This woman suspects foul play after the Apple iPhone she ordered through T-Mobile turned up missing. It was supposed to be delivered via UPS. Viewers think she could have prevented it.
Androids dominate the global market due to their relative affordability. However, the majority of people living in the U.S. use iPhones. According to trend site Exploding Topics, about 58% of people use iPhones.
It’s safe to say you might know the struggle of deciding how to physically get your new phone when it’s time for an upgrade. Do you go to your local Apple store or phone carrier for it? Or do you just get it delivered to your house?
Those who choose the latter would think their device, which can easily cost more than a rack, would be in safe hands. Usually, a signature is required for those types of deliveries. However, that’s not always the case.
iPhone UPS delivery gone wrong
“This is why you can’t have nice things,” Monnie (@xoxomonnie) says at the start of her video. “I was either scammed by UPS or T-Mobile.”
Her trending TikTok has more than 48,000 views. In it, Monnie explains that her brother bought an iPhone for their mom. She had it delivered to Monnie’s house (since their mom was out of town). And she notes a signature was required for delivery.
Monnie told the Daily Dot her brother preordered the new iPhone for their mom. They wanted to celebrate their mom being in one-year remission since she had lung and colon cancer for the last two years.
In her TikTok, Monnie says the iPhone was never actually delivered to her.
“It was definitely an inside job because this package had to be signed. So this package was tampered with prior to delivery,” Monnie says.
Monnie says things were already off when the UPS estimate said the package would arrive by 2pm but didn’t actually get there ’til 7:42pm. Monnie notes that was suspicious since they paid to expedite it.
What was supposed to be a nice gift turned into a costly headache
When the UPS driver showed up on their doorsteps, Monnie’s husband, who had just been helping her put the baby to sleep, signed for the package quickly and set it on the table, Monnie says.
“He didn’t notice that the box was light,” Monnie says.
A day or two later, Monnie says she noticed her baby playing with the box, and alarm bells sound off in her head.
“How are you able to grab this box that easily? It should not be that easy,” Monnie recalls thinking.
As soon as she grabbed the box herself, she says she knew. She notes there was no phone in it. Monnie says that when she unboxed the phone case, all that was in there was the thick white Apple box and charging cord.
“I need this video to go viral because I need to get UPS and T-Mobile involved,” Monnie says. “I’ve seen this before happen to other people. I just didn’t think it would happen to me.”
Monnie has not posted an update yet. But in an email to the Daily Dot, she said her brother submitted a claim. But she noted that T-Mobile told them it could take weeks or months to resolve.
“Not sure when we will get the replacement or if we will ever,” Monnie said in an email.
“People were asking why I didn’t open it as soon as we received it. Well it was for my mom and I didn’t want to open her gift knowing it was a phone and yes I know my husband should’ve mentioned to me that it was light but it didn’t occur to him that we were basically scammed,” she added.
@xoxomonnie Any advice 😭😭😭 @T-Mobile @UPS ‼️ @apple #ups #tmobile #scam #help #viral #fyp #iphone #apple ♬ original sound – monnie
What should you do if this happens to you?
If you’re in the same unfortunate situation as Monnie, here’s what to do:
- File a claim with the mail carrier and T-Mobile: Reach out to the carrier and T-Mobile directly for additional information and to file a claim.
- Contact Apple: On its site, Apple states that if there’s a problem with your delivery, like it getting lost or arriving damaged, it’ll contact the carrier directly. “We will make every effort to contact you and keep you informed of the progress of our investigation and, where appropriate, deliver a replacement,” the site states. It’s unclear if this applies to missing items, but it’s worth a shot.
- File a claim with Apple: If you paid for AppleCare+ when you bought the phone, you can try filing a claim to get a replacement. Apple covers up to two incidents of theft or loss every 12 months. But each is subject to a deductible and taxes.
How to prevent theft
Several commenters pointed out that in the future people shouldn’t trust any mail carrier to deliver such an expensive item.
Instead, they suggest picking the item up from your local vendor, even if it’s more inconvenient. At least this way, there’s one less thing to worry about since you’re picking up the item directly from the source.
“I’ve seen this happen so much, I think it’s better to order it to the store and pick it up from there. It’s sad that people have to steal from others,” a person said.
Monnie replied to the commenter, saying that she had no idea this was even possible but would do it moving forward.
Commenters react to the iPhone UPS fail
“Apple needs to lock all phones that are shipped & the only way to get the code is via the email used to place the order,” a top comment suggested.
“always around the holidays FedEx and UPS steal package,” a person said.
“The box should have the phones serial number on it. Have that blocked so no one can use the phone,” another informed.
The Daily Dot reached out to UPS, T-Mobile, and Apple via email.
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