So I THOUGHT I got great service...

[pricej636]

PLEASE DELETE IF POSSIBLE!!!

Had my 13" MBP in the Apple store for some repairs. Squeaky hinge and some keyboard problems. They replaced the display assembly and the top case which was awesome. I was extremely happy until I got home.

First, my HD has been swapped. My NEW 240GB SSD has been swapped for a 500GB 7200rpm drive. The SSD is basically new, I installed it a couple weeks ago and it ran me over $500. Obviously this is a problem. I really wish I would have turned on the machine when I picked it up at the store.

Second, someone was using my computer for their personal business. When I tried to log onto facebook I was logged out and a different email address was listed on the log-in screen. Unfortunately I just deleted it and logged in with my account before I really thought about what had happened. This was before I noticed the HD had been swapped, otherwise I would have documented the email address. I am the only person that has EVER used this computer, so there is no way that could have been an accident.

Lastly, the machine all of a sudden will not remember my password for my wireless at home. Every time I open the lid I have to type my wireless password in.

I called the apple store that did the repairs and got no help. The person I spoke to said that none of his employees would have done such a thing and I must be mistaken. The store is two hours away, I'm not going to drive over there and waste my time. What steps should I take next? Call apple? Call the police? Again, the store is two hours away in another state. I don't have time to drive back and forth, and gas isn't cheap.

I have a horrible feeling that I am going to be screwed on this.

 

[EricNau]

Firstly, I would call 1-800-APL-CARE. Explain your situation (in full) to the first agent, and ask to be transferred to a Product Specialist to get help resolving this issue.

You're certain this is otherwise your machine, correct? All of your personal files are still in place?

 

[Cougarcat]

Email sjobs@apple.com and explain the situation. Steve won't read it, but you will get a call a day or two later from a high-level Apple rep (the kind of person who can give you a $500 check for a new SSD and/or order the Apple Store manager to do something about it) who will give you their number. I did this years ago when my PowerBook had logic board issues for the third time. It's best to always go to the top if you can.

 

[Xenc]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-gb) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

If the hard drive was swapped, that is most likely not your installation of OSX. Unless I'm missing something here? Is it even your laptop?

 

[pricej636]

Firstly, I would call 1-800-APL-CARE. Explain your situation (in full) to the first agent, and ask to be transferred to a Product Specialist to get help resolving this issue.

You're certain this is otherwise your machine, correct? All of your personal files are still in place?

Serial numbers match up, its my machine. All my files and programs are in place. It appears the HD was cloned. I did a time machine backup before I took the machine in and it shows that as the last backup, so it must have been cloned by some other means.

 

[EricNau]

Email sjobs@apple.com and explain the situation. Steve won't read it, but you will get a call a day or two later from a high-level Apple rep (the kind of person who can give you a $500 check for a new SSD and/or order the Apple Store manager to do something about it) who will give you their number.

That's good advice, however, it will be very helpful if you have a call to Apple previously documented prior to making this contact.

When you first call, they may ask for your Repair ID, which should be on the piece of paper you were given when your computer was returned, so have this ready along with your computer's serial number. At the end of the call, ask the agent for your Case Number (you may have to wait a minute, but the rep will be able to give it to you at the end of the call).

Assuming the call does not resolve your issue, express your desire to contact Apple Executive Relations. If they can't provide you direct contact info, then email the address Cougarcat provided, which will be directed to this department.

In writing your email, be certain to include as much information and documentation as possible. Also, include your contact information.

In return, don't expect immediate resolution. You have a rather bold claim to prove. The representatives will do everything they can to assist you, but it's going to take time and patience. The nicer and more polite you are, the more each agent will want to help you, and this is key.

 

[wordoflife]

Wow that sucks!
Always make sure to check the laptop before you sign the papers!


Keep us updated.

 

[Xenc]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-gb) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Alright, in this case get onto the phone to Apple Store in question and ask for a solution. Be polite, but don't settle for any excuses. Ensure you are compensated, both for your time and gas money. I would also stop using the laptop entirely until you get your property back.

Good luck!

 

[SPEEDwithJJ]

Before I go about giving my own suggestions, the first & only thing that puzzles me (& no offense here) is why did you send your MacBook in for repair with your aftermarket SSD? I thought it is a "rule" to always send in your machine stock (original HDD/SSD & RAM), no?

IMHO, it is probably hard for you to get anything back if the Apple employee who took in your notebook did not document your aftermarket SSD in their system. Unfortunately, if this is the case, it will be your word against their because they do not have evidence stating that they accepted your notebook with the aftermarket SSD. Unfortunately again, whoever did the swap out must have been enjoying your "free" SSD.

Good luck.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

It will help if you have the original HDD that came with your machine, so you can bring it in as proof that there was a different drive in your machine.

 

[PurpleMarmalade]

If you have evidence that your MBP did have the aftermarket SSD installed in it when it was sent off to Apple, you should first pursue Apple Customer Service (phone the store, then HQ). Be polite, but firm, and explain that if the situation is not quickly and efficiently resolved, you will be reporting the theft to the police.

If you do not have any evidence, go with step 1, and email sjobs, etc. The police won't give a monkeys.

 

[Cougarcat]

Before I go about giving my own suggestions, the first & only thing that puzzles me (& no offense here) is why did you send your MacBook in for repair with your aftermarket SSD? I thought it is a "rule" to always send in your machine stock (original HDD/SSD & RAM), no?


Good luck.

It's fine to send in Macs with aftermarket HDs and memory because they are user-replacable and don't void your warranty.

 

[Xenc]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-gb) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Before I go about giving my own suggestions, the first & only thing that puzzles me (& no offense here) is why did you send your MacBook in for repair with your aftermarket SSD? I thought it is a "rule" to always send in your machine stock (original HDD/SSD & RAM), no?

IMHO, it is probably hard for you to get anything back if the Apple employee who took in your notebook did not document your aftermarket SSD in their system. Unfortunately, if this is the case, it will be your word against their because they do not have evidence stating that they accepted your notebook with the aftermarket SSD. Unfortunately again, whoever did the swap out must have been enjoying your "free" SSD.

Good luck.

I don't think that's a rule, since the drive is a user replaceable part in the warranty terms. What if you don't have the original hard drive anymore?

If it does get to the point you mentioned, then it would be a matter for the police to deal with. I don't think it will go that far, but at the end of the day it is theft.

 

[pricej636]

Before I go about giving my own suggestions, the first & only thing that puzzles me (& no offense here) is why did you send your MacBook in for repair with your aftermarket SSD? I thought it is a "rule" to always send in your machine stock (original HDD/SSD & RAM), no?

I actually called the store before I made the drive to make sure the SSD was not going to be a problem with the warranty. The guy I spoke to said that my issues were not related to the HD at all, so there would be no problems with leaving it in. I almost swapped it out anyway, but my backup HD has a bunch of other files on it and I didn't feel like moving them.

Hindsight is 20/20.

 

[SPEEDwithJJ]

It's fine to send in Macs with aftermarket HDs and memory because they are user-replacable and don't void your warranty.

I know they don't void warranties, the reason is what I have mentioned in that post.

If the Apple employee who took in the machine did not document your aftermarket parts in their system, how are they going to verify that one sends in his/her machine with the said part (in this case the SSD)? I mean one can send in the machine for repair in stock configuration & then after receiving his/her machine claimed that Apple swap out & took their expensive aftermaket part. How is Apple going to tell if the claim is true or not?

 

[BigMoo]

I know they don't void warranties, the reason is what I have mentioned in that post.

If the Apple employee who took in the machine did not document your aftermarket parts in their system, how are they going to verify that one sends in his/her machine with the said part (in this case the SSD)? I mean one can send in the machine for repair in stock configuration & then after receiving his/her machine claimed that Apple swap out & took their expensive aftermaket part. How is Apple going to tell if the claim is true or not?

I would say that if he bought a model that didnt have a stock 500GB HDD and they have proof that he didn't customize that when he made his purchase i don't see what the problem would be. What if he bought it with the 250GB HDD and it came back with a 500GB HDD, possibly the same make and model that Apple is using currently? Just a thought, i mean there are a lot of factors here.

 

[goMac]

I know they don't void warranties, the reason is what I have mentioned in that post.

If the Apple employee who took in the machine did not document your aftermarket parts in their system, how are they going to verify that one sends in his/her machine with the said part (in this case the SSD)? I mean one can send in the machine for repair in stock configuration & then after receiving his/her machine claimed that Apple swap out & took their expensive aftermaket part. How is Apple going to tell if the claim is true or not?

Well, if he replaced his HD with an SSD, he should still have the original stock drive. That would be at least a start to proving he replaced the drive.

I would call the police, honestly. Apple won't like having officers in their store, especially if the problem is that one of the employees possibly stole computer parts.

 

[RaceTripper]

I use my OEM drive as a bootable SuperDuper backup of my internal aftermarket SSD. If my MBP ever goes in for service, I reinstall the OEM drive and original RAM so they get what they shipped. I also delete my user account and directory from the installed OEM drive. I've never thought of doing it any other way.

 

[pricej636]

Well, if he replaced his HD with an SSD, he should still have the original stock drive. That would be at least a start to proving he replaced the drive.

I would call the police, honestly. Apple won't like having officers in their store, especially if the problem is that one of the employees possibly stole computer parts.

The SSD was my third drive. The stock drive started giving me errors, so it was swapped for a Seagate Momentus XT. Used that drive for months until I swapped in the SSD. I drilled a bunch of holes in the stock drive and threw it away as per my usual practices of disposing of HDs.

Interesting side note... my windows bootcamp partition is gone. I guess when they swapped the drive they overlooked that part. I have pulled the drive and swapped in my seagate for now. I'll start making phone calls in the morning and see what happens.

 

[rjbruce]

In addition to EricNau's post, thoughts for documentation related to the SSD:

1. Dated receipt/email invoice
2. Any specs you may have ran and saved (date stamped file)
3. Dated forum posts, "just got my 256GB SSD and it's sweet!"
4. Pictures, even if the SSD box is just in the background (can't hurt)

I find the memory/SSD upgrade videos kind of annoying (how many do we need?) but horror stories such as this make me think it's not a bad idea.

 

[laser71]

Did you check your internet history to see if the logs show when facebook was accessed? Although that's clearly not your biggest issue, it will be evidence that will help show wrongdoing. Depending on the profiles viewed, you may be able to help pinpoint a specific employee.

 

[goMac]

The SSD was my third drive. The stock drive started giving me errors, so it was swapped for a Seagate Momentus XT. Used that drive for months until I swapped in the SSD. I drilled a bunch of holes in the stock drive and threw it away as per my usual practices of disposing of HDs.

Interesting side note... my windows bootcamp partition is gone. I guess when they swapped the drive they overlooked that part. I have pulled the drive and swapped in my seagate for now. I'll start making phone calls in the morning and see what happens.

That'll make it more difficult... You've at least got to have some proof they had your SSD...

During a part swap, they should have noted the serial of the old drive. If the part swap wasn't noted you might have a bigger problem (in addition to that being really suspicious.)

The other issue to keep in mind is that your machine may not have been repaired in the store, it may have been sent out to the repair depot, which isn't even Apple owned, and can be a real mess. If your drive got stolen at a depot, good luck...

Is the drive a different size than the drive your machine shipped with? That would build a case there that at the very least your drive was swapped...

 

[pricej636]

That'll make it more difficult... You've at least got to have some proof they had your SSD...

During a part swap, they should have noted the serial of the old drive. If the part swap wasn't noted you might have a bigger problem (in addition to that being really suspicious.)

The other issue to keep in mind is that your machine may not have been repaired in the store, it may have been sent out to the repair depot, which isn't even Apple owned, and can be a real mess. If your drive got stolen at a depot, good luck...

Is the drive a different size than the drive your machine shipped with? That would build a case there that at the very least your drive was swapped...

The repair was done in 24 hours, and I was told the parts were in stock when I dropped it off so I would have to assume it was done in house. I was told 3-5 for the repair but I was surprised when they called me the next day and said it was done. I dropped it off on Friday, they called Saturday and said it was done, and I made it over there today (Sunday) and picked it up. I am two hours away from the store so it wasn't just a quick trip.

I think the stock HD was 250GB. The SSD was 240GB and the drive that ended up in it was 500GB. Ive got everything that I can gather as far as documentation. When I get up tomorrow I am going to start making phone calls and see how far I get. At this point I am a little pessimistic about what is going to happen. As said above its my word against theirs. Im the dumbass that left a $500 HD in the machine.

 

[SPEEDwithJJ]

When I get up tomorrow I am going to start making phone calls and see how far I get. At this point I am a little pessimistic about what is going to happen. As said above its my word against theirs. Im the dumbass that left a $500 HD in the machine.

Yeah, first thing to do tomorrow is definitely to start by calling up the Apple store you took your macbook for service. Speak to the store manager & see how it goes. Hopefully, your notebook that was sent in with the aftermarket SSD was documented in their system, as it will make resolving your issue a lot easier, or else it will be a lot more hassle. Most importantly, hope that the store manager is very willing to solve your issue straight away. If not, go up the chain of command at Apple with calls/emails. Surely, someone at Apple will sympathize with your situation & do something about it.

Definitely, do not give up.

I'm sure in the end, Apple will make things right, although it may be a lot of hassle to get your issue resolved. Just be patient, polite, & insistent with your phone calls &/or emails. I'm sure in the worse case scenario, Apple will still display some form of "good will" gesture & compensate you for the lost of your SSD drive while the macbook was sent in for repair.

Good luck & sincerely hope to hear back from you on successfully claiming back your SSD.

 

[cloakedpegasus]

Wow there must be some shady people working there, please let us know which Apple store you went there so no one gets F'd like you did. Gl getting your drive back.