Apple refuses to return repaired iPhone
In the fight against theft it's nice to know that the authorities are on your side -- even if Apple and AT&T are not. Consumerist reader Alisa is learning the hard way that sometimes procedures are a hassle. Alisa recently had her iPhone stolen and even though the police did some on-site detective work, she never went down to the precinct to file an official police report.
Not having a police report has turned into being a bigger hassle for Alisa than if she had filed one originally. Alisa just found out that the thief is trying to get Apple to replace "their" (stolen) iPhone. Apparently the original owner's email account is still linked to the serial number of the iPhone and as such she has been made aware of the situation.
One would think this is great news and Alisa should be able to simply work with Apple to retrieve her original iPhone or, ideally, the replacement that is now apparently necessary. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a police report having been filed, neither Apple nor AT&T are willing to do anything to help her retrieve her iPhone.
The whole situation seems, at first, mind boggling -- why would Apple not help a loyal customer get their stolen property back? If you take a closer read at Alisa's letter to Consumerist you can see why Apple may not be in a position to help her. Since Alisa did not file a police report, her story does not have the legs to stand on in the eyes of Apple. While it would be nice if this were an open-and-shut case, it seems that Apple is going to need something more substantial than a phone call to convince them to send Alisa an iPhone.
[via Gizmodo]
