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Apple refuse to replace my MacBook pro 15"....help.

J

jz2k

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 17, 2007
7
0
Here is the problem:

I bought one of the first original apple macbook pro 15" in April 2006.
- The first unit came completely DOA (would not boot up) and had to be replaced, the whole process took about 4 weeks after waiting 5 weeks for my first unit.

- The second unit had heat issues. Continues to run at above 85C and have damaged paint on my desk. Reported to apple, had it serviced still runs super hot.

- 3 magsafe adapters for this macbook pro 15" have melted. the first one resulting in a small fire as newspaper was near the magsafe. Apple has been replacing my magsafes and the 3rd new one comes next week.

- My hard disk started to fail last week. Cannot write beyond 19th GB and have tried reformatting, writing 0s to reset the disk. It As I was troubleshooting the issue, I noticed that the installed hard drive is a 5400 RPM drive. I paid for a 7200 RPM drive when I initially ordered the Mac ...evidently never got it. If it wasnt for me troubleshooting the disk myself, i dont think anyone would have ever discovered it.

At this time I am about had it. So many issues and on top of that i didn't get what a paid for a 7200 RPM drive.

I spoke with both the tech support staff as well as customer relations. All of them who told me I need to mail in my mac for service and they would take care of the drive, but would not replace the unit with a refurbished one because it is outside of the return window. I think this is pretty ridiculous given all these issues and on top of the fact it wasnt the product I paid for.....

i have requested escalation to a manger several times with both the customer relations and tech support...it seems apple does not have any 'managers' available to speak with, ever. The only recourse is to write them a letter to their corporate address.


What options do I have now? Is there anyway to get apple to resolve this to my satisfaction? (RMA refurbished box) Is there any legal recourse if I can't resolve it via Apple?
 
3 attempts at fixing it and if it still is not fixed apple is obligated to give you a brand new machine not refurbished

Apple attempted to fix my flickering macbook screen 3 times and they ended up giving me a brand new one

So if it hasnt been 3 attempts just keep sending it in until it has
 
are you guys serious? a letter to Steve Jobs? i mean he obviously is one busy guy, running Apple and Pixar.....

of course, the issues are very serious. i would try to go as high as possible to report but Steve Jobs? come on.....;)
 
It's amazing how Apple's customer service varies so wildly. I dropped a 3 month old (engraved!) iPod Nano in a toilet, called Apple and a UPS van was there to take it off my hands in 45 minutes. Got a brand new one, engraving and all!

You have some serious manufacturing defects (and were unacceptably short changed) - you shouldn't be having any hassle, you should get an ACD or something as a goodwill gesture.
:confused::confused::confused:
 
jz2k said:
- 3 magsafe adapters for this macbook pro 15" have melted. the first one resulting in a small fire as newspaper was near the magsafe. Apple has been replacing my magsafes and the 3rd new one comes next week.
Click to expand...

This alone would be enough to bring a suit against the company. I'd write Apple a letter detailing the numerous problems I'd had with the computer, using the sjobs address. That sounds like the fastest way to get things moving.
 
jnc said:
It's amazing how Apple's customer service varies so wildly. I dropped a 3 month old (engraved!) iPod Nano in a toilet, called Apple and a UPS van was there to take it off my hands in 45 minutes. Got a brand new one, engraving and all!

You have some serious manufacturing defects (and were unacceptably short changed) - you shouldn't be having any hassle, you should get an ACD or something as a goodwill gesture.
:confused::confused::confused:
Click to expand...

hahhahaha but do they know you dropped it in a toilet?
 
Why not contact Steve? I don't see anything stupid about trying...some people here have reported success when they contact him. You don't lose anything trying...
 
byeehaaw said:
lol a letter to steve jobs?! haha yea it sucks that you're having problems... my mbp had its fair share of problems too.
Click to expand...


I had LOTS of problems with multiple macbook pros last year, including all the normal ones: heat, warped lid, uneven LCD illumination, terrible grain on the LCD etc.

I wrote sjobs@apple.com and I sent a physical letter to Cupertino. Within a few days a lady from Apple Executive Relations called AND the manager of one of the local Apple Stores called me. From that point on, they treated me like a king and did everything they could possibly do to address the issues I was having. While they could not solve the systemic problems with the MBP 15" LCDs at the time, they ended up giving me a 'free' upgrade to the 17" top-of-the-line model without any extra charge. While they were still trying to fix my 15" LCD issues, they also provided what felt like VIP service: I would walk in with the laptop, the manager would introduce me to the tech guy who was going to work on my computer who would then would start work on the computer immediately, finish the job within an hour or two at the most, and call me for pickup.

I don't know if this is common, but I've never had such great service from anybody ever after writing Steve Jobs. Didn't get to talk to Steve, but his minions were great to deal with! It's worth a try at least.
 
You seem like a troll (registered today, 1st post ever is this one), but just in case:

Write a polite but firm letter clearly stating the problems you've had and what you'd like done to make it right. It will help to provide the serial numbers and/or case id's under which you've sought tech support in the past because they will see that you are telling the truth.

What you are asking for (a refub MBP) is reasonable under the circumstances, so I'd guess you'd get it.

You can send the letter to the Steve Job's email, or send it physically to the main address. I personally think a physical item has a better chance of making an impact. See if you can find the name of the VP of customer relations on the Internet, or just address it to Steve Jobs.
 
You never mentioned if you had AppleCare or not. If you do, you just need to keep squawking because you are definitely entitled to repair/replacement. If you don't have AppleCare you're outside the standard one-year warranty and probably out of luck.
 
resonate said:
are you guys serious? a letter to Steve Jobs? i mean he obviously is one busy guy, running Apple and Pixar.....

of course, the issues are very serious. i would try to go as high as possible to report but Steve Jobs? come on.....;)
Click to expand...

It's not actually him, it's just one of his assistants most likely.
 
Darth.Titan said:
You never mentioned if you had AppleCare or not. If you do, you just need to keep squawking because you are definitely entitled to repair/replacement. If you don't have AppleCare you're outside the standard one-year warranty and probably out of luck.
Click to expand...

If you purchased it with a good credit card, there is a good chance you are covered since these cards automatically DOUBLE your original warranty for free. If that's the case, check with your credit card issuer and then get them to pay for it instead of dealing with Apple. I've used both VISA and MC and they're great to deal with.
 
mrkramer said:
It's not actually him, it's just one of his assistants most likely.
Click to expand...

There seems to be a whole department dedicated to handling emails sent to sjobs@apple.com. The stories that could potentially boost Steve Jobs public image and get him good publicity in the news he gets himself, while the others are taken care of by his loyal subjects.
 
Great Service From Corporate Relations Dept.

I wrote the sjobs@apple.com email a while ago when I had issues with a printer rebate that got "lost." You are really writing apple corporate relations dept. They called my phone number for a couple days (I was out of town), eventually sent me email with a phone number when I did not call back. I dialed the number, and it went right to the person, no voicemail or phone network runaround. The guy I talked to had the authority to fix the rebate issue right away, and was very helpful.

Mind you this was all over a $100 rebate, I would think they would try to make things right even more if it was a $2000 macbook pro issue.
 
I hate to break it...but from what I know Apple will only replace a unit with a brand new one for the following:
-You have to have had 3 major repairs (HD, MLB, OD, Display, not power adapter) within the last year, and going in for your 4th to be eligible for a replacement.
-I have seen Executive Relations as mentioned above get involved and then exceptions are made.

I think you definitley have a strong case to argue on. Although I think a little bit what of your posting is exageration. And apple from what I've seen doesn't deal well with that unless you have concrete evidence. Anytime I ever saw someone come in and say oh your power adapter caught my entire floor on fire...or my macbook pro gets so hot it ruins the paint on my desk, it hasn't gone over real well. It is very possible that your telling the truth but it takes 100's of degrees to do that kind of damage, and people make these kind of exagerations daily and get no where. Just FYI.

Overall I would try the ideas above...and I'm willing to bet you'll get a replacement for what you've gone through.
 
geissap said:
I think you definitley have a strong case to argue on. Although I think a little bit what of your posting is exageration. And apple from what I've seen doesn't deal well with that unless you have concrete evidence. Anytime I ever saw someone come in and say oh your power adapter caught my entire floor on fire...or my macbook pro gets so hot it ruins the paint on my desk, it hasn't gone over real well. .
Click to expand...

I think you need to read up a bit more on the Magsafe. There have been numerous reports of the devices catching fire, smouldering, and igniting papers and nearby obejcts. It's really a lawsuit waiting to happen. I wouldn't be so quick to doubt the OP, as there are hundreds of documented cases of Magsafe failure, and several hundred reviews testifying to its inferiority right on Apple's own website. This isn't something that many people could fake together.
 
heatmiser said:
I think you need to read up a bit more on the Magsafe. There have been numerous reports of the devices catching fire, smouldering, and igniting papers and nearby obejcts. It's really a lawsuit waiting to happen. I wouldn't be so quick to doubt the OP, as there are hundreds of documented cases of Magsafe failure, and several hundred reviews testifying to its inferiority right on Apple's own website. This isn't something that many people could fake together.
Click to expand...

This is true. It has to do with the bend relief fraying and sparking. I have heard things the part that makes me wonder more so tho is the whole macbook pro getting so hot it's melting the desk? Hmm...

I'm also saying that the way to get a new macbook pro is not to say oh your product is catching my floor on fire and burning my desk. Go in with a better approach as that's not really important to the rest. A professional letter and what not is a better approach in my opinion.
 
As one person here said, if he's outside of AppleCare then he's SOL. It sucks that Apple doesn't just bundle a three year warranty but they don't, so you can't take a gamble and get pissed off if they don't then hand out a free repair.
 
Update to my case.

I do have AppleCare. I bought it with the computer at the initial time of purchase. The Magsafes do catch fire. It happened one time with the two other times just the wire hanging from the casing shorted/and rubber burnt but no fire. Apple has been very quick to replace these. I have just received the new one yesterday, which is a smaller outer box than the one before.

The more I talk to Apple the more they refuse to do anything to help me with my 7200 RPM. They say that the time latency is too long for them to be obligated to do anything about it. They now will not even put a new drive in there because they say the original drive type is no longer being used by the current MacBooks. I only discovered this issue because the HD on the mac started to have issues and I accidentally came across the model number when checking the drive. They now refuse to do anything about it. They offered a $100 gift certificate toward an apple store purchase over $200. This is crap. I don't want an iPOD. If I wanted an ipod from the applestore I would have bought one. I need the 7200 RPM drive i bought and paid for.

Besides taking them to court, is there any other recourse? I already wrote to sjobs@apple.com...no response.
 
I would suggest that filing suit is your very last resort.

I would write a detailed letter to Jobs and enclose copies of all of your correspondence, receipts, photographs of your burned desk and burned magsafe adapters, and so on. Be polite, and simply request that they replace the machine. If that doesn't work, repeat the letter, but add that you will consider other options. That's code for "my next contact with you will be through a lawyer," and they will understand that. If that doesn't work, contact a lawyer near you who works in civil litigation, and preferably breach of warranty/defective product litigation.
 
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