Hopeful iPhone 4 buyers are experiencing more pre-sale problems, this time reporting that Apple and AT&T have been canceling some orders.
A Gizmodo reader says he received the following email from AT&T notifying him that his iPhone 4 order had been canceled--even though the charge as still "pre-authorized" on his credit card:
Your iPhone order has been cancelled.
Your credit card has not been charged.
If you believe you have received this email in error, please return to the AT&T store where you placed your order.
Sincerely, AT&T
Another individual, whose order was likewise voided, was told by AT&T that Apple was out of stock. Apple offered a different excuse, saying that AT&T found the user to be ineligible for an upgrade. The individual wrote to Gizmodo that "alot [sic] of people are calling about" the canceled iPhone orders.
Someone reporting to be a customer service representative with AT&T told Gizmodo the canceled iPhones were just extra iPhone pre-orders--"the people who received the emails received them because they hit the submit button too many times. [...] No one's preorder was truly cancelled unless you hit submit more than once."
Users have also gotten iPhone cancellation notices directly from Apple, which fails to specify why the order was nixed, saying only Apple was "unable to complete the authorization process for your iPhone order."
Here's the email, via Engadget:
Dear Customer,
We were unable to complete the authorization process for your iPhone order. As a result, we had to cancel your iPhone order. To complete the purchase of your iPhone, please visit an Apple Retail Store or an AT&T company-owned retail store.
We apologize for this inconvenience.
Sincerely,Apple Online Store Team
These latest headaches come after a problem-filled pre-sale week. AT&T suspended iPhone 4 pre-orders after users reported security breaches and other problems. (Read more about the issues here)
Have you had any problems pre-ordering an iPhone? Has your pre-order been canceled? What should Apple and AT&T be doing differently? Tell us in the comments section below.
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