Apple Airpods - Out of Warranty Replacement

General Chat
#1

So… today I had to order what are by technicality my fourth pair of Airpods…

Okay, admittedly I didn’t break the first set, I threw them into the bin at a pub in the middle of South Kensington (so if you found them, congrats) but my second pair which are 14 months old were faulty so the 2 Airpods were replaced under the warranty but not the case even though I mentioned it too may be faulty…

Well 2 months later, low and behold the case is faulty as well after all - Apple told me because I had “used your warranty” when the 2 singular Airpods were replaced I would be charged to replace the case at a cost of £55… Even though I was never offered a case and/or full replacement at the time.

So… The product lasted just over a year and was just out of warranty, so thought I would mention I was still covered under the consumer rights act 2015 - one callback later from the senior team at Apple and I now have a replacement case enroute in the mail.

Read somewhere that even out of the 12 month warranty, more often than not this doesn’t effect your statutory rights if the item suddenly becomes faulty. The item hasn’t lasted a lifespan deemed “acceptable” and therefore was subject to either a replacement or full refund.

Posting this as it may help a few people out, who knows - but unless I found this out I would have gone and cashed out another £179 on another pair of Airpods.

Moral of the story, don’t get drunk and throw away your Airpods and secondly, know your consumer rights! :partying_face:

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#2

After the second paragraph I was thinking “Escalate that, Apple will sort it if you speak to the right person” so I’m glad you got it sorted.

Should have asked for Pros to repair the upset they’ve caused!

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#3

Good story with a great ending.

I’ve only got one AirPods tale, but it also has a good ending.

I washed mine at 40 degrees. Because I had the foresight to use fabric conditioner, they came out smelling lovely. Not only do they still work perfectly, a slower spin cycle meant they didn’t need to be ironed, either :+1:

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#4

I’ve been debating getting a pair for a while actually, would have been worth a shot asking for a refund and paying the difference hahaha!

They were actually really helpful, couldn’t fault them - was on the phone no longer than 20mins, 10 of those on hold - the callback was arranged for tomorrow but I’m busy so they escalated it while I was in the live chat hence the reason for holding!

This gave me a very much needed laugh hahahahah :rofl:

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#5

To add to these stories, I threw away an original PSP that I’d imported from Japan.

I think I took it to work and came back with my lunch rubbish and a newspaper in the bag, must have looked at it later and deem it all rubbish and in the bin it went :neutral_face:

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#6

Nooooooo!! I still have my original PSP, was way ahead of their time!

#7

Let them know that you want to make a claim under the consumer law in the UK of your rights to things being expected to work for years after. I got told that I couldn’t get a replacement for my ~19 month old AirPod when the microphone died without paying.

Then I mentioned that I wanted to claim under that, and was put through to someone else, and 2 days later I had a new AirPod.

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#8

So, update on this:

Replacement Airpods case came before noon the next day (ridiculously quick turn around) via UPS, new case worked and connected fine, faulty case packaged in the provided box, dropped off at the UPS Access Point today ready to be sent back to Apple and the £55 hold against my bank card released!

Brilliant customer service overall :partying_face:

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#9

Further update on this but this time its against Monzo’s dealing with it and not Apple’s:

Apple applied a routine hold charge to my card which they release once they receive your faulty item if you claimed it under warranty. That’s fine, it’s routine and as expected.

However, they receieved the item last week and have confirmed to me twice now that they have released the charge on my card, however for some reason Monzo won’t release it so it is still stagnant and not appearing in my balance.

I spoke to Monzo and also raised a dispute, they have got back to me and said I am required to get some information from Apple to confirm they will not be taking the charge from my account even though Monzo can see they have released the charge.

They want date and time of the initial transaction as well as the last 4 digits of the card used and auth code in writing from the merchant as proof…

So I’m currently back and forth with Monzo and Apple to try and get it resolved, with me having to request Apple go above and beyond to provide valid proof for my damn bank to release the hold.

Monzo, you lost point this round! You’re giving me a damn headache :sleeping:

Edit: it was Apple’s fault after all

#10

It might be my misunderstanding of it, but I think Apple are in the wrong here?

If Apple release it, Monzo don’t do anything? It just comes back? But if Apple haven’t released it, you’re asking Monzo to do it for them so they want proof so that they aren’t giving you money back that Apple will still want.

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#11

I’d agree with @Revels here, if Apple have released it, as they say they have, then Monzo would have automatically updated and released the funds back to you.

What I’d imagine is that Apple haven’t fully released the funds to you, or it’s in a queue, or they’re saying they are or something.

I’d ask on Apple’s side to escalate if possible. Even if you go this route with Monzo, they’ll probably release it but caveat it with “if the merchant change their mind, they can still reclaim it later” or something like that.

This is partly why I normally do these things with a credit card, stops it being an issue :sweat_smile:

#12

You’re right… After a week of being pushed pillar to post, Apple never even released the hold, hence why they couldn’t provide me with an authorisation code :expressionless:

Monzo, you’re back in my good books after all :grimacing: :hearts:

that’s actually a good point, I might do that from now on hahahh

#13

Same with Hotels, Car Bookings etc. Anything that takes an Authorisation or that - I try to put on a CC. :smiley:

#14

Tangientially relevant, but I discovered that some AirPod Pros have a replacement programme in place due to a fault in them.

If you’re getting a mild crackle in your airpods you should check it out - apparently a fault in certain AirPod Pro’s made before October 2020.

Will come back with a link

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#15

Believe you mean this program?

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/airpods-pro-service-program-sound-issues

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#16

Yes! That’s the one. Currently trying to get an airpod replaced under it. Though taking much longer than I would otherwise hope :confused:

#17

Oooooh, how come? Is going through a program different to just claiming it under warranty?

#18

Just taking time to troubleshoot.

“Can you turn it on and off again” - done that before I contacted - “can you do it again?!”

“Can you go install the latest iOS and test it out” (testing an intermittent feature than only comes on when I’m walking around outside, generally, so took a few days).

“Can you go outside and do 7 Sun Salutations facing the direction of the Apple Campus” - fine… but it’s gonna have to wait for a break in the rain

#19

:rofl: i tend to just tell them I’ve done anything and everything they have on their support site to no prevail

#20

I remember when my xbox 360 got the RROD, I’d taken it to work, had boxed it up etc. Got through to support and told them it was broken and they wanted me to do some testing.

“Yes, it’s now plugged in. No, it’s not working” :man_shrugging:

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