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$2000.00 fraud case apple wont help with
- Thread starter CPPhoto
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well apparently the top doesnt want to hear me. Customer Relations and Apple Coporate are refusing to give out any phone numbers to me or direct me to correct departments. They are basically saying customer relations is the end of the line as high as i can go, and i say to that, BS!
They also took my post on the apple discussion forums down!
They also took my post on the apple discussion forums down!
Just curious how you ended up with a $2000 gift card in the first place. If you returned something, they should've refunded it with the same method it was paid for. So unless the initial purchase was made with another gift card, you should've gotten money back or had a credit card credited.
I would think that the situation is quite clear; if Apple gave you a gift card, which is basically a promise to give _you_ $2000 worth of goods, and Apple _incorrectly_ thinks that they gave out $2000 worth of goods for that card, then that should not be your problem. Someone stole stuff _from Apple_, not from you.
It would be different if say Apple put the money into your bank account and I bought stuff with your debit card, or Apple gave you a gift card and I stole it, or if you bought a Mac and I robbed you while you carried it from the store to your car. In these cases I would have stolen _from you_, and it is your problem. But here someone has stolen _from Apple_. The person who did this never knew you. It is also possible that Apple gave out two identical gift cards; if you had been quicker to buy, then the other guy would have posted here because _his_ card wouldn't work.
absolutely i agree that is the case here
and to answer that question, i got the gift card from the apple store because i returned a sealed copy of Adobe CS3 that was given to me. I didnt have a receipt, so naturally, they gave me store credit (the gift card)
and to answer that question, i got the gift card from the apple store because i returned a sealed copy of Adobe CS3 that was given to me. I didnt have a receipt, so naturally, they gave me store credit (the gift card)
looks like according to my local authorities, ill have to file police reports in many places. chicago, atlanta, and milwaukee(glendale).
also..came across some interesting information:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_03/b4017054.htm
http://www.scambusters.org/giftcard.html
also what do people think about ME contacting apples PR dept. directly? if so what should i say?
also..came across some interesting information:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_03/b4017054.htm
http://www.scambusters.org/giftcard.html
also what do people think about ME contacting apples PR dept. directly? if so what should i say?
I think you need to stop worrying about your place on Digg.com and start talking to a lawyer or at least file a police report. As far as I can tell by reading this thread you've done neither. You want a lot of attention and advice yet you're failing to follow it.
Sorry for your loss, but without a police report I wouldn't really buy into your story either. That's how I work.
Sorry for your loss, but without a police report I wouldn't really buy into your story either. That's how I work.
They will if it becomes a large enough news story. A $2000 gift card is easier to replace than thousands of angry customers.
They would not sue over something like this they are far more likely to sue a site like appledefects.com That would just get more customers upset. Do you know of any cases where they have sued a customer?
Why would Apple sue the customer? He wrote PR: Public Relations. Stuff like this is their job! As for suing a customer, corporations usually press charges if a crime has occured: no need to pay lawyers, the government will do it for them
Thanks everybody for the advice so far
digg has gotten really big. and apparently some people think im a scammer which isnt true at all but i can sorta understand because i HAVENT done the report yet. and no, im not being whiny, im just away from home, and need advice on this.
yes...i havent gone to the police yet because i didnt know/think it was necessary. Apple, every time i talked to them sounded very enthusiastic, like we woudl get this "resolved" so i just never thought to do the actual reports (of course i thought about it)
but yes in the morning i am filing local reports and calling for the out of state stuff!
digg has gotten really big. and apparently some people think im a scammer which isnt true at all but i can sorta understand because i HAVENT done the report yet. and no, im not being whiny, im just away from home, and need advice on this.
yes...i havent gone to the police yet because i didnt know/think it was necessary. Apple, every time i talked to them sounded very enthusiastic, like we woudl get this "resolved" so i just never thought to do the actual reports (of course i thought about it)
but yes in the morning i am filing local reports and calling for the out of state stuff!
I saw this on Digg this morning, I had no idea you were on MR until I saw this thread 5 minutes ago. Honestly, until you posted that reciept on your blog, I had you pegged as a scammer too. Now I am relatively convinced you are legit.
I'm going to go ahead and agree with a few people who have been saying some apple employee used your card to buy something the day you got it. That makes the most sense to me. I imagine apple's gift card system is a little too advanced to have huge errors like this, especially since it says the actual amount on your reciept.
You'll probably win this. Email Steve, link to this thread, and link to Digg, even though people are arguing against you. If you know you aren't scamming, you have nothing to worry about.
Just be patient.
One other place I would go is to the consumer action desk of your local tv news station. Most television stations have these, and they are very good at threatening a big news story if it's not resolved. And as high profile as Apple is, someone there will jump at the chance to show a big story on that.
Aren't we all just so quick to throw our favorite company under the bus.
Seriously, guys, do you all really think apple corp. did this intentionally? This is one of four things:
A random theft
An accidental computer error
A scam
A disgruntled / low life employee
Apple doesn't want to steal any money from their customers. This is already pretty huge, it was the number one story on digg for a number of hours. Apple, a company we all love, is going to lose money because of this. Money from angry or frightened customers, worried about this happening to their gift cards. It may not be a lot of money, or many customers, but it will still happen.
Now imagine if this was on the news. This would be widely reported, apple is hot stuff right now. Random people who don't know as much about Apple or corporate America as savvy internet users do will start to diss apple and write it off as a crappy company, much like what was done before the iPod and the intel chip macs. People who have no idea will lump apple with other companies who try to screw their customers over daily. Apple is not like that, we all know it.
So dude, it sucks that you lost your money, but you'll get it back. You claim to be a huge apple fan, but you, like so many of us here and on Digg, are so quick to become enraged at this mistake.
</rant>
Why would Apple sue the customer? He wrote PR: Public Relations. Stuff like this is their job! As for suing a customer, corporations usually press charges if a crime has occured: no need to pay lawyers, the government will do it for them
Exactly my point. People were trying to scare the OP.
Yes but apple has habit of not getting serious until its out in the public. It always speeds them up.
Granted, but I would think a community such as this one, who has seen apple in the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, would want to do everything they could to protect the company they have followed so loyally. I do.
If I had to choose between this guy, who frankly is a little whiny, and the company which has helped me become the type of professional I am today, and has entertained me for countless hours, and has made me a little richer (I bought low), I would honestly choose apple. Call me heartless.
Honestly, this guy is complaining about not having any money, but if you dig through his blog, you will find that he recently was planning on buying a Canon EOS 1D MK III...
So does that justify him losing $2000, or does that justify him having to wait two weeks for a no, or does that justify him, a customer who did nothing wrong, to have to go through so much trouble to simply get his money!?
It's $2,000, which is quite a bit of money, if you ask me. At least to most people. The fact that he was planning to buy a camera doesn't mean he's independently wealthy or something.
Hell, I'm pissed at Firestone because they ****ed up my $300 brake job and haven't been able to fix it. I'd be really upset over $2,000.
So does that justify him losing $2000, or does that justify him having to wait two weeks for a no, or does that justify him, a customer who did nothing wrong, to have to go through so much trouble to simply get his money!?
No of course not, but it also doesn't justify him bashing apple, and it also does not justify us to blindly support him.
All I'm saying is, things aren't always as they seem. I'll go back to my original argument: don't blow this out of proportion. Do any of you really think he won't get his money back?
I also call shenanigans on this ruining his college education. I also call shenanigans on him having a legit copy of CS3 before his parents gave him the one he is returning. I'm just throwing this out there, but maybe he stole CS3, in which case he broke even, losing the money given to him for returning it...
Edit: I realize I am ranting hardcore here, I just don't like how things add up. And I don't like it when people hate on apple. My fanboy senses are going crazy.