Replacement phone

[JennyN]

I was having audio issues with my iphone xs max whenever i got a phone call i had to put the phone on speaked otherwise i couldnt hear any sound. on 9/12/20 i went to my local 02 shop to get an upgrade to iphone 12 pro max and gave them my xs max to send for repairs. on 30th dec i recieved a text from o2 saying my phone could not be fixed as the fault is not covered in my waranty and they were sending it back ...even though ive been paying insurance every month. anyway until now i still have not got my phone back . I called o2 today to find out what is happening as it has been way over a month now. I was told my phone was sent to the wrong address and i can get a replacement phone. i was told by an advisor that the gold iphone xs max 64 gb was not in stock but they can send me a silver xs max in 250 gb. i agreed and they ordered this for me, after recieving a confirmation email i got anothr email moments later saying the phone is out of stock. So i call o2 again to find out what will happen now. I had to call several times as i kept getting placed on hold and getting cut off.every single time i called i had to explain again why i was calling. For nearly 3 hours i was on the phone trying to sort this out. The worst customer service ever. I was so frustrated i was in tears. i kept begging them to not hang up on me because if had to explain myself again i would lose my mind. Finaly the last advisor i spoke to told me they now have the iphone xs max in gold 54gb in stock an they will send it to me the next working day. I accepted this but then i recieved a confirmation email stating the phone will be 'like new' and i got worried. The phone i sent for repair did not have a single scratch on it the only fault was the audio during phone calls. I am now worried o2 will send me a phone that is more faulty than my old phone and even scratched. Has anyone had a similar experience ? Any advise would be appreciated.

Thank you!

[MI5]

@JennyN 

All replacement phones, even insurance replacements, are refurbished to as new condition.

Usually, you would not be able to tell the difference from new, but if you do receive a sun standard device, you can reject it for another replacement.