Stolen laptop replacement offer

Sunshine717

Hello I need some  advice, please.
my MacBook Pro 2018 laptop was stolen from me on the train and I’ve claimed (1st time ever) from the home insurance. I have provided my original receipt I paid for £2549.00 in 2018 for a model that had only been on the market for 2 months at the time of purchase (I have provided evidence from Apple to prove this).
My policy states that they’ll provide “like for like”.
They are now offering to compensate me with only £1,599.97 as they have found that an older MacBook Pro model from 2021 (now discontinued by the manufacturer) can be purchased new for that price from a specific online retailer.

My question is:
Is my only option to accept this offer for a considerably cheaper amount than what I’d originally paid  ( a considerable difference of £950) for a discontinued MacBook Pro model when I have proved to them that my purchasing behaviour is to buy the latest model on the market and not something that is already old? 

I. E. I can also go to an antiques shop and find things in a “new” condition but it’s not normally what I or the majority of customers would choose to do when buying a piece of computer technology which is key to be able to conduct your work.  

Isn’t that taking advantage of insurance customers? 

Are there no loopholes for the customers? 

I must also mention in their previous email message sent last Friday 15/12/23 they had offered me a cash settlement of £2295.86 but they have now written to me again saying they withdraw that offer and now offer me only £1,599.97 today 20/12/23 as they have now found an online retailer which has an even older model in stock equivalent to the one I had stolen - this is the link I have been sent:

PS: Not able to share links as I’m new here but it is from laptopsdirect couk for an M1 MacBook Pro from 2021 (which has already been discontinued by the manufacturer Apple as their latest model is M3  which costs £2,599). 

Questions:

1. Do I have any other option to accepting their cash settlement £1599.97 offer ??? 

(I have requested cash instead of replacement as I want to buy from Apple directly). 

2. Is this normal / lawful, that they can withdraw a previous offer just a few days later just like that??? 

I’m in London, UK. 

I’ve attached  below a picture provided by Apple of all the specifications of my old laptop (purchased on 01 Sept 2018 as per original receipt), in it they specify that specific model had been launched in 12th July 2018 and withdrawn from the market on 21 May 2019. 

Thank you in advance for your advice!!!

Have a beautiful day! 

🙌🏼🌈☀️
Sunshine 717

DullGreyGuy

They should be providing a laptop with a similar specification or the cash equivalent. It doesn't have to cost the same as you originally paid!

The reality of technology is that what was cutting edge in 2018 is now probably not far off entry levels on premium brands and mid level for budget brands. It's not like jewellery where you'd instead expect the settlement to be higher than what you paid because the price of gold and diamonds have continued to appreciate. 

Having personally gone from an i7 MBP to an M1 Pro (and subsequently and M3 Pro after an accident) I can tell you it will wipe the floor with what your old laptop could do and not only that but do it for a full day with a ton of battery left. 

I am guessing this is the laptop https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/apple-macbook-pro-m1-pro-10-core-cpu-16-core-gpu-1tb-ssd-14-inch-mac-os-lap-mkgq3b-a/version.asp 

It matches the ram, the SSD is larger, the processor is better and so really is a more than fair offer of a replacement.

1) You can contest it but I think they are being generous... you could argue that a non-pro M1 laptop would be a reasonable match

2) They can if they've made an error, you however could potentially complain and claim any additional losses that are a direct consequence from the wrong information they gave you. Its unlikely in this scenario 

cymruchris

The job of insurance is to put you back into the position (roughly) of where you were before whatever happened happened. So if at the time of the 'event' you owned a 2018 laptop of a certain spec - then with their new for old/like for like policy they have to put you back into as close to that position as they can. If they're able to source the laptop of near identical spec - then that's what I'd expect them to supply you. 

If today that item would cost £X even though you paid £Y - I'd only expect them to offer £X. You wouldn't be entitled to the latest spec upgraded model to replace your old model. If you want a newer model - latest spec - then I'd expect them to contribute to the cost of it if it was more expensive than their offer, and you'd make up the difference.

Should there not be an equivalent model available - then I'd expect them to get as close as possible to the original spec.

Them making an offer and then withdrawing it is a separate issue, but imagine its in relation to having found the replacement like for like at a certain price - which puts you back in your original position - so from an insurance perspective - that's job done. You arguing that you always buy the latest version of something is neither here nor there - that's not the purpose of the insurance - unless you have arranged a specific premium that covers you for 'Always get the newest model if something happens' cover (which I can't say even exists - but then I haven't looked for it).

You could make a complaint around receiving an offer and them changing it from a customer service perspective - and they may offer a token gesture of goodwill - but I don't think you'll be getting back to that higher offer while there's a like for like product available at the lower offer/price.

jlfrs01

"Isn’t that taking advantage of insurance customers? 

Are there no loopholes for the customers?"

How is offering to replace an older laptop with a newer model or offering the cash alternative taking advantage of insurance customers? Presumably the "loophole" you're looking for is really to find a way of getting a 2023-spec model as a replacement at no extra cost to you, even though the one it's replacing is 5 years older and worth considerably less today than it was when originally purchased.

Consider yourself lucky they've not looked on eBay - there's loads of MacPro 2018's available in the £500-£800 mark so in your position I'd bite their hand off and take the cash offer.

born_again

So M1 is the equivalent to the i7 processer.

So as M3 is lowest spec now. 
14" is around £1699
Even then spec is better

Take the cash & buy from Apple. You have had 5 years use for next to nothing.

DullGreyGuy

born_again said:

So M1 is the equivalent to the i7 processer.

M1 is far beyond the i7 and they aren't offering a basic M1 but an M1 Pro

OP's CPU had a multi-thread benchmark of 10,296, a standard M1 is 14,192 and the M1 Pro 21,802

The M3 Pro is 26,995 and so the vast majority of the improvement is from moving to the M1 Pro, the M3 didn't really improve processing power much over the M2 but did increase efficiency 

TELLIT01

The insurer states that the same model is still available and they are offering payment for that.  It's a perfectly reasonable offer.  If the OP says they want cash in order to purchase a more recent model the insurer may or may not agree to do so.  It's the insurers choice.

Debbie9009

Op, I would accept the offer quick, some insurers won’t consider a cash settlement, and will insist on supplying you with the like for like replacement themselves.  So I would consider this a good offer as it leaves you able to put extra towards a getting a higher spec replacement yourself.

On the issue of them originally making a higher offer, if you hadn’t accepted that, then yes I believe they can now lower it, however as others have said it might be worth your while making a complaint and they might offer you a bit more as a good will gesture.

I used to work in insurance and dealt with a customer who had the same argument as you with a replacement TV.  The way I explained it to him was to ask if his wife had an engagement ring, and asked if it had cost approx a months salary, (this was common at the time),  he said yes to both, so I then asked him if the ring was lost would he be happy if we paid what it cost when he bought it, he laughed and said he saw my point and was now happy to accept the TV offered

Kim_13

It’s not 100% clear that it is a cash offer - OP says they’ve asked for cash, but it’s not explicit that the insurer has agreed. If the insurer has not agreed cash, I would refuse - the OP doesn’t know the history of the replacement machine from laptops.co.uk and wouldn’t have AC+ on it, which in my mind is a must if you have a near 2K laptop that isn’t brand new. I understand that AC+ can now be renewed on a monthly basis past the initial three years, but it’s tied to the Apple ID - there’s no way for the new owner of such a machine to obtain this cover.

If it’s a cash offer, it’s fair enough - it would amount to a cost of £950 for 5 years use, and you can use the cash towards a considerable upgrade on which you will have a warranty with Apple and AppleCare+ if you choose to purchase it. People have had Macbooks fail within 5 years and been left with nothing. I doubt you’d have got anywhere near that offer had you tried to sell yours privately.

DullGreyGuy

Kim_13 said:

It’s not 100% clear that it is a cash offer - OP says they’ve asked for cash, but it’s not explicit that the insurer has agreed. If the insurer has not agreed cash, I would refuse - the OP doesn’t know the history of the replacement machine from laptops.co.uk and wouldn’t have AC+ on it, which in my mind is a must if you have a near 2K laptop that isn’t brand new. I understand that AC+ can now be renewed on a monthly basis past the initial three years, but it’s tied to the Apple ID - there’s no way for the new owner of such a machine to obtain this cover.

Its a brand new laptop so the OP would be free to buy AppleCare in the first 60 days of ownership

Kim_13

DullGreyGuy said:

Kim_13 said:

It’s not 100% clear that it is a cash offer - OP says they’ve asked for cash, but it’s not explicit that the insurer has agreed. If the insurer has not agreed cash, I would refuse - the OP doesn’t know the history of the replacement machine from laptops.co.uk and wouldn’t have AC+ on it, which in my mind is a must if you have a near 2K laptop that isn’t brand new. I understand that AC+ can now be renewed on a monthly basis past the initial three years, but it’s tied to the Apple ID - there’s no way for the new owner of such a machine to obtain this cover.

Its a brand new laptop so the OP would be free to buy AppleCare in the first 60 days of ownership

I wouldn’t be surprised if they had considerable difficulty in doing so - Apple hasn’t sold that M1 Pro for coming up to a year and the models on their own refurb store are M2. Are LaptopsDirect even an authorised reseller? I can understand why the OP wouldn’t want this machine and if the insurer refuses to pay cash, I would push that theirs was 15” and this is smaller in an effort to get them to settle in cash.