Compensation from Apple? Pls help!

[SteveSC]

(Hi all, I’m very new to this forum, currently I’m living in the UK. Apology for my English, it’s not my first language)

I bought my new MBP last December, and after 3 month of using the computer, the computer started to display distorted colours, shapes and lines about 3 weeks ago. This happens about 5mins into usage in MAC OS (the OS is up to date).
The first time I brought the computer into the Apple store to seek for help the problem could not be duplicated on site. However the Genius staff agreed to book my MBP in for further testing. And after 7 days they called me up and said they basically cannot find any problems with my MBP after all the tests they have done. So I took my MBP back and was using it in a coffee shop about 2 hours after, and the same problem came back. So I went back to the Apple store and showed it to the Genius staff again. This time the staff saw the problem and made the decision to replace the Logic Board 2.66 GHz, with a price of £325 (I still have the receipt). And they told me I will be prioritised as I am a returned customer with the same issue. Then after 5 days they called me up again said my MBP has been repaired and is ready for collection. So I went back and got the computer and the same problem happened again on the same night! But this time the computer did not respond every time the problem occurred, so by now my MBP was totally unusable. The next day I went back to the Apple shop again for the 3rd time for the same issue. And again I duplicated the problem for the Genius staff that processed me. And this time the Genius staff could not even give me an explanation of what the problem is and all he could do was book my MBP for more testing, by now I have had 12 days without my computer. After another 3 days I got a call again (on the 11th of March) but this time they were asking me for my permission to restore my MBP and therefore erase all my data, I said yes and asked to speak to the technician to find out more about the status of my MBP. When I mentioned the Logic Board of the computer was replaced already, the technician said “No, it has not been replaced and you still have your original Logic Board”. I asked why? He gave me the answer “I am very sorry, it was a mix up. One of my colleague assumed that the Logic Board has been replaced, and therefore processed the machine as ready for collection, and I can only offer my apology to you”. I was extremely angry when I heard it, but because it was only a phone call I could not take any action.
So as the title says can I demand any sort of compensation from Apple? Or any other legal action? The machine is still being repaired as I’m writing this post now, and it has now been 16 days since the last time I used my MBP normally. To my personal understanding, the staff told me a lie. Because even when I went back to collect my machine for the second time they did not mention any thing about the fact that no repair was carried out during my second visit to the shop. And only because I asked to speak to the technician and asked about the Logic Board repaired that have been done, that they told me the truth. And even produced me a receipt with all the price details on it for my second repair. I was lucky that my MBP is still under the 1 year warranty , but what will happen if it wasn’t under warranty!
Thank you for reading this, and please post any your thoughts and suggestions on what should I do.

MBP 15 inch, i7 2.66GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive. Mid 2010 model.

 

[itickings]

I was extremely angry when I heard it, but because it was only a phone call I could not take any action.

And what action would you have taken if it hadn't been a phone call? Doesn't sound too good really...

To my personal understanding, the staff told me a lie.

For something to be a lie it needs to be intentionally false. One or several people messed up, sure, but I don't think they intentionally misrepresented the truth. You are not their only customer, and not every employee knows about everything in the store and related branches. The computer was flagged as repaired so the staff had no reason to believe it actually wasn't.

Thank you for reading this, and please post any your thoughts and suggestions on what should I do.

For future reference, please feel free to divide your post into sections separated by a blank line, it is extremely difficult to process so much text otherwise. Many probably skip the entire post when they're hit by a wall of text like that...

Anyways; Unfortunately I'm not too familiar with the details of consumer protection laws etc in your country so I can't tell you what compensation you would be entitled to or the channels to go through. What I would recommend however is that you visit the store and calmly present your situation to them. Ask for the manager if you don't get anywhere from there. No screaming or name-calling, just calm rational talking.

If that doesn't work, tell us what they said.

 

[SteveSC]

What I would recommend however is that you visit the store and calmly present your situation to them. Ask for the manager if you don't get anywhere from there. No screaming or name-calling, just calm rational talking.

itickings

Thank you very much for your advice, and i will keep that in mind.
I will try your recommendations when I collect my machine and update you with the out come. Thanks again.

 

[ashman70]

There is a saying 'calm heads prevail' so in other words, the next time you go into the store, remain cool calm and collected, and, as already suggested, ask to speak to a manager and explain the time line of the problem, the number of times you have been into the store, the fact they said they replaced the logic board when in fact you were told they hadn't but above all, the inconvenience this has all cost you in terms of your time and the time you have been without your computer. Don't be demanding, but ask for a resolution.

 

[Hugh]

Wait, the MacBook Pro was under warranty and they still charged you for the motherboard replacement? That should have been covered by the warranty.

Hugh

 

[SteveSC]

Wait, the MacBook Pro was under warranty and they still charged you for the motherboard replacement? That should have been covered by the warranty.

Hugh

No, they did not charge me for the costs, but they produced the receipt which indicated how much it would have cost me if it hadn't been under the warranty.

 

[SteveSC]

There is a saying 'calm heads prevail' so in other words, the next time you go into the store, remain cool calm and collected, and, as already suggested, ask to speak to a manager and explain the time line of the problem, the number of times you have been into the store, the fact they said they replaced the logic board when in fact you were told they hadn't but above all, the inconvenience this has all cost you in terms of your time and the time you have been without your computer. Don't be demanding, but ask for a resolution.

ashman70
Thanks for your thoughts on this too, and yes as I said before I will certainly ask for a resolution with a calm and collected attitude.

 

[FluJunkie]

Someone made an error, and you've been inconvenienced. Let it go, get your computer back - hopefully it should be fixed - and move on with your life.

The next time you make an error and someone lets it go, remember this incident. Someone made a entirely reasonable error - something got misfiled. Odds are they aren't going to "compensate" you - they're not just going to hand you money, and there isn't an additional repair you could do or anything.

Honestly, my guess is if you put your heart and soul into it, you could probably get someone fired. Which in my mind would be a pretty jerk move for an added 5 days of repair time.