Apple MacBook problem - not fit for purpose?

jouden84

Hi everyone!

This is my first ever post so please forgive me if this has been posted previously or if I'm posting in the wrong place!

I'm writing on behalf of my brother. He works as a Freelance Graphic Designer. 3 years ago, he bought a refurbished but brand new Apple MacBook laptop from the official Apple site. He spent over £1000 as it needed to be a fast computer for work. As it is refurbished it was obviously worth more originally and of quite high specifications.

Recently, his laptop has encountered a major problem which he has been quoted £800 to fix and it is not a recall. He has used the laptop as intended at manufacture and never tampered with it. This is a hardware problem. He does not have an extended warranty. As it is only three years old, it seems to me that it is not really fit for purpose. You would expect an Apple computer of that price to last a lot longer than three years. Does he have any rights on return/refund/service fee paid? Any other thoughts or ideas? He has had to put work on hold...

Many thanks

Jo

Fosterdog

It would depend on why it has failed, if it has ever been dropped, knocked roughly (even if when carried in a bag) had contact with liquid (even an environment with a lot of condensation) they are all things that can cause it to fail prematurely that are not covered by a fit for purpose claim. You also get wear and tear which is not covered, how many hours use has it had?

What exactly is wrong with it?

bluenoseam

At three years he'd have to prove the fault was there at the time of purchase.

When you say it's a hardware fault which piece of hardware is it that's at fault? A graphic designer will naturally cause greater wear & tear on a computer than your average bog standard user & their "lifespan" will be considerably shorter than usual.

Have to remember that it was a business purchase as well, so it's possible that using it for said purposes would've been against the T&C's of an extended warranty.

chickendipperbabe

Proving a fault is inherent on a portable electronic device will be tricky especially after three years. laptops get bumped about, knocked and sometimes even stuff spilled on them. I've had an iPad die on me at eight months old and seen a number of year old or less iMacs with various issues so, in my opinion Apple stuff is just the same as any other manufacturer, Apple just take a little extra care making the externals look pretty.

As mentioned above, if the user has been doing a lot of photoshoppery, video editing, graphical work this usually maxes out a system. Years of running hot, cooling down and if the end user hasn't taken the time to blow out fans/vents regularly this will all take its toll on the system.

jouden84

Hi again

Thank you so much for replies so far! I've spoken with him. He has caused no damage to it. It's the motherboard that's gone wrong. Even though he uses it for work, its not had huge use as he was also travelling and working as a lifeguard in between so mostly it was used in the winter really. I know it's not damage caused by him though as he won't even let anyone near with a cuppa for fear of it getting damaged lol

It's a shame as I also think he may not be able to prove anything and he's spent so much on it. Oh well. Any more thoughts wud b greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks again

Jo

jouden84

Thought u all might be interested. He took the laptop to an approved apple repair centre who have tested and fount it to b a recall which is excellent news. The motherboard is being replaced for free, phew!!! Previously it had not shown as a recall because the laptop was still bootable. Today it was no longer bootable so he took it nav in and they retested! Thank u for all your tips and time in answering!

Jo

bluenoseam

That's a heck of a result - for as much as I dislike Apple they do tend to be pretty decent in a lot of cases with their warranty stuff.