Faulty Apple watch that was replaced under Applecare - stuck between Amazon and Apple

Ukjubilee

I originally bought my Apple watch 7 from Amazon in July 2022, at the time I also purchased Applecare as I had had issues with previous watches. In April 2024 the watch developed a fault with the screen going black and unresponsive and the watch was replaced under Applecare after a couple of weeks and being sent of for a failed repair. 

Last week the 15 month old replacement watch screen went black, the watch still works otherwise i.e monitors my sleep etc but the screen is completely black and unresponsive. I took it in for a genius bar appointment this morning and was told its a hardware failure. They advised me to go back to Amazon to claim under UK Consumer law. I pointed out that the watch was replaced by Apple but he was insistent that I still needed to go back to Amazon as the original seller. 

I have spoken to Amazon via consumer chat and they are unable to raise a refund/return ticket due to the time passed since original purchase and advised me to go back to the manufacturer. 

I am stuck as to what to do next, I essentially have a 15 month old watch that is faulty (which is totally not acceptable) but unable to get either Apple or Amazon to deal with it. Would appreciate some help and advice. I feel that as Apple replaced the watch surely it should be them who deal with it but perhaps UK law works differently?

Thank you.

born_again

Your replacement watch is in effect 3 years old. Timescales do not restart when you get a replacement. 
You have no claim against Amazon, as the watch you have now was not purchased from them.
Unless Apple care is still running or has something in the T/C then you have no claim there then.

jon81uk

The new watch is a replacement from the Applecare plan so has nothing to do with the original watch from Amazon. I assume you only had the two year fixed-term Applecare? If not and you are paying monthly then the replacement is still covered by Applecare and you can get it repaired/replaced.

But they are talking rubbish about consumer rights as that would have only applied to manufacturing faults on the first watch, not any replacement from insurance.

DeathByFluffy

As above, the watch you have in your possession isn't from Amazon so they owe you nothing. 
You'll need to push this further with Apple, but at 3 years old any partial refund you'd receive (which they're allowed to do to account for your use of the product) would probably be fairly minimal. 

It may be worth seeing if they'll discount a replacement for you. 

Ukjubilee

thank you all, I did think that it should be Apple and not Amazon I was dealing with! I have given up for now but as I have had 4 apple watches out of 5 owned fail (2 seals failed whilst swimming and 2 black screen hardware failures) and none last more then 2 years I was reluctant to invest in yet another Apple watch. I have now purchased a Garmin replacement, fingers crossed for a long life together! 

MyRealNameToo

DeathByFluffy said:

As above, the watch you have in your possession isn't from Amazon so they owe you nothing. 
You'll need to push this further with Apple, but at 3 years old any partial refund you'd receive (which they're allowed to do to account for your use of the product) would probably be fairly minimal. 

It may be worth seeing if they'll discount a replacement for you. 

But Apple wasnt a retailer for any watch received so there are no statutory rights under the CRA which you are referring to given the comment about being allowed to discount for use. 

Unfortunately one of the challenges of going between third party warranties and the retailer when the retailers were your statutory rights are

PHK

MyRealNameToo said:

DeathByFluffy said:

As above, the watch you have in your possession isn't from Amazon so they owe you nothing. 
You'll need to push this further with Apple, but at 3 years old any partial refund you'd receive (which they're allowed to do to account for your use of the product) would probably be fairly minimal. 

It may be worth seeing if they'll discount a replacement for you. 

But Apple wasnt a retailer for any watch received so there are no statutory rights under the CRA which you are referring to given the comment about being allowed to discount for use. 

Unfortunately one of the challenges of going between third party warranties and the retailer when the retailers were your statutory rights are

AppleCare is an insurance policy, so the OP had the right to receive either a lasting repair or a replacement that was not inherently defective. FCA rules give the OP three years from the date they should have been aware of the complaint to bring that case to the insurer (regardless of whether the policy has ended)

So if the OP can prove the replacement watch was inherently faulty (and not misused or accidentally damaged) they should complain to AIG who operate Applecare. 

MyRealNameToo

PHK said:

MyRealNameToo said:

DeathByFluffy said:

As above, the watch you have in your possession isn't from Amazon so they owe you nothing. 
You'll need to push this further with Apple, but at 3 years old any partial refund you'd receive (which they're allowed to do to account for your use of the product) would probably be fairly minimal. 

It may be worth seeing if they'll discount a replacement for you. 

But Apple wasnt a retailer for any watch received so there are no statutory rights under the CRA which you are referring to given the comment about being allowed to discount for use. 

Unfortunately one of the challenges of going between third party warranties and the retailer when the retailers were your statutory rights are

AppleCare is an insurance policy, so the OP had the right to receive either a lasting repair or a replacement that was not inherently defective. FCA rules give the OP three years from the date they should have been aware of the complaint to bring that case to the insurer (regardless of whether the policy has ended)

So if the OP can prove the replacement watch was inherently faulty (and not misused or accidentally damaged) they should complain to AIG who operate Applecare. 

AppleCare is an extended warranty and not insurance

AppleCare+ is an insurance policy underwritten by AIG

pinkshoes

Ukjubilee said:

thank you all, I did think that it should be Apple and not Amazon I was dealing with! I have given up for now but as I have had 4 apple watches out of 5 owned fail (2 seals failed whilst swimming and 2 black screen hardware failures) and none last more then 2 years I was reluctant to invest in yet another Apple watch. I have now purchased a Garmin replacement, fingers crossed for a long life together! 

Just because something is expensive, doesn't necessarily mean it's a quality investment!

A friend of mine ditched Apple and went for Garmin and says the Garmin is so much better, so I hope you have the same success.

For what it's worth, I think 3 years is pretty good for a smartwatch. I'm amazed my Fitbit is still going after 2 years given the battering it gets!