Apple agrees to return your rMBP? Don't make the mistake I made..

Ccrew · Mar 11, 2013

Lesson for others I learned the hard way.

Bought a 13" rMBP at Best Buy on October 30, 2012. Had nothing but issues with the WiFi in it, anything more than 20' from an AP it was just about worthless. Had it in the Apple store on several occasions, parts replaced, never got better. It eventually got escalated to Executive Relations in Cupertino. After some discussions, and diagnostics tests it was determined it had a bad antenna in it and it was determined by them they would swap it for a new generation replacement. All in all the process went well. I was offered the choice of cross-shipping it or going into the store for a swap. I chose to go in the store.

Thing is, I'm hardly short Apple hardware, and by this time I was using the late 2011 15" cMBP I also own. Given the nightmares popping up on thermal/fan issues on the new gen 13" rMBP's, I asked if I could simply swap it for other hardware I would use.. namely two Thunderbolt monitors. Was told no problem.

Now, I'm already taking a bath for the $1999 I spent for it, vs the $1699 for the replacement which is what they'll credit me because of the price drop. I don't like it, but I can understand. They'll only process it as a "No receipt return" since it was purchased at Best Buy. Even though I had the original receipt with me. I let them process the sale, I pay the difference, and I leave the store.

Day later I'm looking at the receipt, and I realize they didn't credit me $1699, they credited $1599. I go back to the store and Executive Relations and get a response from the store that says (quoted) "I did some research and found the answer to the discrepancy in price. The model of computer you brought in for a return was a 13" 2.5 Retina MBP, which is a previous generation model. We currently sell the 13" 2.6 Retina MBP for $1699. So the correct return price, without a receipt, at the current selling price, is $1599. Therefore your refund amount of $1678.95 is correct"

So an additional $100 ding for the fact that I chose not to accept the $1699 replacement and instead pay more for something else.

Yeah I know. Live and learn. Look at the receipt before leaving the store. Don't make the mistake I made guys. Essentially $400 loss for a machine I was never really able to use, they were never really able to fix, and I chose not to keep.

Temptation is to return the monitors, knowing they'll have to ship back, pay to have checked, and sell for less in the refurb store.

Sean76 · Mar 11, 2013

OP I'm very confused?

So now your thinking of not keeping the TB monitors?

Why didn't ya just grab the new gen 13in rMBP? Wouldn't have cost you a dime as well.

xShane · Mar 11, 2013

Ccrew said:
Lesson for others I learned the hard way.

Bought a 13" rMBP at Best Buy on October 30, 2012. Had nothing but issues with the WiFi in it, anything more than 20' from an AP it was just about worthless. Had it in the Apple store on several occasions, parts replaced, never got better. It eventually got escalated to Executive Relations in Cupertino. After some discussions, and diagnostics tests it was determined it had a bad antenna in it and it was determined by them they would swap it for a new generation replacement. All in all the process went well. I was offered the choice of cross-shipping it or going into the store for a swap. I chose to go in the store.

Thing is, I'm hardly short Apple hardware, and by this time I was using the late 2011 15" cMBP I also own. Given the nightmares popping up on thermal/fan issues on the new gen 13" rMBP's, I asked if I could simply swap it for other hardware I would use.. namely two Thunderbolt monitors. Was told no problem.

Now, I'm already taking a bath for the $1999 I spent for it, vs the $1699 for the replacement which is what they'll credit me because of the price drop. I don't like it, but I can understand. They'll only process it as a "No receipt return" since it was purchased at Best Buy. Even though I had the original receipt with me. I let them process the sale, I pay the difference, and I leave the store.

Day later I'm looking at the receipt, and I realize they didn't credit me $1699, they credited $1599. I go back to the store and Executive Relations and get a response from the store that says (quoted) "I did some research and found the answer to the discrepancy in price. The model of computer you brought in for a return was a 13" 2.5 Retina MBP, which is a previous generation model. We currently sell the 13" 2.6 Retina MBP for $1699. So the correct return price, without a receipt, at the current selling price, is $1599. Therefore your refund amount of $1678.95 is correct"

So an additional $100 ding for the fact that I chose not to accept the $1699 replacement and instead pay more for something else.

Yeah I know. Live and learn. Look at the receipt before leaving the store. Don't make the mistake I made guys. Essentially $400 loss for a machine I was never really able to use, they were never really able to fix, and I chose not to keep.

Temptation is to return the monitors, knowing they'll have to ship back, pay to have checked, and sell for less in the refurb store.

I don't make large/expensive purchases at BestBuy.

Ccrew · Mar 11, 2013

Sean76 said:
OP I'm very confused?

So now your thinking of not keeping the TB monitors?

Why didn't ya just grab the new gen 13in rMBP? Wouldn't have cost you a dime as well.

Because by this time I'm already again using the 15" I already own. I'm an IT guy. Laptops are a tool. I need tools that work, and I can depend on. It takes time to set one up the way I need. Time is not a huge luxury I have.

In retrospect? Probably should have done what you said, but even if I had and flipped it in a sealed box it wouldn't have been at full retail. At the end of the day though I think fair would have been to credit me for the value of the replacement, don't you think? What's done is done. Just put this out there so others don't make the mistakes I did.

Not keeping the TB's is more a revenge move. Knowing Apple will take a matching loss, and it's not like nice monitors can't be had for the same or less $. Like I said. At the end of the day for me they're just a tool.

swerve147 · Mar 11, 2013

xShane said:
I don't make large/expensive purchases at BestBuy.

Especially computers. My mom bought a PC notebook there a while back that came with some random software (I can't even remember what it was, like those free trial AOL discs from a decade back). Best Buy refused to give us a refund when we tried returning it because the plastic shrink wrap on the software was taken off. Mind you this is the same day we bought it. We needed to twist the store manager's arm to refund our money and it took a few hours of waiting on top of that.

All of my electronics purchases (probably thousands of dollars worth of merchandise) have been from Amazon or locally from B&H or even P.C. Richards ever since that day. I absolutely refuse to give Best Buy any business whatsoever.

Sean76 · Mar 11, 2013

Ccrew said:
Because by this time I'm already again using the 15" I already own. I'm an IT guy. Laptops are a tool. I need tools that work, and I can depend on. It takes time to set one up the way I need. Time is not a huge luxury I have.

In retrospect? Probably should have done what you said, but even if I had and flipped it in a sealed box it wouldn't have been at full retail. At the end of the day though I think fair would have been to credit me for the value of the replacement, don't you think? What's done is done. Just put this out there so others don't make the mistakes I did.

Not keeping the TB's is more a revenge move. Knowing Apple will take a matching loss, and it's not like nice monitors can't be had for the same or less $. Like I said. At the end of the day for me they're just a tool.

Revenge get's ya every time brother...

Yea you could have flipped it for just about retail, but it's a headache dealing with ebay, etc.

Like ya said..What's done is done...Now onto getting rid of those TB's. Good luck man

Ccrew · Mar 11, 2013

swerve147 said:
I absolutely refuse to give Best Buy any business whatsoever.

I don't really think BestBuy deserves to get slammed on this one. This isn't a BB return, this was an Apple store return, I think you've misread. The simple fact that Apple wouldn't honor the receipt on what I paid BB is actually irrelevant. It's about Apple not giving me the $ credit for the machine they agreed to replace mine with, instead opting for $100 less because I chose not to replace it with identical.

Orlandoech · Mar 11, 2013

xShane said:
I don't make large/expensive purchases at BestBuy.

Amen lol.

swerve147 · Mar 11, 2013

Ccrew said:
I don't really think BestBuy deserves to get slammed on this one. This isn't a BB return, this was an Apple store return, I think you've misread. The simple fact that Apple wouldn't honor the receipt on what I paid BB is actually irrelevant. It's about Apple not giving me the $ credit for the machine they agreed to replace mine with, instead opting for $100 less because I chose not to replace it with identical.

Gotcha, I stand corrected, BB was not at fault, Apple was. Which surprises the heck out of me. While I think (could be wrong) Apple doesn't have an obligation to match the price you paid at another retailer, Apple is usually good on doing so anyway to satisfy the customer, especially one who had to go through a defective product return. That's disappointing to hear

KPOM · Mar 11, 2013

Ccrew said:
I don't really think BestBuy deserves to get slammed on this one. This isn't a BB return, this was an Apple store return, I think you've misread. The simple fact that Apple wouldn't honor the receipt on what I paid BB is actually irrelevant. It's about Apple not giving me the $ credit for the machine they agreed to replace mine with, instead opting for $100 less because I chose not to replace it with identical.

To be fair, Apple's return policies seem pretty reasonable to me. They are taking back a unit that they didn't sell to you directly. Lots of manufacturers won't directly take back something sold from a reseller. They offered you the current generation replacement product, which is slightly better as it has an improved processor and (reportedly) some new internals. You elected to take a credit toward completely different products.

----------

swerve147 said:
Gotcha, I stand corrected, BB was not at fault, Apple was. Which surprises the heck out of me. While I think (could be wrong) Apple doesn't have an obligation to match the price you paid at another retailer, Apple is usually good on doing so anyway to satisfy the customer, especially one who had to go through a defective product return. That's disappointing to hear

Re-read it. They offered him a replacement 13" rMBP 2013 model in exchange for his 2012 model. When he refused, they offered him a credit toward Apple monitors, albeit at $100 less than the current selling price because he didn't buy it from them directly. I don't think that's unreasonable. Apple is going to take back that notebook, fix what was wrong with it, and sell it as a refurb for $1449. They offered him a new unit that is selling for $1699 or a $1599 credit toward 2 monitors. Should the manager have been more clear that the credit would be $100 less? Perhaps, but overall I don't think the policy itself is unreasonable at all.

Sean76 · Mar 11, 2013

swerve147 said:
Gotcha, I stand corrected, BB was not at fault, Apple was. Which surprises the heck out of me. While I think (could be wrong) Apple doesn't have an obligation to match the price you paid at another retailer, Apple is usually good on doing so anyway to satisfy the customer, especially one who had to go through a defective product return. That's disappointing to hear

Apple is getting very very tight with they're return policies lately.

And the reason behind it is pretty simple, Apples quality control has slipped and people expect perfection from they're products when they spend so much money on these products. Take an iphone 5 for example, the majority of them were arriving with scratches out of the box, people were going through 2-3 devices in the stores just to find an unblemished unit. Happen to me with my original rMBP, opened it up and it had a nice big scratch on it. Well back it went! Point of the story is years ago Apple was all to willing to do anything to make someone happy...Not so much anymore because of the amount of returns/exchanges that they receive.

Ccrew · Mar 11, 2013

KPOM said:
You elected to take a credit toward completely different products.

Therein lies my complaint though. Shouldn't the credit equal what they agreed to replace it with, rather than $100 less? I find that more the fair resolution. I'm not complaining about the price drop, that's the cost of being an early adopter. Doesn't mean I like it, but I accept that.

----------

KPOM said:
When he refused, they offered him a credit toward Apple monitors, albeit at $100 less than the current selling price because he didn't buy it from them directly. I don't think that's unreasonable. Apple is going to take back that notebook, fix what was wrong with it, and sell it as a refurb for $1449. They offered him a new unit that is selling for $1699 or a $1599 credit toward 2 monitors.

Actually, I wasn't told that's what they were doing. And actually I didn't "refuse" the swap. I simply asked if I could. the $100 ding wasn't disclosed until I looked closely at the receipt and then questioned it after the fact. I'm sitting here with a 15" cMBP, a 27" iMac, a Mac Mini, and a MacPro on the way. the retina was sitting unused because it didn't work. If I just wanted to get rid of it, I'd have just sold it. Fact of the matter was it had issues, wasn't fixed after repeated trips, and it was more a thorn in my side than useful.

maxosx · Mar 11, 2013

Ccrew said:
Therein lies my complaint though. Shouldn't the credit equal what they agreed to replace it with, rather than $100 less?

No they agreed to replace it. That's above and beyond.

You changed the terms when you wanted something else. That ones on you.

Ccrew · Mar 11, 2013

maxosx said:
No they agreed to replace it. That's above and beyond.

You changed the terms when you wanted something else. That ones on you.

Replacing a machine that's already been in for repairs multiple times and then has had remote diagnostics run on it by Apple HQ that determined it was defective is "above and beyond" ? You've bought too many Dells

You know, I'd almost agree with you on the rest. Ever shopped in an Apple store though? The $100 wasn't disclosed, and ever tried to see the $ breakout on a receipt when they're keying it in on their iphone? Disclosure is the key here.

KPOM · Mar 11, 2013

Ccrew said:
Therein lies my complaint though. Shouldn't the credit equal what they agreed to replace it with, rather than $100 less? I find that more the fair resolution. I'm not complaining about the price drop, that's the cost of being an early adopter. Doesn't mean I like it, but I accept that.

----------

Actually, I wasn't told that's what they were doing. And actually I didn't "refuse" the swap. I simply asked if I could. the $100 ding wasn't disclosed until I looked closely at the receipt and then questioned it after the fact. I'm sitting here with a 15" cMBP, a 27" iMac, a Mac Mini, and a MacPro on the way. the retina was sitting unused because it didn't work. If I just wanted to get rid of it, I'd have just sold it. Fact of the matter was it had issues, wasn't fixed after repeated trips, and it was more a thorn in my side than useful.

I think you have a legitimate gripe with the store manager, who should have been upfront that the alternative to a replacement machine was a credit at a $100 discount. I'd suggest calling Apple or sending an e-mail to a higher up and letting them know that. Perhaps you'll get somewhere that route.

If I bought a particular product from any manufacturer and it had problems after the return period, I'd expect to get a replacement device or at least my own device fixed back to spec. It appears they offered you that (a new 2013 rMBP with comparable, actually slightly better specs).

Since you concluded that you didn't really need the 13" rMBP and asked for something else, the fact that Apple's standard policy is to give $100 less itself doesn't seem unreasonable to me, since it serves as a deterrent to frivolous "defect" claims. However, the customer service agent should have been upfront about it at the time you accepted it, as it might affect a customer's actions.

So in summary, I think your beef should be with the Apple rep who didn't alert you to the fact that the credit came through at $100 less than what you were quoted. Had you known that upfront, you could have gone forward with your decision accordingly.

----------

Ccrew said:
Replacing a machine that's already been in for repairs multiple times and then has had remote diagnostics run on it by Apple HQ that determined it was defective is "above and beyond" ? You've bought too many Dells

You know, I'd almost agree with you on the rest. Ever shopped in an Apple store though? The $100 wasn't disclosed, and ever tried to see the $ breakout on a receipt when they're keying it in on their iphone? Disclosure is the key here.

I wouldn't say replacing the machine is above and beyond, but it is reasonable. I agree you have a beef that the $100 wasn't disclosed.

To be fair, I've had very good experiences with Apple. I bought a 2010 MacBook Air from MacMall that had a defective logic board. Apple took it back and not only gave me a replacement, but gave me a receipt with the Apple purchase price. If I were so minded, I could actually have gone to a different Apple store down the street, and returned it for full credit, even though I bought it from MacMall for a bit less.

----------

Ccrew said:
Therein lies my complaint though. Shouldn't the credit equal what they agreed to replace it with, rather than $100 less? I find that more the fair resolution. I'm not complaining about the price drop, that's the cost of being an early adopter. Doesn't mean I like it, but I accept that.

I can see the logic here. If a product is defective, usually the remedy is to replace it with the same product. They don't want people turning defects (real or imagined) into "do-overs."

trikky · Mar 11, 2013

Ccrew said:
Lesson for others I learned the hard way.

So...they gave you a credit for a product you bought elsewhere when all they were required to do was repair the item (which they offered), and now you're not happy because they gave you an in-store credit less than what you paid at another retailer for the now superseded model?

You asked if the credit should be worth the value of the replacement. No, it shouldn't be. It should be about equal to the wholesale, or discounted value of the item, but certainly not the retail value. So therefore, $100 less than the retail value of a computer sounds quire reasonable to me.

Apple's obligation was limited to warranty service in this case, because you did not buy from Apple. If you want a full refund, you should take up the matter with Best Buy because your purchase contract was with them.

Good luck.

David58117 · Mar 11, 2013

You bought it almost 5 months ago, were able to take it to another retailer you didn't purchase it from, get it returned and have the money applied towards a different and new product.

What are you complaining about?

Just because you liked your old computer better and chose to return to that, isn't their fault.

Most of us would be stuck with the computer we purchased 5 months ago..

Ccrew · Mar 11, 2013

trikky said:
If you want a full refund, you should take up the matter with Best Buy because your purchase contract was with them.

No, I wasn't asking for, nor did I expect a REFUND. I expected to receive equal value to what they were going to provide. They were going to provide a replacement computer valued at $1699. I simply wanted to use that as credit toward a larger purchase. Remember here... I asked if I could - not demanded that I wanted to. At no time during the transaction was it disclosed that if I took that option I would forfeit $100. I would have made the decision were that the case.

My warranty was with Apple. It was their choice to replace it. Best Buy is not a player in this, as this was rooted in an ongoing warranty issue.

----------

David58117 said:
Just because you liked your old computer better and chose to return to that, isn't their fault.
.

First off the "other retailer" is the manufacturer. This isn't I bought it at Best Buy and tried to return it to Microcenter.
My old computer worked. This isn't about I liked it better, it's that my job depends on a computer. If you deliver pizza's and you have 2 cars and one car constantly is broken it's wrong to stick with the one that works?

David58117 · Mar 11, 2013

Ccrew said:
No, I wasn't asking for, nor did I expect a REFUND. I expected to receive equal value to what they were going to provide. They were going to provide a replacement computer valued at $1699. I simply wanted to use that as credit toward a larger purchase. Remember here... I asked if I could - not demanded that I wanted to. At no time during the transaction was it disclosed that if I took that option I would forfeit $100. I would have made the decision were that the case.

My warranty was with Apple. It was their choice to replace it. Best Buy is not a player in this, as this was rooted in an ongoing warranty issue.

----------

First off the "other retailer" is the manufacturer. This isn't I bought it at Best Buy and tried to return it to Microcenter.
My old computer worked. This isn't about I liked it better, it's that my job depends on a computer. If you deliver pizza's and you have 2 cars and one car constantly is broken it's wrong to stick with the one that works?

But you already decided to upgrade..you had a defective product - weren't they going to upgrade you to the newer generation?

A time machine backup and restore to a new machine isn't really that difficult..

Anyway this is pointless.

Ccrew · Mar 11, 2013

David58117 said:
Anyway this is pointless.

Agreed. Like I said in the initial post.. It was advice to anyone that was thinking about doing what I did. At the end of the day it's $100. The ethics piss me off, but it certainly doesn't make me not pay the light bill.

But to respond to your question, I hadn't decided to upgrade, they offered a replacement machine, since mine had lived in repair, and I hadn't had use of it for close to half my time of ownership. They send out rMBP's it seems, rather than fix them in-store.. The one in-store repair waited 2 weeks for parts. Doing a full restore from a 13" rMBP to a Late 2011 15" cMBP makes for a pretty unhappy machine. I had tried it on two occasions as returning the rMBP for repairs required i wipe it due to sensitive employer info on the drive. Been there, done that. Restoring like machine to like machine worked fine.

trikky · Mar 11, 2013

Ccrew said:
No, I wasn't asking for, nor did I expect a REFUND. I expected to receive equal value to what they were going to provide. They were going to provide a replacement computer valued at $1699.

That's right...you chose a cash option. It's common practice in many areas to give a value of one amount for an item and another lower value for cash, because there's a difference between retail and wholesale values.

The lottery would be a good example in the USA. Win a kazillion dollars!!! (or $25.99 if you take the lump sum payout).

Sure, they could have explained the situation a little better, but it doesn't make it any less realistic as an offer. You can take the replacement computer valued at $1699 with better specs, or a credit worth $1599 you can spend on whatever you want.

Although I would have most likely gone with the replacement computer myself (computer for a computer), the $1599 credit is quite reasonable. You can't compare to how much you paid because you paid retail at another retailer (they keep your money and their profit) and the computer was a superseded model where the retail price had gone down.

...and that's why I would have gone with the computer trade, myself...

Ccrew · Mar 11, 2013

trikky said:
That's right...you chose a cash option.

No, a cash option would be a refund. What I chose was store credit, same as they were giving me. The expectation was that that credit would be the same. The flaw was they didn't disclose that it wasn't.

Read the original post. The original cost paid was $1999. I'm not disputing the reduction to current sale price of $1699. Thanks for the comment though.

David58117 · Mar 11, 2013

Ccrew said:
No, a cash option would be a refund. What I chose was store credit, same as they were giving me. The expectation was that that credit would be the same. The flaw was they didn't disclose that it wasn't.

Read the original post. The original cost paid was $1999. I'm not disputing the reduction to current sale price of $1699. Thanks for the comment though.

That's what happens when it's almost a half year later - prices drop...

trikky · Mar 11, 2013

Ccrew said:
No, a cash option would be a refund. What I chose was store credit, same as they were giving me.

A credit is equal to cash. Let's say you have $1000 credit and $1000 cash and you want to buy something that retails for $1000. Do you have anything left over with either option? No you don't. In fact, you could have to pay more with both options, if the item is subject to tax.

Credit = cash.

The expectation was that that credit would be the same.

Your expectation was wrong. I can see why you were mistaken...

The flaw was they didn't disclose that it wasn't.

...and the fact they didn't disclose that didn't help.

Read the original post. The original cost paid was $1999.

As has already been mentioned by myself and others, you can't base anything on what you paid, and you already know the reason why.

My suggestion? Be happy with what you got, and enjoy your monitors.

Ccrew · Mar 12, 2013

trikky said:
A credit is equal to cash.

No, a credit is a credit. Still has to be used at the same place, for an item I have to buy there. Cash is a refund. Money in my pocket i can take to a competitor.

Now that said, I'm glad that some of you think that it's perfectly acceptable to (not) use a machine for 4 months. To suffer the aggravation of a machine that fails to do it's job. To no longer have faith that what you bought is capable of doing it's job. To take 8x 120mi round trips to an Apple store for service. then take a loss on a return. There's clearly a business model there that Apple has you firmly entrenched in. Enjoy.

Apple agrees to return your rMBP? Don't make the mistake I made..

macrumors 68020

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 68020

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 68020

macrumors 68040

macrumors 6502a

macrumors P6

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 68020

macrumors 68020

macrumors 68020

macrumors P6

macrumors regular

macrumors 65816

macrumors 68020

macrumors 65816

macrumors 68020

macrumors regular

macrumors 68020

macrumors 65816

macrumors regular

macrumors 68020

Our Staff