Consumer Advice - Bad Apple

Soldato
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I'll summarise as best as I can because I'm losing the will.
Ordered a MBP Retina (15") 9 weeks ago.
Since then it's got creaky and the case feels loose.
I've been to the Genius bar 3 times, spoken to Apple Care and customer services - even a senior engineer who gave me his email and phone no. I keep getting told it's 'normal'.

Anyway, to the point. Visit to Genius Bar No.2 of 3 was on Tuesday this week, when they re-seated the underside panel while I waited. What they failed to do was screw it back together so the screws were flush - and they didn't make any difference to the creaking.

Visit No.3 of 3 today. Reseated the panel again and screwed the screws in properly but here's where it gets interesting. The manager takes a look.
He says "That's not right" - Alleluia!! He goes off and comes back.

He tells me that even though the creaking is the worst he has seen (none of the display models do it - I checked!) - it falls within their tolerance of what is satisfactory.

He went on to say there's probably a few others out there - then again said not as bad as mine. He finished by saying it's not a defect.

The laptop cost me £2,059. I am appalled. But what can I really do? He said it was up to me to call Apple and escalate it. He said I could quote everything he said. I obviously took down his details.

What do you think?? Is this a lost battle? Apple are making me feel like I'm just out to cause problems but I just want a solid laptop!!
 
Soldato
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I am going to do as the manager suggested - but do I have a right to complain is what I'm trying to say. I've already spoken to CS, engineers and several people in-store. I've got absolutely nowhere. Is this because I am being unreasonable?

I've even written two letters of complaint and not received any response. I called to ask why, and I was told complaints are used to make improvements, but a response is rarely issued to whoever submitted it.

Seriously - I'm not even making this stuff up.
 
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Soldato
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Sounds like its been going on a while? Did you buy it instore? Probably too late now but return it under distance selling regs?



M.
 
Soldato
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Bought it online but I work in London a couple of stops away from the Regent Street store.
I'm not even after a replacement - I just want the creaking to stop. It's really annoying - and surprising when this thing's meant to be cut from a solid block of aluminium.
 
Man of Honour
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Write a letter stating that the product is not of satisfactory quality under s.14(2) and s.14(2B)(c) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979. This explicitly mentions freedom from minor defects. Also mention that an employee implied the product was faulty. Ask them how they propose to amend this.

I'd be extremely surprised if they didn't offer a replacement.
 
Soldato
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A replacement would be excellent - but even if they offered to correct the creaking I'd be more than happy. Two failed attempts and then told to escalate of my own accord? Brilliant customer service.

By the way my first support call was three days after I had it delivered. Not sure if any of you have seen Mac PSUs but you can remove a cable and plug the PSU block straight into the wall socket. When doing this you can feel a current passing through the laptop's chassis.

Apparently this is normal too. It's the laptop shielding static from the logic board. When I asked for it in writing, an email came though stating they couldn't find the information I was looking for. Got a case number for that one. :)

Overall it's been a terrible experience.


Should have gone to OCUK. They've always replaced components quickly and trouble free. You live and learn..
 
Caporegime
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lol apple...

It's always "normal and within tolerance" or "water damage"

You pay a premium for the product as well which makes the experience they provide dreadful.
 
Soldato
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I'm actually quite surprised given all the positive experiences I've had with Apple over the years, you are right though for a £2k laptop that is pretty shocking. I'd escalate as the store manager has suggested, but I'd also be logging a seperate complaint once all was said and done as they've really let you down here.
 

Deleted member 651465

D

Deleted member 651465

lol apple...

It's always "normal and within tolerance" or "water damage"

You pay a premium for the product as well which makes the experience they provide dreadful.

The experience they provide is usually pretty good, however, there are exceptions.

Put simply, if you feel the problem is not to your liking you can request a replacement. They may offer to fix the problem, but if they can't you're we'll within your rights to demand a new one.

Call AppleCare and say you want a refund as they have refused to acknowledge the problem, I'll bet you'll get action.

As for the psu thing.. I've just set up my wife's MBP as a Christmas present using this exact method and either I'm the god of thunder or extremely lucky, but no electric shocking to be felt :p

Sounds like a case of buyers remorse.
 
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I know it's too late now, but I would have gone for this off OcUK for a high-end laptop if I had 2k spare. Granted, it doesn't have the resolution of the Retina Macbooks, but it's still full-HD. 2 SSDs in RAID for the OS, separate S-ATA drive, enough specs to eat BF3 for breakfast. Plus, the RAM and battery isn't removable in those Macbooks. 2 year's warranty as well, where 1 year is the norm for laptops without an extended warranty. It's a non-brainer for me.
 
Soldato
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I know it's too late now, but I would have gone for this off OcUK for a high-end laptop if I had 2k spare. Granted, it doesn't have the resolution of the Retina Macbooks, but it's still full-HD. 2 SSDs in RAID for the OS, separate S-ATA drive, enough specs to eat BF3 for breakfast. Plus, the RAM and battery isn't removable in those Macbooks. 2 year's warranty as well, where 1 year is the norm for laptops without an extended warranty. It's a non-brainer for me.

That is uglier than an HD closeup of a pustulating genital wart though. And its not exactly a sleek and portable device. Its a desktop with a screen. Not exactly in the same competing terms as a MacBook.
Edit - lol 3.9kg without the battery.
 
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Soldato
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My MacBook Pro is fairly creaky when opening and closing, never really bothered me though because its not like you spend the whole time opening and closing it, thus any noise interfering with its use.

While Apple are usually great at replacing things, they clearly think its a bit of a non issue to do so for, especially if they say its in tolerable levels. I'm sure if it really makes a god awful noise like an old barn door then they would have swapped it right away.
 
Soldato
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That is uglier than an HD closeup of a pustulating genital wart though. And its not exactly a sleek and portable device. Its a desktop with a screen. Not exactly in the same competing terms as a MacBook.
Edit - lol 3.9kg without the battery.



It's an absolute monster of a laptop though :o

But I agree, not quite the same as the MacBook in terms of portability and design.
 
Soldato
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Sounds like a case of buyers remorse.
Actually it's not. Well not for the reasons I think you're implying. Generally it's a wonderful laptop but Apple's customer care leaves a lot to be desired.

On one of my Genius Bar visits there was a girl next to me with a faulty MBA. She was trying to explain the issues but the guy in the blue t-shirt just wasn't having it - she ended up sighing and sticking her head in her hands in despair.

It's almost like they're not willing to admit there's a fault - and it must be something else. Or just normal.
 
Soldato
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My MacBook Pro is fairly creaky when opening and closing, never really bothered me though because its not like you spend the whole time opening and closing it, thus any noise interfering with its use.

While Apple are usually great at replacing things, they clearly think its a bit of a non issue to do so for, especially if they say its in tolerable levels. I'm sure if it really makes a god awful noise like an old barn door then they would have swapped it right away.

Well it's not within my tolerance levels. They're making this up as they go along. For example, they apparently have tolerance levels but at the same time they treat each complaint on a case by case basis. That doesn't stack up.

They're also inconsistent in what they say. It's not the lid by the way - it's the underside panel, and it makes a loud creak and clicking sound - sometimes produced as I type. Loud enough for the guys in the Apple store to hear it at a very busy time of day. It also creaks either side of the trackpad.

So while they might think it's a non-issue, as a paying customer - I think it is very much an issue.
 

GeX

GeX

Soldato
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I had mine replaced for creaking too much (though not as loud as yours it sounds), and then for a casing defect, and then got money back on the 3rd because it still wasn't right.

Here's a post I put in the Apple section a while ago

I don't have an iPhone5 but would like to comment on Apple's build quality and quality control. I bought a Retina MacBook Pro at launch, and I'm now on my 3rd. They've ALL had manufacturing / quality control defects.

The first one had a badly machined and badly fitted lower panel, this was rough round the edges and meant every time the MBP was picked up / moved it would creak and click like some cheap little HP plastic special.

The second one had a bubble / debris in the coating which resulted in http://i.imgur.com/aMLsTl.jpg

The third one has a milling fault on one of the Thunderbolt ports; http://i.imgur.com/O0Poa.jpg

Apple have been good in replacing them; but a £2000 laptop shouldn't have any of these marks on it. I'm keeping the third one, Applecare said they would replace it - but if the replacement had marks then they might not offer to replace that and instead just refund me. They offered me an £80 refund to 'put up' with that mark on the Thunderbolt port.

I was also lied to, the replacements were NOT brand new - they showed signs of previous use. Not damage, or anything serious - but things like a finger print on the charger and debris under the 'protective' plastic that they wrap everything in. So be weary of that.

Apple need to investigate their supply chain, and stop penny pinching.
 
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