This woman suspects foul play after the Apple iPhone she ordered through T-Mobile turned out to be missing. It would be delivered via UPS. Viewers think she could have prevented it.
Featured video
Androids dominate the global market due to their relative affordability. However, the majority of people in the US use iPhones. According to trend site Exploding Topics, about 58% of people use iPhones.
It’s safe to say that you may know how difficult it is to decide how to physically purchase your new phone when it’s time for an upgrade. Do you go to your local Apple store or phone company? Or do you just have it delivered to your home?
Those who choose the latter would think their device, which can easily cost more than a rack, would be in safe hands. A signature is usually required for these types of deliveries. However, that is not always the case.
iPhone UPS delivery went wrong
“This is why you can’t have nice things,” Monnie (@xoxomonnie) says at the beginning of her video. “I was scammed by UPS or T-Mobile.”
Her trending TikTok has over 48,000 views. In it, Monnie explains that her brother bought their mother an iPhone. She had it delivered to Monnie’s house (since their mother was out of town). And she notes that a signature was required for delivery.
Monnie told the Daily Dot that her brother reserved the new iPhone for their mother. They wanted to celebrate their mother’s one year in remission since she had lung and colon cancer for the past two years.
In her TikTok, Monnie says that 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 before delivery,” says Monnie.
Monnie says everything was already wrong when the UPS estimate said the package would arrive at 2 p.m., but it didn’t get there until 7:42 p.m. Monnie notes that this was suspicious because they paid to expedite it.
What should have been a nice gift turned into a costly headache
When the UPS driver showed up at their door, Monnie’s husband, who had just helped her put the baby to sleep, quickly signed for the package and placed it on the table, Monnie says.
“He didn’t notice that the box was light,” says Monnie.
A day or two later, Monnie says she saw her baby playing with the box, and alarm bells rang in her head.
“How can you take this box so easily? It shouldn’t be that easy,” Monnie remembers.
As soon as she grabbed the box herself, she says she knew. She notes that there was no phone inside. Monnie says that when she took the phone case out of the box, it only contained the thick white Apple box and the charging cord.
“I want this video to go viral because I need to get UPS and T-Mobile involved,” Monnie says. “I’ve seen this happen to other people before. I just didn’t think it would happen to me.”
Monnie hasn’t posted an update yet. But in an email to the Daily Dot, she said her brother had filed a claim. But she noted that T-Mobile told them it could take weeks or months to resolve the problem.
“I’m not sure when we will get the replacement or if we ever will,” Monnie said in an email.
“People asked 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 have told me it was light but it didn’t occur to him that we were actually 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 are in the same unfortunate situation as Monnie, here’s what you can do:
- Submit a claim to the postman and T-Mobile: Contact the carrier and T-Mobile directly for additional information and to file a claim.
- Contact Apple: On its site, Apple states that if there is a problem with your delivery, such as if it is lost or arrives damaged, they will contact the carrier directly. “We will make every effort to contact you and keep you informed of the progress of our investigation and, if necessary, provide a replacement,” the site said. It’s unclear if this applies to missing items, but it’s worth a try.
- Submit a claim to 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 twelve months. But each is subject to a deductible and taxes.
How to prevent theft
Several commenters pointed out that in the future, people should not trust any postal worker to deliver such an expensive item.
Instead, they recommend picking up the item from your local retailer, even if this is more inconvenient. At least this way you don’t have to worry anymore as you are picking up the item directly from the source.
“I’ve seen this happen so many times that I think it’s better to order it in the store and pick it up there. It’s sad that people have to steal from others,” one person said.
Monnie replied to the commenter, saying she had no idea this was even possible, but that she would do it in the future.
“Apple should lock all phones in shipping and the only way to get the code is through the email address used to place the order,” one top comment suggested.
“Always around the holidays, FedEx and UPS steal packages,” one person said.
‘The box should have the serial number of the phone on it. Have that blocked so no one can use the phone,” another informed.
The Daily Dot contacted UPS, T-Mobile and Apple via email.
Internet culture is chaotic, but we’ll explain it for you in one daily email. Sign up for Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight to your inbox.
