New for old - how does it work?

TrixA

Thanks everyone, really helpful information, I am feeling somewhat reassured now. The laptop was a top-of-the-line Macintosh and I'd be surprised if the insurance company could negotiate a significant discount from Apple - hopefully what they pay out will be close to what we paid for the replacement.

InsideInsurance

TrixA wrote: »

Thanks everyone, really helpful information, I am feeling somewhat reassured now. The laptop was a top-of-the-line Macintosh and I'd be surprised if the insurance company could negotiate a significant discount from Apple - hopefully what they pay out will be close to what we paid for the replacement.

No insider knowledge but I've seen Apple give employee discounts of 15% to large corporates and their Higher Education discount is the same so you wouldnt be looking at anything below that.

The "problem" of course is that its not just Apple that sell Apple products to consumers and it could well be that Currys, who sell apple, give the insurer a 30% discount off everything and with the blend of products they have will be making thin margins on some items and bigger margins on others.

TrixA

Ok, further advice needed.

Insurance has come back and they have found the Mac laptop on sale with an online only seller (called laptops direct), for a cheaper price than Apple offers directly. So they're proposing to give us the cash equivalent of that price.

The laptop that was stolen was purchased directly from Apple and my husband has made use of the Apple aftercare on several occasions. He spoke to Apple today and they confirmed that they would not provide the same aftercare for a machine purchased from one of these online resellers. Is a different guarantee/aftercare policy acceptable grounds to argue that the machine is not a like for like replacement? The online company do say they provide a one-year guarantee which is the same duration as the Apple guarantee, but would presumably be provided by them rather than Apple. In practice we have found Apple happy to repair products that are well outside of the official guarantee period which I doubt would be the case here. I don't think buying from an online-only company is the same as buying direct from the manufacturer, or even from another company with physical stores.

TSx

I think you're going to struggle with the warranty argument - presumably the laptop you have now doesn't have a current warranty so any warranty is better than you have now.

Details on Laptops Direct aftercare service here.

I do think this is a fair offer on their part.

Mattygroves2

TrixA wrote: »

Ok, further advice needed.

Insurance has come back and they have found the Mac laptop on sale with an online only seller (called laptops direct), for a cheaper price than Apple offers directly. So they're proposing to give us the cash equivalent of that price.

The laptop that was stolen was purchased directly from Apple and my husband has made use of the Apple aftercare on several occasions. He spoke to Apple today and they confirmed that they would not provide the same aftercare for a machine purchased from one of these online resellers. Is a different guarantee/aftercare policy acceptable grounds to argue that the machine is not a like for like replacement? The online company do say they provide a one-year guarantee which is the same duration as the Apple guarantee, but would presumably be provided by them rather than Apple. In practice we have found Apple happy to repair products that are well outside of the official guarantee period which I doubt would be the case here. I don't think buying from an online-only company is the same as buying direct from the manufacturer, or even from another company with physical stores.

I'm surprised about their attitude to repair as I've had a replacement ipod from Apple for one that was bought on ebay and originally came from the US.

I would have thought that they would at least give you a genius bar appointment and diagnose the fault and probably fix it - when you book one there is no question about where you bought your product. I can't see Apple wanting to damage their customer relations reputation by flat out refusing to help someone in store.

If they do end up agreeing with you then they may come back with an offer based on the Apple reconditioned price which is less than full price. They have the same warranty and Apple after sales service as a new machine. Not strictly brand new but they are as close to it as you can get.

InsideInsurance

Do you know anyone in higher education? They can get you the item with their 15% discount and better than that it also comes with a 3 year warranty as standard via the HE discount when ordered from the university network computers.

Alternatively there is also the Refurb store if you dont know anyone at uni (working or studying) and dont want to google on how to get the discount without being at uni

I've bought direct from Apple and from third parties and as they registered to my Apple account I've never been asked to provide proof of purchase so the issue of if it came direct from them or via another store has never come up. You can always shrug and say you dont know but assume your husband/wife/partner would have bought direct as they did your others.

Mattygroves2

InsideInsurance wrote: »

I've bought direct from Apple and from third parties and as they registered to my Apple account I've never been asked to provide proof of purchase so the issue of if it came direct from them or via another store has never come up. You can always shrug and say you dont know but assume your husband/wife/partner would have bought direct as they did your others.

Whilst I agree that I wouldn't think twice about taking any Apple product (wherever bought) to an Apple store for repair I'm sure they know from the serial number where it was bought from.

TrixA

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Do you know anyone in higher education? They can get you the item with their 15% discount and better than that it also comes with a 3 year warranty as standard via the HE discount when ordered from the university network computers.

Alternatively there is also the Refurb store if you dont know anyone at uni (working or studying) and dont want to google on how to get the discount without being at uni

I've bought direct from Apple and from third parties and as they registered to my Apple account I've never been asked to provide proof of purchase so the issue of if it came direct from them or via another store has never come up. You can always shrug and say you dont know but assume your husband/wife/partner would have bought direct as they did your others.

Yes we purchased the replacement using the HE discount, but the price this other company is offering is even cheaper. It's so cheap I'm suspicious about the provenance of the machine.

InsideInsurance

TrixA wrote: »

Yes we purchased the replacement using the HE discount, but the price this other company is offering is even cheaper. It's so cheap I'm suspicious about the provenance of the machine.

I've bought from Laptops Direct and didnt have any problems, but that wasnt an apple machine.

Are you sure the machine from them is the latest model? Could be they are selling off the older model, esp as it isnt too long away before the next refresh is due.

Clwydd

This is a nightmare scenario in which nothing is what it seems, and you have to act before knowing the consequences, as I discovered after a house fire.

I suggest you strongly consider finding an independent loss adjuster (not easy! - contact the CI of Loss Adjusters, or similar named org. for someone local) - you will have to meet their 3% or so fee but friends advise me it is well worth it. Certainly their knowledge, and even initial advice if you don't feel able to continue this way, can be invaluable.