Apple discontinues UK repair-by-mail service

I'm a UK Apple customer with AppleCare - 3 MONTHS ago I handed-over my mac to Scotsys in Edinburgh, on the advice of Apple, "why won't you come and pick it up like in the good old days" i asked... i was assured this place, an "authorized dealer" etc. would deal with it. why would i doubt a place with as many Apple logos and iPods as an 'Apple Store'?

i'm still mac-less. 3 months for a new LCD... this is scary- and Would make me think twice about AppleCare, if not that MacBook, in the future.

shame on Apple. super-shame on Scotsys' Engineering Dept..

First off, I'm a pc user and was simply browsing here to find out if my ipod was going to blow up anytime soon, when I came across this thread. There are definately laws to protect the consumer here in the UK, so it might be worthwhile contacting your local citizens advice bureau and/or trading standards.

Additionally, check to see if you are still under guarantee from the store. If you purchased it from any of the Dixons group stores (eg pcworld, dixons, the link, currys etc) then they have a 28 day repair rule that they don't tend to let people know about:

If your machine is still under warranty and develops a fault, the machine can be sent off for repair free of charge (unless you spilt coffee in it or something daft). The machine HAS to be shipped out, fixed AND returned to you within 28 days (NOT 28 working days), with the "clock" starting the day it leaves your home to the day it returns. Even if it's a day late (or even on that 28th day) you can call the pcworld / dixons (etc) tech support, quote your case number, claim the 28 day rule and ask for your purchase price to be refunded as a store credit at your local store.

You'll then need to take in all manuals, packaging etc, plus original receipts into the store to claim the credit... a bit of paperwork later and you have a store credit for the same amount of money you paid for the original machine, which could be 11 months and 28 days old, so you'll get a nice new machine with new toys :) (or buy a new tv or something).

I came across this a few years ago when my first laptop developed an actuator fault and took 35 days to get fixed. My most recent notebook developed several faults, they returned it on the 26th day partially fixed, I then called pcworld support and they told me to return it back for repair, but the "clock" would continue. Two days later I bought a new notebook with the store credit :)

The manufacturer should give you a way to return their faulty product. If the store that sold it to you did not notify you of any changes in this procedure, then they should provide you with a courier to return the goods at their expense.

All the best guys & gals

Pete

This totally stinks if it is true! I will not be buying another apple product again if
this is how it will be supported!
My nearest apple store in the UK is nearly 70 miles! They can shove that up their
Ar*e!

Definitely true - having problems with a Macbook Pro. Told I had to take it to local service centre, the closest of which is nearly 30 miles away. They're only open Mon - Fri 9-5 too. Am I supposed to take time off work to get it fixed? One of them won't return my calls - the other have said it'll take a 'long time' to get it fixed.

Have emailed Apple to ask how they intend to rectify the situation, as under UK law it is up to the place that I bought it from (the online Apple Store) to sort it out. Consumer protection in the UK is quite good - it states that an item must be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose otherwise the purchaser is entitled to a refund or replacement. I have reminded Apple of this in my email.

This is my 7th Mac, and by far the most problematic. I hope their service improves

Kev

But when my iPod mini was sent off under warranty, it ended up going to Belgium to be fixed??? So they want us to take our stuff to the continent?

(None of my other Apple gear has ever had to be repaired so I don't know where it usually gets sent)

Great, this service was an absolute joke. Two months to repair my month old iMac, then the box was smashed to bits by the couriers on the way back to me! Good riddance.

If this is true, this (MacBook Pro) will be the last Mac I ever buy.

Support is paramount and considering the amount of problems I have had with past Apple products and the amount of times I have had to send them away for repairs I am prepared to never buy another Apple product because they are stiffing me on support.

unbelievable just strikingly awful support considering the prices of there equipment they can't even afford to send you out a fricken box. Even if you buy a £250 monitor from Dell do they offer a mail-in repair and/or exchange service.

I'm totally shocked at this.

Most certainly true, my dad's Intel Mini has got a buzzing problem (sounds like the good ol' electrical hum you get off a power transformer but imagine that coming from a little box, not good!), phoned Apple got put through to a call centre in some far flung corner of the world where I would be amazed the guy I spoke to had even seen a Mac let alone used one, got told to take it to an Apple store... well that'll be quite a feet since it's a 2 hour drive assuming traffic is good, oh and parking at £20 an hour in the middle of Glasgow would be fun. When I told him that wasn't a solution, he told me to take it any shop that sold Apple "stuff" and they would sort me out, bollocks, PC World sell Apples and if I were to take it into them I would be told to phone Apple and they will deal with it.

It's simply not feasible for the vast majority of the UK population to go to an Apple store, there aren't many of them, and by doing this you give the Apple store guys a big bundle of computers that they can't handle in bulk so it takes longer to get your machine repaired, there is a good reason companies like Dell, Sony, Compaq all have a centralised European repair centre and get a courier to come to your house and take your computer away. Hell my mum's Compaq laptop bit the dust a few months back, phoned Compaq, the same day a DHL van turned up with a box, put the laptop in, gave me a reciept for it and left, 3 days later the laptop comes back repaired and still with all the data on it, it had even had the screen cleaned!

Come on Apple if Compaq can get this right you can too!

Europe on the whole suffers from an underserving of Mac Repair facilities. When I worked as an MG, I got to see some pics of the triage area of Regent Street--the volume of computers was unbelievable. It was not uncommon for people to take weekend flights from Milan, e.g., to drop their machine off in the UK, only to then have to fly back two months later when their machine was finally repaired. Apple has for while now been working on eliminating the mail in repair facilities and using the Apple stores to handle all repairs. One of the difficulties with that process is that there's no solution for the people that don't live near a store, because Apple stores are in no way set up to deal with people shipping their macs directly to them.

They switched it to this system some time ago in Switzerland. I prefer it this way: I can bring it in and pick it up when I want to, I don't have to be at home or at work at a specific time in order to catch the TNT/UPS/Whatever person.