[mothered]

Thanks for the quick response mate, your blog and willingness to help the community is legendary.

Appreciate your kind words.

I guess to play it safe , while in the process of the DNA claim one could refrain from linking the “missing” MBP to one’s personal Apple ID.   Do you think this would be okay or would that fuck up the SE attempt?

Assuming all goes well and the claim is closed, I suppose at that point it’d then be ok to link to your own Apple ID.

^ That's precisely the process that should be used.

Once the funds have cleared Into your account and given the claim Is well and truly finalized without any further Intervention whatsoever, It's safe to say you can use the device as you please. Nothing Is 100% guaranteed, but the likelihood of the company digging up previous records when there's no reason to, Is extremely slim.

Is there any other method you would recommend specifically for SEing a MBP directly from Apple?

As with Amazon, Apple checks sealed box returns, so the sealed box method Is out of the question.

Alternatively, the wrong Item received tends to work well.

Thank you @mothered

You're welcome.