My question was basically whether applecare is a scam.
The cost to repair broken screen of iPhone is 100 quid at Apple store.
If you have Applecare (also 100 quid) and break your iPhone screen, you pay an additional 80 quid, almost double the cost of a direct repair -with Apple!
If a walk in repair at Apple is 100 quid for new screen, it can be found much cheaper at any fix it shop I'm sure. I cannot explain why a insured phone costs double that of an uninsured phone to fix.
Maybe Apple take your applecare money, and in the unlikely event you break your screen and want a new one, they charge you the cost of replacing it at the fix it shop anyway? Hence, scam. Maybe a bit harsh.
However, Apple don't tell you that you are legally protected for 5 years in sale of goods act. The NEVER mention this. That is why I believe applecare is basically mis sold.
Tell us, please, of any store where they DO mention the sale of goods act at the time of purchase? (Hint: you almost certainly won't find one).
You're very misinformed and getting quite confused on the subject. As are some others in this thread.
AppleCare is an extended warranty, offered for Mac devices. Under the sale of goods act, you're covered for the reasonable time period but the onus is generally on the consumer to prove the fault existed at delivery after 6 months (before that it is generally assumed to have been there with no burden of proof). One of the things AppleCare does is remove this burden of proof; you can't be denied service within the warranty period. For most things, of course, a company like Apple won't contest if you push them on the law - they'd rather give good customer service than an argument in small claims court.
However, there are some things that can still go wrong that would not be apples fault but could be fixable for free under AppleCare - for example, if someone is messing about and accidentally wipes his SSD after 12 months Apple is under no obligation to help him install a new copy of OSX. but it's serviceable under AppleCare.
Another reason someone might need AppleCare, is that some people really are that technically incompetent that they need reminding to push the power key to turn the computer on. Telephone support can be handy to some people.
For desktop macs it also includes onsite repairs, which is a lot more convenient than taking it back where you bought it from for an iMac...
Another thing to consider is that macs are available from stores outside of the Apple Store. Those stores may be less accommodating of customers claiming the SOGA applies and more willing to argue with the customer. It's not good business but it leads on to another point:
If the original retailer goes bust in the first year of your products life, you won't have any recourse under SOGA after it goes wrong. However, Apple will let you purchase AppleCare until the included 12 months warranty expires giving you 3 years of warranty cover.
AppleCare has its valid reasons to exist. Of course, for most use cases it's not necessary and I won't say everyone should buy it but it's more than a standard extended warranty product, so it's hard to argue its missold. If someone doesn't take advantage of the extra phone support etc it's more misbought and their own fault for buying something they don't need.
AppleCare plus is partly extended warranty and partly an insurance product. As far as an extended warranty goes, the main benefit is express replacement where they will send you a fixed device before you send in the old one. A failed software update after 18 months bricking the device would be covered, for example, but you wouldn't have any recourse under SOGA. That said, Apple do support these things outside of warranty for major releases so it's not so big a plus. The same applies to telephone support as above however.
With respect to the insurance, you may well be right in that it's not value for money. I've never purchased AppleCare plus myself because I don't believe the value proposition is right - like all insurance products you're essentially gambling and in this case I don't think it's worth it. But for some, they like the peace of mind fixed repair costs bring (as opposed to the worst case of Apple saying, we can't fix it buy a new one at - special price, which once happened to me, until I asked if there was another way to fix the device and they decided actually, there was) and that is why AC+ exists.
Neither AppleCare nor AppleCare + are for everyone but they're far from being "missold". While some of what they provide overlaps with the sale of goods act, they are complementary and AppleCare goes above the statutory entitlement. Some people think that extra service has a value. Clearly you don't, and to an extent I agree with you.
I've only ever bought AppleCare for one device, a MacBook Air I got when I went to uni in 2009. The AppleCare was heavily discounted and paid for itself by also extending the warranty cover of my 1st gen time capsule which failed over 2 years after I bought it, and got replaced with an upgraded model. I've bought 2 MBPs since then at retail prices and don't see the value in full price AppleCare. I damaged the screen of my own new rMBP about a month after buying it by dropping an iPad on it and chipping away part of the coating. That wouldn't have been covered under AppleCare anyway, though, so I have no regrets. I just have to be less clumsy in future.
device?