Need Help, My brother brought me an iMac and now he's suspended

[Celedral]

I asked my brother to buy me an 09' iMac i7 since he can get it $1540 at Micocenter. After we brought it home I turned it on, registered it, then start setting everything up. I checked the About this mac, and it shows CORE 2 DUO 3.06ghz. I told my brother to exchange it since we got the wrong one. The serial on the imac did not match the serial on the box.

Obviously the store was suspicious about this and they said they investigate it, but in the mean time they exhanged it for him with the i7 imac 09'

I got a call today from my brother that the Core 2 Duo imac 27" was registered in July under my name, but I only registered it last week, and I had to do so to get to the desktop. They are now suspending him because the evidence is against him. We don't have proof that it was a 27"core 2 duo imac that came in that 27" box.

My question is that if I registered the imac under my name would it override the recent owner of the imac?

And is there anyway to prove that we didn't scam the store.

I also made a post about getting the wrong imac here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1051460/

EDIT:
Simplify my post:
1. Brought 27" core i7 imac
2. Got 27" Core 2 Duo iMac inside a Core i7 box. The serial on the box shows it's an i7 but the imac itself is a core 2 duo
3. Asked Brother to exchange it for the right one.
4. They exchanged it for him, and now after investigating they claimed that "I" registered the core 2 duo imac in JULY.
5. I only got that 27"imac Last week, there's no way i could of registered it in July
6. They are now suspending my Brother cause there are no evidence against him

ANY HELP is APPRECIATED!!

 

[biggd]

You can say you share the computer. That he bought it for the house, and that should be sufficient. Most company discounts apply to gifts bought for "family"

But there is no way to prove you don't share it, and as such, the purchase would be for him.

 

[GoCubsGo]

So the iMac you have was originally registered under your name in July? Sounds like your brother had the old iMac under your name, bought new and gave you the old and then sent you back to his own work to return a supposedly wrong item.

 

[Celedral]

We specifically brought a iMac i7 Quadcore. It said it on the outter brown box, and even the White box.

Everything was sealed, but when i turned it on it showed 3.06 Core 2 duo with that 4650 graphics, Not the 4850

My brother lives with me so there's no way he would scam his own family

 

[Celedral]

So the iMac you have was originally registered under your name in July? Sounds like your brother had the old iMac under your name, bought new and gave you the old and then sent you back to his own work to return a supposedly wrong item.

I did not buy a 27" imac in July. I'm guessing once you register the mac, it overwrites the original owner of the imac

 

[eawmp1]

This sounds fishy. Someone you know (hint: you or your brother) registered the iMac in July under your name (because if someone didn't know you they wouldn't know your name). Someone you know (hint: you or your brother) tried to return the computer in the wrong box.

Forgive me, but I am a cynic. You could contact Apple to confirm the date of the registration of all computers under you or your brother's names. If this confirms your fishy-sounding story, I apologize for insinuating any wrongdoing. If Apple confirms the July registration...then busted.

 

[Celedral]

This sounds fishy. Someone you know (hint: you or your brother) registered the iMac in July under your name (because if someone didn't know you they wouldn't know your name). Someone you know (hint: you or your brother) tried to return the computer in the wrong box.

Forgive me, but I am a cynic. You could contact Apple to confirm the date of the registration of all computers under you or your brother's names. If this confirms your fishy-sounding story, I apologize for insinuating any wrongdoing. If Apple confirms the July registration...then busted.

I never said I or he registered the imac in July, nor was there even an iMac to register with. We got the imac Last week and they "claimed" we registered it in july, which I think is just a bunch of Crap.

My main question was, If I registered the imac last week, would it overwrite the original registration in july?

 

[eawmp1]

I never said I or he registered the imac in July, nor was there even an iMac to register with. We got the imac Last week and they "claimed" we registered it in july, which I think is just a bunch of Crap.

My main question was, If I registered the imac last week, would it overwrite the original registration in july?

Who cares about an overwrite? The only proof you are going to get to satisfy
Microcenter is from Apple. Contact Apple.

 

[Celedral]

Who cares about an overwrite? The only proof you are going to get to satisfy
Microcenter is from Apple. Contact Apple.

Apple is closed today.

 

[Celedral]

is there a way to check what computers are registered under your name with apple?

 

[snberk103]

Call Apple. I don't know how the registration records work, but if there is a history of the original owner then being rewritten with your name, they should be able to see it. They won't tell you the other person's name however, in all likelihood because of privacy issues. But at least you will know.

 

[John T]

is there a way to check what computers are registered under your name with apple?

Check on the Support page of the Apple site.

 

[rtrt]

is there a way to check what computers are registered under your name with apple?

there definitely is something when you have applecare.
iirc i can go to the applecare site and put in my serial number and it shows the status of my warranty.
i'd at least give that a try.
dont have a link to the applecare site but i'm sure google/search on apple will find it for you

 

[Celedral]

We checked the serial before we returned the core 2 duo imac and it shows that it was NOT registered and asked to entered the date, which i did not do.

Update: My brother says that he will get fired, usually when they put you on suspension they fire you afterwards.

I can't believe that because of the store's error, or even the manufacture's error that they are firing him

I will call apple on friday and see if there's a record of any of the two serials

 

[rtrt]

registration is one thing to check.
but if it's going to get as serious as you say, then you probably want to see when the c2d was sold, what outlet and who to. you might also want to try to find out when the i7 was shipped to the store - has it been there for weeks giving time for someone to tamper with it for example.
agree with one of the comments above about apple not necessarily sharing all of those details with you, but they may confirm some elements.
you'll probably have to put your requests in writing as a follow up to whatever calls you make, as i think apples first response will be to refuse to answer your questions.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

If I login to the Apple support site I can get a list of everything that I bought and the day I bought it but it has to have Applecare on it although I thought that it did list things that I bought and registered and did not have Applecare. (An iPod, that I usually refuse to cover with Applecare because of the cost compared to replacement cost)

In order to register it, you have to have an apple ID of some kind. Login and look for the information on the support site. I *think* it lists everything...

I did have one system that I bought where Apple did not have any information on it for some reason so maybe the information isn't as reliable as it should be...

But then it could be the wine...

 

[Celedral]

When I first turned on the iMac c2d I registered it thinking it was the i7. I'm sure that's why they said it was registered under my name. But I don't know why they claimed it was registered in July when I only recieved it last week nov/18. I have a feeling that they were too lazy to investigate and just decided to blame my brother for the easy way out.

 

[Celedral]

registration is one thing to check.
but if it's going to get as serious as you say, then you probably want to see when the c2d was sold, what outlet and who to. you might also want to try to find out when the i7 was shipped to the store - has it been there for weeks giving time for someone to tamper with it for example.
agree with one of the comments above about apple not necessarily sharing all of those details with you, but they may confirm some elements.
you'll probably have to put your requests in writing as a follow up to whatever calls you make, as i think apples first response will be to refuse to answer your questions.

It was purchased from mocrocenter. I just need some sort of proof that we did infact got the wrong iMac. But looks like it won't be as easy

 

[rtrt]

It was purchased from mocrocenter. I just need some sort of proof that we did infact got the wrong iMac. But looks like it won't be as easy

i understand thats your position.

your brothers employer says july - which is where you (he really) have a problem.

I'm suggesting you ask apple to verify from their records where that mac was shipped to ie which outlet and what other records they hold for that serial number - any registration at initial setup, any applecare registration etc

the goal being to find some evidence that contradicts your brothers employers july viewpoint.

for example - it's november now - say apple shipped that c2d to your brothers company in september as part of a large batch that then was split and distributed to multiple stores - you'd have an argument against the july registration.

if they shipped it in may/june and your brothers company has records to show that it went to your brothers store in june - then i guess it looks bad.

You'd then want them to investigate who purchased that mac & when - just following the trail of the c2d really.

you probably need to be really sure that your brother and you are squeeky clean before you do much of this.

pls understand i'm taking your posts at face value and just suggesting ways that i think might help.

 

[djc6]

How did Micro Center check when it was registered? I'd find that out too.

 

[Celedral]

Thanks for the help guys. I will call apple as soon as I can once thanksgiving is over. But it seems that they are already in the process of fireing him. I hope they have a change of heart.

 

[elleana]

If they really do fire him, I would speak with an emloyment lawyer as well about unfair/unreasonable dismissal on baseless grounds.

 

[rtrt]

Thanks for the help guys. I will call apple as soon as I can once thanksgiving is over. But it seems that they are already in the process of fireing him. I hope they have a change of heart.

all the best to you both

 

[Celedral]

Called apple earlier today, Spoke with the Customer relations and they said there was nothing they could of done. They also mention there was no way to really track down when the imac was shipped. I spoke with Dan, he told to stay on hold, but call got dropped and he never called back. Left him a voicemail, but not expecting any call backs

 

[jons]

Called apple earlier today, Spoke with the Customer relations and they said there was nothing they could of done. They also mention there was no way to really track down when the imac was shipped. I spoke with Dan, he told to stay on hold, but call got dropped and he never called back. Left him a voicemail, but not expecting any call backs

The registration does not get overwritten when you register it. If someone registered it in July, then Apple considers that person the original owner, and there's a whole slew of steps you have to go through to transfer the registration information.

Because it was purchased from a third party, most likely the registration is showing up like that because that's when apple sold it to Micro Center.

What does Apple.com show for warranty information? It will tell you the AppleCare expiration date, which will tell you when Apple thinks it was originally purchased. If you have an Apple ID, you can log in to see your registered computer as well.

I bought a Mac Pro last year and had something similar happen. Wrong configuration, about $1k difference. Apple returned it and swapped it for the right one no questions asked.

I buy a couple hundred Macs a year for my business, so I've been through just about everything warranty related with Apple.