Q: AppleCare Account Security denied icloud unlock request
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May 11, 2016 10:29 AMby IdrisSeabright,Even though you're past the return period, I would still try pursuing the matter with Best Buy as they are the ones who sold you an iPad not really fit for sale. Your issue is with them.
Apple will only remove the Activation Lock for the verified original purchaser, which unfortunately, you are not. This is not a failure in their record keeping. It's the way Activation Lock works.
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May 11, 2016 10:32 AMby Pmintz25,What to do before selling or giving away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
Apple's 1 year warranty is for the hardware. There is no hardware issue in your case.
In my opinion, it is very unprofessional of Best Buy to not wipe the devices before reselling them. It takes about .5 seconds to "Google" how to properly wipe an iPad, and you'd think a company that boasts a "Geek Squad" could figure out that it is extremely unprofessional and dangerous to sell a device that still contains a previous customer's sensitive data. It is on Best Buy to replace the device for you since they sold it to you in the first place.
Try using the article I linked and see if it helps.
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May 11, 2016 10:40 AMby KiltedTim,Pmintz25 wrote:
In my opinion, it is very unprofessional of Best Buy to not wipe the devices before reselling them.
Agreed... but it's par for the course for Best Buy. As is selling equipment that's several years old and has been replaced by new models as "new" without disclosing to unsuspecting customers that they are NOT buying the latest model like they think they are.
To the OP, complain to Best Buy's corporate headquarters in writing, and to the attorney general of your state.
Next time you purchase open box equipment of any kind from BestBuy or anywhere else, make sure you thoroughly inspect it before the return period expires.
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May 11, 2016 11:08 AMby bouncingstar,Thank you for all your feedback.
It is understood that it is Best Buy that should not have sold the device in such a condition. I did reach out to Best Buy Support initially and they had the nerve to tell me there isn't anything they could do as it was past the 30-day return period. When I contacted Best Buy the second time, a more helpful support representative placed me on hold and contacted AppleCare, then informed me that AppleCare would be able to help. That's how I got started with AppleCare.
Meg St._Clair commented that "Apple will only remove the Activation Lock for the verified original purchaser, which unfortunately, you are not". Is this a true statement documented by Apple, because AppleCare did tell me they should be able to unlock if I can provide the original proof of purchase? They never said that I have to be original purchaser to be able to get help. Let's say if, instead of buying this ipad from Best Buy, I bought it directly from Apple.com which was somehow also a return from another buyer, would AppleCare still deny unlock service on the ground that I am not an original purchaser? I would not think so, right?
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May 11, 2016 11:16 AMby Pmintz25,Apple would not sell it with a previous customer's information.
An Apple Certified Refurbished product has a new warranty, just like a brand new product. If it was purchased from Apple, the original purchase date would be when YOU purchased the iPad, not when the first owner bought the product. The warranty would start when you bought the iPad as opposed to when the original owner purchased the iPad.
Here are the refurbished iPads:
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May 11, 2016 12:24 PMby Pmintz25,I understand where you're coming from and the frustration this causes.
Take this into consideration: you can buy a used car from Toyota, and it will come with an extended warranty because Toyota itself has checked the car and made necessary repairs/improvements to make the car Toyota Certified. You can buy the same exact car at some third party car dealer authorized to sell Toyotas, but they are not Toyota Certified because Toyota doesn't physically inspect the vehicle as they would in their own dealership.
Same with Apple. Best Buy is an authorized seller of Apple products, but I doubt they are allowed to advertise "Apple Certified" products. The devices Best Buy sells used do not get sent to Apple for inspection, and thus are not entitled to the Apple Certified warranty.
You may take KiltedTim's advice and take the receipt with you to an Apple Store to verify the purchase date, and maybe they can call and get someone to remove the lock.
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May 11, 2016 12:47 PMby bouncingstar,Thank for your reply. However, I do not think your analogy to the car warranty is the same in this situation. Best Buy and other authorized dealers like Staples and Office Depot sell customer-returned apple devices as NEW, not as certified or used. Now, in order for them to do that, they must have had some sort of an agreement with Apple. Otherwise, Apple would not honor a full one-year manufacturer's warranty pledge. Once that is agreed upon, this type of problems are abound to happen, such as in my case, from time to time. Having a relationship like that with the re-sellers, Apple should anticipate and have an established protocol on how to effectively deal with them when such a problem arise. Remember that the whole icloud implmentation/restrictions and how they work are created by Apple, not by the re-sellers.Thus, the fact that AppleCare Account Security keep standing on a hard line, refusing to help on the ground of receipt date discrepancy is not something I would expect from a company like Apple. If they have doubt about the legitimacy of the purchase, which they never said they did, they already have my Best Buy order number and a few minute phone call to confirm with Best Buy is all they need.
On a different note, a senior advisor at AppleCare had made an arrangement for me to come into an Apple store to have the ipad replaced. I will give an update when that is done. Regardless of how the things get resolved, I still think AppleCare Security team could have done more to help, and they didn't.
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May 11, 2016 2:49 PMby LACAllen,authorized dealers like Staples and Office Depot sell customer-returned apple devices as NEW, not as certified or used. Now, in order for them to do that, they must have had some sort of an agreement with Apple.
Apple should anticipate and have an established protocol on how to effectively deal with them when such a problem arise.
Best Buy did not follow the proper steps to resell this product. Any agreement with Apple would require that.
Apple's support staff did their job correctly under the circumstances. They would never imply that the purchase was not legitimate, only that you may not have been the original purchaser. In cases of activation lock, that is the hard line to follow. You were purchaser B, but the activation lock was put in place by purchaser A. Apple will not typically act in this situation except with purchaser A and the sales receipt.
If your device is being replaced by Apple, that is good news for you. It was clearly Best Buy's mess to clean up IMO.
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May 11, 2016 3:22 PMby bouncingstar,Note that AppleCare Security team did not deny unlocking just because we are the second purchaser. Their policy allows unlocking by a purchaser B with proper proof of purchase although it had been previously purchased and returned by purchaser A. The problem is their system seems to have a different purchase date, which is most likely that of purchaser A.
Therefore, let's say if Best Buy did clean up the icloud info properly and sold to us, somehow during the course of use and we have the need to have icloud removed because we forgot our password, for example, we would run into the same deny from AppleCare based on their same reasoning. Now that would not be Best Buy's problem,would it?
The problem here is the purchase date discrepancy in Apple system and their decision to stand by it. Now, how they keep track of it, and how they coordinate with Best Buy to have it update and in sync is not a customer's problem, is it? If there is such a discrepancy, we would think they would look closer into it and make correction if necessary.
Additionally, with that old date in the system, AppleCare says we would no longer have warranty because the date was over one year old, despite the fact that our proof of purchase clearly shows it is still within one-year warranty.
How is it our problem when the date discrepancy is solely internal between the re-seller and Apple?
My appointment at the Apple store is later on tonight and I will update this post with results.
Thanks for listening
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May 11, 2016 3:28 PMby IdrisSeabright,bouncingstar wrote:
Meg St._Clair commented that "Apple will only remove the Activation Lock for the verified original purchaser, which unfortunately, you are not". Is this a true statement documented by Apple, because AppleCare did tell me they should be able to unlock if I can provide the original proof of purchase? They never said that I have to be original purchaser to be able to get help. Let's say if, instead of buying this ipad from Best Buy, I bought it directly from Apple.com which was somehow also a return from another buyer, would AppleCare still deny unlock service on the ground that I am not an original purchaser? I would not think so, right?
Ok, to be perfectly accurate, if you were able to get in touch with the original purchaser and get them to give you the receipt, Apple would most likely unlock it. However, if you could do that, you could probably get the original purchaser to remove the activation lock. BestBuy isn't going to give you someone else's paperwork. So, I apologize for any confusion.
If you had purchased a refurbished iPad from Apple, you wouldn't have this problem. Refurbished iPads from Apple are like new. They have been completely wiped, had certain parts replaced and, for Apple's purposes you would be the original purchaser.
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May 11, 2016 3:32 PMby IdrisSeabright,bouncingstar wrote:
Note that AppleCare Security team did not deny unlocking just because we are the second purchaser. Their policy allows unlocking by a purchaser B with proper proof of purchase although it had been previously purchased and returned by purchaser A. The problem is their system seems to have a different purchase date, which is most likely that of purchaser A.
If this was something that Best Buy should have updated with Apple, your issue, unfortunately, is still with Best Buy.
I hope you're able to get this resolved.
Best of luck at your appointment.
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May 11, 2016 3:41 PMby LACAllen,The problem here is the purchase date discrepancy in Apple system and their decision to stand by it. Now, how they keep track of it, and how they coordinate with Best Buy to have it update and in sync is not a customer's problem, is it? If there is such a discrepancy, we would think they would look closer into it and make correction if necessary.
The key thing here is, it looks like you'll get this resolved.
And your point is valid... it is not the customer's duty to put the item back in inventory and have the keeper of the data adjust their records. And you're right again when you point out the impact of this on 90 days of phone support and 365 days of Limited Warranty. Spot on.
It is Best Buy's.
How could Apple possibly track returns for each of its resellers?
