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What would you do if you were treated like this by AppleCare?

  • Hell, sue them.

    Votes: 1 6.7%
  • Nothing, it's already nice they pay for repairs.

    Votes: 5 33.3%
  • Keep on calling with Apple until they will keep their promise.

    Votes: 9 60.0%

  • Total voters
    15

rick1988

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 15, 2015
7
6
Luton
Three weeks ago my iMac's screen turned black meanwhile I was working on my computer. I went to the local Stormfront store for repair and after defending my case they agreed that it should be covered by consumer law (as I had the same exact repair one year before). After a delayed repair (three weeks) my iMac 21.5 inch came back on a Friday and unfortunately the repair centre did not do their job properly as there was large gap between the glass and the frame at the top of the screen. I called that same day that I was not happy with the quality and they told me they were happy to take the machine back for another repair. In that weekend I kept on working on the machine as I am due to hand in my dissertation in November, so time it ticking. Unfortunetely, on Sunday evening exactly the same issue occured and the iMac made sounds however the screen was completely black. Completely dissatified with Stormfront, I called that Monday morning to report the reoccuring issue and they gladly arranged another repair for the iMac and due to my circumstances they would speed the things up, so I could collect it this Friday.



Meanwhile I sent the iMac for repair, I rang AppleCare to discuss the quality of the repair. The person on the phone was extremely nice and said that he would check what Apple could do for me rather than trusting on the quality of the Stormfront. While he looked into my history of repairs with my iMac (as in the last 4 years I had the harddrive replaced twice, lcd+logic board+graphics card replaced three times, and another graphics card repair plus back light repair), he told me that Apple agreed to replace my entire machine for a brand new one. I was greatly excited as this was not was I expected, however remember the history of repairs with my iMac I was all to happy to accept this generous offer. The AppleCare employee explained me that I would get an e-mail within 24 hours to confirm the new specifications of the machine and my address and he told me my new machine would be exhanged with my current one within 7-10 days. The next days however I still did not receive any e-mail, so I started calling with Apple. AppleCare, now another employee told me that all was fine, however there was a small delay with the confirmation e-mail, so he told me to wait another 24 hours. On Wednesday (yesterday) I still did not receive any e-mail, so once again I started calling with AppleCare. Here I got the news that they made a mistake and could not replace my iMac, as admin (some department of Apple) did not agree with the replacement. The only problem was that the employee forgot to mention that the replacement was not final just of yet, resulting in expectations on my side. After many apologize of AppleCare, I arranged for them to pick up my machine for repair which would take about another 7 days.



That same night I called with AppleCare once again to file a complaint about the way they promised to replace my computer, meanwhile now I was stuck with another repair of a machine that spent more time in the repair shop rather than my study. The AppleCare employee completely agreed on my part and said that he would file a complained too. After spending some time on the phone he arranged even one better for me, as the old claim of the replacement was regarding the quality of the product, he told me he could replace the machine with a brand new one (once again) with as reason customer relations, as the entire senior management team of AppleCare agreed that I had been treated unfairly. Happy but aware of my recent situations with AppleCare I asked the senior manager whether this time it would be final that I would receive a replacement machine, and he answered me that he had spoken with the customer relation team and the senior management team and even though admin might deny it the first time I would definitely receive a new iMac due to the situation and the customer relation and senior management team backing him up. His exact words were: I guarantee you that you will get the replacement machine.



Once again I was happy with the way AppleCare handled the situation and I was fully ready to receive the new iMac: that day I picked up my old iMac from the Stormfront and I sent an e-mail to the repair centre of Apple to cancel my, by AppleCare arranged, repair. Thursday (the next morning) at 8am my doorbell rang, as apparently the repair centre of Apple receive the message about the cancellation too late so they came to collect the iMac. I denied the pick up, as I canceled it, and that was all fine. Later that morning I called with AppleCare regarding any news of the iMac replacement that was set in progress. The Senior Manager explained exactly what was going to happen and read the specifications of the new machine that I would get. He said that I was even lucky as yesterday the new iMac came out and I would be getting one of those (2.8ghz quad-core, 21.5 inch, 1TB HDD, etc). As the specifications were slightly higher than my old device I was happy with the replacement and I was also happy that AppleCare made up for the mistake made.



Unfortunately, the story does not stop their as just of now (Thursday late afternoon), I received a call once again from AppleCare. On the phone was the senior manager who guaranteed my replacement machine, telling me that they made another mistake and they were not allowed to replace the machine after all. Due to the machine's age (bought on August 19th 2011), the machine was not eligible for replacement after all. He told me that the machine could only be replaced if it was younger than four years. To my annoyance, I told him that the machine was four years and two months old, however more than two months the machine was at Apple's due to repairs. He told me that he completely agreed and understood the situation (like always), however whatever he or any of his colleagues could do or try, they were not allowed to replace the computer.



As conclusion, I am now stuck with my dis-functioning machine, which will go for repair once again tomorrow to Apple's repair centre, to get an issue repaired that has been going on since 2012 when it went for the first time to repair due to screen issues. I have been promised a replacement iMac twice and this has been confirmed by two other AppleCare employees. I have spent Monday to Thursday calling and arguing with AppleCare, sending and collecting my iMac from Stormfront, e-mailing and denying Apple's collect service, and the worst of all having to send my iMac for repair tomorrow meanwhile knowing that if AppleCare would not have made fake promises, I would have had my repaired iMac back from Stormfront by tomorrow. Oh, and also, my dissertation was already delayed due to the three week repair of Stormfront, as I rely on my iMac thoroughly due to Skype interviews, meanwhile now I have spent a week calling and waiting for AppleCare to send me my replacement iMac.



I am opening this discussion to see if completely out of place or am I in my right here, and what you think I should do from hereon, as AppleCare tells me to write this story to Apple in Ireland to see if they can do anything for me. And also to have Apple reading this case and hopefully deciding to rectify this series of mistakes made by AppleCare. In addition, if potential Apple buyer are reading this, I would like to recommend that if you are thinking of purchasing an Apple product for the quality of the service, DON'T.
 

DanR16

macrumors member
Mar 19, 2012
83
28
You keep calling them, that could be a mistake, I would email them so I had a record of everything
 

cbrand493

macrumors 6502
May 19, 2015
345
259
Perth, Australia
Nowhere under AppleCare does it say they have to replace your iMac. They could continue to repair it for the next 5 years if they wanted, at the end of the day they are doing you a service at their expense. There's absolutely no point continuing to try and fight this one because you're not going to win, you'll just go round in circles again (welcome to any large company's customer service. Think apple is bad? Try dell!). As for suing...good luck with that. They have no legal obligation to place your machine. They have provided repairs at cost to them as outlined in AppleCare. You have no legal grounds to sue them on, and definitely not because of what some Tier 1 customer services rep "guaranteed" on the phone. If you wanted to fight this one, you needed that guarantee in writing, otherwise you could be making it all up.
 

rick1988

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 15, 2015
7
6
Luton
Nowhere under AppleCare does it say they have to replace your iMac. They could continue to repair it for the next 5 years if they wanted, at the end of the day they are doing you a service at their expense. There's absolutely no point continuing to try and fight this one because you're not going to win, you'll just go round in circles again (welcome to any large company's customer service. Think apple is bad? Try dell!). As for suing...good luck with that. They have no legal obligation to place your machine. They have provided repairs at cost to them as outlined in AppleCare. You have no legal grounds to sue them on, and definitely not because of what some Tier 1 customer services rep "guaranteed" on the phone. If you wanted to fight this one, you needed that guarantee in writing, otherwise you could be making it all up.

Thanks for your reply. I won't be suing them as I do not want to even try that. As for the Tier 1 customer services rep, all the persons I spoke to were senior manager from AppleCare (highest person in Apple you will be able to talk to on the phone). Also all the phone conversations of AppleCare are recorded and I asked for the transcript which I am currently waiting for. Regarding your opinion about Apple and Dell, does it mean that if Dell and other companies are worse then Apple, that I have to accept the way they basically delayed my repair and denied replacing the device?
 

cbrand493

macrumors 6502
May 19, 2015
345
259
Perth, Australia
Thanks for your reply. I won't be suing them as I do not want to even try that. As for the Tier 1 customer services rep, all the persons I spoke to were senior manager from AppleCare (highest person in Apple you will be able to talk to on the phone). Also all the phone conversations of AppleCare are recorded and I asked for the transcript which I am currently waiting for. Regarding your opinion about Apple and Dell, does it mean that if Dell and other companies are worse then Apple, that I have to accept the way they basically delayed my repair and denied replacing the device?

There would be no point suing them because you wouldn't win. They haven't failed to meet any legal obligation to you.

Usually the "senior manager" you talk to on the phone doesn't have any power at all and is normally just a supervisor of the customer service agents. They're still Tier 1.

I doubt apple will release the transcript to you because it'll be against their privacy policy etc. and they'll only be allowed to release transcripts for legal purposes.

Yeah pretty much. They're a huge company, they've done the minimum they are required to do which is attempt to repair it. As it's way out of any warranty, it's basically tough luck. At least they're attempting to fix it free of charge. Almost every other company would charge you a hefty fee for every repair and you'd never get it replaced (which you won't with apple either but you catch my drift here). As far as apple is concerned, by attempting to repair it at no cost to you, they're going above and beyond the standard level of customer service for electronics companies.
 

ericv

macrumors regular
Mar 31, 2015
151
72
I think Apple owes you a new machine because they told you TWICE you would be getting one. If they had not done that, I agree with the others here that say you should be happy they are willing to fix it.
 

boast

macrumors 65816
Nov 12, 2007
1,410
868
Phoenix, USA
You can try to escalate it with someone who has power to see if they can do something.

But it just seems like they incorrectly thought they could get you a replacement, which seems fair as it just happens to be 2 months over the limit. I would guess their system denies the replacement and someone higher up would have to over-ride it.
 

Septembersrain

Cancelled
Dec 14, 2013
4,347
5,451
I'd be contacting everyone under the sun. I'd go as high up in the ranks as I could go. I'd badger them continually until I got something offered for the inconvenience.

They set up the expectation of a replacement not only once, but twice! You were misled and promised something that could not be delivered. This deserves compensation. If they had said we'll attempt to get a replacement, or you may be eligible for a replacement, that would be different. A guarantee is just that, a guarantee. Verbal agreements count if they're recorded, thus being documented.

I work in a call center, we are recorded. Employees represent a company and should be held liable. If I make a mistake, my company will honor it and I will pay the price for it.

There has to be liability for words spoken. Especially considering this did not occur only once.

Keep us updated?
 

Primus84

macrumors 6502
Jul 21, 2005
383
24
UK
Remember OP you are based in the UK and under the Sale of Goods Act would have an expectation for goods to last a "reasonable" amount of time.

People saying he has no legal recourse are a bit premature.
 
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Aspekt

macrumors member
Sep 22, 2014
45
8
E-mail everything you wrote here to tcook@apple.com

Tim himself will not respond but someone else will. Ive had 2 issues solved by doing that.
Just what I was about to suggest... email Tim Cook at tcook@apple.com.

Tim Cook is known for responding these type of issues personally or through his staffs, and like antman, I can also speak from experiences. One iPhone that was purchased internationally where the store refuse to do the repair, one iPad that was defective, and one rMBP, which liked you spent lots time in repair, but definitely not as bad as your case.

I would definitely email him and explain your situation. You can even simply copy your whole post, tell Tim that your are posting to MacRumor's to hear everyone's opinion, show him the link, and ask him what he thinks you should do. Once he or his staff see the record, you will be given a reference number and would explain how they will fix your issue, and you can take that number to the store.

You can message me for any addition information, I still have the responds I got from him if you like to see it.
 

rick1988

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 15, 2015
7
6
Luton
Dear Everybody!

A quick update on the case:
Last Friday someone else of the Customer Service team took ownership of the case (like a million other people before). Even though, she was unable to simply provide me with a replacement computer, she would investigate the possibility of applying consumer law, however the legal team responded by declining the case, I just got notice of this. Although, I filed a complaint with Apple in Ireland, my iMac is currently being repaired at the Amsys Service Centre (one of the main repair companies of Apple England), and will be ready for delivery mid/end-next week.

My iMac will be repaired and I was told a gesture of goodwill will be prepared for me after the machine has arrived safely at my home, they will not discuss what this gesture will be before the repair has been finished. I am still furious at Apple regarding the entire situation, and do not believe this gesture of goodwill will be something substantial. At the end I will be losing almost two full weeks on the original planned repair (and also more than 500 minutes I spent on the phone plus all the expectations set), and in time of my dissertation, I do not feel this acceptable.

Thanks all for the great responses! I completely agree with Septembersrain, as indeed there has to be liability for words spoken, as you should be able to rely on the information given by any service centre, whether its written or verbally. Primus84, you are completely correct about the Sales of Goods Act, however the main issue it that I purchased my iMac in the Netherlands and moved in the meantime to the UK for my study. The iMac was purchased at the MediaMarkt, and therefore I would have to apply my Sales of Goods Act rights to the MediaMarkt in the Netherlands. I would definitely do this, if I would be going back to the Netherlands, however I barely do.

I will try to see if Apple can change anything to this situation, however the last week made me feel like I was talking to a great big wall. They surely showed the strength of being a large company, where most employees (even managers) are not able to make breakthrough decisions. I talked to the highest ranking people at Apple support that a consumer could talk to, and they even are not able to change anything.

Like Ericv said, if AppleCare would have never told me anything regarding replacing my machine (twice), I would definitely not have any more expectation rather than Apple paying for the repair. I will be sending this entire case to Tim Cook's e-mail and see what happens.

Once again, I will keep you up to date and thanks again for all the help!
 

cbrand493

macrumors 6502
May 19, 2015
345
259
Perth, Australia
I guess your only option from here is to take them to court, especially since their legal team has rejected it. Unfortunately for you because it's a case of your word against theirs and with apple having such a strong legal team, the chances of you winning would be minuscule and you would end up with thousands and thousands owed in legal fees. Unfortunately this seems like a case of a "manager" at this call centre has gotten above himself and made you a promise that a) he was never allowed to make and b) he couldn't keep. Remember that even though these people are "managers" in AppleCare etc, they have very little power when it comes to anything out of the ordinary. They can authorise repairs, replacements under warranty etc, but a replacement for a defective product out with the warranty (and by so far out of warranty) needs to come from further up the chain (either out of customer service or the actual customer service managers who you'll never get to talk to on the phone e.g. Country/region managers etc). It's likely that all the call centre people you spoke to aren't employed by apple directly, but rather employees of a call centre that's contracted by apple to serve on behalf of them. Even more limited power to them.

To be perfectly honest, while it completely sucks AppleCare has made you promises they could never keep, the fact you've got all your repairs done for free so far out of the warranty period, and you've been given a gesture of goodwill (probably an iTunes gift card), you've ended up very well off. Put it this way, apple could have turned around on day one and said the repairs are going to cost £x and you'd either have to fork up or buy a new one.
 

rick1988

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 15, 2015
7
6
Luton
Another update on the case. After sending a very long e-mail yesterday to Tim Cook's e-mail address, I did not have to many expectations anymore to be completely honest. However this morning I received a call from an executive from Apple Ireland regarding the e-mail I sent to Tim Cook's e-mail address. He told me that there was not much that he could do, however after telling him how dissatisfied I was with the case, he told me that he would call back within the hour as he wanted to speak to the admin department.

When he called me back he told me that he had good news, and they would be replacing the iMac. I called Amsys to cancel the repair and now I will be receiving my old iMac back tomorrow. Just now I received the e-mail from the executive relations to confirm that the courier of Apple has been contacted and will contact me soon to arrange the collection and delivery of my old and new iMac.

Even though for a second I thought it was a joke of Antman2x2 and Aspekt to contact Tim Cook on his personal e-mail, I can't thank you enough for giving me that tip! I am still waiting until I actually receive the iMac in person, as I had offers retracted before, however I am happy Apple at the end took this case serious and it solving it in the way it should be.

Thanks again all for your help and I hope that this story will help anyone in a similar situation!
 

antman2x2

macrumors 6502a
Mar 1, 2011
531
200
New YAWK
Another update on the case. After sending a very long e-mail yesterday to Tim Cook's e-mail address, I did not have to many expectations anymore to be completely honest. However this morning I received a call from an executive from Apple Ireland regarding the e-mail I sent to Tim Cook's e-mail address. He told me that there was not much that he could do, however after telling him how dissatisfied I was with the case, he told me that he would call back within the hour as he wanted to speak to the admin department.

When he called me back he told me that he had good news, and they would be replacing the iMac. I called Amsys to cancel the repair and now I will be receiving my old iMac back tomorrow. Just now I received the e-mail from the executive relations to confirm that the courier of Apple has been contacted and will contact me soon to arrange the collection and delivery of my old and new iMac.

Even though for a second I thought it was a joke of Antman2x2 and Aspekt to contact Tim Cook on his personal e-mail, I can't thank you enough for giving me that tip! I am still waiting until I actually receive the iMac in person, as I had offers retracted before, however I am happy Apple at the end took this case serious and it solving it in the way it should be.

Thanks again all for your help and I hope that this story will help anyone in a similar situation!

YAY IM SO HAPPY THAT WORKED FOR YOU! - Most people take it as a joke when I suggest it, but its a known option when apple just isn't doing right by the customer.

Keep us posted!
 

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
Steve was great too. Have a couple of archived emails from him!
 
Last edited:

mtneer

macrumors 68040
Sep 15, 2012
3,183
2,715
Why not try emailing the executive offices with your travails. Someone that high maybe able to make your problems go away with a snap of a finger, rather than some first level CSR reading out of a script.
 

scottish

macrumors 6502a
Aug 10, 2011
903
592
Guess
That's great news you got this resolved. Going to the CEO's email account has done the trick for me on a few occasions.

My only email to Tim Cook has been to tell him that hiring John Browett as retail chief was a mistake; he (or someone on his behalf) replied saying he was the best candidate they'd seen. How many months did John last?!
 

Aspekt

macrumors member
Sep 22, 2014
45
8
Another update on the case. After sending a very long e-mail yesterday to Tim Cook's e-mail address, I did not have to many expectations anymore to be completely honest. However this morning I received a call from an executive from Apple Ireland regarding the e-mail I sent to Tim Cook's e-mail address. He told me that there was not much that he could do, however after telling him how dissatisfied I was with the case, he told me that he would call back within the hour as he wanted to speak to the admin department.

When he called me back he told me that he had good news, and they would be replacing the iMac. I called Amsys to cancel the repair and now I will be receiving my old iMac back tomorrow. Just now I received the e-mail from the executive relations to confirm that the courier of Apple has been contacted and will contact me soon to arrange the collection and delivery of my old and new iMac.

Even though for a second I thought it was a joke of Antman2x2 and Aspekt to contact Tim Cook on his personal e-mail, I can't thank you enough for giving me that tip! I am still waiting until I actually receive the iMac in person, as I had offers retracted before, however I am happy Apple at the end took this case serious and it solving it in the way it should be.

Thanks again all for your help and I hope that this story will help anyone in a similar situation!
Hey, I am glad everything worked out for you. Like Antman, many people don't believe me when I tell them to email Tim, but everyone of them has gotten satisfying result using this approach.

Keep us updated!
 

monokakata

macrumors 68020
May 8, 2008
2,057
602
Ithaca, NY
May I suggest that even though you're (rightly!) annoyed with how everything's gone, you send off an email or two thanking the people who eventually did the right thing.

Sure, they should have done the right thing in the first place -- but if you praise them, then perhaps the next person with an awful problem, or the next person whose support case is in danger of being poorly-handled, will be treated better.
 
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