Screen Damage on IPOD

My husband had a problem with the screen of his iPod about 5 months
after purchase. One line of the screen went blank and made it
difficult (tho not impossible) to navigate. We went to the nearest
Apple Store (about an hour away) to see if they could fix it and
instead they replaced it with a new one, no questions asked (even
though it was purchased at Best Buy). Try going straight to Apple if
you have a mac product (and you are lucky enough to have a store
nearby) if it is within a year of purchase.

MY I-POD NANO HAS GIVEN ME NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS AS WELL. MY BOYFRIEND
BOUGHT ME ONE FOR VALENTINES DAY AND SO FAR ITS FROZEN ON ME TWICE,
AND SOMETIMES IT WON'T RECHARGE, (I HAVE THE USB CHARGEABLE ONE), AND
RIGHT NOW I'M WAITING FOR THE BATTERY TO DIE OUT SO IT'LL UN-FREEZE ON
ME. SUCH AN EXPENSIVE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE SO MANY
DEFECTS.

Why are we still going on about this? The man has seen the error of
his ways. He had it pointed out over and over and over by many
people. Continuing to comment is like beating a dead horse. Let's
move on to another victim.

When my car starts getting old, I am going to run it off a cliff and
take it back to the dealer. I expect they will just give me a new one.

Something is missing here.

It seems that you comprehend that because the unit was dropped or
otherwise handled inappropriately (the LCD could not have
spontaneously broken!), it is not a warranty issue. Warranty repairs
only apply to defects in the design or manufacturing of an item, not
the abuse or mishandling of said item.

But you mentioned that you are/were willing to pay for the repairs, so
either you did not communicate this properly to them or you changed
your mind after you spoke to the warranty people. I'm not sure
which.

I would contact them again and CALMLY (the operative concept here
being without anger or frustration) inquire as to what the cost to
repair the unit would be. Somehow I doubt seriously that they would
refuse to take your money.

If they still refuse (although if you are flashing them greenbacks, I
would be shocked), contact your local Radio Shack or look on eBay for
electronics firms that offer iPod repair services by mail (but be sure
to check that they have a good feedback rating before agreeing to
anything!!)

You don't have to be stuck with a paperweight, but be sure you are
clear with your intentions when you are communicating with a company
about a product problem.

Did you use the same grammar when talking to the company? How could
they understand what you wanted?

I can't believe this letter generated so many comments. I have read
most of them and have only one question. David, since you are willing
to pay to have the Ipod repaired, so you're not stuck with a $300
paperweight, why haven't you taken it somewhere else to be repaired?

My son is begging for an Ipod. If I do decide to get one for his
birthday, the first thing I will do, as someone else pointed out, is
put it in a hard case for protection. If you decide to buy a new Ipod
or have the broken one repaired, I hope you get a case so that you
daughter can enjoy it without you having to worry about another
accident.

David. I read your response are you sure that you did not throw the
ipod in anger and break it yourself. Come on now be a adult and admit
that's what happened. Don't blame your daughter.

David, you need to chill. I don't think you are using your daughter's
special needs to get freebies, but the fact is special needs or not
your daughter did break the IPOD and that is not covered in the
warranty so you can't get it fixed for free or for a cost, you have to
buy a new one.

David, I know you're upset about the situation concerning the IPod but
your letter has an angry tone to it. I think it should have been
written in a calm manner.

As far as the comments made by posters about your daughter----it makes
me angry. It doesn't matter why you mentioned her needs. The comments
are cruel.

A sense of perspective is needed here, Apple's perspective. (Not that
I am anything to do with Apple, I just work in the industry.

Cost of Ipod $300
Cost to Shop $160
Cost to Distributor $96
Cost to manufacture & ship from China $58
Of which $30 is probably shipping cost.

So as far as Apple is concerened if it cost more than $28 to fix it
dont get fixed, warrenty or no warrenty. of course these numbers are
just estimates based on experience but the scale is about right.
If you broke it, tough.

Isnt this the same guy whose daughter broke the DVD and he wanted to
buy one at a lesser charge since (according to him) most of the cost
of a DVD is the liscensing?

It is not the manufactures responsibility to repair and item. When
you buy a pair of Levi's jeans, and they get a hole do you send them
back to Levi's? When you buy a blender or food processor do you send
it back to Kitchen-Aid? When you buy a TV do you send it back to
Sony? NO!
Apple assessed the damage to the I-pod and told you that since it is
not a warranty repair it is outside the scope of repairs that they as
a manufacturer handle.
I do not think this is unreasonable as if every manufacturer were
required in some way to not only produce, but also repair their
products that were damaged through no fault of their own, all these
products would be 2-3 times more expensive.
Other posters have recommended given valid options such as third
party repairs and purchase of a more durable product.

The fact that your daughter is a special needs child is completely
irrelevant. Second, if she broke it, oh well. You'll have to either
buy a new one or suck it up. Why should they repair something that
was broke through no fault of theirs?

I'm laughing at your refund request when you specifically state that
your daughter probably dropped it. Special needs or not, the IPOD
manufacturer shouldn't be expected to pay for her error.

David, people here are trying to give you advice. Maybe you should
listen instead of tearing into them when they do?

Is this really that difficult?

Apple quoted you a replacement price for the IPOD, because their
warranty doesn't cover damage that occurs when the IPOD is dropped.
That is their right. The warranty only covers manufacturing defects.
An extended warranty offered by the store you bought the IPOD from
would've covered damage from dropping.

The screen is an expensive part to fix, and I bet there are third
parties who will do it, but you'll probably complain about the cost
anyway. After all,YOU don't think you should have to pay to replace
the IPOD because YOU have a special needs child. Gee, who knew a
special-needs child could be such a nice bargaining chip when you're
fishing for freebies.

I think that I have read enough of this. Hard to pound information
into someone's head if they have an extremely thick skull, but here
goes.

I went to this website www.ipod.com which is run by Apple. Then I
clicked on the support link and I typed in cracked screen.

ONE item came up, and when I looked at it, LOW AND BEHOLD, the
warranty information.




Copied DIRECTLY from this website,

"What about out-of-warranty service?
If service for your iPod is not covered by Apple's warranty or the
AppleCare Protection Plan for iPod, Apple offers other options. If
your iPod requires service because the battery's ability to hold an
electrical charge has diminished, in the United States, Apple will
replace your iPod for a service fee of $59, plus $6.95 shipping. If
your iPod requires service for other issues (except accidental or
misuse damage), in the United States, Apple will replace it for a
service fee of $249, plus $6.95 shipping.
"


Do you see the part that says except accidental or misuse damage?
That is the loophole that Apple has. Because your item was misused,
The DONT HAVE to fix it.

Sorry, but you are out the money you spent on the ipod. Next time,
watch your daughter more carefully with 300 dollar toys. Maybe they
will last as long as your anger.

You know there are classes to help manage bottled up anger, don't
you?


Oh, and you can't lecture me about special needs. My own MOTHER has
dimentia so bad that she doesnt even know my husbands name. She calls
me my sister's name all the time. But if I write complaint letters,
even if they are for her, I leave the pity out of it. Corporate
America doesnt need to know about my daily trials and tribulations.


Have a good day, if that is even possible.

To begin with, you should proofread your messages David. I've seen
several misspellings, typos and incorrect punctuation within your
original message and response postings.

Secondly, you are stating you do not want the IPOD serviced within
warranty, but then expect a refund. Yeah, right.

Finally, you have some entitlement issues. There is no reason that
Apple guarantees service of any one particular nature. As others have
pointed out, if you're willing to pay the price, third parties will
perform the service for you.

I have been reading IPOD's FAQ's and Terms and conditions and this is
what I found, among other things: If Apple determines, while
inspecting your product, that service is needed due to the failure of
parts that are neither supplied by Apple nor Apple-branded, Apple may
return the product to you without servicing it, and may charge you the
Diagnostic Fee plus applicable sales tax.

and this:

Apple reserves the right to refuse service on iPods that are outside
their warranty if damage has occurred due to accident, abuse or
misuse. In such event, Apple will return your original iPod to you
without providing service, and may hold you responsible for shipping
costs, plus any applicable sales tax. See Apple's Repair Terms and
Conditions for details.

Although it isn't specifically stating a display but it gives reason
why they wouldn't even repair.

You would have been covered if you would have purchased the extended
warranty.

Please, do not post back stating that I haven't read your post, I have
read it about 4 times over to make sure I haven't missed anything. I
am not an expert on IPOD's, all I did was read the information that is
posted on there web site.

Sir:

By their very nature, consumer electronics are delicate. This is
partially a result of the nature of electronics in general, and
partially due to a common lack of durability in consumer products
these days.

I myself own an iPod. I took one good look at it, noting the small
size, soft, ductile polymer casing, and probable fragility. Thus, I
anticipated the need for protection for this device. I purchased the
iPod at approximately three in the afternoon. By seven that evening I
also owned a solid case for said iPod. Said iPod has functioned
properly for some nine months now, even after being stepped on,
dropped, etc.

Let us examine the nature of warranty. According to the American
Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition
(http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/warranty),
a warranty is:

"A guarantee given to the purchaser by a company stating that a
product is reliable and free from known defects and that the seller
will, without charge, repair or replace defective parts within a given
time limit and under certain conditions."

Thus, dropping said product is not a violation of warranty, as the
iPod and screen were properly functioning prior to said droppage.

The way I see it, you, the OP, knowing full well that your daughter
has special needs, which warrant certain other conditions with
regards to things, should have inquired into purchasing additional
protection, namely a case for this device.

When I purchased my iPod, not only was there a section of wall some
three feet high by five feet long specifically for iPod cases, but the
salesman also took the time to mention said wall when I mentioned my
record with consumer electronics. The only reason I did not purchase a
case there was because I was able to find a superior product for
cheaper. Thus, there was probably an adequate supply of protective
products available. Generally, even stores such as Target carry some
iPod cases and the like.

In conclusion, hope for a sale on a replacement MP3 player or an
inexpensive repair, because there's no way that this will be covered
under warranty.

No warranty will cover physical damage!

Paying for the screen is not cost effective. It is cheaper just to buy
a new one. Often the screen is one of the most expensive parts on an
electronic device. Most likely that's why they don't fix them anymore.
Can you imagine if they said "Ok we'll fix the screen. That'll be $200
bucks." Then you would come on here complaining about the cost of the
repair!

The IPOD is useless to you because IT WAS DROPPED. You even admit it
was physical damage.

Geez what is so hard to get. If I drop my laptop, do I expect toshiba
to give me a new one or a refund of my money? No way!

I am so sorry for this experience. My daughter has mild cerebral
palsy, and sometimes she drops things and they get broken. It's not a
matter of telling her to be more careful - she can't. It's not a
matter of not giving those kinds of items to her, either. Sometimes
she needs them for school. And in this case, I can see it's not a
case of you wanting a "freebie"...you're willing to pay for it. It
even sounds like the company is capable of fixing the product, and has
just choosen not to...that is ridiculous. Medical care for a child
with special needs is expensive enough without being able to get
repairs on the special gifts we buy them.

I sincerely hope you get a response to this letter, and that you'll
share it with the community if you do. Your experience would
definitely make me rethink a purchase like this for my daughter.

I got a nano too and the first one broke, without me even touching it!
Go to the "genius bar" I think its called, and tell them it broke on
its own. They gave me a new replacement (just one they told me)
probably becuase they thought I'd sue them for faulty material or
something. I heard though that they're having a class action suit
against them for making faulty screens. And actually, that person must
have been lying becuase they told me that THEY CAN FIX THE SCREEN. It
just cost almost as much as the iPod to do it becuase they buy the
screen parts from another company.

I'm sure they would fix it if they felt they could.

Sometimes things are just unfixable. Are you sure ONLY the screen was
damaged and nothing internally?


This reminds me of someone my boyfriend waited on at Rogers. The
customer was buying a razr for his daughter who was in like grade 2...
yeeeikes.

Wow. I just now read the other responses to this OP and the OP
persons's responses to those responses. I'm sorry I even posted my
suggestion about a Sony Discman.

You are being rather rude (what's with all the exclamation points? to
people who weren't rude to you at all, and were just trying to help
you understand why you weren't getting the satisfaction you
expected/thought you deserved.

Sorry, but anyone who rips into Anita, who is patient and respectful
to a fault here, loses points with me.

If your special needs kid is going to be hard on an electronic device,
I recommend a good old-fashioned Sony Discman. I've had mine for 6
years and it has been dropped (on concrete!) so many times I have lost
count. It still works GREAT. The person who gave it to me even
bought the lifetime warranty for it and I've never needed to use it,
because it takes a beating and still plays great.

I can feel your pain. IPODs are extremely fragile and are easily
broken. I'm thinking that Apple doesn't replace the screen because it
is such a complicated and difficult procedure that the expense (to
you) would equal just about the same as purchasing a new one.

I wouldn't buy their products any more, I'd try to find a good MP3 for
a lot less money.

Anyway, good luck with this!

The previous posters were very nice and tried to explain to you in
detail why your Pod isnt going to be replaced. You were very rude to
them so I'm not even going to bother putting the kid gloves on.

You bought an expensive delicate electronic item for a special needs
child-she broke it. I think we can label this under "things that were
bound to happen." I mean for cripes sake an "average" kid is
destructive!

No one is entitled to having items replaced that were broken due to
negligence. Period. Dont care what you think is and isnt reasonable.
Apple makes their position on repairs very clear and its not just
Apple. I dont know ANY company that will replace an item (even for a
lower cost) that was broken due to negligence.

I checked the Apple website and read the warranty which only covers
defects in manufacturing. It doesn't apply to "(a) to damage caused
by accident, abuse, misuse, misapplication, or non-Apple products;..."
So, it's pretty clear that it doesn't apply since you've admitted in
your letter that an accident was a likely cause of the damage.
Furthermore, whether we as consumers like it or not, it's Apple's
right to decide what types of product damage it chooses to repair. You
clearly consider it bad customer service but I suspect that they made
the decision based on a business reason and I doubt that your letter
will change policy.

You can still get it fixed, though. There are other companies that
repair Ipod screens--just cruise the web for a few seconds and you'll
turn up a bunch. Some advertise Apple certified technicians. Again,
this begs the question of why Apple certifies people to repair them
but won't as a company, repair the item itself. The techs are
independent business people so I'm sure there are liability and
financial issues involved with the whole set up.

However, the clarity of the warranty and the fact that Apple does have
the right not to service its products doesn't entitle you to a refund
and I doubt that you will get one. I'm surprised that you made a $300
purchase without doing some research. I'm an avid reader of warranties
since they can make what looks like a really good product turn out to
be a lousy deal--and most don't cover misuse or abuse. I also ask a
lot of questions for what I consider big ticket items that I wouldn't
want to have to replace frequently such as finding out what the
service terms are for the item. I've learned this stuff the hard way,
too.

Lastly, I'm not certain that you will get the response that you want
from Apple because of the tone and quality of your letter. You may
want to consider re-writing your complaint and include more details
about your contacts with Apple, etc. Obviously, you are angry but a
letter that is clearer, less disjointed and more civil is more likely
to do its job. You may also want to leave out your reference to your
special needs daughter. While she is dear to you, the company could
view that as a detail, unrelated to the actual problem, that is put in
as an attempt to elicit sympathy for you to help you get what you
want, rather than allowing your complaint to stand on its own.

Actually, it is VERY standard for devices such as this to have screen
exclusions on warranties. I've owned laptops, PDAs, and an iPod and
in all cases the screen is excluded from warranty. Even extended
warranties. In some cases, there is an extra cost "screen coverage"
warranty, but not always.

Why? Because a great deal of the expense of your iPod is actually in
the screen. Really.

Also, it's a highly breakable part. And one, that if broken, cannot
be repaired. It can only be replaced.

Now, there are places where you can send your iPod and get a screen
replacement. Google on "ipod screen replacement" or "ipod screen
repair" and you'll find a whole bunch.

Keep in mind that warranties, in most places, are to cover poor
manufacture. They are no meant to cover damage caused by you or your
daughter. OK, I think you realze this since you said you'd be willing
to pay for a replacement. In this case, they will replace. The cost
is the same as a new iPod. See how that works?

That may seem rotten to you. But it's standard. My wife lost 2 Palm
PDAs this way.

A few suggestions:

First, get some sort of protection for her iPod. There are plenty of
hard cases, rubber cases, screen protectors, and wheel protectors. I
don't know what your daughter's special needs are, so she may find
some cases easier or harder to use.

Second, consider buying a cheaper model. Used, perhaps. If all she
needs is an MP3 player, does she really need an iPod? Even if you
want to go with an iPod, there are plenty of used older models out
there that work just fine. And would cost less than any screen
"repair."