Laptop damaged by repair shop

Minute

I had posted this under insurance but am told this is the place...

Husband buys brand new laptop about 2 months ago. A couple of weeks ago, spills a little liquid on the keyboard, some keys become sticky. To avoid a bigger problem, he decides to get it looked at / cleaned. Apple was going to charge more and had a much longer turnaround than a local repair shop (who have supposedly carried out such work before).

Both Apple and repair shop came up with the same diagnosis. No internal damage, just need a new keyboard. We go with the repair shop, cheaper, faster.

Two days on, upon collection, mac doesn't bootup, the shop doesn't have a clue what the issue is but is positive they'll have an answer. Next day, they still don't know and say they might need to send a part away for repair. By then trust has gone, we decide we can't risk it (plus we realise they've left 4 marks on top of the machine).

Husband goes back to Apple who won't touch it as a third party had it. He goes to an Apple reseller. Very helpful, they quickly run diagnostics, and unfortunately, to his misbelief, they very apologetically explain that they can't repair it, due to 'unauthorised alteration', basically the repair shop damaged it internally when they opened it to get to the keyboard, the many different sized screws were put in in the wrong places, some forced in and threaded. Optic driver and logic board need replacing, at a cost of about £1000, same price as purchase price :eek:

I contacted our home insurance this morning, who said we weren't covered as it was damaged through faulty/bad repair but we could try a liability claim against them.

We don't have legal insurance. I looked onto the shop's website, and was appalled to see in their t and cs under liability that If, through their negligence or willful misconduct, they damage the Equipment beyond economical repair, their liability will be limited to the cost of providing a replacement with a product that is the same as or similar to the Equipment.
 I mean, is that even legal???? 'through negligence or willful misconduct they damage it they're not responsible????

We can't settle for a 'similar' product, which we expect to be a cheap/refurbished version of the brand new machine !! When my husband told them they had damaged it beyond repair they said they' could fix it' and had many years experience etc etc.... No way, Enough damage done. Where do we stand ??

mije1983

Minute wrote: »

'through negligence or willful misconduct they damage it they're not responsible????

But the quote you've provided as from their website says they are responsible. What makes you think what you have quoted means they aren't? Unless there are other bits you haven't included, it appears on the face of it that if they damage it they will either repair or replace.

Minute wrote: »

If, through their negligence or willful misconduct, they damage the Equipment beyond economical repair, their liability will be limited to the cost of providing a replacement with a product that is the same as or similar to the Equipment.
 I mean, is that even legal????

Well what extra do you want from them apart from a working machine?

They are required to put you in the position you would be in if they hadn't messed up the repair. You are not legally entitled to a brand new one as your one wasn't brand new when you gave it to them. It shouldn't be a 'cheap' version though, as that wouldn't be similar to what you gave them to repair.

I can understand you may not have confidence in them after the cokc up, but you may well need to give them the opportunity to rectify their error.

Minute

Thanks for your reply.

in terms of liability, yes they are offering an option but -even if it is legal jargon to say 'if we are wilfully negligent' ., well I wouldn't expect them to be negligent AT ALL, by trusting them with a brand new mac - and it was brand new- bought 3 weeks before the event, hardly used, worked perfectly.

So as for replacing it yes they may try put it right as you say, but this model is very new, are they going to get us the same one, of course not, what will stop them from getting a refurbished one, or one that will break down or have endless issues.

Through their negligence, they damaged it beyond economical repair inside, they marked it outside in four places, this is a disgrace and I wish we had gone with Apple despite the repair cost.

If they as they argued had been fixing these for years, they would have known how to open it and what not to do.

I appreciate your point but for all these reasons why should we expect any less than a new machine (or a 3 week old one) or financial compensation for it, and how do I tell where it came from how much it cost them or if it is going to be a headache to maintain ?

Minute

Latest news, the shop is starting to change facts, suggesting that it was the spill that damaged the motherboard. So suddenly they are saying there was damage to the motherboard (even though they claim they didn't touch it [even though they have to take it out to get to the keyboard ), and even though THEIR INITIAL DIAGNOSIS AND THAT OF APPLE WAS THAT INTERNAL PARTS WERE INTACT.

The machine was working perfectly apart from a couple of sticky keys until they returned it, with damaged and misplaced screws (which means they opened it / put it back in wrong or damaged the inside along the way).

How can they be such liars

JJ_Egan

Sticky keys one of the usual reason is liquid ingress .Especially on a two month old machine .

Intact would be just that intact and water damage may well be invisible until components fail .


You could go down the LBA route and Small Claims .

djmsemcgrath

You need to write them a letter, explaining what happened, what you want by when, and a mention that the next step will be small claims within x days. This will be your letter before action (LBA), which is required before small claims can start. Verbal negotiations can get messy so write them a letter. It's important you set fair and reasonable dates in your letter to a) give them opportunity to rectify, and b) provide a deadline by which it is reasonable for you to escalate further. The courts like evidence that you were reasonable before attempting court action. Deadlines like 4 weeks from the date of letter are common, but it can't hurt to ask Citizens Advice for their input too.

Next, you need to think about how you are going to persuade the small claims court. You need to get your paperwork in order. Original purchase receipt will show its age and value. Documentation from the repairer and Apple showing what the original fault was and ideally, comments about how nothing else was wrong. Copies of their T&Cs. You could get the machine inspected by Apple for them to give you a report to say that in their opinion, a third party repairer has caused damage (they already think this, otherwise they wouldn't have refused to help). All this documentation will help prove your case.

You may have to pay a court fee but this gets refunded.

Before you start, just ensure you've got enough to avoid one word vs another.

If you have enough, it should be a fairly easy win.

AJXX

Minute wrote: »

Both Apple and repair shop came up with the same diagnosis. No internal damage, just need a new keyboard. We go with the repair shop, cheaper, faster.

:eek:

This is the 2nd thread in 2 days where a 3rd party repair shop has butchered an Apple device then disclaimed all liability.

It's "cheaper" and "faster" for a reason, usually because they're utterly clueless, not trained properly and use substandard parts.

I don't blame Apple for wanting nothing to do with products that have been 3rd party repaired, I've seen them before and the quality of work is disgusting.

I realise this isn't terribly helpful to the OP, but hopefully serves as a warning to anyone else considering a 3rd party repair on their Apple kit - just don't do it.

OP, if possible I'd be pushing the 3rd party repairer for monetary re-reimbursement rather than a repair or "new" machine provided directly by them, which would no doubt be a Frankenstein machine internally.

Minute

thanks a lot Damian for this info
do you think we can we get financial compensation for this ? my husband can't wait for a court case and would need to buy a new machine in the next few days

Fosterdog

It doesn't matter what Apple said, without a strip down nobody would be able to say if there was more damage than just the keys, I've seen it countless times where a laptop seems to work absolutely fine after a liquid spill it can be weeks or even months down the line before a motherboard actually fail as the liquid starts to cause corrosion. The worst ones are when fizzy drinks have been spilled, the majority of the liquid dries up and leaves a very thick, gooey syrup behind.

I do believe in this case the repair shop has probably made it worse but I really wouldn't want to put money on it and claim it as fact. Again with the screws in the wrong place, unless it has been opened up a second time to see the damage it is just a guess that they have actually caused damage rather than just not fitting the case together correctly.

You would be within your rights to reject an offer of a "similar" machine but if they offer one of the same spec then it doesn't matter if it is reconditioned or not. You may think of yours as brand new but it is not, it is now a second hand, used item that has had a liquid spill. The value has been greatly reduced and that is nothing to do with the repair shop, even if the repair had gone ahead as it should have you would be left with a reconditioned machine.

Minute

Thanks AJXX

You are right. it's a hard lesson but lesson learnt . and yes they kept saying they could do their best to try fix it. as you say I'm sure that of they did supply a machine it would be a Frankenstein one..!

shaun_from_Africa

Fosterdog wrote: »

The worst ones are when fizzy drinks have been spilled, the majority of the liquid dries up and leaves a very thick, acidic, gooey syrup behind.

One extra word added by me
I've repaired a few mobile phones that have had liquid damage (and failed to repair a fair few) and once something like cola gets on the internal circuits, it's only a matter of hours before any pcb connections made of copper are totally eaten away.
These are usually less than 2 thousandths of an inch in thickness and it doesn't take much to wreck them.