Very refund - discount for age

Exodi

I'm also in the camp that Very's offer is very reasonable.

They offered you a refund of £450, which is 60% of what you bought it for. That means the item was £750 when you bought it new, 2.5 years ago.

You suggest the same spec item of the same age is £600, meaning the difference between the brand new item and a 2.5 year old used item is 20%. I just don't believe this.

Smick100 said:

If I look for a replacement machine of a similar age from a reputable second hand retailer such as CeX or BackMarket, the lowest price I can get one of a similar spec is £600.

I think therein lies the problem. How much is the item selling for on eBay? I'd wager that your restrictions in the choice of retailer is the reason the amount provided is not enough. Requiring 80% is nuts, that's usually the depreciation for just having the box opened, let alone being used for 2.5 years...

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Worth noting the deduction is for use, the cost/value of a second hand replacement, as far as consumer rights go, has no relevance  

Smick100

Okell said:

I think a 60% refund is a pretty reasonable offer.

I think you've alos done very well in (1) getting Apple to provide a written report to the effect that the failure was probably caused by a faulty component and (2) getting Very to accept that with no disagreement

Well, I thought Apple were fairly cheeky!

I know that there are probably numerous companies and levels of organisation between the guys in an Apple Shop and whoever is responsible for the manufacture of laptops, but when someone wearing Apple branded clothing tells me that the computer is duff, nothing my daughter did contributed to it, that the cost of repair will be more than its second hand value, and say "nothing we can do here", it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

It was actually the people in the Apple Genius Bar who recommended I return to the original retailer and seem to have a template document which covers all retailers need to know.

Of course, they expect me to take the money back in and buy a new one off them, instead of Very. Not likely.

Smick100

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Do you pay on credit with Very OP?

I had a credit account but paid for it with debit card.

screech_78

Have seen a few of these go to small claims and the company I work for have let them as they’re confident in their calculations. I haven’t seen any yet that have been won by the customer based on this alone, however there are no precedents set in small claims. 

If you purchased it for £750 and calculating around 27/28 months of ownership, we’d offer you either £459 or £469. I can’t see you getting a better offer. 

DullGreyGuy

Smick100 said:

Okell said:

I think a 60% refund is a pretty reasonable offer.

I think you've alos done very well in (1) getting Apple to provide a written report to the effect that the failure was probably caused by a faulty component and (2) getting Very to accept that with no disagreement

Well, I thought Apple were fairly cheeky!

I know that there are probably numerous companies and levels of organisation between the guys in an Apple Shop and whoever is responsible for the manufacture of laptops, but when someone wearing Apple branded clothing tells me that the computer is duff, nothing my daughter did contributed to it, that the cost of repair will be more than its second hand value, and say "nothing we can do here", it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

It was actually the people in the Apple Genius Bar who recommended I return to the original retailer and seem to have a template document which covers all retailers need to know.

Of course, they expect me to take the money back in and buy a new one off them, instead of Very. Not likely.

You need to separate Apple the retailer and Apple the manufacturer. 

Clearly there was a reason why you decided you wanted to buy from Very rather than from Apple Retail. The consequence of that decision is that it is Very's problem when something goes wrong with it, if you wanted it to be Apples problem you either needed to buy from Apple or buy AppleCare. 

If you wanted Very's discounted pricing or cheaper credit you forgo the convenience of being able to walk into an Apple Store and deal with it for the next X years. 

It's more than reasonable the Apple provided you with a report with all you needed for free. Many other companies will charge you for an engineer report which you then would have to add to your claim against Very. 

I agree with others that Apple do often probably oversell what the situation would have been like had you bought it direct from them but that isn't the accusation on this case and both Apple and Very have been reasonable. 

Wonka_2

What's the Macbook model ? John Lewis recently had a batch of these 2020 Apple MacBook Air 13.3" Retina Display, M1 Processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD (johnlewis.com) in the 'refurbished' area of stores but were effectively new/with 2yrs warranty for around £600

The difference in cost between what Very will give you and what you're saying you'd have to pay is made up of retailer margin and warranty they'd be giving (effectively betterment for you as you currently have no warranty on your daughters machine) - Marketplace/eBay private sales would be a closer price match and should allow you to replace like for like

Okell

Smick100 said:

Okell said:

I think a 60% refund is a pretty reasonable offer.

I think you've alos done very well in (1) getting Apple to provide a written report to the effect that the failure was probably caused by a faulty component and (2) getting Very to accept that with no disagreement

Well, I thought Apple were fairly cheeky!

I know that there are probably numerous companies and levels of organisation between the guys in an Apple Shop and whoever is responsible for the manufacture of laptops, but when someone wearing Apple branded clothing tells me that the computer is duff, nothing my daughter did contributed to it, that the cost of repair will be more than its second hand value, and say "nothing we can do here", it leaves a bad taste in the mouth...

They're usually much cheekier!

There was nothing they could do as they have no responsibility to you because you didn't buy it from them.  Your remedy lies with the retailer.

Apple gave you the ammunition you needed against Very by giving you a written report admitting that the fault was most likely down to a faulty component used by Apple.

Apple aren't usually as obliging as that if the experiences of some posters on here are to be believed.

Normally they'd say something like:

"The Consumer Rights Act says that goods must last for 6 years."  [That by the way is totally wrong and misleading]  "If you'd bought it from us we would honour that and either give you a replacement or a full refund.  Unfortunately you bought it from somebody else so you'll have to go to them and argue your case with them.  Sorry - nothing we can do"

And I think it's virtually unheard of for them to offer you a written report confirming that a faulty or defective component had been used by them in its manufacture.

Exodi

Okell said:

Apple aren't usually as obliging as that if the experiences of some posters on here are to be believed.

Normally they'd say something like:

"The Consumer Rights Act says that goods must last for 6 years."  [That by the way is totally wrong and misleading]  "If you'd bought it from us we would honour that and either give you a replacement or a full refund.  Unfortunately you bought it from somebody else so you'll have to go to them and argue your case with them.  Sorry - nothing we can do"

And I think it's virtually unheard of for them to offer you a written report confirming that a faulty or defective component had been used by them in its manufacture.

I was about to say the same. Most experiences I read about Apple on here are of them performing incredible gymnastics to obfuscate the fault and skillfully tiptoe around whether the issue has been caused by the customer or a manufacturing defect, or refusing to acknowledge any third party reports.

The fact that they've not only confirmed the fault lies with them, but also provided a report to that effect is nothing short of a miracle. Then to hand that to a retailer, have them accept the report and offer a 60% refund is beyond comprehension. My wrist would be aching from all the people I would have high-fived on my way out the store.

Smick100 said:

I am grateful to get something back from Very, but is their offer of 60% of the purchase price reasonable / legal or should I push for more?

If it was me, I'd have thought all my Christmas's had come at once and probably run to the nearest petrol station to buy a lottery ticket.

Of course you're free to ask for more if you believe you should be entitled to 80% of the new price after 2.5 years.

screech_78

To be fair, I’ve seen a few Apple reports and whilst none of them have ever stated a manufacturing or inherent fault, they almost always say no user damage (if that’s the case). 

In my personal opinion, I believe that’s enough under CRA and I’ll accept it. Others who work in the same or similar department(s) don’t accept it and I think they’re wrong.