Many iPhone 13 Owners Are Left Feeling Angry After Promised Carrier Rebates and Bill Credits Were Denied

Some iPhone 13 owners are disappointed with their new smartphone, but performance isn’t the issue. It’s the finances that cause them trouble. According to a report in Bloomberg, an increasing number of customers complain that they have yet to receive the rebate they were promised when they purchased their phone.

As with many new devices, wireless carriers offer rebates to entice customers to upgrade to the latest hardware. T-Mobile was very generous with its iPhone 13 promotion, offering up to $790 for trading in an iPhone 12 Pro Max along with $500 in credits toward the customer’s monthly bill. After the rebate and the bill credit, the iPhone 13 would be free. AT&T and Verizon didn’t go as far as T-Mobile, but each carrier did offer a combination of rebates and credits that would lower the final cost of the iPhone 13.

These rebates are enticing, but only if they are approved. Unfortunately, the rebate process isn’t always smooth.

An increasing number of customers from all three wireless carriers claim their rebates were denied.

Often the denial is obscure, ranging from the very vague “Apple returned as ineligible” to issues with activation.

Customers who were denied are forced to contact customer service and often fight for a refund.

The customer service experience can be dreadful with long waits on the phone and little help from entry-level customer service reps. Resolution often requires going higher up the chain to someone who can override the rebate decision.

Sadly this rebate issue isn’t unique to the iPhone 13. These rebates are offered on nearly every Apple product sold by wireless carriers, including the Apple Watch and the 5G iPad models. Once they reach out to customer service, most customers, thankfully, can fix the issue and receive the rebate.