Macbook Broken 1 year and 1 month after purchase on Apple (Barclays) finance

divadee

My daughter bought a MacBook from the Apple store on Apple (through Barclays) 0% finance 1 year and 1 month ago. She has to still pay the finance until October next year.

Tonight she turned it on to go online and the screen went funny and started flashing then went off and the screen won't come back on again.

Now the warranty is only for a year, but, we would expect a premium product like a MacBook to last longer than 13 months. It hasn't been dropped or anything. Her techy boyfriend thinks it may be a graphics card but is not 100%.

Is there any chance in Apple repairing it for free? It cost nearly £1000 and still has 11 months on finance which will hurt paying £50 a month for nothing.

neilmcl

I think Apple themselves are pretty clear on the subject

https://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty

Be aware though that the onus would be on you to prove that the fault is inherent to manufacture, rather than due to excess wear & tear or misuse/damage etc. As you purchased it directly via Apple I'm sure they would probably see you OK.

Raxiel

If you take it to Apple, bear in mind they don't actually repair anything, just replace components.
Unless you get some kind of goodwill from them due to the warranty only having just run out any repair quote will likely be a significant portion of (or even exceed) the cost of a new Macbook (which they will be happy to sell you).
It may be the graphics adapter, which wouldn't be cheap either way, but it could also be something as simple as the ribbon that connects the screen to the mainboard developing a stress fracture. Be prepared to visit an independent repair shop before spending a significant sum.

shaun_from_Africa

Raxiel wrote: »

If you take it to Apple, bear in mind they don't actually repair anything, just replace components.

Replacing components to get something working is a repair.

neilmcl

Raxiel wrote: »

If you take it to Apple, bear in mind they don't actually repair anything, just replace components.
Unless you get some kind of goodwill from them due to the warranty only having just run out any repair quote will likely be a significant portion of (or even exceed) the cost of a new Macbook (which they will be happy to sell you).
It may be the graphics adapter, which wouldn't be cheap either way, but it could also be something as simple as the ribbon that connects the screen to the mainboard developing a stress fracture. Be prepared to visit an independent repair shop before spending a significant sum.

Or you could exercise your statutory consumer rights, as already pointed out.

theonlywayisup

Make a Genius Bar appointment and take it in to them. We had a 3 year old MacBook and expected to pay for a repair when a hard drive issue occurred. Very pleased when we went to collect it to be told it was a free repair under consumer legislation.....we didn't even explore that ourselves.

System

Agree with post #6

No reason to expect the worse or to go nuclear on this issue until you speak in person and clearly explain the situation.

DoaM

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Replacing components to get something working is a repair.

I somewhat suspect Raxiel mis-typed and was actually referring to them replacing faulty goods with a refurb, rather than replacing faulty components on that specific device.

@OP ... apparently many Apple items can be repaired fairly easily - if you know what you're doing - but Apple are trying the suppress the 3rd party service sector.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl2mFZoRqjw_ELax4Yisf6w

Raxiel

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Replacing components to get something working is a repair.

OK yes, I'll give you that.


What I meant was, where a small component fails, say a ribon or a switch. Something that could be repaired by a competent person for £30-£40, Apple will just replace the whole mainboard at a cost of £400-500 without any evidence of real diagnostics to find the true cause of the problem.


I know that electronics are getting harder to fix as components get smaller, but we're not at the point where it can't be done yet.


Perhaps I've watched too much Louis Rossman on Youtube, but Apples approach to repair is like Kwik-Fit insisting you need 4 new wheels and tires because the valve caps are seized.


Although knowing Kwik-Fit they probably tried that line on at least one person.

divadee

I just thought I would give an update. We called to make an apple store appointment but they had none free until February that She could attend. Apple asked her to take the MacBook into a local authorised service centre and they fixed it for free. I think she said it was a logic board fault. So I think a good resolution all round.

theonlywayisup

divadee wrote: »

I just thought I would give an update. We called to make an apple store appointment but they had none free until February that She could attend. Apple asked her to take the MacBook into a local authorised service centre and they fixed it for free. I think she said it was a logic board fault. So I think a good resolution all round.

Brilliant result and a great help to anyone in a similar position; knowing the outcome you had.