Where do I complain about Indian iPhone customer service?

Question

I really don't know where I'm supposed to complain the handling of customer service in India.
Let me explain the situation and perhaps someone can send me to the right place.
My housemate's sister bought an official Vodafone iPhone 3G in August. Last week, it stopped working. No Service, no matter the SIM card. I told her to give it to me for a couple days, let me update the firmware and see if that doesn't fix it.
It didn't fix it. Clearly a hardware problem. Never hacked or anything. Just stopped working, flat out.
So, she took it to the place that she bought it from. She no longer has the receipt, so they wouldn't help her. It's CLEARLY an iPhone 3G, so it's CLEARLY under warranty (since the phone came out less than a year ago). But, still, they told her to go to Vodaphone and have them repair it or replace it.
Vodaphone, wouldn't budge without the receipt, even though it's CLEARLY a Vodaphone iPhone and, again, CLEARLY less than a year old (and, therefore, still under warranty).
So, I called Apple support, the number printed on the iPhone box. They directed me to another number, which nobody answered. I called the first number back; they gave me a third number which didn't work at all. I called them again and they gave me AppleCare's number.
Now, I thought, we're finally getting somewhere. Apple will surely be able to rectify this.
"Press 1 for iPod, Press 2 for iPhone." I pressed 2. I got a message saying "Please contact your service provider for iPhone support" and promptly hung up on me.
So, I called the first number again, and they gave me yet another number (corporate office, I guess) that also told me to call AppleCare. They said I had to press 9.
9 was not an actual option.
I finally got through to someone when I called AppleCare and pressed 1 for iPod. I complained and complained, after which they told me they'd transfer me to the iPhone department.
Why can't you access the iPhone department directly? Because it's not actually in India; it's in Brisbane, Australia.
The guy I spoke to in Brisbane informed me that Vodafone must honor the warranty since it is obviously a Vodafone iPhone (it only activates with a Vodafone SIM and rejects all other companies), and is obviously less than a year old. Apparently, they are responsible for service.
However, to be safe, take a photo id, he said, since you can't find your sales receipt. It shouldn't matter, though, he said.
I wish that someone would tell Vodafone that, though. They refused to honor it because:
1) They couldn't find the IMEI (I wasn't there to throw it in their face, both on the box and in the Settings>General>About). They only know to look for it on the SIM tray (which had been replaced way back in August because it was loose)
2) When they found the IMEI on the box, they couldn't find it in their computers.
3) They couldn't prove it was a Vodafone iPhone (again, I wasn't there to show them how it reacts with any other SIM when connected to iTunes. That's proof enough that it's Vodafone).
My housemate went to the largest Vodafone in Mumbai (Peninsula Chambers) and the manager refused to speak to her (he wasn't in the store, only on the phone. However, he refused to talk to her even when speaking to his lackeys for twenty minutes).
This is a 16GB iPhone, retailing for the equivalent of $700 US (Rs.36,100). The phone is under warranty and never been hacked or tampered with. And yet, no one in this country will honor its warranty and take care of it. Not because of anything but sheer bureaucracy and ignorance.
I mean, seriously, they can't even tell it's a Vodafone iPhone? They can't find the IMEI that's PRINTED on the box and in the Settings?
Who do we talk to to get this iPhone repaired/replaced? $700 is a lot of money for a phone that should be covered under its warranty.
If you could direct me to an email address/phone number both at Apple and whomever at Vodafone to rectify this, the help would be unbelievably appreciated.
Also, if someone at Apple can step up the quality of customer service in India for Vodafone and Airtel (it's the same phone number for each provider), please do. Airtel cannot even call the AppleCare number (it's an 800 number which can only be accessed by landlines and Vodafone customers. I've had this issue when trying to repair my MBP), let alone get through to anybody to fix anything.
thanks.
Message was edited by: SethBurma

Answer 1

Right. So you're telling me that Apple has left someone in charge who is totally screwing their customers' experience and no one at Apple will help reign them in and set them straight?
I guarantee you that she's not the only person who's had this experience and it **** well sours me from buying another iPhone if I know it won't be taken care of if something goes wrong.
I've posted this to let Apple know there's something woefully wrong with their partner and to get that fixed as well. I know Vodafone is the one I'm supposed to deal with; I just want that to be improved.