Charging Port issues. Was told it was my problem !!!!

We are long time Apple customers for over 10 years since the 1st iPhone came out. We have 6 iPhones, 3 iPads, 3 Laptops and a desktop.

We upgraded 5 iPhones last summer. 

A couple of months ago, my daughter’s iPhone 12 started having some issues. It would not charge when connected to the cable.

Today, January 28th, I took it to the Apple Store. The technician said the charging port was damaged. He implied that this was something that we had caused during use and therefore not covered by warranty.

I would understand if it was some external damage. But that is internal. It is a port that only fits the Apple cable. There’s no way we could have caused an internal damage like the employee said, when we only use Apple products. 

He suggested that it was our problem and we had to pay $450 to replace a phone that is only 6 months old.

My big mistake was to deal with only an employee. A messenger like he said himself. 

I tried contacting Apple Customer service when I came home and I was told they could not go over what the store said.

This is a brand new phone. Always inside the case, with screen protector and never saw a drop of water. 

Internal damage it is not something we as customers have any control over. 

I would like to have this problem solved without having to rely on wireless charger like it was suggested to me. 

When we had issues in past, Apple went above and beyond to solve it. I have seen that this level of care is been declining every year.

We are extremely disappointed with how Apple is handling customer issues recently and with every year that passes.

We are really considering leaving Apple for good if this issue is not resolved.