Dear [REDACTED],
Not long after I got my MacBook Pro (late November, 2015) the keyboard and trackpad stopped working. This has been a repeated issue, as the case notes (Case Number: 1092649948) outline.
I work as a lecturer in interaction design at Ulster University and as a conference speaker and consultant. I have now had to travel to four international conferences with an external keyboard and mouse, which clearly indicates the MacBook Pro is not fit for purpose as advertised.
The Apple web site states:
Should your product be defective or if it does not conform with the contract of sale, you can choose to make a claim under UK consumer law…
It goes on to state:
A consumer is also entitled to withdraw from the contract by returning the product in exchange for a full refund if the consumer rejects the goods within 30 days or if the product does not conform with the contract after one repair or replacement.
This product does not conform with the contract and, never mind the three repairs when the cable was reseated, the major repair (Case ID: 1055329464) did nothing to resolve the issue. I’ve outlined a list of repairs below:
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Repair No. 1 - Monday, 15 February (Case ID: 1045876658)
I have so many Apple products it’s hard for me to reconcile the Genius Bar appointments, however, I think the first time I brought it in was on the date above.
At this appointment the Genius took it out the back and reseated the cable. This was done quite quickly, however, based on the conversations I’ve had with Apple Support, I’m worried there are no notes about this (which is, itself, alarming.)
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Repair No. 2 - Monday, 29 February (Case ID: 1055329464)
Barely two weeks later, the keyboard and trackpad had stopped working.
Attached is the receipt for the major repair of the MacBook Pro. As you can see this was a substantial repair. At this point I asked to see the Genius’s manager as I was very unhappy that the keyboard and trackpad were causing me so many issues and affecting my work.
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Repair No. 3 - Saturday, 23 April (Case ID: 1092425790)
Only five or six weeks after this major repair, the keyboard and trackpad had stopped working again. This was the third time this had happened.
Before this appointment I called AppleCare and spoke with Greg McCarthy (19 April) who stated:
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In the first six months you can request a repair or a replacement.
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Take your MacBook Pro back in and ask for a replacement under UK Consumer Law. They'll verify the issue. If it requires another repair, deny the repair and either request a refund or a replacement under UK Consumer Law.
I took it the Apple Store and spoke with a Genius called Ryan and relayed my conversation with Greg. Ryan told me that this wouldn’t be eligible for repair under UK Consumer Law and that it would need three major repairs before Apple would consider replacing it.
This is incorrect, even the Apple web site states: A consumer is also entitled to withdraw from the contract […] if the product does not conform with the contract after one repair or replacement.
I was alarmed when Ryan stated: “Well, there is one other alternative…” When I asked, desperately, what that alternative was, he said: “You could always try one of our competitors’ products.”
I was shocked. As a loyal Apple customer and an Apple shareholder I do not expect to hear a Genius say this, especially in a very busy Apple Store on a Saturday.
Ryan took the MacBook Pro out the back and reseated the cable again and we tested it at the Genius Bar. However, on getting back to my studio (ten minutes walk away) the keyboard and trackpad had stopped working again. I took it straight back to the Apple Store.
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Repair No. 4 - Saturday, 23 April (Walk-In)
I returned right away and asked for a walk in appointment, explaining I’d been in only twenty minutes earlier. At this point I saw another Genius (Ryan had finished). I can’t recall the second Genius’s name, but he - once again - took the MacBook Pro out the back and reseated the cable again and we tested it at the Genius Bar.
I was frustrated and upset on getting home to discover that the keyboard and trackpad were, yet again, no longer working.
This is when my endless saga of increasingly frustrated telephone calls to Apple started.
So far I’ve spoken to Greg (19 April); Barbara and Andy (23 April); John and Carl (24 April); Danny and Rachel (29 April); and today, Danny and you.
I have been a loyal Apple customer since the Apple II. I have been a vocal Apple evangelist, even going so far as to encourage attendees at my conference talks to buy Apple shares. (I am an Apple shareholder.) I have been using Apple products for almost four decades (!) and I have never felt so let down.
I am upset and frustrated that this issue is still not resolved. As you could tell on the phone earlier I am close to tears over this. The whole process has been incredibly stressful and I would hope that you could get me a replacement machine as a matter of urgency. This has gone on too long.
Best,
Chris
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Tiny Books Short, Sharp Books for Creative Entrepreneurs
@fehler
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