Applecare UK & EU - iPad2
Apple just emailed me with a reminder that I could buy Applecare cover to extend my iPad2 hardware warranty to 2 years for £69
Doesn't the EU mandate that all electrical and electronic goods have to be provided with a 2 year manufacturers warranty? Or did I dream that?
£69 for the ability to telephone apple for support - I think I'll pass on that one!
Pointers appreciated
Thanks
Stuart
Doesn't the EU mandate that all electrical and electronic goods have to be provided with a 2 year manufacturers warranty? Or did I dream that?
£69 for the ability to telephone apple for support - I think I'll pass on that one!
Pointers appreciated
Thanks
Stuart
Comments
Doesn't the EU mandate that all electrical and electronic goods have to be provided with a 2 year manufacturers warranty?
If this was the case how come Macs and iPods only have a one year standard warranty? (Globally, AFAIK)
£69 for the ability to telephone apple for support - I think I'll pass on that one!
You also get hardware coverage for any hardware problems that arise in the 2nd year of iPad usage.
Otherwise without the 2 year AppleCare if your iPad dies in the 2nd year it's not covered.
http://iphone.electronista.com/fulla...s.of.coverage/
According to Electronista, Italy is investigating just this issue. Apple may be violating EU laws with AppleCare.
http://iphone.electronista.com/fulla...s.of.coverage/
EVERYONE is violating this EU law. An interesting take:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/bargain...icepage_id=131
In fact, the EU law has "muddied the waters" in the UK because of reducing a six-year intrinsic warranty down to two:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006....howtocomplain
I wonder how this has all been going recently in the EU. You would imagine tons of people forcing retailers to service or replace goods beyond the standard one-year warranty. Or maybe everyone is just sucking things up. Here's the fly in the ointment as the Guardian mentions:
"4. Be prepared to battle: The company could refuse to refund the repair cost, leaving you to chase them through the small claims court. A judge can order the retailer to settle the claim - up to £5,000 - and pay legal costs."
EVERYONE is violating this EU law.
Personally, I'd rather companies were forced to offer standard length warranties based on product value and scrap extended warranties altogether. Anything beyond the standard warranty should be covered by insurance - extended warranties are like insurance but per product.
I think there should be a sliding scale of support. If you buy a toothbrush for $1, I don't think it's reasonable to mandate even a 12 month warranty, 30-90 days should be sufficient. The worst that happens is you are $1 short and you buy a different product. If you buy a $2,000 computer, I think 12 months is really short, especially in the case of the iMac as it covers the screen too. If you buy a $20,000 car new then 3-5 years should be mandatory.
The scale would of course be capped at a certain level so a maximum of a 5 year mandatory warranty.
If you ever sell a used Mac, one of the first things they want to know is whether it has AppleCare but naturally don't expect to pay any more if it does. With a standard warranty, everyone would know by the age and value of the machine if it's under warranty or not.
I wonder if Apple would lose money by cutting out the 3rd year of AppleCare and dropping the program to offer a 2 year standard warranty. I also wonder if they took the amount they make from AppleCare and the amount they make from out-of-warranty repairs within the 3 years and divided it up between all the products using an appropriate %, how much extra they'd have to charge to offer a 3 year warranty to everyone.
Stuart