iPod replacement for faulty product

I bought an iPod recently and it didn't work.

I rang support who were helpful, we went through their standard reset procedures, but it just didn't work and they arranged to have it collected for repair/replace.

I had a replacement delivered today, with a covering letter which says "the replacement iPod may be either new or a completely refurbished model".

Mine looks like it is a new one, which is fine, but just wondering about the wording on the letter - are they allowed to choose to send a 'refurbished' one instead if that suits them? I thought they had to repair the original or replace with a new one by law?

You could try contacting the www.nca.ie to confirm your rights.

I heard a similar story from another person. In that case Apple sent UPS to collect, took it to the US, exchange it and delivered the new one. Surely the easist thing to do is e-mail Apple.

From apple.ie

[broken link removed]

When we receive your iPod and confirm that the service request matches the iPodís condition, we will send you a replacement iPod that may be new or refurbished. The replacement iPod will be functionally equivalent to your iPod when new.

I've contacted the NCA and will see what they say.

mercman, there is no point contacting Apple, the letter is a photocopied standard issue, so they obviously believe they are within their rights to send a refurbished model.

On closer inspection, the replacement iPod I received has its safety message on the back in French, so I'm not actually sure if they sent a new or refurbished one.

emaol - That is what I'm asking, are they entitled to fob you off with a second-hand iPod when the brand new one you purchased never worked. They obviously seem to think they are.

Hi,

if it never worked , then the shop where you purchased it is responsible, unless of course you purchased it on line.

I rang the head office of the chain I bought it from, as I bought it in the UK. They put me straight onto Apple, who organised the collection/ replacement.
From googling it appears that Apple and some enterprising third parties sell these 'refurbished' iPods at big discounts, so to be fobbed off with one is just annoying, but not the end of the world I suppose.
I just wondered about the legality of it, but at least now I have one that works.
Thanks.

steelblue said:

Hi,

if it never worked , then the shop where you purchased it is responsible, unless of course you purchased it on line.

Click to expand...

Are they not entitled to try repair it though?

I know Sony had a similar scheme for repairing PlayStations at one stage, not sure if it still does.
One of the reasons Sony offered was that it made the repair process much quicker and you weren't waiting for too long to get your machine back. Once they received the faulty product and verified it was under warranty and the fault was a manufacturing one, they despatched a refurb unit and repaired the original at their leisure.
I think any manufacturer can offer to repair first, and if the problem recurs after this you can reject the offer to repair and insist on a replacement/refund.