TMO GRC Fortworth TX

You're right about TMO GRC in Fort Worth being a black hole. But let's be fair to T-Mobile: they may not be at fault in this case. I returned an unopened iPhone 13 via UPS with tracking # provided by T-Mobile. This was on May 27, 2022. The warehouse received it on June 2. Fast forward a few weeks. On June 29 I get an unexpected email from TMO telling me that they cannot "locate your device IMEI …." Numerous T-Mobile experts in Richmond, VA, could not help me until I talked to a supervisor, who finally gave me a clue as to what may have happened to the device. According to him, the warehouse received the package, but they did not find the device in the box. In other words, it had been stolen/lost. Today (July 19, 2022) He filed a claim to UPS for a damaged/tampered shipment on my behalf. At first he told me I had to file a claim; however, I could not file a claim with UPS no matter what I tried. UPS does not accept claims over the phone, and when I tried to file one on the website, it rejected all my attempts.  Finally, I called the same supervisor back and explained what was going on. It took him nearly an hour on the phone with UPS and numerous transfers before UPS customer service processed the claim. So, now I have a UPS claim in process. I have to say that the T-Mobile supervisor was very helpful once I explained my situation with UPS. 

So, what have I learned? T-Mobile may or may not be at fault here. There may be a problem with UPS. At this point, I don't know what is going on. All I know is that I am still on the hook for an expensive iPhone that I don't have. UPS has opened and investigation into this shipment and promised to contact me within 36 hours.

The ultimate lesson? Don't ever ship anything valuable with UPS. If you do, take pictures of the box and its contents--all six sides, in case you have to file a claim. If possible, take it to the store and hand it directly to an employee. At this point, I have little faith in UPS. Their customer service is garbage. I could not get a human on the phone. At least T-Mobile lets you talk to a real person. Nowadays, that means a lot.