iPhone got stolen, what is my recourse?

[Prise]

While I empathize with having your phone stolen, I don't understand how you could feel as if there ought to be some consumer recourse or protection for you.

You could have bought the insurance, but chose not to. You could have used a credit card with accidental/theft protection covering part of your loss, but chose not to.

If stolen phones replacement were a consumer protection, the unintended consequences would be Millions of fraudulent stolen claims yearly. Nothing good will ever come from such a disastrous concept.

 

[617aircav]

Sorry for your loss. Do you really expect someone else to incur the cost of your loss? Loosing a phone is like loosing anything else. If your laptop was stolen would you expect a discount to purchase another one? You can buy a used iPhone 4S for $200 or less on Craigslist. Just like you, I don't have insurances. If my phone gets stolen, I'll just buy a new one. I have not lost a phone in 10 years.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Obviously you have never had a "phone" stolen.



?? Don't understand how people say the iPhone is just a phone. It sends emails/pictures/internet/gaming/etc. It's not JUST a phone.

I was devastated when my iPhone was stolen. We use our phons in so many ways and we take it for granted that it will always be there. I felt lost, it has all my pictures and important information. Some of the apps I used on a daily basis, I.e to do my internet banking, an alarm clock to wake me up in the morning, it had my calendar in it.

Not only was I upset that I no longer had it, I stupidly didn't have a pass code and so was worried about the thief getting access to important information that I had stored on the phone.

I do feel for the OP.

 

[azentropy]

Bummer. However still not sure why you would expect Apple or AT&T to have to pay of your loss though. There are plenty of ways out there that you could have had your loss covered by insurance, but seems you didn't have that. So yep it sucks.

As other suggested it would be now is the perfect time to switch to TMobile. Have them pay your ETF fees, trade in your GoPhone (you won't get much), and then purchase a new iPhone on their purchase plan and all together your monthly cost would probably be about the same as you are paying AT&T now. If your old phone (unlikely) is ever recovered you get it unlocked and sell it.

 

[Retired Cat]

Bummer. However still not sure why you would expect Apple or AT&T to have to pay of your loss though. There are plenty of ways out there that you could have had your loss covered by insurance, but seems you didn't have that. So yep it sucks.

As other suggested it would be now is the perfect time to switch to TMobile. Have them pay your ETF fees, trade in your GoPhone (you won't get much), and then purchase a new iPhone on their purchase plan and all together your monthly cost would probably be about the same as you are paying AT&T now. If your old phone (unlikely) is ever recovered you get it unlocked and sell it.

Agree with this.

It's not Apple or AT&T's fault that the phone is gone. It's the thief's fault, but without help from the police it's unlikely the thief will be held accountable for the loss.

The only thing to do is move on. Buy a used iPhone or cheap Android ($300 for a top end Nexus 5 is a pretty good deal). Be careful with the new phone, or at least buy insurance if you know you are forgetful.

 

[NuggetSauce]

Well, I'm really sad to say that my iPhone 5s 64GB got stolen last Friday and it has been an extremely upsetting moment for me.

I'm just curious, but how exactly was the phone stolen from you?

 

[yg17]

$6.99 a month. I purchased through the Apple Store and it seemed more economical to purchase my warranty through Apple as I didn't feel like being scalped by AT&T for unused months.

That's how insurance works. Everyone pays into a pot and then when one person needs it, the money's available. If my house burns down, my insurance company will pay out $200,000 even though my yearly premium is $1,000 because there are 200 other people paying $1,000 a year whose houses haven't burned down. If people only paid insurance when they needed it, then the system wouldn't work.

 

[CEmajr]

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do or they can do. You've already marked the device as lost and listed the IEMI. Unless someone returns the phone, you'll most likely have to pay full price for it.

Maybe you had insurance (via credit card?) and could use that. Or maybe AT&T will be able to give you an "early" upgrade price, which is still expensive but cheaper than a full price phone. I wouldn't count on it though because AT&T would lose money on that subsidy.

Personally, I'd rebuy the phone on T-Mobile and have them pay the ETF for AT&T. You could trade in a different device on their list (find a cheap android online or something), it doesn't have to be the phone tied to your AT&T contract. Hopefully T-Mobile coverage is good in your area. This would allow you to finance the phone so you don't have to pay $1000 at once. After you pay off the device, you could switch back to AT&T (or maybe you will decide you like T-Mobile and stick with them!)

Either way, I hope this works out for you.

This is probably your best bet. Since you just recently got the phone there is no way they're going to let you get another one for anything other than full retail. Switch to TMO, have them pay your ETF, then after a couple months if you want to go back to AT&T they'll pay you to come back and you can get a phone for the contract price again.

Or just buy a used older iPhone like the 4S or 5.

 

[ucfgrad93]

While I empathize with having your phone stolen, I don't understand how you could feel as if there ought to be some consumer recourse or protection for you.

You could have bought the insurance, but chose not to. You could have used a credit card with accidental/theft protection covering part of your loss, but chose not to.

If stolen phones replacement were a consumer protection, the unintended consequences would be Millions of fraudulent stolen claims yearly. Nothing good will ever come from such a disastrous concept.

Excellent post.

It sucks that this happened to you OP. However, neither Apple nor at&t owe you anything. There have been several good ideas posted on this thread. The Moto X will be on sale Monday.

 

[a-m-k]

From OP: "The IMEI is blacklisted and the phone is marked as lost on iCloud, I have erased all my data."

Gee. I hope I don't experience this anytime soon. I'm so sorry about this. I guess when your iPhone or even MBP (Wich I have set up, so it can be done.) I guess I thought that the find my i-device (wether it was an iPhone or not) worked differently.

 

[MattMJB0188]

The OP will have to learn the hard way. It is NOT AT&T or Apple's fault that his phone got stolen. They have no obligations to do anything for him. He had the choice to purchase AT&T's $6.99/ insurance which covers theft but he chose not too. This is price he pays now. He did everything he could on the device, now he has to eat the cost of phone.

Life sucks, but there are always options. Next time, don't be so cheap and buy AT&T's insurance! Lesson learned.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

You could have bought the insurance, but chose not to. You could have used a credit card with accidental/theft protection covering part of your loss, but chose not to.

Only the first applies. The OP bought it launch day meaning the 90-day credit card purchase protection (if any) is no longer in effect.

 

[thehustleman]

I used to tell people insurance was a good idea and I ran into tons of customers like this that left angry because they couldn't just buy a subsidized device because their old one was stolen or lost.



They say insurance is a ripoff, but then they lost their phone and want another and when they get charged the whole price it's "*insert carrier name* is trying to rip me off!"

I explained that that is the CONTRACT price, they say "i already have a contract!"

I explain that you signed a contract for that phone, you lost it, but you're still liable for the contract terms"

 

[MacAndMic]

I feel for you being a victim but I just can't understand how you think someone else (Apple or AT&T) should take the loss. If you sold your previous phone on ebay and that buyer had that phone stolen, would you refund the buyer? According to you, yes you should. Would you?

 

[MattMJB0188]

I feel for you being a victim but I just can't understand how you think someone else (Apple or AT&T) should take the loss. If you sold your previous phone on ebay and that buyer had that phone stolen, would you refund the buyer? According to you, yes you should. Would you?

Nowadays, its always someone else's fault.

 

[Lucille Carter]

OP! Not too sure what you expected to happen when you phone was stolen. Thousands of phones are stolen everyday and the police will do little to do.

Sorry for your loss but time to move on after the grieving.

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That's how insurance works. Everyone pays into a pot and then when one person needs it, the money's available. If my house burns down, my insurance company will pay out $200,000 even though my yearly premium is $1,000 because there are 200 other people paying $1,000 a year whose houses haven't burned down. If people only paid insurance when they needed it, then the system wouldn't work.

And that is why health insurance rates will soon skyrocket and we will have to bail out the insurance companies.

 

[Dontazemebro]

Sometimes if you're a long time customer in good standing AT&T will offer you a phone at a discounted price. Not the full subsidy discount but at least a 15/20% discount off the retail price and you have to sign a new contract.

I don't know if they still do this to date but I think this is the type of assistance the OP was looking for

 

[takeshi74]

I don't, however, I feel that there should be more consumer protection when it comes to cellphone theft instead of getting left out in the cold.

As others have said, loss and theft aren't the fault of the carriers or Apple. If you want more protection that's what insurance is for. Your carrier isn't the only option for insurance and there are many threads on the various insurance options out there that you can refer to if you want some suggestions. Shop around.

Or put what you'd pay for insurance into savings which is what some do as an alternative. Just keep in mind whether or not you'd be eligible for a subsidy if you're paying for a replacement out of pocket.

$6.99 a month. I purchased through the Apple Store and it seemed more economical to purchase my warranty through Apple as I didn't feel like being scalped by AT&T for unused months.

Also make sure you're comparing apples to apples next time. AppleCare is not insurance. Carefully read the terms and compare. Don't overlook stuff and fixate on the pricing.

Yes, but the reason I didn't opt for insurance through AT&T is the fact that they scalp you for over $10 a month, plus the accidental/theft replacement fee is almost the same price as getting a new phone on a two year contract.

The subsidized price is irrelevant unless you're eligible for a subsidy.

 

[dave420]

plus the accidental/theft replacement fee is almost the same price as getting a new phone on a two year contract. With AppleCare+, the fee is significantly less over a period of time.

The replacement fee is a little high at $200, but that's half the retail price for a subsidized 64 GB model. With the $7 a month you would have paid an extra $35 by now. Overall that would be a much better option than where you are now. I get the insurance in addition to the AppleCare+ for just this reason. It doesn't mean much to compare the replacement fee to the two year contract fee when you won't be able to get that price for 20 months.

Since you have AppleCare+ be sure to get a refund of the unused time. At least you will get some money back.

 

[alphaod]

I'm sorry for your loss, but not the fact that Apple nor your service provider will not let you have another device at a subsidized price.

You were given numerous opportunities to buy insurance and as much as their pricing is unreasonable to you, it was an option.

I think a lot of people don't realize that the price of the iPhone isn't $100-$400 and those are subsidized prices. Yes, it's $849 plus tax for a new 64GB iPhone 5s (even more in other countries).

Perhaps get an used iPhone 4S or something? There also plenty of inexpensive good phones on the market. The Moto X for example is a good phone.