mysterym

What hardware issues?

slivrflyr

A hardware problem thet would be covered if the phone was within 12 months.

mysterym

ok great but what hardware issues are you experiencing exactly? you would get some better response from FT'ers as to whether they think they are going to make you get a repair estimate or how to handle...

slivrflyr

defective camera
Awful battery life.

Thanks

slivrflyr

What's the process if Amex asks for an estimate? Do they then want you to pay for it before reimb or do they just issue a statement credit. I'm asking because I can still get salvage value for as trade in rather than paying for a fix on the existing phone

Thanks

mia

If this is a familiar phone you may find that American Express knows more about it than you do. I would simply start the claims process and see what they request, then decide if it is worth your time.

mysterym

you still havent elaborated as to the exact camera issues... is it completely broken? is there a manufacturer defect that is making it not work as well as you think it should?

some times you can get an estimate that says its not repairable or find something online stating as much

slivrflyr

Optical focus is broken. It actually makes a sound when it's trying to focus and the entire picture is distorted.

Amex asked me to get an estimate. At this point do I just go to Apple and see if they give me something they says it's beyond repair? Friend was out of Amex warranty (3y old phone) and Apple offered him to buy a refurb for $300-ish.

If Apple tells me that it's not an estimate, right? If it's technically beyond repair then I shd get the full amount from Amex and not a "replacement" value. Right ?

mysterym

Sounds pretty simple... they said get a repair estimate... go to an apple store and see if they can do that. If not, see if they can print something saying it is not repairable.

slivrflyr

Thank you! I'll do that. Hopefully Apple Store is fine with giving me something like that in writing. Thanks

Kasiraman

I dont know if this answers your question. But here is my recent experience two weeks back.

I had a tablet that I got in August 2015 that came with the standard 1 yr warranty from Bestbuy. I paid 150 in total - 90 with Amex and 60 with Gift Card (i dont know what I was thinking paying with gift card). Fast Forward to last month, the tablet didn't work and didnt power up. I didn't have any receipts from Best Buy, just the fact that I bought from Bestbuy by browsing through my bestbuy order list on my bestbuy account and a charge on amex. So I submitted a claim for 150, not the 90$ I paid - because the claim form asked me how much the product is worth. 1 day later, I was reimbursed the whole 150, not the 90 I paid on Amex. I got an email saying my claim was closed and the credit was there..it was quick.

It might work in your favor, all you have to do is put in a claim and see. This is my first time using it and I was very happy to say the least.

slivrflyr

I'm guessing that Apple will give me the out of warranty "repair" of flat $300, which they list for everything but repair and screen. Thus the best I can do is get that cash back from Amex and get my phone fixed somewhere else. I can't find a path to getting the full new price reimbursed. Can anyone ?

gsxsilver

No one is going to give you the full purchase price of a year plus old phone. If that were the case... we would all be dropping our phones every time a new model comes out.

Amex will give you however much apple prints out. While they do expect you to actually get it repairs. Although I bet if you can manage to sell said phone and with the 300, its probably enough to buy a new one.

mysterym

that is not true. if he charged the full purchase price on the amex, amex deems it a valid claim and no repair can be made, he will get the full purchase price back. i had it happen to me on a device that would not turn on.

we dont drop our phones every time a new model comes out because that would be insurance fraud..

slivrflyr

So the store printed out an estimate of total phone replacement at $300 and change so that's what I'll submit to Amex. The phones Apple out of warranty sells to you are new and not refurbs.

And this leaves me the option of swapping the phone at Apple and paying $300, or holding onto the cash until upgrade time. Maybe I can get the camera replaced on my own at a third party. The phone camera is useless. Half the pic is blurry so you can't even deposit checks


Bose is great in this regard. For out of warranty replacement they give you the option to pay up for the newer model