Apple won’t repair my three-year-old MacBook Pro for free

Recently my three-year-old £1,300 Apple MacBook Pro’s backlight stopped working, rendering the surface wholly achromatic and usable. The laptop inactive works if attached to different screen, truthful the machine itself is intelligibly fine.

When I took my instrumentality into an Apple store, the technician kindly informed maine that the problem I americium having is simply a repeated, known one with 13-in MacBook Pro laptops and that Apple has a work programme that offers to hole these affected screens for free.

However, I was past told that this programme lone applies to models released earlier February 2018 and that arsenic excavation was released successful 2019, I americium not eligible for the escaped repair. I was quoted £575.

I don’t recognize however it’s imaginable that Apple tin cognize of an existing method occupation with their computers but lone connection to hole it for older models. I don’t privation to ammunition retired hundreds of pounds to either repair oregon regenerate an costly laptop that is lone 3 years old. What bash you suggest I do?

AH, Bromley

A fewer years agone this was a large user issue, with Apple customers complaining their laptop’s surface nary longer worked, to the grade that the institution had to commencement fixing its customers’ MacBook Pros for escaped – but lone those sold betwixt October 2016 and February 2018.

At the aforesaid clip it changed the laptop’s plan to forestall the occupation from happening, though your acquisition suggests it hasn’t gone distant entirely.

Given each of the above, it seems somewhat unfair that Apple would garbage to marque a contribution, but not wholly surprising.

Happily, I asked the institution to instrumentality a look astatine your case, and it has present agreed to hole your laptop for free. No remark was offered.

Had it not, I would person cited the Consumer Rights Act, which gives buyers up to six years to assertion against the retailer, which successful this lawsuit was Apple itself. You could person argued that an costly laptop specified arsenic that should person reasonably lasted six years, and arsenic yours was 3 years old, Apple should person contributed, say, 50% of the repair bill. In general, I would urge that Apple customers work up connected the act’s protections earlier they instrumentality items backmost to the company. The Which? website has a bully summary. In Scotland, buyers person up to 5 years to bring claims.

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