OnePlus is on a mission to sell 1 million handsets by the end of this year. Unfortunately, it looks like OnePlus has been caught in a bit of a controversy, with claims from consumers that the company is selling used or refurbished devices as brand new.
According to OnePlus forum posts, several customers during the past couple of months claim to have received refurbished or used devices when they ordered brand new units directly from OnePlus. While OnePlus has stayed relatively quiet about the issue, they decided to address it head on by responding to each accusation via their forum.
In the end, OnePlus was able to research and claim the accusations as false, ending the forum post with:
The bottom line is this: Out of 500,000+ devices sold, 7 people claimed to have used or refurbished devices. Some of the claims were more substantial than others. While we take full responsibility for any possible dust and/or scratch issues a couple of these customers experienced, all of the devices were brand new. Out of over 500,000 devices, a handful perhaps slipped by quality control and were sent out with minor imperfections, but they were in no way used or refurbished.
We are currently working closely with the factory to ensure that every single phone continues to be shipped in absolute-perfect condition, but we hope that our findings here put to rest the rumors that we are somehow attempting to pass off used phones as new.
We thank you for your patience over the last few days. We are still taking this matter very seriously, and we apologize for any concerns that the rumors have caused.
The OnePlus One has been available since April, but can still only be purchased via the unique invitation only system.