Returning an iBook (Mac) Laptop after 1 yr

richardj_4

by the way these posts were on a windows machine not my Mac. Not sure why so many though

BillScarab

The OPs Mac doesn't appear to be "much more reliable than windows" though does it?

I think the biggest problem you will have with returning it now is that you have had it for nearly two years, it's not just a month or two over the 1 year guarantee.

BTW there is no EU wide two year guarantee. Have a look at this article, UK law actually provides better protection than the EU law, and surprisingly the protection is better in England and Wales than Scotland.

http://www.out-law.com/page-3435

So you could try getting Apple to take it back.

fuzyfelt

Hi,

I have an ibook and the hard drive failed after about 18 months (at the end of last year). Took it back to the shop i bought it - not an apple store. They said since i didnt have the extended guaranty (to 2 years) i'd have to pay for a new one... anyway, they sent it to the workshop, who called and said it was the hard drive failed and new one would be however much.

After speaking to a few managers, they eventually replaced it free as a 'goodwill gesture'.

The regs i quoted are - 'The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002' which says goods must last for a reasonable amount of time - obviously depends on what you buy, but i think a £1000 laptop should last more than a year. (dti.gov.uk website has some good info.) Dont think you would be able to get a refund after so long - i think when i looked into it the store could give a partial refund, repair, or replace - which would be up to them.

Anyway, from the little info you give, maybe you have a software problem (apple store probably would have checked out all hardware with tests and didnt find anything.) OSX works fine for me - OSX does crash a lot less than windows in my experience, but programs you're running can still crash - probably as much with OSX as with windows, depends on the non-OSX software you're using... (stuff like dodgy downloaded copies of Microsoft Office wont help.)

Andy

Jnelhams

This is a grey area in English law. Goods have to be of Merchantable Quality - Sale of Goods Act 1979 as Ammended Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982

Now this a subjective test in Court, it is also takes into consideration "fair wear and tear" - So basically what is the reaonable life span of a laptop computer Apple or otherwise, well it is not unreasonable to expect 4 years for a laptop (less for business use), where as a Fridge should be 7 or more years.

You should write to Apple explain the problems, and ask them what they intend to do to fix the problem, explaining that it was you believe not of 'merchantable quality'

If they offer a repair with you paying the postage accept it, otherwise issue a claim in the small claims court for the cost of a repair.

You are unlikely to get a full refund on it or a new replacement because you have left it nearly 2 years to claim, if this problem happened in the first year or so your case would have been stronger, but you are still entitled to a repair, and if you can prove you took it back in the 1st year then it might be possible to get a refund on it (subject to possible wear and tear)

wolfman

richardj wrote:

Macs are much more reliable than windows and are a lot more use, try these steps and get to enjoy a Mac for what they are, the most relaible, user friendly mainstream systems out there.

It's most likely a hardware problem.

Unfair comparison. A Mac is a whole system consisting of Apple's hardware and OS X. Windows is purely an operating system.

I personally find Apple hardware, to be very nice, although not entirely reliable (or durable). While their operating system, OS X is, and is arguably better than Windows XP/Vista. I could never stomach being completely Apple based though. Too little control and choice.

mark1024

As another poster said, could be a hardware problem (there was a longstanding issue with ibook logic boards, which affected one of my G3 ibooks) or system software/applications.
Sounds like the Applestore were not as helpful as they could have been, result being you are unlikely to ever use a mac again, given the opportunity. It is not possible to diagnose from the info provided, although I doubt you have any recourse to a refund after this length of time. The best course of action would have been to restore the system to 'factory fresh' and then complain to apple if the crashes continued. I very much doubt if you would have received better customer service from Dell..

I've used macs for 20 yrs, as well as windows, and I do have a preference, although both offer outstanding reliability nowadays.

digp

sue them? you will get a proportion of what you paid back IMO