Heads up , re- MBA's from Viking Direct UK

[miffed]

Just thought I should post this up here

I bought a Rev A 1.8 SSD from Viking Direct a week or so ago , I think I got the tip from here , so thanks for that ! But when tried to take up the ilife 09 upgrade offer , I was told my Serial is invalid

I went into the online warranty checker , and again , there was no record of the serial - I assumed there had been a problem with my registration , so I went in and manually registered the Air via my Apple account
.... I then went back into the Warranty checker , and it is showing my warranty as due to expire on 16th August 2009 !! meaning my warranty would be 6 months or so short !

OK so this is not the end of the world , there is an option to amend the details , which required me to fax my receipt to Apple , which I have now done , so all is well, But I can't help wondering what would have happened in 9 months time , if I'd had a fault , and in the meantime mislaid the receipt ? (my previous experience of Apple warranty was that the receipt was not even relevant, so I wouldn't have been overly cautious about looking after it !)
On the whole , it is better rectified NOW than 9 months down the line when you have a problem , or find that you can't apply your AppleCare

Just thought I should mention it , if you bought an old MBA from Viking , best check your warranty.

 

[mcpryon2]

I'd say it's more of a reminder that when you register your computer with Apple, when it says to put your receipt in a safe place, they're serious.

People always say how, "Oh, you don't need your receipt, the warranty is tied to the serial..." but it's just not true. I had a warranty claim denied because I didn't have an original receipt. So, despite what you hear, if you don't have a receipt from an authorized dealer, don't be surprised when they deny you.

As for your warranty expiring in August, Apple goes by the build date in the case of a third-party sale; how can they know the sale date of every computer sold by every retailer? At least you had the receipt, which will get you the rectified warranty period.

Did you get the iLife upgrade? I'm curious. The only promo I saw was for purchases made on the Apple site after Jan 6th of a qualifying machine, but I'm in the US.

 

[liketom]

i am gutted - viking have the 1.8 64SSD in for £750 !!!!

i bought the refurb 1.6 80GB from Apple for the same price and it's being deliverd in about an hours time.

but i still get the upto date on iLife so o well

 

[miffed]

Oh I agree totally ! , at the end of the day looking after your receipt is only common sense , But I must admit I had ( from previous experiences ) convinced myself that the warranty was based on the registration of the serial ,and therefore may not have looked after the receipt as well as I should
I certainly could have envisaged myself running around like a headless chicken in a 11 months time ! , and then having to go through the proccess of getting the warranty amended before I could even start trying to get any problem sorted out

As you say , a nice timely reminder to look after the receipt !

As for the ilife upgrade , Well, I just though I'd chance it , in the UK site there is an option if you bought direct from Apple , OR from an Authorised Reseller , I assumed that anyone reselling Apple products must be classed an "Authorised Reseller" ? If not at least I tried .

 

[iann1982]

It's worth pointing out that the Viking direct 1.8ghz SSD excludes VAT at 15%, + i'm not sure if you can upgrade to iLife 09 on the cheap?

 

[NATO]

It's worth pointing out that the Viking direct 1.8ghz SSD excludes VAT at 15%, + i'm not sure if you can upgrade to iLife 09 on the cheap?

You're right, the total price works out around £862 which is still really good value for the upgraded model. In terms of iLife, I believe you can upgrade to iLife 09 using the up-to-date programme, but you will likely have to submit a copy of the reciept to claim it as Apple has no way of knowing when you purchased your system, but providing you can prove it was purchased within the up-to-date timeframe, they'll honour it.

Best to check at http://www.apple.com/uk/ilife/uptodate, read the terms and conditions.

 

[liketom]

got my refurb MBA 1.6 right here ! ordered on Sunday night and it came with iLife 09 Drop in DVD !!! wooo hooo

 

[miffed]

Yes , I got the £862 deal too , My mate who paid >£2,000 for his was a little put out by this ,and mumbled something about it being "second hand rubbish" - when I pointed out that it was brand new he looked like he was going to cry

 

[GlynJones]

got my refurb MBA 1.6 right here ! ordered on Sunday night and it came with iLife 09 Drop in DVD !!! wooo hooo

How did it look? where the accessories new?

Just wondering as seeing how your in the UK if they look brand new.

I've had a couple of bad experiences with Apple refurbs and I don't want to get caught out again.

Thanks.

Glyn.

 

[liketom]

How did it look? where the accessories new?

Just wondering as seeing how your in the UK if they look brand new.

I've had a couple of bad experiences with Apple refurbs and I don't want to get caught out again.

Thanks.

Glyn.

it was a reboxed new unit i'd say i got it in a refurb box but the Mac was flawless and come with 10.5.4 as base os if you can put that into time that's about summer last year ? with 10.5.5 coming out in September time

 

[NATO]

Yes , I got the £862 deal too , My mate who paid >£2,000 for his was a little put out by this ,and mumbled something about it being "second hand rubbish" - when I pointed out that it was brand new he looked like he was going to cry

Do you blame him?

It looks as though most of the UK Refurb units are units approximately 5 months old (I got mine last week, it was built in August accordingly to Coconut IdentityCard). 13 charges on the battery, flawless exterior with all accessories etc brand new. I'm pretty sure these are reboxed new units.

 

[SeaneyC]

How long did it take for your guys orders to be processed?

I put my order in yesterday afternoon but it's still at "held for authorisation" wondering if yours took weeks to come or a few days, would be nice to have my 1.8 SSD to come before the weekend!

 

[miffed]

How long did it take for your guys orders to be processed?

I put my order in yesterday afternoon but it's still at "held for authorisation" wondering if yours took weeks to come or a few days, would be nice to have my 1.8 SSD to come before the weekend!

Bit of a sore point for me (I am a little impatient when it comes to these things ! )

Firstly ,I should say that I have used Viking Direct at work and been amazed by their excellent , quick service , WRT Stationary etc.

However ....
I placed my order on Sunday 18th Jan, Paid by Visa Debit Card , and supposedly qualified for "Next Day" service , realistically I knew this meant a Tuesday delivery , so I booked the day off work.
Monday morning , I get a call from someone claiming to be from Viking , telling me that as my order was a 'high risk' item , they could not accept the Debit card payment , and I would need to pay by BACS.
I was a little concerned , so I hung up and telephoned Vikings CS , and they confirmed that this was a legitimate request , so I took their a/c details , and arranged the BACS , Now , I am not familiar with BACS payments , but was advised by the lady from Viking that it 'may take 24hrs' - it ended up taking two days !! , I was VERY concerned as the lady that gave me the account details was from an indian call centre ,and I worried that I had misheard the numbers (although , of course I had triple checked at the time) , all I know is there was an £862 hole in my account , and Viking didn't have it ! I had thought that BACS transfers were only supposed to take a couple of hours now ? seemingly not !!
Anyway , Wednesday came , and after MANY phone calls to Viking , they confirmed they DID have my BACS , and the goods would be despatched and with me Thursday - which they were !
So not BAD per se , but still not the next day service I had hoped for , I assume there is a problem with Debit card payments ,and normal Credit card ones would be fine (although when I asked for alternative payment options I was only given the BACS option )
I should add that all the way through the procedure , the Viking website showed status as "Processed" , and the delivery quoted was Tuesday 20th - with no online tracking at any time , So I wouldn't pay much attention to that.

 

[SeaneyC]

Haha appropriate name then miffed!

Wow, BACS was a bit of a stretch, guess they are looking out for themselves though, and it's not like Viking Direct are a fly by night.

Anyway, better late than never i guess. Shouldn't have come to that, but on the upside, at least you saved lots of money on it. Can't wait for mine to arrive now, will have to chase them up on it.

Cheers for the headsup on the warranty - Have you applied for iLife09 with your serial yet?

 

[sparky7]

Don't forget 7% cashback through http://www.quidco.com/viking-direct/

 

[miffed]

Yeah you know what it's like ... I was really annoyed while waiting , but as soon as the guy handed me the box on Thursday , I forgot about all my troubles ! , 3 working days for delivery isn't really bad ! But you're right , when I look at how good the Air is , and how much money I have saved I cannot help but be happy with life at the moment !

I got confirmation from Apple that they have corrected my Puchase date this morning , but when I went onto the ilife upgrade site , it is still coming up as "invalid serial" - So I am starting to think that maybe Viking don't count as an "Authorised Re-seller" , Ah well , it was worth a try !

 

[SeaneyC]

Don't forget 7% cashback through http://www.quidco.com/viking-direct/

Crud, i usually ignore quidco but 7% on £862 is a lot of money! Oh well.

Yeah you know what it's like ... I was really annoyed while waiting , but as soon as the guy handed me the box on Thursday , I forgot about all my troubles ! , 3 working days for delivery isn't really bad ! But you're right , when I look at how good the Air is , and how much money I have saved I cannot help but be happy with life at the moment !

I got confirmation from Apple that they have corrected my Puchase date this morning , but when I went onto the ilife upgrade site , it is still coming up as "invalid serial" - So I am starting to think that maybe Viking don't count as an "Authorised Re-seller" , Ah well , it was worth a try !

Maybe it will be worth pushing Apple for iLife 09 or i might even ask for it when i fax them my receipt - Worth talking to them at least! Told my air should be here tomorrow woohooo!