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This is probably one of the most ridiculous 1st world problem. Yes, Apple should have handled it differently, but a lawsuit because of it?
 
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This one is silly. These people have been harmed no more than any other customer that has wanted to purchase an out of stock item. Unless some promise was made about being given priority, there's no merit to this.
lawsuit might be silly, but it's also silly that after all the posts explaining it, you clearly still do not understand the issue :p
 
I am split on this. Yes, it's silly that it had to come to a lawsuit. But... The people who signed up for the Apple upgrade program agreed to purchase an iPhone and Apple Care with the promise that after 12 payments, they could get a new iPhone. Not 14 payments, not 13 payments. 12. Here it is, 12 payments later and many of them are not able to upgrade. Neurotic or not, they signed an agreement for it and didn't get their new phone after completing their end of the bargain...

I'd be interested to see if it said they would be able to upgrade or would be eligible for an upgrade. Technically, they are eligible, just not able...
 
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First come, first serve folks. Just because you're already in the upgrade program doesn't give you premium access to a new iPhone every time.

Are you sure? If the program's contract doesn't explicitly state "first come, first served", and if their marketing materials state that you can upgrade after "12 months", then making people wait longer than 12 months is grounds for a perfectly valid class action lawsuit.

Is it frivolous? You could argue that.

But also, is it things like this which force companies to tread carefully and follow the rules? The answer is also yes. And that's the thing. This "litigious nature" of America that people constantly complain about actually protects us from a lot of corporate misbehavior. Yes, we all deal with tons of it everyday. But, it could be *so much* worse.

Do you know why AT&T changed their throttling threshold from 5GB to 22? Or how about why my office is no longer receiving spam faxes from drug manufacturers? Or why my Honda's airbags were recently replaced for free? Lawsuits, or at least the threat of them.

Sure, you might think it's stupid for Apple to get sued over this, but now you can be assured they won't be making this mistake when the 7S comes out.
 
Yes and no. If you signed up purely to get your upgrade after 12 payments, but in fact you end up paying 13 to get the same upgrade that's not really OK is it?

The issue is that apple never said they would have to pay a thirteenth month. Besides, the program said 12 payments, 13 payments is not 12 payment. Apple still hasn't even addressed the issue, and while that isn't the best thing for them to do, a law suit is definitely not the smart way to go.

I would assume that, if extra payments were in fact made, apple would carry over those payments onto the next phones bill. Really isn't that hard to figure out a solution.

Apple never said that people who were in the upgrade program would get their phones first. This is just a simple case of spoiled american syndrome.
 
Why would you have some privileges??
You are renting a device in monthly basis, I'm paying the full price at once!!. If it were a house: I own the house, you are just a tenant. In that case I have more rights than you.

BTW. On launch day, I was pending of the store, page was not working until minute 10, take me 7 mins to verify my address, and credit card. Minute 17 I got my order mail. I have to wait 3 weeks. And I'm not going to sue, come on it's just a phone, and eventually you will have like everyone else.
Bad metaphor. He's buying the house on payments and you're buying it cash, by your point is still valid.
 
How exactly are you losing money? You have an iPhone to use, but its not the latest. When you finally get the new model, you can upgrade again after a year, correct? You all can't possibly think that whenever Apple happens to launch new iPhones that they have to guarantee that everyone who is on this plan can have them immediately... with Apple not having any idea what models all these people would want. This program to me is basically a perpetual lease for a phone... so you'll always being paying every month forever.
If I upgrade 2 months late, i start another loan for the entire amount of the new phone just like I would have if I upgraded after 12 months exactly. That extra 2 months went towards nothing. Now I have paid 14 payments rather than 12 for the same value. If I wanted to end my lease and keep my second phone, I will have paid 38 months rather than 36. Therefore I have lost 2 payments. It is not perpetual, it is a new lease every time you upgrade.

I also would like to reiterate that none of us want priority. No special treatement. There's nothing anyone can do about supply shortage and we all know that. No one here gets that I guess. We just want to be able to pre-order like everyone else. We literally have to wait around until a store happens to have stock while everyone else can get in line. Every time someone orders another phone they are hopping in line in front of us since we must wait for stock.
 
Why would you have some privileges??
You are renting a device in monthly basis, I'm paying the full price at once!!. If it were a house: I own the house, you are just a tenant. In that case I have more rights than you.

BTW. On launch day, I was pending of the store, page was not working until minute 10, take me 7 mins to verify my address, and credit card. Minute 17 I got my order mail. I have to wait 3 weeks. And I'm not going to sue, come on it's just a phone, and eventually you will have like everyone else.

Then you are not getting how the iPhone Upgrade Program works.

For iPhone Upgrade Program.. the only way to get it is in store (which ran out quickly). We can't select to purchase it by mail (like you did) and thru other retailers.
 
Why would you have some privileges??
You are renting a device in monthly basis, I'm paying the full price at once!!. If it were a house: I own the house, you are just a tenant. In that case I have more rights than you.

BTW. On launch day, I was pending of the store, page was not working until minute 10, take me 7 mins to verify my address, and credit card. Minute 17 I got my order mail. I have to wait 3 weeks. And I'm not going to sue, come on it's just a phone, and eventually you will have like everyone else.

Actually, you're not renting in the IUP. The phone is financed at 0% interest through Citizen's Bank which means Apple gets paid 100% of the purchase price at the time of sale.

So, IUP people have just as much right to order as people who pay for it with a credit card.
 
Are you sure? If the program's contract doesn't explicitly state "first come, first served", and if their marketing materials state that you can upgrade after "12 months", then making people wait longer than 12 months is grounds for a perfectly valid class action lawsuit.

Is it frivolous? You could argue that.

But also, is it things like this which force companies to tread carefully and follow the rules? The answer is also yes. And that's the thing. This "litigious nature" of America that people constantly complain about actually protects us from a lot of corporate misbehavior. Yes, we all deal with tons of it everyday. But, it could be *so much* worse.

Do you know why AT&T changed their throttling threshold from 5GB to 22? Or how about why my office is no longer receiving spam faxes from drug manufacturers? Or why my Honda's airbags were recently replaced for free? Lawsuits, or at least the threat of them.

Sure, you might think it's stupid for Apple to get sued over this, but now you can be assured they won't be making this mistake when the 7S comes out.

Their is no mistake, if it says that people who are in the program can upgrade after 12 months, any day after those 12 months is considered AFTER the 12 months. So Apple is NOT breaking any rules. What they didn't say was that anyone in the program would be given first priority for new shipping phones. That is was those people who created the lawsuit are trying to get. I would expect this lawsuit to be thrown out.
 
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Hold on a second, Why shouldn't IUP members have early access to phones?

They are the one who paid in advance, heck, they are committing to a product they don't even know what it is yet.


I blame Apple on this 100%. When you are (for example) 10 million IUP members, why are you not producing more?? Instead of releasing the iphone on 13. maybe they should push it back for a month if they can't seem to fix the manufacturing issues.
 
I wish we didn't have to go to the Apple Store. My nearest store is 120 miles to the east and to the west. The day before I went to check my eligibility (just in case) and I'm glad that I did. Since I had my iPhone swapped due to Touch ID button overheating and rebooting issues last autumn, they didn't transfer my upgrade eligibility to the replacement device.

I didn't have any issues ordering on launch night, however, I was told by two different Apple reps the day before while dealing with my upgrade issue that upgrading my device on the iPhone Upgrade Program wouldn't require me to visit a store and that I could even "print out a return shipping label for my old device." I emailed Tim Cook over the matter (and another issue with trying to buy an unlocked device for my Grandpa) and late on Friday an Apple rep left me a message saying that she was responding to the message I left for Tim Cook. I have yet to call her back because I've been very busy and also it was the weekend, but I'm not sure what she's going to say, especially since there is now a lawsuit.

It kinda makes some sense though. If you're going to tout your program as "You get a new iPhone every year" then you better have a new iPhone ready for these customers every year who are essentially paying a subscription to always have a new iPhone and AppleCare+. Those people are your best customers. And forcing them to drive 120 miles isn't cool either. Luckily for me I need to return and get some more stuff from Ikea anyway, so it's not a wasted trip.


I think you are mistaken by saying that because you joined the upgrade program that they are the best customers. I am a great customer and I did not join the program I use reason, I know they will have supply constraints so I can choose to wake up early and order an apple product or wait in line to get a product or wait until I know they have enough product and get it then. please try and use common sense.
 
I don't understand why Apple created 2 queues, 1 for non-subscribers to upgrade program and 1 for the subscribers. From the sound of things is that the upgrade program subscribers had a much, much limited number of iPhones which essentially were the ones shipped to the stores. I hate lawsuits but anyone with half a brain would see this as a problem. Why weren't the people in the upgrade program allowed to have the phones shipped to them?
 
Upgrade folks were limited to a particular store's inventory. In the past, one had a shot at the entire inventory with an option of where to ship it. And that's a massive difference.

Then you either get to wait or enjoy your 2% or skim. You're entitled to nothing here.
 
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Yes and no. If you signed up purely to get your upgrade after 12 payments, but in fact you end up paying 13 to get the same upgrade that's not really OK is it?
I'm not sure that's how the program works. You signed up to make 24 payments on your phone. After 12 you can upgrade and when you do, you'll get a fresh 24 months to make payments again. You didn't lose out on anything, just delaying when your new 24 month contract begins. It's really just a 2 year loan on an iPhone that you can trade out and start over with a new phone after 12 payments.
 
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Yes and no. If you signed up purely to get your upgrade after 12 payments, but in fact you end up paying 13 to get the same upgrade that's not really OK is it?
Plus, you had to agree to buy Apple Care, which you may or may not have done without the incentive. That ups the price for the ability to get your new one after 12 payments.... Definitely not okay.
 
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