Applecare backdating

Hey

Just bought a brand new iMac, loaded it up a bit and all excited. Then I get the AppleCare sheet starting my three year warranty when the computer was made in China - not when I actually received it. It is only four days but when I called to change it (which costs Apple $5-10 in telecenter costs) they give me the run around and finally a different rep starts a case, tels me to fax information and then call back.

This sort of scares me. Am I going to have to deal with things like this everytime I call them - or have a warranty issue? Are they going to be looking for out clauses and trying to cheat things a day here, a week there?

Thoughts?

Because it is fraudulent and across 10-15 million computers a year those dollars add up to big money .50 - $1 of coverage "lost" times 10 million - and you have Steve Jobs jet operating costs.

Not sure where you live but when I bought a washer and dryer the warranty and the extended started when Lowe's delivered it - not when it left the factory or when I ordered it from Lowes the week before. Same for my tv's, my vcr, dvd and my dell computer. A purchase transaction is not completed when they bill me - it is when I get the goods. And if I had been unable to take delivery Friday it would have kicked to next Tuesday - and that is big money on a Financial Statement and it smacks of the same rationalization that allows people to backdate options. Which if you recall Apple did.

As for the idea that they will not stiff me for a couple of days that was part of my questions - and while interesting to hear your perspective my experience with customer service staff is if I don't fix it now the attempt to explain why it is off by a few days becomes ever harder to prove and overcome in three years time.

It is the principle of it - not sure why everyone is so confused about that. It is not much money for me, it may be nothing - but I figured they would switch it over no problem - just in case. But they didn't. And as long as my computer doesnt have an issue the last week of August at that time this will be water under the bridge.

But not sure you guys understand corporate financial statements. Whether you realize it is the same reason airlines started making there miles expire - little things like this add up on financial statements and like it or not Apple's CFO (at the least - maybe Jobs as well) broke the law on options. They did the same thing that sent people at other companies to jail and got CEO's fired. So I am questioning the integrity of how they act as a corporation. Great products don't speak to ethical behavior - I look to Toyota's car dealers (who are separate but still connected to the company) and see the same thing. By and large I think they are really scummy - but Toyota's cars are great.

On this if they do the same on warranty's for non AppleCare folks and every one year warranty is off by 3-5 days it cuts warranty costs by about 1% .... and at Apple it is probably a few million dollars a year across computers, iPods and the like. Car manufacturers would save more than that.

Thankfully rather than babble on with your opinion on why I am too concerned about it, a couple of you reassured me with examples that indeed Apple is pretty good about these things. For some reason I expect companies to be honest with customers - and I think that companies that play these games and shave days here and there are ethically wrong. And whether it seems like big money the fact is that is does save them money. Like selling 10 pounds of rice and only putting in 9.985 pounds - which by and large most US companies don't.

So are they cheating people purposely - not sure? Certainly not the worst corporate behavior in the industry by a long shot. It could be a computer systems issue and they figure as a couple of the posters mentioned that they will not be sticklers for the date. But in the end they are shorting warranties and that saves them money on their financial statements, and that is a fact.

Look as a pissy little Apple fanboy I realize you take all questions on Apple as some sort of personal affront - so rest assured I won't post on it anymore. But your complete ignorance of financial accounting and your sad little personal attacks are really pathetic. It was a question I threw out and financial statements do operate that way.

Some people had constructive and helpful commentary - kind of the idea from a discussion board. You would rather make personal attacks to demonstrate your ignorance and maturity level .. fine. Whine away so you can get your post count to some magic number ... hopefully the rest of them actually had insight or value.

For those of you who shared personal experiences about good service, thanks for the info. I faxed it in today and so hopefully all will be well. So far liking the machine a lot - though getting used to apple vs. windows differences.