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Mark Coop Author

Level 1

13 points

Advice - Apple claim iPhone 5 has 3rd party screen but I haven't had any work done on it?!

Hello,

I went into my local Apple store last week to have the battery replaced under the refurb programme. After leaving the phone and returning 2 hours later I was told no repair had been done as the phone had 3rd party screen - totally untrue!!

The phone in question was replaced by Apple in Nov 2012 as the phone I had bought from new developed a fault. I was told the replacement was a refurbished model, like new with original parts and with the same warranty.

I have never had any work of anyway kind done to the phone since it was originally replaced by Apple. Despite repeatedly telling the staff at the Apple store it had never been repaired by anyone but them they refused to accept this and refused to do any form of work on it.

I was utterly livid they wouldn't believe me and don't know what to do? Is it feasible that the replacement phone Apple suppled in Nov 2012 would have had a 3rd part screen (from it's previous owner) or could they have got it wrong?

I complained to the manager and he shrugged his shoulders and said their was nothing more could be done.

Any ideas as to what I should do next?

Thanks in advance

Posted on Sep 5, 2014 7:04 AM

50 replies

SKJ87

Level 1

0 points

Sep 3, 2015 3:56 AM in response to KiltedTim

I get what you're saying. I didn't want to argue about not having any work done on it because now it is a matter of he said/she said, nothing really comes out of those arguments.So I asked if they could repair it, (replace it with an original Apple display or anything really), and they don't want to touch it!

SKJ87

Level 1

0 points

Sep 8, 2015 10:49 AM in response to Mark Coop

Mark Coop

Just to update...

I submitted a complaint to Apple both in the UK and US about the way I was treated and the fact they would not believe I had not had the screen repaired at any point.

I received a call and was invited to meet a manager; when I went in he and the technical support continued to state it was 3rd party screen however they would make a one off exception and replace the battery.

When I returned I was given a very humble and sincere apology from said manager... They had got it wrong and the screen was genuine after-all.

It's a shame I wasn't believed and had to go through such a fight to prove I was telling the truth, however I have been invited back tomorrow to collect a new iPhone 6 by way of apology. My faith in Apple has been restored.

Hey Mark,

Could you let me know where you filed this complaint to in the US? It's ridiculous to get a 'supposedly' new phone for $269, and then after the warranty expired, to be told that it wouldn't be repaired because it has a 3rd party screen - I would like to have a complaint on record as well, there's really no other recourse because the store technicians claim I was sold an original phone from the manufacturer and the screen is replaced after, when I didn't do that.

Thanks!

Nov 30, 2015 1:36 PM in response to Mark Coop

It happened on my iPhone 6 Plus also. What is more ridiculous, I purchased it from Apple Store and no one else had touch it because I used it everyday. There might be two possibilities: First, Apple made some mistakes on record all SN of the display, similar to your case; Second, Apple Store sell refurbished iPhone as Brand New original one.

Mar 1, 2016 7:37 AM in response to Mark Coop

Late March I purchased an iPhone 6, 64 gig model new from Sams Wholesale in North Little Rock, Arkansas. About 10 months out the screen would take spells of being unresponsive. I had to cycle the power button, lock/unlock to get the responsiveness back. Warranty was about to run out so I took it to the Apple Store here in Little Rock. Upon examining, the told me it would not be under warranty because it had a 3^rd party screen. As a Sr. Software Engineer that is on call 24/7, the phone never leaves my side. So it’s not like I loaned it to anyone that could have cracked it and replaced it before bringing it back. Since I purchased it new, I can say definitively it has not been touched or opened while in my possession. It was in a case and kept in pristine condition. They replaced the screen at a cost of $119 with tax, and it appears to have corrected the problem. But I have questions about if and how a 3^rd party screen got on my new device. Sam’s wholesale has a deal where you can bring a phone back in 30 days if unhappy. I’m going to check with them via the serial to see if this phone was every purchased and returned prior to me getting it. From what I can tell from the packaging when I received it, there was no indication of this and I thought the shipment of 64 gig phones had just came in because I was waiting on them to arrive, they had been out. Because of this, I question Apple. They said they could tell it was third party because of a circular ink stamp on the inside. Just can’t figure out how this happened, if I waited for the new shipment to come in, and I know it didn’t happen in my possession seems like a small envelope for someone to get phone, bring it back in day or 2 with altered screen before I got there. I came in to get it like 2 days after shipment arrived of the 64 gig models.

Oct 13, 2017 7:30 AM in response to TJBUSMC1973

He didn't say that he was "called" a liar, he said that it was "implied" and "insinuated" that he was lying.

Advice - Apple claim iPhone 5 has 3rd party screen but I haven't had any work done on it?!