Hello,

My name is Ron, I am a fifty years old married man and a father to two wonderful young ladies; but my story is really about a “Love Affair” with “Apple” and the “Mac” products.

It all started a few years ago when a childhood friend set my first “Mini Mac” on my kitchen table where it has served my family ever since.  It has become the central brain of the house as it contains all the information we need to run our daily affairs. We use it to listen to the radio, for recipes, for addresses and appointment and of course whenever we need any information from the internet. In short, it is the one member in our home that no one can do without.

This love affair has since mushroomed in scope and in membership as the collection of Apple products in our home has grown  with the addition of Laptops (5), Timecapsule, Airportexpress and  a few I-Phones, to name a few… Of course by now I infected all members of our household (except for the dogs) with the love for Apple.

As I frequently travel abroad, we made some of the purchases of Apple equipment in various locations around the world.  Recently, during her visit in California and in keeping with her loyalty to Apple, my daughter purchased a brand spanking new, white Mac Book. She also expended additional $250.00 for an Apple’s applecare, worldwide warranty.

The problem started when the Mac Book purchased in California became recently “ill” in Israel and refused to turn on. After recovering from the shock of having a “Mac” that actually failed, I contacted the local authorized servicer, Idigital, and was presented with very surprising response to my service request.

The service representative, after checking the purchase invoice, acknowledged that the computer was indeed under the manufacturer warranty but claimed that he still must verify with Apple the cost of repairs. He further advised me that checking/testing the computer will require a minimum of 21 days wait (not a day less!) and should the company (Apple) not approve the repair, I will have to bear the cost of testing the computer. When I checked with the service center a few days later, the representative advised me that the repair can take as long as one year (!) to complete.
I started to inquire about a option to pay for the repairs in case apple doesn’t approve the warranty. After strong initial objections, a manger agreed to accept our offer under the following conditions:
we must pay upfront a sum of ils 5000.00 (approximately US $1,400.00) and more than the original cost of the computer
if Apple approves the repairs, we must agree to receive back only ils 4,600 out of our payment of 5,000.00

This offer raised suspicious of misconduct on the part of Idigital as it appears they were retaliating against people who purchased equipment elsewhere.  I began my investigation to understand the practices and standards for equipment repairs by Idigital. I asked the lab technician the following questions:
What is the standard repair time for Apple equipment purchased in Israel – answer- Maximum one week!
What is the estimated repair time for an Apple purchased at Idigital that was taken oversees and needing repairs? – answer not sure, but likely to be treated like any equipment purchased in the local market.
If my Mac failed in NY and I purchased it in California, would I have to bring it to CA – answer  not at all, you can have it repaired anywhere.  However, when you purchase a Mac in Israel, you can repair it at any Idigital location, but if you bought it abroad, you can only bring it to one location in all of Israel.
When asking for advise on how to expedite the repairs? Ans.  the tech advised me to call the Apple company (USA) and try to win their goodwill (I thought that when one buys and pays for warranty he doesn’t need to rely on Goodwill)
I asked for documentation of the repair request or ticket #.nswer – Idigital refused to provide this basic request and claimed that I could obtain the claim # directly from Apple.

I contacted the Apple Company USA, and was further surprised by their representative response:
there was no reason or basis for repairs to require 21 days and up to a year
Apple had no record of a repair ticket or repair request for my computer under warranty or otherwise
the computer is under the “applecare” warranty and doesn’t require any approval from Apple for any repairs
Apple representative couldn’t understand or explain the misconduct of Idigital as it didn’t resemble conduct of other authorized Apple service centers around the world.

The belligerent behavior I have described of Idigital is not likely to affect our love for the Apple product or our trust in the company behind it.  However, it teaches us much about the ethic (or lack thereof) of Idigital and will encourage us to never buy anything from a company that treats customers the way this company does.

Idigital is under contract with apple to provide quality service to ALL Apple customers for all of their products, no matter where purchased or who the owners are.  Idigital is paid for those services and is neglecting its responsibility to perform its contractual obligations to service the public as entrusted.

I have launched this website to expose the misconduct of Idigital and with hope to affect the way the company treats owners of Apple products who purchased equipment from different vendors.

I am writing to all of you Mac-Apple lovers, to join me in protest and sign the letter against this illegal and unethical treatment we receive from Idigital.  I will be sending this letter to Apple and encourage you to copy it to you own letterhead and add you personal story to protest this outrageous conduct by Idigital.

Respectfully

Ron A.
Tel Aviv, Israel