APPLE LOAN : Japan Apple Loan Box of Mysteries…

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 12:24 by Brendan, Student, Toronto
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I don't find the fact that you weren't approved disturbing but the fact that they gave your information without your consent to another company. That seems like a bit of a trust violation.

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 12:38 by Daimaou, Survivor, Tokyo - Japan
Home Page: http://www.akihabaranews.com
As I said, not being approved is not really the problem, the problem is that the company will not explain why... Then advise you to try in a few days until you succeed, and later you are contacted by another company for a Loan...

Once again not being approved is here not the problem...

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 12:39 by Daimaou, Survivor, Tokyo - Japan
Home Page: http://www.akihabaranews.com
And the fact that 6 persons (different people, different product) had to face the same problem is worrying... Sound to me that this 1 or 3% loan is just an Ads to offer you something else

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 12:50 by BoeserMann
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Thanks again. Very very interesting indeed.
I just can repeat my former statement. Consumer organizations are not powerful enough here. Companies/banks just give a s**t if someone complains.

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 12:53 by G. Curt Fiedler, University Professor, Kanagawa, Japan
Home Page: http://mackenchi.blogspot.com/
Well, it's not Apple - it's their loan company. You should bring this to Apple's attention. I'm sure they will address the issue. This is very, very seedy and they won't want the bad PR.

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 12:58 by Hooner, Tokyo, Japan
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I seriously doubt that the reason for your rejection was related to language skill or some form of racial discrimination. Instead, I think that this company was most likely offering these low-rate loans for the purpose of farming personal information that they could then sell to 3rd parties.

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 01:07 by Daimaou, Survivor, Tokyo - Japan
Home Page: http://www.akihabaranews.com
G. Curt Fiedler> We contacted Apple PR staff before publishing this article, and despite the fact that this is an Apple Loan they do not have any powers over the process... So why call it an Apple Loan then ?

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 01:50 by MJz
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Great reporting. I'm looking forward to the next part of this story. It seems like an explination of why you were rejected is in order. I always get such explinations when I get rejected. But maybe the laws in Japan don't require disclosing that information.

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 01:54 by softbanksucks, Tokyo
Home Page: http://softbanksucks.blogspot.com/
Same thing with trying to buy an iphone from softbank. Softbank has a third party company to approve or disapprove your application. No reason given for disapproval. But at least they are not sharing your information with other companies.

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 02:02 by Genshin, teacher/monk, Kanagawa, Japan
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This is certainly not the kind of thing Apple would allow to go on for long. I'm sure Apple will rsolve this to avoid tarnishing their good reputation.

May I ask for permission to post this on Australian MacWorld?

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 02:09 by Daimaou, Survivor, Tokyo - Japan
Home Page: http://www.akihabaranews.com
Genshin> Please go ahead

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 02:15 by Genshin, teacher/monk, Kanagawa, Japan
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Thank you kindly for your permission to repost this article on Australian MacWorld.

Regards
Genshin

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 02:18 by Genshin, teacher/monk, Kanagawa, Japan
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A link to the reposted article on Australian MacWorld.

http://www.macworld.com.au/forums/index.php?showtopic=5274

Thank you once again.

Regards
Genshin

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 03:26 by DP
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I also received a rejection for a "amortized" iphone loan at softbank. Rejection with no reason. Me wife (Japanese) was then rejected with no reason given. I was later invited to purchase the phone outright (surprise) which I did. Being an American in Japan, the iphone and it's all english support is very useful, so in many ways it was the only option for me.

Japanese "loan" companies are borderline rackets and the legit companies that use their services are fully aware of their "business" practices. After my experience with my iphone, issues with my MBP battery, and a weird imac screen I will *never* buy another over-priced, under-supported Apple product again.

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 03:32 by softbanksucks, Tokyo
Home Page: http://softbanksucks.blogspot.com/
@DP

Hence the point of this article, that Apple's otherwise good service is not quite up to par here.

Though having said that, if you buy a sony viao in Japan and take it to the US or vise versa, you will likely not be able to have it serviced. A good thing about apple is that you can take you can take a US-purchased mac to the Japanese apple store for service.

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 04:04 by Cutkillavince, MI Manager, KR, FR, NL
Home Page: http://cutkillavince.com/
Interesting story Dai

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 08:16 by derrick, geek, Japan
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The same thing happened to me!! But I was told they could not give me a loan because my Japanese speaking skills are not good enough. I could tell the lady who took my call was stress out because I asked her to repeat some of her questions. At the end she told me "your Japanese skills are not good enough, this will create problems for us if we need to contact you regarding late payments or any other problems". My jaw just drop to the ground.

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 09:09 by LoanPig, UFO, US
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It's called bait and switch - a form of fraud.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait_and_switch

Posted on Tue Sep 08, 09:34 by Gar
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Truly interesting. Here in the US a couple years ago I wanted a macbook and the Apple Loan ad appeared attractive. I originally thought it would be a financing option handled strictly by Apple - they don't mention that it would be handled by 3rd party. Anyway, I applied for the Apple Loan, but did not purchase the product. Seems that a week later I would get mail from Juniper credit card company and it seemed they were the ones handling the Apple Loan financing options. It's too bad really. I would've preferred if Apple handled their own financing plans, rather than having it be done by some unknown bank/creditor.

I have a MBP now, and I'm not sure how US Apple Loans function nowadays...

Posted on Wed Sep 09, 02:55 by scammer
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A bait and switch scam. Report the company to the appropriate consumer watchdog.

Posted on Wed Sep 09, 09:05 by fh
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Moral: always pay up front.

It's just like buying a new car: the moment you drive off the lot, it's lost a sizeable chunk of its value. Better to pay off that premium up front if you can so that you don't have to think about it later, otherwise you'll be stuck with monthly repayments you can't avoid even though you know better models are coming out all the time.

Posted on Thu Sep 10, 12:25 by KuyaChe, Computer Handyman, Philippines
Home Page: http://www.ggtech.co.nr
simple reason is
some japanese people are just stubborn enough against any foreigner, be it a husband or wife of a natural japanese citizen.
who could blame them for feeling that way if their country is bombed twice.
that is why they told you to try again, you may have luck and get a better thinking japanese loan representative and get on with the process painlessly.

but seriously, if you only made your wife apply for the loan in the first place, i bet there wouldn't be any problem. it not about the job title or money, its just about the nationality.
and not all of the japanese people are like that, only few narrow minded ones. which of course also applies to any other country. except maybe for the philippines where we treat foreigners as honored guests (just like kings and celebrities).

cash is also a great way in buying stuff, you can get it cheaper and hassle free.

peace man and good luck on buying another mac!