket (or they get a smashed up phone that someone has claimed is "mint".)

When it comes to a warranty claim, Apple are acting entirely in accordance with how basically everyone else operates. I'm still struggling to understand why this is seen as unreasonable.