Apple Refuses To Send Stolen iPhone Back To Rightful Owner After Repair

Apple Refuses To Send Stolen iPhone Back To Rightful Owner After Repair
By Sean Fallon, Dec 31, 2009 7:00 PM

" When your stuff gets stolen, FILL OUT A POLICE REPORT. Consumerist reader Alisa is figuring this out the hard way after Apple received her stolen phone for repair. Even though it's clearly hers, they refuse to return it.

I got robbed on the subway in Brooklyn about 2 weeks ago, my iPhone (and some other crap)was taken. I called the police who were very helpful , they searched the area for a little bit, follow protocol and all that fun stuff.

Anyways, fast forward to yesterday when I get a email from Apple that someone had filed a request for a replacement phone due to a software malfunction from Apple CareService. I suspected that since I made an appointment with an Apple genius before, the Serial number on the phone was associated with my email. I called Apple to confirm this, after Apple and AT&T transferred me back and forth a few times I had the confirmation from the two companies the phone was mine , I had the address the service request was coming from (in the email) and a phone number (from an Apple rep).

I'm so excited that I can get my phone back! Until the cops arrive at my house, they tell me that since I didn't file a police report they can't do anything. I didn't file it because in order to file one, I would have had to go to a precinct downtown (like an hour away) look through books of pictures to try to ID the thief, whose face I only saw from the side for a millisecond. And really, what would a police report do for an iPhone that was stolen on a NYC subway a week before Christmas?(plus i had a final that night) The two officers also told me that even if I had a police report it would still be up to Apple and AT&T to decide how to proceed with the situation.

So I call AT&T... and over the course of 12 hours I speak to a bunch of people who are all very sorry that this is the situation I'm in, but their hands are tied — they have to honor the warranty and it does not matter that it's clear the phone is mine. They would need the authorities to tell them to do otherwise.

So I head to the police precinct where an officer calls the rep I spoke to last (aka the authorities speaking to Apple). The officer spends about an hour on the phone with Apple telling them that once the current holder of the phone ships the phone back to Apple, they should ship me the replacement. He gets the same answer I got—they will not do anything, they do not care that the person who has the phone currently is using a stolen phone and is not using it with AT&T (AT&T confirmed the phone # I got from the Apple rep is NOT an AT&T number).

It's not even about the phone anymore (I bought a blackberry—$600 is a TAD ridiculous for a new iPhone) its the principle of the situation, basically Apple is siding with someone who will most likely jailbreak the phone as opposed to helping a loyal customer (I've been using Apple products forever—iPods, Macs and iPhones (since the first gen)) who legally bought the phone from Apple and is using it with AT&T.

The whole situation is just illogical to me.


Yeah, illogical is a good word. Absurd is another. Does anyone out there know if this is purely about not filing a police report, or is there some other reason why Apple is being such a dick about this? "

:source: Source: http://gizmodo.com/5437979/apple-ref...r-after-repair

In the UK, there is an identity theft crime whereby someone pays the Post Office to have your mail redirected to a NEW address (the address of the identity thief, or a holding address).

This reminds me of the Apple situation, because when you discover you are no longer receiving your mail, you cannot get the mail redelivered back to your own addresss unless you know the redirection address (even though you can prove who you are), and the Post Office won't disclose the redirection address to you because it would be a breach of the Data Protection Act.

So, basically, this service works in favour of the criminals.

I will say, over and over again, that the law seems to favour the criminal more than the victim in many instances, and it appears that Apple are playing safe. After all, imagine the lawsuit should the criminal's identity be accidentally released by Apple.

The law will always favour the criminal, which is total crap.

I remember the case of a farmer a few years ago that fired upon two guys trying to break into his home whilst trying to protect his property. HE got jailed and the two burglars got ZERO.

Ridiculous world we live in.

Apple has to ship the phone back where it came from. They have no way of knowing that the owner didn't sell it legitimately to the ones who now have possession.

They should contact the local postal inspector's office. If the thieves have used the USPS to send the phone for repair or if Apple uses them to ship phones back, then the Postal Inspector's office has wide-ranging powers of investigation regarding the federal crime of mail fraud. They might be able to help.

Just for the record I am not a lawyer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaje

The law will always favour the criminal, which is total crap.

I remember the case of a farmer a few years ago that fired upon two guys trying to break into his home whilst trying to protect his property. HE got jailed and the two burglars got ZERO.

Ridiculous world we live in.

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Agreed with you! In Spain there´s the same problem. In any cases can´t understand how are made some laws.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PerMaFrOsT

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaje

The law will always favour the criminal, which is total crap.

I remember the case of a farmer a few years ago that fired upon two guys trying to break into his home whilst trying to protect his property. HE got jailed and the two burglars got ZERO.

Ridiculous world we live in.

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Agreed with you! In Spain there´s the same problem. In any cases can´t understand how are made some laws.

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let someone do that here in the states, once someone passes your doorway without permission its free reign on their ass. you can do whatever you like to em really. isnt there such a thing as mail fraud in the UK?

And yet they SELL the service to track stolen phones as part of their Mobile Me horse crap. Don't tell me they can't verify whose phone it is. Ask ATT who has a contract on it...

Quite illogic to me. Why a such behavior?