iPhone replacements fail to materialise
Staff in O2 are facing down unhappy customers attempting to claim replacements of the iPhone 3G 8GB model under O2’s £15 per month Insure scheme. All reseller channels claim the iPhone 3G 8GB is now completely out of stock, which means O2 cannot deliver on its Insure promise of a 24-hour iPhone replacement. The run-down of stock is a part of Apple’s rebalancing of its iPhone handset portfolio across different price points with launch of the iPhone 4 this week. Some customers have faced “weeks” of waiting, claimed staff.
"I am receiving complaints on a daily basis from angry customers who are waiting for a replacement. There is simply no stock available,” said one staffer. But an O2 spokesperson said: “O2 Insure offers customers a range of policies and, while we promise to assess returned claim forms within 24 hours, sending out a phone can take longer.
“In this specific case, O2 Insure has been waiting for a supply of replacement iPhones to be delivered which has now arrived. As a result O2 Insure will be contacting all customers affected by this delay within the next couple of days to confirm what happens next.”
It is understood Apple is discontinuing the iPhone 3G 8GB, and also the 3G S 16GB and 3G S 32GB models when stocks run down. It will instead launch a 3G S 8GB model.
Apple was unavailable for comment.
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