About to get a second iPhone from AT&T unwillingly. Help?

[Captain America]

So lemme break this down:

I preordered the iPhone 4S on the Saturday the 8th in the afternoon online so that I could add the fifth line to my family's plan and get it for cheaper. I was told that it wouldn't ship for 14-21 business days so I got pissed because I was a day late as some of you may remember. Well they had a hold on the money for it so I figured I was screwed. Well a couple of days before the launch, they released the hold. So I said screw it and went to camp outside Apple as they had told me I'd be able to do the process there even though AT&T told me I'd need the account holder present.

I spent the night out there (getting there unneecessarily early as it would turn out) had fun, ended up on the news, but when the phone finally came out, they told me I couldn't get it without the account holder. I flipped because I was lied to by two of their employees and left. Later on in the day I said screw it again and went to my local AT&T store and just paid $590 for a middle upgrade on my own line.

So ever since, I've had this phone and I figured the preorder would fall through as they can't get the money from me as it doesn't exist anymore. Well they haven't tried taking it since and I just got the "order has shipped" e-mail. It's supposed to be here tomorrow before 3PM. (Technically today).

So what do I do? I know it would probably be a bad idea to hold onto it and pretend that I paid for it already and hope they never find out, but what about my first phone? Will I be able to return that one and then keep the second one for the cheaper price that I intended on paying in the first place or will they make me pay more or something?

Thanks.

 

[peapody]

If you put in credit card information to pre-order the phone you will get charged for it for the pre-order price. So basically you just bought the full priced non-contract phone for no reason other than to get it early. I would check my account statements, and make moves to return either the pre-order or the full priced phone.

 

[Captain America]

If you put in credit card information to pre-order the phone you will get charged for it for the pre-order price. So basically you just bought the full priced non-contract phone for no reason other than to get it early. I would check my account statements, and make moves to return either the pre-order or the full priced phone.

Well of course I'd rather return the higher priced phone. Since AT&T hasn't taken the money out of my account yet, would I be able to just have them deduct it from what I paid for the phone I currently have?

 

[Krandor]

So did you actually call and cancel the preorder or just assume they would cancel it when the money wasn't there?

You are always far better off calling and cancelling then assuming the company will.

They wont' just forget about the phone they are sending you - you will be charged. If the money isn't there, they will bill you or send it to collections.

I would call AT&T and see if they will let you return the one you bought at the higher price. I expect they will.

 

[Captain America]

So did you actually call and cancel the preorder or just assume they would cancel it when the money wasn't there?

You are always far better off calling and cancelling then assuming the company will.

They wont' just forget about the phone they are sending you - you will be charged. If the money isn't there, they will bill you or send it to collections.

I would call AT&T and see if they will let you return the one you bought at the higher price. I expect they will.

No I did not call. I assumed (wrongly) that they would not ship without taking the money first. They don't roll that way apparently.

But if it works out, this can be a good thing as I can probably return the expensive phone and get some much needed cash back in my posession.

When I get it I'm gonna go to the AT&T store and try to do this thing. Hopefully it comes sooner than later as I've been up since 2AM.

 

[peapody]

So did you actually call and cancel the preorder or just assume they would cancel it when the money wasn't there?

You are always far better off calling and cancelling then assuming the company will.

They wont' just forget about the phone they are sending you - you will be charged. If the money isn't there, they will bill you or send it to collections.

I would call AT&T and see if they will let you return the one you bought at the higher price. I expect they will.

+1

From my experience and reading various posts, Apple will fulfill your pre-order and charge you. Depending on your payment method, you could get dinged for maxing out your cc/ debit balance or get charged a fee for going over your available balance.

Also I don't think Apple would deduct the price of our pre-ordered phone from the price of your full price phone. They are completely separate transactions bought on difference days for different lines. Stores do not operate that way.

 

[Captain America]

+1

From my experience and reading various posts, Apple will fulfill your pre-order and charge you. Depending on your payment method, you could get dinged for maxing out your cc/ debit balance or get charged a fee for going over your available balance.

Also I don't think Apple would deduct the price of our pre-ordered phone from the price of your full price phone. They are completely separate transactions bought on difference days for different lines. Stores do not operate that way.

Both phones were purchased through AT&T. However you're still right. When I went there they said that I just gotta wait for it to go through. As far as returning the more expensive of the two, I was unable to do so because they didn't have enough cash and they can't put it on a debit card as I used cash to purchase the phone. Pretty annoying. They said hopefully they'll have enough tomorrow afternoon as Saturday is a busy day for them.

 

[vitzr]

Patience would have served you well.

 

[lifeguard]

refuse the delivery... They will ship it back and cancel the order. It will take about 3 weeks but it will get pulled from your account and you will not get charged

 

[brand]

Bumperstiltskin?

8. Bumps. Posts that bring a thread to the top of the New Posts list but add no content to the thread (bumps) are not permitted. This applies not only to posts that say "bump" but to those with the intent to bump, e.g. posts saying "anyone?" or the equivalent. See why and how to avoid bumping.

I guess you failed to read the FAQ/Rules.

 

[raremage]

...As far as returning the more expensive of the two, I was unable to do so because they didn't have enough cash and they can't put it on a debit card as I used cash to purchase the phone. Pretty annoying. They said hopefully they'll have enough tomorrow afternoon as Saturday is a busy day for them.

That's a totally unacceptable part of this story. If you're still inside their return window, refusing you the return because they didn't have cash?

I would have gone bat-***** crazy if they tried to tell me that, to be perfectly honest. If they try it again tomorrow I would insist the manager make a run to the bank and get some cash, because anything else is unacceptable.

 

[ijohnbro]

So lemme break this down:

I preordered the iPhone 4S on the Saturday the 8th in the afternoon online so that I could add the fifth line to my family's plan and get it for cheaper. I was told that it wouldn't ship for 14-21 business days so I got pissed because I was a day late as some of you may remember. Well they had a hold on the money for it so I figured I was screwed. Well a couple of days before the launch, they released the hold. So I said screw it and went to camp outside Apple as they had told me I'd be able to do the process there even though AT&T told me I'd need the account holder present.

I spent the night out there (getting there unneecessarily early as it would turn out) had fun, ended up on the news, but when the phone finally came out, they told me I couldn't get it without the account holder. I flipped because I was lied to by two of their employees and left. Later on in the day I said screw it again and went to my local AT&T store and just paid $590 for a middle upgrade on my own line.

So ever since, I've had this phone and I figured the preorder would fall through as they can't get the money from me as it doesn't exist anymore. Well they haven't tried taking it since and I just got the "order has shipped" e-mail. It's supposed to be here tomorrow before 3PM. (Technically today).

So what do I do? I know it would probably be a bad idea to hold onto it and pretend that I paid for it already and hope they never find out, but what about my first phone? Will I be able to return that one and then keep the second one for the cheaper price that I intended on paying in the first place or will they make me pay more or something?

Thanks.

I would of been patient and not went nutso about the phone. You kind of did it to yourself. It's just a phone man.

----------

No I did not call. I assumed (wrongly) that they would not ship without taking the money first. They don't roll that way apparently.

But if it works out, this can be a good thing as I can probably return the expensive phone and get some much needed cash back in my posession.

When I get it I'm gonna go to the AT&T store and try to do this thing. Hopefully it comes sooner than later as I've been up since 2AM.

Losing sleep over all this? It's just a phone man geez. kind of going nutso about it. Chill and stay calm.

 

[Captain America]

I would of been patient and not went nutso about the phone. You kind of did it to yourself. It's just a phone man.

----------



Losing sleep over all this? It's just a phone man geez. kind of going nutso about it. Chill and stay calm.

Yes I did bring this on myself. But no, I didn't lose sleep over the phone. I didn't even know the phone was coming until after I was up at 2. I tried to go to bed earlier than I normally do and my body thought I was taking a good nap. I had stupid amounts of energy and ended up staying up from 2 - 1 (woulda gone to bed at like 7 but had to wait for the phone because I thought I had to sign for it). But yeah, it wasn't the phone. Just my terrible sleep patterns.

----------

I guess you failed to read the FAQ/Rules.

Hey look at that, you bumped my thread without contributing anything relevant to my post. Thanks.

----------

That's a totally unacceptable part of this story. If you're still inside their return window, refusing you the return because they didn't have cash?

I would have gone bat-***** crazy if they tried to tell me that, to be perfectly honest. If they try it again tomorrow I would insist the manager make a run to the bank and get some cash, because anything else is unacceptable.

Oh yeah, I was definitely unhappy about it. A rather pathetic excuse I found it to be. I figured I'd play things nice and just roll with it. I'm off from work tomorrow, so I'm going to give them till around mid afternoon like they suggested at which point I'll give them problems if they don't have it. Especially because he said to me "You could always try another store".

----------

Patience would have served you well.

Live and learn, live and learn.

 

[Captain America]

So I talked to them again today. Of course they didn't have the money. Neither did two of the other stores I talked to. I was told the only thing I can do besides wait for someone to spend that much money is to apply all that money as credit towards a bill.

This is friggin ridiculous. Does anyone know what I can do before I burn their store down?

 

[TraceyS/FL]

So I talked to them again today. Of course they didn't have the money. Neither did two of the other stores I talked to. I was told the only thing I can do besides wait for someone to spend that much money is to apply all that money as credit towards a bill.

This is friggin ridiculous. Does anyone know what I can do before I burn their store down?

Tell them they need to have their money person get the cash from the bank on Monday. Period.

This is not your problem, it is theirs..... If they don't have a way to deal with from the cash handling standpoint then ask for their regional/district office number and escalate it.

How many drawers do they have? They should have at least $100 in each, but if they should have the brains to have enough cash on hand to refund $1000 worth I'd think.....

Ye gads.

 

[M87]

You pre-ordered a phone, got impatient and bought another one in the store and just assumed the pre-order would magically vanish. The only person you should be mad at is yourself.

 

[outz]

I think a lot of users here who bought their AT&T iPhone at full priced actually received unlocked phones. They noted that after a restore iTunes would popup and say congrats, you're unlocked

I guess what I'm gettin at, if you believe the true preorder is on it's way, go make some major $$$$ with this truly unlocked one you bought.

 

[dave006]

This is not going to happen for the OP. It was purchased as an early upgrade directly from AT&T. AT&T was kind enough to make sure the "Early Upgrade" is locked to AT&T.

The OP got shot down at Apple for not being the Account Holder so purchased the second iPhone at AT&T with cash.

Dave

 

[Captain America]

You pre-ordered a phone, got impatient and bought another one in the store and just assumed the pre-order would magically vanish. The only person you should be mad at is yourself.

I have nothing to do with the incompetence of AT&T and their lack of customer care and their lack of will to actually accept the return.

----------

This is not going to happen for the OP. It was purchased as an early upgrade directly from AT&T. AT&T was kind enough to make sure the "Early Upgrade" is locked to AT&T.

The OP got shot down at Apple for not being the Account Holder so purchased the second iPhone at AT&T with cash.

Dave

Yeah I received no message about my phone being unlocked. And even if it was, I would still want to return it as I want to reset my contract back to what it was before the purchase, which will happen whenever the fools take the thing back.

----------

Tell them they need to have their money person get the cash from the bank on Monday. Period.

This is not your problem, it is theirs..... If they don't have a way to deal with from the cash handling standpoint then ask for their regional/district office number and escalate it.

How many drawers do they have? They should have at least $100 in each, but if they should have the brains to have enough cash on hand to refund $1000 worth I'd think.....

Ye gads.

Yeah most likely I'm going to end up escalating things. They have at least 6 drawers, but from the looks of it, they carry absolutely no cash. When I was there purchasing the phone, I heard more than one person told that they didn't have much change for those paying with cash.

On the calls that I've made to them, trying to annoy them about it and asking them, the highest amount they told me they had was $250. Not even half of what I need.

 

[brand]

Delete

 

[sweetbrat]

People rarely pay with cash at an AT&T store. All the times I've ever been in one, I don't think I've ever actually seen someone hand them cash. So it's really not surprising. Ask for a manager on Monday and see if they can get the cash from the bank for you.

 

[Captain America]

People rarely pay with cash at an AT&T store. All the times I've ever been in one, I don't think I've ever actually seen someone hand them cash. So it's really not surprising. Ask for a manager on Monday and see if they can get the cash from the bank for you.

The manager knew they didn't have the cash as they told me that it needed to be refunded in cash. Otherwise the Assistant Manager looking person would've done it for me on my debit card.

But I'm gonna do it anyway. If they say no, I get the number to whatever their district office is.

 

[angelinelu]

The manager knew they didn't have the cash as they told me that it needed to be refunded in cash. Otherwise the Assistant Manager looking person would've done it for me on my debit card.

But I'm gonna do it anyway. If they say no, I get the number to whatever their district office is.

Did you get your money back ? My friend has the same problem like you do. She bought a phone from ATT store couple days ago . But she doesn't like it and want to return it. AT&T store ppl said they don't have enough cash to pay back.
she paid with cash also...