Consumer Law protection for UK

[jmjeffrey]

Hi All,

Just a quick one to ask if you knew that if anything goes wrong with your Apple products, such as your MacBook Pro, after Apple's initial one year warranty, you're absolutely entitled to a free repair or replacement for up to six years (this doesn't include self-inflicted damage such as damage resulting from carelessness or water spillage).

There has been some debate on here recently in a previous post, claiming that consumer law does not apply. However, as you'll see from the below invoice, I had my MacBook Pro repaired free of charge due to a faulty display and collected it today.

Apple actually replaced the whole top half of my MacBook Pro, including the casing, which is great because there were a few little chips around the edge owing to how delicate the design is.

Without consumer law coming into effect, it would've cost £391 to fix. Initially, the price would've been £713 as they thought it required a new logic board and display. This would've also have been covered under UK consumer law.

As previously mentioned, Apple replaced my late 2012 MacBook Pro for a similar reason back in 2015, so don't feel as though you're gonna have to pay out unnecessarily!

Hope this helps,

Joe

 

[ericwn]

I think that’s good information! Is it similar to EU consumer law where the party you need to work with for your claim is the seller rather than the manufacturer?

Cheers,
E.

 

[jmjeffrey]

Absolutely E, I think it's exactly the same and it falls under the European directive.

 

[Kingcr]

after Apple's initial one year warranty, you're absolutely entitled to a free repair or replacement for up to six years

With the caveat that 6 months after purchase you as the consumer have to prove that the fault was present at the time of purchase (which is often very difficult or impossible). Whether Apple chooses to exercise this requirement is their prerogative.
[doublepost=1531071432][/doublepost]

I think that’s good information! Is it similar to EU consumer law where the party you need to work with for your claim is the seller rather than the manufacturer?

Cheers,
E.

Yes, the contract is with the seller, not the manufacturer.

 

[jmjeffrey]

With the caveat that 6 months after purchase you as the consumer have to prove that the fault was present at the time of purchase (which is often very difficult or impossible). Whether Apple chooses to exercise this requirement is their prerogative.
[doublepost=1531071432][/doublepost]

Yes, the contract is with the seller, not the manufacturer.

In my experience, I have never had to prove it was an inherent fault, which is good. In fact, there was no discussion of this. The fact fo the matter is, the display should not become faulty after 15 months.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Hi All,

Just a quick one to ask if you knew that if anything goes wrong with your Apple products, such as your MacBook Pro, after Apple's initial one year warranty, you're absolutely entitled to a free repair or replacement for up to six years (this doesn't include self-inflicted damage such as damage resulting from carelessness or water spillage).

There has been some debate on here recently in a previous post, claiming that consumer law does not apply. However, as you'll see from the below invoice, I had my MacBook Pro repaired free of charge due to a faulty display and collected it today.

Apple actually replaced the whole top half of my MacBook Pro, including the casing, which is great because there were a few little chips around the edge owing to how delicate the design is.

Without consumer law coming into effect, it would've cost £391 to fix. Initially, the price would've been £713 as they thought it required a new logic board and display. This would've also have been covered under UK consumer law.

As previously mentioned, Apple replaced my late 2012 MacBook Pro for a similar reason back in 2015, so don't feel as though you're gonna have to pay out unnecessarily!

Hope this helps,

Joe

Joe

Consumer law six year law always applied but their is some caveats but the main one is the defect had to be their at time of purchase and after 6 months the burden of proof for this is on the owner to make a claim up to six years

I suspect your screen problem was/is a known defect so no contest and good for you

UK law is not dissimilar to EU and your sales contract is with who you purchased it from, it just so happens in many cases with Apple products people buy from Apple but if you bought from say John Lewis you can deal with them and even your credit card company if used, opposed to Apple.

 

[Kingcr]

In my experience, I have never had to prove it was an inherent fault, which is good. In fact, there was no discussion of this.

As I said, that’s their prerogative. But your post stated that you’re entitled to repair if anything goes wrong. This isn’t true. You’re only entitled if the product was defective when you purchased it.

 

[jmjeffrey]

As I said, that’s their prerogative. But your post stated that you’re entitled to repair if anything goes wrong. This isn’t true. You’re only entitled if the product was defective when you purchased it.

I think it's actually also dependent on how long the item should be expected to last also.
[doublepost=1531071984][/doublepost]

Joe

Consumer law six year law always applied but their is some caveats but the main one is the defect had to be their at time of purchase and after 6 months the burden of proof for this is on the owner to make a claim up to six years

I suspect your screen problem was/is a known defect so no contest and good for you

UK law is not dissimilar to EU and your sales contract is with who you purchased it from, it just so happens in many cases with Apple products people buy from Apple but if you bought from say John Lewis you can deal with them and even your credit card company if used, opposed to Apple.

Thanks SteveJUAE. I'm only speaking on the experience I've received on both occasions and that has been that the people at two separate Apple stores have said something similar along the lines of: "You're covered under European law..." and have never placed the onus on me to prove that it was an inherent fault. Incidentally, I asked the guy in store whether they had heard about the issue I had before and he said no, although that could simply have been a bit of lip service.

I'm not sure if this has something to do with both purchases being made direct with Apple, but it was a pretty smooth and painless process either way.

 

[JPack]

Well, this explains why the UK is the most expensive place in the world to buy a MacBook. More expensive than even Russia for example.

 

[Kingcr]

I think it's actually also dependent on how long the item should be expected to last also.

Yes there is this aspect. But again, this doesn’t mean an entitlement to free repair or replacement for 6 years. I highly doubt Apple would say their devices can be expected to last 6 years and the seller can also deduct from any refund for fair use for the time you’ve had the goods. So it’s not so black-and-white. The longer into the 6 year period you have to claim, the weaker your claim becomes unless you can prove you were sold a defective product at the time of purchase.

PS. Not trying to be argumentative, just been through this myself.

 

[Falhófnir]

Well, this explains why the UK is the most expensive place in the world to buy a MacBook. More expensive than even Russia for example.

A one-off extreme fluctuation in exchange rate that Apple are dragging their heels on reverting explains it better...

Technically now Apple have admitted a design flaw with the keyboard that could surely be used as evidence to force them to repair it should it fail after the 4 year programme ends?

 

[JPack]

A one-off extreme fluctuation in exchange rate that Apple are dragging their heels on reverting explains it better...

Since late 2017, Apple has lowered the price slightly on iPhone and MacBook products in China to reflect the exchange rate.

It's pretty clear Apple is maintaining prices in the UK for another reason - and not due to an oversight.

 

[Falhófnir]

Since late 2017, Apple has lowered the price slightly on iPhone and MacBook products in China to reflect the exchange rate.

It's pretty clear Apple is maintaining prices in the UK for another reason - and not due to an oversight.

Apple have always avoided changing prices between product updates in the UK, it’s just part of how they operate in this country - goes for both ways as they held off raising prices when the £ depreciated for a good four months. When they updated the iPad in spring that saw a slight drop in price, so I’m guessing when they finally get round to updating the rest of the product lineup that will follow suit. Traditionally Apple have been quite fair with their pricing in the UK compared to continental Europe and other parts of the world as the £ has been (and still is) a relatively inert, predictable currency which will track in one direction for a long time and that it takes quite a big thing to move significantly.

 

[Smeaton1724]

Since late 2017, Apple has lowered the price slightly on iPhone and MacBook products in China to reflect the exchange rate.

It's pretty clear Apple is maintaining prices in the UK for another reason - and not due to an oversight.

After the Brexit vote in the June they waited until October to raise prices by 20-35%. Whether that’s justified is up for debate. My guess is they’ll wait until the Brexit ‘process’ has become clearer with what effect it will have on currency stability, cost of business etc. We’re due out of the EU next March, so we’re stuck with this sort of pricing for 2018 and well in to 2019. Lots of grey import sellers doing well on eBay in the meantime!

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

I think this title/thread could be a little misleading. Of course you are entitled to UK Consumer Rights but your post makes it sound like if anything happens for 6 years, you're covered. When this is not the case.

Just to state Apple's page on this https://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/, which provides a summary of the main points.

Effectively, you are entitled to a repair (Replacement if failed repair several times) if it can be demonstrated that the product was faulty at point of sale (Past 6 months). I.e. the current keyboard problems on the newer MBP could fall into this criteria.

You are not entitled to a repair for whatever reason, even if the CPU fails after 2 years. Anything that occurs here is down to manager discretion. Apple are pretty notorious for their generosity, and will often times take your word for it. However it is misleading to assume this is an automatic right.

It's also worth mentioning that this law stands between the buyer and seller of a product, not the manufacturer. So if you brought a MacBook from somewhere like John Lewis, then it is up to them to fix it. You can try taking it to an Apple store however if it requires a fix that will cost money then they will direct you to whomever you purchased it from.

I just want to point this out as I see a lot of people jump on these Consumer Rights only to head straight into long battles, whereas if they understood their rights to begin with they wouldn't have had the issues they had. So please add a link to the actual rights and note the main points as to not mislead anyone.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Apple have always avoided changing prices between product updates in the UK, it’s just part of how they operate in this country - goes for both ways as they held off raising prices when the £ depreciated for a good four months. When they updated the iPad in spring that saw a slight drop in price, so I’m guessing when they finally get round to updating the rest of the product lineup that will follow suit. Traditionally Apple have been quite fair with their pricing in the UK compared to continental Europe and other parts of the world as the £ has been (and still is) a relatively inert, predictable currency which will track in one direction for a long time and that it takes quite a big thing to move significantly.

I don't know this is quite true when the Thai Bhat hit a rough patch I managed to pick up a rMB about $60 cheaper than the US yet when the UKP hit a low and I could of bought my kids new Iphones etc they were still higher than the exchange rate fluctuations to make them worth while

Strange considering UK is around no 2 for Apple market share, maybe the stores overheads are much higher in UK as it has a reasonable number compared to some countries outside US

I always thought it was unfair given price and stores in US vs rest of the world as if they were subsidised by others especially with countries with almost 0 stores they seem to pay a premium for almost no local store support
[doublepost=1531147624][/doublepost]

Thanks SteveJUAE. I'm only speaking on the experience I've received on both occasions and that has been that the people at two separate Apple stores have said something similar along the lines of: "You're covered under European law..." and have never placed the onus on me to prove that it was an inherent fault. Incidentally, I asked the guy in store whether they had heard about the issue I had before and he said no, although that could simply have been a bit of lip service.

I'm not sure if this has something to do with both purchases being made direct with Apple, but it was a pretty smooth and painless process either way.

I think luck was on your side but a nice result

As others noted once your down the route of consumer law and citizens advice it's a slippery slope of long arguments

I did once use them with Dixons when Amstrad 1640 1st came out in the late 80's as they refused to replace on the spot a defective unit, kept saying they had no stock so I faked a sale by calling ahead and walked in to store to buy then did the swap, they refused so I made them call citizen advice ombudsman who I had previously called and walked out with a new unit

 

[caspergirl]

same happened with my iphone. it was 2 years out of warranty when it just stopped working at all. dead. i went to the apple store, explained the situation and they told me "i will open the phone, if there is no water damage or any unauthorised repair then i will exchange it for free". they indeed gave me a new device due to consumer law without to ask me prove anything

 

[Kingcr]

same happened with my iphone. it was 2 years out of warranty when it just stopped working at all. dead. i went to the apple store, explained the situation and they told me "i will open the phone, if there is no water damage or any unauthorised repair then i will exchange it for free". they indeed gave me a new device due to consumer law without to ask me prove anything

That’s great. This is the sort of after-sales service that Apple is known for. But had Apple refused to repair or replace for free you may have had a tough time pursuing any other recourse (depending on what was actually wrong with the device).

 

[steve62388]

I always thought it was unfair given price and stores in US vs rest of the world as if they were subsidised by others especially with countries with almost 0 stores they seem to pay a premium for almost no local store support
[doublepost=1531147624][/doublepost]

People often forget prices in the States are normally advertised excluding tax because it varies from State to State. Most other countries advertise prices to consumers that include tax.

 

[SteveJUAE]

People often forget prices in the States are normally advertised excluding tax because it varies from State to State. Most other countries advertise prices to consumers that include tax.

Don't worry I am aware including import tax to other countries when buying from the US

But yes often a common mistake

 

[cambookpro]

I've had a Thunderbolt Display, an iPhone 5 and a 6 Plus replaced under the law. Have never been asked to prove the product was always defective, as long as you don't take the Mick it tends to be fine.

 

[Kingcr]

I've had a Thunderbolt Display, an iPhone 5 and a 6 Plus replaced under the law. Have never been asked to prove the product was always defective, as long as you don't take the Mick it tends to be fine.

Again, just because Apple replaced your devices, doesn't mean you were entitled to it under the law (although judging by the age of the devices you mentioned, they most likely fell under SoGA, not the CRA which came into effect in 2015).

For anyone who really wants to know what they're *entitled* to, as opposed to Apple's generosity, Which? provides quite a nice summary of the Consumer Rights Act in this regard here: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

Edit: spelling and dates