So I too pre ordered the iPhone 5 right after midnight on the 14th. Had no problems going through the ordering process and received a confirmation e-mail when I was complete. The next day I get this e-mail:
Thank you for your recent iPhone purchase at the Apple Online Store.
While processing your iPhone order, we encountered an issue with your
AT&T account. According to their records, the phone number associated
with this order has been recently upgraded. As a result, your iPhone
order has been canceled and you have not been charged.
First thing I do is check my order to see if it has been canceled. Sure enough the order was canceled on Sept. 15th. I then check my bank account, and see the money hasn't been taken out. Now onto finding out what happened.
I first call At&t to see if they show I'm eligible for an upgrade. They check their records and of course I'm eligible for an upgrade. They even go as far as telling me that this is a "known problem on Apple's end" and hundreds of customers have experienced the same issue.
So I jump on the phone with Apple now and try to get an answer to why they canceled my order. The rep from Apple tries to explain to me how phone contracts work and the most likely reason why my order was canceled was that I didn't qualify for an upgrade and that I need to buy an "unlocked version" which I can't order right now, because they don't have pricing for it. At this point I'm getting a little frustrated and ask to speak to a manager. Of course there is no manager to speak to and tells me to try pre ordering the iPhone 5 again.
I quickly realize that I'm not going to get anywhere on the phone. I hop in my car and head down to the At&t store. They show on their system that I'm fully eligible for an upgrade and the guy there also told me this is a "known problem on Apple's end". I asked for proof to show that I'm eligible for an upgrade, he couldn't provide me that, but told me to dial *new# on my current iPhone. I do that and get this text message:
As a valued customer, we can offer you an upgrade with a new 2yr commitment and an $36 upgrade fee.
Ok cool, it shows that I'm eligible for an upgrade. Now off to the Apple store.
I get to the apple store and of course it's packed. My mission is to talk directly to a manager, so I show one of the employees the e-mail I got from apple and next thing I know Ross the store manager is there shaking my hand and asking to see the e-mail. He of course says he has never heard of this problem and goes into telling me that I should pre order the phone again and reply to the e-mail with my new order number so they can expedite my order. Already pretty frustrated at this point I went off on him, and told him that is bull **** and that I'm sure he has heard of this issue before and that I need this problem resolved. Ross has no answers for me and again tells me to go through the steps and pre order the phone again.
I head back home furious now and go online and try to pre order the phone again. going through the process I get a message saying that the order can't be processed because I'm not eligible for an upgrade. Back to Apple store I go. I try pre ordering the phone right there and get that same message. Now I get one of the Apple employees to get on the phone with the Apple online store. The Apple online store rep is showing that I can't upgrade also and that I need to contact my carrier. Apple employee informs the online store that the route has already been taken so we get transferred to the supervisor. The supervisor sees the problem and escalates the call to some special adviser for Apple. In the meantime I try dialing *new# on my phone again and the text message I get this time reads:
You may select equipment at our full retail pricing. An upgrade may be available on 04/17/2014
So now it's showing that I'm not eligible for an upgrade. Finally we get in touch with the special adviser and she tells us that the order is showing that it hasn't been canceled and that it is due to be delivered on 9/21. I log on to to check my order and sure enough the order is back up and shows the iPhone 5 will be delivered on the 21st.
I then receive this e-mail:
Dear iPhone 5 Customer,
The cancellation email you received recently was sent by mistake. Rest assured, we fully intend to get your iPhone 5 to you on 9/21. We do, however, need your permission to reinstate this order.
Please reply to this email as soon as you can with your desire to reinstate your original order.
To ensure a 9/21 delivery date, we must receive your email reply by 5PM CDT (Central Daylight Time), Tuesday, September 18.
We know you're excited about receiving your new iPhone 5. So are we. We apologize for the inconvenience and confusion.
Sincerely,
The Apple Online Store
After spending almost all day getting the run around, my order has now "magically" gone back to the status it should be at. I'm thoroughly pissed to say the least. Apple knows about this problem and like the rest of the giant mega corporations they just sweep it under the rug like nothing happened. It's a bunch of bull! Yeah I might get my phone when I was "suppose" to get it, but look at the headache it caused me and the rest of you with this same issue.
