A few months ago, I bought an iPhone 16 Pro Max through the Apple card installment plan. After the release of the iPhone 17, I decided to trade in my iPhone 16 to buy the new model. However, I had some second thoughts about making payments for both devices, so I called Goldman Sachs—the card issuer—to see how I could return the iPhone 17. They informed me that Apple would handle the return since I was still within the return window for the iPhone 17.
I contacted Apple's post-sales department, and they confirmed that I would be getting my iPhone 16 back, which was still in transit at that time. After initiating the return process, a week passed without any updates or returns arriving. When I followed up, I was shocked to learn that I wouldn't be getting my iPhone 16 back. The representative claimed it was already processed and couldn't be returned, even though I was told otherwise before.
I escalated the issue to Apple's executive team, but they said there was nothing they could do and would only give me the trade-in value if I returned the iPhone 17, leaving me phoneless. I'm wondering—do you think I have grounds to file a complaint with the FCC, or is Apple just doing things by the book?
1 Answer
You should actually be looking at the FTC for issues like this, not the FCC. But I doubt either would intervene in something like a trade-in dispute.
Neither group would likely do anything, though.