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I need your opinion on an apple matter
- Thread starter treyjustice
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Man up, do the right thing, and get them their money back. You shouldn't have taken the money in the first place.
P.S. No posts please telling me to get off my high-horse...he asked for our opinions. Just being honest.
I want to give them the 200 back I just don't have it right now. I spent all my money on this stupid iPhone 4 that won't even work..... yikes
That's what I'm going to try to do. I am an honest person and I believe in karma. I just don't have the money right now. It was their mistake and if they would have caught it maybe a month ago this would of been way easier!
I don't have the iPod touch anymore... I gave it to my little sister as a graduation gift :/
Explain the situation, and offer to send the iPod Touch back. But chances are they won't accept this and you will need to pay the full $200.
Next time you'll think twice before a) depositing a cheque and, b) spending loads of money on a new iPhone when you're a 'poor college student'.
EDIT: Just saw your new post(s) above. Looks like paying the money back is the only option.
multi-quote is there for a reason....
Next time you'll think twice before a) depositing a cheque and, b) spending loads of money on a new iPhone when you're a 'poor college student'.
EDIT: Just saw your new post(s) above. Looks like paying the money back is the only option.
multi-quote is there for a reason....
I don't know about your sisters situation, but back when I graduated (I'm assuming she graduated High School?) I got a fair amount of cash. Given the circumstances, perhaps, and I am well aware this is in completely bad taste, you could ask her to comp you say, $50 or $100. That way she still retains iPod Touch and you make back a little cash to put towards the debit. I know that if my brother was in this situation, I would gladly comp him the full or partial amount, whichever he wanted.
Also, as you stated, you're in College, perhaps you could build into your next student loan a $200 credit for 'school supplies' or 'books'.
Additionally, the more I've thought about this, if Apple is calling and asking you to give them permission to make the debit, then they've realized this is their fault and essentially have no other way of getting the money back to correct the mistake. If it comes to this, you could simply keep refusing to allow the charge. I doubt that Apple will pursue the charge in small claims court due to the minuscule amount and the bad PR it would generate.
lol. yes I have 200 bucks just saying that could definitely be used on other things. Like my tuition! I'm just having a hard time freely giving it to them. They made the mistake of sending me 2 checks. I didn't request it and honestly didn't think twice before depositing it..... gah
Just waiting for the email. And still wondering why they have to have my permission? Must be something with a certain law.
i want to do the right thing though. I'll see what they say after explaining the situation and will definitely pay the full 199 if need be!
I spoke to my fathers friend. He doesn't know the exact law but said they will most likely not go to court over 200 bucks. I just don't want to be the A**hole who is trying to steal money you know? I'm going to explain to them that I think it is their fault and that I honestly have already spent the money and see what they say I guess!
Just waiting for the email. And still wondering why they have to have my permission? Must be something with a certain law.
i want to do the right thing though. I'll see what they say after explaining the situation and will definitely pay the full 199 if need be!
I spoke to my fathers friend. He doesn't know the exact law but said they will most likely not go to court over 200 bucks. I just don't want to be the A**hole who is trying to steal money you know? I'm going to explain to them that I think it is their fault and that I honestly have already spent the money and see what they say I guess!
But you are trying everything possible to not pay them back. So yeah, you are stealing the money. Yeah, Apple made the mistake, but they are asking for it back and you are refusing even though you admit you shouldn't have gotten it. In my opinion, it makes you a thief.
These.
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OP give them back their money and just take a hit. Maybe you can't buy beer or maybe you can't do something you want for a few weeks but at least you aren't stealing money. They made a mistake. It happens. Now man up and give them their money back.
I'm not refusing anything! Don't try to judge me. I told the lady I'd pay I just wanted to make sure and double check my receipts and card I used. She was supposed to email me, still waiting for the email though. I used the barclay card to buy the stuff, which I'm paying off so I just don't want them to charge that! I want to use my debit.
This thread actually has two different questions being asked, quite subtly I might add. The first is whether or not there are any material consequences to keeping the money, and the second is whether or not there is an ethical violation.
In terms of consequences, it's highly unlikely Apple will ever attempt to go beyond this cursory call. By virtue of the fact that they haven't emailed yet, it's probable that the matter is already closed because delving further into it would cost Apple more money than it can collect from you. Even if Apple did continue to ask for the money, there is little it can do short of suing you in small claims court which would cost far above $200. It's also very difficult to prove check fraud in this case since it could have easily been an honest mistake to cash the check, so it's highly unlikely Apple would attempt to engage Federal authorities.
In terms of ethics, however, you have an obligation to return the money. If you can't afford to give back the entire amount at this time, explain the situation to Apple and try to work something out, but dodging phone calls and emails isn't ethical. It is very clearly the right thing to do.
On a tangential note, maybe you should be managing your money better. If you're in college, you really need to ask yourself if all of those toys are really necessary. You shouldn't be living hand to mouth if you can afford an iPhone 4.
In terms of consequences, it's highly unlikely Apple will ever attempt to go beyond this cursory call. By virtue of the fact that they haven't emailed yet, it's probable that the matter is already closed because delving further into it would cost Apple more money than it can collect from you. Even if Apple did continue to ask for the money, there is little it can do short of suing you in small claims court which would cost far above $200. It's also very difficult to prove check fraud in this case since it could have easily been an honest mistake to cash the check, so it's highly unlikely Apple would attempt to engage Federal authorities.
In terms of ethics, however, you have an obligation to return the money. If you can't afford to give back the entire amount at this time, explain the situation to Apple and try to work something out, but dodging phone calls and emails isn't ethical. It is very clearly the right thing to do.
On a tangential note, maybe you should be managing your money better. If you're in college, you really need to ask yourself if all of those toys are really necessary. You shouldn't be living hand to mouth if you can afford an iPhone 4.
Couldn't apple in theory attack his credit report or keep a file on him that refuses service until the balance in paid.
Legally speaking the money belongs to Apple. They can hit your credit report.
Well lets be a little fair here. While that could help I do remember my last year of college and I was stretch really thin on how much money I had. an extra 20-30 bucks thrown in at random would make things really hard. Now I was lucky enough to have some savings so when I had my $100 hit (speeding ticket) that I had just enough in reserve to cover it but it wipe out my entire reserve for the semester.
So lets give him the benifit of the doubt here and assume that he budgets for everything and gave himself a small reward (iPhone4). So far I have not read anything unreasonable.
The hard part will be scraping up the 200. I remember what it was like to have to scrap up $20 at times just to buy food for a few days to get to the next time my allowance was deposited. The allowance paid for rent, food gas well pretty much everything but really was not much extra left over for anything after bills were paid and food was bought.
Save yourself the hassle. Pay the money back and be done with the situation. Believe me, they won't just drop it. The situation will drag out needlessly and in the end you'll most likely still have to pay the money back. If you look at it this way: Apple's given you $400 (ipod + money) and you're asking if you should repay $200 of it, the answer is "of course."
@Prime: how is a new iphone a "small reward"? I think of 'small reward' in the $ 20 - 40 range... Like I just completed a project and bought myself a new hard drive (40). That's a small reward.
@Prime: how is a new iphone a "small reward"? I think of 'small reward' in the $ 20 - 40 range... Like I just completed a project and bought myself a new hard drive (40). That's a small reward.
Ok it was a big reward. Either way it falls under something that he could of easily saved for and budgeted to get. It not like a spear of the moment thing that was there to wipe out any savings he did have.
Not that 200 dollars is much savings. But I am going to assume he planed and saved for an iPhone.
Pay them the $200, then use your Barclaycard to purchase groceries and the like to free up the $200 hole in your tuition money. Then all you have to worry about is the interest charges on the Barclaycard, but at least it takes the urgency out of the situation and allows you to pay yourself back over the next couple of months or so.
Also...
Also...
This.
Apple didn't extend the credit to him, it accidentally over compensated him. In order to prove that he owes anything, Apple would first need a judgement to say that the company did in fact overpay, and is in fact owed the money.
The reason credit card companies, banks, and utility companies can hit your credit report is because they all provide services first and then request payment later. By making your payment late (or not at all) you are technically defaulting on some debt you owe (whether it's a house or an electric bill).
Of course in practice it's pretty simple for Apple to get the judgement, but in reality the $200 it seeks to get is probably less than the cost of getting the judgement. We haven't heard back from the OP yet, so I really wonder if he ever did receive the email.
Well see, that's just it, he spent $200 that never should have been there (as in if he was spending wisely, his account should have had a $200 surplus). What's worse, he is slowly paying off his purchases on a credit card, meaning he never had the money to begin with. At 20%+ interest, I think I feel comfortable in saying that it was an irresponsible purchase.
I'm not against personal rewards or anything (hell, I'm about to go back to school full time and I have an iPhone), but living within your means sort of precludes buying things on credit cards and paying them off months later.
You have some serious luxury problems. "I spent all my money on this stupid iPhone 4..."
Well, you've spent money that didn't belong to you. Return the iPhone 4 and reimburse Apple. End of story.