Other Apple Banning

[StarkTech12345]

I used to take advantage of how lenient and dedicated Apple was to making customers happy. Between the years of 2012 and 2016 I had 3 different models of iPhone and I exchanged each iPhone for a warranty replacement within the first year of my phone contract when there was mounting wrong with it just to get a new phone that had a new battery in it.

When my one year on my Warranty was coming up I was going to the Apple store and say the phone was acting up and they would just give me a brand new device to finish out the rest of the year with a fresh battery. I would renew my phone contract to next year with a new phone and do the same thing, where do year, going to the Apple store and say it was acting up and get a fresh new device for the remainder of the year.


Looking back at it now with a more mature mindset but still curious, if Apple would’ve found out about that back then, or even discovered it now could I have gotten in trouble with them? Trouble meaning banned from Apple products or blacklisted from their services (is that even a thing?), etc. Pretty much labeling me as a high-risk customer and then banning me from their products regardless where I purchase them from.

 

[russell_314]

I'm sure anything is possible. Why are you all the sudden worried about something over six years ago? Is this like one of those deathbed confessions? Just kidding... Kind of

If you're not already banned they're not going to go digging through old records. I guess if you started doing it again maybe they would check?

I've personally never heard of Apple doing this but I'm sure at some point they would have to. I've heard about Amazon doing this.

 

[daabido]

It's not like Apple doesn't sell through resellers too.

 

[StarkTech12345]

I'm sure anything is possible. Why are you all the sudden worried about something over six years ago? Is this like one of those deathbed confessions? Just kidding... Kind of

If you're not already banned they're not going to go digging through old records. I guess if you started doing it again maybe they would check?

I've personally never heard of Apple doing this but I'm sure at some point they would have to. I've heard about Amazon doing this.

I wasn’t talking about stopping me from buying their phones. I was talking about if they could do what instagram or Snapchat does and literally block me from owning any of their devices no Mather where I bought it

 

[StarkTech12345]

It's not like Apple doesn't sell through resellers too.

Right, I know that if they banned you from the store you could always go and get it through eBay or something. I just meant does apple have a way to ban or block you to the point when those phones bought through resellers won’t work once you get them. Like can they ban you from their platform entirely.

 

[ericwn]

I bet they could stop their services offered to you but doubt they would.

 

[TightLines]

They could surely hamper your abilities in a significant way and might even be successful keeping somethings from you to some extent depending on the resources they wanted to devote to it. All they need is your Apple ID, which they have, and that will give them all they need to start blocking access to services, etc… whether they would ever do that probably depends on what the infractions were and steps their internal legal dept. would allow them to take… (everything they do goes through legal and risk management)

 

[StarkTech12345]

They could surely hamper your abilities in a significant way and might even be successful keeping somethings from you to some extent depending on the resources they wanted to devote to it. All they need is your Apple ID, which they have, and that will give them all they need to start blocking access to services, etc… whether they would ever do that probably depends on what the infractions were and steps their internal legal dept. would allow them to take… (everything they do goes through legal and risk management)

That makes sense, if they did do something like black services to your Apple ID or whatever I mean it would suck but couldn’t somebody worst case just make a brand new Apple ID and start fresh? Wouldn’t that erase any of what you were talking about above was going on?

 

[avalon68]

That makes sense, if they did do something like black services to your Apple ID or whatever I mean it would suck but couldn’t somebody worst case just make a brand new Apple ID and start fresh? Wouldn’t that erase any of what you were talking about above was going on?

I saw a post either here or on reddit a few weeks back from someone that was blocked from buying through apple for returning too many laptops. Not sure if he tried a new ID, but he tried a different credit card and that didnt work so I guess its possible. Ive never understood the lenient returns policy tbh (although its great for customers) - so many people order 3 or phone different phone sizes/colors and then just return. They must make huge losses on this having to sell them as discounted refurbs

 

[Andeddu]

That makes sense, if they did do something like black services to your Apple ID or whatever I mean it would suck but couldn’t somebody worst case just make a brand new Apple ID and start fresh? Wouldn’t that erase any of what you were talking about above was going on?

Yes. You cannot be banned from any product. The worst Apple could do would be to block your Apple ID causing you to lose access to it and start again from scratch with a new Apple ID. Same deal with services such as PSN, Xbox Live, Steam, etc…

 

[I7guy]

Yes. You cannot be banned from any product. The worst Apple could do would be to block your Apple ID causing you to lose access to it and start again from scratch with a new Apple ID. Same deal with services such as PSN, Xbox Live, Steam, etc…

You can be banned from returning. Stores, including Amazon do it.

 

[JCCL]

I wasn’t talking about stopping me from buying their phones. I was talking about if they could do what instagram or Snapchat does and literally block me from owning any of their devices no Mather where I bought it

If you can still access their services and buy from their online stores then I doubt they will ban you in the future, as long as you stop abusing their policies.

 

[Splitrail]

Are you feeling guilty about not being honest in the first place, taking advantage of them?

 

[fwmireault]

If Apple would’ve found out about that back then, or even discovered it now could I have gotten in trouble with them?

Definitely not in trouble, and I doubt Apple would do anything about it. You took advantage of the warranty, but if there's nothing wrong with the device, or if it's a very minor issue, it's completely up to Apple to give you a new device or not. I am more surprised that this scheme worked for you all these years, Apple usually runs exhaustive diagnostic tests to verify if your phone is really broken. Replacing it with a brand new one is a last case scenario. Good for you if Apple granted you new iPhone each time, but my understanding is that they also could have refused in this context. So it's on them, not you.

At most, I think they could have an internal note for Apple Store employees showing your warranty history, just so they can be more aware of future product replacement. But I definitely don't think they would go as far as to prevent you from owning a new Apple device (they can't really control that) or blacklisting an Apple ID. You did nothing criminal, you just took advantage of the terms of sale with the implicit consent of any Apple Store employee who grant you a new iPhone each time.

 

[StarkTech12345]

Yes. You cannot be banned from any product. The worst Apple could do would be to block your Apple ID causing you to lose access to it and start again from scratch with a new Apple ID. Same deal with services such as PSN, Xbox Live, Steam, etc…

Well I guess what made me ask is Amazon or instagram for instance can ban your Ip, and your specific device so technically if you wanted to bypass this youd have to get a new IP address and new device. I didn’t know if apple could do that

 

[StarkTech12345]

Definitely not in trouble, and I doubt Apple would do anything about it. You took advantage of the warranty, but if there's nothing wrong with the device, or if it's a very minor issue, it's completely up to Apple to give you a new device or not. I am more surprised that this scheme worked for you all these years, Apple usually runs exhaustive diagnostic tests to verify if your phone is really broken. Replacing it with a brand new one is a last case scenario. Good for you if Apple granted you new iPhone each time, but my understanding is that they also could have refused in this context. So it's on them, not you.

At most, I think they could have an internal note for Apple Store employees showing your warranty history, just so they can be more aware of future product replacement. But I definitely don't think they would go as far as to prevent you from owning a new Apple device (they can't really control that) or blacklisting an Apple ID. You did nothing criminal, you just took advantage of the terms of sale with the implicit consent of any Apple Store employee who grant you a new iPhone each time.

That’s a good point that you brought up. I guess my next or main audition is, is even if they wanted to black list someone. Besides your Apple ID could they ban you another way? Like instagram or Amazon use your IP address, device imei, etc. could apple do the same where apple products kind of seize up or don’t work with you?

Kind of like how if you’re banned off Amazon you’re banned off multiple ways to prevent you from getting back on somehow. I wondered if apple could do the same thing

 

[StarkTech12345]

I saw a post either here or on reddit a few weeks back from someone that was blocked from buying through apple for returning too many laptops. Not sure if he tried a new ID, but he tried a different credit card and that didnt work so I guess its possible. Ive never understood the lenient returns policy tbh (although its great for customers) - so many people order 3 or phone different phone sizes/colors and then just return. They must make huge losses on this having to sell them as discounted refurbs

Yeah I think I saw that. I think it was just the store but he could have gone to another apple location or best buy or something

 

[Thomas Davie]

OP - Unless you live in a country where there is no regard for privacy or property rights, it ain’t gonna happen. How would Apple know that I sold you a 2 week old MBA?

Respectfully, that’s science fiction.

Mind you, I would ban you if I were Apple overlord b/c you were weaselly and you know it.

Tom

 

[eyoungren]

You did nothing criminal, you just took advantage of the terms of sale with the implicit consent of any Apple Store employee who grant you a new iPhone each time.

Semantics.

Let's say OP was doing this with a carrier insurance plan rather than an extended warranty (which is Applecare). So, now that we are calling it insurance and not a warranty, OP is guilty of insurance fraud - which OP could have been legally prosecuted for if the carrier wanted to make an issue of it.

That said, I'm sure someone somewhere has been prosecuted for warranty fraud.

Because that's what this was - fraud.

 

[eyoungren]

You can be banned from returning. Stores, including Amazon do it.

Walmart does it too. They know who serial returners are and if you hit 'X' number of returns in a year Walmart will stop accepting any returns from you.

 

[arkitect]

if Apple would’ve found out about that back then, or even discovered it now could I have gotten in trouble with them? Trouble meaning banned from Apple products or blacklisted from their services (is that even a thing?), etc. Pretty much labeling me as a high-risk customer and then banning me from their products regardless where I purchase them from.

Frankly that's what you are and that is what Apple should have done.

SMFH.

I would ban you if I were Apple overlord b/c you were weaselly and you know it.

100% Agree.

Semantics.

Because that's what this was - fraud.

Exactly right.

 

[fwmireault]

Semantics.

Let's say OP was doing this with a carrier insurance plan rather than an extended warranty (which is Applecare). So, now that we are calling it insurance and not a warranty OP is guilty of insurance fraud - which OP could have been legally prosecuted for if the carrier wanted to make an issue of it.

That said, I'm sure someone somewhere has been prosecuted for warranty fraud.

Because that's what this was - fraud.

I disagree. Apple is the one that decide what options they will give to the customer based on troubleshooting and tests. They verify visually the device, they run diagnostic tests, and they want a proof or at the very least a description of the issue by the customer. As I said, Apple could have looked the device and decide that it was fine, or that it would not be eligible for a full replacement. They decided otherwise, and that is solely on the discretion of Apple’s warranty policy. Apple had most probably ground to refuse to replace the device.

Not saying that what OP did was moral or right. Is it fraud? Yes. Is it dishonest? Sure. But the question was about potential actions that Apple could take in this situation, and I doubt that this could lead in any prosecution at all, because they are the ones who accepted to replace a device that was working fine. It would be very hard to prove that OP lied anyway. I just don't think that Apple is monitoring that much how many replacements a specific customer had, because they probably don't care.

 

[Splitrail]

Unnecessary returns result in future higher prices for everyone.

 

[eyoungren]

I disagree. Apple is the one that decide what options they will give to the customer based on troubleshooting and tests. They verify visually the device, they run diagnostic tests, and they want a proof or at the very least a description of the issue by the customer. As I said, Apple could have looked the device and decide that it was fine, or that it would not be eligible for a full replacement. They decided otherwise, and that is solely on the discretion of Apple’s warranty policy. Apple had most probably ground to refuse to replace the device.

Not saying that what OP did was moral or right. Is it fraud? Yes. Is it dishonest? Sure. But the question was about potential actions that Apple could take in this situation, and I doubt that this could lead in any prosecution at all, because they are the ones who accepted to replace a device that was working fine. It would be very hard to prove that OP lied anyway. I just don't think that Apple is monitoring that much how many replacements a specific customer had, because they probably don't care.

I was specifically challenging your statement that OP did nothing criminal. That's ALL my quote was about.

OP committed fraud. OP made an inaccurate statement in order to benefit from it.

Whatever Apple's response was then, now or in the future, and how far it could have or would have gone doesn't change that.

 

[russell_314]

I wasn’t talking about stopping me from buying their phones. I was talking about if they could do what instagram or Snapchat does and literally block me from owning any of their devices no Mather where I bought it

I’m sure they could but I don’t think they would. The worst thing that could happen is they close your Apple ID which would suck because for the devices connected to that ID would be unusable if I’m not mistaken.

Unless they changed it recently there was a way to create an Apple ID without a payment method. You could just add gift cards. So in theory you could buy an Apple device and make a new Apple ID. You might not get support from Apple but they couldn’t really prevent you from owning an Apple device.

You can’t change the past so don’t stress over it. I wouldn’t recommend doing it in the future though.