Music Magpie - Be Careful If You Trade In Your iPhone
Firstly, I know others have had good experiences using Music Magpie for iPhone trade-ins, to be fair they generally do have a good reputation, but I have personally been well a truly done over by them and am now out of pocket by a huge amount of money and mine is a story of what happens on the occasions things go very wrong and how Music Magpie handle it.
I had an offer price of £700 for my iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB phone.
I sent them an immaculate iPhone 13 Pro Max, I mean absolute mint condition, almost as perfect as the day I bought it from Apple. High-quality Torras full coverage screen protector installed on the day I purchased it, always in a shockproof case, I even had a camera lens protector installed as I am so OCD about my tech. Never dropped and never mishandled, literally no scratches on the stainless steel case, at worst some "micro Scratches" but even they were minimal. I am the type of person that only has my iPhone in my trouser pocket, never putting keys or loose change in the same pocket as my phone. If I received my iPhone as refurbished I would have been made up - hell it still had 100% battery health.
I sent it so well packaged - in the original Apple retail box which I taped shut, that was wrapped in bubble wrap and taped, then placed in a box and parcel taped within an inch of its life. Before despatch, I closely inspected the whole phone and wiped it down with a new lint-free cloth so it was spotless. There was absolutely zero damage to the screen, not one scratch, and absolutely no chips as good as the day it rolled off the Apple assembly line.
After a rather suspicious long delay between the delivered status and being scanned at the warehouse, it was assessed and they came back and reported the screen edge was chipped, scratches on the screen, and a crack. Offer reduced from £700 to £143 as they deem the damage that bad. When challenged they have shown me photographic evidence and I can swear that the screen they showed was not the screen that was on my phone. My screen had zero scratches due to the screen protector and absolutely no chips - I closely inspected it at the point of despatch and polished it with a lint-free cloth. I reiterate that it was the definition of mint condition. Further, it was so well-packaged that I cannot see how it could have been damaged in transit.
My warning to others is you have zero recourse and no consumer protection as they claim that's the phone they received (possibly it is but something amiss has happened in the meantime). They will not even consider that something has happened either in transit or at their warehouse and you are left with no option but to accept or reject their offer. I now will receive back a damaged iPhone that I swear has either a different screen on that is not mine or, more likely, has been dropped when unpackaged and then just pushed on through the assessment pipeline. The resale value is now hugely impacted, this is not the phone I sent them, and I am out of pocket by a huge amount. They will not entertain any liability and just say that's the phone I sent - the IMEI number matches on their photos but the state of the screen is a complete contrast to what I sent them.
I appreciate that I foolishly did not take photos/video of the phone before despatch as I would if selling on eBay, but I trusted their reputation. At least with eBay if a buyer challenged the condition of the sold phone they received you could give Ebay that evidence and they may take your side but with Music Magpie they will just shut you down and you are left high and dry. They adopt a take it or leave it stance.
One interesting development is through personal contacts I am now going to discuss what has happened to me with the Consumer Section Editor of a national newspaper. Their interest in this story is from a consumer protection angle - they recognise there is little to no consumer protection when using these online trade-in companies and want real-life examples to back up a piece they are considering writing.
So, it's a cautionary tale of how things can go bad and you are powerless to challenge Music Magpie.
Firstly, I know others have had good experiences using Music Magpie for iPhone trade-ins, to be fair they generally do have a good reputation, but I have personally been well a truly done over by them and am now out of pocket by a huge amount of money and mine is a story of what happens on the occasions things go very wrong and how Music Magpie handle it.
I had an offer price of £700 for my iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB phone.
I sent them an immaculate iPhone 13 Pro Max, I mean absolute mint condition, almost as perfect as the day I bought it from Apple. High-quality Torras full coverage screen protector installed on the day I purchased it, always in a shockproof case, I even had a camera lens protector installed as I am so OCD about my tech. Never dropped and never mishandled, literally no scratches on the stainless steel case, at worst some "micro Scratches" but even they were minimal. I am the type of person that only has my iPhone in my trouser pocket, never putting keys or loose change in the same pocket as my phone. If I received my iPhone as refurbished I would have been made up - hell it still had 100% battery health.
I sent it so well packaged - in the original Apple retail box which I taped shut, that was wrapped in bubble wrap and taped, then placed in a box and parcel taped within an inch of its life. Before despatch, I closely inspected the whole phone and wiped it down with a new lint-free cloth so it was spotless. There was absolutely zero damage to the screen, not one scratch, and absolutely no chips as good as the day it rolled off the Apple assembly line.
After a rather suspicious long delay between the delivered status and being scanned at the warehouse, it was assessed and they came back and reported the screen edge was chipped, scratches on the screen, and a crack. Offer reduced from £700 to £143 as they deem the damage that bad. When challenged they have shown me photographic evidence and I can swear that the screen they showed was not the screen that was on my phone. My screen had zero scratches due to the screen protector and absolutely no chips - I closely inspected it at the point of despatch and polished it with a lint-free cloth. I reiterate that it was the definition of mint condition. Further, it was so well-packaged that I cannot see how it could have been damaged in transit.
My warning to others is you have zero recourse and no consumer protection as they claim that's the phone they received (possibly it is but something amiss has happened in the meantime). They will not even consider that something has happened either in transit or at their warehouse and you are left with no option but to accept or reject their offer. I now will receive back a damaged iPhone that I swear has either a different screen on that is not mine or, more likely, has been dropped when unpackaged and then just pushed on through the assessment pipeline. The resale value is now hugely impacted, this is not the phone I sent them, and I am out of pocket by a huge amount. They will not entertain any liability and just say that's the phone I sent - the IMEI number matches on their photos but the state of the screen is a complete contrast to what I sent them.
I appreciate that I foolishly did not take photos/video of the phone before despatch as I would if selling on eBay, but I trusted their reputation. At least with eBay if a buyer challenged the condition of the sold phone they received you could give Ebay that evidence and they may take your side but with Music Magpie they will just shut you down and you are left high and dry. They adopt a take it or leave it stance.
One interesting development is through personal contacts I am now going to discuss what has happened to me with the Consumer Section Editor of a national newspaper. Their interest in this story is from a consumer protection angle - they recognise there is little to no consumer protection when using these online trade-in companies and want real-life examples to back up a piece they are considering writing.
So, it's a cautionary tale of how things can go bad and you are powerless to challenge Music Magpie.
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