Apple just got two of my credit cards shut down!

[Chrisy]

I noticed a hairline crack on the bottom of my screen. I called Apple to inquire if that was covered by warranty.

The first rep was really nice and said yes it's common. He proceeded to order a replacement. But when I had to turn off Find My iphone he advised I would have to get off the phone to do so. He'd call me right back.

I turned it off and waited for the callback. That didn't happen so I called back with my case #. The second rep who was also very nice said he did not think it was covered by warranty. When I told him the first rep said it was and was actually working on a replacement, he said he would ask his supervisor.

He returned to say it was a common occurrence and was covered. Ok great. He then informed me there would be a 600 hold on my credit card til they got my iphone shipped to them. Annoying but understandable.

However after I gave him my card number he said it wasn't going through. There is no reason for that so he asked for the number again. Still no.

My cards are fine with high limits but ok. So I said let's try my MasterCard then. After giving him that number he said his computer was showing a spinning clock that never happens and he tried again. And again. Then he reset his computer.

Finally he said it went through. Cool no problem. Then I get off the phone and 8 alerts from my bank that charges have been made. With that are two emails saying my cards have been deactivated due to unusual activity.

I called back and was on the phone for a longer time while the rep talked to another department.

She told me all the charges will "fall off" except the one for express shipping.

In the meantime I have over 1200 in charges on hold on my cards. That money is not available. And both my cards are currently shut down.

I am not satisfied with my first experience with Apple. All the reps were nice but nice doesn't fix this frustration. I'll be writing a letter to see what they will do.

I am sorry I even called in. I would have just lived with the hairline crack. Based on this, so far, I have lite faith in Apple support.

She said to call them back if the charges remain. That is not reassuring at all.

 

[taz323]

Sorry to hear that, Apple is known for their service.

 

[jmr1015]

He returned to say it was a common occurrence and was covered. Ok great. He then informed me there would be a 600 hold on my credit card til they got my iphone shipped to them. Annoying but understandable.

However after I gave him my card number he said it wasn't going through. There is no reason for that so he asked for the number again. Still no.

My cards are fine with high limits but ok. So I said let's try my MasterCard then. After giving him that number he said his computer was showing a spinning clock that never happens and he tried again. And again. Then he reset his computer.

Finally he said it went through. Cool no problem. Then I get off the phone and 8 alerts from my bank that charges have been made. With that are two emails saying my cards have been deactivated due to unusual activity.


I am not satisfied with my first experience with Apple. All the reps were nice but nice doesn't fix this frustration. I'll be writing a letter to see what they will do.

I am sorry I even called in. I would have just lived with the hairline crack. Based on this, so far, I have lite faith in Apple support.

She said to call them back if the charges remain. That is not reassuring at all.

Sounds to me like a simple case of technical difficulties. While frustrating, I don't see it in anyway being any of the customer service reps faults. The second rep's computer was apparently acting up, and while trying to get your payment through his system in order to finish the process to get you your replacement, it accidentally hit your card with multiple charges.

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles with the card system, but they will get the charges straightened out. Give them time. Apple customer service is pretty much second to none in the technology sector. But hiccups and mistakes can happen to anyone.

 

[EmceeGeek]

Wow! I'm sorry you have to go through that, I've never known them to do that. It must've been a glitch in the system that caused this to occur. One of the charges will eventually fall off but it's unfortunate that your account is locked, I know that frustration! I hope you're not charged by your credit company for this. I'm assuming you're not near an Apple store? I've never called them to have anything fixed.

 

[Chrisy]

Oh I never said it was their fault or blamed the reps. Like I stated they were all really nice.

I'm just saying my first experience with Apple was not good. I do hope it is resolved with the 1200 dropping off.

I give companies a few chances before I leave for sure. I understand computer glitches.

However, I have had phones replaced in the past. I never had to have a 600 hold placed. That is a bit strange to me. But I have always had them replaced by Verizon.

Having a 1200 hold on my card is not an issue now. It would have been had I been out of town and using it though.

As well I have to wait to get the fraud alert off of the cards. I just hope I have better future experiences with Apple.

I will be asking for a credit however for the unconvinced.

 

[Chrisy]

The nearest Apple store is an hour and a half away. I assume there you can leave with a replaced device? That would have been great!

I did like that they took really good notes and the second and third time I called they knew my issues.

I assume this hairline crack issue is pretty prevalent though since it's easily covered under warranty. I don't have Apple Care.

 

[iEd]

Yup you would have been in and out of the Apple Store. Sorry you had a bad experience.


#Naked Tuesday

 

[jmr1015]

Oh I never said it was their fault or blamed the reps. Like I stated they were all really nice.

I'm just saying my first experience with Apple was not good. I do hope it is resolved with the 1200 dropping off.

I give companies a few chances before I leave for sure. I understand computer glitches.

However, I have had phones replaced in the past. I never had to have a 600 hold placed. That is a bit strange to me. But I have always had them replaced by Verizon.

Having a 1200 hold on my card is not an issue now. It would have been had I been out of town and using it though.

As well I have to wait to get the fraud alert off of the cards. I just hope I have better future experiences with Apple.

I will be asking for a credit however for the unconvinced.

It is extremely common for a device manufacturer to put a hold on a credit card when replacing a device under warranty, to cover the cost of the device being returned, should the owner decided not to send the defective device back and instead sell it. In that scenario, without a credit hold, the manufacturer is out the original, and the replacement, for the cost of just the original.

I can not speak to the replacement practices of cellular carriers, as I have never had a device replaced by my carrier.

The nearest Apple store is an hour and a half away. I assume there you can leave with a replaced device? That would have been great!

I did like that they took really good notes and the second and third time I called they knew my issues.

I assume this hairline crack issue is pretty prevalent though since it's easily covered under warranty. I don't have Apple Care.

Yes, a trip to the Apple Store would have gotten you a replacement immediately, and no charges to your card at all, because Apple would have taken possession of the defective/damaged device on the spot.

 

[Chrisy]

Should I wipe the old device before I ship it back?

 

[Fausty82]

Should I wipe the old device before I ship it back?

Yes. Always yes.

 

[Fausty82]

Just a couple of thoughts on this...

Did you try to replace/exchange the phone with Verizon? That would have been the logical step, given your distance from an Apple store. Apple is definitely a company that offers excellent customer service... but sometimes a "perfect storm" occurs.

You also need to understand that with VZW, they may exchange a device (by mail?) without a "hold" fee or security deposit... but they already have leverage - your wireless account. If one would attempt to skip out on an exchange, they can always charge back to your account. Apple has no such guarantee. From their perspective, you?re just a voice on a phone with a claim and a valid serial number.

As for the extra charges being removed, that will most definitely happen, and it will happen quickly.

And from your bank's perspective, they were only protecting their (and your) interest by placing the fraud alerts on your cards. Technical glitches caused multiple charges to be placed on your card, and the bank saw that as "suspicious".

Best of luck to you.

 

[Chrisy]

My bank was a champ and I'm glad they're on top of strange activity.

I would have preferred to do the exchange through VZW but I thought only Apple handled their exchanges. Are you saying I can go through VZW if there is a next time?

As for the charges, I hope you correct. Then all will be forgiven. Lol. I was just a little concerned because the last rep I spoke with could not tell me *which* credit card is going to have the actual 29 charge on it. Maybe they don't have access to that info, I don't know.

Like I said in not blaming anything but computer glitch. But it reminded me of Sirius radio where there were so many "glitches" with my billing that I finally cancelled service.

Hopefully this is an anomaly!

And I will go through Verizon next time for sure if that is possible. In the meantime I will watch my credit cards.

 

[kch50428]

I would have preferred to do the exchange through VZW but I thought only Apple handled their exchanges. Are you saying I can go through VZW if there is a next time?

If you got the phone from Verizon yes... Verizon will deal with any device you get from them directly...

 

[Chrisy]

That's the thing. I upgraded at Walmart to save a few bucks...

 

[anon(4698833)]

lol @ your comment about having "little faith in Apple support". Apple's support is almost unmatched anywhere in the market...you experienced a technical glitch, not something Apple is known for doing. It's unfortunate you had to deal with that, but this kind of issue is not reflective of Apple's support at all.

 

[kch50428]

That's the thing. I upgraded at Walmart to save a few bucks...

Then you could have delt with WalMart...

 

[Chrisy]

lol @ your comment about having "little faith in Apple support". Apple's support is almost unmatched anywhere in the market...you experienced a technical glitch, not something Apple is known for doing. It's unfortunate you had to deal with that, but this kind of issue is not reflective of Apple's support at all.

Yup. It's all I have to go by so far. Hope it is as good as I hear on here!

As long as it's resolved.... And doesn't happen excessively, all is good.

 

[metllicamilitia]

Ha, your bank is a lot better than my old bank, I can never have an account at that bank ever again according to them. I was unable to cancel a subscription in time and that caused my account to be overdrawn by $0.75 and as such they withdrew that payment and instead charged me another $30 for insufficient funds and at the time I was laid off from the seasonal job I had at the time. Took me a month to get the money and they closed my account and said I could never bank with them again.

My new bank is amazing, I had to have my debit card replaced because I had flown through Minneapolis to Portland, Oregon and had charges in another city in Oregon where I was working. I received a call from the bank saying there were charges in Atlanta, Georgia, a couple other cities, and somewhere in the UK that same day. I verified which charges were mine, they cancelled my card and sent me a new one.

As for Apple, I've never had an issue with them. But I've also never had to call in, I've always been near an Apple Store. The Apple Store in Charleston, South Carolina actually tried to talk me out of replacing my iPhone for the ding it had. But I was having some sketchy signal issues as well.

I'll reiterate what the others have said, sorry you've had this happen, but it sounds like Apple and your bank will have it sorted out it no time and all will be well again. Good luck!


Blazin' Tap Tap Tappity 2 You

 

[solitude1984]

In the meantime I have over 1200 in charges on hold on my cards. That money is not available. And both my cards are currently shut down.

So why are both of your cards still shut down? Whenever my credit card companies do that, all it takes is a phone call and an explanation for them to make the card usable again.



Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

 

[iEd]

My bank was a champ and I'm glad they're on top of strange activity.

I would have preferred to do the exchange through VZW but I thought only Apple handled their exchanges. Are you saying I can go through VZW if there is a next time?


As for the charges, I hope you correct. Then all will be forgiven. Lol. I was just a little concerned because the last rep I spoke with could not tell me *which* credit card is going to have the actual 29 charge on it. Maybe they don't have access to that info, I don't know.

Like I said in not blaming anything but computer glitch. But it reminded me of Sirius radio where there were so many "glitches" with my billing that I finally cancelled service.

Hopefully this is an anomaly!

And I will go through Verizon next time for sure if that is possible. In the meantime I will watch my credit cards.

Yes it's good your bank is on top of perceived strange activity. With the new iPhones being so popular multi iPhones purchases in a short period of time may be a red flag. There was news story here last week of a credit card thief that targets the elderly. The thief racked up $1500 in purchases from Apple before the card was cancelled. Hope it gets straighten out for you.