Does Apple service stolen phones? - Yep, steal one and return it to the Apple retail store - policy not to get involved -
Scott Barkley was enjoying a drink with friends at his local pub the Thursday before Christmas when thieves made off with the coat on the back of his chair.
Minutes later, Barkley found the coat ditched in a nearby alley, minus his wallet, keys and iPhone 4G. He cancelled his credit cards, suspended his Bell phone service and changed the locks on his home and car. He filled out a police report.
He figured his phone was gone for good.
What happened instead turned out to be a case of instant karma, when Apple refused to help Barkley and ended up giving away a phone to the man who may have stolen Barkley’s, or bought it from the person who did.
At 1 p.m. the day after the theft Barkley found an automatically generated e-mail on his computer confirming an appointment at the Apple retail store in Fairview Mall for 2:20 p.m. He called the store to tell them that the person who showed up for that appointment would probably be carrying his stolen phone.
“I thought maybe they’re trying to get around my disconnect or maybe they knew that the store was as screwed up as they turned out to be and they were just going to go for it,” says Barkley, 58, a self-employed publications designer.
Perhaps, Barkley asked the clerk on the phone, Apple might want to notify mall security? Barkley was told it is Apple policy not to get involved in such matters.
“I can’t believe they don’t have some protocol to deal with that. You can imagine it’s not an uncommon situation, people showing up with stolen phones.”
Apple offices were closed for the holidays yesterday. No one returned e-mails or phone calls asking for comment. The Apple store at Fairview Mall referred questions to an unstaffed media relations hotline.
Technology writer Marc Saltzman, who writes for the Star’s Moneyville.ca, said he’s not surprised Apple wouldn’t intervene. There is a free app available that will track the location of stolen phones, but users are told to contact police, not Apple, when a phone is stolen.
“It could set a precedent, because then people are going to turn to Apple instead of the authorities,” said Saltzman.
When Apple made it clear they wouldn’t intervene in any way, Barkley called Toronto Police 54 Division, not expecting to get much police interest in following up on a stolen cell phone.
Police said they would try to look into it.
Barkley decided to go to the store himself. Despite Christmas traffic, he managed to get to Fairview before 2 p.m. He spoke to the Apple store manager who repeated Apple policy about not getting involved.
Then Toronto Police detectives Darryl Lambie and Themistoklis Hantzaridis showed up.
There were about 300 people in the store, says Barkley. He lost track of the detectives and gave up and left. He never saw the men who took his coat.
Later that same afternoon, the detectives called Barkley to tell him he could pick up his phone at the police station. It turns out someone did come in with the phone – before Barkley and the police arrived – with a story about buying it from a friend of Barkley’s uncle, only to find the phone didn’t work. In fact, it wasn’t working because Barkley had had the service disconnected.
The Apple clerk at the Genius Bar assumed it was a phone malfunction, and seemingly without checking to make sure, handed the man a brand new phone and put Barkley’s stolen phone in the back, to be sent off for servicing.
Read more -
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1108987--does-apple-service-stolen-phones?bn=1
Scott Barkley was enjoying a drink with friends at his local pub the Thursday before Christmas when thieves made off with the coat on the back of his chair.
Minutes later, Barkley found the coat ditched in a nearby alley, minus his wallet, keys and iPhone 4G. He cancelled his credit cards, suspended his Bell phone service and changed the locks on his home and car. He filled out a police report.
He figured his phone was gone for good.
What happened instead turned out to be a case of instant karma, when Apple refused to help Barkley and ended up giving away a phone to the man who may have stolen Barkley’s, or bought it from the person who did.
At 1 p.m. the day after the theft Barkley found an automatically generated e-mail on his computer confirming an appointment at the Apple retail store in Fairview Mall for 2:20 p.m. He called the store to tell them that the person who showed up for that appointment would probably be carrying his stolen phone.
“I thought maybe they’re trying to get around my disconnect or maybe they knew that the store was as screwed up as they turned out to be and they were just going to go for it,” says Barkley, 58, a self-employed publications designer.
Perhaps, Barkley asked the clerk on the phone, Apple might want to notify mall security? Barkley was told it is Apple policy not to get involved in such matters.
“I can’t believe they don’t have some protocol to deal with that. You can imagine it’s not an uncommon situation, people showing up with stolen phones.”
Apple offices were closed for the holidays yesterday. No one returned e-mails or phone calls asking for comment. The Apple store at Fairview Mall referred questions to an unstaffed media relations hotline.
Technology writer Marc Saltzman, who writes for the Star’s Moneyville.ca, said he’s not surprised Apple wouldn’t intervene. There is a free app available that will track the location of stolen phones, but users are told to contact police, not Apple, when a phone is stolen.
“It could set a precedent, because then people are going to turn to Apple instead of the authorities,” said Saltzman.
When Apple made it clear they wouldn’t intervene in any way, Barkley called Toronto Police 54 Division, not expecting to get much police interest in following up on a stolen cell phone.
Police said they would try to look into it.
Barkley decided to go to the store himself. Despite Christmas traffic, he managed to get to Fairview before 2 p.m. He spoke to the Apple store manager who repeated Apple policy about not getting involved.
Then Toronto Police detectives Darryl Lambie and Themistoklis Hantzaridis showed up.
There were about 300 people in the store, says Barkley. He lost track of the detectives and gave up and left. He never saw the men who took his coat.
Later that same afternoon, the detectives called Barkley to tell him he could pick up his phone at the police station. It turns out someone did come in with the phone – before Barkley and the police arrived – with a story about buying it from a friend of Barkley’s uncle, only to find the phone didn’t work. In fact, it wasn’t working because Barkley had had the service disconnected.
The Apple clerk at the Genius Bar assumed it was a phone malfunction, and seemingly without checking to make sure, handed the man a brand new phone and put Barkley’s stolen phone in the back, to be sent off for servicing.
Read more -
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1108987--does-apple-service-stolen-phones?bn=1
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