I'm amazed at how Apple turns away money

I wonder if there are any Apple UK employees following me out there; somehow I doubt it, but if there's just one, that's enough. I thought I'd tell a tale of how I often find that the business world is not only arrogant but also completely incompetent and out of touch when it comes to making money.

There are so many examples, but my current situation with Apple takes the biscuit. I awoke last Thursday morning to discover that I couldn't use my iphone XS, it had frozen solid. I could see people calling me, but couldn't open the phone to answer them. Later I found out it was the screen that needed repairing. I'd already forked out ￡170 on a new screen about a year ago, but now it had gone again and this time it was going to cost me ￡266 (the price varies depending on where you go, I've been quoted ￡400!).

I was faced with a dilemma: fix the screen or buy a new phone? Most people suggested the latter and so I went with it and started looking around for a new iphone, settling on the SE Third Generation 2022 model. I have a SIM-only deal with 02 and it's pretty good (unlimited texts and minutes all for just ￡13/month). I don't really want to get locked into a 36-month contract so I decided, based on advice from somebody at 02, to buy the phone direct from Apple as they offer interest-free credit that will work out cheaper than the contract route. I did the math and yes, it's true, even with keeping my SIM-only deal, it's far cheaper.

So, time to buy that phone, but it's not easy. Had it been Amazon, fine (in fact, there's a thought!) but I decided to buy from Apple themselves. I went online and was asked for my Apple ID and password, keyed it in and then they informed me that they'd sent a verification code... to my dud phone. In other words, I'm stumped and the problem continued. I tried to find another route but was told by another 02 employee (in a different store) when I dropped in – sorely tempted to go for another contract – that the only way was to take the SIM card out of the dud phone and put it into a working phone, except that I don't have another iphone.

Perhaps the best way would be to talk direct to the sales department at Apple and just buy the phone, but when I got through, rather than sell me the phone, they packed me off to Apple Support who suggested I should talk to sales. "I just did that and they sent me to you," said I and the man on the end of the line said he'd email me a 'case number', which he did, but when I clicked on it I found myself keying in my Apple ID and then being told that a verification code had been sent (once again) to my dud phone. I'm now thinking of visiting the Apple Store in London, like a man off the street, interested in purchasing a new phone and pretending, perhaps, that I don't have an Apple ID. Surely there must be thousands of people buying iphones without an Apple ID. I suspect, however, that as soon as I give them my email address they'll say I already have an ID and will probably initiate the same procedure I've outlined above and then refuse to sell me the phone, who knows? There is, of course, a strong temptation to simply buy a Samsung or a Motorola or a Google Pixel 6 phone instead.

That said, I'm rather enjoying not having a phone. Nobody can reach me unless they know my landline number, I don't spend idle moments scrolling through stuff online or texting people and instead I might read a newspaper or a book whilst commuting. It's been a week now and while I know that I will, eventually, purchase whatever phone I deem necessary, it's nice to be out of reach of most people. I've gotten over that initial 'fish out of water' feeling that accompanies not having a phone and now I feel kind of free, liberated, as if I'm walking alone across the salt flats or hanging around on a lonely beach. In fact, if I continue my 'no phone' status, the need will probably completely disappear, just like giving up smoking and drinking. I could be like Christopher Walken and only be contactable via fax.

I'm also considering not buying a smart phone (clearly they and Apple are not that smart and they're quite happy to turn away my business). No, I might buy an old Nokia 3310 instead for just ￡39. It does the job, it allows people to call me and I can call them back, simple, there's no need for anything else. What's more, the battery lasts for days and the phone will fit in the smallest of pockets. Furthermore, there's something cool about not having a smart phone, not following the pack, and being the only one in the train carriage reading rather than playing with my phone.