Apple Care Protection Plan - Apple just doesn't seem to care!!

We have a Macbook Pro 13 in the family and its been doing great. We purchased it in India and it originally came with a one year warranty. As we wanted to extend our warranty I went out on eBay and purchased the Apple Care Protection Plan which extends the warranty by 2 more years. The MBP 13 is 15 months old now and the ACPP is about 9 months since purchase.

Recently the superdrive developed an auto-ejection issue. When we approached the service centre they said that the ACPP is not reflecting in their end and so I will have to contact Apple Support. When I got them on the line they ask me NOW after 9 months of registering the Apple Care Protection Plan for the invoice!! I tell them it was an online purchase via ebay and so I don't have the bill but I can however send the mail I received from the seller.

After a day Apple support gets back to me and says they can't help me out and that my ACPP is not valid since I have made the purchase on eBay. I asked them how they have been giving me phone support all this while and even now on the website it shows that I have registered the ACPP for my MBP 13 for which they reply that its a valid ACPP number but since I have purchased it online its not valid.

All this makes no sense to me. If it was not valid or whatever they should have contacted me via phone or mail telling me so as soon as I registered with it online. They do nothing of that sort and now I suffer for no obvious fault of mine. I really want to take this issue up with Apple and get what I paid for. Can anyone tell me who else I can write to and contact to handle this issue further??

 

You have to be careful when you buy Applecare on Ebay. Its just a code. Ebay has an article about it. Ebay Applecare doesn't actually work out.

eBay Guides - FAKE APPLECARE APPLE CARE - A warning to buyers

There are a lot of things. Maybe your seller got rid of the remaining Apple Care. Talk to Apple (go to a store). Show them the receipt. If you got scammed they don't really have to help you out but you can check it out if they will be "nice". Apple store reps can sometimes be nice if you are polite, I've heard of them repairing water damaged products for free.

 

Did you get a sealed box from Ebay or a code? Apple has been cracking down on Applecare Ebay purchases because the sellers have been only giving out the codes (so the buyer can save money) and then returning the Applecare which is very legal to do. After several months if the seller returns the box with the printed code they can get a prorated refund. The Ebay buyer gets screwed because their Applecare gets voided. I'm not saying it's your "fault" but be honest about it, you did go on Ebay to save a good chunk of cash, it's very risky buying service contracts off Ebay.

 

I have read that in length but what I don't understand is how the code was accepted and registered by Apple? I have been receiving excellent phone support and even the call centre tells me I am covered by the Apple Care Protection.

Who doesn't wanna save some change mate? Its not illegal to try to save cash. If Apple is so dead against ebay purchases they should stop registering online codes or at least intimate the customer within a week or so after having a good look at the code and its source. They can't tell me its not valid 9 months after I have purchased and activated the code. I just think its not fair. I'm out $150 and no Apple care

 

Um you didn't read it all the way. If you DON'T have the box the person probably just returned it and saved themselves a ton of cash. Or they bought it with a fake credit card. It takes Apple some time to figure out if they got scammed by the person who bought it. If they returned it maybe it took Apple a little bit to process the return, or it took them a while to return it.

Apple doesn't care if you buy Applecare on ebay. But think about it this way. You can only really buy Applecare from an authorized reseller at or around retail value. There isn't used apple care. Why do you think your Applecare was $100 cheaper? Probably because the person who bought it was going to return it or did something funny with it. There isn't a magical place where you can buy Apple care at $100, sell it on eBay and make a profit. Applecare isn't a physical good, its difficult to find it on the 'grey market' which is where a lot of the other cheaper goods on eBay come in. In fact if you have brand new Apple Care in the original box Apple will give you $200 + for a pro rated refund even if you've used it for a month or two. So why in the world would somebody sell it for $150 if they could return it for $250?

I bet what happend is the person returned the Apple Care or something.

 

sure they can... some ebay seller ripped you off and your mad at Apple? They covered you in phone support when they didn't even have to?

Some of your story doesn't check out, so theres probably been some miscommunication on both ends... but why on earth would you tell them you got it off ebay anyways?

 

What would he tell them if they asked? They have the record for the plans that they sell and they told me that if I bought it from someone else, then it is their problem to activate it NOT Apple's.

 

Well I'll be damned, you didn't really read my whole post. . I said earlier that the seller on Ebay that sells codes will wait for a few months and then return the Applecare to get a prorated refund. This way it gives the buyer plenty of time to register the Applecare and even use it (as you did for support calls) so it looks to be legit. The seller gets pure profit from you and in turn you get screwed. It's not that Apple doesn't want Applecare sold on Ebay but they have been cracking down on these sellers with these codes. Hope I've clarified a bit more for you.
Now since you didn't answer my question whether or not that you bought a sealed box or just a code then I'm going to safely assume you bought a code since you felt so justified in telling me that saved some cash. You could've gotten it for free and that would still be very legal but if you bought a code then at any price you did a disservice to yourself and you can't blame anyone for it. Always do your homework when the price is insanely great on Ebay.

 

Wise advise indeed.

 

Ebay used to work in the past but Apple has started cracking down on it. It was fun while it lasted.

 

Well, that is good information to know then. I was previously told (back in February in these forums) that you could buy AppleCare through eBay. I will have to stop telling people they can do that simply because there are so many buttholes out there that can't be trusted. This wouldn't be the first time sellers on eBay ruined things and it won't be the last.

 

I don't necessarily think that buying AppleCare, or anything else for which counterfeiting or expiry is an issue via eBay is always a bad idea.

I think any purchase, for which authenticity is represented should be verified immediately upon receipt.

Yes, I have been stung by a counterfeit item sale on eBay, but it was quickly resolved. Albeit, I was out the shipping cost for return of the item.

That being said, I would still opt to NOT purchase AppleCare on eBay, unless I knew the seller was of such high regard (I don't mean eBay feedback score either), that concern was mostly alleviated. But you are not likely to find that (fantastic price + unquestionable honor) on eBay.

If anyone here has already bought AppleCare from a source like eBay, I suggest a call to AppleCare is in order to verify with absolute certainty that the product you bought is legitimately yours to use.

 

Apple now checks the code with the serial number on the box through their system, and it is either them who sold it or it was an authorized seller (sell at the same price) but Apple will just refer you to them to activate your apple care.

If it worked for you in the past, then it is nice and dandy but I have been stung through ebay. Coming to think of it, Apple would crack down on ebay sellers since cheaper ebay codes undercut Apple's own applecare sales that costs a fortune.

 

Apologies if it's already been mentioned (I didn't bother reading every reply) but buying Apple Care from questionable sources (yes, ebay can ben very questionable) is very risky.

There was a scam going around a few years ago, it might be still happening now, where you get your code for AppleCare from en ebay seller (no box, receipt or anything) and the code is legit. The buyer registers the code, it checks out and all is good. Until the seller, now a few months later, armed with original box and receipt, requests a refund from Apple on the AppleCare and gets it. The buyer now is SOL as the agreement is effectively terminated. It happened so many times (a friend of mine fell victim to it) that I'm surprised people still buy AppleCare from ebay. To say it's risky is a major understatement.

 

apple maybe shouldn't allow returns after the product has been registered.

 

I don't know the legalities in each country but in terms of service contracts, the customer has the right to get a prorated refund at anytime during the contract up to the day before the contract ends.