Unpleasant experience with AppleCare

[tmai]

I have a 3-year-old Mac Book Pro laptop with AppleCare warranty. It was working fine except that the CD drive sometimes won't eject. The tech at an Apple Store confirmed the condition and sent it to a repair center. Traces of a liquid spill was found (which happened almost a year ago and never bothered me) and the warranty repair was therefore declined. The estimate was $700 for replacing the CD drive, very steep for an old laptop. So I refused and they shipped it back to me. But now it won't turn on. I called and asked if they could restore the laptop to the same condition as it was when I brought it to the Apple Store. They said since I refused the paid repair, they were not responsible to put the laptop back together in the same condition, even if the laptop broke while in Apple's possession. (Or perhaps the tech that put it back together forgot to connect a cable or something.)

Any similar experience or legal advice would be highly appreciated. Do I have any recourse or am I screwed?

 

[jenzjen]

I have a 3-year-old Mac Book Pro laptop with AppleCare warranty. It was working fine except that the CD drive sometimes won't eject. The tech at an Apple Store confirmed the condition and sent it to a repair center. Traces of a liquid spill was found (which happened almost a year ago and never bothered me) and the warranty repair was therefore declined. The estimate was $700 for replacing the CD drive, very steep for an old laptop. So I refused and they shipped it back to me. But now it won't turn on. I called and asked if they could restore the laptop to the same condition as it was when I brought it to the Apple Store. They said since I refused the paid repair, they were not responsible to put the laptop back together in the same condition, even if the laptop broke while in Apple's possession. (Or perhaps the tech that put it back together forgot to connect a cable or something.)

Any similar experience or legal advice would be highly appreciated. Do I have any recourse or am I screwed?

A few things:

Did the computer not turn on as soon as you got it back?

Did you call the Apple Store the same day you got it back?

If yes to both of these, I'd go back to the Apple Store and talk to the original tech and a manager. The tech will be able to confirm that the machine worked, and I'm sure the manager will make it right.

 

[palpatine]

it seems fair that they didn't fix the cd drive under applecare. and, you seem cool with that too.

assuming the tech dude you talked to at the store actually saw you turn it on, i think the case is pretty clear-cut.

you brought your computer into apple, they gave you an estimate, you declined, and they shipped you back a broken computer. to use a car analogy, you brought your car in to repair the cd player, they gave you an estimate, you declined, and now your car won't run. that's clearly unacceptable.

i don't think you'll have any problem convincing a store manager that you ought to have the computer repaired or replaced for their negligence.

and, if you do have problems, ask for a district supervisor contact number of some sort and move your complaint up the chain. i would be quite surprised if apple (or any company) tried to stand behind a stupid decision like that.

if the tech guy didn't see it turn on, then it is a bit more of a mess, because they could reasonably say you spilled something on the computer and made up this story to get a free repair/computer out of the deal. i doubt you will have to pursue this through legal channels, but if you do, conceivably you could round up witnesses to back up your claim. at this point, though, you'll be wanting a lawyer's advice, and things are looking expensive and kind of ugly.

 

[peapody]

A few things:

Did the computer not turn on as soon as you got it back?

Did you call the Apple Store the same day you got it back?

If yes to both of these, I'd go back to the Apple Store and talk to the original tech and a manager. The tech will be able to confirm that the machine worked, and I'm sure the manager will make it right.

This would be key.

And I am not sure why they would quote you $700 if the logic board was working and the only faulty thing was the optical drive. I recently got mine repaired for free but on the repair receipt it says the repair costed $40 for labor and $89 for the optical drive.

 

[awer25]

Another reason to go with Squaretrade with their accidental coverage