Ipad faulty, just out of warranty, can anything be done?

joeyboy

Asking on behalf of my partner here. She purchased an Ipad mini (I believe from Pc World or Argos, will confirm tomorrow, though I believe both would take the 12 month stance) 14 months ago, just now the screen has stopped working. Will see it tomorrow to confirm exactly how it's broken, though I assume the point is she can tell the device is powering on.

So obviously the issue here is what can be done, she's obviously very unhappy as the product cost £300~ at the time and dying just outside of the 12 months is very frustrating.

Seems to me barely over a year is hardly a reasonable amount of time for such a product to last, especially a fairly expensive one from a pretty high end manufacturer (even if you do pay for the brand).

Now I did a bit of research quickly and found an article about Apple being fined by the EU courts for not saying people are entitled to two years...

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/apple/apple-loses-first-round-appeal-against-italian-fine-unnecessary-warranties-3346847/

"The consumer organization pointed out that Italian and European Union regulations give consumers the right to a 24-month warranty from the vendor"

however it goes onto say...

"According to the rules, after the sixth month the consumer must show that he didn't make an inappropriate use of the product. Apple follows this clause very rigidly and sometimes even asks for a technical report on the issue, at the consumer's expense."

...which seems a bit concerning, as unsure how you can prove that, I'd hope if the technical report was in your favor you'd be refunded any expense...

That obviously you have the Sales of Goods Act, which I was under the impression could suggest a "reasonable length of time" can actually be multiple years, even 5+, depending on the sort of electrical item being discussed. Now I'm not expecting 5 years out of the thing (though things used to be built to last, Dads TV did over 20 years!), but barely over 1? 2-3 is more reasonable surely?


If there's nothing that can be done fair enough, just leaves a bad taste.

Cheers for any advice folks!

marliepanda

The sale of goods act goes above and beyond the EU 2 year directive, which isn't a warranty in the usual sense of the word.

However the bit you highlighted about requiring an independent report after 6 months is still relevant. You are right in that if the repot does find an inherent fault the cost is paid by the retailer/manufacturer, but if it doesn't then it's on you.

I will say though that it can be quite difficult to get independent reports on Apple products, very few people are happy to state that an apple product was faulty at point of sale.

It is worth asking the retailer about it, but after 14 months I imagine both PCworld and Argos may not want to deal with you, they may ask you to contact apple
Who no doubt will say 'if you had bought it from us we'd have replaced straight away!' (Not always true ) but legally without a report there is nothing they have to do at the moment. Apple does tend to only deal with those who have AppleCare without the reports

ItsJordannn

As the iPad is older than 6 months, you would have to get an independent report confirming the product is inherently faulty. In other words, proving it stopped worked due to a manufacturing fault and not due to user error for example.

When you get this report, you can return it to PC World/Argos under the Sales of Goods Act where you would be entitled to either a repair, replacement or refund, whichever the retailer chooses. They will also legally have to reimburse you the cost of the report.

It is important that the report shows that the iPad was originally faulty, not that the iPad is faulty now.

joeyboy

Cheers Marlie, on the independent reports (as tbh I'd feel uneasy about trusting Apple to inspect it's own product...) bit you say faulty at point of sale. Is it not the case something could occur that wouldn't necessarily be a "fault" at point of sale but is still Apple's problem. For example some sort of transistor blowing now...which might not have been visibly faulty when the product was made, but hasn't lasted as it should? Might add a layer of complexity...

This is one of things where you need to write into some advice column for the Independent and then magically once it's published and the column writer contacts them Apple suddenly decides as a goodwill gesture to repair/replace haha.

marliepanda

That is covered, faulty soldering, inadequate components etc. Like I said though it can be difficult to get someone to stick their neck out and say that.

Give them their due though, Apple do tend to be honest in their reports.

joeyboy

Hmm fair enough, I might imagine though that an independent inspection/report could be a fair degree cheaper than what Apple might charge (in case it isn't found in our favor)? I know sometimes it'll be £100 to look at a TV sort of thing, where a local engineer may do it for £30-40. There's a place near me which apparently has Mac certified engineers and does ipad work.

marliepanda

Speak to Argos, then speak to apple. If both back heel you (which in all likelihood they will) then look into the reports.

Make sure the local independent is able to provide a proper report. Looking at/fixing something doesn't necessarily mean they'll do you a report Argos/Apple will accept.

Good luck!

POPPYOSCAR

Apple store will not help you.


Ring Apple direct and persist, it may pay off.

m0bov

Hold down the home and power button till you see the white Apple logo.

AJXX

Firstly, troubleshoot the iPad before you go off on a tangent about poor soldering etc... Best to plug it into iTunes and restore it.

If it's still not working after than then it'll likely need a repair for a hardware fault. In which case you'd go after the retailer as the rights you're talking about do not apply to apple in this instance as you didn't buy it direct.

I've had several iPads of all kinds and never had any problem with them - just because something doesn't last as long as you'd like does not mean its inherently faulty, SOGA is not an extended warranty.

You're quick to suggest a blown capacitor or faulty soldering, but for all you know she could be chucking it off the wall or using it as a tennis bat... Ergo it could be end user damage not faulty soldering.

In my experience Apple products especially iOS based tend to last as long as they're treated right.