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FreeMac?

T

threeiz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Hey everyone,
I'm a new mac user and I purchased my eMac via apple.com with an education discount. I got an email saying it shipped but it was really just shipping info received, then I got an email invoice saying I paid. Money still in the bank pending. FedEx says it will come the next day. The next morning I check apple.com status there is a problem with my account, I call they say the bank need approval, I go down to the bank they say I don't need approval they had not been asked for any money. I call again and another apple rep says there is no problem they wouldn't have shipped it if they didn't have payment (They hadn't FedEx.com said package not in possession, I check the site its back to normal my account says pending again. That night FedEx picks the computer up, I get it the next day, friday, (love it by the way) two days later I checked my bank account the money is still there and there appears to be no history of a transaction, apple and my bank have not said a word, checked again today, still there. Anyone ever have an experience like this? What happened? I figure I will leave the money there for awhile, just to be safe. WeirD.
 
Yea man, ****.

They would not have sent it to you if they did not get some type of payment from someone. If they didn't get it from you then they got it from someone else. Apple does not give out free Mac's.

So thats Apples problem, if they figure it out, cool just give them the money. If they don't, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, as it were. I would also try not to call Applecare unless nessary.

But if you have any objections to getting something free from a billion dollar company, then send it my way, I won't have a problem with it.😀
 
Despite what the other's have said here, I'm going to go oppisite. I think telling Apple and/or the bank what happened would be the best thing to do. Even is Apple is a multi-billion dollar company, it still aint right to accept something for free when you know it's not free - no matter who messed the order up. Remember the old saying, 'it all comes out in the wash'.
 
The same thing was happening to me (it hasn't arrived yet though, apple uk being utterly useless with shipping), and I just checked my account, and it's just come out this morning.

I would totally have not told them though. It would have always been a worry if they'd found out, but that worry is worth a couple of thousand quid or so, surely.

Is it illegal not to tell the company you haven't been charged? You could hardly say you "didn't notice"....
 
No its not illegal. They are supposed to charge you. They handle the transaction. If a business messes up, it's never your fault. If a company makes a pricing mistake in an advertisement by accidentally making a product too cheap, you get it at the cheaper price by law.

In this case, its not your job to charge yourself. If they make a mistake, the law is always on your side. You didn't steal it after all, it was a mistake on their part. You were more than willing to pay by giving them your details in your order. You did your part -- they just had to take the money.

Now whether it's moral is another question, but I wouldn't bother telling them. I don't think it's immoral. If they figure it out, they can charge me, as they did realize their mistake, after all. However, I'd say it's immoral if you empty out your account, or you close it tomorrow just because they forget to charge your for a few weeks. That's avoidance of payment, and I don't think they technically have to charge you right away. They can take their money next week. Not paying is then considered stealing.
 
Abstract said:
No its not illegal. They are supposed to charge you. They handle the transaction. If a business messes up, it's never your fault. If a company makes a pricing mistake in an advertisement by accidentally making a product too cheap, you get it at the cheaper price by law.

In this case, its not your job to charge yourself. If they make a mistake, the law is always on your side. You didn't steal it after all, it was a mistake on their part. You were more than willing to pay by giving them your details in your order. You did your part -- they just had to take the money.
Click to expand...

That might be very true for the US, but laws are different in different countries. And since Lau is from the UK, it might be a very different situation (I don't know the UK laws, though).
 
I reckon abstract's probably right for the uk as well, though don't quote me on that. I've had stuff not taken off before, but it's always been something quite small, that conceivably I could say I hadn't noticed. The PowerBook and iPod could be a bit harder to swing.

Lawyer: So you're saying you worked all summer and when you had enough money you bought £1340 worth of computer stuff and you didn't notice that your account was exactly £1340 in credit, when it's usually slightly overdrawn?

Lau: Er.............................no.
 
threeiz said:
Anyone ever have an experience like this? What happened? I figure I will leave the money there for awhile, just to be safe.
Click to expand...

Probably a good idea! My friend had exactly the same experience with a Power Mac G5. In short, it took Apple UK three months to process the transaction and request the money from his credit card issuer. My guess is that they'll take the money eventually.
 
its apple's fault, im surprised they would let something like this slip. if you want to be safe, id call. if they say they show that youve paid for it then request that they sind you a paper reciept b/c you lost yours. once you have a paper copy in your hand that says youve paid then you will be set and you can do whatever with the money left in your bank account.
 
Yeah, same thing happened to me too. It has already been 2 months and Apple still hasn't charged my credit card.
It was a Powerbook G4 15in warranty replacement for my 12in. I agreed to pay to upgrade to the newest model. What made Apple's screw up wose is that they config it with a 1 1GB memory (which was like ~$500 BTO that time) but in the exchange letter I agreed to a 1 512MB Memory. So, a ~$3000 computer - ~1699 (old comptuer) = $1301 that apple needs to charge... Maybe they were all focusing on the 2.5 G5's and forgot? I'll consider myself lucky...
 
i'd definitely leave the money in the bank. apple do have the right to take the amount for the computer and if you don't have sufficient funds, you won't be able to hold apple or the bank responsible for any fees incurred.

that said, i'd go and check with apple if i were you. it's only right - i don't care who's supposed to do what, who messed up, etc. another reason to check is because you never know when they will realize the mistake and withdraw the fund. do you really want to go on wondering if your bank balance is up to date?

remember guys: someone's paying for it. indirectly, and only in principle but future mac buyers will be subsidizing this purchase one way or another.
 
Thanks

I still don't know what I should do, all of you expressed a few thoughts I had, do I really want to worry about my account being overdrawn, shut up, apples mistake, etc. I think I will leave the situation alone for a long time, what the hell it is found money to me, and I won't mind leaving $1,200 in my account for awhile. As for the moral questions, I figure I am probably going to hell anyways so why not live a little. The apple id check/request for a reciept could be good too.
 
Mute point now...

Just checked my account and they got the cash, oh well its still a free computer, I bought it with a scholarship the government gave me for scoring in the top 5% of my school in the Stanford 9 test. Luckly my school was full of stupid gang members. So a lesson too all of you out there go to a school with a lot oof gang violence, because in the midst of shooting, stabbing, and riots, only good things come.
 
threeiz said:
Just checked my account and they got the cash, oh well its still a free computer, I bought it with a scholarship the government gave me for scoring in the top 5% of my school in the Stanford 9 test. Luckly my school was full of stupid gang members. So a lesson too all of you out there go to a school with a lot oof gang violence, because in the midst of shooting, stabbing, and riots, only good things come.
Click to expand...

Good for you, man! Way to overcome the system! At least it was fun while it lasted...
 
Yeah, nice one! Enjoy the computer, you never know, perhaps fate was saving up for when you buy a car or something, and the dealer forgets to charge the card. You never know....
 
threeiz said:
Just checked my account and they got the cash, oh well its still a free computer, I bought it with a scholarship the government gave me for scoring in the top 5% of my school in the Stanford 9 test. Luckly my school was full of stupid gang members. So a lesson too all of you out there go to a school with a lot oof gang violence, because in the midst of shooting, stabbing, and riots, only good things come.
Click to expand...

How did you rank in the top 5% saying things like "mute point"? 😉 But anyway, I would have called right away and told them and once the person you talked to figured out what happened, you could say, "By the way, since I was such a nice guy for telling you what happened, could you send me a free iPod?" 😀 I've heard they offer you free stuff if you threaten to cancel your order.

I don't believe its worth a computer to risk getting robbed, shot, etc. Also, in a school like that I don't think you would be getting the best education. I'm sure I ranked in the top 5% on my ACT score. Why didn't I get a free computer? 🙂 I'm not complaining, though. I got a full tuition scholarship from my University.
 
Funny

threeiz said:
Just checked my account and they got the cash, oh well its still a free computer, I bought it with a scholarship the government gave me for scoring in the top 5% of my school in the Stanford 9 test. Luckly my school was full of stupid gang members. So a lesson too all of you out there go to a school with a lot oof gang violence, because in the midst of shooting, stabbing, and riots, only good things come.
Click to expand...

OKay, Threeiz. I know it's tragic in its own way but your last line was the funniest thing I've read all day!

Grats on your good scores though. No matter the circumstances, you earned it!

🙂
 
threeiz said:
...all of you out there go to a school with a lot oof gang violence, because in the midst of shooting, stabbing, and riots, only good things come.
Click to expand...



LOL. Thats very good! You don't have to be a genius to drive the short bus...


BTW, I'm sure you did just great and achived your score on your talents-- good going!
 
I thought this thread was going to be one of those
"Hey! I got my free mac and now you can too! click here, its real http://freemac.com&uid=stoopidman60607"
 
I likes the free toys too. I have received my iMac G5, and my credit card balance hasn't changed yet either. The kids are lucky. If my luck should hold, I might get another one for myself! 😀
 
I'm glad all worked out the way it was supposed to. That being said:
I do not believe that you should have called Apple to tell them. Do I want Apple to give away free computers and lose money?.......no. But it is not your responsibility to take time out of your day to make a phone call that will probably get you put on hold for 5-10 minutes and talk to 2 or 3 people in order to correct an error made by Apple. When you ordered and your payment method cleared, that's the end of your responsibility of paying them.
But like I said above, I'm glad it worked out.
 
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