Phobio

Device stolen by Phobio, no responses from any support team at the company.
I sent a Mac Pro tower to Phobio as part of Apple's Trade-in program. After my device was received by Phobio it eventually was inspected. The device has been stuck on "Inspected" for the last week and I've attempted 5 times to reach out to Phobio via Email, Twitter, and phone with no response on any medium. It appears to me that Phobio has no intention to communicate with me on this and has instead opted to steal my device and not provide the payment which was quoted.

Reduced trade in value by 80% and then sent me a broken computer when I asked for it to be returned.

Apple Gift Cards from Macbook Air trade-in have not been received and the 3-5 business day period has passed. Nightmare process overall.
7/14/2020 They received my 2013 Macbook Air 13" with a quote of $180. When it arrived they had it checked in as a 2013 Macbook Air 11" and quoted me $120. I wrote an email about how that is the incorrect item but never got a response. Then I called about it and they told me they would have a supervisor review the account and credit the remaining balance once they verify that I did indeed send in a Macbook Air 13".

7/24/2020 I received an email saying that the $120 credit is processed and I didn't receive any notification about the missing $60 so I called back. Spoke with a supervisor who set up the additional $60 credit. The emails that include the $120 $60 credits both say I should receive my gift cards in 3-5 business days.

8/3/2020 I call back because 3-5 business days go past and I haven't received anything. They tell me that Apple switched the Gift Cards so theres a system update that is delaying the process. The customer service rep told me to call back on Tuesday if I don't receive anything by then

8/4/2020 Still haven't received anything so I call back. They tell me now that they don't know when the issue will be resolved. I ask to speak to a supervisor and was hung up on. Still unresolved and they have my laptop.

I feel like I am getting the run around on my iPhone trade-ins. There is a lack of communication by Phobio. They move at a very slow pace.
I have submitted 5 iPhones to Phobio for trade-in and was given the following estimates. iPhone 6 = $20, iPhone 6 = $25, iPhone 6s Plus = $75, iPhone 7 = $65, iPhone X = $225). I received the $20 payment on one iPhone 6 on 7/27/20. On 7/26/20, I received an email stating that I would lose my estimated trade-in value on the other iPhone 6, iPhone 7 & iPhone X if I did not ship them by 7/27. Since I had already shipped the phone, I tracked them on the FedEx site to see that they had been received @ 10:13 on 7/20/20 (signed for by a J. Parra). I called Phobio the following day to see what was going on. I was assured that the issue had been resolved and not to worry. On that call, I checked on the iPhone 7, which had been inspected and payment was pending. By 7/31/20, I had not received any communication regarding the 4 phones, so I called again. On this call, I learned no action had been taken on the iPhone 6, iPhone 7 and iPhone X. The rep I spoke to said he "expedited" therm to a manager. I was also told I would receive the payment for the iPhone 6s Plus on Monday, 8/3, which I did not. I called a third time on 8/4/2020. This time I was told I would receive the $75 for the iPhone 6s Plus by the end of the week. Regarding the iPhone 6, iPhone 7 & iPhone X, I was placed on hold for a long time and was ultimately told that everything was taken care of and that I would receive those gift cards by the end of the week as well. I was told if I checked the status page I would see that the payment was pending. Instead, the status says "conceded", which I doesn't seem positive to me, and is different from the "inspected" notation on the 1st iPhone 6 (which I received payment for) and the iPhone 6s Plus (on which payment is pending). I was also asked for the serial number on the iPhone X, which I did not have since I had turned the phone over to Phobio. Nowhere in any of the process or information about the Apple Trade-in process was I instructed to retain serial numbers for devices I was trading-in. I realize that it is Tuesday, and I was told I would receive my gift cards by the end of the week. However, given the trend of this experience, I am especially doubtful that I will receive those promised gift cards, that I will be making a fourth phone call to Phobio. I am also prompted to file this complaint before the end of the week due to the voluminous number of complaints I discovered online about Phobio describing this very scenario.

I submitted an iPhone for an Apple gift card. It was accepted. They stated payment would be made in five business days.
It is now over 15 business days. Despite a phone call promising the payment would be made in one day, no payment has been made.

My original quote of $240 dropped to $90 over a keyboard issue that my laptop definitely did not have when I sent them my device.
I sent in two devices early last month. One of them was a 2015 Macbook Air in great condition and quoted for $240. They dropped the price to $90 because of an apparent keyboard issue. I sent my laptop in perfect working condition and there were no keyboard issues of any kind. They also did not send pictures or proof like other cases I have read on this page. I emailed their support 6 days ago about this issue to try and clear it up with them and I still have not received a response. I am on hold for ages when I try to call them too. I feel like there is no way to get a hold of them? I have not accepted their lower offer yet, but they do make sure to email me and remind me to make a choice of accepting or not. On the website it says I have until 8/11, but I was emailed today saying I have 1 day left before they send it back. My order number is XXXXXXXXXXX.

I sent in two devices of mine on July 7th, as I have had a positive experience with this company in 2015. I do not mind the amount of time it takes to inspect and offer a quote on my device, however, their policy around processing the payment is inaccurate and misleading. It is supposed to take 3-5 days upon your payment processing notification. It has been 12 days since I was notified that I will receive payment. I have spoken to a customer service advocate almost every 2 days, and no one seems to have an accurate answer. I was promised last Friday by 6pm. Then it was bumped up to this Monday by 6pm. It is now Wednesday, and the updated reply both verbally and written is thanking me for my patience and they will update me when they have an answer. They are essentially withholding my personal property/value of exchanged devices, with no advisory as to when I will receive payment. I would love to come back and delete this complaint or update it upon receiving urgent and helpful direction, however, this needs to be shared for future device transactions.

I called more than 5 times to know the status of my return on MacBook pro which had some lock issues that I disabled it but Matt A was finally able to resolve it and issue my gift card. Even though it took 3 weeks I am glad that its taken care of.

Amazing customer service! Made a potentially bad situation very easy and worry free! Thanks so much Josefina!

Revised quote for trade-in was ridiculous
I was quoted $850 for my 2017 MacBook Pro 13". After I sent it in, the revised quote dropped to $290 claiming it was due to "display not functioning." This was ridiculous considering there was no issue whatsoever with the display when I sent it in and I had previously spent $500 at Apple in 2018 repairing the display and at the time, they had put in a completely new display. When I called the Phobio department at Apple, they tried to say there was problems with the "pixels" that weren't immediately visible to the human eye. First of all, the explanation the lady was trying to give me on the phone was very questionable since it sounded like she did not even know what she was talking about. Second, I know there is nothing wrong with the display and that whole explanation the lady on the phone was trying to feed to me was complete blasphemy. It's a total scam considering they took dropped to less than half the original quote. It seems like many others are experiencing the same exact issues with this company, leading me to believe that something is very corrupted with Phobio's practices. They are really trying to claim that a 3 year old MacBook with literally no physical damage to it, always used with a case and taken care of with caution, and with a replaced display is worth $290? Absolutely ridiculous.

I had a small issue with an exchange that was being handed by Phobio, as it was taking much longer than I'd anticipated. When I spoke with a young man, Jeremy, this morning about my concern, he quickly researched the tracking number I provided and provided a very credible answer, along with an apology that really wasn't necessary, as the delay was absolutely unavoidable. Phobio is providing a very creative and convenient service, and their customer service, in my experience, is A+.

Upon the company receiving my laptop, my original quote was lowered from $230 to $60 and I was pretty frustrated. I spoke with Josephina on the phone and she was so wonderful to work with. When she realized the mistake, she brought my quote back up to its original value. She was such a kind representative and made the experience very pleasant.

Josephina was amazingly professional and quick to resolve my issue not to mention a pleasure to speak with.

They are dishonest on their processing time to receive payment and their response when you complain provides a dishonest date when it will be corrected.

Requested a quote about phone trade-in on Apple.com. Phobio sent a box to collect my phones without any invoice or notice that these were for Apple.
I requested a quote on Apple.com to see how much trade-in I could get for 2 IPhones. Upon seeing that I would only get an Apple gift card for the value of the phones, I decided to see what deals Verizon had. I was able to complete a purchase and sign a new contract with Verizon under the stipulation that they have our old phones returned or I would incur additional fees. When I received boxes at my house to send in my phones, there was no indication that this was for my Apple.com quote. I sent in the phones since I had only requested a quote and did not agree to provide my phones to Apple. Upon the phones arrival to Phobio, I received an email stating that they were received and it said this was for my Apple trade-in. Upon seeing this, I immediately called Phobio customer service on 7/24. The agent advised me that they could attempt to send the phones back but they would need to contact another third party service. She had forwarded the issue on to a "manager" and I waited until 7/28/2020 to hear back from this manager. She had stated that had I called immediately upon them receiving the phones they may have been able to assist. I advised her that I had called on 7/24 and did notify them immediately. I also advised them that per my contract with Verizon, the phones belonged to Verizon and due to the state of the boxes I received, there was no information stating these belonged to Apple. Therefore, the phones were sent to them in error. By the time they returned my call, I was already out of the grace period to cancel my new plan with Verizon so that I could avoid any addition fees on my account since Phobio is not returning my phones. I let Phobio know the situation and they stated that there was not much they could do since I had not called right away. However, I did so immediately upon receiving their confirmation email where they got the phones. I requested either the phones be returned or I get additional contact information for whatever third party company received them so that I may be able to get the phones back.

I was having problems applying an Apple gift card to my purchase of an Apple iPad. Josh was able to get my gift card reactivated in a timely manner and I was able to get the iPad ordered the same day. It was a pleasure working with him and I appreciate everything he did to take care of my problem.

I sent in my Apple iPad Pro to Phobio for trade in, and they have adjusted to offer due to "LCD damage", but none was present when sent in.
Problem date - 7/29/2020
Date the order was made: 7-16-2020
Trade #: XXXXXXXXXXX
Confirmation #: XXXXXXXXXXX

I sent in my Apple iPad Pro through Apple's sponsored trade-in program - Phobio. I got a quote from Apple after answering all of there questions of $250. Phobio received my device a couple days ago and sent me their updated quote this morning a whopping $0. I immediately checked my order and contacted Phobio's support to ask why the offer was changed so drastically. The woman on customer support said that she didn't see any pixel damage, but she would check for me. She came back a few minutes later and said that the picture provided by Phobio shows a giant white spot which is pixel damage. I pointed out that there are many lights above where the picture is being taken, and that it looks to me like a glare from the light. She said that she wasn't sure whether that was it or not. The picture provided to me shows no proof that the iPad is my device for all I know, it could be some random device they have that is broken. Therefore, I asked the customer support lady if I could get 2 new pictures - one that shows they have my device and one that shows the supposed pixel damage without glare issues. She told me that would be impossible since Phobio will only provide one picture of the device.

I think that it is ridiculous that I am being offered $0 for this device. I sent it in to Phobio working perfectly with no issues with the screen. After reading many comments on the Revdex.com website, I have noticed a pattern of people who are being told the same thing as me despite having near perfect devices that were sent in.

Like many others, I had a problem in which I sent in my laptop with one valuation and then was told the valuation was much lower due to a "bent housing." However, I called and was treated with such respect by both Najla, the original customer service representative, and Shanieka, the supervisor. They answered my questions, listen to my concerns, expedited the complaint, while I was still on the phone with them, sent me photographs of what they have received. Because the box has never been photographed when they received it, and based on the photograph of the damage, the supervisor Shanieka deemed it was more minor than the initial valuation and told me I was being granted a full refund. While I wish this issue had never occurred, I was blown away by the professionalism and courtesy I was shown by these two incredible customer service representatives.

This is a very dishonest company that practices fraud and theft. I sent in an older iPhone and all I wanted was an Apple store credit in exchange. I completed the online form and sent in the phone with the packaging Phobio sent to me. The phone was working perfectly fine and the only reason I sent it in for a credit was because with two new iPhones on the market the iPhone 11 and the SE, I figured that I'd go ahead and upgrade. When Phobio responded back to my return it stated all kinds of malfunctions that did not exist when I sent in the phone. They recanted their offer and reduced it to $0.00 and returned "a iPhone" I say "a iPhone" as I'm not even sure its the one I sent in and it definitely is not working like the one I sent in. On top of that, the phone came back tarnished and dirty - down right filthy! I'm the type of person that keeps all my original receipts, paperwork, and packaging. I had that phone so cleaned and ready to be given to a friend as if it was brand new, but I chose the credit and sent it in to Phobio only to get back a broken dirty useless phone. I responded back to Phobio with my discontent and the company never bothered to acknowledge my concerns. Since it was an older phone I was not entirely setback but the fact that they did not even bother to discuss it with me and they sent the iPhone back to me filthy was entirely disrespectful. Sell your old Apple devices on a used market or give away do not use this company.

Company claims the product to be exchanged is damaged without supporting evidence and is offering a substantially lower amount than advertised.
Mid-2017 iMac purchased brand new in August of 2017, with only one owner, in perfect working condition (only ever used, carefully, in a controlled, indoor home environment) sent to Phobio under the Apple recycle program in exchange for an $1,170 Apple gift card under a trade-in initiated 11 July 2020. After 4 days of the computer apparently sitting in the warehouse (from 20 - 24 July), they finally got back to me with the following status report: "Your trade quote has been revised due to LCD damage. This includes dead pixels, bruising/burn in, no response on digitizer or any other damage that could be related to the LCD." They are now offering $280 for the presumably damaged device. The LCD was working perfectly right up until the moment I shipped it to Phobio.

This sounds like boilerplate language to me, so I called customer service and asked specifically what was wrong with the LCD. The customer representative claimed that the LCD would not stay on during testing. I replied, "If the LCD wasn't working, how could I have erased the Mac as per the instructions provided by Phobio?" The agent simply repeated that the LCD was broken without explaining how that would be possible.

So apparently in addition to lying about the screen and trying to get extra money for a broken computer, I am also a skilled computer technician who can launch the iMac into recovery mode with a broken internal LCD display to perform an erase of the system and a reset of the mac OS.

I have been utilizing the recycle program since 2017 to return older devices, all in perfect working condition, and never had a problem until now. When I suggested perhaps the device must have been damaged during shipment or in the warehouse, the customer representative replied simply that there is no evidence of that (broken LCD notwithstanding, I suppose).

The explanation provided by Phobio for the drastically reduced quote, in addition to completely lacking in any sort of detail, lacks credibility. The device may in fact be damaged as they claim, but I have no way of knowing whether or where the damage may have occurred, nor whether we are even talking about the same iMac.