AT&T Runaround for Early iPhone Adopters

While many early iPhone purchasers are pleased with Apple’s offer of a $100 Apple Store credit for those who purchased the initially pricey gizmo early on, and some are thrilled with the 14-day price protection policy that provided a $200 refund to those who bought in the two weeks immediately before this month’s price drop, we hear that some iPhone customers who bought at an AT&T Wireless store have gotten the runaround when attempting to settle up. (See “iPhone $100 Store Credit Process Posted” (2007-09-14) for details on the refunds.)

Seeing that Apple’s Web site referred AT&T purchasers back to the AT&T store where they purchased their iPhone, one such buyer went to the store last week, and was told they would call when they found out more about the company’s plans. When this buyer went back to the store today, having not received the promised return call, he was told they could no longer help him, because it had now been more than 14 days since he’d purchased the iPhone.

The fine print in Apple’s $100 credit offer says that iPhone buyers who purchased from an AT&T Wireless store but aren’t able to get price protection may submit a claim, so even if AT&T’s outlets can’t figure out what they’re doing, their iPhone customers may not be totally lost. In this case, AT&T customer service finally agreed to apply a $100 credit to the buyer’s cellular service account, and told him to pursue the other $100 with Apple.