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Disappointed In AppleCare

D

DMDair

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 5, 2002
5
0
Virginia
Today, for the 1st time in over tens years of being an Apple Product
user, I have to admit I am extremely disappointed in the customer
service and AppleCare Warranty. Almost 3 years ago I bought a first
generation Intel Black MacBook. I have been very satisfies with unit
until recently when I noticed my LCD had and issue. In the lower left
corner of the screen it began to look like the layers of of the LCD
were separating. About the same time I noted that the Airport function
would stop working after extended use and the unit would not sleep
correctly. After going through normal troubleshooting I called
AppleCare, as I had purchases an AppleCare protection plan, and the
happily sent me a box to send my unit for repair. I Happily pack up my
beloved MacBook and ship it back. That is where the happiness ends.

The follow day I get and email saying my MacBook has arrived at the
repair facility, GREAT! A few hour later I get a call from an Apple
Care representative and things start to go bad.

The representative explains to me that the technician has looks at my
unit and feels the issue on the LCD is a "Pressure Mark" and is
cosmetic so it is not covered by the warranty and the screen will cost
$170.00 to replace..
After a few minute so futile arguing back and forth on how a "pressure
mark" could not cause the inner layers of my LCD to separate I gave up
add said. "OK." $170.00 did not seem to bad for an LCD and at least I
would get my unit back and the other issues fixed.

I whip out my credit card and wait for the total.

"That will be $808.00." She says.

"What the F....?" Luckily I caught myself before finishing that
statement.

"Where do you get that from?" I naively ask.

The answer, in a nutshell, came down to since the screen issue was
considered "damage" none of the other issues would be covered. Keep in
mind that this is a 1st generate Black MacBook. Current Market Value
is nowhere NEAR $800.00.

I have purchased 5 new Macs and 4 iPods over the last 10 years. All
with AppleCare. On 3 previous occasion I have had units serviced under
the plan without issue, so I cannot say all my experiences with
AppleCare have been bad. I do have to say that this experience my make
me rethink investing in Applecare contracts.

D. Matthew Dair
 
Sorry to hear about that. It is ridiculous that the sales rep would charge you that amount without letting you know until you asked. I definitely hope you cancelled that transaction right then?

Is it possible for you to take it into a Apple store once you get it back? Hopefully, the store will be more accommodating in their evaluation of the MacBook's condition and you will be covered this time.

I know this is after the fact, but it's always better to visit the Apple store (or stores, if possible) before sending in for repairs. Even an Apple authorized dealer would still be a good alternative-- second, third opinions...

Good luck D and keep us updated :)
 
Update

Supervisors seem to be worse then phone rep. at Apple. They basically call you a liar and are of no help. No one appears to be sane at AppleCare.

The other issues with the MB are the Airport card stops function after 20 or 30 minutes of heavy use. AppleCare claims the will not fix this because the antenna is in the screen that I "allegedly" abused. Also the unit will not sleep. In constant comes out of sleep when lid is closed. I can only guess they cannot fix this because the MB is to worried about more abuse to get a sound nap in.
 
I'm sorry, bad luck, man.

Is there any resellers near you that has authorized repair as well? You could ask from them because Apple doesn't pay their salary and control them as much. There was a thread yesterday when someone's MBP's screen broke and Apple asked 650$ for repair and reseller was willing to do it for 400$. For you, they can do it for free possibly because he didn't have warranty left.
 
Apple(Doesn't)Care

Unfortunately there are no authorized retailers close enough, other than BestBuy. The sad thing is, in the end, I will still buy new Apple Products, now knowing that I can expect know more from them then I would from Dell or any other PC manufacturer. The days of "insanely great" customer service from Apple are over I guess. They have out grown the need to provide service on that level.
 
The tech's use their best judgment in determining how and what went wrong.

I agree with previous posters. Take it in to an Apple store before your
Applecare expires and calmly state your case.

I have found Apple to be amazing in taking care of customers. They
recently fixed by friends MBP even though it was out of warranty. Put
an entirely new logic board in.
 
These sorta things always suck. Maybe you can have the Apple store ship your computer back to you (if they allow for a repair) since it's 2 hours away? Just a thought.
 
E-Mail steve. Calmly explain and reiterate the ten years and that you were willing to pay $170 and also acknowledge that your experience with Apple Care has been awful.
 
Just curious, did you ever get a quote for $800+, or authorize them to fix anything other than the screen for $170?

I'm pretty sure this applies to computers as well, but in most types of repair industries, they're not allowed to bait-and-switch one quote for another price.
 
I've given up on AppleCare, I figure with my mini, my wife's MacBook and a hunger for iPods and iPhones it is cheaper to take the risk. If something breaks after a year, and I can't fix it myself, I'll sell it on eBay and use that money along with my saved AppleCare money to buy a newer, better machine. So far, so good *crosses fingers* :)

Oh, and I probably voided my warranty when I upgraded my HDD to 7200rpm anyway...
 
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