Screen broke on Apple Macbook Air after 2 weeks and Apple couldn't care less!

davidrob

Hello

2 and a half weeks ago I purchased an Apple Macbook Air M1 for £999 online at apple.com and picked up in store the same morning.

All was well until Saturday past, (2 weeks to the day since purchase) and my wife, while watching Netflix, used her small lady hands to tilt the screen (as you should be able to on a laptop) and the screen shattered in front of her very eyes, rendering the Macbook unusable.

I took it into the Apple Store today and they claimed it wouldn't be covered by warranty and will cost £429(!!!) to fix.  Nearly half the cost of device for a new screen.

They claim they can't say how it was broken but implied we must have misused the device and therefore it would be up to us to pay for it.  I can assure you that we haven't mis handled the device. It never left the house. Used with great care and attention (as you would with a £1k device). If tilting the screen with your hands is misusing then the device clearly isn't fit for purpose.

They said if I didn't want to pay to get it fixed, I should speak to my home insurer. I don' really want to pay an excess and affect my premiums for something like this.

I've spoken to Barclaycard, which I used to make the purchase, and they said I can file a claim however because I received the device and it didn't have any noticeable defects on purchase, they guy on the phone said he wouldn't be sure if my claim would be successful, but he did agree that it did sound like it wasn't fit for purpose.

Is there anything I can do? I appreciate it's a bit of our word vs theirs, but this shouldn't happen with a 2 week old laptop. There's a 43 page thread on Apple's website with people having similar issues with this model of machine, the screen randomly breaking, but Apple won't accept it's an issue.

Any words of wisdom greatly appreciated.

David

DE_612183

did you take out applecare+?

Sandtree

davidrob said:

Is there anything I can do? I appreciate it's a bit of our word vs theirs, but this shouldn't happen with a 2 week old laptop. There's a 43 page thread on Apple's website with people having similar issues with this model of machine, the screen randomly breaking, but Apple won't accept it's an issue.

If they are saying the damage is caused by the user then you'll need to disprove this. 

Apple shipped 7m new computers in the first 3 months of this year and if there was a routine issue with the screens breaking with careful or even just normal use, you'd be finding hundreds of thousands of forum posts not just one or two. You seem to be alleging that there is a systemic design flaw rather than either accepting something did happen to your device and/or that your just unlucky and your device had a defect rather than it not being fit for purpose. I have the Pro rather than the Air and mine isn't carefully looked after as it commutes with me all over the world and yet screen is still in one piece.

As they are alleging you've miss-used it you need to disprove this, at least on the balance of probability, and this would normally be achieved by commissioning and engineers report to determine the cause of the break. The one time my iPad screen broke "spontaneously" someone eventually admitted to having dropped it just before and put it back without telling me.

davidrob

I can assure you the device has not been mis-used. It hasn't left the desk. It broke when being tilted. 

Like you I have an Apple Macbook Pro from 5 years ago that's been around the world 3 times, banged, bashed, dropped and it still works fine. My wife's new one hasn't left her desk and after 2 weeks the screen shattered. It shouldn't shatter from handling it with her hands.   Should Apple not at least investigate it rather than look over it for 15 seconds and say that'll be £429 please?

davidrob

DE_612183 said:

did you take out applecare+?

Unfortunately not. And while it's still within the appropriate timeframe to take out (1 month after purchase), I'm assuming they won't let me now!

TadleyBaggie

davidrob said:

DE_612183 said:

did you take out applecare+?

Unfortunately not. And while it's still within the appropriate timeframe to take out (1 month after purchase), I'm assuming they won't let me now!

No they won't, the MacBook needs to be in full working order at the time Applecare+ is purchased. Since Apple will have noted the serial number of the MacBook when you took it in, that ship has sailed.

molerat

Where exactly were her fingers when tilting the screen ?

davidrob

Thumb on top and 4 fingers behind the laptop screen, like any normal person would tilt the screen. ( I was sat next to her as it happened).  It really shouldn't damage from placing a finger on the screen.

I appreciate it is really a they said vs we said, I just don't know how to prove that we didn't break it.  

davidrob

TadleyBaggie said:

davidrob said:

DE_612183 said:

did you take out applecare+?

Unfortunately not. And while it's still within the appropriate timeframe to take out (1 month after purchase), I'm assuming they won't let me now!

No they won't, the MacBook needs to be in full working order at the time Applecare+ is purchased. Since Apple will have noted the serial number of the MacBook when you took it in, that ship has sailed.

The thought did cross my mind before speaking to apple about the issue - but I wanted to be genuine and honest with them. We didn't break the laptop, it fell apart in our hands! 

molerat

davidrob said:

Thumb on top and 4 fingers behind the laptop screen, like any normal person would tilt the screen. ( I was sat next to her as it happened).  It really shouldn't damage from placing a finger on the screen.

I appreciate it is really a they said vs we said, I just don't know how to prove that we didn't break it.  

But left corner, right corner, centre ?

tightauldgit

Sandtree said:

davidrob said:

Is there anything I can do? I appreciate it's a bit of our word vs theirs, but this shouldn't happen with a 2 week old laptop. There's a 43 page thread on Apple's website with people having similar issues with this model of machine, the screen randomly breaking, but Apple won't accept it's an issue.

If they are saying the damage is caused by the user then you'll need to disprove this. 

Apple shipped 7m new computers in the first 3 months of this year and if there was a routine issue with the screens breaking with careful or even just normal use, you'd be finding hundreds of thousands of forum posts not just one or two. You seem to be alleging that there is a systemic design flaw rather than either accepting something did happen to your device and/or that your just unlucky and your device had a defect rather than it not being fit for purpose. I have the Pro rather than the Air and mine isn't carefully looked after as it commutes with me all over the world and yet screen is still in one piece.

As they are alleging you've miss-used it you need to disprove this, at least on the balance of probability, and this would normally be achieved by commissioning and engineers report to determine the cause of the break. The one time my iPad screen broke "spontaneously" someone eventually admitted to having dropped it just before and put it back without telling me.

Since the item is less than 6 months old I thought the onus was on Apple to prove it was mis-used rather than vice-versa?