Other Returning iPhone with IUP: how long do you have to wait to get a new one?

[DeltaHF]

I'm on the iPhone Upgrade Program and got an XS Max on launch day. I found the phone to be too large for me and decided to return it and get an XS instead.

I returned the XS Max to my local Apple Store, I got an email from Citizens One that confirmed my loan was cancelled and my credit card refund was processed. However, when the Apple Store employees tried to give me the XS, there system would not let them because it said I was not yet eligible for an upgrade (it still thought I had the XS Max). The manager told me to wait 24 hours and try again.

It has now been 7 days, and when I try to purchase the phone on Apple's website via the IUP link, all I see is a message which says "Your iPhone upgrade is pending." There is a link to view the orders in my account, and when I go there, it clearly shows the XS Max was returned.

How long does this process usually take? What should I do now?

 

[mrvirginia]

I'm on the iPhone Upgrade Program and got an XS Max on launch day. I found the phone to be too large for me and decided to return it and get an XS instead.

I returned the XS Max to my local Apple Store, I got an email from Citizens One that confirmed my loan was cancelled and my credit card refund was processed. However, when the Apple Store employees tried to give me the XS, there system would not let them because it said I was not yet eligible for an upgrade (it still thought I had the XS Max). The manager told me to wait 24 hours and try again.

It has now been 7 days, and when I try to purchase the phone on Apple's website via the IUP link, all I see is a message which says "Your iPhone upgrade is pending." There is a link to view the orders in my account, and when I go there, it clearly shows the XS Max was returned.

How long does this process usually take? What should I do now?

I had this problem so I know exactly what's happening. The message you are seeing, "Your iPhone upgrade is pending.", is because the system still thinks you are going to send Apple the device you upgraded from.

Solution(s):
1. Wait for the trade-in to cancel itself out (this will take 14 days from when you received new device)
2. Call Apple and simply say you need them to cancel the trade-in order on your account because you are not trading your device in

 

[ugahairydawgs]

I had a similar issue (although I returned mine back to Apple by mail). After 24 hours my upgrade still wasn’t opened back up. I called the 800 number for Apple CS and talked to someone there. Explained the situation and then after some checking it out she had to pass it off to a supervisor to reset it manually. I got an email about an hour later letting me know I was all set.

 

[DeltaHF]

Thank you both for your comments.

I called Apple twice and spoke to two different customer service reps. Neither one could help me, they did not pass me to a supervisor, and could not cancel the trade-in. One told me to call Citizens One to check on the status of the loan. I was not able to speak to a human at Citizens One loan, because none of the menus would accept my loan number or social security number.

When I sign in to my Citizens One account online, it shows the loan for my old X as "on hold", but there are no other options. They did charge my credit card on October 3 (when they usually do) for the old loan, so I'm not sure what's going on.

At this point I seem to be completely stuck. It has been 20 days since I received the new device and 7 days since I returned it. Apple cannot give me a new phone because my old Citizens One loan is "on hold" (whatever that means), and I cannot reach Citizens One to clear things up.

I never imagined returning the phone would lead me into this hellish limbo. What a joke.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Thank you both for your comments.

I called Apple twice and spoke to two different customer service reps. Neither one could help me, they did not pass me to a supervisor, and could not cancel the trade-in. One told me to call Citizens One to check on the status of the loan. I was not able to speak to a human at Citizens One loan, because none of the menus would accept my loan number or social security number.

When I sign in to my Citizens One account online, it shows the loan for my old X as "on hold", but there are no other options. They did charge my credit card on October 3 (when they usually do) for the old loan, so I'm not sure what's going on.

At this point I seem to be completely stuck. It has been 20 days since I received the new device and 7 days since I returned it. Apple cannot give me a new phone because my old Citizens One loan is "on hold" (whatever that means), and I cannot reach Citizens One to clear things up.

I never imagined returning the phone would lead me into this hellish limbo. What a joke.

If you got an email from Citizens One listing the loan number and saying that it has been closed because of the return then the issue is with Apple. I would call them back and if they don’t offer to escalate this for you then you should insist that they do so. Some of their CSRs are better than others, so sometimes you have to (as politely as possible) prod them along.

 

[DeltaHF]

I finally got someone on the phone at Citizens One. For future reference, the number that Apple gives you for Citizens One is NOT the number that you need to call, as the representatives you speak with will not be able to help you. Call Citizens One dedicated Apple customer care center at 1-888-201-6306; this is the only place that will be able to help you.

After being passed around among several reps on the phone, I finally spoke with a nice guy named Jeremy who really looked into it. He didn't say exactly what the issue was, but confirmed something had apparently gone wrong on their end.

He told me to try to buy the phone again today with IUP and sure enough, it worked this morning. Thanks again to all of you who helped me here. I hope nobody else has to go through this.

 

[Bako-MacAddict]

I'm on the iPhone Upgrade Program and got an XS Max on launch day. I found the phone to be too large for me and decided to return it and get an XS instead.

I returned the XS Max to my local Apple Store, I got an email from Citizens One that confirmed my loan was cancelled and my credit card refund was processed. However, when the Apple Store employees tried to give me the XS, there system would not let them because it said I was not yet eligible for an upgrade (it still thought I had the XS Max). The manager told me to wait 24 hours and try again.

It has now been 7 days, and when I try to purchase the phone on Apple's website via the IUP link, all I see is a message which says "Your iPhone upgrade is pending." There is a link to view the orders in my account, and when I go there, it clearly shows the XS Max was returned.

How long does this process usually take? What should I do now?

So just to be clear, you can’t exchange iPhone under iup? I’m just confused why you just didn’t exchange ? Instead you returned it? This is my first year using IUP , just want to know for future reference.

 

[DeltaHF]

So just to be clear, you can’t exchange iPhone under iup? I’m just confused why you just didn’t exchange ? Instead you returned it? This is my first year using IUP , just want to know for future reference.

Yes, that is what I was told at the Apple Store — you can't exchange, just return and then get a new one (with a new loan).

I don't know if most people who do this are able to get a new phone immediately, or if they are told to wait until the loan is cleared by Citizens One. Maybe it happens instantly for other people, and mine was just problematic? I have never missed a payment (auto-pay on my credit card) and have excellent credit, so I don't know what could have gone wrong or if my experience is typical.

Regardless, my XS just arrived a few minutes ago and I am thankful to be back with a smaller phone! (The Max is incredible but it's just too big!)

 

[Bako-MacAddict]

Yes, that is what I was told at the Apple Store — you can't exchange, just return and then get a new one (with a new loan).

I don't know if most people who do this are able to get a new phone immediately, or if they are told to wait until the loan is cleared by Citizens One. Maybe it happens instantly for other people, and mine was just problematic? I have never missed a payment (auto-pay on my credit card) and have excellent credit, so I don't know what could have gone wrong or if my experience is typical.

Regardless, my XS just arrived a few minutes ago and I am thankful to be back with a smaller phone! (The Max is incredible but it's just too big!)

Nice! Thanks for the heads up. Enjoy your iPhone! I’m enjoying mine XS max lol.

 

[anthonymoody]

I wonder, and maybe @DeltaHF has some way of checking, but does the "new loan" for the second phone also mean that they pull your credit a second time? That would be suboptimal in terms of credit score...

 

[DeltaHF]

I wonder, and maybe @DeltaHF has some way of checking, but does the "new loan" for the second phone also mean that they pull your credit a second time? That would be suboptimal in terms of credit score...

The last guy I spoke with, whom was the most knowledgeable person I spoke with and finally got everything sorted for me, said that my credit score would not be checked a second time because it was within 30 days of their last check.

According to my credit monitoring with Capital One, this is correct and my score has now returned to normal levels since September (when it had a dip).

 

[AndrewR23]

There is a way to exchange on IUP without returning and resetting loan.

Email the Tim Cook email and let them know what’s going on. An employee will contact you a few days later and have a new iPhone shipped to you. It’ll appear under your Apple account as a new order for 0$

After that just send your old iPhone back and you get a brand new in box iPhone. No Apple store. No employees. No returns. Etc