I figured this would be the best place for this question so I'm hoping someone can chime in with advice. I recently decided to upgrade from a 2015 11' MacBook to a new MacBook Pro 13'. In the past I've traded in or sold devices through Gazelle, Swappa, eBay, Craigslist, and even somewhat recently made a sale through the Marketplace forum here. Even though those transactions went smoothly, this time around I was just looking for quick and convenient trade-in, knowing that I wouldn't get as much of a return had I sold it directly. I originally looked at Gazelle, but then saw that Phobio, through their Apple Renew program would offer a better deal. Based on that alone I chose that option, figuring they were a reliable service based on their partnership with Apple.

So I received the shipping materials from them, restored my MacBook to factory conditions, then dropped off at my local FedEx location. I received an email from them a few days later notifying me they received it and they would commence inspections. What I wasn't prepared for was them notifying me a few days later that the offer had been amended because the device was received as damaged. The damage described to me wasn't physical in nature, but that when booting up the machine, you see the 'folder with a question mark in it' error screen. They claim to have tried to get the operating system to load but with no success. From what I know, this error screen indicates either a corrupt OS installation, a damaged hard drive, or damaged/disconnected cables to the hard drive (someone feel free to correct this info if you understand this better). I can rule the first problem out since I did the re-install and checked it myself before shipping.

The last screen I saw before powering down and boxing up was the welcome screen asking you to 'choose your language.' That leads me to believe this is a hardware issue with the drive itself, and the Phobio reps have told me it's a hardware issue. I've asked them repeatedly if there's any possible way that damage could have occurred through shipping since I sent them a working computer and they received a non-working one. The only response I keep getting is that the inspections team has no reason to believe that there was damage caused during shipping.

Sep 19, 2017 - We are also considering not buying an apple product due to this. I did take pics of the laptop before I sent it out including the serial number. Serial Number. [Post New] by _kry5t4l1978 on Oct 21, 13 8:07 PM. Where can I find the serial number to this and other tkplay games?

But they will not divulge any additional information on how they came to that conclusion. My only options according to them are to take their amended offer ($235 down from $440) or have them ship it back to me. I certainly don't want to take their new offer, but I also don't want to get back a damaged computer that I now will be responsible for getting repaired. They're essentially telling me I'm SOL. If they could simply provide a plausible explanation as to how this could have happened, I'd be more than satisfied. However the impression that I get from dealing with their customer service is that I'm lying about having sent them a working computer in the first place.

The fact that they won't offer any more detail than their standard boilerplate answers is becoming infuriating. The money is honestly trivial at this point, but I feel like I'm being screwed here. If it was just some run of the mill trade-in service I might just cut my losses, but this is the company that Apple has chosen to partner with for their trade-in program. I know it's purely anecdotal, but I have a stellar track record with using other services and providing accurate information. To simply be brushed off by this company without a fair explanation feels a bit insulting. Has anyone else dealt with this company before? Am I out of line?

Does anyone have any suggestions? Well I realize no one has replied to this, but just wanted to update the situation. I just spent the last 1.5 hours or so trying to get answers on the phone. Of course a lot of that time was spent on hold waiting for a representative. Unfortunately lower level CS rep Derek had to hear my ire first. He gave me the same generic response that I've hear a handful of times now, which is obviously not his fault as he's privy to limited information that could help.

I was able to eventually get him to transfer me to a manager (all of whom were apparently too busy to talk to me upon my first request). After another bit on hold I spoke to manager Aaron who again essentially repeated the exact words that have been sent to me multiple times now, with no additional information regarding the questions I asked. It was nice of Aaron, upon his introduction, to go over the laurels of their company. They deal with tens of thousands of laptops regularly and he had worked Apple support for many years. After speaking with him for a few minutes it seemed like he might finally offer some sort of information of value, but then the phone went silent.