iPod touch Apple store deception!!!

[AT101ET]

My son went to the Apple store today for his genius bar appointment.
After arriving, it took about 30 minutes before someone attended him. He described the problem with his iPod and they said that it would cost roughly £75 to replace. He asked if there was any way that he could trade it in or upgrade to a 5th gen for an additional cost. He said the guys there were super busy and after going to ask a colleague, he was told he could only get it replaced with a refurbished one.
They then told his that he needs to have a parent or guardian with him to sign a form to allow him to get it repaired (he's 16!!!) He told them that he'd been before and never had this problem before.
They then said to him that if he wanted he could use the recycle programme and give in his 32GB iPod touch 4th Gen (still with apple care) for a 10% discount on a new 5th gen.

Obviously he said no, it's like getting £25 for something worth roughly £120.
What I want to know is why did they say he couldn't get it repaired, he needed to be 18+, but when it came to almost cheating him of its value to recycle it, not have any problem at all with his age!!!

Any1 know why this is or if you do need to be 18 for it?

 

[NotAdvisable]

I'd say this is more of a misunderstanding by the Genius representative.
Maybe he / she weren't fully trained - doesn't fully know how to handle situations.

I must admit i've never heard about this recycling program before; and i've gone through three generations of iPhones...

 

[MMOTotal]

It's pretty standard to be 18+ for things like this all the time.

 

[fubaracing7374]

You are signing an agreement when you replace something at the Genius Bar and legally you need to be over 18 to sign it. Happens all the time. The recycling program has been in place for years but like you said, you could get more selling it yourself.

 

[monkeydodo3]

I got my iPhone 4 replaced free of charge at the genius bar, and at the time, I wasn't even 16 yet.

 

[AT101ET]

What I think is their real cheek to saying he can't get it replaced, but they'd be prepared to take it off him for 10% off the new touch...
So £25 for something they were selling for over £200 a couple of weeks back. When it comes to manipulating kids, it seems no forms of consent are needed. In my own experience, apple's cs is ********.

 

[mattopotamus]

sounds normal. Also, I don't think they ever do an "upgrade" style program.

 

[Itouch g1]

The Genius may not have handled it well, but he's basically told your son the way Apple does it. Repair/replacement is 75 pound flat rate, or he can return it to Apple for recycling. There is no upgrade program to return an broken ipod for the current model.

 

[gnasher729]

My son went to the Apple store today for his genius bar appointment.
After arriving, it took about 30 minutes before someone attended him. He described the problem with his iPod and they said that it would cost roughly £75 to replace. He asked if there was any way that he could trade it in or upgrade to a 5th gen for an additional cost. He said the guys there were super busy and after going to ask a colleague, he was told he could only get it replaced with a refurbished one.
They then told his that he needs to have a parent or guardian with him to sign a form to allow him to get it repaired (he's 16!!!) He told them that he'd been before and never had this problem before.
They then said to him that if he wanted he could use the recycle programme and give in his 32GB iPod touch 4th Gen (still with apple care) for a 10% discount on a new 5th gen.

Obviously he said no, it's like getting £25 for something worth roughly £120.
What I want to know is why did they say he couldn't get it repaired, he needed to be 18+, but when it came to almost cheating him of its value to recycle it, not have any problem at all with his age!!!

Any1 know why this is or if you do need to be 18 for it?

Fact: If he is 16 years old, he or his guardian can void any contract that he enters at any time. For example, if he enters a contract to have his device repaired, he can void the contract after the repair has happened, but before it is paid. There is no way for the store to make him pay for the repair if he doesn't want to. If he paid upfront, he can ask for the money back and the store will have to return it. As a result, any store will avoid doing this without a guardian signing for it.

What I think is their real cheek to saying he can't get it replaced, but they'd be prepared to take it off him for 10% off the new touch...
So £25 for something they were selling for over £200 a couple of weeks back. When it comes to manipulating kids, it seems no forms of consent are needed. In my own experience, apple's cs is ********.

Fact: As he is 16, he or his guardian can void the contract at any time. But as long as the genius keeps the old iPod around, there is no risk for Apple - you would have gone back to the store, asked for the iPod back, returned the new one, money is refunded on both sides, no problem. Just a normal return.

 

[Tobster3]

I must admit i've never heard about this recycling program before; and i've gone through three generations of iPhones...

See link below FYI

http://www.apple.com/uk/recycling/ipod-cell-phone/

I've used this a number of times for 1st Gen iPod's to receive discount when upgrading to latest models. The 1st Gen Nano I recycled was completely destroyed as well so the discount came in handy as there was no other alternative other than the trash.