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Thomas B.
Level 1 (15 points)

Q: Apple repair service in Belgium is unacceptable

March 3rd my brand new Macbook Pro arrived and I was happy. As of late though I've been experiencing the cpu whine issue mentioned all over this board and extreme heat buildup which make the machine quite uncomfortable to use.

2 days ago I call the belgian Apple support line, we go through some tests to diagnose the issue and the decision is made to bring the machine in to replace the logicboard. This is where my problems start. Since I had the machine for longer than a month Apple couldn't do a pickup and I was directed to a local Apple Service Center.

I call the service center and they say they'll repair the unit, but that they'll charge me 30 euro for it because I didn't buy the unit at their store. Excuse me, but Apple forces me to go to this Service Center, I can't return the unit directly to Apple, they won't let me do that. When I call Apple back about this they say that these Service Centers can charge whatever they like because they're not under Apple's control. These stores are the franchised type.

In all honesty, I don't care about that. I bought the unit at the Apple online store. I want to return the unit to Apple for repair directly and they refuse to do that, sending me to some 3rd party Service Center to get the repair done. I don't have a worldwide warranty so some random store that Apple makes me go to can charge me 30 euro. A no cost repair still means that at the end of the day I didn't pay a single euro.

I called both Apple (mentioning their warranty statement) and the store a couple of times to try and resolve the issue. The final words from the Apple Customer Care rep were: "we can't help you any further" and the store had nothing more to say except for "you didn't buy the unit with us so we're charging you 30 euro to do the repair".

Here I thought Apple had such a good service reputation, but I guess when it comes to belgian customers it doesn't apply.

Thanks a lot Apple.


   

   

   

Posted on Apr 19, 2006 3:18 PM

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Thomas B.

Q: Apple repair service in Belgium is unacceptable

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  • by Luc Thiberville,

    Luc Thiberville Luc Thiberville Apr 19, 2006 3:29 PM in response to Thomas B.
    Level 3 (750 points)
    Apr 19, 2006 3:29 PM in response to Thomas B.
    This happened to me in France as well (45 Euros). I called applecare support and ask to talk with a sale rep. He told me that effectively they do not have any control on Apple certified centers, but because the product is under warrenty, they will reimburse me the additional 45 Euros fee for the inspection of the machine if the repair is under warrenty. Eventually I went back to the apple center explaining this, but because I had already purchased other products in their store, they suddenly decided to not charge me the 45 Euros (go figure..).

    I would bet that Apple is obliged to cover and reimburse any repair fee (including transportation) as long as they do not want to do it by themselves.

    Besides, the Apple certified repair centers are paid by Apple for the repair they make on your machine.

    I understand that they want to let you pay for the inspection of the machine, in case the repair would not be covered by the warrenty. But if they decide that the repair is covered, you should not pay anything, or Apple has to reimburse you.

  • by Thomas B.,

    Thomas B. Thomas B. Apr 19, 2006 3:38 PM in response to Luc Thiberville
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Apr 19, 2006 3:38 PM in response to Luc Thiberville
    That's what I asked the Apple Service Center and they said that the 30 euro would have to be paid regardless if the repair falls under warranty or not. They charge this fee because you didn't buy the machine in their store (and as a sidenote the second salesrep I talked to blandly mentioned they charge the fee because they think the amount Apple pays them to do the repair is too low, go figure).

    I'm a long standing customer at this store too. I bought my iBook, Mac Mini, Powerbook G4, iPod, etc there. I asked Apple about refunding me the 30 euro and they said this was not an option and they wouldn't reemburse me for that. Both parties (Apple and the Service Center) seem to be quite uncooperative about this issue.