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I am dissatisfied with how Apple replaced my charger

piatti

piatti

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2010
819
0
USA
My charger wasn't working and they replaced it for $61, but when I asked them why they are taking in my old one they said it was to refurbish it. What!? I said I should have a discount then. He replied that it's 80 dollars normally and 61 is discount. And when they replaced it they just took the bigger part of the two parts and gave me just the bigger part. Then I thought the big part alone would be worth $61, and I am giving them away my broken big part for free. Could I have kept it and have it fixe somewhere for cheaper than 61?

Also I think it's very easy to get out of order; it seems very fragile and easy to get out of order (and I suspect purposely; when I drop MacBook Pro I can feel from the impact that they were made in such a way to maximize the impact inflicted on them) so they can profit off of people frequently having to buy new replacements that are expensive because of the brand name). Is there a case to cover the square shaped part of the charger to protect it from being out of order?
 
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So wait, you gave them your broken charger and they gave you a new (or refurbished) one at a discount? I'm not seeing the problem with this if your computer is out of warranty... It is not simple by any means to try and fix your power adapter yourself if the damage is inside the transformer.

As for the second part of your post I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you saying the Laptops are built to take less damage when dropped or the power cords? Macbook Pros (or their power supplies) have never been sold as a ToughBook that can be tossed around. If you're repeatedly dropping your machine then that's 100% your problem when it breaks, not Apple's.
 
I'm sure Apple didn't design the charger so it would be purposely "easy to get out of order."

There's a word for that...
 
Wcastello said:
If you're dropping a macbook pro to test the damage probability... you deserve to pay full price for repairs. And probably more...
Click to expand...

No I never dropped it but when my mom does it sounds pretty nasty like a hard rock, unlike other laptops. I've also set it down on the hard surface from about 5 inches above and it sounds pretty bad, you can tell it's fragile.
 
piatti said:
No I never dropped it but when my mom does it sounds pretty nasty like a hard rock, unlike other laptops. I've also set it down on the hard surface from about 5 inches above and it sounds pretty bad, you can tell it's fragile.
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lol are you trolling?
 
Blipp said:
So wait, you gave them your broken charger and they gave you a new (or refurbished) one at a discount? I'm not seeing the problem with this if your computer is out of warranty... It is not simple by any means to try and fix your power adapter yourself if the damage is inside the transformer.

As for the second part of your post I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you saying the Laptops are built to take less damage when dropped or the power cords? Macbook Pros (or their power supplies) have never been sold as a ToughBook that can be tossed around. If you're repeatedly dropping your machine then that's 100% your problem when it breaks, not Apple's.
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I did not mean fixing the power adapter myself, I would have taken it to a computer repair shop.

Re: 2nd part, both. No laptop except for maybe Lenovo are built that way but from my experience Macbook Pro is built to be broken particulary easily. The screen tilts when dropped. Very easily.
 
If you're under Applecare, you shouldn't have payed a dime for your new charger. If not, they certainly shouldn't have kept your defunct charger. I'd be giving Apple a call regardless - you have reason to be dissatisfied.
 
ddeadserious said:
If you're under Applecare, you shouldn't have payed a dime for your new charger. If not, they certainly shouldn't have kept your defunct charger. I'd be giving Apple a call regardless - you have reason to be dissatisfied.
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I wasn't in Applecare.
Thank you I'll call them and ask them why they had to take my defunct charger (of course, to satisfy their greed! "Let's take this defunct charger for free so we can refurbish them and sell them!"
 
And if you are dropping your computer by accident, or your mom is, get insurance on it. You can schedule your computer with homeowners or renter's insurance for an extra $20 a year.
 
piatti said:
I've also set it down on the hard surface from about 5 inches above and it sounds pretty bad, you can tell it's fragile.
Click to expand...

Umm.. 5"? That's dropping it.

I don't get why you're pissed off. They gave you a discount, which is more than I would have expected. Unless the power supply was brand new, I would have just discarded the old one and bought a new one and moved on.

Seriously, if this is the thing that makes you the most angry in your life, the God bless you.
 
piatti said:
Thank you I'll call them and ask them why they had to take my defunct charger (of course, to satisfy their greed! "Let's take this defunct charger for free so we can refurbish them and sell them!"
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What's wrong with them taking back a useless charger for refurb? All you're going to do is dump it anyway and it'll end up in some landfill. At least by refurb'ing it they can lessen the environmental impact. Get over it kiddo!
 
I'm not sure anybody other than apple can legally fix those things. There might be all sorts of patented replacement parts in there other vendors typically can't get their hands on. Amazon appears to selling used magsafe adapters for 30 bucks that would probably work but the price for a new one is 80 on apple's site, regardless of wattage and I'd only really trust Apple to fix it reliably to the point where it can be considered like new. You ended up with nothing less than what you had before so if it was a new product, I don't see any reason to be dissatisfied. New products have less wear on them, which make them worth more than used stuff. If I was really worried about the cost, I would've asked how much it would cost to have fixed before handing it over though, if I was off warranty, just to be sure I couldn't buy anything cheaper elsewhere. It'd probably be a good idea to use the apple store's own computers on display to see how much a replacement part would cost beforehand actually, come to think of it.


I would note that when I was with my mother in the Apple store, all they did was replace the wire that had the magsafe tip, which is quite modular, with one from another box. However I'm not aware of any locale that would sell them separately. They wouldn't make them themselves either as tip itself is patented, which is part of how Apple shut down external Hyper Batteries from being sold. (They allegedly used existing parts but might not've been allowed to modify them.) If you think only the big part was damaged, they probably just wanted to take the wires off of it.

What does the World Travel kit typically contain? It looks to have all sorts of parts and I'd think a spare magsafe tip might be nice to have on the road, just in case ...
 
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bigjobby said:
What's wrong with them taking back a useless charger for refurb? All you're going to do is dump it anyway and it'll end up in some landfill. At least by refurb'ing it they can lessen the environmental impact.
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So true.
 
I am dissatisfied with how Apple replaced your charger also. Driving up for those of us who don't go around dropping our computers and accessories.
 
Do you think that Apple would sell me a discounted MBP if I got drunk and urinated all over my current one? If they send me the 2.2 instead of the 2.3, I would be absolutely dissatisfied.
 
NickZac said:
Do you think that Apple would sell me a discounted MBP if I got drunk and urinated all over my current one? If they send me the 2.2 instead of the 2.3, I would be absolutely dissatisfied.
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I tried that and it didn't work. Maybe next time I won't do it in front of them at the store.
 
piatti said:
No I never dropped it but when my mom does it sounds pretty nasty like a hard rock, unlike other laptops. I've also set it down on the hard surface from about 5 inches above and it sounds pretty bad, you can tell it's fragile.
Click to expand...

If your mom is dropping it, you need to tell her to stay away from it. My fiancee' has a 2008 Macbook - but has fallen in love with my new MBP. She did not take care of her old Macbook at all (dropping, tossing on the couch, never cleans the screen/keys, etc) - and was told she is more than welcome to use mine when she needs to as long as I never catch her treating it the way she did her Macbook. You may want to discuss some similar boundaries with your mom (the same could go for anyone that uses it).

johnnj said:
Umm.. 5"? That's dropping it.
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^ This. 1" is dropping it much less 5. Why would you ever NOT make sure that you are setting it down properly? Do you drop plates from 5" high when setting the dinner table?
 
johnnj said:
I tried that and it didn't work. Maybe next time I won't do it in front of them at the store.
Click to expand...

Damnit. Well in that case I am unsatisfied with their customer service. It is absolutely ridiculous that they will not replace their systems due to urine damage.
 
NickZac said:
Damnit. Well in that case I am unsatisfied with their customer service. It is absolutely ridiculous that they will not replace their systems due to urine damage.
Click to expand...

That's disgusting! Surely if you spoke to the 'right' person nicely you might get somewhere. Might also be an idea to provide some latex gloves for the Genius you're dealing with as a good gesture.
 
I just took my wife's 13" umb and flung it out of a 3rd story window onto my driveway. Then I ran it over with both cars. Now it's soaking in a bath of photographic fixer. If that doesn't fix it then I'll bring it to the Apple store in the local mall and demand that they replace it, but that I have to keep the old one because I know they're just going to slap a coat of paint on there and resell it.
 
my advice is to go back to school for re-sit your last few years, instead of going to the apple store with a macbook pro you asked your mum to drop to try and prove they make them flimsy to make more money.

just saying like...
 
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