Why doesn't Apple tell you this? (or their box) [AppleCare]

[chrisrottan]

LOL no one is defending Apple. We were merely saying that people shouldn't cry if you purchased something off eBay and it didn't work regardless if it's legit or not. The argument was never Apple is always right and the customer isn't. I guess you were too blind to see the REAL argument. Look at the first page, I already stated it makes no sense that they put a region on it and it would mean more trouble for the customer if they were abroad internationally.

I guess the in thing to do is to cry to Apple when something doesn't go right because they have amazing CS and people like to take advantage of it - they never like to take responsibility for their actions like HLdan said. It's not even my problem but I still made a 5-10 min call to AppleCare to confirm which the OP should've done himself instead of coming in here and complaining.

I did read it. You went from neutral on your standpoint to follow the other apple fan bois into their bangwagon.
Then, you tried making up facts about sales and commerce and then i called you out on them. Because i called you out on them, you went out of your own way to call them, not because you cared about the Thread Starter but because you wanted to prove a point.
Customer service is, guess what? customer service. You can't take advantage of a group of people who have a say on their warranty and replacement. If the customer violated something, then apple and their CS is rightfully to dismiss their claims. But when Apple CS is lying to their customers, they should be held accountable.
Same thing i see when people talk about Dell/HP Customer Service.

 

[sukanas]

Lol, Epic Thread

 

[iLog.Genius]

I did read it. You went from neutral on your standpoint to follow the other apple fan bois into their bangwagon.
Then, you tried making up facts about sales and commerce and then i called you out on them. Because i called you out on them, you went out of your own way to call them, not because you cared about the Thread Starter but because you wanted to prove a point.
Customer service is, guess what? customer service. You can't take advantage of a group of people who have a say on their warranty and replacement. If the customer violated something, then apple and their CS is rightfully to dismiss their claims. But when Apple CS is lying to their customers, they should be held accountable.
Same thing i see when people talk about Dell/HP Customer Service.

Wow. Is this dude for real? READ EVERY PAGE. I also said when I had a chance to speak to Agreement Admin, I will confirm. This wasn't something decided to do randomly because you decided to come in here and start throwing legalities in here. Also I didn't know explaining the pros and cons of buying eBay was defending Apple. Damn, I guess we can't think clearly about things without being called an Apple Fanboy or something.

I gotta admit though, you did make this thread very interesting. You and everyone who likes to bring up law whenever something doesn't go their way. How about you go to every thread that has a customer complaint and guide them on which law Apple has violated. I'll be sure to read it. Also, start up a blog to help raise awareness. I'm pretty sure if you get it big enough like the NVIDIA fiasco, Apple will listen and change their illegal ways.

 

[Richard1028]

You went from neutral on your standpoint to follow the other apple fan bois into their bangwagon.

Granted, I'd say that 99.9% of the posters here are fanboys but i.log typically shoots pretty straight.

And were he "back-pedaling" on the issue, he could've just skipped the call to Apple and not post about it.

 

[madog]

I've been messaging the OP and he will be trying to go into a store to get this resolved, as opposed to just calling as he did before.

I've mailed some information to a consumer website (with the OP's permission), and here are some, of what I believe to be, important and relevant questions to ask about this:

While the obvious, "buyer beware" statement is true for all things purchased from eBay, what if this situation were slightly different and a customer who purchased an Apple computer moved to a new country several months later, or if the computer were sold online to a person in a different country? Would they not then be able to purchase the extended warranty because the computer was originally purchased/registered in a different country? I'm sure that isn't a common occurrence, but it has to have happened before. Does that defeat the purpose of world wide coverage? If the country of purchase/registration is so important then why isn't there a "Great Britain", or "Australia" label printed on the AppleCare box itself? Lastly, if such a thing were not allowed the original poster is confused to why Apple would allow the registration of the foreign AppleCare to take place in the first place. It stands to their reasoning that the initial registration process of the APP to the MBP would have been denied, and this confusion would have been avoided.

Granted, I'd say that 99.9% of the posters here are fanboys but i.log typically shoots pretty straight.

And were he "back-pedaling" on the issue, he could've just skipped the call to Apple and not post about it.

Anyone who uses the term "fanboy" or the I-Love-Avril-Lavigne "fanboi" is typically already biased and immature. Also, the fact that you say that 99.9% of the people on a Mac forum are fan's of Macs is pretty... obvious.

Blind fanaticism is different thing, and not inclusive of a majority of the members here.

 

[iLog.Genius]

I've been messaging the OP and he will be trying to go into a store to get this resolved, as opposed to just calling as he did before.

I've mailed some information to a consumer website (with the OP's permission), and here are some, of what I believe to be, important and relevant questions to ask about this:

While the obvious, "buyer beware" statement is true for all things purchased from eBay, what if this situation were slightly different and a customer who purchased an Apple computer moved to a new country several months later, or if the computer were sold online to a person in a different country? Would they not then be able to purchase the extended warranty because the computer was originally purchased/registered in a different country? I'm sure that isn't a common occurrence, but it has to have happened before. Does that defeat the purpose of world wide coverage? If the country of purchase/registration is so important then why isn't there a "Great Britain", or "Australia" label printed on the AppleCare box itself? Lastly, if such a thing were not allowed the original poster is confused to why Apple would allow the registration of the foreign AppleCare to take place in the first place. It stands to their reasoning that the initial registration process of the APP to the MBP would have been denied, and this confusion would have been avoided.

Perfect question to ask and was the same one/same example I used to ask Agreement Admin on the issue. First they said if you were still in the native country, it would make sense to just purchase the AppleCare here. Then I asked about moving to a different country and that's when I got the answer we were all looking for, buying an AppleCare from a different country would still be valid.

Furthermore, I'm not 100 percent sure since I haven't dealt with international customers but I don't think the agent can pull up and confirm which country the AppleCare was originally from.

iLog screen displays either a RED bar (indicating not eligible for support and if applicable, will tell how many days left to purchase AppleCare) or a GREEN bar indicating that customer is eligible for support and if applicable will show that they have AppleCare. Nowhere does it indicate country/region. The software used is pretty straightforward but doesn't get into specifics such as serial numbers (not including computer specs)

 

[madog]

iLog screen displays either a RED bar (indicating not eligible for support and if applicable, will tell how many days left to purchase AppleCare) or a GREEN bar indicating that customer is eligible for support and if applicable will show that they have AppleCare. Nowhere does it indicate country/region. The software used is pretty straightforward but doesn't get into specifics such as serial numbers (not including computer specs)

In GSX (the authorized service center online warranty/part ordering site, ghetto version of iLog), it does state the country of purchase, as well as the warranty status (such as, "Limited" or "Extended Warranty" with details such as "Parts and Labor", or "On Site Repair" which I have only seen once for a business that doesn't use it) and relevant dates. I don't know what the country data is based on though. Maybe that's the country it was originally shipped/sold to, or possibly it's from the registration info. Due to the amount of people who don't register any data I would imagine it's from the sold to data, but that's just a guess.

So whether it's important or not to this topic it is data that is stored for one reason or another.

 

[peskaa]

Odd. I bought a MacBook in the US whilst on holiday, and when I came back to the UK I had it fixed under AppleCare that I purchased over there. Worked fine, no problems. They even replaced the US keyboard with another US one.

 

[SPNarwhal]

So here's the conclusion.

I took it to Apple today, and they looked up my coverage on their computers.
They seemed really confused, and said "it says you're covered by AppleCare." And I said, exactly. That is what it says, and it shouldn't say this if I'm not. They seemed really confused by the whole thing, and said they had no idea there were region restrictions either. I guess there were some notes added to it though (from the first person I talked to on the phone) saying that it's not honorable since it was purchased on e-Bay from Great Britain. The guy talked to other employees and they all said that if I ever have a problem (after the first initial year) to just bring it in. It says that I am covered, and they will honor it. Case closed.

So apparently my Apple Store doesn't care, just as long as it says I'm covered, then I am covered. Maybe some other AppleStores have a different outlook about this, but mine is on the right track. I still think they should lable it's region on the box, or update their registration process if there's even a small possibility of it being dis-honored by a region restriction.
But as for my personal issue, I'm fine. Case closed.

Go Apple.

 

[tofagerl]

Well, Go That-Specific-Small-Part-Of-The-Apple-Empire anyway.

 

[poundland]

i'm still confused

Congratulations to the thread starter for seemingly coming to a satisfactory conclusion however having read all the pages on this post, i find myself with more questions than answers.

I bought a MBP 13 in the UK. I'm English but live and work in Poland. As APP is seemingly a worldwide warranty i was planning to buy it from US via Amazon to save money.

COST OF APP IN:
UK £163.14 (from UK Amazon)/$260..reduced from £199 in Apple stores
US $201.95 (from US Amazon)/£126.67(&p+p)
POLAND doesn't have Amazon but cost of APP in Apple store here is zl 1199/ £264/$421!

The thread starter has been criticized for his decision to buy from ebay (to save money) but personally, not being a wealthy guy and having really struggled to raise the £1000/$1594 to buy my machine, the additional cost of APP is a lot of money to me and if i could save some by buying from the States then that would be great. However reading all these posts, i'm still confused now as to whether Apple would honour the APP if i bought it from the US then registered it at a Polish (or even UK address). Please note that i'm not talking about buying from ebay or from any dodgy sources but buying legitimately from Amazon at a discounted cost.

One poster commented that it must be quite rare for people to buy a machine in one country and then move abroad and want to purchase APP abroad. Actually i think that a lot of people visiting the US as tourists (from Europe) would choose to buy Apple products whilst there on holiday as the prices are considerably cheaper and may well want to buy APP at a later date from their own country. The point being that it makes sense to wait until the initial one year guarantee is nearly up before buying APP as you may well damage the machine during that first year in which case it wouldn't have made sense to have bought the additional cover for the 2nd and 3rd year for a defunct machine (i know someone who trod on theirs and completely killed it soon after purchase!).

It appears from the experiences of previous posters that Apple does seem to repair machines covered by APP bought from different continents but this is not cast in stone and now i'm having a serious rethink about whether or not to buy from the States.

 

[Raggy]

The point being that it makes sense to wait until the initial one year guarantee is nearly up before buying APP as you may well damage the machine during that first year in which case it wouldn't have made sense to have bought the additional cover for the 2nd and 3rd year for a defunct machine (i know someone who trod on theirs and completely killed it soon after purchase!).
.

But wouldn't it still be covered during the first year anyway? I thought that came as standard?

 

[poundland]

Unfortunately not...

But wouldn't it still be covered during the first year anyway? I thought that came as standard?

...because the policy doesn't cover accidental damage ie spillage or droppage (if indeed those words even exist!). Any problems caused by owner negligence simply aren't covered at all hence i can't understand why anyone would buy the policy until the very last moment when the standard guarantee finishes. My acquaintance who trod on his machine was luckily able to make a successful claim on his home insurance so he was reimbursed the full cost

 

[poundland]

Additional Info

The crux of the whole 'can i buy abroad' argument is cryptically dealt with by Apple here in this paragraph in the FAQ section of Applecare info on their official site:

.
Where can I purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan?



"Apple recommends that you purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan in your country of residence, because each AppleCare Protection Plan has terms and conditions specific to consumers of the country or region in which the plan is offered."

Well...as i interpret this, a recommendation is NOT a regulation so presumably it's up to me if i choose to buy this policy (cheaper)/ abroad and find later on that some form of repair that is performed on one continent isn't then performed in another. I'm scratching my head to imagine what (serious) differences could really exist between US and UK/European policies. But equally there could well be differences in what different European policies cover/offer let alone policies from different continents.

 

[Clark Kent]

I bought my computer in Japan and my Applecare in America (LA Computer Company) and I had no problems registering and getting service several times.

I guess I got lucky.

 

[DewGuy1999]

The crux of the whole 'can i buy abroad' argument is cryptically dealt with by Apple here in this paragraph in the FAQ section of Applecare info on their official site:


Where can I purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan?

"Apple recommends that you purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan in your country of residence, because each AppleCare Protection Plan has terms and conditions specific to consumers of the country or region in which the plan is offered."


Well...as i interpret this, a recommendation is NOT a regulation so presumably it's up to me if i choose to buy this policy (cheaper)/ abroad and find later on that some form of repair that is performed on one continent isn't then performed in another. I'm scratching my head to imagine what (serious) differences could really exist between US and UK/European policies. But equally there could well be differences in what different European policies cover/offer let alone policies from different continents.

Apple has the different Terms and Conditions for different countries on the web, poundland (or anyone else interested) can download them from the link below and compare:

AppleCare Protection Plan Terms and Conditions

 

[poundland]

Thanks for your replies fellas...

Clark (or can i call you Super?), you've done precisely what i hope to do. But i have this nagging doubt as to whether Apple could just possibly turn round and say that they refuse to honor a policy bought from a different continent.

Dewguy, I saw your many comments on another forum rather related to buying cheap Applecare codes from ebay and all those posts on that forum rather illustrate the haphazard way in which Apple occasionally seems to turn round and refuse an Applecare policy to be registered without questioning various codes which would thereby inform them which continent it had been bought from.

I appreciate the link you posted but considering that the policy offers 'global coverage' i still find it very hard to understand why it shouldn't be purchased globally. After all, to deny someone this purchase at a cheaper price is a kind of protectionism. Fundamentally, it's the same machine on both continents so i can't really see how the policies could vary so much. I have latterly sent an email to US Amazon to actually ask them whether, as "authorized Apple sellers" they are actually permitted to sell the APP to different continents. I suspect they may be restricted from doing so but we'll see.

This whole issue has rather become a point of principal for me rather than finance but thanks for your comments and i look forward to hearing what anybody else has to say/comment

regards

 

[DewGuy1999]

Under normal circumstances (buying from the country you reside in) I think that if you buy AppleCare from an Authorized Reseller in the box and get a receipt that there won't be any question to the validity of the AppleCare. Using common sense, as AppleCare is global coverage, I would like to think that a user would be covered irregardless of country of purchase, assuming it was purchased from a Authorized Reseller. I think reading the terms that are specific to a purchaser's country would also be prudent, as there may be slight differences due to legal requirements of different countries. Lastly, calling AppleCare and asking them about the different country purchase scenario may also be prudent.

I don't blame you for trying to save some money. I had AppleCare on this iMac that I purchased on eBay (didn't know any better back then) from an individual (the only copy they had), it was boxed and I used it to have the logic board replaced from an Apple Authorized Service Provider. I think I saved $20-30 from the best price I could find from an Authorized Reseller. Anyway, I'm all for saving money and when I get my next Mac I'll be getting AppleCare, but knowing what I now know about eBay I won't be purchasing there no matter how good the price, I'll be going through one of the Authorized Resellers, whomever has the best price when I'm ready. I'll be content knowing that's the best I can do and have a "no questions asked AppleCare" when I need it.

 

[ComputersaysNo]

My guess is that it has nothing to do with Apple at all, but with the warrantylaws that are different per country. The European union states that you have at least 2 years of warranty on any electronic device (1 year from the manufacturer, and +1 year from the EU). And sometimes even longer. A washingmachine is not supposed to break down after two years. There are laws that state that every device has a economic life-expectancy of x-years. You are not entitled to the full waranty after two years but still have some, and can (try) claim that. If your washingmachine breaks down after 7 years, you might split the repairbill with the manufacturer or so. (for a laptop economic life-expectancy is 36 months i believe)

So buying applecare in the UK and use it abroad probably gives you benefit over other people (+1 year extra warranty), and there are probably laws prohibiting that, or the manufacturer wants to stay loyal to its biggest group of buyers.

But even in the EU, having some rights and actually getting them are two different things. Some company's are always willing to help you out, some are not. It's up to the person to decide how far they want to go, trying to get what they are entitled to, and what it is worth. European law also states that the manufacturer must prove that the product was ok within the warrantyperiode, and that it got broken by the buyer. The buyer does not have to prove the device went bad/broken/kaput without being his/her fault.

 

[poundland]

contradictory information

Greetings from Amazon.com,

Thank you for contacting us with your question. I can tell you that Amazon.com is an authorized Apple retailer. Unfortunately we are unable to ship computers or protection plans outside of the United States DUE TO MANUFACTURER RESTRICTIONS*. Because of this restriction I can tell you that no customers outside of the United States purchase the United States warranty for European products.

If you wanted more detailed information about the protection plans and the services provided in them I would ask that you contact Apple directly. I have provided their information below.

Apple
800-692-7753

I hope this information proves useful. We look forward to seeing you again.

Best regards,

Lxxxx
Amazon.com

(*My emphasis)


BUT...

hi,

i'm contacting you because i've read on forums that you offer some of the cheapest prices for Apple products in the US. My question is: if i buy via mail Applecare from you for my MBP 13 will i have any problems registering this on a European machine (I bought my machine in London but i live and work in Warsaw, Poland)?

Previously i thought that APP was a truly International policy so i couldn't see any prob with ordering it from the US(where it's much cheaper) but i've been reading some interesting comments on forums ie http://forums.macrumors.co/showthread.php?t=806921 suggesting that Apple might not honour APP bought from a different country/continent.

Do you have any experience of selling these policys to European customers? Or do you have any knowledge or feedback as to whether they are equally valid over here to register?

Any help much appreciated. Thanks for your time

Rob


HI Rob

Apple care is Global, so Yes you can buy from us AppleCare and register it in what ever country you are in.

It does not matter where you bought the Machine, That is Apples policy.

Thanks for checking with us

Yxxxx



L.A. Computer Company
2993 E. White Star Ave.
Anaheim, CA 9280
PH: 714-630-829

My thanks to the two above posters for promptly replying to me. I hope and trust that i'm not embarrassing anybody by printing these replies, i'm merely trying to illustrate the overall confusion that exists even among official authorised sellers let alone customers. A few previous posters on this thread have said that they've successfully used US APP in London and Japan without problems. So, i guess i'll have to think about this for a bit

 

[DewGuy1999]

Poundland:

I briefly looked at the Terms and Conditions for AppleCare, North America - English, and Europe, Middle East and Africa - English, here's what I found that makes this discussion pointless:

North America - English
7. General Terms
d. This Plan is offered and valid only in the fifty states of the United States of America, the District of Columbia and Canada. This Plan is not offered to persons who have majority. This Plan is not available where prohibited by law.

Europe, Middle East and Africa - English
7. General Terms
d. This Plan is offered and valid only in Austria, Belgium, Denmark (excluding Greenland and Faroe Islands), Germany, Greece, Finland (excluding Åland), France (excluding overseas departments and territories but including Guadeloupe, Reunion Island, Martinique, Tahiti and Guyana), Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation (excluding Kuril and Sakhalin Islands), Spain (excluding Ceuta, Melilla) Sweden, Switzerland, Norway (excluding Svalbard) and the United Kingdom. This Plan is not offered to persons who have not reached the age of majority. This Plan is not available where prohibited by law.​

Also from Amazon under Product Details it states:

Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.​

Based on all of the above, IMHO, although AppleCare provides worldwide coverage, it needs to be purchased in the country of residence.

 

[poundland]

Yes, that looks fairly comprehensive but i wouldn't say that the discussion has been pointless because of the many aforementioned reasons and discrepancies not to mention previous posts such as this:

"What if a customer who purchased an Apple computer moved to a new country several months later, or if the computer were sold online to a person in a different country? Would they not then be able to purchase the extended warranty because the computer was originally purchased/registered in a different country? I'm sure that isn't a common occurrence, but it has to have happened before. Does that defeat the purpose of world wide coverage? If the country of purchase/registration is so important then why isn't there a "Great Britain", or "Australia" label printed on the AppleCare box itself? Lastly, if such a thing were not allowed the original poster is confused to why Apple would allow the registration of the foreign AppleCare to take place in the first place. It stands to their reasoning that the initial registration process of the APP to the MBP would have been denied, and this confusion would have been avoided.

 

[DewGuy1999]

Yes, that looks fairly comprehensive but i wouldn't say that the discussion has been pointless because of the many aforementioned reasons and discrepancies not to mention previous posts such as this:

"What if a customer who purchased an Apple computer moved to a new country several months later, or if the computer were sold online to a person in a different country? Would they not then be able to purchase the extended warranty because the computer was originally purchased/registered in a different country? I'm sure that isn't a common occurrence, but it has to have happened before. Does that defeat the purpose of world wide coverage? If the country of purchase/registration is so important then why isn't there a "Great Britain", or "Australia" label printed on the AppleCare box itself? Lastly, if such a thing were not allowed the original poster is confused to why Apple would allow the registration of the foreign AppleCare to take place in the first place. It stands to their reasoning that the initial registration process of the APP to the MBP would have been denied, and this confusion would have been avoided.

But as I see it, buying the AppleCare in a different country than that of the Mac purchase is not the point, in your case you can buy AppleCare in Poland from an Authorized Apple Reseller for your UK purchased Mac knowing that it's valid and it will be honored worldwide. Apparently, according to the Terms and Conditions of the AppleCare it can only be sold in the countries listed then I imagine that an Authorized Apple Reseller is only selling AppleCare in the appropriate country. I guess where all this comes into question is with trying to purchase AppleCare from a source not authorized (ie, eBay) to sell the AppleCare that's in their possession to a not valid country of purchase.

 

[jlc1978]

I don't see why that would make a difference? If you can have it serviced anywhere under AppleCare, then surely it shouldn't matter which country you purchased from? I got my MBP in the US and later decided to buy AppleCare when I came back to Finland so why would that make AppleCare less valid if my machine breaks down on a trip to Germany for instance?

Revenue. Apple (or it's authorized distributor) gets the money for AC in the country where the AC and Apple product was purchased; and uses that to fund the service plan. If you could buy the plan anywhere people would arbitrage the price and the higher priced regions would get no revenue but still have the service liabilities; or the region selling the plan would wind up with a lot of transfer payments. This is especially true since it would be easy to ship AC across a border, vs. a laptop or desktop. A local distributor could even, in theory, unload a lot of AC to buyers outside of its region, getting a revenue boost with no liability increase. At least Apple honors service worldwide; unlike many manufacturers who only do warranty work in country of origin. It's all about protecting distributors.

 

[tcador]

Digging this this back up....

I recently purchased a new 15" MBP from Hong Kong (online apple store) as the prices between Hong Kong and China greatly vary. Now, even though I'm currently living in China I'm a US citizen and plan to register the computer using my US address. Is it possible to buy the AppleCare from the US and apply it to the Hong Kong purchased MBP?