Apple Dented My MBP During Repair?

[lrsone]

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone ever had this issue before. So I took my 2017 MBP in for the dreaded keyboard repair. I let the guy know what was wrong he tried to swap out the keys problem still persisted. He told me they would have to ship it out to their repair center, I agreed. I take very good care of my gadgets and I know for sure my MBP was in amazing condition minus some light scratches on the bottom from normal use.


So when I got my MBP back a couple days ago the lady taking care of me at the Apple store opened the screen really quickly and was talking to me while I made sure the keyboard was working fine. Everything seemed to check out with the keyboard. I took my laptop slid it into its carrying case and into my bag. I get home and notice the top right corner (when the MBP is closed) looked a bit weird so I turn it 180° and low and behold theres a dent on the corner. Now I'm not one to nitpick because its not affecting the usability of my machine but I just expect my machine to comeback in the same condition I gave it in. Has anybody ever experienced something like this before, also what should I do? Will Apple replace the damage?

 

[DeanPSN]

Take it back and explain the situation.
In best case scenario, they will replace the entire LCD assembly for free.
Otherwise you will have to fight them a bit to prove your point.

 

[Painter2002]

If there was no such damage prior to handing the computer in, then I would fight tooth and nail to get them to fix that. It should not come back with any more damage than it was sent off with.

Keep in mind, when starting to work with the rep on getting this resolved, try to keep an even keel and don't get too upset. Be firm but nice, and most likely they will take care of the situation. I most certainly would take it in, I'd be disappointed and frustrated as well that there was damage incurred during the repair. Best of luck!

 

[apiro]

I'm quite concerned that there a lot of threads lately about Apple damaging the machine during repair. I've lurked this forum for quite a long time and have never seen so much mentions of it before.

 

[IngerMan]

I'm quite concerned that there a lot of threads lately about Apple damaging the machine during repair. I've lurked this forum for quite a long time and have never seen so much mentions of it before.

It probably has a lot to do of how far they got away from user replaceable hardware. Everything glued and soldered makes it a tough challenge to tear it down for repair, even with a Apple expert

 

[waquzy]

That is a pretty bad dent tbh. I would definitely take it back

 

[scubachap]

I Had a similar situation. Took an iMac into a third party for a repair as instructed by Apple. The girl in the shop placed it monitor down on a plastic mat and rotated it by the stand to read the serial - "screech", there must have been some grit on the mat and it put a nasty rotational scratch in the screen. Cue huge bust up in the store - as they denied they'd done it and wouldn't admit to a thing. (Apparently they suddenly had no security cameras - yeah, right!) Anyway - it became obvious I could do nothing. I left - thought about it and called up Apple, explained what had happened - particularly the my word against theirs situation etc.

Apple were resistant to start with but in the end were very good. (Replaced the screen) It took a couple of months to sort out, but things only really got moving when I had got past the call centre guys to a manger in Ireland. Be assertative and persistent but also be realistic though - from my conversations with the Irish team its obvious that that people do try it on to get brand new machines. Go for it and keep plugging away...

---

Oh, and I've learnt to now always, always photograph everything before taking in and treat the repair collection as if you were handing back a hire car

 

[laptech]

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone ever had this issue before. So I took my 2017 MBP in for the dreaded keyboard repair. I let the guy know what was wrong he tried to swap out the keys problem still persisted. He told me they would have to ship it out to their repair center, I agreed. I take very good care of my gadgets and I know for sure my MBP was in amazing condition minus some light scratches on the bottom from normal use.


So when I got my MBP back a couple days ago the lady taking care of me at the Apple store opened the screen really quickly and was talking to me while I made sure the keyboard was working fine. Everything seemed to check out with the keyboard. I took my laptop slid it into its carrying case and into my bag. I get home and notice the top right corner (when the MBP is closed) looked a bit weird so I turn it 180° and low and behold theres a dent on the corner. Now I'm not one to nitpick because its not affecting the usability of my machine but I just expect my machine to comeback in the same condition I gave it in. Has anybody ever experienced something like this before, also what should I do? Will Apple replace the damage?
View attachment 794946

You are going to have to convince apple that it was them who damaged it. Apple will point out that even though you was shown the keyboard working and you gave it a quick inspection to make sure it worked, it is still your responsibility to inspect/check the condition of your repaired item before you leave the store. Once you leave then it is considered that you have accepted the condition the machine it is in. It is not Apple's fault that you did not do due diligence and inspect the machine fully before leaving.

Apple have every right to think you damaged it and that you are trying to get a free repair. You maybe disgusted at this prospect because as you say, you take good care of your belongings but Apple do not know you personally, they do not see how you handle your machine but you are still going to expect them to take your word for it.

Unscrupulous customers will always try and pull a fast one to get a free repair and companies such as Apple know this and thus have policies and procedures to combat this but unfortunately the honest customers get caught up in this and take things too personally when they are being asked certain questions.

Rule of thumb is to always take photographs of the item before it goes in for repair.

 

[netdudeuk]

I know that they made a note of the condition of a phone that they took in for repair.

Didn't they do the same for your Mac ?

 

[apiro]

On one hand I agree with all your statements. On the other I disagree with all of them. It's kind of paradox...

Taking photos before the item goes in for repair is kind of paranoidal and will not help. If you expect the store to deny they've just damaged your machine in front of your eyes like @scubachap described, I would expect you also expect them saying "you damaged your machine after taking photos". Legally or in Apple eyes it won't help at all. I would just call police to such a store and request them to extract the CCTV and get legal testimony from the Genius (he might reconsider lying at this point) as my belongings have just been damaged on a very hefty sum - this is the only thing you could do with such deniers. Nothing else would help even if you make a selfie in front of the store with clearly visible non-damaged machine before entering.

And the photo taken before the item goes in for repair will not help after the repair. You sign a document that describes the condition when they get the machine. You can check the machine is up to this condition after they return it. If it's not - they fix or replace it. No need for photo. This might be the only point where @lrsone did wrong. But still...

Apple was paid its premium and additional AppleCare insurance for consumer to have no problems in such cases. It was always Apple fanboys' pride that you were dealt like a person, like an individual and not like a statistic in their aftermarket (another question whether this was really so ) but now you kind of say it does not matter anymore... Well, that sucks. Customer has every right to expect previous treatment as he still pays the premium and even pays for additional AppleCare.

The honest customers don't get caught up when they are being asked certain question. It makes no problem to waste 5 minutes to answer these questions. It's that you will spend weeks before reaching the person who could ask these questions and then weeks without your machine is where honest customers get caught up and angry. And rightfully so.

You are going to have to convince apple that it was them who damaged it. Apple will point out that even though you was shown the keyboard working and you gave it a quick inspection to make sure it worked, it is still your responsibility to inspect/check the condition of your repaired item before you leave the store. Once you leave then it is considered that you have accepted the condition the machine it is in. It is not Apple's fault that you did not do due diligence and inspect the machine fully before leaving.

Apple have every right to think you damaged it and that you are trying to get a free repair. You maybe disgusted at this prospect because as you say, you take good care of your belongings but Apple do not know you personally, they do not see how you handle your machine but you are still going to expect them to take your word for it.

Unscrupulous customers will always try and pull a fast one to get a free repair and companies such as Apple know this and thus have policies and procedures to combat this but unfortunately the honest customers get caught up in this and take things too personally when they are being asked certain questions.

Rule of thumb is to always take photographs of the item before it goes in for repair.

 

[rdowty]

Every time the Genius Bar guys have scratched or dented something (monitors and an iMac but never a smaller device) they've always apologized and replaced it with a new one off the shelf.

 

[Strider64]

On one hand I agree with all your statements. On the other I disagree with all of them. It's kind of paradox...

Taking photos before the item goes in for repair is kind of paranoidal and will not help. If you expect the store to deny they've just damaged your machine in front of your eyes like @scubachap described, I would expect you also expect them saying "you damaged your machine after taking photos".

That's when you show them the metadata on the picture or show them the post on SmugMug or some other service similar to it.

 

[apiro]

That's when you show them the metadata on the picture or show them the post on SmugMug or some other service similar to it.

This is easily alterable.

 

[lrsone]

So we have an update, I went into the Apple Store for my appointment I had set up. The person that helped me was really nice and super helpful. She understood my issue and was gladly willing to help and have the display and housing exchanged free of charge. Of course I have to wait a few days once again which sucks but at least they’re fixing the problem.

 

[SDColorado]

So we have an update, I went into the Apple Store for my appointment I had set up. The person that helped me was really nice and super helpful. She understood my issue and was gladly willing to help and have the display and housing exchanged free of charge. Of course I have to wait a few days once again which sucks but at least they’re fixing the problem.

As they should. I am glad to hear that despite the frustration of having to wait once again for a repair, that they are willing to restore your machine to the condition it was brought to them in and make it right.

That never should have happened though. Accidents happen. They should have just owned it from the start and contacted you immediately to tell you what happened and that they planned to make it right. It would have been a much better customer service gesture.

Edit: Thinking more on it. I am not sure that I would accept that response. My opinion is that any drop that could cause that kind of damage to the aluminum casing, could also cause hairline fractures to one or more of the boards or damage to one or more solder joints. If it was mine and they had obviously dropped it hard enough to bend it. I think I would insist it be replaced with new or at a minimum extend the warranty for at least a year beyond its current expiration.

 

[Painter2002]

So we have an update, I went into the Apple Store for my appointment I had set up. The person that helped me was really nice and super helpful. She understood my issue and was gladly willing to help and have the display and housing exchanged free of charge. Of course I have to wait a few days once again which sucks but at least they’re fixing the problem.

Glad to hear they took care of you in the end! Now you will basically have an almost brand new device, not that it will make you feel any better. Always nice to hear happy ending stories on here, as contrast to a lot of the negativity one will find these forums (some of it rightfully deserved of course).

 

[lrsone]

As they should. I am glad to hear that despite the frustration of having to wait once again for a repair, that they are willing to restore your machine to the condition it was brought to them in and make it right.

That never should have happened though. Accidents happen. They should have just owned it from the start and contacted you immediately to tell you what happened and that they planned to make it right. It would have been a much better customer service gesture.

Edit: Thinking more on it. I am not sure that I would accept that response. My opinion is that any drop that could cause that kind of damage to the aluminum casing, could also cause hairline fractures to one or more of the boards or damage to one or more solder joints. If it was mine and they had obviously dropped it hard enough to bend it. I think I would insist it be replaced with new or at a minimum extend the warranty for at least a year beyond its current expiration.

When I first took it in for repair for the keyboard they replaced the whole logic board and battery too which was nice of them to service the battery as that wasn’t the issue I was having but they noticed the battery had to be serviced I’m guessing from the diagnostics they ran.


Now my thing is figuring out when the damage occurred, whether it was in transit, or it was dropped while being attached to the top case, or when the screen and the top case were disassembled. Because they did replace the entire top case of the MacBook and I’ve had some experience in taking apart MacBooks in the past and the 2016 and on MacBook Pro is assembled in 3 parts to my knowledge which is the bottom case (the lid underneath the MBP), the top case (which houses the logicboard and keyboard), and then the display. So they have to remove the display from the top case, so I’m trying to figure out was it when the two were disassembled while they were replacing the top case.

Glad to hear they took care of you in the end! Now you will basically have an almost brand new device, not that it will make you feel any better. Always nice to hear happy ending stories on here, as contrast to a lot of the negativity one will find these forums (some of it rightfully deserved of course).

Yeah I’ll be in here for another update once I recieve my MBP back from them again. Hoping everything is good. And that there is absolutely 0 damages on the machine, definitely doing a thorough inspection of the machine before I sign anything.

 

[simonsi]

I would just call police to such a store and request them to extract the CCTV and get legal testimony from the Genius...

Why is it a Police matter, its a civil problem, not a criminal one.

 

[iMacDragon]

When I first took it in for repair for the keyboard they replaced the whole logic board and battery too which was nice of them to service the battery as that wasn’t the issue I was having but they noticed the battery had to be serviced I’m guessing from the diagnostics they ran.

If they replace the keyboard the battery comes as part of the replacement regardless of whether it needed doing or not, a side bonus really.

 

[maflynn]

I would just call police to such a store and request them to extract the CCTV and get legal testimony from the Genius (he might reconsider lying at this point) as my belongings have just been damaged on a very hefty sum

What criminal law did they break? The police have more important things then to deal with a civil matter that they have no say, or jurisdiction over.

 

[SDColorado]

Now my thing is figuring out when the damage occurred, whether it was in transit, or it was dropped while being attached to the top case, or when the screen and the top case were disassembled. Because they did replace the entire top case of the MacBook and I’ve had some experience in taking apart MacBooks in the past and the 2016 and on MacBook Pro is assembled in 3 parts to my knowledge which is the bottom case (the lid underneath the MBP), the top case (which houses the logicboard and keyboard), and then the display. So they have to remove the display from the top case, so I’m trying to figure out was it when the two were disassembled while they were replacing the top case.

That would be my worry. That additional damage may have resulted from whatever forces dented the unit. Damage like that often doesn't appear right away, but lesson the lifespan of the unit. I personally would not be comfortable or accepting of that. To me, it is a little like a mechanic taking your car out for a test drive and getting into an accident that resulted in the frame being bent out. Then dealership saying "Don't worry, we will just straighten the frame." Uhh... no you won't!

 

[scubachap]

What criminal law did they break? The police have more important things then to deal with a civil matter that they have no say, or jurisdiction over.

Well, quite. Much as I'd have liked the Sweeny to turn up and cart them all off, dialling 999 really wouldn't have ended well for me.

Also, these things are never clear cut to outside observers. I know the girl scratched the screen badly but she panicked and initially denied it. The boss then is involved and she's in a real dilemma as she's trapped herself. Does she admit not only to the damage but also to not taking responsibility (and lying to a customer) directly to her boss who has real power over her or just double down (the easy route out of the whole mess) and blame a customer she's probably not going to ever see again?

What was good about the whole thing that while we all love to criticise Apple, they do seem prepared to trust a customers word in such situations. (I guess it's one of the few good things of paying top dollar for their products).

 

[lrsone]

Final Update: Just got back from Apple of course I did a thorough inspection upon receiving and signing for anything. They replaced the entire top lid, screen, housing, all of it. They also checked to make sure everything is working properly. I'm glad they corrected their mistake and not try to blame me for it. Too many times I've heard of people getting screwed over by Apple.

 

[SDColorado]

Final Update: Just got back from Apple of course I did a thorough inspection upon receiving and signing for anything. They replaced the entire top lid, screen, housing, all of it. They also checked to make sure everything is working properly. I'm glad they corrected their mistake and not try to blame me for it. Too many times I've heard of people getting screwed over by Apple.

I am glad that you got the outcome you deserve. Enjoy your machine

 

[digitalcuriosity]

Just happy in got repaired as i thought they would reject fixing it.