`Sold an iPhone 7 with a tempered battery (ref number R301253)

I purchased the iPhone 7 32GB rose gold phone from the fourways mall istore in June, brand new. I immediately bought screen and phone protective covers same day. I love my phone and I have managed my life around it including work related matters.

Phone just suddenly died without warning Sunday evening, 17th of September 2017. I tried charging it same day with no avail.

I took it in 1st thing Monday morning, 18th of September 2017 to fourways mall istore where they told me, they won’t be able to assist me without an appointment.

I had to return 3hours later after I had made an appointment online.

Upon my arrival to my appointment at 13:30, a gentleman looked at my phone and said he thinks he would have to book it in because after he had run diagnostics it seems that my phone battery doesn’t work anymore.

Now this is a phone I have only had for 3months, an “IPHONE” with a battery that's dead???? This I don’t understand.

Then the same day I was told to come back an hour later for confirmation if indeed my phone needed booking in. I came back same day an hour later only to be told that I can not handed it in without knowledge of my apple ID, which I understood.

The following day when I had communicated via email that I would be coming in to hand in my phone after instructions to remove it from find my phone devices, which I followed, when I got to the store and wasn’t allowed to deliver the phone because of stock taking which was not communicated to me.

Eventually the phone was take in but we were told that a “third party” had tempered with the phone as a result the warranty on the phone was no longer valid and apple could no longer assist us.

Their message to be exact was ""The VHB (very high bond) seal around the display which helps with water resistance is missing. The VHB which holds the battery in place is also missing. The battery is being held down by foreign double sided sticky tape not to Apple standard. Any tampering found with the battery on iPhone voids warranty coverage."

Definite signs of an unauthorised assessment done on your unit. As we are an Apple Authorised Repair Centre and Apple are the manufacturers, we are unable to assist you further. Your device has been returned to the iStore Fourways who will contact you to collect.

Should you wish to escalate to Apple direct, you are welcome to call them on their International Customer Care Line: 0 ********** -26 (toll free from a landline)”

Astonished at what `I was told I called the international line, where the gentleman was friendly and told us he would try and help us out. However we still did not get a fair result as he took the side of the store, no-one at any point considered that I may be speaking the truth (i.e. that I have tempered with the phone , neither do `I know how to, and neither have I taken elsewhere to be fixed because I warranty. If I did it would make me a very unreasonable person. My assertions were never tested they simply viewed the pictures from Apple and determined that I tempered with the phone, which is supposed to be sealed).

I took the matter up to NCC however received the same response as they also simply listened to assertions made by `Apple no-one took time to test my assertions.

I am now left with no choice but to consider buying another phone which is gonna set me +R12k .

Thanks Apple for bad service I really expected so much more.