A MAN has told of the moment he went to pick up his top-of-the-range iPhone only to open the box and find it had been stolen.

Dan Riley, 25, from Chandler’s Ford, was shocked to find the iPhone 14 Pro Max 512GB he pre-ordered was taken by the time he went to collect the £1,529 device at the Co-op store in Winchester Road in Chandler's Ford.

Dan told the Echo: “I just panicked when I saw it because there was nothing that I could really do about it and I just wasn’t thinking straight, all I knew was something wasn’t right.

“I then spoke to the staff at the shop to see if any mistake had been made and they told me there was nothing they could do about it.”

READ MORE: Man caught stealing three-year-old's Christmas present on CCTV

Dan then told his dad, Jon, 53, who then went to the store in Winchester Road.

Jon said: “I spoke to the duty manager in the store who said to me there’s nothing he could do but that he could see on CCTV that the box had been delivered and what my son said was true."

Daily Echo:

He then spoke to a representative from Apple but had to contact them multiple times.

The multi-billion tech company then asked him for a printed hard copy of a police report - something Hampshire police said could take three months.

Jon said: “Dan was getting emails asking to provide a hard copy of the report, which the police said nobody asks for.

"They told me that the digital copy is the direct copy but that if I wanted to request one it could take up to three months.

“So I then told Apple, look I think you’re dragging your heels with this and that’s not acceptable.

“It just seemed like they weren’t being helpful.”

READ MORE: Items stolen from Southampton Apple store in Westquay

Daily Echo:

Dan said his mental health started to suffer at the thought of the phone being missing.

“It started to affect my mental health, I couldn’t sleep properly as I was so worried that I had lost the phone I paid for," he said.

After a month of calls and chasing, Jon finally got Apple to send out a replacement.

Jon said: “At that point, we just wanted what we paid for, it felt like it was just being brushed under a carpet and it wasn’t fair.”

The Echo contacted Apple and delivery company DPD for comment.

 

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo.

Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website.

You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more.

Don't just take my word for it - subscribe today.

Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by searching Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents on Facebook

Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated group by searching Hampshire Court and Crime News on Facebook