Hi Forum team, I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this as I am new to the forums but was hoping that somebody would be able to help me!
In December 2013, I upgraded to a "nearly new" iPad 4th gen over the phone (something I would usually avoid but I had initially called to cancel my contract!). I hadn't previously heard of "nearly new" and was informed that the iPad was brand new, just returned within 7 days as a result of being the wrong colour or another minor issue. Of course this all sounded like a good deal and I took out the contract.
Shortly after taking out my contract, the iPad went faulty and now is stuck in recovery mode and will not restore. I should stress that I have tried ALL the Apple troubleshooting advice, from DFU mode to different cables and computers, etc. I have also taken it to the Apple store who were also unable to restore it. They have advised me that this is probably a hardware issue.
This is where the big problem has emerged. Apple have told me that the iPad is out of warranty, when I have owned it less than a year. I wasn't sure how this was possible, so they looked into it for me and have since informed me that the iPad I have was originally registered by somebody else, over a year before I started my contract? In my opinion, this isn't exactly "Nearly New" and I'm really disappointed. I've also been told (correctly or not?) that Vodafone will not fix the problem if it is hardware as it does not have a hardware warranty? If this is the case, this was not disclosed to me at point of sale either, along with the iPad's history.
I have been going round in circles with this for a while now and more recently have been met with a lot of resistance and hostility from Customer Services, which has been disappointing. I have tried to contact Head Office as Customer Services have refused my requests to discuss this issue with a manager. I was told I should use the online Complaints system, which I have done twice, and nobody has ever gotten back to me, let alone within the 48 hours. I have also been accused of fabricating the information by Customer Services, which I think is grossly inappropriate. Vodafone requested evidence of the iPad's warranty/registration status to confirm it was as I described and I have presented that to my local store who have made notes on my account.
I have been told by another Customer Service agent today that if I return the iPad to store to be sent for repair, they will issue me with a replacement when they can confirm the iPad is faulty. There appears to be some misunderstanding about the underlying issue here, which is that I feel the original iPad has been mis-sold to me and that if more information about it had been disclosed, I would not have purchased it. I do not want to receive the essentially third-hand iPad back to me as a repair, as it is still not what I wanted to purchase in the first place. My local store have advised me not to send the iPad for repair until I have more concrete resolution from Vodafone about receiving an exchange, not on the grounds of the iPad being faulty, but on the grounds that I am unhappy with the product I have been sold.
Apologies for the long message but I feel like I am being pushed from pillar to post here. I have tried to escalate this through the appropriate channels but nobody has been particularly willing to address the issue of the iPad being mis-sold, rather than just the fact that it is faulty. If anyone from Vodafone could offer me any advice on this matter I would really appreciate it as I am not sure where else to turn.
.png "Moderator (Retired)"){kind=icon}
