Applecare Problem Website (new)

IamTron · Dec 29, 2006

After going through a really difficult time getting my apple care extended warranty honored, and having techtools trash my G5 operating system, and speaking to more than a few other individuals that also experienced problems, I created a website to document user problems with the extended warranty products.

The site is new, so the reporting won't be up until mid Feb

If you, or someone you know has experienced a problem with applecare, please have them complete the survey at: http://www.applecarecenter.com

Note: Not associated with apple.com or apple computer.

aaron.lee2006 · Dec 29, 2006

Is this really neccesary? I mean good for you for putting a website together. But I think that if you have a problem with apple it should be taken up with them personally and not the general public unless it is a major issue such as when the MacBook Pro's had heat issues and so forth. I really see no reason to start an argument with Apple through a large group.

In a few words: Take it up with Apple, not everyone else.

IamTron · Dec 30, 2006

Why post here and try to gather user information?

I don't know another way to change company policies. An individual taking up a problem gets you no where, as many of the posts here indicate.

Do you really think apple will change its policies because one user has a problem? I don't, hence the website.

To clarify, there are two issues, the first one affects every purchase of applecare, and the second one affects anyone running 10.4.x. that bought applecare in 05.

Issue 1:

You buy your apple product and applecare 3 year warranty. In year 2 something breaks and you try to get it fixed. Guess what? If you did not "activate" your warranty during the original warranty period, apple will not honor it - doesn't matter if you paid for it or not.

The only way they will honor it is if you can provide them with the original sales receipt showing you bought the product and the warranty at the same time. If you don't have the original sales receipt you are out of luck - and the money you spent on the warranty. However, if you do have it then you still have to wait 7-10 business days for them to "review and approve" your sales receipt, which isn't too much fun when you use your Mac for biz.

This practice applies to everything from the ipod to a server.

If you bought an extended warranty and have not activated it I strongly suggest you do so now.

Issue 2:

As part of the applecare warranty instructions, it tells you to run techtools before you call apple for support. However, the techtools provided may not be the same as the operating system. In my case, I bought my G5 in July 05 and it came with 10.4, techtools was updated to only 10.3. I ran techtools and repaired the drive - which promptly destroyed the operating system. When I spoke with tech support they acknowledged the problem. The only fix was to erase the disk and do a re-install.

To me, this is simply not an acceptable practice. If apple knows that such a serious problem exists, they could have at least sent out an email or letter. They use the registration information for marketing, don't you think they could use it to warn users?

My issues are resolved. My posts and web site are not meant to help me, they are for helping everyone else that may encounter these problems in the future.

aaron.lee2006 · Dec 30, 2006

But the issues are descriping happened to you personally. So therefore it should be taken up with those people at AppleCare.

gkarris · Dec 30, 2006

IamTron said:
After going through a really difficult time getting my apple care extended warranty honored, and having techtools trash my G5, and speaking to more than a few other individuals that also experienced problems, I created a website to document user problems with the extended warranty products.

The site is new, so the reporting won't be up until mid Feb

If you, or someone you know has experienced a problem applecare, please have them complete the survey at: http://www.applecarecenter.com

Note: Not associated with apple.com or apple computer.

Please note (and don't take personally). "AppleCare" may be trademarked. If Apple finds out about this website and domain, they may pull your domain ownership...

I've never had a problem with Apple Support or AppleCare. You do need to make sure you keep all receipts, and register AppleCare within the period. The safest bet is to purchase at the same time.

aaron.lee2006 · Dec 30, 2006

That was going to be my next point. The domain you have in a way represents Apple so they will pull down your website.

IamTron · Dec 30, 2006

aaron.lee2006 said:
But the issues are descriping happened to you personally. So therefore it should be taken up with those people at AppleCare.

Yes they did happen to me, and I had the know-how and the resources to remedy it, but that does not make it right.

There are many apple users out there that do not know that the warranties they bought and are relying on will not be honored.

It appears that you see nothing wrong with paying for an extended warrenty but not being able to use it. That is great, and I respect that view.

This post is for the people that have a different view.

Currently, 68% of the survey respondants have a problem also, so I guess its not just about me....

mac-convert · Dec 30, 2006

Why don't you have an open site, so the posts can be seen?

IamTron · Dec 30, 2006

gkarris said:
Please note (and don't take personally). "AppleCare" may be trademarked. If Apple finds out about this website and domain, they may pull your domain ownership...

I've never had a problem with Apple Support or AppleCare. You do need to make sure you keep all receipts, and register AppleCare within the period. The safest bet is to purchase at the same time.

Thanks for your comments, we will see what apple does, if anything.

Uh, "The safest bet is to purchase at the same time" does not work, as I did that, at an authorized retail store, it is still up to the end user to "activate" the warranty. Keep in mind that no where on the box does it say that, and only one of the forms in the box even mentions it.

Sure it is great to keep all your reciepts, and if you have all of yours for the past 3 years that is impressive.

I'm sorry, but if you spend $300 on a warranty, I think it is fair to say you expect the warranty to be honored.

mac-convert said:
Why don't you have an open site, so the posts can be seen?

I will in Feb, will be out of town until the end of Jan, then some catching up, then work on the site some more.

"Experiance" - that what is happening to you that you wish was happening to someone else....

mac-convert · Dec 30, 2006

I think that if I wanted a validated site, I would have planned that into the construction. Spitting out numbers like 68% don't mean much without additional numbers and documentation to back it up.

BTW, I hope the domain lasts long enough for you to compile stats in Feb.

IamTron · Dec 30, 2006

mac-convert said:
I think that if I wanted a validated site, I would have planned that into the construction. Spitting out numbers like 68% don't mean much without additional numbers and documentation to back it up.

BTW, I hope the domain lasts long enough for you to compile stats in Feb.

Then by all means, you should create your own site, rather than simply whine about someone else's.

Your comments have been positive, uplifting, and helpful to all - a real asset to the computing community.

But maybe you could spend some time creating your own topics, I'm sure the world would be a better place if you did.

If you have something to post relative to the topic, great. If you just want to hijack the thread, or make personal attacks, go somewhere else please.

Thanks, and have a nice day.

yg17 · Dec 30, 2006

IamTron said:
Thanks for your comments, we will see what apple does, if anything.

Uh, "The safest bet is to purchase at the same time" does not work, as I did that, at an authorized retail store, it is still up to the end user to "activate" the warranty. Keep in mind that no where on the box does it say that, and only one of the forms in the box even mentions it.

Sure it is great to keep all your reciepts, and if you have all of yours for the past 3 years that is impressive.

I'm sorry, but if you spend $300 on a warranty, I think it is fair to say you expect the warranty to be honored.

If I spent $300 on a warranty, I'd make sure to read every single character on every single line of text on every single piece of paper I received. This is your own damn fault. And the fact that AppleCare was $300 means you got an expensive computer as well, an even better reason to read ALL the paperwork.

Regarding your Techtool problem, I have the card that mentions TechTool sitting in front of me that came with my PowerBook AppleCare. It tells you to back up your data as a precaution. You must've ignored that part, again, Apple warned you. And you don't have to run TechTool, I've taken my PowerBook in for repair a few times and have never run TechTool.

Buyer beware...you chose to be ignorant instead. And you paid the price. The fine print isn't there to make the page look pretty.

IamTron · Dec 31, 2006

yg17 said:
If I spent $300 on a warranty, I'd make sure to read every single character on every single line of text on every single piece of paper I received. This is your own damn fault. And the fact that AppleCare was $300 means you got an expensive computer as well, an even better reason to read ALL the paperwork.

Regarding your Techtool problem, I have the card that mentions TechTool sitting in front of me that came with my PowerBook AppleCare. It tells you to back up your data as a precaution. You must've ignored that part, again, Apple warned you. And you don't have to run TechTool, I've taken my PowerBook in for repair a few times and have never run TechTool.

Buyer beware...you chose to be ignorant instead. And you paid the price. The fine print isn't there to make the page look pretty.

Where did I say I didn't back up my data? I said it trashed my operating system.

The Quick Reference Guide says "Try these simple steps before calling Apple for help."

Item 3 on the Quick Reference Guide tells you "Use TechTool Deluxe from Micromat"

Item 6 says, "If these steps do not resolve the issue, please call Apple for more assistance."

So which is it there partner? Read the fine print or not? The fine print would have directed me "activate" my warranty, I am not disputing that, it also would still trash my system.

I think it is great that some people never want to question authority, or even bring up issues, difficult issues and taking a stand take a certain courage that some do not posses.

What you fail to get the point on is that my post and my website isn't about me, I resolved my issues. It is about helping others.

If you haven't had a problem with apple care, great. This post isn't for you, you have stated your opinion so please move on.

IamTron · Dec 31, 2006

Before there is more "gee its just your problem" posts, here is a response from someone that bought the extended warranty from apple directly:

"After I paid for the extended warranty thru Apple, I was informed that the retailer had not entered the puchase date of my product. My warranty would not be valid unless I provided Apple with a receipt, even though I bought the warranty directly thru Apple. I cannot find the receipt for my Ipod so the $59.00 warranty is now worthless. I contacted Apple Care Tech Support and Customer Service. I asked to speak with a supervisor. This request was refused even after making the request four times. Customer Service told me to go to Comp USA and ask them to give me a new receipt. Apple Care is useless! Why should I have to do their leg work? I did exactly what was required under the contract. The fact that Apple was not notified by their "authorized retailer" is not my concern. I purchased the warranty thru Apple, after they sent me 30+ emails telling me that time was running out. They never said that I would have to send them my receipt from a year ago. All I would have to do is pay 59 dollars and they would extend my warranty for one year. It seemed pretty easy until I made the purchase."

spork183 · Dec 31, 2006

The thing about applecare is that many people don't buy it and then try to buy quickly when they have a problem outside warranty. Apple gives you a year to register the warranty. I don't think it is unreasonable that they expect proof in the form of a receipt, to show you bought the warranty within the window of eligibility. The moral of the story is register your warranty.

The second lesson is to read up on the forums before you go through the process with a problem. Granted, Apple should have made sure this was the correct software, but over a three year period, it is not realistic to expect that the software sent with your applecare will remain up to date. The user has to take the initiative for making sure the software is current. The window for this problem seems to be the transition to Tiger. I went through the same problem with the retail version of TechTool. At that time, Micromat didn't have anything up about the incompatibility.

Should it be this way? No. Is this reality in the computer and tech industry? Yes. I can understand the anger and I hope the website helps alleviate it, but I don't think it will change anything. The alternative is to go with Windows.

mac-convert · Dec 31, 2006

Why did you really join MR?

Did you join MR to support the forums, or just to announce this site and attempt to gain support for it? Join date Dec 29th, eight posts, and all of them here about Apple Care.

spork183 · Dec 31, 2006

IamTron said:
Before there is more "gee its just your problem" posts, here is a response from someone that bought the extended warranty from apple directly:

"After I paid for the extended warranty thru Apple, I was informed that the retailer had not entered the puchase date of my product. My warranty would not be valid unless I provided Apple with a receipt, even though I bought the warranty directly thru Apple. I cannot find the receipt for my Ipod so the $59.00 warranty is now worthless. I contacted Apple Care Tech Support and Customer Service. I asked to speak with a supervisor. This request was refused even after making the request four times. Customer Service told me to go to Comp USA and ask them to give me a new receipt. Apple Care is useless! Why should I have to do their leg work? I did exactly what was required under the contract. The fact that Apple was not notified by their "authorized retailer" is not my concern. I purchased the warranty thru Apple, after they sent me 30+ emails telling me that time was running out. They never said that I would have to send them my receipt from a year ago. All I would have to do is pay 59 dollars and they would extend my warranty for one year. It seemed pretty easy until I made the purchase."

If compusa screwed up, how would apple know? It sucks that compusa was incompetent, but this in not an applecare issue. If applecare honors a warranty because I say I bought it, they might as well give it away. The guy should go back on compusa. Even with that, if he bought the warranty, he should have gotten paperwork with it.

Here's an analogy. I just bought a toyota van from a used car dealer. He sold me a toyota extended warranty. He didn't register the warranty and I lost the paperwork. Do you seriously think Toyota will honor the warranty on my say so?

michaelsaxon · Dec 31, 2006

If I've learned one thing about the internet and customer service, it is that the squeaky wheel does seem to get the grease.

IamTron · Dec 31, 2006

spork183 said:
If compusa screwed up, how would apple know? It sucks that compusa was incompetent, but this in not an applecare issue. If applecare honors a warranty because I say I bought it, they might as well give it away. The guy should go back on compusa. Even with that, if he bought the warranty, he should have gotten paperwork with it.

Here's an analogy. I just bought a toyota van from a used car dealer. He sold me a toyota extended warranty. He didn't register the warranty and I lost the paperwork. Do you seriously think Toyota will honor the warranty on my say so?

Except that in this case, compusa didn't sell him the warranty - apple did via a marketing email. Apple got his email address when he registered his ipod, which is how they knew when the original warranty ran out.

mac-convert said:
Did you join MR to support the forums, or just to announce this site and attempt to gain support for it? Join date Dec 29th, eight posts, and all of them here about Apple Care.

I only wanted to let people know that if they did purchase applecare they need to "activate" it, and not to run techtools (at least not without calling first) and that if they encountered a problem there was a place to register that problem. Gain support? It is there to support the users, I have no financial interest or axe to grind, it only is costing me time and money.

Sometimes, you do things just to help others.

So, I joined to help support the apple users.

If a moderator wants to edit my post(s) to say it better - great.

The rest of the posts are responses. I am not try to rant, believe me that is the last thing I want to do, but when someone makes a post that questions something, I responded with what I know of the policies.

Time will tell if it is a problem or not, based upon people that access the site. If it isn't, then the site will just sit there. But maybe, if someone posts a problem about applecare, this forum can direct them to the site, and maybe apple will change thier polices, if only on an exception basis.

I wanted to clarify that my posts in no way reflect the support staff at applecare, they did their best given the policies they had to follow, they were professional and helpful.

Doctor Q · Dec 31, 2006

Moderator note: Discussing IamTron's attempts to change Apple policy, and the particulars of these AppleCare issues, is appropriate. Name-calling is not appropriate.

bousozoku · Dec 31, 2006

IamTron said:
If you google "applecare problems" this site comes up first, at least in california.

Scanning this site brings up allot more than "rumors" and by looking up the threads started by the peeps that are flaming me, they seem to have little or nothing to do about rumors. In fact, of the people that have posted negative comments, I find few that have started a thread about rumors. Several threads are simply product complaints.

"Most people know to read the fine print and know to activate their warranty." and you use what data to support that statement? Call applecare and ask them how many don't, then come back here and report facts, not conjecture.

If people don't take the time to read carefully, it's not the problem of the manufacturer or reseller to take them by the hand. The consumer has choices and, if refusing to be informed was your choice, you got what you earned as far as AppleCare goes. Too bad about your G5 operating system--whatever that is--though.

IamTron · Dec 31, 2006

bousozoku said:
If people don't take the time to read carefully, it's not the problem of the manufacturer or reseller to take them by the hand. The consumer has choices and, if refusing to be informed was your choice, you got what you earned as far as AppleCare goes. Too bad about your G5 operating system--whatever that is--though.

Again, reading it carefully, and following the instructions, is what caused the operating system to crash (see posts about techtools.)

If Apple can use the product registration process to send marketing emails, I think they should/could also use it to notify users of such potential problem.

Your last sentence is kinda below "demi-god" status, don't you think?

bousozoku · Dec 31, 2006

IamTron said:
Again, reading it carefully, and following the instructions, is what caused the operating system to crash (see posts about techtools.)

If Apple can use the product registration process to send marketing emails, I think they should/could also use it to notify users of such potential problem.

Your last sentence is kinda below "demi-god" status, don't you think?

Actually, it's accurate to what you wrote.

IamTron · Dec 31, 2006

bousozoku said:
Actually, it's accurate to what you wrote.

Uh, I've never used a G5 without an operating system...well, except for just after I ran the techtools provided with the applecare....

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