AIBU to think someone at the store nicked my phone

[Dondie]

My 3 month old iPhone recently went in for repair to my contact provider as the camera stopped working.

At the shop I was asked to take my pin off it and turn off find my iPhone. Fair enough about the pin, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to get in to fix it but the turning my locator off I found odd. They gave me a receipt and said it’d be 2 weeks.

I borrowed a old iPhone in the mean time and a week later I had an email from my bank thanking me for downloading their app. Called bank, email was genuine and sent within 24 hours of download so I’m panicking thinking someone’s trying to get at my account. I’m the store before I handed the phone over I said “I’m just going to delete my banking app” which I now realise was stupid to say out loud. Spoke to contractor provider and they admitted they’d lost my phone the previous week. The parcel it was supposed to be in arrived at the repair centre empty. Not tampered with or anything, just empty.

Then I checked other apps and they’ve been accessed from the missing phone after I dropped it off. Store say they sent it but repair centre are adamant they didn’t get it. The phone is worth £650. Someone at the shop has nicked it haven’t they? Do I involve the police? I’m completely creeped out that someone could be looking through my pictures, there’s loads of my little boy on there, and messages with sensitive info in, and I’m furious how useless contract provider is being.

AIBU to think someone at the store has nicked it?

I’m glad your phone has turned up though.

Thank you ghoul, I am delighted and really surprised it’s been found. I honestly thought I’d never see it again. The store manager isn’t back in until Monday so I’ll speak to him then.

The repair centre said the phone would be sent back to the store when fixed so I’m currently in a battle to sort that out. There’s no way I want it going there again. Can you imagine if it’s “lost” again!

glad its been found, speak to the manager for sure sounds like someone on hearing the police would be contacted sent it off

Sounds like it may have been the person you spoke to on the phone to say you were calling the police that had it. Then you spooked them into sending it off. Did you get their name? Although I suppose that won’t do any good as you have no proof now it has shown up.

Communicate in writing with the store, not just calls.

Report all of this to their ceo and head office. I wouldn't bother dealing with the manager or store staff. Keep a chronology of conversations and calls etc and once you get your phone back escalate it as high as you can within the company.

BTW it sounds as dodgy as fuck to me

They have to remove find my iPhone before it's sent for repair. That's standard with iPhone repairs. The reason that they have to do this is because sometimes the repair centre may exchange your phone rather than repairing it. If your old phone is still registered on find my iPhone and you are still able to track it and they give your old phone refurbished to someone else (dispite being wiped of all data, you are still able to track it) It leaves all sorts of legal data protection issues and the company will have broken the law and be liable for a huge fine. That's why they insist on you removing find my iPhone.

The App accessing however does seem strange, that's definitely not normal and sounds a bit dodgy.

I hope that it all gets sorted for you.