Phobio Reviews (%countItem)
Phobio Rating
Address: 3100 Cumberland Blvd SE Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30339-5940
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Phobio is a company recommended by apple if you'd like to trade in an apple device. I tried to trade in my macbook pro for $275 dollars. When I agreed to the trade, I had opted not to send in the charger. When I live-chatted the company to confirm this, I was instructed to return the charger. I asked for proof that I agreed to do so because this information can't be found anywhere on their website and was passed along to a supervisor (***)who emailed me the next day with a screenshot that clearly showed I had not agreed to send in the charger. Effectively, the person I had live chatted with was trying to get my charger for free! I responded to the supervisor with this information and never heard back. Great customer service.
I wiped my computer with the assistance of apple employees and reloaded the operating system. With the apple employee's help I got all the way to a screen where the new owner would need to enter their own apple ID. Then I sent the computer to Phobio as instructed. Two weeks goes by and I haven't heard anything so I check the status only to find out that 1) they had changed the computer condition to damaged 2) the hadn't notified me and 3) they didn't give me a date to accept or deny the trade-in. Again, I live chatted was told basically that's how it goes and they'd have a supervisor give me more information via email. This supervisor (***) gave me all the same information the cs rep did, which was all useless. I explained that I had inquired with apple and was told that unless the computer was physically damaged after I sent it in or the operating system was manually uninstalled, the computer should have been perfect. I also requested an extension on the decision to accept or deny the trade-in since I wasn't even notified of the need to make the decision much less given any time to investigate further and I again, was never responded to.
This place steals people's money, defrauds their customers and is a disgrace to apple products and customer service.
Order_Number:
Billing Adjustment I was told I would receive $275. I only received $110 because of the mistakes phobio made. I want my remaining $165 and a personal apology for the disastrous service.
Phobio strives to make our process as clear and transparent for customers as possible. Our goal is to give customers an easy, quick way to get the most money out of their old computers. Before a customer sends a device in to us, we clearly communicate how their device should be inspected to give them the most accurate price quote for a device, why adjustments between how they've graded the condition of a device may be different than the condition our independent 3rd party inspection partner may grade their device, and what that means to the payment we can offer as a result. When adjustments do happen, we clearly explain why, and still try our best to make sure the customer understands that it's in no interest to us, or to our 3rd party inspection partner, to downgrade a customer's device and pay them less for it. We also offer send back their device should they reject the new adjusted amount free of charge. Our support team is also available 24/7 to help when issues or questions arise, should customers have questions about grading, inspection, or potential adjustments that may result.
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As I originally stated, Phobio did not make their system transparent at all and I had to seek further communication with customer service managers to get straight answers from them. I didn't receive notification that the trade status was changed, I wasn't told a date the trade had to be approved by, I wasn't provided any real answer regarding what happened to my computer. None of this is transparent. In regards to clearly explaining adjustments, this is what I was told "Considering the OS failed to load properly during diagnostics, our team could not independently verify the device was in full working condition." As stated previously, Apple verified that based on how the erase and restore was performed, the OS would have had to be manually erased after I mailed the computer in for this to happen. Finally, their support team is a joke who lies and provides inaccurate information. The support team literally tried to steal a charger from me and that isn't rectified by the fact that they are available to try and steal from customers 24/7.
Dear ***,
After further investigation, our inspection team was unable to get your Operating System to reload properly. We sincerely apologize for not effectively communicating with you in a timely manner about your adjustment and for any inconvenience this process may have caused. You were contacted by our support team on 12/21/17. As discussed, we will pay you the difference of $165. Thank you for choosing Phobio as your trade in provider.
Sincerely,
Phobio
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
To be clear, I was contacted on 12-21- 17, several months after this transaction and complaint took place.
Amanda was very understanding and helpful and acknowledged that at very least I deserved a better customer service standard since ignoring customers isn't customer service.
She did authorize the full payment, which I appreciate.
This company did not operate in good faith. I sent an operable laptop, which was verified as operable at my local Apple store (via the conducting of a data transfer to a newly purchased laptop), and which powered on the very morning I put the laptop and charger in the shipping box. Two weeks later, the company informed me that the laptop was not operable and would not power on. I cannot conceive of how this could be possible when the day I shipped it, it powered on. I have no way of verifying that the company properly inserted a power cord and attempted to power on the device, and can only insist that
the device powered on when I sent it, and powered on shortly before I sent it at the local Apple store. I can only assume that they didn't inspect the device properly, that they damaged the device in transit or on site, and that they are not honoring the trade in value of the device, which was the equivalent of a $100 gift certificate at Apple. Furthermore, I am left wondering how often this happens when they offer a trade in only to withdraw that upon receipt of the equipment. I worry that other customers are meeting with similar unfair and dishonest treatment for their equipment.
Lastly, their trade-in status page gives no info on how much time I have to consider whether to ask for the computer back or not (see screen shot). Again, they are not operating in good faith.
Product_Or_Service: Trade in
Order_Number: ***
Account_Number:
Store Credit I would like this company to honor the amount I was quoted for the trade in. I would further like them to publish their statistics on how they treat trade ins so that consumers can make a truly informed decision at the outset.
Phobio strives to make our process as clear and transparent for customers as possible. Our goal is to give customers an easy, quick way to get the most money out of their old computers. Before a customer sends a device in to us, we clearly communicate how their device should be inspected to give them the most accurate price quote for a device, why adjustments between how they've graded the condition of a device may be different than the condition our independent 3rd party inspection partner may grade their device, and what that means to the payment we can offer as a result. When adjustments do happen, we clearly explain why, and still try our best to make sure the customer understands that it's in no interest to us, or to our 3rd party inspection partner, to downgrade a customer's device and pay them less for it. When an adjustment does occur we always send the customer an email with a picture of the adjustment and how long they have to respond. They can either accept the adjustment amount or we can send the device back to the customer free of charge. Our support team is also available 24/7 to help when issues or questions arise, should customers have questions about grading, inspection, or potential adjustments that may result.
This Apple business partner quoted me $640 for my laptop. It was in working condition when I mailed it to them in their own packaging materials. After the company received it, they claimed it was broken, and offered me a reduced price of $325, or to ship it back to me broken. Neither of these options were acceptable to me, so I contact their support. I was promised that the issue would be escalated, and that I'd hear from someone in 2 to 3 days. Six days later, I'd heard nothing, so I contacted support again. I was told that my laptop had been shipped back to me in non-working order, and that there is nothing they can do about it. I asked to to speak to a manager, and was told to call their support phone number. The company claims it ran a seven pass erasure process on my laptop, after which they were unable to install an operating system. However the computer would have had to be in working order for them to even run the erasure process in the first place. This smells like a scam.
Product_Or_Service: Apple laptop trade in service
Account_Number: Confirmation # XXXXX
Repair If Phobio is unwilling to honor the original quote of $640, I'd like them to restore my computer to working condition. They broke it, so they need to fix it.
Phobio strives to make our process as clear and transparent for customers as possible. Our goal is to give customers an easy, quick way to get the most money out of their old computers. Before a customer sends a device in to us, we clearly communicate how their device should be inspected to give them the most accurate price quote for a device, why adjustments between how they've graded the condition of a device may be different than the condition our independent 3rd party inspection partner may grade their device, and what that means to the payment we can offer as a result. When adjustments do happen, we clearly explain why, and still try our best to make sure the customer understands that it's in no interest to us, or to our 3rd party inspection partner, to downgrade a customer's device and pay them less for it. We also offer send back their device should they reject the new adjusted amount free of charge. Our support team is also available 24/7 to help when issues or questions arise, should customers have questions about grading, inspection, or potential adjustments that may result.
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This is a canned response that does not address any specifics regarding my case. The issue is that my computer was in working order when I sent it to them. They claim they ran a 7-pass erasure process on the hard drive, after which they were unable to install the operating system.
They then claimed that since my unit was damaged on arrival, it did not merit the originally quoted price. However, if my unit was damaged on arrival, how would they have been able to run that erasure process in the first place? The drive had to be operational when they received it, otherwise they would not have been able to initiate the erasure process.
They then proceeded to ship my (now broken) unit back to me, after I explicitly told them NOT to do so, because I wanted to escalate the matter. They washed their hands of it, said there was nothing they could do, and they considered the matter closed. So at the end of the day, I sent them a working unit for trade. They broke it, and shipped it back to me broken. Great job Phobio.
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
While I still find it ridiculous that I had to go through all this and spend four months waiting for a resolution, I'm glad the company has finally decided to do the right thing.
Dear Ron,
Our support staff contacted you on December 18 and offered you the resolution of resubmitting your device. We will ensure you receive the original quote of $640 we offered you in August when your quote was created. At this time, we are waiting for your computer to be inspected. Thank you for speaking to us and allowing us to find a resolution for you.
Sincerely,
Phobio
Phobio agreed to buy my Apple MacBook Pro for a contractually agreed upon amount and after receiving the computer under no disagreement upon condition paid an amount below the agreed on price. After working with more than 5 service representatives over the course of 3 weeks and speaking with their managers, my claim for original price is still under paid. They will not return my product which I am now hopeful to receive back. I am seeking help from authority on the matter.
Product_Or_Service: Apple MacBook Pro
Order_Number: XXXXXXXXXXX
Refund I would like my computer back
Phobio strives to make our process as clear and transparent for customers as possible. Our goal is to give customers a quick, easy way to get the most money out of their old computers. Before a customer sends a device in to us, we clearly communicate how their device should be inspected to give them the most accurate price quote for their device. We are also very transparent with our customers on our late trade policy which indicates that customers have 21 days to send us their device or we will be unable to honor the original quote. We also send our customers many emails letting them know to ship their device as quickly as possible so as not to miss out on their full quoted price. Our support team is also available 24/7 to help with any questions and is able to clearly explain any adjustment reasons, including late trades, to the customer.
Dear ***,
After further investigation, we noticed that we received your device after the 21 day window, resulting in your quote being adjusted by $10. Since your payment has been processed, we are unable to return your device. Someone from our support team contacted you on 12/21/17 in hopes to give you more insights and try to find a resolution. Please feel free to respond via e-mail or contact us directly at *** at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Phobio