So close to abject misery: iMac screen dies

[symber]

So, to my horror, my 2011 iMac's 27" screen failed to turn on when booting up last night. After a brief freak out, I did some research and tried to fix it with an SMC reset and a PRAM boot, but to no avail. I checked with a flashlight if I could see the screen and it was just the backlight that had failed, but nothing. Finally, checked the system was still functional by logging in through the network, and the files were accessible, which is a relief.

My last iMac was a white Core 2 Duo from 2006, and had lasted me 5 years without ever needing a service, so I'd neglected to get the AppleCare when buying my current model last June. LAST JUNE.

Checked my one-year warranty online, only to find out it runs out today.

Taking it to the Apple repair shop near me this afternoon, but God damn that was close. But now I'm wondering, should I get it fixed, flog it and buy something newer? or get AppleCare on this one and upgrade the SSD at the same time as the repair – give it another two years?

I love it, it does everything I want it to with aplomb and it makes me cash money. But are these black screen problems a fault with this model? Or might I experience this with any all-in-one?

Cheers!

 

[Chippy99]

Not specifically relating to your questions, but do not be fooled by this 1-year warranty nonsense.

As I am sure many around here will know, here in the UK goods when supplied are required to be of satisfactory quality and the seller's obligations in that regard last for 6 years.

Is it reasonable that the screen on such an expensive item should die after 1 year? No.

You would be quite within your rights to take this back to the seller for quite a considerable time yet (years) and ask them to repair it, replace it or compensate you. They could refuse and you could take them to the small claims court and you would win.

Being a more ethical supplier, Apple are fully aware of their obligations:

http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/

 

[symber]

Not specifically relating to your questions, but do not be fooled by this 1-year warranty nonsense.

As I am sure many around here will know, here in the UK goods when supplied are required to be of satisfactory quality and the seller's obligations in that regard last for 6 years.

Is it reasonable that the screen on such an expensive item should die after 1 year? No.

You would be quite within your rights to take this back to the seller for quite a considerable time yet (years) and ask them to repair it, replace it or compensate you. They could refuse and you could take them to the small claims court and you would win.

Being a more ethical supplier, Apple are fully aware of their obligations:

Interesting, but who decides what's "reasonable"?

 

[Wavell]

my screen on my 27" late 2011 iMac pretty much died after 18 months. I didn't have extended applecare warranty - as I expected it to still be covered with Sales of Goods act. I took it to Apple, who then pointed out that it's not the manufacturer that's responsible, it's the vendor. I bought it from PC World (lesson learnt there) and I no longer had the receipt (another lesson learnt).

Upshot is it cost me £450 for a replacement display. I can't say I was thrilled about it, but very valuable lessons learnt.

If you still have your receipt and you bought from a reputable vendor, then you should still have recourse under goods of sale act to have your display replaced for free or a replacement iMac, assuming you can show your imac has been lovingly looked after in all other respects.

I think "reasonable" is a bit subjective, but any reputable vendor should agree that a £1.5k+ computer should have its major component (the display) last a great deal longer than a year, imo.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Not specifically relating to your questions, but do not be fooled by this 1-year warranty nonsense.

As I am sure many around here will know, here in the UK goods when supplied are required to be of satisfactory quality and the seller's obligations in that regard last for 6 years.

As pointed out by @Wavell it's the SELLER who has responsibility, not the manufacturer, as noted in the footnote on the link you posted.

For the OP, AppleCare will ensure that you can get service from Apple for the next two years.

 

[flynz4]

I would buy Applecare today.

/Jim

 

[Chippy99]

As pointed out by @Wavell it's the SELLER who has responsibility, not the manufacturer, as noted in the footnote on the link you posted.

Indeed it is, and that is why I said so in the first place!

Regards symber's question, who decideds what's "reasonable", ultimately the courts do. But they will apply the test of what would an average, normal person expect and find to be reasonable.

Is it reasonable to expect a free repair or replacement (or compensation) if a £39 DVD player fails after 5 years 11 months? No, probably not.

Is it reasonable to expect the screen on a £1,500+ computer to last more than 12 months? Yes, it most certainly is.

And just to qualify what Wavell is saying, it is the seller who can decide how they want to remedy the situtation, not you. They could chose to repair the iMac for you (or have it repaired) or they could chose to replace it. Or they could offer you compensation, like "here's £900 back representing the fact that it is now broken but you have 1 years use out of it." If you don't like the options given, you could refuse and still take them to court, but if they courts deemed that they were being reasonable, and you unreasonable, you would lose.

My point really is that you cannot just demand a replacement and assume you are within your rights to get one. You are only entitled to a repair or to compensation. Anything more than that is a bonus.

EDIT:

Re-reading Wavell's post, he should have tried harder, imho. You do not need the receipt in order to assert your rights under the SOG Act! A credit card bill or confirmation email or anything else would suffice. Or even just telling them you bought it off them. They would have records of whether you did or not. The problem is the staff on the sales floor (up to an including the store manager) often do not know the law - and even in extreme cases do know it and may have been told to ignore it and try to weasle out of their obligations!

PC World should have paid for Wavell's screen I think.

 

[gnasher729]

Interesting, but who decides what's "reasonable"?

You go to the seller, and say "please fix this problem". The seller either says "yes" or "no". If they say "no", you either go to court or you don't. If you go to court, the court decides what's reasonable. It depends entirely on the nature of the product. For electronic goods, two years seems to be regarded as a reasonable time.

 

[symber]

Turned out to be the graphics card in the end. They replaced the screen but nothing happened, so have replaced the card too. Will pick it up tomorrow hopefully. Just in time, got work coming in soon!

I bought an SSD for the repair shop to install, so bought the Apple Care extension. I figure with a 256GB internal M500, I'm not gonna need an upgrade for a good while now, so it should hopefully be worth it.

 

[tomg84]

I recently used the sale of goods act to get the apple store to repair (eventually replace) my iMac 2011. It did take a lot of insisting at the genius bar but they eventually agreed to repair my iMac for free because as mentioned previously iMac should last longer. They estimated the repair would cost £600 . This is the second time I have used the Sale of Goods Act, they know if it did go to court they would probably lose. This is a good guide about rights in the UK http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/consumer-rights-refunds-exchange. I really don't consider two years a reasonable amount of time for a computer to fail; I would expect something that cost in excess £1000 to last five years.

 

[Kissaragi]

Just ring apple, be very nice and ask what they can do for you. If its that close to the warrantee running out id be surprised if they didn't fix it for you.