Apple has lost my data

Question

Apple has lost my data

I gave my Macbook Air to the Apple Store in Geneva to repair the trackpad that had stop clicking just after one year.

After one week my Macbook Air is not yet repaired but:

- All my data was erased by mistake

- Their employees did not inform me of the need to backup before (I had not done so as I thought there is no need to change a trackpad)

- They now argue they made me sign a paper in French (which I do not understand) and that I should have made a back-up.

It's been one week now and I have not recovered my computer because "they are too busy". They were refusing the responsibility until 1 day ago, finally have tried to get my data back but have recovered some files but cannot reinstall all the software I had.

They are proposing me 10% discount on my next purchase, which I find insulting considering they have lost my data (6 months of work) and kept my laptop for one week.

What can I do ? Who should I contact? I find their Geneva Apple Store employees incompetent and uncourteous. Basically they argue I should understand French and it's no problem they did not inform me about the need for backup, as it was obvious.

Thank you,

Khadija

MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Nov 28, 2012 2:17 AM

Reply

Answer 1

carl wolf

Level 6

14,625 points

Nov 28, 2012 2:58 AM in response to Khadijaabbasi

Apple's website clearly reads that the user should backup data before a product is returned for repair. Too, you should have been backing up your data regularly.

"they made me sign a paper "

How did they do that? Was a gun held to your head? Did they threaten you in any form or manner?

People are human and they made mistakes. You can send feedback to: www.apple.com/feedback.

Reply

Answer 2

Nov 28, 2012 6:02 AM in response to carl wolf

Their local employees did not follow their typical procedure which is as I was informed later to ask if I had made a back-up and just made me sign a form I did not understand without explaining the content. If I had been explained that changing a trackpad might involve erasing the disk, I would have first done a backup.

I think the training of staff for Switzerland is not satisfactory.

Could anyone give me a useful answer on how to proceed to take the matter to the right person, as the feedback link is obviously related to their products and not the service received in Apple Store? The reason I come to this forum is to get help, I am not interested in receiving recommendations from Apple fans on how their procedures are crystal clear.

Thank you!

K

Reply

Answer 3

Nov 28, 2012 8:39 AM in response to Khadijaabbasi

Carl gave you a pretty good answer. Submitting feedback is probably the limit of this situation. It is pretty common knowledge that you NEVER submit a computer for service, without having backed it up. If for some reason you could not back it up prior to submission, then you should have made some arrangement or alternate agreement beforehand.

If you signed a document you could not read, then you are hardly in a position to argue the terms of that agreement, afterward.

If the vendor apoligizes, then it is probably only because they feel sorry for you, and not because they did anything wrong.

Reply

Answer 4

JasonFear

Level 5

4,965 points

Nov 29, 2012 12:59 AM in response to Khadijaabbasi

Khadijaabbasi wrote:

Could anyone give me a useful answer on how to proceed to take the matter to the right person, as the feedback link is obviously related to their products and not the service received in Apple Store? The reason I come to this forum is to get help, I am not interested in receiving recommendations from Apple fans on how their procedures are crystal clear.

What would be a useful answer? You came to an Internet forum, specifically designed for user-to-user discussions. What were you hoping to achieve here? Apple isn't going to pay for data recovery and an apology from the store is not going to make your data magically reappear on your hard drive.

Reply