Mac4cash.co.uk taken my old laptop and now say it's worthless??

blunt_crayon

Arrrgh help please. I got a quote of £180 from mac4cash.co.uk for my old Macbook which they collected. Now they have told me that 'the motherboard is failing' and it is not worth any money, but they will 'scrap it for free' (or break it down for spares and repair, presumably). And if I want it back I have to pay delivery charges of £34. So basically I can't win and have to wave goodbye to the £180 I was expecting.

I am going to call them tomorrow but can anyone advise me on my rights, specifically I am wondering

- can they get away without providing proof that the motherboard isn't working? What if they are just saying that so they don't have to pay me?
- can the value really just drop from £180 to £0 if the motherboard has indeed gone? Surely it would have some value as spares/repair, I have seen damaged Macbooks go on eBay for £100 before and have sold one myself for around that years ago (and how I wish I'd just done that, now!)



Their T&Cs said:

8. Technology Recycling Solutions LTD. Take no responsibility for any additional defects or malfunction that may be discovered during our testing of your laptop once received that may be over and above those defects and malfunctions listed by the Customer on the quotation form. Should additional defects or malfunctions be discovered, Technology Recycling Solutions LTD.
Will either re-quote the Customer and will then await acceptance by the Customer; or, notify the Customer of the status of their laptop(s) and quote
£34 for the return of their unit (each) which includes carriage and admin costs for the return.

mattyprice4004

It's their opinion of the product, if you don't agree with the diagnosis then ask them to return it for you.

As for the return fee, do you expect it to be free? It's taken them time to inspect the machine and it'll cost them to return it, so a charge is acceptable.

somethingcorporate

I agree - it sounds like a massive con. They get a free laptop or get billed £34 for return and it probably works just fine and costs them just £10 to return.

shaun_from_Africa

Now they have told me that 'the motherboard is failing'

Is there normally an indication that a motherboard is about to fail?, and surely they should be more specific about what exactly what part they suspect.
I could understand if it was the HDD as this often gives advance warnings if it's playing up, but apart from overheating (whoich could ossibly be sorted out fairly cheaply), what indications of possible future failure would they have seen.

As for the return fee, do you expect it to be free? It's taken them time to inspect the machine and it'll cost them to return it, so a charge is acceptable.

I would expect to have to pay for the return, but if I was paying for the inspection of the laptop, I would also expect to be given a report showing what work they carried out and what exactly they found.

nitra

Did you test the laptop before you sent it?

Having worked in IT for 5 years I'd expect the laptop to be showing clear signs of motherboard damage (macs might be different, but doing nothing or manic beeping).

P.S sounds like a con, it's a clear win win for them

arcon5

I don't see how you have a choice but to pay it, they are not going to return the laptop otherwise.

You canpursue them for a refund but it's probably not worth the time or money doing so.

A bit of a lose lose situation you have yourself here.

mo786uk

report to trading standards via consumer direct.

pay your money and get the laptop back - almost certainly a scam. just liek many of the gold buying schemes.

pinkshoes

It sounds fair enough to me.

Blunt Crayon needs to pay the £34 to have it returned, then pay for an independent report on the Mac. Should the independent report show the motherboard to be just fine, Blunt Crayon can then take Mac4Cash to court for the £34 and the cost of the independent report.

Or, if the Mac was fine before being shipped, and now broken, it needs to be taken up with the courier.

MeanParent

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Is there normally an indication that a motherboard is about to fail?

Yes there is. It is called the "TIGTCY" circuit.

The This Is Going To Cost You circuit automatically springs in to life once you need to rely on your computer to do something important or urgent or indeed both. The circuit senses the importance and urgency of the impending task and causes a proportionate failure.

More realistically, the motherboard solder may be cracking or there might be evidence of leakage in some capacitors.

However, I am very suspicious as it seems to have been working before it was sent.

Ask for it back. It would be interesting to know if you get it back and if it has been damaged in the process.

davedobby100

I've used Mac4Cash.co.uk before to sell my MacBook Pro, they sent me a cheque for the £500 a few days later, which is the price they said they'd pay before they collected my Mac. I found them really easy to use and professional.

Sorry mate, it sounds like your MacBook did have something wrong with it if they changed their mind about the quote. As for the £34, that's fair enough as you agreed to it in their terms and conditions, and it probably does cover all the courier fees they paid and however long it took them to find the fault.

George_Michael

Why is it that I always get a bit cynical when there is a post from a totally new MSE member who appears to have signed up solely for the purpose of praising a company which has been slated by other members, and this post appears the day after the representitive of that company posted (and subsequently had their posts removed).