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$471 for a demo Apple Watch that doesn't work?

by Burt Mummolo, KTUL staff

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Kristen Boe says her son spent nearly $500 at the Walmart in Cleveland, Oklahoma for an Apple Watch and that when they opened the box it turned out to be a non-functioning plastic demo. She's been trying to resolve the matter for over three weeks. (Aranda/KTUL){ }{p}{/p}
Kristen Boe says her son spent nearly $500 at the Walmart in Cleveland, Oklahoma for an Apple Watch and that when they opened the box it turned out to be a non-functioning plastic demo. She's been trying to resolve the matter for over three weeks. (Aranda/KTUL){ }{p}{/p}
Kristen Boe says her son spent nearly $500 at the Walmart in Cleveland, Oklahoma for an Apple Watch and that when they opened the box it turned out to be a non-functioning plastic demo. She's been trying to resolve the matter for over three weeks. (Aranda/KTUL){ }{p}{/p}
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Kristen Boe says her son spent nearly $500 at the Walmart in Cleveland, Oklahoma for an Apple Watch and that when they opened the box it turned out to be a non-functioning plastic demo. She's been trying to resolve the matter for over three weeks. (Aranda/KTUL)

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CLEVELAND, Okla. (KTUL) — UPDATE: Boe was contacted by Walmart the day after this story ran and they asked her to come to the store to exchange the demo watch for a real watch.

She is happy that the issue has been resolved.

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He walked out of the Walmart in Cleveland, Oklahoma on Nov. 30 excited as could be. Kristen Boe's son, Bruno, was the proud owner of an Apple Watch.

"We open the box in the car, and he’s like, 'Oh, it won’t come on,' and I said, 'Oh, just put it on the charger, it’s probably dead. We’ll look at it when I get home,'" she said.

But even after a full day of charging, the watch still wouldn't come on.

"We call and talk to Walmart that night before they closed, and they said, 'Oh, if it's not working, you’re going to have to take it to the Apple store,'" said Boe.

Four days later, the problem was diagnosed at the Apple store at Woodland Hills Mall.

"'Oh, well, this is a demo watch. It’s not going to work,'" Boe says she was told.

It was a demo watch, as in, for display only, i.e., just a piece of plastic.

"The dial is like not even attached to the watch. The buttons do not push," she said.

So, Kristen called the Walmart in Cleveland and said the manager wasn't exactly sympathetic to her situation.

"It’s not his problem; he’s not going to be the one out $500, we are. He’s not going to make a return, and he’s definitely not going to exchange it because he says, 'How do I know that you didn’t do something with that watch?'" said Boe.

All of which stuns Kristen, so she decides to try going up the chain.

"Corporate said, 'Oh, no, we’re going to see if we can make this right. We’re going to make it right,'" said Boe.

But three weeks later, that route hasn't seen any success either.

"On day 20, we were told the market manager closed the ticket. He’s not going to issue a refund or a return based off of what the store manager had to say," said Boe.

At her wit's end, she did what anyone does today -- posted the whole ordeal on Facebook.

"I have called corporate and spent many hours on the phone over the last 20 days to get resolution," she said.

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All she's looking for is to either exchange it for a real one or get a refund.

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