A newly established, local Tuscaloosa vendor is now providing its services to stop iPhone theft. After aiding in the return of two recently stolen iPhones, Bama iPhone Clinic is now offering students and other Tuscaloosa community members a full, free service that will help track and find stolen iPhones.
Ilyas Ileri, a recent UA graduate, founded Bama iPhone Clinic-Tuscaloosa last year with his brother.
“It’s kind of a family business,” Ileri said. “When I was in class at the University, I saw almost all of my classmates had iPhones, and a lot of them were broken.”
Ileri said the iPhone 4 is made of glass so it shatters very easily, but high prices impede students from purchasing a replacement.
“I noticed there was a need for somebody out there to fix these iPhones,” Ileri said. “So, I sent my brother to Turkey to learn how to fix iPhones, and we started the business in our apartment.”
Ileri said his brother went to Turkey because there is a technician there who provides in-house certification and training, including how to fix water damage to a motherboard, which even the Apple Store does not fix.
The Bama iPhone Clinic is growing in popularity in Tuscaloosa. Because of this popularity, the store began receiving stolen iPhones to fix, Ileri said.
“We are getting a lot of stolen phones,” he said. “People bring in iPhones to sell and we do buy broken iPhones, but only if we’re sure it’s from the real owner. We will investigate. We dig into it.”
The staff at the Bama iPhone Clinic will check to make sure that the pictures on the phone match with the owner of the phone and other small, similar tricks.
“For example, if a man brings in an iPhone and he is older and all the pictures are of young, college-aged [student] then that gives us a red flag,” Ileri said.
This recently happened with a phone of a UA student whose pictures didn’t match with the man who brought it in.
“We told the man we thought the phone was stolen, and he just ran away,” Ileri said. “We called the parents’ number on the phone and told them that their son’s phone was stolen, and he was able to pick it up.”
Vicki Daviston, the mother of the student whose phone was stolen, gave feedback on the Bama iPhone Clinic Facebook page.
“Thanks for calling and returning the stolen iPhone to its rightful owner,” Daviston said. “It’s nice to know there are some people who are still honest and that will do the right thing.”
Ileri said another time a man brought in a shattered iPhone, but when they fixed it he did not know the phone’s password.
“We found out it was also a lost or stolen iPhone,” Ileri said.
The University Police Department is now in contact with the Bama iPhone Clinic.
UAPD told Ileri that over the span of one week an average of 30 phones are stolen, and each iPhone 4 can sell for $300-$400, while the older models can sell for $100-$200.
“After talking with the police, we created a database in our system so that if we get your serial number of your phone then we will register it in our database under your name,” Ileri said. “That way if the phone is stolen and brought into our clinic, it can be tracked back to the owner.”
Students and other Tuscaloosa community members can email the Bama iPhone Clinic the serial number, and they will keep it in their database free of charge.
Ileri said he wants to provide this service solely to stop these robberies from occurring.
“I hate people stealing others’ property,” Ileri said. “I am one million percent against it. We don’t want to see those people in my business. UAPD brought in pictures of people who have stolen iPhones in case we see them.”
Those interested in going to the Bama iPhone Clinic can check out their Facebook profile or call 887-5151. Those who are friends of the clinic on Facebook will get 5 percent off service on their first visit and 10 percent off their second visit. Also on customers’ birthdays, they will receive a complimentary gift of a charger, case or other item.
The Bama iPhone Clinic recently applied for a trademark, and Ileri is thinking of expanding and having branches in Birmingham and Atlanta.
“During one month we saw so much growth and that is encouraging us to be franchising in the near future,” Ileri said. “Many customers come here and never go anywhere else. As long as we give quality service and do a quality job we don’t care what it costs us.”
