Is Apple Support in Hollyhill Cork some kind of scam?

pd40

Hi all,
I'm hoping to get some feedback from anyone who has a bit more knowledge in this area than I do...
My daughter dropped her iphone6 and the screen was quite badly cracked. I checked two local repair shops and they quoted me 120 euro for repair. I decided to get in touch with Apple and they said the repair of the screen would cost 137 euro but that they would put a hold on 320 euro on my credit card in case there was any other damage.
My daughter had been using the phone for two weeks after the fall (with the cracked screen) without any problem.
A replacement phone arrived two days ago without any explanation or invoice. The replacement is not new (some small scratches on the back and slight but noticeable crayon marks!). My credit card has been debited 320 euro and apple support have kept my daughters original phone...
My question is, is this normal practice? Would the phone have worked perfectly for two weeks if it actually needed to be replaced? And really if these guys have a hold on 320 euro there doesn't seem much incentive to fix the screen for 137 euro?
Have I been scammed ?
I am trying to get through to apple support at the moment but it's not easy!!
Ant feedback would be very much appreciated...

FourFourRED

Hey. Here is some information for you that might help understand what happened:

https://support.apple.com/en-ie/iphone/repair/service/pricing

Screen repair
When you request screen repair online or by phone, we’ll put a temporary authorization on your credit card for the out-of-warranty service fee. This covers the cost of repairing your screen and any possible additional damage. After we receive your iPhone, we’ll test it. If your iPhone has no damage other than the screen, we'll charge only the screen repair service fee.

---

So the phone you sent in to Apple, needed more than just a screen replacement due to other damage it would seem.

Having agreed to place the full amount of a replacement on hold, a full replacement would have gone through without notifying you first.

You can always call them again to clarify what happened and argue your case and see what happens.

pd40

Thanks a mil for reply. I will contact them today although , to be honest, I don't think I have much of a case. I suppose I'm just finding it hard to believe that the complete phone needed to be replaced given that it worked perfectly for two weeks after the fall... A costly mistake!

whiterebel

pd40 wrote: »

Hi all,
I'm hoping to get some feedback from anyone who has a bit more knowledge in this area than I do...
My daughter dropped her iphone6 and the screen was quite badly cracked. I checked two local repair shops and they quoted me 120 euro for repair. I decided to get in touch with Apple and they said the repair of the screen would cost 137 euro but that they would put a hold on 320 euro on my credit card in case there was any other damage.
My daughter had been using the phone for two weeks after the fall (with the cracked screen) without any problem.
A replacement phone arrived two days ago without any explanation or invoice. The replacement is not new (some small scratches on the back and slight but noticeable crayon marks!). My credit card has been debited 320 euro and apple support have kept my daughters original phone...
My question is, is this normal practice? Would the phone have worked perfectly for two weeks if it actually needed to be replaced? And really if these guys have a hold on 320 euro there doesn't seem much incentive to fix the screen for 137 euro?
Have I been scammed ?
I am trying to get through to apple support at the moment but it's not easy!!
Ant feedback would be very much appreciated...

Apple's support she says the following:
"Your replacement iPhone will be new or equivalent to new. If your original iPhone was damaged by accident or abuse, service". They normally replace with a refurb which has a new screen and casing. I got mine replaced on Monday and it's like new. Tell them you're not happy with the phone you got for your €320.

FourFourRED

OP - I wouldn't take too much notice of what WhiteRebel has said. The iPhone's that are provided as replacements are service units, manufactured for service. They aren't refurbished. This has always been the way and isn't a surprise or a scam. Telling them you are unhappy with the phone you get won't make any difference.

However, telling them you felt you were expecting that it was only going to be a display change for €127 and was surprised to see they needed the swap the whole unit when it was working fine after the drop, would be a much better place to start.

pd40

Thanks for replies. Didn't get to ring them today and it's impossible to find an email address. Will let you know what they say if I can get through tomorrow.

Heisenberg1

pd40 wrote: »

Thanks for replies. Didn't get to ring them today and it's impossible to find an email address. Will let you know what they say if I can get through tomorrow.

OP you didn't request a replacement phone so you should not have been charged that amount. If they needed to replace the phone they should of contacted you and told you so.

FourFourRED

Heisenberg1 wrote: »

OP you didn't request a replacement phone so you should not have been charged that amount. If they needed to replace the phone they should of contacted you and told you so.

Unfortunately that's not how it works. The OP willingly put the cost of a full replacement on hold to cover any additional damage found on the device. The screen repair fee is only charged if a glass replacement is all that's required. In this case, they found more than just glass damage.

I agree with calling in to raise a concern about it though.

Bob24

You should have received an email telling you the unit they received from you had undeclared damage.

Call them and ask why they took the 320 euros off your credit card.

They should only have done it if they found additional damage you didn't disclose when you requested the repair (and the engineer inspecting the unit would have had to document this, usually with a picture).

Overall they are pretty good if a mistake was made. They once did the same thing to me. When I called the person told me their record mentioned the headphone jack was damaged (which I was sure it wasn't). She said there should be a picture in the system but she couldn't find it, so she would contact the engineer who carried out the inspection and get back to me. The next day she called back to tell me there was a mistake and she had credited back my credit card.

whiterebel

OP, seeing as Apple have it on their own website tell you that it should be new or like new, there shouldn't be crayon marks or scratches on it. Apple support staff are normally very good at sorting out problems.

chrislad

The exact same thing happened to me. My wife broke her screen (the LCD was okay, but the glass over it was shattered)

I rang Apple, and they quoted 137 but took a 320 hold on the card. I asked would I be notified if the charge was over 137 as I didn't want to go ahead with it at 320. I was assured I would be. A week later a phone arrives with no invoice or anything. I rang Apple, who advised I was charged 320. I was livid. Since I set it up via chat, I had proof, and in all fairness, they gave me the full repair for free, but it definitely seems to be a thing they do.

pd40

Looking back I should have asked for a similar phone call chrislad but given that the phone was working perfectly, I didn't even think of it.
I rang customer service today and got through to a nice guy. He was sympathetic but couldn't find anything on the case other than it was sent in for screen replacement. He then put me on to his supervisor. The supervisor was very nice too but really couldn't do anything to help me. I asked for specifics regarding why the phone I sent in was 'unrepairable' and he was vague in his answer. I asked was there any diagnostic report and he said there wasn't really other than the engineer saying what 'level' the problem was. I asked did they have a photo of the phone and he said no and asked if I did... He seemed to be steering me towards my original phone conversation when I agreed to have the 320 held on the credit card. He said he'd get someone to review that call and get back to me... I have a feeling I will be fobbed off...

pd40

A quick update... The apple supervisor rang back and they have decided to give me a full refund. I'm delighted. I probably would have just left it but for the advice here. Thanks guys. As I said. I'm delighted.

whiterebel

pd40 wrote: »

A quick update... The apple supervisor rang back and they have decided to give me a full refund. I'm delighted. I probably would have just left it but for the advice here. Thanks guys. As I said. I'm delighted.

Well done. As I said, they're normally fairly helpful.

FourFourRED

pd40 wrote: »

A quick update... The apple supervisor rang back and they have decided to give me a full refund. I'm delighted. I probably would have just left it but for the advice here. Thanks guys. As I said. I'm delighted.

Great stuff

Tipsy McSwagger

pd40 wrote: »

A quick update... The apple supervisor rang back and they have decided to give me a full refund. I'm delighted. I probably would have just left it but for the advice here. Thanks guys. As I said. I'm delighted.

So it's not a scam?

Nonoperational

Apple support are good. Everyone makes mistakes, you got a good result in the end.

pd40

Hi Tipsy McSwagger. Given the response of Apple support I don't think so. I'm still not sure if I was in the right or wrong but I'm just happy I don't have to pay 320 euro!