It's worth remembering this, however it's not always 6 years. There's no fixed time, but 6 years for electrical goods is a fairly good point.
This all comes down to the sales of goods act, which means good must be "fit for purpose". If an expensive laptop breaks after 4 years, then you can argue it wasn't fit for purpose and therefore must be fixed or replaced (or a full refund issued). As long as you haven't caused the problem through misuse, you're covered.
> since I ordered it on the Apple website, even if it was on the french Apple Store website, they proposed me to replace it using the UK warranty
If you'd ordered it through someone else, you would have to have gone through them instead (it's up to the seller to sort out, not the manufacturer).
This is a very powerful piece of consumer law, and it's a shame it's not as well known as it should be.
> - Buy your Apple computer from Apple if you can.
Unless you'd bought it from another person rather than a business, you should have received the same treatment. This isn't Apple being nice, this is them fulfilling their legal obligations.
> If an expensive laptop breaks after 4 years, then you can argue it wasn't fit for purpose and therefore must be fixed or replaced (or a full refund issued). As long as you haven't caused the problem through misuse, you're covered.
My understanding is that under the Sale of Goods Act you are entitled to a partial refund [1], which reflects the use that you got out of the product. For example, if a laptop broke after 4 years, and 6 years was a reasonable lifespan, that suggests a 1/3 refund.
I believe that the new EU directive entitles you for a full refund for the 2 years of the warranty. In this regard, it's a stronger protection than the UK Sale of Goods act. In other regards, the Sale of Goods act is stronger (5 years to make a claim in Scotland, 6 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland).
> Unless you'd bought it from another person rather than a business, you should have received the same treatment. This isn't Apple being nice, this is them fulfilling their legal obligations.
Some retailers might be quicker to fulfil their obligations than others, so that's worth considering when choosing where to buy the product. My recent experience at the Apple store after buying from the Apple website was pretty positive.
edit: re-reading your post, I realise that you already pointed out that your rights are against the retailer, not the manufacturer.
> My understanding is that under the Sale of Goods Act you are entitled to a partial refund
You are entirely correct, I'd misunderstood things and possibly got confused with a shorter timeframe (if it's very early on, you're entitled to a full refund). Thanks for the correction, I'll update my post to point out the error. (edit - oh, I'm now unable to edit the post :( )
> I believe that the new EU directive entitles you for a full refund for the 2 years of the warranty. In this regard, it's a stronger protection than the UK Sale of Goods act.
Some vendors are better about it than others. I've had a bad experience with O2 denying my guarantee rights under the Sales of Goods Act, for what was clearly an "unfit for purpose" phone (iPhone 5 with a faulty sleep button[0]). Apple replaced it for me of their own accord, though.
It's worth remembering this, however it's not always 6 years. There's no fixed time, but 6 years for electrical goods is a fairly good point.
This all comes down to the sales of goods act, which means good must be "fit for purpose". If an expensive laptop breaks after 4 years, then you can argue it wasn't fit for purpose and therefore must be fixed or replaced (or a full refund issued). As long as you haven't caused the problem through misuse, you're covered.
> since I ordered it on the Apple website, even if it was on the french Apple Store website, they proposed me to replace it using the UK warranty
If you'd ordered it through someone else, you would have to have gone through them instead (it's up to the seller to sort out, not the manufacturer).
This is a very powerful piece of consumer law, and it's a shame it's not as well known as it should be.
> - Buy your Apple computer from Apple if you can.
Unless you'd bought it from another person rather than a business, you should have received the same treatment. This isn't Apple being nice, this is them fulfilling their legal obligations.