Beware. Be VERY Aware

Apple has really pulled a fast one on me today!

I called for tech support for my iPhone. Ended up having a warranty issue with the Wifi. I dont live within 150 miles of an apple store and not having a back up phone I opted to pay the $29 for an advanced replacement...

Well I get home and check my bank account.

The tech I spoke to on the phone neglected to tell me about the $500 hold placed on my account until they get my phone back. Had I known that I wouldnt have gone that avenue. Well now here I am still fighting this out on the phone with apple.

That $500 means I cant afford to put gas in my car to get to work tomorrow. I cant afford to eat until this is figured out. My acct is $1.42, if one more charge hits Im going to overdraw. Take a minute and just really imagine the POSITION Im in now thanks to this back handed BS.

Next time you talk with apple make sure they tell you the whole truth and not whatever they need to make a fast buck! This is an unacceptable business practice.

That does suck! Sorry to hear about that one!

However, it's common practice for a company to do that when you ask for a advanced replacement. They do it because they don't know if you are going to send your old one in or not. In my experience they release the money pretty quick after getting the old phone back.

Regardless of a common business practice, you should make the person aware of the charge...

Im a Paramedic, if I dont get into work tomorrow someone has to work over for me or we go down an ambulance. Thats one less truck on the street, more work for everybody and longer response times for patients. Now push that timeline down...

laddie said:

Regardless of a common business practice, you should make the person aware of the charge...

Im a Paramedic, if I dont get into work tomorrow someone has to work over for me or we go down an ambulance. Thats one less truck on the street, more work for everybody and longer response times for patients. Now push that timeline down...

Click to expand...

Oh I know.. I agree 100% they should have said something prior to it. Did you tell that to Apple customer service? Maybe talk to your bank about it.

Ive been on the phone with them about it. I have been told that since the pack has shipped there is nothing they can do about it. I have called my bank, I need to call back tomorrow to file a claim about this.. I Will...

That's a good reason for NEVER using your debit card, checking or savings account to effect a transaction. Always use a credit card! A $500.00 temporary charge to a credit card is a lot easier to negotiate than having your bank account held either by a debit card charge or electronic hold on a checking or savings account.

However, you should have been told about the $500 hold. Definitely lodge a complaint about the oversight.

Regards.

I agree with chscag, having a debit card on file for this sort of stuff is a bad idea.

I don't like when companies do that.

Apple always tells me if I don't send it back THEN they will charge my card for the retail value.

I suppose it's better than the $100 holds I've had gas stations put on a card.. irritating though

I also agree that the company should tell the customer what will happen. That could really hurt someone. Sorry, it happened to me once and I was in a bad position for a bit.

Report your card missing and get a new one making the one on file obsolete.

Macswitcha said:

Report your card missing and get a new one making the one on file obsolete.

Click to expand...

That's probably more trouble then it's really worth...

Not to mention the fraud implications

Macswitcha said:

Report your card missing and get a new one making the one on file obsolete.

Click to expand...

Don't lie to your bank. Tell them the truth: Apple placed an unauthorized hold on your account, without your knowledge or consent, and you require access to those funds.

And in the future, it would be better to use a credit card instead of a debit card.

technologist said:

Don't lie to your bank. Tell them the truth: Apple placed an unauthorized hold on your account, without your knowledge or consent, and you require access to those funds.

And in the future, it would be better to use a credit card instead of a debit card.

Click to expand...

I agree. Lying to your bank won't do any good. You'd just get a "new" account with a $1.42 in it. Doing this won't allow you to recover the $500 hold.

Do what Tech says and tell them Apple put an unauthorized hold. If Apple did this without your knowledge, that's a bunch of BS.

This happened to me too once, and I live in Norway. The difference was that the tech on the phone told me they where going to put the funds on hold. When they received the defect part they would release the money again. And they did, pretty fast too.

Because Apple neglected to tell you this on the phone you should file a complaint, if you had known about this you would probably used your credit card if you have one. Right ?

Hope it will resolve itself for you soon.

They did that with me too - it was only £50 but same princible.

However, I gave them my credit card (infact they only accepted credit cards) so the fact that they took £50 or £1000 wouldn't really matter because it would be taken off when they got the broken hardware and I wouldn't be out of pocket in my bank account.

Hope you get the problem sorted soon though, that would suck to be in that position.

Boy, that really bites a big bullet. Feel for ya.

Remember the first time something like that happened with my debit card. To say "I was not a happy camper" would be putting it extremely mild.