Nevada company offering money for iPhones not delivering on promise

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A company that offers good money to buy old iPhones is being accused of not delivering on its promise.

There's been a lot of speculation that Apple will release an update on its iPhone 6 before the end of the year. If that happens, many will be looking to sell their old phones to get new ones, making this warning even timelier.

"The money is gone, the phone is gone," Los Gatos resident Cassie Will-Darnall said.

That's how Will-Darnall summarizes her dealings with Cash for iPhones.

The company, located in an office building in Sparks, Nevada near Reno, advertises it will buy your iPhone for "top dollar when you need money ASAP."

Will-Darnall received a quote for $150 but she ended up only getting $11.

San Francisco resident Leo Quayle, who owns an awning company, got a quote for $85 but, in the end, Cash for iPhones said it could only give him $13.

"Long story short, the phone is gone," Quayle said.

Both filled out a questionnaire and received their quotes online. The quote came with a disclaimer that the actual offer could be less after the company inspected the phone.

Quayle expressed his frustration to 7 On Your Side. "This is insulting. For $13, I wouldn't even bother," he said.

It wasn't until after Will-Darnall and Quayle received their final offers did they learn of the company's reputation.

The company, which also goes by the name Laptop & Desktop Repair, has more than 2,400 complaints filed against it with the Better Business Bureau.

The Nevada state attorney has gone to court to obtain records from the company and a judge has barred Cash for iPhones from making false statements to entice customers to send them their iPhones.

It is also barred from engaging in false advertisement.

"How is a company still in business? How do people not know that these people are literally stealing iPhones?" Will-Darnall asked.

Both asked for their phones back but the company has not returned them.

"It makes me feel like I've been robbed," Will-Darnall said.

Quayle can barely believe it. "This is America, for crying out loud," he said.

7 On Your Side called Cash for iPhones but it said it couldn't comment while the state attorney general's investigation was pending.

Will-Darnall said her payment came through a Paypal account that didn't identify itself as being from Cash for iPhones.

Because she didn't immediately contest it, the company told her she was obligated to take it.