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Mailed 2 Apple Watches by Apple. Never ordered them. Never charged for them.
- Thread starter collin_
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I think you’re really misinformed. That’s not how it works, your credit score wouldn’t be directly affected immediately until _after_ the payment would be due for something that somebody opened in your name with a secondary account. Meaning, The results that somebody purchased something in your name, you wouldn’t notice the direct effect immediately with your credit score, The payment would have to be overdue for the watches, which then the credit bureau would have to receive a report from the credit card company stating your absence of payment, which could take weeks to process, then your credit score would start to be affected. Again, if you have an attorney, maybe you should consult with them on this matter, it’s likely a safe bet in case your identity has been compromised.
Really, I don’t care that you keep the watches, and like others have posted, that’s your prerogative. But I think there’s a greater premise here that no one just receives property without having some type of physical description or a tracking history with the invoice. That should strike you as being very odd and unsettling in the least.
You can have the $1000 worth of watches. If I could somehow experience the same fortune, I would not want it. The uncertainty of the whole situation is not worth the $1000 to me. I'm a whole lot happier without the free stuff and with the peace of mind of not wondering about my personal info. But once again, that's just me...
Is it common for Americans to have attorneys or what? I feel like I hear a lot of common folk talking about consulting with their attorneys or whatnot, and it baffles me a bit. Firstly the point of "having an attorney" like it's a specific one associated with you, and second the concept of needing one often enough for it to come up this much in so many places.
I don’t want to derail the thread, because that’s not what this is about. But in the case of somebody’s confidentiality that might be compromised due to a security breach, absolutely, you should have an attorney involved to help clear any potential fraud that the OP doesn’t expect yet. These types of situations can be extremely problematic and take months to resolve with a credit company, and an entire investigation has to be conducted. It’s not a good situation.
{FTR, if I recall correctly, I believe about a year or so who, this _same_ incident happened to another forum member where they received an Apple Watch or iPad of some sort, and to find out, somebody compromised their identity, open a credit card and made purchases without their consent, which directly affected their financial well-being. They thought Apple made a mistake, when in fact, it was their identity that had been Hacked.}
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It's fine checking your accounts, but what if someone has opened up a credit card under your name? All they need is your name, dob and address. They can then buy what they want and just grab them from outside your door before being delivered, pretending to be you.
Something like this happened recently to my nephew, except it was MacBook pros; two of them. He called the company they shipped from, and they told him to keep them. I don’t remember the details, but it was all legit; nothing ordered in his name, no scam, no nothing; just a mistake and they didn’t require his returning them.
He doesn’t even use or like Apple products, and promptly sold them both for a nice little price.
He doesn’t even use or like Apple products, and promptly sold them both for a nice little price.
I do appreciate that you guys are trying to look out for me, but with everything I've checked, I just don't see how it could be a scam. There are no inquiries or new accounts on my credit report or charges to my bank account. I can't think of anything else I could check on, but if you have any ideas I can.
I would be very scared that somebody uses my information as shipping addresses.
Imagine Person A orders from Apple using your information.
Then he claims it never arrived and demands a refund.
This takes time to process and weeks later someone contacts you and wants you to send back the items.
You cannot just claim the items, because somebody makes a mistake.
I would proactively contact Apple and / or the authorities.
Could be money-laundering of some kind and they did not think this through.
Or worse, people show up at your doorstep. Because you have no invoice. They might.
Imagine Person A orders from Apple using your information.
Then he claims it never arrived and demands a refund.
This takes time to process and weeks later someone contacts you and wants you to send back the items.
You cannot just claim the items, because somebody makes a mistake.
I would proactively contact Apple and / or the authorities.
Could be money-laundering of some kind and they did not think this through.
Or worse, people show up at your doorstep. Because you have no invoice. They might.
See https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0181-unordered-merchandise.
Also, we have no idea why I received these watches. It is theoretically possible that it happened due to the situation you described, but there is no evidence of that.
"We’re unable to display coverage details because your device hasn’t been registered. Please contact your Apple product retailer or your wireless carrier to register this device."
That means they're not from Apple, they're from a third party retailer. That would suggest it's either a carrier mix up, if you're going to be getting a nasty surprise a few months down the like with your credit report!
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That's how it goes here in the UK (I'm sure the US has similar rules). Over here, if it's an obvious mistake with a company you've done business with (i.e. you order 1, and a duplicate order arrives a few weeks later) then you don't have a right to keep it - but if you've not ordered anything, and there's no "obvious" mistake, then you're free to keep it as an unsolicited gift.
The exception here is if there was fraud involved (i.e. someone ordered something to your address with a stolen credit card in the hope they could intercept it).
This came about because of mail order companies taking the p*** - sending a sample out and then saying "Hey, send it back at your expense or pay us".
That means they're not from Apple, they're from a third party retailer. That would suggest it's either a carrier mix up, if you're going to be getting a nasty surprise a few months down the like with your credit report!
[doublepost=1551802976][/doublepost]
That's how it goes here in the UK (I'm sure the US has similar rules). Over here, if it's an obvious mistake with a company you've done business with (i.e. you order 1, and a duplicate order arrives a few weeks later) then you don't have a right to keep it - but if you've not ordered anything, and there's no "obvious" mistake, then you're free to keep it as an unsolicited gift.
The exception here is if there was fraud involved (i.e. someone ordered something to your address with a stolen credit card in the hope they could intercept it).
This came about because of mail order companies taking the p*** - sending a sample out and then saying "Hey, send it back at your expense or pay us".
I would not agree that the term "merchandise" in the linked article does apply in your situation, as you don't know if these shipments were intended for you personally.
But I do not want to argue, I just can tell you:
I would not keep these articles under any circumstances.
No. If someone sends it to you, addressed to you as an individual person, it is unordered merchandise.
If someone only uses your shipping address, you might be part of a criminal activity.
You were not the intended recipient, someone else might have a valid invoice for the articles send to you.
This is why I do not believe you can keep them, I certainly would not.
Credit checks etc. can take weeks to show on your credit report, so I wouldn't go by that.
It is addressed to me "as an individual person." Is anybody even reading this thread...
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It is from Apple. It says so on the shipping label. That's one of the few pieces of information I have.
Regarding the credit report I really don't know what else to tell you guys. As I have said multiple times I have already checked everything. I will continue to monitor it.
If they are from Apple then surely they have a way of checking when and how they were ordered. I have to imagine the package has a tracking number which can be linked back to the order. If you are sure it came directly from Apple then your best bet is to contact Apple and explain the situation. You might end up having to return the watches, but it'll give you peace of mind knowing that your identity isn't stolen or if it was that you are on top of resolving it.
That is the only answer anyone here can give. There's no way for any of us to know the backstory so the simplest solution is to just contact Apple.
A couple years ago around Christmas time we received a bike from Walmart. No one in my family ordered the bike. Turned out someone's credit card information was stolen and the "hacker" was just buying stuff with that card and sending it out to random addresses.
That is the only answer anyone here can give. There's no way for any of us to know the backstory so the simplest solution is to just contact Apple.
A couple years ago around Christmas time we received a bike from Walmart. No one in my family ordered the bike. Turned out someone's credit card information was stolen and the "hacker" was just buying stuff with that card and sending it out to random addresses.
Here's where we're at:
-- This shipment probably does constitute unordered merchandise, which means you probably have a legal right to keep it (but I'm not opining on that one way or the other).
-- You don't know what happened here, but it's more likely that this is some type of scam than a mistake by Apple. Either is possible, though.
-- There is an ethical component to this issue, and you may not understand all of the relevant information at this time (for example, this may involve a scam that adversely affects someone else).
-- Contacting Apple probably will give you information you need.
-- An important point I haven't see made in this thread is that contacting Apple will *not* deprive you of your legal rights. In other words, if this is a mistake by Apple and you let them know about it, you still may have a legal right to keep the merchandise.
-- This shipment probably does constitute unordered merchandise, which means you probably have a legal right to keep it (but I'm not opining on that one way or the other).
-- You don't know what happened here, but it's more likely that this is some type of scam than a mistake by Apple. Either is possible, though.
-- There is an ethical component to this issue, and you may not understand all of the relevant information at this time (for example, this may involve a scam that adversely affects someone else).
-- Contacting Apple probably will give you information you need.
-- An important point I haven't see made in this thread is that contacting Apple will *not* deprive you of your legal rights. In other words, if this is a mistake by Apple and you let them know about it, you still may have a legal right to keep the merchandise.
Ok let's not get carried away
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I agree. I can't find any evidence that this is some sort of scam but I'm going to consider contacting Apple since I will be able to keep them anyway. I do have the tracking number, btw. That's how I initially found out something was coming - an unexpected FedEx notification that I have a shipment on the way.
This thread has been fun. 
Personally, I would contact Apple and ask them what they want me to do with them. I wouldn't go out of my way by driving to an Apple Store to return them, but if they want to send me a box to drop them in, I'd probably agree to do that.
Personally, I would contact Apple and ask them what they want me to do with them. I wouldn't go out of my way by driving to an Apple Store to return them, but if they want to send me a box to drop them in, I'd probably agree to do that.
Credit reports aren't usually updated right away and most credit cards only report once a month. So be sure to monitor your report over the next few weeks even if you end up contacting Apple about the unordered merchandise.
Also would you be able to post the shipping label with all your personal info and the tracking number redacted?
To be honest, I feel as if I AM being tested, on my integrity.
So, to set the record straight on WHAT I WOULD do; I'd take said watches to a local Apple shop. Have them verify the serial numbers, and said order number attached to it.
Based on that, I'd go from there. Mistake or not, a explanation is needed...
So, to set the record straight on WHAT I WOULD do; I'd take said watches to a local Apple shop. Have them verify the serial numbers, and said order number attached to it.
Based on that, I'd go from there. Mistake or not, a explanation is needed...
Here you have to sign before you receive anything from Apple via their delivery company....did you have to sign for the watches?