Complain about a product or service

Apple iPhone

Robert of Bergenfield, NJ November 8, 2009

I have 4 Apple Iphones, 2 for my daughters, 1 for my wife and 1 for me. We are tired of the lousy workmanship of the product. On 3 of the 4 units the controls on the side for volume and vibrate mode have fallen off the units. This makes them virtually unusable. Cannot control volume and vibrate modes.

Apple refused to acknowledge that it is a problem nor will they even fix it. If it only happened to 1 unit, then I would say it was my fault. But the same exact issue with 3 different phones is not a user problem. What can be done.

Alvin of Hong Kong, Hong Kong October 17, 2009

After purchasing IPhone & MacBook Pro, it frustrated my girlfriend and me. We already wrote a complaint letter to Apple Computer Limited twice. First time, they passed to their Asia Pacific centre for handling my complaint, but it didn't work out after 3 or 4 months telephone communication; then we send the second complaint letter to Apple at September, but until now, we are still awaiting their response. I bought IPhone 3G at 3(HK) around Aug 2008, after few months problems came up, then we sent the first complaint letter to Apple.

Then they requested me to take the phone to repairing centre in HK to exchange a new one. Actually, I exchanged it twice within 2 weeks, just because they got so many problems. Some of the problems are the battery quickly runs out without getting any call; data lost when the Safari program froze for no reason; just can hear the phone ringing, can't pick up any call, need force to shut down the phone; the phone came overheat after using Safari for few minutes; etc...

Although those two complaint letters, we also told them the MacBook Pro got some problem, so we wanted their help, they just kept ignoring our request. The MacBook Pro is always overheating within 15 minutes and the battery runs out very quickly; the mouse control on the MacBook Pro itself has lost its functionality.

Vijay of Montclair, NJ October 6, 2009

I am writing to register a complaint for the service I was provided. I purchased an iPhone on September 7, 2009 at my home store in Willowbrook Mall in NJ . On October 1, 2009, my device shutdown completely and would not function at all. My home store, Willowbrook Mall in NJ directed me to the Apple store at Tices Corner, NJ as they would not b able to assist me till 2pm the following day and I need my phone for business.

At the Tices Store, the Mac Genius, Ryan told me that the replacement device (aka service phone) is a new device and Apple as a matter of policy does not provide refurbished or used devices and the service phone was an exact duplicate of the new retial finished product. Clearly, that is not the case as confirmed by several other Apple employees. I was lied to.

On October 2, 2000, my "new" service phone starts restarting on its own and freezes several times. ON researching on the internet I realized that the service device was not a new device but an almost new device. I beleive in getting a new device when I pay for one. I returned to my Home store and asked for a new phone. I was told that they could not do that and was given another service phone.

I then contacted Apple Care to escalate this issue and was told by Lari on Customer Relations that it was Apple policy that they cannot provide me a new phone. It seems that Apple policy does not care for customer satisfaction. In addition Apple policy does not believe it giving customer what they paid for.

Kim of littleton, CO October 6, 2009

Apple claims my i-phone was 'submersed' in water and won't honor warranty. The phone was never submersed or even splashed and now the touch screen barely works! The phone is 4 months new. Terrible customer service, made me feel like some sort of a criminal! Will have to get my now useless i-phone fixed by a third party vendor.

Dwayne of Pembroke Pines , FL October 3, 2009

I downloaded the 3.1 update for the IPhone 3G after which the phone began shutting down peridically and became non-responsive until the battery was drained. I called Apple who walked me through the process of basically resetting the phone and re-installing the software. This did not solve the issue and when I called Apple again, I was told that the cost would be 199 to diagnose and repair the problem. The phone is a little over 1 year old due to a software update from Apple that damaged my phone, I am being asked o pay the price of a new phone to repair it. It's suspicious because the phone dies around the same time every evening even though its fully charged. I am convinced Apple injects malicious software into the Iphone in order to make extra money in repairs. Don't buy this phone.

Gary of Fair Lawn, NJ October 1, 2009

All one has to do to see there is a potential fraud associated with Apple's use of its "Water Damage" excuse not to honor its warranty is to look around this site and many others and see all the similar complaints form folks who paid extra for an Apple Care Plan only to be told their plan was void due to water damage. I have had a similar experience recently when the Home button on my iPhone stopped working. It happened after I found I could call up the iPod by double clicking the Home button.

After a week of doing this I noticed the extra pushing on the Home button seemed to hurt the sensitivity of the button. I brought the phone into an Apple Store and it took the Apple person all of 1 minute to shine a flashlight into and claim a red indicator was showing which meant water damage. As others have said about their phones, I do not recall it ever being near water. I was told I would have to pay 199 to get another phone. There are a number of reasons/factors why I think a potential class action lawsuit should be considered against Apple for potentially defrauding customers who bought its extended care program. They Are:

1. The location of the Water Damage indicator is right near the front of the unit and very exposed. It would seem easy to run tests and determine if this Water Damage indicator is set too sensitive and would be liable to go off with moisture not significant enough to cause any internal problems.

2. If the Water Damage indicator is located right in the opening where the phone is charged and Apple is aware of potential water damage, why did they not include an attached plastic cap to cover that slot, like so many other phone have? Are there internal notes indicating that they realize such a cap will limit the times the indicator goes off and as such cause them to actually have to honor more warranties?

3. Simply review all the cases of water damage reported by Apple versus by other phone companies (using percentage of phones in services versus water damage phones) to see if there is a greater than normal average of Apple phones claiming to be water damaged.

4. Setup a hotline with postings on Twitter and other sites to ask for other iPhone users who also have been denied service due to Water Damage claim to come forward. This might show an even more widespread problem then even originally thought possible. I truly hope there is some potential class action suit at the very least being considered. If it turns out that the sensor Apple uses is legit and the phones truly do have water damage, then I will be totally content to simply buy another phone. I just would really love to see some investigation into this potential huge fraud.

Randy of Fresno, CA September 26, 2009

I used the phone for only 3 months and after one drive in the car. the phone became weird. I reset and restore the phone to original. But it didn't work so I took it to the store on 9/25/09 at the fashion fair Fresno. and they didn't help me at all, they said it had water damage but didn't show me anything. And they kept saying water damage. But then I read the reports from this site and other sites and they state the litmus paper is too close to the edge so they can be touch by water easily.

Daniel of Dallas, TX September 16, 2009

I purchased an iPhone at the Apple Store in the Willow Bend Mall in Plano, Texas. The clerk made a mistake in the middle of the transaction and said that they would have to cancel the transaction and start all over. After I got done with the transaction, I started to get two bills, one for the phone that I purchased and one for the order that was supposed to be canceled.

Douglas of Chandler, AZ September 15, 2009

I recently purchased an apple iphone for the 2nd time, including the "apple care" protection plan, which I was told would cover the hardware should it have a problem. The home button on my phone quit working recently, so I first visited an ATT store, where I was directed to visit the Apple Store. I subsequently did visit the Apple Store on 9/14, and was told I need to come back tomorrow, which I did.

On 9/15 was told that the protection plan would not cover the malfunction of the home button because of an issue with an immersion sensor, which I suspect is a malfunction all in itself. The phone has never been wet, and this button is the only problem, everything else works. It would seem logical that if the phone has been immersed, that there would be issues beyond one button. This is the 2nd iphone I have purchased that has had a hardware issue. The screen on the first one conveniently quit working a few weeks after the 1 year warranty was up, so this time I purchased the protection plan.

I then asked the manager and “Genius” if I can get a refund on the protection plan for the period which was unused. After a completely clueless look, they indicated I could not. Apple has denied my claim under the warranty verbally, and when I asked for something in writing it was refused. I tried to explain that the burden of proof in this situation was on them, and there was no answer.

To make matters worse, the manager at the store in Chandler had no idea what the escalation process was for a disputed warranty claim, or who I should contact. Even more amazing, was the fact that they didn't even have the courtesy to tell me they were clueless. They just left me sitting there. Obviously, I will never by another Apple product, ever.

Minor of Rapid City, SD September 14, 2009

I downloaded that latest upgrade to the Iphone and also for Itunes/Quick Time and when I sync'd my phone, I lost some of my purchased applications. I sent a request to Apple and they responded that they can't give me a refund. I don't want a refund, I want the apps back.

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