CRA Claim with John Lewis

qama786

Hey guys need some help 

I booked in my MacBook on 18/10/20 with one of the Technical Support agents at John Lewis over the phone. My MacBook Pro purchased in 30/03/19 started to develop faults late 2019 however as I used it often I held off the repair. The faults became more noticeable so  It was then booked for repair through Apple directly as it was a quicker turn around time due to Covid. 

First repair was on 2020-03-25 Repair: D449389533- Sticky keys, fan heating up (+making noise such as blade hitting something) and display flickering. - Logic Board- Touch ID Board- Top case with battery- All replaced.  

It came back from repair pretty quick and worked fine for a while. It then started to play up again with similar issues as before and other issues so it was booked in again. 

Second repair was on 2020-06-26 Repair:  D456322521- Screen flickering (+ showing a black box that acts as cursor), trackpad failing to respond (works after restarts), files taking a while to copy over (taking 30 mins to copy over 6GB), Macbook heating up to the point I cannot use (while using Safari etc nothing task intensive)  - Logic Board- Top Case with Battery - Touch ID Board- All replaced 

The MacBook worked fine for a while however it started having issues with the fan and trackpad again so in 19/09/20 I contacted Apple again. I was told to reset it completely which I did and then try and run it. I was told to contact them again if any issues. I contacted Apple on the 16/10/20 as the MacBook Pro fans were running at high speed and it gave off a plastic burning smell. A call back with a senior tech adviser was arranged for the 18/10/20 and I was told to not use my MacBook Pro for time being and to turn it off.  Apple called on the 18/10/20 and a senior advisor stated as it was out of Apple’s warranty period nothing can be done however if it was purchased from Apple then Apple would have assessed and replaced as it could be the machine is beyond economical repair having had two failed repairs. I argued the cost and was told it would be escalated and I would hear back from Apple however nothing was heard so I ended up sending the MacBook to CTDI (repair agents used by John Lewis Technical support) on 02/11/20. 

The MacBook was repaired and I received it on 03/12/20. I received this in the early morning of 03/12/20. It took me a few hours to get it up and running. At first the update to the latest operating system failed so I did a clean install of it and then used it. On the first night it was doing the same thing, heating up and fan running loud (with only a web browser and mail opened, nothing task intensive for it to heat up or the fans to run loud. I then decided to do another clean install of the machine. Once this was all done and the MacBook set up, I started using it. Again out of the blue the MacBook would heat up and the fans would run loud. I used the MacBook for a couple of days and it did that on and off. 

On the 06/12/20 it did the same thing so I ran the built in Apple diagnostics, it returned an error message that it had an issue with the fan. The diagnostic show the error and also the serial number of my MacBook.  I took some pictures and contacted Apple support on the same day via chat who confirmed it was an issue with hardware that needed repairing. I told Apple I would seek an alternative resolution under my consumer rights. 

I called up technical support at John Lewis, explained the situation and was told by the agent it wasn't good. He placed me on hold for a while as he spoke to someone. He stated that to resolve it I needed to visit an Apple store to confirm the fault, I argued that I had proof and a video of the chat with Apple support however this was refuted. I asked to speak to a manager and he put me on hold so he can arrange this for me. During this time the call was disconnected. I called back and spoke to another agent. I explained to her briefly on what had happened. She placed me on hold and I was advised the same thing as before. I was offered for it to be sent away to again however I can’t be promised when I will get it back or when it will be checked by the repair agents. This is something I DO NOT want to do. I shouldn’t be having to be sent on wild goose chases to get this sorted and being made to look like I am lying. I am remaining calm as I am a partner but this is affecting me mentally and I am extremely stressed about it. 

I have proof where Apple support via chat have confirmed a hardware fault that needs a repair and also have an image where I ran diagnostic where a fault with fan is confirmed. Doing a google search of that error code shows its an  issue with a fan. It went away for repair and has not been fixed. I have checked for an appointment for all the closet Apple stores near me and I have found nothing avalaible. I have a call back arranged with the consumer law team at Apple. I want this resolved as swiftly as possible.

What are my rights?

Sandtree

It sounds like you have gone through the manufacturer rather than the retailer... your CRA rights and obligations however are with the retailer and so this adds a bit of complexity given you changed route rather than them telling you to.

To enforce your rights you go to court, it will be for the judge to decide if your evidence of a remote tech session is sufficient evidence or not.

My personal experience of JL is that they are unreasonable and terrible service these days; when I issued court proceedings after my letter before action their solicitors immeditately offered a settlement (obviously on without prejudice basis)

qama786

Hi @Sandtree thanks for the reply. So the first two repairs were with Apple and most recent one was with JL. Apple CRA team are due to ring me today to advise me further.

Sandtree

You bought from JL and so what Apple will say is very predictable and unhelpful to you.

The retailer has therefore had their one statutory attempt to repair the item and you are therefore in your rights to demand a refund as they are in their rights to ask for an expert opinion on the issue and can reduce the settlement for the amount of use you’ve had from the item.

The law doesnt define what evidence the expert opinion must take the form of and so its really down to you and JL to come to an agreement or for you to give them a letter before action and then issue proceedings if they don’t react in time.

My own experience with JL was that they werent willing to engage at all, even on a without prejudice basis, in discussing settlements etc until they had the engineers report saying it was defective.