Long story short… cracked screen on phone. Went to local Premium Apple reseller for repair 3 weeks ago, they sent the phone off to Apple to do the job. Somewhere between the shop and Apple my phone has been lost – UPS were the courier service.

Anyway Apple have apparently agreed to supply me with a new phone but for some reason I have to wait for the phone they send and not one from the reseller’s stock. I assume they’re providing a refurbished one, although not 100% sure. I’m getting quite annoyed with the lack of information over timescales – if I can’t collect it this weekend I can’t get to them until next weekend.

I’m thinking of asking for some other form of compensation for being messed around and not getting the service I’ve paid for (£139 for a screen repair!). Part of me is thinking of asking for the £139 back, after all they haven’t actually carried out a repair, so in effect I’ve paid that money just for them to lose my phone! But I’m wondering if this is just being greedy.

Thoughts?

You should definitely ask for compensation (in sone form, they may offer the £139 refund or give you a “free” case etc). It seems to me you have no downside they can only say no, there are not going to withdraw your replacement phone offer.

My thoughts exactly jambalaya. I’ve since spoken to the store manager again. The phone isn’t going to be available this weekend, something about having to have the phone Apple are sending as they’ve already registered an IMEI number to me. However, the manager of the store has said that he will personally deliver the phone to me at home. The manager has also unofficially recommended (i.e. do this but don’t tell them I told you to!) that I take things up with their customer service team and push for compensation of some sort.

Ah yes, the manager having a word on the quiet to make it look like he is helping. You’d be going to their customer support anyway once you got a working phone anyway, wouldn’t you?

Not quite sure what you mean by “local Premium Apple reseller” ?

But anyway, if the phone was lost on the way to Apple, then nobody has repaired anything, so if you have paid already, you are due a refund.

Who did you pay for the service,? That’s who you get your refund from.

No point taking it up with Apple if it’s not them that you paid your money to (directly)
They have compensated you for the loss of your phone, by giving you a replacement phone.

What you need, is the refund for the service that nobody provided.

If they give you a phone with a broken screen then sure you should expect a refund. If you get one that’s in good condition, well you can ask by all means especially in light of the wasted time but I wouldn’t be surprised if they refuse.

The captain – I’m not expecting a full refund, but if that’s what I aim for…

Dick – Yes I’m well aware he was just trying to be matey and keep me onside.

Neal – I started the process of the screen repair through the Apple website. You have to book an appointment with a shop for them to look at the phone (or iPad, Mac, whatever…). The website listed all the local-ish Apple stores, all 20+ miles away. The website also lists Apple approved resellers, this one is a premium reseller (basically they’ve jumped through extra hoops with Apple to get the status, almost like a franchise). The shop I went to was closer to home and had more convenient appointment times. When I got there I’d have thought it was an Apple shop if it didn’t have a different name above the door. They booked my phone in for the repair on Apple’s system, but yes I paid them.