Edit - This was resolved by Apple.
Last June I bought a Santa Rosa MacBook Pro. I love it. About three months later I dented the corner of my MBP when I dropped the case carrying it. It was the corner closest to the hard drive. I powered on the machine, and experienced no problems for the next three months.
Last week on January 11, my screen stayed blank even after turning on the computer. I tried turning the machine on and off a couple times, and trying some types I found online, and eventually the computer powered up. When it loaded, I realized the wireless connection was not working no matter which router I pointed it to. So I restarted the computer hoping that everything would work the second time, and no luck. No matter what I did, the screen would remain blank. After the computer was on for a while (screen still blank) the volume up/down keys worked and Num/Caps locks toggled.
I took my computer to the genius bar the next day. The man assisting me tried a bunch of different methods of repairing and diagnosing the problem with no luck. He told me it would need to be send in to Apple for repairs. He suspected the logic board but said he couldn’t be certain. He warned that Apple does not cover accidental damage, but the dent in the corner most likely wasn’t responsible for the symptoms my computer was showing.
Last Wednesday I got a call from Apple stating that my repairs could not be completed without authorization to replace my case and hard drive for a cost of $975. What??? I asked them if they could fix the display and wireless problems without fixing the case or hard drive. The women told me that Apple has an all or nothing policy with fixing computers. If they do not fix the computer to a state where it passes 100% of the diagnostics, then they will repair nothing. This is not stated in the Warranty; I read it multiple times. I told her I would not pay $975 for repairs I do not want and that I am capable of doing myself, and she said Apple will send my laptop back.
I then called Apple Customer Relations. The man on the phone confirmed that Apple has an internal policy of not what he called “partial repairs,” even under warranty. I asked him if Apple would fix my display and wireless problems if I replaced the hard drive and sent the computer back in. He said no because the hard drive needs to be replaced by Apple or an Authorized repair center to retain its Warranty. This policy is not stated on the Warranty. The warranty states that damages caused by the service would not be covered; it makes no mention that the service voids the entire warranty. He confirmed that despite the wording on the warranty, Apple could void everything because they can’t determine that the damage was not caused by the service. I am now scared to replace the hard drive myself out of fear that Apple will illegally use that as another excuse not to fix defects otherwise covered by the warranty. It is bad illegal for a company to demand that I pay them or one of their affiliated repair centers for over priced work so that in exchange they fulfill their contractual obligations to fix my defective computer.
Friday (yesterday) I got my laptop back, only to be even more frustrated. I was expecting to find a document explaining how the technicians determined that the hard drive damage was caused by the dent in the same corner, but nothing like that existed. I was also surprised when I fired my computer up one last time and noticed that the hard drive was making a sound that it never made before. It was at that point that I realized my hard drive failure was likely not even caused by the dent in the same corner. I called apple back and spoke to a technician. The technician confirmed my suspicions. He was able to pull up images of my computer. He admitted the dent did not look too bad. However, he said that because the dent is in the same corner as the hard drive, it might have caused the hard drive to eventually fail, three months later. He said that if the dent were on the opposite corner, Apple would reevaluate. I asked him how Apple determined that the disk failure was caused by the dent and he said they couldn’t make that determination. He explained that Apple would need to open up the hard drive to make that determination and they were not prepared to do that. I asked if the hard drive showed signs of punctures or anything on the outside, he did not know because no one bothered to take those pictures.
What is going on here? What happened to Apple and customer service?
I am about to run out to the closest Apple repair center, Microcenter in Chicago for a quote. I am afraid that performing the hard drive replacement myself will ultimately turn my $975 bill into a better off junking the $2000, 6 month old laptop bill. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?
Thanks for reading my rant.
Last June I bought a Santa Rosa MacBook Pro. I love it. About three months later I dented the corner of my MBP when I dropped the case carrying it. It was the corner closest to the hard drive. I powered on the machine, and experienced no problems for the next three months.
Last week on January 11, my screen stayed blank even after turning on the computer. I tried turning the machine on and off a couple times, and trying some types I found online, and eventually the computer powered up. When it loaded, I realized the wireless connection was not working no matter which router I pointed it to. So I restarted the computer hoping that everything would work the second time, and no luck. No matter what I did, the screen would remain blank. After the computer was on for a while (screen still blank) the volume up/down keys worked and Num/Caps locks toggled.
I took my computer to the genius bar the next day. The man assisting me tried a bunch of different methods of repairing and diagnosing the problem with no luck. He told me it would need to be send in to Apple for repairs. He suspected the logic board but said he couldn’t be certain. He warned that Apple does not cover accidental damage, but the dent in the corner most likely wasn’t responsible for the symptoms my computer was showing.
Last Wednesday I got a call from Apple stating that my repairs could not be completed without authorization to replace my case and hard drive for a cost of $975. What??? I asked them if they could fix the display and wireless problems without fixing the case or hard drive. The women told me that Apple has an all or nothing policy with fixing computers. If they do not fix the computer to a state where it passes 100% of the diagnostics, then they will repair nothing. This is not stated in the Warranty; I read it multiple times. I told her I would not pay $975 for repairs I do not want and that I am capable of doing myself, and she said Apple will send my laptop back.
I then called Apple Customer Relations. The man on the phone confirmed that Apple has an internal policy of not what he called “partial repairs,” even under warranty. I asked him if Apple would fix my display and wireless problems if I replaced the hard drive and sent the computer back in. He said no because the hard drive needs to be replaced by Apple or an Authorized repair center to retain its Warranty. This policy is not stated on the Warranty. The warranty states that damages caused by the service would not be covered; it makes no mention that the service voids the entire warranty. He confirmed that despite the wording on the warranty, Apple could void everything because they can’t determine that the damage was not caused by the service. I am now scared to replace the hard drive myself out of fear that Apple will illegally use that as another excuse not to fix defects otherwise covered by the warranty. It is bad illegal for a company to demand that I pay them or one of their affiliated repair centers for over priced work so that in exchange they fulfill their contractual obligations to fix my defective computer.
Friday (yesterday) I got my laptop back, only to be even more frustrated. I was expecting to find a document explaining how the technicians determined that the hard drive damage was caused by the dent in the same corner, but nothing like that existed. I was also surprised when I fired my computer up one last time and noticed that the hard drive was making a sound that it never made before. It was at that point that I realized my hard drive failure was likely not even caused by the dent in the same corner. I called apple back and spoke to a technician. The technician confirmed my suspicions. He was able to pull up images of my computer. He admitted the dent did not look too bad. However, he said that because the dent is in the same corner as the hard drive, it might have caused the hard drive to eventually fail, three months later. He said that if the dent were on the opposite corner, Apple would reevaluate. I asked him how Apple determined that the disk failure was caused by the dent and he said they couldn’t make that determination. He explained that Apple would need to open up the hard drive to make that determination and they were not prepared to do that. I asked if the hard drive showed signs of punctures or anything on the outside, he did not know because no one bothered to take those pictures.
What is going on here? What happened to Apple and customer service?
I am about to run out to the closest Apple repair center, Microcenter in Chicago for a quote. I am afraid that performing the hard drive replacement myself will ultimately turn my $975 bill into a better off junking the $2000, 6 month old laptop bill. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?
Thanks for reading my rant.
It really sucks how there huge companies find loopholes to get away with not helping you out.. I would be pissed off as hell...
