iPad - Consumer Guarantees Act

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › iPad - Consumer Guarantees Act

MangBerto

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#319433 24-Apr-2025 16:21

I bought my daughter a 9th Gen 256 GB iPad for around $850 NZD in late September 2022, and she used it for about 31 months until April 5, 2025 when it simply refused to power on or charge. When I first called Apple Support the agent walked me through the usual troubleshooting steps:

• Plug it in and try charging
• Swap between different Apple-branded cables and chargers
• Force restart by holding Home and Power until the screen flashes
• Connect it to iTunes on a PC (I don’t have a Mac) to see if it would be detected

None of those worked, and the agent quoted me NZD 512 for the repair plus any assessment fee the authorised repairer might charge.

While looking online for possible fixes I came across this thread:

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=76&topicid=312284&showanswer=yes

I rang Apple again, quoted the Consumer Guarantees Act, and was transferred to a senior agent. He said he would escalate my case to Apple’s legal team but needed two things before he could do that:

• Clear photos of every side and corner of the iPad showing no physical damage
• A copy of the PB Tech invoice proving the NZD 850 purchase in September 2022

It was easy to get the invoice from PB Tech, but the tricky part was remembering exactly when we bought it so I could quote the date and amount. Luckily I recalled it was a birthday gift for my daughter, so I searched my bank statements for September 2022 to find the exact transaction. PB Tech located my invoice straight away and emailed it to me. I sent both the photos and the invoice immediately. A couple of days later I got the good news:

Apple would cover the repair under consumer law (they can only warn me about liability if they decide the fault is fraudulent).

Apple’s first plan was to send a FedEx box to pick up my device, repair it, and return it. When the box arrived with no cushioning or protective bag I called them and they decided to send another one. That second box arrived the same way, so finally they told me to take the iPad to an authorised repairer myself.

The authorised repairer told us they would inspect the device and contact us with updates. A few days later we received a text saying the iPad was ready for pick up. The device was not in a box so I called Apple to let them know. They confirmed it was a remanufactured device and that they had not yet received my original iPad. I assume the repairer keeps a stock of refurbished/remanufactured units and swapped mine once they determined the old one was irreparable.

On April 24, 2025—just three weeks after I first reported the fault—I walked out with an iPad in fresh condition.

I created this account to thank everyone who shared their experiences on belows link (sorry, I don't know how to add more on that thread that's why I had to create a new one) and to remind you to stand up for your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=76&topicid=312284&showanswer=yes

Batman

Mad Scientist
29760 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3367212 24-Apr-2025 16:45

lucky you! when my ipad wouldn't connect to wifi and i quoted the consumer guarantees act the CSR laughed at me and said never heard of such a thing.

MrGadget

193 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#3367213 24-Apr-2025 16:49

Shorter answer was to go back to the retailer. You bought the iPad from PBTech? Then deal with them - make it their CGA issue. They are the retailer, they have the responsibility under the CGA.

did something similar with a security camera with a different retailer. Jumped through hoops with the manufacturer but when they couldn’t resolve I went back to the local retailer and got a full refund.

RunningMan

8953 posts

Uber Geek

#3367214 24-Apr-2025 16:52

MrGadget:

Shorter answer was to go back to the retailer. You bought the iPad from PBTech? Then deal with them - make it their CGA issue. They are the retailer, they have the responsibility under the CGA.

As does the manufacturer, who the OP chose to seek a remedy from.

MangBerto

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3367215 24-Apr-2025 16:53

MrGadget:

Shorter answer was to go back to the retailer. You bought the iPad from PBTech? Then deal with them - make it their CGA issue. They are the retailer, they have the responsibility under the CGA.

did something similar with a security camera with a different retailer. Jumped through hoops with the manufacturer but when they couldn’t resolve I went back to the local retailer and got a full refund.

I initially called Apple for troubleshooting assistance and, once I learned about the CGA, I was so locked into dealing with them that I forgot I could go back to PB Tech. Looking back, it probably would’ve been easier to deal directly with the retailer

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#3367216 24-Apr-2025 16:55

MrGadget:

Shorter answer was to go back to the retailer. You bought the iPad from PBTech? Then deal with them - make it their CGA issue. They are the retailer, they have the responsibility under the CGA.

did something similar with a security camera with a different retailer. Jumped through hoops with the manufacturer but when they couldn’t resolve I went back to the local retailer and got a full refund.

That is true. However sometimes going to the manufacturer can be easier. However I am currently having a dishwasher problem and have always dealt with the manufacturer as it has had multiple problems before this and it took over a year to get a part to repair it. But now the manufacturer (their NZ manager) is being unhelpful and want me to arrange and pay for an assessment with their service agent. So it looks like I will now need to go to the retailer to sort it out. So sometime you have to flip flop between the two if you don't get satisfaction.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#3367217 24-Apr-2025 16:58

MangBerto:

MrGadget:

Shorter answer was to go back to the retailer. You bought the iPad from PBTech? Then deal with them - make it their CGA issue. They are the retailer, they have the responsibility under the CGA.

did something similar with a security camera with a different retailer. Jumped through hoops with the manufacturer but when they couldn’t resolve I went back to the local retailer and got a full refund.

I initially called Apple for troubleshooting assistance and, once I learned about the CGA, I was so locked into dealing with them that I forgot I could go back to PB Tech. Looking back, it probably would’ve been easier to deal directly with the retailer

TBH it would have probably been less hassle dealing with Apple directly. I had an ipad replaced by them years ago under the CGA after the screen started delaminating and it was an easy process.

MrGadget

193 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#3367274 24-Apr-2025 17:28

PBTech aside… I would generally feel like it would be so much easier to deal with the local retailer than the Manufacturer.

I personally have found that global entities like Apple have been very ignorant of the CGA and generally pushback on anything that happens outside warranty periods.

If you have already gone down the path of trying this with the Manufacturer and being quoted a price to resolve the issue that is outside of CGA, then I would absolutely, 100% go directly to the retailer. It is absolutely their responsibility to resolve your issue. If the manufacturer does then great, and I would 100% agree that you should engage them for genuine troubleshooting, but the CGA requires the seller to be responsible for resolution of issues, and in this case that would be PB Tech.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#3367314 24-Apr-2025 20:03

Absolutely. But luckily the law allows consumers to go after either.

MadEngineer

4271 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3367337 25-Apr-2025 08:51

MrGadget:

Shorter answer was to go back to the retailer. You bought the iPad from PBTech? Then deal with them - make it their CGA issue. They are the retailer, they have the responsibility under the CGA.

did something similar with a security camera with a different retailer. Jumped through hoops with the manufacturer but when they couldn’t resolve I went back to the local retailer and got a full refund.

Apple support is frequently better than support from a retailer.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

Benjip

943 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#3367370 25-Apr-2025 11:28

MrGadget:

PBTech aside… I would generally feel like it would be so much easier to deal with the local retailer than the Manufacturer.

I personally have found that global entities like Apple have been very ignorant of the CGA and generally pushback on anything that happens outside warranty periods.

Have you ever had an Apple repair experience?

My iPhone developed a screen fault the other day. Took me 5–10 minutes with Apple Support's online chat, and they sent me a brand new iPhone that arrived the next morning, along with the coffin for my now old one. Then took me about 5 minutes to write an email to TNT/FedEx to arrange them to collect the coffin.

Cost to me: $0. Time endured without a phone: 0 minutes.

I can't see how any local retailer would do much better than that — with them it would probably start with dropping off your device and having it sit there for a week before it got couriered somewhere local to be "assessed".

alasta

6701 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#3367371 25-Apr-2025 11:35

Benjip:

Have you ever had an Apple repair experience?

My iPhone developed a screen fault the other day. Took me 5–10 minutes with Apple Support's online chat, and they sent me a brand new iPhone that arrived the next morning, along with the coffin for my now old one. Then took me about 5 minutes to write an email to TNT/FedEx to arrange them to collect the coffin.

Cost to me: $0. Time endured without a phone: 0 minutes.

I can't see how any local retailer would do much better than that — with them it would probably start with dropping off your device and having it sit there for a week before it got couriered somewhere local to be "assessed".

No, it would start with the local retailer claiming that they've never heard of the CGA, followed by the customer having to serve written notice of their intention to refer the matter to the disputes tribunal. Only then would the retailer start the long painful process of sending the item for assessment when they can eventually be bothered, likely weeks later.

Then the retailers wonder why people prefer to order products directly from Apple/Bose/Garmin/etc. rather than using the traditional big box stores.

Bung

6477 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3367378 25-Apr-2025 12:21

alasta:

No, it would start with the local retailer claiming that they've never heard of the CGA, followed by the customer having to

Google for the last time that retailer was fined for a CGA related offence and remind them about it.

lxsw20

3552 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3367381 25-Apr-2025 12:42

MrGadget:

PBTech aside… I would generally feel like it would be so much easier to deal with the local retailer than the Manufacturer.

ime that just adds an extra step and delay to the process. That was certainly the case when I was repairing laptops for hp/compaq many years ago.