Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Wow that is probably the worse Apple Store experience I have ever heard. Did you have it on your renter's insurance or personnel property insurance? Also I don't own an iPhone, but doesn't it have a remote erase function? Sorry to hear about your bad luck.
 
Wow that is probably the worse Apple Store experience I have ever heard. Did you have it on your renter's insurance or personnel property insurance? Also I don't own an iPhone, but doesn't it have a remote erase function? Sorry to hear about your bad luck.

Remote erase is for exchange only unfortunately.
 
It amazes he how jaded people are...

I'm sorry I posted. Thanks for the warm welcome.

Don't be sorry. Your antagonist is a troll. I am a long time lurker, recent poster to this forum and I have seen over the past year that most people on this site just ignore his needless torments and baiting. I suggest you do the same. Life is just better ignoring the trolls of this world..
 
Wow. I don't care if the OP is telling a true story or not - this thread is worth the entertainment alone!!
 
Don't be sorry. Your antagonist is a troll. I am a long time lurker, recent poster to this forum and I have seen over the past year that most people on this site just ignore his needless torments and baiting. I suggest you do the same. Life is just better ignoring the trolls of this world..

Are you stating your life is the internet?

Last i checked there are no trolls in real life.


Thanks atiffa :D
 
Hey nervouschimp, I'm the girl who posted yesterday about similar treatment involving my laptop:
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=5889645&posted=1#post5889645

I'm also being accused of making this up, though why I would bother to do that I do not know. So I wanted to express solidarity.

And to connect in case there is any way we can help each other out.

My laptop was actually not returned to the person who brought it in for repair - the police have it. But I was informed by a store employee recently that it is in fact store policy to return merchandise to the person who brought it in for repair if they request it, even if they are aware that the property is stolen. IMHO, this defies logic. The detective on my case did suggest that companies like Apple have no vested interest in discouraging theft because the vast majority of people whose computers are stolen will go out and buy a replacement, so the company makes more money. But I'm amazed that this behavior is not illegal. My detective also says that if it is something with a serial number, it is the legal responsibility of a buyer to verify that the merchandise is not stolen, or they are liable for arrest for possession of stolen property. He compared it to cars and VIN numbers.

This whole situation is so messed up and I can't find anyone at Apple willing to help or even just to tell me why it is taking so long.

Good luck to you.
 
It doesn't make any sense for the company to not cooperate with police. If their policy had something to do with not wanting something to happen to someone who may have unknowingly bought a phone on craigs list, it would be irrelivant.

Turning over the info is for investigation, not arrest. They would use the info, knock on the guys door, ask to see his phone, check the serial, possibly take the phone into custody and interview the guy.

It's not like a postit note with a guys address is going to warrant the po-po busting down the guys door and taking him "downtown".

No sense. Pics or it didn't happen. I want you're friend at the Applestore holding a piece of paper with your handle on it, as well as the police report of the robbery and the list of missing items submitted to the insurance company. :D If possible, hugging or shaking hands with the guy who stole it.
 
Hey nervouschimp, I'm the girl who posted yesterday about similar treatment involving my laptop:
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=5889645&posted=1#post5889645

I'm also being accused of making this up, though why I would bother to do that I do not know. So I wanted to express solidarity.

And to connect in case there is any way we can help each other out.

My laptop was actually not returned to the person who brought it in for repair - the police have it. But I was informed by a store employee recently that it is in fact store policy to return merchandise to the person who brought it in for repair if they request it, even if they are aware that the property is stolen. IMHO, this defies logic. The detective on my case did suggest that companies like Apple have no vested interest in discouraging theft because the vast majority of people whose computers are stolen will go out and buy a replacement, so the company makes more money. But I'm amazed that this behavior is not illegal. My detective also says that if it is something with a serial number, it is the legal responsibility of a buyer to verify that the merchandise is not stolen, or they are liable for arrest for possession of stolen property. He compared it to cars and VIN numbers.

This whole situation is so messed up and I can't find anyone at Apple willing to help or even just to tell me why it is taking so long.

Good luck to you.

It is illegal. Apple would be in knowing possesion of stolen property. THAT'S why I don't believe it. Also, if they knowingly gave it back it'd be distributing stolen property. Perhaps a lawyer can confirm, but I think the only LEGAL thing you can do if you are given something you know to be stolen is to return it to the person who legaly owns it or the police.
 
The first thing our concerned friend did is copy down the man's driver's license info, and then inform the man that the iPhone he was in possession of was stolen property, and could not be re-activated. Then, her superiors decided they would have no further involvement, and allowed the man to leave with our iPhone. Our friend then gave the man's personal info to her manager, and we were told that our detective would have to contact their security guy to get the man's info.

Our detective is actually way cool, and was more than willing to contact Apple, as he wanted any leads that might help him grab the person(s) responsible for the robbery of our home. At first Apple told our detective that no personal info on the man had been recorded, but after a little pressure, they did admit that our friend had indeed submitted the man's identity to her management, but if our detective wanted the man's identity, he would have to issue a subpoena to Apple's legal department. Frustrated by Apple's complete unwillingness to cooperate, our detective decided to push forward, and went to the DA for a subpoena, informing us that Apple had basically just stalled the investigation by several weeks, because the DA is extremely busy and it would take that long just to get the subpoena.

Well, the detective called this morning to let us know that Apple had sent him info finally: My info. They sent him MY freaken info. My name and number. Now almost 2 months, and a subpena later, their incompetent legal and security teams send the detective the plaintiff's info. Stupid, Stupid.

This goes to show that not even an amazing stroke of luck like having your stolen iphone handed to a friend working at the Apple store can get your precious device returned to you, and thanks to Apple, my case is now cold. Thanks, Apple.

I'm not a legal professional, but couldn't apple's legal department have some type of obstruction charges against them? Since your friend is/was an employee, and seeing she provided the manager the information, Apple is in possession of evidence. I guess this could be classified as withholding evidence or something? Again, I'm not a legal pro...
I guess it depends what the subpoena specifically said, and that's probably what apple delivered.

true story or not, this is a good read... :)
 
Imagine you're the person in scenario b. A guy who found a good deal on craigslist for the phone and bought it, only to find the phone bricked due to passcode and deactivation. You take it to the store and its revealed as stolen. If Apple just immediately turned you over to the police, it'd be pretty awful, especially since you yourself had done nothing wrong. I think Apple is doing the smart thing by protecting its "customers" and their privacy until they are legally obligated to do otherwise (that Apple turned over the wrong information in the end does suck though, but I would think the Subpeona would still hold until the correct information is obtained).

As a person whose laptop was stolen, I have zero sympathy for the person who bought it on craigslist, who found a "good deal" way below market value, and might have guessed something was up, except that he or she preferred to turn a blind eye. There is a penalty for buying stolen property, and that penalty is that you are arrested for possession, fingerprinted and questioned and then released if you are clearly not the one who did the actual stealing. Plus you lost the $500 or whatever you paid for the laptop that is worth $1700. (I saw a macbook listed on craigslist for this price a week after mine was stolen.)

what about the customer who didn't look on craigslist for a deal too good to be true, but who went and bought the computer new at full retail value? Aren't we more deserving of company sympathy?
 
It is illegal. Apple would be in knowing possesion of stolen property. THAT'S why I don't believe it. Also, if they knowingly gave it back it'd be distributing stolen property. Perhaps a lawyer can confirm, but I think the only LEGAL thing you can do if you are given something you know to be stolen is to return it to the person who legaly owns it or the police.

Hey man, I know. i agree. that's why this whole thing sucks.
 
It is illegal. Apple would be in knowing possesion of stolen property. THAT'S why I don't believe it. Also, if they knowingly gave it back it'd be distributing stolen property. Perhaps a lawyer can confirm, but I think the only LEGAL thing you can do if you are given something you know to be stolen is to return it to the person who legaly owns it or the police.

Law student, not lawyer, but it's a little more complex than that in my knowledge.

I know the poster of the stole macbook issue was saying something along the lines that her detective said if something has a serial number it's the persons responsibility to ensure that it is not stolen. However, its significantly different than car VIN's because there is no government database to which one reports stole laptops. She was very fortunate in her situation that she got this e-mail saying that her computer was in for repairs, but in any other situation the possesor of the laptop (thief or not) wouldn't be able to enter the serial number on Apple's website and determine it's stolen (iphone may be different due to the subscription status).

So, as I mentioned on the iphone story, Apple can't just go on the word of the previous owner/detective and immediately turn it over. She could, hypothetically, have sold the computer at one point, realized she got a bad deal or just changed her mind, and reported it stolen to get it back. Apple requires subpoena's etc. to ensure that no one's screwing them over too.

Pain in the ass? Yes. But necessary.
 
As a person whose laptop was stolen, I have zero sympathy for the person who bought it on craigslist, who found a "good deal" way below market value, and might have guessed something was up, except that he or she preferred to turn a blind eye. There is a penalty for buying stolen property, and that penalty is that you are arrested for possession, fingerprinted and questioned and then released if you are clearly not the one who did the actual stealing. Plus you lost the $500 or whatever you paid for the laptop that is worth $1700.

Just curious, but could you tell me where you got this information. Sorry, law student habit kicking in. I need citations! :)
 
My friend who is a Microsoft employee and I were admiring my Iphone one day. He told me it was better than anything that microsoft made and wanted to go buy one. So we went down to the apple store. Everything went fine until the guy next to us asked the apple employee to activate the 3G he had stolen. The employee told him no problem. My Microsoft friend was incredulous. "Microsoft would never let that happen!" He became more and more agitated. He asked the guy if he had really stolen the iphone and the dude said yes. On hearing that he worked at microsoft, the employee helping us started scratching his head and called his manager. The transaction was complete and we started to leave. The manager stopped us and told us that microsoft employees were not eligible for the discount and told my friend that he needed to pay $300 more before we could leave the store. My friend told him to stick it and we turned to leave. Out of nowhere this huge guy in a football jersey tackled my friend, braking his arm. The football guy stood over my friend as he started having seizures and started yelling "that's what we think about microsoft around here!"

We went to the police to complain but the cop was using a vista computer to take his statement, and the damn thing crashed in the middle of it. The cop threw his hands up and said that without a statement he couldn't do anything. We told him we would write it out by hand but he said he couldn't do anything because the courts would only issue warrents based on information inputted into microsoft software. What a day.


see now that i beleive. I'm sorry that your friend went through such an ordeal, I can't beleive the hostility nowadays towards microsoft employee and fans walking into apple stores.
 
Huh? On what grounds?

Probably because he thinks people are monkeying around.
attachment.php
 
I, for one, am quite happy with the way Apple acted. I don't need to worry about the police coming to my house if I had a problem with a used product (Well, he DID bring in a MBP...and he wasn't white, so yeah, I'll give you his contact info) I 'm surprised so many of you are perfectly fine with a company handing over your information to the police without court order.

This isn't anything personal or against the OP, just the way I feel about it. Sorry about your loss, good luck!
 
I, for one, am quite happy with the way Apple acted. I don't need to worry about the police coming to my house if I had a problem with a used product (Well, he DID bring in a MBP...and he wasn't white, so yeah, I'll give you his contact info) I 'm surprised so many of you are perfectly fine with a company handing over your information to the police without court order.

This isn't anything personal or against the OP, just the way I feel about it. Sorry about your loss, good luck!

Bingo. It really sucks and is frustrating to those who got robbed, but it's vital to maintain our privacy rights.
 
Just curious, but could you tell me where you got this information. Sorry, law student habit kicking in. I need citations! :)

Not sure what information you mean. I'm an editor, not a law student, so I don't know for certain about the punishment for being in possession of stolen property but the police did tell me they had to arrest the person who brought the macbook in for possession of stolen goods, and I imagine they would also fingerprint that person because they fingerprinted my apartment (and made a huge mess doing so which I hope was not for nothing) - to make sure that person was not at the crime scene.
 
Just to be clear, I personally never asked Apple to turn any personal information over to me, but to the police, who have procured an arrest warrant and a subpoena for that information. So at this point, Apple is refusing to cooperate with the legal process.
 
Hey nervouschimp, I'm the girl who posted yesterday about similar treatment involving my laptop:
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=5889645&posted=1#post5889645

I'm also being accused of making this up, though why I would bother to do that I do not know. So I wanted to express solidarity.

And to connect in case there is any way we can help each other out.

My laptop was actually not returned to the person who brought it in for repair - the police have it. But I was informed by a store employee recently that it is in fact store policy to return merchandise to the person who brought it in for repair if they request it, even if they are aware that the property is stolen. IMHO, this defies logic. The detective on my case did suggest that companies like Apple have no vested interest in discouraging theft because the vast majority of people whose computers are stolen will go out and buy a replacement, so the company makes more money. But I'm amazed that this behavior is not illegal. My detective also says that if it is something with a serial number, it is the legal responsibility of a buyer to verify that the merchandise is not stolen, or they are liable for arrest for possession of stolen property. He compared it to cars and VIN numbers.

This whole situation is so messed up and I can't find anyone at Apple willing to help or even just to tell me why it is taking so long.

Good luck to you.

Thanks, cdenes. Hearing your story makes it easier to deal with everyone who thinks I would make crap like this up for no reason. I am a life long mac user, I have no reason to slander them. I post this story now, because I am astonished that even after a subpoena, apple would not cooperate. This story should have ended well with a nice "stupid criminal brings stolen goods back to apple store" headline, but thieves have nothing to loose when they bring stolen property to Apple. They can even leave with the stolen stuff they brought in.

To anyone offering hindsight to our friend at the store, she had no idea it would go like this, and they were very busy that day. She was shocked that they just let the guy go. It was not her doing, she was just trying to help, and going against protocol, I'm sure. I want her to keep her job, so I'm glad she didn't take things too far.

Heres an update to the situation... my wife just IMed me that the detective just called and said Apple is going to provide the info we requested. YAY!

Does SJ read macrumors? :)

Wish us luck!

Good luck, cdenes.
 
Not sure what information you mean. I'm an editor, not a law student, so I don't know for certain about the punishment for being in possession of stolen property but the police did tell me they had to arrest the person who brought the macbook in for possession of stolen goods, and I imagine they would also fingerprint that person because they fingerprinted my apartment (and made a huge mess doing so which I hope was not for nothing) - to make sure that person was not at the crime scene.

Gotcha. I guess I got confused because you were saying that the penalty for possesion of stole property was... (fill in the rest here).

Quick law lesson (because I'm procrastinating), but the crime of possesion does not simply constitute the act of possessing, but there is a mental component as well (ususually knowingly possessing). As I think I've noted in my previous posts, at the moment we are completely unaware if the person who brought the macbook in actually knows it was stolen. And that is probably where Apple legal is resisting. (Although in your case, I'm actually suprised the police got the laptop back and not the name. I would typically think it would be the other way around.)

Apple is resisting because, if the person who brought it in happened to be completely innocent, it would look terribly bad that they were revealing people's identification to the police.

Now, if the police had tracked this guy down (let's say waited for him to come back and pick up the macbook?) and gathered enough evidence to charge him with theft (say, fingerprints matched from the crime scene), then Apple would be more likely to cooperate. But clearly their legal department is sensing that this is not the case.
 
Heres an update to the situation... my wife just IMed me that the detective just called and said Apple is going to provide the info we requested. YAY!

Wish us luck!

I do wish you luck. I'm a lifelong mac customer too and am shocked at the treatment I'm getting form the corporation and here. I emailed SJ last night. Let's see if that gets me anywhere!

On the other hand, I'm disheartened to hear you waited for over 2 months for Apple to respond to the subpoena. Does law student on here know if there is a time limit within which a response is required?

I've only been waiting a month so far and do not relish waiting another one.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.