Purchased two iPhone X but received empty box

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xinchao1987 Author

Level 1

10 points

Purchased two iPhone X but received empty box

Dear All,

I know this is probably not the first post on the similar issue, but my situation is a bit more complicated than others. I am hoping if anyone who had a similar situation could please offer me some advice on how I should follow up with Apple.

I purchased two iPhone X (256GB, Black) on Oct 27th from Hong Kong and they were delivered on Nov 20 and Nov 21 respectively. I was on a trip in Australia around that time so I have these delivered to my friend's address and she signed it for me.

I went back to Hong Kong on Dec 10th, and picked up my iPhone from my friend's home. The delivery box was intact, my friend did not open it. I opened the boxes later that day and immediately noticed that the two iPhone boxes inside seem to be very light. I opened the first one, there was no iPhone unit, but only accessories (charger, earphone, manual). I did not open the second one as it has to be the same given both of them are so light. The IME numbers on the iPhone boxes do not match what is printed on the delivery boxes.

I reported the issue to Apple, and Apple did call me back several days later. However Apple was saying there is nothing they can do for investigation as all their records suggest the products were delivered successfully. And given I did not report until three week later, they were saying it is very hard for them to do anything, after all, a lot can happen during that three weeks (they seems to suggest my friend, or someone else might steal the iPhone). Apple suggested I go to the local police station and report my iPhone was stolen, this way as long as they have a police record, they may be able to schedule a replacement for me.

I feel it shouldn't be my responsibility to file a police report, and to be honest, I am not 100% sure if I should report my iPhone was stolen. From everything I can tell, I believed this to be an assembling incident. There was no evidence suggesting the box was opened during delivery and the unit was switched. All packaging was perfect, except there was no iPhone unit. I left Hong Kong a few days ago. To file a police report also means I need to go back to Hong Kong.

Is that true there is no way for Apple to investigate if the issue is not reported immediately? I would really appreciate any experience/advice.

Thank you all very much.

Posted on Dec 18, 2017 1:01 AM

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Answer 1

MrBill3

Level 10

103,522 points

Dec 18, 2017 4:46 AM in response to xinchao1987

xinchao1987,

You should contact the delivery service that delivered the phones and file a complaint with them.

Also contact the police. And has already been noted, continue to work with Apple.

Good luck.

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Answer 2

xinchao1987 Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 18, 2017 4:58 AM in response to MrBill3

Thanks, MrBill3. From a practical perspective, yes, I should talk to the shipment and the police. But I told Apple today that I am not going to report my iPhone as stolen. Reporting it as stolen assumes I trust Apple that the unit was there when it was shipped out of the factory. However no evidence can suggest that. In fact, if this is not an assembling mistake, this looks like an internal job. All I can do is to talk to a lawyer, which is indeed what I am working on at the moment.

It is so frustrating that it happened, and it is even more frustrating how Apple is handling it. The whole online business relies to some extent on trust. But Apple gives me feeling that they first assume you are guilty, then trying to get you to prove you are not.

Thank you again for the advice.

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Answer 3

FelipeV

Level 6

10,600 points

Dec 18, 2017 5:01 AM in response to xinchao1987

Apparently, yours is not an isolated incident. There have been other reports of this happening. Some one could have violated security protocols at the point of origin or during transit.

Apparently Apple is investigating.

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Answer 4

Dec 18, 2017 6:39 AM in response to xinchao1987

Regardless of what else you do, it should be reported to the carrier. They do conduct their own investigations but unless you report it they cannot be held responsibe even if the theft occurred while under their responsibility. At this point all they know is the delivery was successfully completed with a signature.

And btw, theft of iPhones from packages while in the care of couriers has been mainstream news of late here in the USA. While a theft at the factory is not impossible, it’s more likely it was stolen in-route, and the box re-sealed (as has happened here numerous times in the past few months, according to national news sources).

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Answer 5

xinchao1987 Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 19, 2017 8:20 PM in response to xinchao1987

Just an update if anyone is interested:

I am talking to both Apple and the courier at the moment, and will involve police once I return to Hong Kong. Apple tends to believe it is not Apple's fault, and refuses to do anything unless I report to police (in which case I am still not guaranteed to get a replacement according to Apple). Apple claims that "after all, I am the one suffering the loss, not them, so it is my responsibility to report it to police". What Apple told me so far is that the empty iPhone box they shipped to me was sold in their Hong Kong store. Someone must have recycled the box and switched it into the delivery.

The courier says it is hard for them to investigate too given it is way past 24 hours. But they do offer some information about their process. Their records showed that both the deliveries were very fast (overnight), so that the window of stealing is thin. The packages had no sign of tampering (this I confirmed), after the package arrived in Hong Kong from China, their records as well showed that the package was in good shape. So it is likely that the product was already bad when handled to them.

The weight, however, though they do keep a record, cannot tell much because even if the box had an iPhone in it, it is still "~0.8 KG" (the phone itself is too light to make a difference to the total weight)

Personally, I tend to believe this is done by Apple employee, or someone in the manufacturing factory. I even thought this must be assembling error as all the packaging etc looks perfectly fine. But who knows.... what I am sure at this moment is that I won't get my money back.

It is furious that Apple shipped anyone an empty box, but it is heartbreaking the way Apple handled it. I don't deny Apple makes good product, but I would expect a much higher standard when it comes to customer dispute. I may be too emotional at the moment given I am the victim, but all I feel for these days working with Apple is a denial of responsibility. Their representative talked with acrimony, and every time he called he just tried to imply two things:

1) I paid, I signed, they can't do anything

2) It is possible that I am lying, or my friend might have stolen the phones

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