iPhone 6 Plus - AppleCare+ issues

eeloe

I bought a 64gb Gold iPhone 6 Plus last year while i was in Denver, no issues, very happy with the service.

When i came home, i purchased AppleCare+ in Ireland, never had to make a claim or anything, until yesterday, the phone was getting a little warm while charging, and it's in the serial number range to get it replaced with the iSight camera problem, so i said i'd call them up and arrange a replacement, as my wife is taking my 6 Plus and i don't want her to experience any issues with the device.

After speaking to a number of representatives on the phone, they have informed that i shouldn't have been allowed to purchase the AppleCare+ in Ireland, for a device that was purchased in the US, and my device is not covered for any other service in Ireland, only a walk in service in the Belfast store.

They have said that if i want to avail of AppleCare+ the device has to be purchased off www.apple.ie that is the only way i'll ever be able to use it.

Anyone had a similar experience, with a US purchased device, and Irish AppleCare+?

They also aren't offering me a refund for the falsely sold AppleCare+?

zeromedic

No. Demand to speak with a senior advisor in Cork. They're great at cutting red tape.

FourFourRED

You will be fine in the Apple Store but a replacement can't be organised by mail in or express replacement.

eeloe

That's what they are telling me on the phone FourFourFM....don't really wanna have to drive up and down to drop the phone off, and then drive up and down again to collect it, as they are trying to tell me the replacement phone can't be ordered in from the US until mine is in the shop.

It's a 9hr round trip each time....

If i knew this was going to be the situation i wouldn't have paid for AppleCare in the first place.

eeloe

They also said i'm liable for all freight charges of my phone from and to the US, and for the replacement from the US to Belfast...which is pretty crazy?

In over 9 years of being an Apple fan, this is truly the first blip i've ever had in service, and it's leaving quite a bitter taste in my mouth.

FourFourRED

Would you consider calling the store and asking them instead?

eeloe

On hold now waiting for a senior advisor in Cork, don't see myself getting anywhere with them tho, they were pretty adamant yesterday that any product purchased in the US CAN'T be used with AppleCare in Ireland, they'll sell it to you, but you can't use it....

eeloe

No still no good, because it's an american device it's not covered by irish apple care..

They can't explain to me how i was able to purchase AppleCare in ireland on an american device...

Heisenberg1

eeloe wrote: »

No still no good, because it's an american device it's not covered by irish apple care..

They can't explain to me how i was able to purchase AppleCare in ireland on an american device...

That is nonsense will they refund you on what you paid for AppleCare?

eeloe

nope, because i have the AppleCare longer than 14 days, i'm entitled to nothing!

eeloe

I'm actually pretty livid with this.

When I called to purchase the AppleCare they ran a remote diagnostic on the phone, and were fully aware it was an US purchased device at the time, they were well able to take the money off me then, but now when I need service they aren't too keen to help me out.

With the responses I'm getting from customer service on the phone, I'm actually shocked to hear them, doesn't sound like Apple at all....

whiterebel

I'd say it may be one of their outsourced call centres. I'd ring Monday morning and go through Customer Services then. You should definitely get a refund on the APP, never mind the 14 day nonsense. It has always been a bone of contention with US phones needing repairs in Europe. I wouldn't get one in NY last year for that reason.

eeloe

Yeah my only gripe now is, i'm stuck with the device, that's getting warm while charging, and nothing can be done about it.

Sickened really...

Time

I had the same issue with a 5c purchased in Canada, the speaker went and needed to be replaced. There official reason for not wanting to do anything was that the parts in North American phones are different, however the speaker, just like the iSight camera is not one of those parts.

I kicked up a fuss and explained that i was advised at the time of purchase that apple support was worldwide so there would be no issue. Issue was escalated to a senior advisor who was absolutely fantastic to deal with and had a brand new phone couriered out to me.


As other posters have suggested try ringing again and getting through to cork, or send an email to Tim Cooks email and it'll get picked up by executive relations who should be able to fix it.

newacc2015

Call your card company and ask if a charge back is possible. Tell them apple wasnt able to deliver the service as promised.

Sad Professor

I think it’s a bit late for a chargeback. And even if it isn’t, Apple is technically in the right. They aren’t refusing to provide warranty or Applecare services, they are just refusing to provide them outside the US where the phone was purchased. This is in the terms and conditions for both the iPhone and AppleCare and it’s the main reason why people are advised against purchasing iPhones in the US.

However you made an honest mistake and deserve a refund for the AppleCare at least. You’ll need to keep politely hammering them until you can through to someone who can authorise a refund. Or maybe a replacement with a UK model iPhone, which I assume is the big issue with doing US iPhone repairs.

FourFourRED

eeloe wrote: »

Yeah my only gripe now is, i'm stuck with the device, that's getting warm while charging, and nothing can be done about it.

Sickened really...

Is that your issue? Is it getting warm while charging whilst in use or under any circumstance?

You can still have your iPhone replaced in an Apple Store in the UK. Not sure who is saying different, but you can. Only thing is they may need to order in the specific hard to replace with as it has to be like for like. That's why you should ring the store before hand.

eeloe

Yeah I mean I'd be happy with a refund for the Apple Care, considering I'll never be able to use it.

The main issue is it gets warm while it's charging, so it's not ideal to leave it on charge unattended....I'll keep at them, I'm supposed to get a call back on Monday from someone in CS, and it's only tech support that works the weekends.

The funny thing is tho, they are saying it's any apple product purchased in the states can't have AppleCare outside of the US, not just iPhones, so I can't get AppleCare for my watch that I picked up in the US, major pain if you ask me.

I still can't figure out how the diagnostic didn't pick up that it was a US purchased phone, and still allowed the AppleCare plus purchase to go through...

zeromedic

Cant name anyone in Cork but a guy that sounds like Lonathan cut all the crap out for me. A new phone and 50 online store credit for the inconvenience.

whiterebel

eeloe wrote: »

Yeah I mean I'd be happy with a refund for the Apple Care, considering I'll never be able to use it.

The main issue is it gets warm while it's charging, so it's not ideal to leave it on charge unattended....I'll keep at them, I'm supposed to get a call back on Monday from someone in CS, and it's only tech support that works the weekends.

The funny thing is tho, they are saying it's any apple product purchased in the states can't have AppleCare outside of the US, not just iPhones, so I can't get AppleCare for my watch that I picked up in the US, major pain if you ask me.

I still can't figure out how the diagnostic didn't pick up that it was a US purchased phone, and still allowed the AppleCare plus purchase to go through...

It depends on the product. Laptops have a worldwide warranty, so APP can be bought in Ireland for a US machine. APP can be bought in the US for an EU bought machine too. If there are no "phone" parts there should be no problem covering warranty repairs in the EU. I think the problem with the watch is that it hasn't been released in Ireland yet, and there is no repair strategy in place for it.
Same thing happened when the original iPod was released in the US, and people in Europe bought them. When it needed repair, there was no repair centre in Europe and they had to return them to the US at their expense both ways.

FourFourRED

The Watch has repair options as of Friday but yeah, up to that point it wasn't available as it wasn't on sale here.

eeloe

zeromedic wrote: »

Cant name anyone in Cork but a guy that sounds like Lonathan cut all the crap out for me. A new phone and 50 online store credit for the inconvenience.

I wish it was that easy for me, i've been speaking to people since Friday now with no joy at all.

Hopefully tomorrow will end a bit better when CS opens back up!

eeloe

FourFourFM wrote: »

The Watch has repair options as of Friday but yeah, up to that point it wasn't available as it wasn't on sale here.

They have told me that the US watches are different, and I can't purchase AppleCare for that either.

FourFourRED

eeloe wrote: »

They have told me that the US watches are different, and I can't purchase AppleCare for that either.

Shouldn't make a difference. You can service any watch from USA in Ireland. The issues lies with cellular devices i.e iPhones which can only be replaced at an Apple Store.

BigMoose

Sounds to me like they've knowingly sold you something that's not fit for purpose, regardless of their T&Cs - Apple care in Ireland for a US phone. I would threaten them with the small claims court for the refund of the apple care. They cannot possibly argue that it was reasonable the apple care was bought to provide care within the US. Since they ran the diagnostics on the phone they knew full well it was a US phone and clearly it was Irish care. I'd try threatening them that having sold the care after they did the diagnostics they should replace/repair the thing. If that doesn't work, go for the refund instead.

shanec1928

Make sure when you get talking to someone in cork to get their phone extension and the number to call. Saves having to get a supivsor each time

eeloe

I'm supposed to be getting a call back tomorrow about this, so i'll keep you all in the loop.

eeloe

So, after 12 and not as much as a sniff of a phone call from Apple, the two CS reps who are dealing with the case, i have both of their extensions and i've left them both voice mails, and nothing back yet.

As i was saying perviously, something seriously wrong is up, this doesn't seem like Apple customer service at all.

eeloe

So after waiting for a call again, i nearly snapped, so i called back again, I'm currently awaiting to be transferred to another member of CS, to be considered for a refund for AC+.

They have also said, ANY item purchased in the US cannot be covered by AC+ in ireland, so my watch, and iPad are not able to have AC+ purchased for them.

eeloe

Update : after dealing with someone in the AC+ department for over an hour, they have agreed to refund 100% for the mis sold AC+. Customer Relations refused to take my call 3 times, after they read over the notes on the call, they also informed him to tell me that there would be absolutely no compensation for the situation, and if i want to take the matter further i should contact my solicitor, as that's the only way i'll ever get to have contact with someone in the CR team.


This whole situation is really shocking, and has really left me with the feeling of doubt, for a company which i had such high regard for. Telling me to contact a solicitor over an issue that was in no way my fault?

Time

eeloe wrote: »

Update : after dealing with someone in the AC+ department for over an hour, they have agreed to refund 100% for the mis sold AC+. Customer Relations refused to take my call 3 times, after they read over the notes on the call, they also informed him to tell me that there would be absolutely no compensation for the situation, and if i want to take the matter further i should contact my solicitor, as that's the only way i'll ever get to have contact with someone in the CR team.


This whole situation is really shocking, and has really left me with the feeling of doubt, for a company which i had such high regard for. Telling me to contact a solicitor over an issue that was in no way my fault?

That's absolutely disgraceful. If it were me I'd be making a written formal complaint to them over the treatment i'd received

eeloe

The 6 Plus and the 6s plus were the first two devices I bought sim free from them, and to be honest they are going to be the last.

For devices of such value I was hoping I'd be treated a little better, avid iphone user since the very first model....and a LOT of other apple products in the house too...

eeloe

Someone from the Customer Relations team rang me at 8:05 this morning to say this case is being looked in to, and there might be a possibility that my device could be covered by the advanced replacement service, instead of having to drive to Belfast. Some of the people i was speaking to were a bit oblivious that Belfast isn't actually considered the Republic of Ireland. Hopefully this is the end of it.

I also double checked with him about AC+ for non cellular devices, and he assured me that the only devices that have AC+ issues that aren't in the country of original purchase are iPhones and iPads(with cellular).

I'm still having trouble getting the exact same answer out of two people, everyone has a slightly different answer.

FourFourRED

I can't see you getting the advanced repalcement but Apple Store will be no problem replacing it once they have the US model in stock.

Your AC+ still covers you, just doesn't allow you to have a repalcement in Ireland.

eeloe

My only issue with going to Belfast at the moment is, they can't order in the new device until they have the old device in hand, so it's 2 round trips to get it sorted....i'm still holding out hope that they can work out an advanced replacement somehow, the guy dealing with it is supposed to ring me back before the end of the day so we'll see what the outcome is.

Bob24

eeloe wrote: »

Update : after dealing with someone in the AC+ department for over an hour, they have agreed to refund 100% for the mis sold AC+. Customer Relations refused to take my call 3 times, after they read over the notes on the call, they also informed him to tell me that there would be absolutely no compensation for the situation, and if i want to take the matter further i should contact my solicitor, as that's the only way i'll ever get to have contact with someone in the CR team.


This whole situation is really shocking, and has really left me with the feeling of doubt, for a company which i had such high regard for. Telling me to contact a solicitor over an issue that was in no way my fault?

I understand you want your phone fixed (I would do the same as you and chase Apple), and if it is Apple Ireland you got AppleCare+ from, they should indeed have given you a warning that it would only be valid in the US. But you are not being fair saying "an issue that was in no way my fault".

Nowhere does Apple say that the iPhone warranty is international, and the AppleCare+ T&Cs actually clearly mention that "Apple may restrict hardware service and ADH coverage to the country where the Covered Device was originally purchased.".

You bought a US phone and asked to purchase a warranty extension valid in the in the country the phone was purchased (as per the T&Cs) ... and Apple sold you what you asked for. You are now asking them to do something they never legally committed to doing (and you actually didn't mention the AppleCare salesrep verbally committed to providing service in Ireland either - don't know whether they did?).

In short you are asking Apple to do something which was never part of any contract between you and them (phone purchase or AppleCare+), they are refusing to do it, and you are saying the issue has nothing to do with you.
What it has to do with you s that you have been misunderstanding your contract.

eeloe

Bob24 wrote: »

I understand you want your phone fixed (I would do the same as you and chase Apple), and if it is Apple Ireland you got AppleCare+ from, they should indeed have given you a warning that it would only be valid in the US. But you are not being fair saying "an issue that was in no way my fault".

Nowhere does Apple say that the iPhone warranty is international, and the AppleCare+ T&Cs actually clearly mention that "Apple may restrict hardware service and ADH coverage to the country where the Covered Device was originally purchased.".

You bought a US phone and asked to purchase a warranty extension in the US (as per the T&Cs) ... and Apple sold you what you asked for. You are now asking them to do something they never legally committed to doing (and maybe they did but you actually didn't mention the AppleCare salesrep verbally committed to providing service in Ireland either).

In short you are asking Apple to do something which was never part of any contract between you and them (phone purchase or AppleCare+) and you are saying the issue has nothing to do with you.
What it has to do with you s that you have been misunderstanding your contract.

I was informed when i purchased the device that i would be able to get AC+ for the device when i got back to Ireland, which i did.

When i purchased it, a diagnostic was rang on the device remotely, which, if the device didn't match certain criteria, it would have come back with a fail. The issue is i shouldn't have been sold AC+ for a device that it wasn't eligable for, this has been agreed by Apple, it shouldn't have been sold, and it was a mistake on their behalf that it shouldn't have been sold to me. for which they gave me a full refund for, if i was at fault do you think they would be offering me a full refund? i think not.

FourFourRED

eeloe wrote: »

I was informed when i purchased the device that i would be able to get AC+ for the device when i got back to Ireland, which i did.

When i purchased it, a diagnostic was rang on the device remotely, which, if the device didn't match certain criteria, it would have come back with a fail. The issue is i shouldn't have been sold AC+ for a device that it wasn't eligable for, this has been agreed by Apple, it shouldn't have been sold, and it was a mistake on their behalf that it shouldn't have been sold to me. for which they gave me a full refund for, if i was at fault do you think they would be offering me a full refund? i think not.

The diagnostic checks for any hardware failures and to test if the device is actually powering on before selling you the insurance. Your AC+ is still, valid you just can't make a claim in Ireland because we don't have an Apple Store. You can claim in the UK.

eeloe

I was told by someone in customer relations, that the diagnostic also picks up purchase information, activation date and activation region, to determine the origin of the device, so when it was ran on my device, it should have come up with this, and the AC+ shouldn't have been sold.

eeloe

Now in saying that, i'm only relaying the information that was given to me by Apple reps, so i could be wrong, and so could they...

Bob24

eeloe wrote: »

I was informed when i purchased the device that i would be able to get AC+ for the device when i got back to Ireland, which i did.

When i purchased it, a diagnostic was rang on the device remotely, which, if the device didn't match certain criteria, it would have come back with a fail.

And your AppleCare service was valid until you got a refund, but not in Ireland as per the terms and conditions. Apple never declined to provide you the service you purchased from them.

eeloe wrote: »

The issue is i shouldn't have been sold AC+ for a device that it wasn't eligable for, this has been agreed by Apple, it shouldn't have been sold, and it was a mistake on their behalf that it shouldn't have been sold to me. for which they gave me a full refund for, if i was at fault do you think they would be offering me a full refund? i think not.

Yes we agree if this is an Ireland sales rep you talked to, they should have warned you that AppleCare+ would only be valid in the country the phone was purchased (or possibly refused to sell it to you). Which is why they refunded it to you.

But now that they have refunded you, how is it anyone's fault except yours that you cannot bring the device for service at a location where it is covered? This is where you are being biased in the way you are looking at the situation.

And for reference you are wrong in assuming Apple never refunds anything unless they are at fault. I have personally been proven the contrary on several occasions (for example they have refunded me the remaining balance of an Applecare warranty after my iPhone got stolen, or non-Apple out of warranty headphones purchased from the online Apple Store after I got an abnormal number of issues with them during and after the warranty period and the manufacture refused to keep covering them as the warranty was expired).


In any case hopefully they can sort this for you (I think they will), but keep in mind that if they do they will giving you a favour. So in my opinion your best strategy is to show some appreciation and not to keep blaming them (might depend on the person you talk to, but it has worked for me anyway).

eeloe

So finally got this sorted.

New European model 6 Plus is being delivered to me this week, and they are taking my US model back.

Took a lot longer to get sorted than I thought.

miralize

Can any buy Applecare+ from this link? http://www.apple.com/ie/shop/product/APP_IPHONE_6S_PLUS_AUTO-133580/applecare-for-iphone-6s-and-iphone-6s-plus

FourFourRED

miralize wrote: »

Can any buy Applecare+ from this link? http://www.apple.com/ie/shop/product/APP_IPHONE_6S_PLUS_AUTO-133580/applecare-for-iphone-6s-and-iphone-6s-plus

You can only add to bag with a new device. Call Apple if you already have the device and are within 60 days of purchase.