Apple Sends You A Check For A HD You Replaced Yourself

Reader photoguy622 wants to let us know that our article helped him get some money from Apple for his broken hard drive. He’d fixed it himself, but Apple has a free repair program he didn’t know about.

photoguy622 says:

I just wanted to write and let you know that based on the story you had published about Apple replacing defective MacBook hard drives. I was able to get the money back I had personally spent on a replacement drive.

I pre-ordered my MacBook in the spring of 2006 and payed extra for an 80GB hard drive. About 2 years after I purchased it my hard drive broke. Instead of having it repaired through Apple, since it was out of warranty, I purchased a 250GB Western Digital replacement drive for $ 103 and did the work myself.

After seeing your story on the MacBook’s hard drives I called Apple and was told that there was nothing they could do for me over the phone and that I should go to a genius bar. The genius bar told me that since I did not have the work done through Apple, and I destroyed the old drive, there was nothing they could do for me either. At this point I decided my best option was to write Apple a letter about the problem and include a copy of the replacement hard drive’s receipt.

Two weeks after mailing the letter I received a call from Apple and they are sending me a check for replacement drive’s cost. Very nicely done Apple.

Woohoo!

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.