iMac repair - someone else's machine returned to me

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: Rights with returns during lockdown.

[Deleted User]

I bought an iMac from John Lewis and within 6 weeks it was freezing when I was on it. 

Following advice from 3 separate John Lewis staff members and explaining what I wanted a computer for (to play the Sims) I spent £2,400 on a new 27" top spec iMac and USB superdrive in September 2020. 

After only a couple of weeks the iMac was freezing when I was on it but I thought I would persevere with the hope of it improving, however this did not happen. Within a few more weeks I contacted the Peterborough branch by phone where I had purchased the iMac to discuss returning it and explained the problems I was having with it but was told that I could not return it at that time as the store was only open for collection as we were in lockdown. I was advised that the timeframes for return were on hold because of the lockdown so there wouldn't be a problem and to just take it back as soon as I could and this would be honoured. This was within 6 weeks of purchase.

Once the store was back open I attended the store with the intention of returning the iMac and was informed that I could not do so as the item had passed the 28 day return policy! I found out that there is a 35 day policy but this was incorrectly given to me as a 28 day one. Despite me explaining the conversation I had previously my request for return was adamantly denied as the person I spoke to on the phone had not given me a reference number! I explained that I had not known to get a reference number for a return and despite my protestations I was only offered a repair which I had no choice but to accept. At this point I was offered the option of taking the box with the keyboard, mouse and cable included, to my home or for the store to keep hold of them so that I could have the whole item returned/collected together, I chose the latter.

I was also told that due to the lockdown, instead of the usual 14 days it may take up to 28 days for the iMac to be returned.

On Dec 5th 2020 I received an email stating that the iMac had finally been sent for repair.

I received another email on 15th January 2021, over 6 working weeks, stating that the iMac was now being returned from the repair centre and I would receive an email shortly to let me know when the iMac was returned to the store.

On the 16th January 2021 I had a delivery of a 24" iMac with a request from the delivery driver to return another item. I pointed out that this was not my iMac and I did not want to accept delivery of it. The driver stated that I now had to take the item as he had 'taken a picture of it'. There was no paperwork with this delivery so there was no reference of any sort to relate to.

I contacted customer service and explained that I had been given someone else's iMac. They apologised for this and said that I would need to contact tech but she had tried to get through for me and there was no answer so rather than me having to run around contacting everyone she would put out a request for them to contact me and I should expect a call before 4pm. This was at about 12.30-1pm. I waited and no call came.

On 17th January 2021 I called again to chase up as at that point in time I was getting anxious to what private information was on this other iMac. I discussed this data breach with Cat and she thanked me for being so honest in letting them know that I had received this as it was not linked to me they would have no way of knowing where it was. She apologised to me that no-one had called me, explaining that there was nobody at the store who would have done so as again, we are in lockdown. I also discussed the original reference number query with Cat and was told that this would not have been necessary. She explained that the reference they would have used at any time would have been an email or my receipt number, neither of which I was asked for when I had first called.

On 19th January 2021 I had another delivery, this time it was a 27" however there was no cable, mouse or keyboard included so it is impossible for me to clarify ownership as obviously I am unable to switch it on without these. I again contacted customer support who told me I needed to contact tech as he couldn't do anything. I did not get his name. I contacted the number he gave me and was only offered the text version of sending my details and someone would get back to me because of the lockdown.

As you can imagine I am furious with the shockingly poor level of customer service because of policy the staff have to follow and not because they are unhelpful although this could have been avoided if the original staff member accepted my return in the first place based on the information given by another member of staff over the phone.

I am certain that the person who is still awaiting delivery of their own 24" iMac would be happy to know that it is currently still sitting in my living room and all of their information and data is available to me or anyone with access to my home and a cable. Also, as I am now anxiously concerned about my own data breaches as it is not unreasonable for someone else who may have sent an item for repair to have kept hold of the items that would have enabled them to turn on and access the imac. 

Further to this I would like to add that after not receiving a reply since sending my email on Tuesday (it was then Friday) and receiving an automated response stating that their aim was to respond within 24 hours heard nothing further!

I once again contacted customer service to enquire as to why I had not received a response and to double check the email address in case I had made an error I was told that I should have put a complaint through on the website as my email had gone to head office and this takes longer to respond to. I have no idea why this is as I am certainly not aware that head office would intentionally slow down the process of sorting out a problem that reflects badly on the company. At no point when I have spoken to any of the staff was I advised that I should put a complaint through online rather than send an email which was the only contact address I was given when I asked about complaining.

In the meantime I still have someone else's data breach sitting in my living room. As it is a legal requirement to make the owner of the data aware that this has been breached within a timeframe which is rapidly diminishing.

On the 25th I got a telephone call asking for any Serial numbers on the first iMac that got delivered and confirmed when asked that they still did not know who owned this. He dismissed my concerns about the data breach by stating that the computer would have been wiped by the repair centre which it not necessarily true as they don't at this point know who it belongs to. He said he would look into my refund request and get back to me.

I then got a further phonecall from him on 26th January stating that they would be sending a courier to collect the other iMac as it was not one of their own customers who it belonged but that of Apple. After denying me a refund he asked me to confirm a date that I would be home for them to collect and I said I could not do so to which he then discussed involving the police. I responded that I did not like to be threatened over what essentially is their own error which they wouldn't even have known about if I hadn't contacted them upon receipt of someone else's iMac.

davidmcn

LJBrown said:

I bought an iMac from John Lewis and within 6 weeks it was freezing when I was on it. 

I suggest you start your own thread, rather than posting a comment onto somebody else's unrelated query. You may also want to summarise your lengthy story and clarify what (if anything) you're actually wanting advice about - there's another forum for Praise, Vent & Warnings.

Aylesbury_Duck

LJBrown said:

I bought an iMac from John Lewis and within 6 weeks it was freezing when I was on it. 

Following advice from 3 separate John Lewis staff members and explaining what I wanted a computer for (to play the Sims) I spent £2,400 on a new 27" top spec iMac and USB superdrive in September 2020. 

After only a couple of weeks the iMac was freezing when I was on it but I thought I would persevere with the hope of it improving, however this did not happen. Within a few more weeks I contacted the Peterborough branch by phone where I had purchased the iMac to discuss returning it and explained the problems I was having with it but was told that I could not return it at that time as the store was only open for collection as we were in lockdown. I was advised that the timeframes for return were on hold because of the lockdown so there wouldn't be a problem and to just take it back as soon as I could and this would be honoured. This was within 6 weeks of purchase.

Once the store was back open I attended the store with the intention of returning the iMac and was informed that I could not do so as the item had passed the 28 day return policy! I found out that there is a 35 day policy but this was incorrectly given to me as a 28 day one. Despite me explaining the conversation I had previously my request for return was adamantly denied as the person I spoke to on the phone had not given me a reference number! I explained that I had not known to get a reference number for a return and despite my protestations I was only offered a repair which I had no choice but to accept. At this point I was offered the option of taking the box with the keyboard, mouse and cable included, to my home or for the store to keep hold of them so that I could have the whole item returned/collected together, I chose the latter.

I was also told that due to the lockdown, instead of the usual 14 days it may take up to 28 days for the iMac to be returned.

On Dec 5th 2020 I received an email stating that the iMac had finally been sent for repair.

I received another email on 15th January 2021, over 6 working weeks, stating that the iMac was now being returned from the repair centre and I would receive an email shortly to let me know when the iMac was returned to the store.

On the 16th January 2021 I had a delivery of a 24" iMac with a request from the delivery driver to return another item. I pointed out that this was not my iMac and I did not want to accept delivery of it. The driver stated that I now had to take the item as he had 'taken a picture of it'. There was no paperwork with this delivery so there was no reference of any sort to relate to.

I contacted customer service and explained that I had been given someone else's iMac. They apologised for this and said that I would need to contact tech but she had tried to get through for me and there was no answer so rather than me having to run around contacting everyone she would put out a request for them to contact me and I should expect a call before 4pm. This was at about 12.30-1pm. I waited and no call came.

On 17th January 2021 I called again to chase up as at that point in time I was getting anxious to what private information was on this other iMac. I discussed this data breach with Cat and she thanked me for being so honest in letting them know that I had received this as it was not linked to me they would have no way of knowing where it was. She apologised to me that no-one had called me, explaining that there was nobody at the store who would have done so as again, we are in lockdown. I also discussed the original reference number query with Cat and was told that this would not have been necessary. She explained that the reference they would have used at any time would have been an email or my receipt number, neither of which I was asked for when I had first called.

On 19th January 2021 I had another delivery, this time it was a 27" however there was no cable, mouse or keyboard included so it is impossible for me to clarify ownership as obviously I am unable to switch it on without these. I again contacted customer support who told me I needed to contact tech as he couldn't do anything. I did not get his name. I contacted the number he gave me and was only offered the text version of sending my details and someone would get back to me because of the lockdown.

As you can imagine I am furious with the shockingly poor level of customer service because of policy the staff have to follow and not because they are unhelpful although this could have been avoided if the original staff member accepted my return in the first place based on the information given by another member of staff over the phone.

I am certain that the person who is still awaiting delivery of their own 24" iMac would be happy to know that it is currently still sitting in my living room and all of their information and data is available to me or anyone with access to my home and a cable. Also, as I am now anxiously concerned about my own data breaches as it is not unreasonable for someone else who may have sent an item for repair to have kept hold of the items that would have enabled them to turn on and access the imac. 

Further to this I would like to add that after not receiving a reply since sending my email on Tuesday (it was then Friday) and receiving an automated response stating that their aim was to respond within 24 hours heard nothing further!

I once again contacted customer service to enquire as to why I had not received a response and to double check the email address in case I had made an error I was told that I should have put a complaint through on the website as my email had gone to head office and this takes longer to respond to. I have no idea why this is as I am certainly not aware that head office would intentionally slow down the process of sorting out a problem that reflects badly on the company. At no point when I have spoken to any of the staff was I advised that I should put a complaint through online rather than send an email which was the only contact address I was given when I asked about complaining.

In the meantime I still have someone else's data breach sitting in my living room. As it is a legal requirement to make the owner of the data aware that this has been breached within a timeframe which is rapidly diminishing.

On the 25th I got a telephone call asking for any Serial numbers on the first iMac that got delivered and confirmed when asked that they still did not know who owned this. He dismissed my concerns about the data breach by stating that the computer would have been wiped by the repair centre which it not necessarily true as they don't at this point know who it belongs to. He said he would look into my refund request and get back to me.

I then got a further phonecall from him on 26th January stating that they would be sending a courier to collect the other iMac as it was not one of their own customers who it belonged but that of Apple. After denying me a refund he asked me to confirm a date that I would be home for them to collect and I said I could not do so to which he then discussed involving the police. I responded that I did not like to be threatened over what essentially is their own error which they wouldn't even have known about if I hadn't contacted them upon receipt of someone else's iMac.

Good grief, where to start?  

As you've discovered, if you'd have been firmer at the outset, the rest of this sorry tale wouldn't have unfolded.  You then accept a delivery you know shouldn't have been yours and are now concerned about someone else's data.  Why?  Because someone might break in, steal the laptop, find a power cable, turn it on and access that third party's data?

Why are you now being difficult about letting them collect it?  You're so anxious about "someone else's data breach sitting in your living room" yet you simultaneously want to hold it hostage?  

They've not covered themselves in glory, but you being belligerent isn't going to get the resolution you want.

[Deleted User]

I'm new to the site and have struggled to post anything so thanks for the help.

JJ_Egan

I am lost trying to wade through all that .

Please what is the current problem  .

As posted  . is the problem that you refuse to let the item be connected ?

pinkshoes

LJBrown said:

I bought an iMac from John Lewis and within 6 weeks it was freezing when I was on it. 

Following advice from 3 separate John Lewis staff members and explaining what I wanted a computer for (to play the Sims) I spent £2,400 on a new 27" top spec iMac and USB superdrive in September 2020. 

You spent £2400 on a device to play The Sims?!?!?! Are you kidding?!?!? 

(I'm a big fan of The Sims but it doesn't need a flash computer to run it...)

[Deleted User]

I guess it is a long post so I'm probably asking can I demand a refund and am I legally obligated to return the other iMac?

Aylesbury_Duck

LJBrown said:

I guess it is a long post so I'm probably asking can I demand a refund and am I legally obligated to return the other iMac?

You can ask for a refund and yes, of course you are legally obliged to return the other iMac.  It doesn't belong to you.  Why would you think you can keep an expensive item you accepted knowing it wasn't yours to accept in the first place?

nyermen

Not discounting the failings - but FYI I believe the latest macs encrypt the disks by default, so for what its worth, data should be safe on both machines.

[Deleted User]

Aylesbury_Duck said:

LJBrown said:

I guess it is a long post so I'm probably asking can I demand a refund and am I legally obligated to return the other iMac?

You can ask for a refund and yes, of course you are legally obliged to return the other iMac.  It doesn't belong to you.  Why would you think you can keep an expensive item you accepted knowing it wasn't yours to accept in the first place?

Thank you for you response. The reason I asked about giving it back was because I read that if something is incorrectly delivered to your address you can keep some things and I wasn't sure if this was one of those circumstances.