Tampered seal on new iphone 16 pro

[Nataliutkarsh]

 

Hi, 
I ordered an iphone 16 pro from EE using buy sim free device service. I received the device almost 7 days later since they didn’t have it in stock. Upon receiving my friend opened the device as it was a gift it had a tampered seal or maybe it was resealed. The very next day I made a complain and the colleague said it would be exchanged next day. Also, I requested to get a call from manager, she said it would take two working days for exchange. Today it’s almost a week following up for days, I spoke again to one of the service managers named Scott, he said we can’t exchange since it’s just an issue with seal and not the device so it cannot be exchanged. Also, later states it’s some devices which are opened for QC maybe your might be one. That’s somethign which is not mentioned on the website or it states while ordering and how would someone feel comfortable using  new device which was previously opened. One of worst customer service experiences I had since they were not even calling what’s the update on the device from their end. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

[Peter_W · Accepted solution]

Good afternoon @Nataliutkarsh.

Welcome to the EE Community!

Sometimes a small number of phones will be opened for quality control, but these should be resealed once this is completed. 

Also were both the top and bottom broken, or only one of them?

The paper seals on iPhones can occasionally be damaged in transit, but I definitely want to make sure we've looked at every option we can here.
Peter

[Usamir]

Hi Peter,

Not sure if you can help, but I have received a Pixel 8a with a broken seal.

What can I do, it is a gift for someone, so can't give it like this,

Thanks

[Peter_W]

Good evening @Usamir.

If this is a gift I can totally understand why you'll want this to remain intact. 

If you reach out to our customer care team, they'll be able to take a closer look into what options we have to help here 😊

Peter

[EliteWasp]

Had exactly the same issue, ordered AirPODS as a present, the packaging was dirty and damaged, both manufacture seals had been broken and there were QC stickers thrown on it. Why a new manufactured product would need to be QC I have no idea, sounds like a way to resell returned or used items.

Raised with Customer Service and they want me to pay to return the second hand item, absolutely disgusted with the 0 customer service here.

Why any company would think this is acceptable is beyond me, if I had known I would never have ordered in the first place.

Will not be purchasing from EE again!!!!!!

[Christopher_G]

Hi @EliteWasp 

Welcome to the community.

I'm sorry to hear that the seals were broken on your AirPods. As @Peter_W said earlier in this thread, the seals are sometimes broken for quality control. If you feel that this isn't the case, you've done the right thing in speaking with our Customer Service team to arrange a return.

If you're not happy with the solution that they offered, you can ask them to open a complaint on your account.

Please keep us updated with what happens.

Chris