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£835 repair bill one year after purchase
- Thread starter tfking
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My ~20 month old 2015 12” MacBook SSD just died. I bought it refurbished from Apple in May 2016 for $930. Apple store employee quoted $535 to replace the SSD (no AppleCare.) There’s always the risk that they find more stuff wrong when you send it in for repair. I had the keyboard replaced under warranty last year and Apple’s repair facility replaced the logic board at the same time for some reason. Will probably just sell it as broken on eBay and sit pat. I wasn’t using it as much since getting both of the latest iPad Pros. I can’t say that I’m impressed with the quality of this $1300 MSRP laptop. Stings even more since I’ve spent over $3k in the last year on Apple products.
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[doublepost=1543074679][/doublepost]I completely agree with this Guy, I had a macbook retina 12 inch fo 3 years and it was great, then I had the charging issue. After that period of time i let it go and bought another. Within two weeks exactly the say thing happened, intermittent charging and then it packed up. This time i was angry and spoke to Apple who are refused to accept there was a quality issue with the U4700 chip on the logic board. I have since investigated this and its very wide spread and i wanted to speak to someone who knew what they were doing. The guys at Apple refused to pass on the issues as you have to return the logic board, so very few of these incidents are getting recorded. The following UTube details the issue brilliantly. Perhaps its time to go back to Windows. Shame on Apple....
Safe to say I wont purchase another, too much margin, too little development, too many issues; battery, keyboard, port, display. Mac's now simply lack value, are disposable, with deliberate built in obsolescence, that doesn't work for me professionally or privately...
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Yesterday, my MacBook has also given up the ghost after 2.5 years. 
Screen went fuzzy and then the system crashed. Now it won't turn on. Sounds like a logic board issue?
I have booked an appointment at the genius bar for Sunday. Fingers crossed
Screen went fuzzy and then the system crashed. Now it won't turn on. Sounds like a logic board issue?
I have booked an appointment at the genius bar for Sunday. Fingers crossed
To the OP, as previously stated in the thread, you are in contract with Amazon not Apple; you need to email Amazon stating the issues and asking them how they wish to resolve them in respect of their obligations under UK consumer law. It is reasonable to expect an expensive laptop to last longer than 12 months, and that will be the basis of your claim. I am sure Amazon will put it right, but if not google "money claim" and start a claim. It's a simple process and Amazon would settle before going to court.
In terms of Apple, I like their products but not the company; they only have one motivation like most companies - profit, and increasingly they treat their customers with contempt. They aren't interested in adhering to UK consumer law; if they were open about their legal obligations it would harm Apple Care sales. I took my iPhone in for a repair at 13 months (common fault) and they were a complete pain until I mentioned consumer law, they then said they would repair it under "good will" (rubbish) and I would have to pay for any subsequent repairs (completely untrue); I emailed the store manager and asked him to confirm if this was part of staff training and received a response stating the member of staff would be offered further training....whatever.
Apple's 12 month warranty in the UK is exactly that, Apples warranty; it bears no relation to what you are entitled to.
In terms of Apple, I like their products but not the company; they only have one motivation like most companies - profit, and increasingly they treat their customers with contempt. They aren't interested in adhering to UK consumer law; if they were open about their legal obligations it would harm Apple Care sales. I took my iPhone in for a repair at 13 months (common fault) and they were a complete pain until I mentioned consumer law, they then said they would repair it under "good will" (rubbish) and I would have to pay for any subsequent repairs (completely untrue); I emailed the store manager and asked him to confirm if this was part of staff training and received a response stating the member of staff would be offered further training....whatever.
Apple's 12 month warranty in the UK is exactly that, Apples warranty; it bears no relation to what you are entitled to.
I got a 1990€ repair bill last year on my 12" 2016 Macbook, it was less than 1 year old and was bought from a reseller. The keyboard had problems and the USB port was not working properly. It was working okay despite these issues, but upon inspection they also found water damage, or so they claimed and refused to repair it.
My girlfriends 12" 2016 Macbook had a graphic chip error recently, the machine was a bit over one year old. It was fixed under warranty thankfully, because the consumer laws are stronger here in Europe (2 years instead of 1 year).
My girlfriends 12" 2016 Macbook had a graphic chip error recently, the machine was a bit over one year old. It was fixed under warranty thankfully, because the consumer laws are stronger here in Europe (2 years instead of 1 year).
Yesterday, my MacBook has also given up the ghost after 2.5 years.
Screen went fuzzy and then the system crashed. Now it won't turn on. Sounds like a logic board issue?
I have booked an appointment at the genius bar for Sunday. Fingers crossed
Welcome to the world of disposable MacBook's. In 10 years time, we will not be having people saying that their MacBook's have been lasting "forever" like before.
Well I took my laptop in yesterday. they said they were going inspect it this week.
If it is a logic board issue, then it will cost me £480 to get it fixed.
Not impressed, especially when they said I should invest in apple care. I told them after 2 years a component shouldn't just fail on £1000 laptop.
Anyway, lets see what this week brings.
If it is a logic board issue, then it will cost me £480 to get it fixed.
Not impressed, especially when they said I should invest in apple care. I told them after 2 years a component shouldn't just fail on £1000 laptop.
Anyway, lets see what this week brings.
Well I took my laptop in yesterday. they said they were going inspect it this week.
If it is a logic board issue, then it will cost me £480 to get it fixed.
Not impressed, especially when they said I should invest in apple care. I told them after 2 years a component shouldn't just fail on £1000 laptop.
Anyway, lets see what this week brings.
4 words - Sale of Goods Act.
Tell them you're very disappointed that it failed after 2 years and that it shouldn't happen on a laptop of that value. Is there anything they can do? They should get the hint.
Well I took my laptop in yesterday. they said they were going inspect it this week.
If it is a logic board issue, then it will cost me £480 to get it fixed.
Not impressed, especially when they said I should invest in apple care. I told them after 2 years a component shouldn't just fail on £1000 laptop.
Anyway, lets see what this week brings.
Genius Bars, AASPs, or any name Apple assistance has in your country, will always try to charge the full price. The right procedure is: go to a Genius Bar, leave your Mac for diagnostics. When they answer with a full price to fix, call Apple and tell your story. I've always had good deals after calling Apple to keep my Macs fixed. The first day that they break this behaviour then I'll probably move to the Precision/XPS line by Dell, or other similar laptop. There must be a reason why we pay above market prices for a laptop, and this has something to do with trust we put in Apple products and support.
I would not stand for this. We have such a thing called fit for purpose. If the device failed due to manufacturers fault then you can claim for right to repair. I’ve forgotten the name of it. But seek advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau.
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/how-long-should-it-last/ Has some good info too.
I had a friend claim under the consumer protection law for repairs out of warranty.
I had no update after a week so gave the store a call today. They said they are waiting for the logic board to come in so they can fix my laptop. He said I should have it back in another 2 weeks. (Hopefully before Christmas)
My only concern is I never agreed to pay for the logic board to be replaced when they took my laptop in (they took it in for diagnostics) and they have not contacted me over the past week regarding this replacement. Hopefully they are not expecting me to pay for the repair as I would have rather put the money towards a new machine.
Fingers crossed.
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I found the Apple staff at Stratford London store then to be disingenuous.
Once I spoke to support staff in America I felt I had made a breakthrough. They actually showed human empathy and immediately recognised the user-experience to be poor and volunteered to pay for the repairs. Kudos to Apple for correcting this failure. In 2016 the Apple Stratford staff left me with a stark choice of paying the hideous repair bill or collecting the dead PC. I refused to pay for repairs then - rightfully so, two years later (2018 Nov) this same computer is dead again.
I attended the 'Genius' Bar at Stratford again because at startup a folder appears in the middle of a black screen with a question mark:
Sickening! Awaiting engineer diagnostic report and repair statement.
[doublepost=1547772838][/doublepost]
I experienced the very same thing here where fisherking has a some need to jump in to shield his "corporate overlords" from criticism and is actually more harsh than Apple themselves.
Once I spoke to support staff in America I felt I had made a breakthrough. They actually showed human empathy and immediately recognised the user-experience to be poor and volunteered to pay for the repairs. Kudos to Apple for correcting this failure. In 2016 the Apple Stratford staff left me with a stark choice of paying the hideous repair bill or collecting the dead PC. I refused to pay for repairs then - rightfully so, two years later (2018 Nov) this same computer is dead again.
I attended the 'Genius' Bar at Stratford again because at startup a folder appears in the middle of a black screen with a question mark:
- Booked 19:35 appointment at Genius Bar - seen at 20:00
- Explained I had a previous appointment in 2018 Dec where 'Genius' staff ran diagnostic test (no fault found), they wiped the hard drive, reinstalled the OS. Rebooted mac and it started. Got home, it never booted again.
- Diagnostics tests run again today - no fault found
- Genius Bar staff quickly stated it could be a logic board failure and that would cost £500, am I prepared to pay for the repair costs? (Seemed unusual practice to anticipate problem and subsequent repair. Guess they know their products well).
Sickening! Awaiting engineer diagnostic report and repair statement.
[doublepost=1547772838][/doublepost]
went over my head but wow.
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I managed to get my logic board fixed for free from the Regent street apple store in the end.
They tried to charge me when they returned the laptop but I told them I never agreed to it and they could keep the laptop as I would have preferred to put my money towards a new laptop. They relented afterwards.
Fingers crossed you get it fixed by apple, and apple officially recognise this as a problem.
They tried to charge me when they returned the laptop but I told them I never agreed to it and they could keep the laptop as I would have preferred to put my money towards a new laptop. They relented afterwards.
Fingers crossed you get it fixed by apple, and apple officially recognise this as a problem.
Well. My laptop failed yesterday roughly 6 weeks after they fixed the logic board. In fairness, this was a another issue with SSD failing.
As it is soldered on to the logic board they said it is within the 3 month warranty of the logic board replacement and would fix it again for free. I was hoping they would give me a new one but they would not budge.
... losing the will here! The laptop is crashing again on startup after being repaired and returned several months ago.
The computer SSD has been wiped two times already to attempt to reinstall the OS from scratch. Well yesterday 05th May 2019 the computer failed again. A loud hissing followed by the screen showing a snow storm. On restart it shows the crash report then the snow storm resumes and it freezes. Unbelievable! This is like writing a diary.
The computer SSD has been wiped two times already to attempt to reinstall the OS from scratch. Well yesterday 05th May 2019 the computer failed again. A loud hissing followed by the screen showing a snow storm. On restart it shows the crash report then the snow storm resumes and it freezes. Unbelievable! This is like writing a diary.
This ridiculous debacle continues
Let me reiterate: I bought the Macbook on Amazon UK in good faith. I opened the box myself and the product came from Apple. Below is the squirming email communication the "Genius Bar" had the gall to send to me by mail. Please note I have already called their support desk on Sat 1st June to bring attention to this case (I needed to go over the heads of the money grabbing shops) .. senior support guy (Anthony) sounded genuine when he assured me they would look into the case and look for a resolution. Haven't heard from him instead I get this mail.
Let me make this clear - three logic boards in three years (roughly needs replacing once a year). This product is faulty and they expect me to pay for yet another logic board().
--
Warranty Status: Out of Warranty (OW)
United Kingdom Model: MACBOOK (RETINA, 12-INCH, EARLY 2015)
Date of Purchase: 04-Nov-2015
Issue: Customer states the computer stopped powering on again.
SMC or PRAM did not solve the issue.
Unable to run diagnostics.
Keyboard doesn’t have backlight on.
Steps to Reproduce: Took to minimal systems and trying starting the Mac up with various parts disconnected to try isolate issue but did not ever turn on.
MLB is getting power from IO board & Flex as light is appearing after connecting to charge but no further power to turn the machine on.
Proposed Resolution: Machine needs MLB - OOW at £580.80
Unfortunately, machine is outside previous repairs 90 day coverage. Not eligible for consumer law as bought outside EU and not from Apple.
Resolution: Customer Declined
Reason: Repair Cost
I share your pain, but from a legal/consumer perspective, your claim is with Amazon UK, not Apple, if you wanted to pursue the latest claim. You are in contract with Amazon UK, although you would expect given the hassle you have had for Apple to offer extended goodwill. It's interesting that it states it was bought "outside EU"; I take it you bought it from Amazon UK, but the laptop was imported (ie US model)?
Although I live in the UK, I buy my Apple laptops in the US when they are on sale but I accept that I won't be covered beyond a year by the generous UK consumer laws.
fair point, thanks for your input
[doublepost=1560004913][/doublepost]so I spoke to staff at Apple Care on the phone today who assures me she cannot override decisions made at the Apple "Genius" Bar because they are HARDWARE experts, she has not inspected my machine (yes they must think I'm stupid). She is a software expert. When I asked the Apple "Genius" Bar staff what was the fault with the logic they could not tell me. So, they expect me to fork out for a new computer or repair the laptop at great cost (not knowing if it will fail again in several months again) but they won't determine what is specifically at fault with the logic board.
The whole point of buying Apple products is that they are well engineered and warrant the premium price. As a customer I don't have to understand the how laptops are made. You expect Apple to tackle the many technical challenges in the design stage and deliver, dare I say it, a reliable, ergonomic, marketable product that enables users to efficiently complete their tasks. This has been the case with their products of the past - you could blindly pay for an apple phone that had the perfect mix of design elements that meant they can compete and even outshine the competition. I assumed from Apple's reputation that a ground breaking design like the 2015 Macbook 12 Inch would be released to the public when they could assure a quality product. I have made a mistake and this company that projects the "oh os cool" image expects me to pay for it.
I am now exasperated with the experience and realistically at some point I will need to cut my losses. The Dell XPS maybe my next stop.
Apple Support have now officially told me they refuse to do anything to compensate for faulty goods. To date I am seven weeks without my own personal computer. I refuse to pay:
I have just collected the faulty laptop from the Apple store in London. The amount of time and effort going backwards and forwards to Apple stores and talking to Support staff has become depressing and a complete inconvenience. I have NEVER in my life encountered this utter dismal experience with any other product. It's a matter of principle that this company at least acknowledge the products faults. Of course, this may not be every one’s experience, in which case why can’t they rectify this one freak occurrence? I don’t believe this is the case for a minute, I believe people are facing problems with products from this premium, aspiration brand but are accepting low standards and using their own wallet for various reasons. I work in technology and disheartened that a successful and seemingly progressive company expect consumers to pay for poor design and engineering. Speaking to colleagues, I’ve heard a whole host of reliability issues including newly delivered faulty phones, a laptop Apple claim had water damage and one person had faults simultaneously on two family laptops. In discussions, we questioned practices of this company (maybe cynically):
Got to admit I am in the same position at the start of this thread. How do I escalate this issue to senior people at this company? Maybe I'm knocking my head against a wall.
- for overpriced repairs (which really amounts to component replacement), the company refuses or can’t tell me what is wrong with the logic board
- for replacement of what is now the forth logic board.
- £580.60p for a repair that is only warranted for 90 days when the last logic board failed at four months old.
- for a new laptop from Apple on the grounds it’s getting old as that is still rewarding poor performance.
- any more money to Apple because the company refuses to acknowledge four logic boards and a new keyboard is unreasonable for a product a little over three years.
- any more money to this company because of the arrogance of “Genius Bar” staff who treat customers like cash cows. They have never offered a repair at any stage. They may project the “cool” and “friendly” persona of the corporation but there is no true affinity for bad consumer experience unless you are in warranty.
I have just collected the faulty laptop from the Apple store in London. The amount of time and effort going backwards and forwards to Apple stores and talking to Support staff has become depressing and a complete inconvenience. I have NEVER in my life encountered this utter dismal experience with any other product. It's a matter of principle that this company at least acknowledge the products faults. Of course, this may not be every one’s experience, in which case why can’t they rectify this one freak occurrence? I don’t believe this is the case for a minute, I believe people are facing problems with products from this premium, aspiration brand but are accepting low standards and using their own wallet for various reasons. I work in technology and disheartened that a successful and seemingly progressive company expect consumers to pay for poor design and engineering. Speaking to colleagues, I’ve heard a whole host of reliability issues including newly delivered faulty phones, a laptop Apple claim had water damage and one person had faults simultaneously on two family laptops. In discussions, we questioned practices of this company (maybe cynically):
- Is the company using brand new components for repairs or are they recycling components? Might explain the reoccurring problems on repaired devices.
- Like car garage repairs, consumers probably should ask for the repaired components to ensure, as best they can, brand new components are used for repairs.
- Apple UK repair prices were expensive compared to other countries.
- They expect you to buy laptops and phones every two years and that is reflected in their behaviour. This does not bode well for any green credentials large corporations spend millions trying to convince us
Got to admit I am in the same position at the start of this thread. How do I escalate this issue to senior people at this company? Maybe I'm knocking my head against a wall.
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I still think you should contact Amazon and get them to either refund or repair this under UK law. Amazon are much better at handling returns than Apple IMO.
As I previously stated, your only legal recourse is with Amazon, not Apple. Don’t waste any more energy with Apple. Contact Amazon and inform them of the issues you have experienced and that you are aware of your consumer rights. If they don’t agree to make good then you take them to the small claims court; I’m from Scotland so not sure how the procedure works elsewhere but google “money claim”. You can fill out the forms without paying the fee and attach them to a covering letter/email sent to Amazon as a starting point so they take it seriously. Trust me, a large company like Amazon will always settle before getting involved in the court process as the costs of defending the claim will outweigh the claim, not least if it’s a strong claim. I have succeeded doing this in the past.