I opened up my MacBook yesterday to find a the little battery icon in the top right pane saying “Not Charging”. This was clearly a problem since the power cord was plugged in. I thought maybe it was an erroneous error message, so I unplugged the cord.

First Mistake.

Immediately, my laptop died.

I thought maybe the problem was the power cord. I plugged in H’s power cord to see if it would make a difference. Nope. It was clearly the battery.

I headed straight to Future Shop, which is where I bought my laptop. I explained to the salesperson that I had bought the laptop just a year ago, and had purchased an extended (3-year warranty). I told him about the battery. Right away, I could see this was not going to be an easy task.

He replied that laptop batteries, like car batteries, are considered consumable products, and as such, are not generally covered under warranties. This meant that I would have to pay for a new laptop battery myself ($159 regular price, $139 student price).

Clearly, I was not going to give in that easy. I explained to him that I had purchased a warranty thinking the battery would be covered, because that was the representation made by the salesperson at the time I had purchased my MacBook. He offered to sell me the battery for $80.

I insisted that this was still a higher price than what I should expect to pay, given the representation made to me at the time of purchase. He proceeded to get the manager.

I told her that I understood that the warranty did not cover batteries. “Unfortunately,” I said, “At the time I purchased this MacBook at this store last June, I was told by a salesperson named [xxxx] that I should purchase an extended warranty. When I asked what sorts of problems would not be covered under warranty, the salesperson stated that everything would be covered except for any damages directly caused by me. Nothing was said about the laptop battery. I would not have purchased the warranty if I had known it did not cover the battery. This was clearly a misrepresentation on the part of the salesperson - and would render the warranty contract void. So if you are not going to give me the battery for free, I would request that you nullify my warranty and return the money I paid for the warranty - to the tune of $300 or so. Then I will proceed to purchase the battery myself”.

Needless to say I walked out of there with a free MacBook battery ($139 + tax in savings).