What to Do with an iPhone Left as Collateral for Two Years?
Asked by
NightOwl258
Hey everyone,
I'm in a tricky situation and could really use some advice. I run a nightclub, and we have a policy where if a customer doesn't pay their bill, we keep their phone as collateral. A while back, a customer left their iPhone 13 Pro Max with us, promising to return the following day. Fast forward two years, and we haven't heard a peep from them. We decided it's time to sell the phone to recoup our losses, but now we're facing a roadblock: the phone is locked by the owner, and we don't have any way to contact them since their number is out of service.
Is there anything I can do to unlock the device? Should I head to an Apple Store for help, or are there other ways to handle this? I'd appreciate any suggestions! Thanks!
Answers
It’s tough, but you may want to just accept the loss and learn from it. Nice guys finish last, especially in business!
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You’ve got yourself a paperweight at this point. The previous owner likely reported it stolen or lost and upgraded long ago. The lock makes the parts useless for anyone else, so there's not much you can do with it now.
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Honestly, there's nothing you can do. Just toss it and move on. It’s not worth any more time or money.
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If you're really looking to get something out of it, you could try selling it for parts on eBay. Two years ago, you could have gotten around £350, but now, you’d be lucky to see £125. A locked phone doesn't have much value.
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It’s wild to think someone left a $1000 phone just because of a bill. If they didn’t come back in two years, they probably just accepted their loss.
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Reading through, it seems you’ve just got a brick on your hands now. Might be time to move on.
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Honestly, you're probably out of luck. Apple is unlikely to help you unlock it since you don't own the phone. You might want to just accept it as a loss and consider not taking phones as collateral in the future. Calling the police isn’t a good idea either, especially in areas where they might not take your side.
SkepticalJack: Yeah, sounds like that's a risky move. It’s not worth the trouble.
RealTalk88: Exactly. If the police were a real solution for this, you wouldn’t be stuck with the phone.
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FashionFreak33: Right? Some people probably just don’t care, or they claimed it lost for insurance.
BillChaser99: Exactly, their bill was only $700 but they left a phone worth way more.