Apple laptop shell replacement - where do I stand?

[arolf]

My sister has an apple laptop (macbook 13 inch white) which she bought 18 months ago in the UK. The shell of the laptop has cracked (on the bezel(?) & round the logo), and she is now living in the Netherlands and has been told (by Apple licensed dealers) that it is not a recognised fault, so she will have to pay for it to be replaced herself (she's a student and broke - worked bloody hard to save to buy the thing!).

I know there's a 2 year EU warranty law, but am not sure if this applies here (here)

can anyone help? does she have a leg to stand on if she takes this up with Apple?

How did it crack? If it is as a result of dropping or similar then it's not a recognised fault. Often the product warranty will specify that cosmetic "faults" are the responsbility of the owner ie scratches on an ipod that kind of thing.

not her fault apparently - she says it just started cracking one day and the crack keeps growing. hasn't been dropped or had anything dropped on it.

The thing is, even with the sale of goods act it is still fit for purpose - it's purpose being a laptop computer.

It may be a defect though. A quick google brought these results

thanks

As the article to which you link says, the EU directive hasn't been fully adopted in the UK so that probably doesn't help you.

Your sister's legal rights are against the retailer who sold her the laptop, not against Apple. In the UK, as the laptop is more than 6 months old it would be up to her to show that the fault is inherent in the laptop rather than being down to misuse.

She could try taking it back to the original retailer and quoting the EU directive. That may persuade the retailer to do something. However, if it is more than 2 months since she first noticed the crack it is now too late.

If I were her I would try contacting Apple direct. They may be willing to fix it in the interests of good customer relations.