New iPhone 14 Pro Stolen During Shipment

[Beniamen]

I pre-ordered the new iPhone 14 Pro.  Worked with a representative to include my $300 Verizon gift card along with a trade-in of my current phone due on October 11th.

3 days ago, a UPS driver knocked on my door and handed me what felt like a small, empty cardboard box.  I did not know exactly what it was, as he was walking back to his truck--I asked him if I needed to sign for this.  He said, "No, I got you. I can sign on for you." He seemed like he was in a hurry to depart.  I flip the box over to realize it was cut open, clearly labelled 2 lbs, and it was empty.  I ran back to him telling him this box had been tampered with, explaining that my new phone was supposed to be in here.  He took the box back, he said this has been happening frequently, and assured me that he would work to have the sender send me a new one promptly.  I just stood there dumbfounded, wondering what just happened and what I was supposed to do next.

I quickly contacted UPS and filed a claim online (the one and only way you can apparently) and selected the closest option of what happened, that my item was lost/damaged in transit.  UPS has confirmed that the package was "damaged" and informed me that they would notify the seller, Verizon.

For due diligence, I immediately contacted Verizon to follow up on their end.  After many attempts to get in touch with an agent, I was finally connected via live messaging chat.  I explained that not more than an hour ago I was supposed to receive a new phone which did not arrive.  Tessa told me it showed that my iPhone was successfully delivered and if I was excited to set up my new device.  I politely tried to explain that I did not know exactly what happened to my device and that UPS was investigating currently.  The agent let me know she was also going to escalate this to Verizon's damage department and soon updated me that I would be notified of a replacement phone in 72 hours.

Whoever might be reading this or is willing to assist, I am apprehensive.  Not angry or frustrated, but a little scared.  Every post I have read about this very scenario or similar experiences has ended with no resolution or absolute disappointment.  I do not know where I currently stand in Verizon's system, and I fear I am simply in limbo or unimportant.  I log in to check if the status of my order has been changed, but I am only met with congratulations on my new purchase and being asked what I think of my new fabulous iPhone 14 Pro. 

I had to update my plan to accommodate a new 5G phone, so when I pre-ordered, I rolled in my $300 Verizon gift card (I was saving it for this phone) along with a trade-in of my current phone (the one I am using to post this message) which has a deadline of October 11th.  I do not know what to do.

To the Verizon team members and supervisors who simply want to do the right thing--I am just standing by.  No one who ends up in my position sought this out, they were simply waiting patiently for their phone to arrive.  And then, radio silence.  If there is anyone in Verizon who can pull up my account and see this for what it is, that a phone was lost/stolen on your company's watch due to your preferred shipping method of UPS, and push the "ok" button to send me my replacement phone without having to reestablish my gift card and restart the process of a new phone plan, please.  

I do not plan to leave Verizon, as most people threatened from having experienced this.  I just want to know if anyone cares out there and is willing to correct this.  That is all.

To whoever reads this and might know, is anyone able to tell me what happens next, at the very least? Am I just out a new phone and all the money invested in pre-ordering?

[mistidawn5532]

I just had this happen to me today. Package was delivered. When I got home and got it off the porch I could tell it was empty. when I went inside I noticed it was resealed with clear packing tape. It obvious that my iPhone was not in the box and it was probably stolen while being shipped. I am so worried how Verizon will be handling this as I am out a phone that looks like it was delivered but it was clearly stolen during shipment. I hope your situation was resolved.

[vzw_customer_support]

Hi,! Thank you so much for reaching out Verizon. It will be my pleasure to assist you today, My most sincerest apologies this happened to you.

>Alejandro

[mistidawn5532]

Hello, I have reached out to Verizon and was not given any information other than I have to wait for someone to contact me after they try and locate the phone. I am not sure how they plan to locate a phone that was stolen out of a package that was delivered without the phone inside.  

[vzw_customer_support]

Right now we have a system update. We will be more than glad to assist you through our chat platform, allow me to share with you the link where you can contact our Chat Team where they will be more than glad to help you with this situation:

https://www.verizon.com/support/contact-us/>Alejandro

[mistidawn5532]

I have already contacted Verizon today via a phone call. Do you think chat will be able to offer a better solution?

[eyes3050]

This is still going on. The same exact issue. On 1/24/23, I received what I thought was my upgrade to an iPhone 14 but to my surprise, the box was literally empty. It had a case, I did not order but no new iPhone 14. In my situation as well, the weight was listed as 2 lbs. We even caught the driver to ask him if there was another package and he stated no. I immediately (minutes after delivery because the box seemed so light I immediately opened it) called Verizon and to date (1/28/23) I have 4 tickets, no resolution, and no new phone. I'm really at a loss as to why Verizon can't resolve this logically. I didn't know until today that this had happened before but after looking at the conversations online this is not new to Verizon. No one should have to go through this when trying to upgrade their phone. My current phone is broken which is why I ordered the upgrade. The offer I've had to date is to upgrade my phone on another line while they resolve this. That's not a solution it just complicates the current issue and creates a mess for me to track.
My hope is that Verizon will do what's right. Resolve my issue, and get me a new phone but also get to the bottom of this so future unknowing customers do not end up in the same situation. It's simply not fair to the consumer.

[vzw_customer_support]

@eyes3050 ,

A stolen phone is not something we'd want for anyone to have to go through, especially when it's a new phone that you haven't even received yet. Do not contact the mail carrier. We have a set process for this, which requires you to let us know right away about the issue, and then we file an inventory ticket that reviews the order to confirm the problem and then cancel the order so that you get refunded for your purchase. The stolen phone is then marked as such so no one can use it. This should have been explained by the initial rep you had said you contacted, but there is no need or reason for 4 tickets for the same thing. Contacting us to create so many tickets will always result in a delay of any resolution. Please wait for this to be resolved first, as you should be contacted by the same rep that filed a ticket (they get the ticket results), although you'll also see in your Orders page in My Verizon that the order is cancelled at that time as well. 

-Russell

[eyes3050]

Thanks for the response.  I followed up on the first ticket and they continued to create more tickets stating the original ticket was done incorrectly.   Also, I just checked orders on my account and it's stating delivered not canceled. The ticket is labeled as closed as well.   Also,  I waited for the original rep to call me but I never received a return call.  To date no one has called on any ticket, not even the original (a rep did tell me the original ticket had a response of delivered and was submitted incorrectly), so she had to create a new ticket.

I'm glad there's a process but it does not seem to be working at the moment.   The 2nd and 3rd reps stated the ticket was put in wrong and the 4th rep gave me a new ticket and said she escalated it.   What's the time I should wait on the last ticket submitted?

[vzw_customer_support]

I do apologize for the extended timeframe that this situation has taken. We want to make sure that we take care of the situation and keep you in the loop. I will be happy to review your account and the ticket associated with this matter.

-Roni

[vzw_customer_support]

By connecting with us, you grant us permission to review your services, so we can offer you the best value. Refusing to authenticate will not impact your current services. It is your right and our duty to protect your account information. For quality, we may monitor and review this conversation. Visit our information collection and privacy policy to learn more at verizon.com/privacy. Please note that the link we provide has a timed expiration, so we encourage you to continue as soon as possible.

Authenticate and continue here:http://spr.ly/60053dF5h

-Roni

[Tannatip]

exactly same thing happened to me. USP delivered empty box and the phone was stolen. Contacted USP and Verizon to file claim, they call me back and could not give me an answer when will they give me a replacement. 

[vzw_customer_support]

Tannatip We're sorry to read about the issue with your device order. Did you contact Verizon regarding the lost package? ~Peter

[Zidolilly]

Today is  3/3/24. I had 2 iphone 15s stolen while being delivered as well. My heart also sank the minute I knew something was wrong. That feeling of worry just took over!  Unfortunately the driver or someone signed for my package so when you pull up tracking it makes it looks like the package was delivered but it was not. My first communication with Verizon ended with an open ticket that was closed pretty quickly with resolution package delivered because the tracking looks like the 2 phones were delivered to me but they were not.  I called back a few times but no one would help until 2/28/24 I finally spoke to someone at Verizon who put herself in my shoes and actually is helping me. She says a new ticket was filed and that she will make sure to resolve this for me and reorder my new phones for a in store pickup once the new itts ticket is resolved and closed. I am so bummed because I truly don t know what is going to happen.  I upgraded for these two new phones so now I have a large bill for two phones that I dont even have. 

my wife and I were so excited to get these phones. We were tracking them every 20-30 minutes on the day of delivery so we can make sure we could get them. No sooner then the package saying delivered I knew there was a problem when my camera did not show anyone walking up to my front porch and there being no package anywhere in sight. 

I am currently also just waiting, hoping Verizon and the new rep will help me figure this out. 

[Primeone]

Hi did you ever get your new phones?

the same thing just happened to me except I’m a brand new customer coming to Verizon and this already looks bad for me

[vzw_customer_support]

Oh no! We are sorry to read you had this issue with your order. Were you able to get a replacement? Does your tracking show the device was delivered?

~Freddy