Issue with Apple MacBook

abbieno7_2

hi all

I was wondering if anyone could help please? 

My son’s father bought him a MacBook from Argos for Xmas 2019. He has always looked after the product and it has no signs of wear and tear/deliberate/accidental damage. A month or so ago, a vertical black bar appeared at the right side of the display screen (around 5cm in width). This isn’t anything caused by my son, so we went online to check with the Apple tech team, who advised us to take it to an Apple store. 

We visited the store on Friday and the tech expert wrote a report that he sent to Charlie’s email. This confirmed that the issue was the display and not caused by the user. Apple refused to accept any responsibility due to the item being outside of warranty, and said if we needed it fixing, it would cost £429. They suggested we take the product back to Argos, as they have some responsibility as the retailer. Upon doing so, they informed us that they would only be able to offer a pro-rata ‘goodwill’ gesture of £420, due to us having had the product for two years. 

Does anyone know if we have any rights here please, as we have a tech report clearly stating this is an issue with the product and surely, we should expect to be able to use a product costing nearly £1000 for more than two years? 

Thanks for reading

Net 

Sandtree

So repair is £429 and the retailer has offered £420 and you are wanting to spend hours/days fighting over the remaining £9?

Undervalued

Sandtree said:

So repair is £429 and the retailer has offered £420 and you are wanting to spend hours/days fighting over the remaining £9?

Yes, assuming we are reading this correctly I would bite their hand off and have Apple replace the screen at a net cost to you of £9.

SiliconChip

Sandtree said:

So repair is £429 and the retailer has offered £420 and you are wanting to spend hours/days fighting over the remaining £9?

I think you've misunderstood, the £420 is the refund figure from Argos, so if the OP accepts that they won't have the Macbook any more as Argos will retain it, so the £9 is an irrelevant figure.

To the OP, you don't have any rights at all as you didn't buy it, your son's father is the one who has the rights. However, as Argos appear to have accepted that there is an issue that they are prepared to do something about you could try to persuade them to increase the refund amount, although there is then a small risk that they'll withdraw the current offer. Alternatively you could see if an independent repairer could fix the problem for less than Apple's charge.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP, in the first instance you have the right to a repair or replacement. If this is impossible, disproportionately expensive or the trader refuses to do so within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience then you instead have the right to a price reduction (and keep the goods) or the final right to reject for a refund. 

After 6 months it isn't taken the goods do not conform to the contract (i.e have the problem you say and not caused by yourself) but the info you have from Apple would cover this in my view. 

Also after 6 months the trader may reduce the refund to account for ownership however the refund amount offered by Argos seems low as it puts the lifespan at around 4 years, although tech moves fast and a lot of people view it as disposable IMHO a MacBook should last more than 4 years. 

I think you have two options, the first is to push Argos for a better refund, if they got their offer to around £600-£700 that might be more acceptable. 

I don't think it's unreasonable to wish for the MacBook to be repaired given it's likely to contain data and be set up how your son wants it so the other option may be to check with an independent repair shop to see how much a repair would be as it's likely to cost less than Apple. There's no obligation for Argos to repair with Apple and if it was around the £200-£250 mark I think that it would be reasonable to ask for that to cover the repair. 

This is assuming their £420 offer is in exchange for the MacBook being given back to Argos, if they are offering £420 and you get to keep it that would pretty much cover the repair with Apple. 

Personally my first step would be see how much an independent repair would be  

Sandtree

SiliconChip said:

Sandtree said:

So repair is £429 and the retailer has offered £420 and you are wanting to spend hours/days fighting over the remaining £9?

I think you've misunderstood, the £420 is the refund figure from Argos, so if the OP accepts that they won't have the Macbook any more as Argos will retain it, so the £9 is an irrelevant figure.

In which case the OP needs to clarify if the £420 was a partial refund for returning the item or a contribution towards the repairs.

Undervalued

SiliconChip said:

Sandtree said:

So repair is £429 and the retailer has offered £420 and you are wanting to spend hours/days fighting over the remaining £9?

I think you've misunderstood, the £420 is the refund figure from Argos, so if the OP accepts that they won't have the Macbook any more as Argos will retain it, so the £9 is an irrelevant figure.

To the OP, you don't have any rights at all as you didn't buy it, your son's father is the one who has the rights. However, as Argos appear to have accepted that there is an issue that they are prepared to do something about you could try to persuade them to increase the refund amount, although there is then a small risk that they'll withdraw the current offer. Alternatively you could see if an independent repairer could fix the problem for less than Apple's charge.

Maybe but that needs to be clarified as it makes a crucial difference.

user1977

I wouldn't expect any computer to be worth particularly close to its original price after 2+ years. How much is a similar (working) second hand model available for?

Sandtree

user1977 said:
How much is a similar (working) second hand model available for?

Depends on the exact model... if it was the entry level MacBook as suggested or the MacBook Air/Pro etc. There are 3 closed auctions on eBay with them going from £275-£355

Secondhand prices have taken a big hit given Apple have moved away from Intel processors and the current Air with a M1 processor is now cheaper than what the lower MacBook used to be sold at (no current MacBook model). In a couple of years they'll stop supporting non-ARM processors and whilst they'll still be fine machines many of those paying the premium for the Apple brand won't like being stuck with old versions of OS/apps etc. Same happened when they went from PowerPC to Intel

unforeseen

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP, in the first instance you have the right to a repair or replacement.

Please read before firing from the hip. OP has no rights as they didn't purchase it. Argos offer is at best a goodwill gesture

abbieno7_2

Sandtree said:

So repair is £429 and the retailer has offered £420 and you are wanting to spend hours/days fighting over the remaining £9?

Hi sorry I may not have explained properly, Argos will give us a voucher for £420 to spend at their store, not Apple