Yeah just because something is policy, doesn’t make it acceptable.
If a customer is paying for a warranty it makes no sense that the date would start before the device is in their possession.
The intention is to protect a device while it’s in my care and I’ve already taken possession of it. If apple disclosed that they would activate apple care before the device is taken possession of, people are simply not going to get AppleCare until the time they receive their device.
I’m not, nor would I ever intentionally pay for a warranty for a device while it’s in the possession of the company or in transit before I’ve initially received it.
That policy to activate prior is absolutely stupid and if apple does this, they need to add a week or however long to the policy.