Search MeMyViews

Friday, May 18, 2007

Happy ending.. (lesson: never ever give up.. if its against Apple)

my fight with Apple seems to have a happy ending.. after one week of negotiations and stressful debates, they have conceded.. Apple have offered me to replace the machine.

in the last phase, apple offered me another 1 year extended warranty.. if anything happens during that period, they promised me to replace the old machine. i've agreed to it, provided, they give it in writing.. wow.. they declined.. nothing in writing. that's a catch.

i consulted Mr Clareance Kunnel. CEO, Holding Redlick Lawyers. he is very good malayalee (aka, Indian) catholic. from his office, we called Ms Susan, who dealt my case (some sort of manager in apple customer care). she was not there.. Clarence left a message in her answering machine.

my friends from RMIT have already notified apple that they are going to start a chain campaign in support of my case starting from the uni, if the appeal fails. (the apple store at uni boast of 20-30 sales per day!)

finally i got a phone call from Susan and she said that she is reviewing my case.. Apple decided to replace my machine.. she tranfered it to Mr Ben Gunashekaran, (should be a junior officer, who dealt my case in the very beginning.. bit arrogant fellow though.. may be apple want him to be so.. i dont judge). i got the following mail from him..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Jaison,

This letter is to confirm that, per our discussion described in case number 78384411, Apple agrees to replace your MacBook, Serial Number:4H63073ZU9Ewith MacBook :MB062X/A to resolve the matters discussed.

MacBook 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - White
Part Number: MB062X/A
120GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
Country Kit
Keyboard/Mac OS
Superdrive 8x (DVD+R DL/DVD+RW/CD-RW)
2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x512

Once Apple confirms the arrival of theÊMacBook, Serial Number:4H63073ZU9Ein its warehouse, Apple will, subject to the availability of the MacBook :MB062X/A, order and send to you at Computers Now, South Melbourne the MacBook :MB062X/A.

As previously communicated, the replacement product sent by Apple shall be a new product with a one-year limited warranty against hardware defects.

Important: Please respond to this mail with your confirmation that you agree to the process as described above, and I will forward your order for processing. I cannot forward your order until we receive your email in return.

Please reply to this mail for confirmation only.

It was a pleasure speaking with you. Feel free to contact me directly should you have any further questions or concerns regarding the replacement process.

Kind Regards,

Ben Gunasegaran
Customer Relations
P+61 02 9641 8286 F: +61 02 9261 1040
E: bgunasegaran@asia.apple.com
iChat:banarji@mac.com

Apple Pty Ltd
PO Box A2629
Sydney South NSW 1235

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

My fight against Apple/Mac

I am currently undergoing a frustrating case against Steve Jobs' Apple. I bought a Macbook, about 8 months back and its mother-board(logic-board, in apple's language) crashed for the second time along with other multiple hardware/software faults.

I had to submit my minor thesis yesterday(15th May). all my works were in that machine. but i couldn't do that. the uni - RMIT was kind enough to give me an extension of two weeks.. God bless them.

I asked Apple to replace the machine.. but they are giving me a hard time.. I am just posting the letter, which I have send to Apple, Australia. I hope you will get a clear idea about my pain, efforts and struggle from this letter.

If you feel to SUPPORT ME in this just cause, please do so by sending a mail to the AppleCare Rep - BEN, in the following mail id.

bgunasegaran@asia.apple.com

HERE IS MY MAIL TO APPLE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ben Gunasegaran
Customer Relations
Apple Pty Ltd
PO Box A2629
Sydney South NSW 1235

Sub: 7 days notice to replace faulty MacBook (Case No: 78384411)

Sir,

I am writing this letter after the guidance of Consumer Affairs Victoria, Australian State Government Office, Melbourne, Victoria.

I have got great regards to Apple and Mac products. That is why I bought 2 Mac machines in the last 10 months - the second one is a pro and it works fine to this date. I've seen many friends using their Macs peacefully with reliability. It is supposed to be problem free and user friendly than any Windows machines.

But this particular machine which I am referring to (unit serial no: 4H63073ZU9E) is an extreme exception. You’ll have all the service history in your database (present case no: 78384411).

I bought it through online when Mac introduced the student discount system through online. My records say that it was delivered on 2nd Aug 2006. (I received it after couple of days though)

I suffered the major set back within few weeks, when it had multiple problems like, faulty display system (display was divided into six windows!), no more booting up, etc. I suspected multiple hardware issues. Finally, they said that it was logic board failure.

I send a mail dated 03/10/2006. The mail was send after a series of phone conversations with Apple Care rep and about after 1-2 weeks after the event. The relevant portion of mail is given below.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

as you have suggested me over phone(case no: 68660653), i have given my macbook for diagnosis at applecare centre, Clarendon street, melbourne, yesterday(2nd Oct) since i was badly in need of my laptop last week(job no. 428162).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I insisted replacement of the machine for my gut feeling was that the above machine had some serious manufacturing defects. I got the reply like this:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for your email. Please dont for one second think that Apple is shying away from our responsibilities.


I do not agree that your machine has had too many hardware faults. It seems as though all the issues you described relate to one component. This can only be confirmed by the technician.

As discussed previously, I will await the report by the technician and make an assessment at that time. Should the unit need multiple major parts, then replacement is a stronger possibility.

I will await the report and get back to you.

Joseph
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally I accepted the Apple Care offer to replace the logic-board, hoping it will fix the issue once and for all. But I made it a point that, if there's any other serious issues, like problems with hardware, in the near future, Apple has to refund me the money or should replace the machine. The customer care officer responded positively over phone. I asked him to give it in writing. He had sent me this piece of message:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Jaison,


As suspected, your machine needs ONE part. This part has caused the multiple issues you have experienced.

.................

We advise that a repair needs to take place and should there be further issues down the road we can assess the case then.

I cannot see any previous repairs on the system and hope this is fixes the issues you raised.


Take care,
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Again I experience a problem regarding the display in Nov 2006. They said it was only a software issue and fixed it..

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HI Jaison,


I am glad the unit is now working and only needed a software update/software troubleshooting and not a HW repair.


As the unit is in working order i wish you the best.


Apple will not be replacing the machine.


Should you have any further issues, please contact Apple Customer relations and speak to the available agent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But that was only the tip of an iceberg, as I suspected. Couple of weeks back I noticed that I was not able to use "Bluetooth" properly. It comes and goes off. Even if it comes, whenever I start to connect to my Nokia phone, it will cut off after few seconds. Then the worse thing happened. It stopped recharging, but intermittently - i.e., sometimes the plug light comes and goes off. I took it to the Mac shop at uni - RMIT, Melbourne. They also confirmed the fault. I contacted apple over phone. As they suggested, I took it to the Apple Care centre at Middle Park. In the very first instance, it worked. They advised me to take the machine with me and finish my thesis work at the earliest (coz I had to submit it on Tuesday (today, 15th may). I took the machine to home. it stopped working.. I took it back to service centre.. they confirmed the fault.

Yesterday I received a diagnostic report from service centre that the system experiencing multiple parts failures - logic-board failure and DVD drive failure. There was some problem with Bluetooth too. They could fix it, they say.

Now, there is a multiple part failure and all the more, the logic-board has failed again without any explicit reasons. (The apple service people couldn't figure that out, they said). I asked Apple Care rep to replace the machine with a new one by keeping their word. ("Should the unit need multiple major parts, then replacement is a stronger possibility" and "As suspected, your machine needs ONE part. This part has caused the multiple issues you have experienced. We advise that a repair needs to take place and should there be further issues down the road we can assess the case then")

But the Apple Care rep refused it. He says he will only repair the machine!

The repeated logic-board failure suggests that there are some mysterious issues, which cause it to fail again and again. It should be a manufacturing defect. The apple service centre people say that it is beyond their capacity to figure it out. So, the problem with this Macbook should not be solved with another logic-board replacement, for we haven't found out the reasons why it is failing. It is again going to be a trail-and-error approach.

I will be running out of warranty within couple of months. Apple Care rep is pushing me into a situation where, when the next failure happens, I will be out of warranty period. Moreover, I’ve got all the rights with other Mac-users to enjoy a problem free Mac machine. The previous 2 failures have been put me under a lot of mental pressure in many ways.

So, I request you to replace this machine (unit serial no: 4H63073ZU9E) with a new one.

The Apple Care rep encourages me to escalate a case in the Customer Care Victoria to prove my case. If I am pushed to a corner, that would be my last resort. So, as per the guidance of Consumer Affairs Victoria, I humbly request Apple to review my case and to replace it with a new one with the existing softwares in the old machine with in 7 days.

However, I am happy that my collages at RMIT and well-wishers in the community (by the way, I am a Catholic priest) stand beside me and they have already started an email-YouTube campaign to get me an affirmative answer from Apple. I will be sharing my story in “Today-Tonight” of Channel with all relevant proofs if the 7 day notice fails.

I request you to kindly consider my case with great understanding and replace the current machine under repair with a new one.

Yours truly,

Fr Jaison Paul Mulerikkal
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Priory
75, Wright Street
Middle Park, Melbourne
VIC, Australia. 3206

Mob: +61 433 893 593
E : jmulerickal@yahoo.com